“Hey, Mia, it’s Kurt. We have another body.”
Mia stiffened. “The killer has upped his timeline big time.” That had to mean something, but she had no idea what.
Kurt rattled off an address. “I’m on my way there. I’ll see you.” He ended the call.
Mia stood.
“No,” Seth said softly.
“Yes,” she argued, reaching for her weapon, which she’d placed on the sofa table. “We have another body. I have to go.”
Seth growled. “Fine. I’m driving.” He opened the door.
“Wait a minute,” Luna called. “I should probably go back home, but I haven’t taken a sample of your blood yet.”
Erik pressed both hands against his head as if it was about to explode. “Luna, would you possibly consider calling your people and saying that you’re…I don’t know, at a spa for the next few days or something?”
“Why would I do that?” she asked.
Seth put a heavy hand on Mia’s shoulder. “I would consider it a favor to our entire pack.”
Luna looked from Erik to Seth. “You guarantee my safety?”
“I do,” Seth said quietly.
Luna sighed. “All right. I will call my people and let them know I am taking a few days to study with a forensics lab in Seattle. That wouldn’t surprise anybody.”
“Thank you.” Mia hurried out the door and ran in the rain to Seth’s truck.
He was silent on the drive once she gave him directions.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked finally.
“Unfortunately.” He drove north toward the mountains and then slowed down near an archway made of mature tamarack poles in front of a dirt road. The sign above the top arch read,The Flock.
She turned and looked at Seth. “The Flock? Oh, no. Are you serious?”
“Yep,” Seth said, turning down the dirt driveway.
Rain and pine cones pelted the vehicle as he did his best to drive around potholes, the massive forest land extending along either side of the lane. Finally, they rolled up to another gate. This one was open and manned by men with weapons.
Seth rolled down his window. “Get out of the way, Blunt.”
Blunt was a big, beefy guy at about six foot two. His eyes were brown, his hair wet and slicked to his head, and his shoulders were broad. He bent and looked inside. “Agent Stone? The FBI said you would be coming, but they didn’t say you’d be escorted,” he rumbled. “You can go on alone.”
“Not a chance,” Seth said. With that, he rolled up the window and punched the gas.
Mia half-expected to hear bullets impacting the truck’s rear, but nothing happened. “I take it you know Blunt?”
“He’s one of Jeremiah’s flock who comes into town to picket at various times of the year.” Seth shook his head. “The guy’s an idiot.”
He turned a corner, and Mia gasped. “So this is the commune.”
Ahead was a large lodge with log siding. To the east and west, cabins were scattered throughout with no discernible pattern. Yellow crime scene tape had already been strung near the fifth cabin on the right, and two FBI vehicles sat off to the side.
Seth parked, and Mia jumped out of the truck, wobbling only slightly as the world spun around her. She took several deep breaths and centered herself before putting her shoulders back and striding toward the crime scene.
When she got closer, she realized the fifth building wasn’t a cabin. It went quite a bit farther back toward the river. The smell of fried bacon and maybe scrambled eggs filtered through the air. Walls comprised the sides of the large structure with openings on either end. Inside were several long tables with benches. As she drew nearer, she saw a kitchen setup close to the rear opening. “It’s a mess hall,” she murmured.
