A baby started crying, and the young mom in the corner stood, pushing her stroller back and forth as she waited.
“So thereisan investigation.” Excitement lit the guy’s eyes. “For those looking into the disappearance of those women, do you know if they’re considering the rapture as a theory?”
Carlos blinked. “I wasn’t working. I was looking for someone. That’s how I found it. I can’t give you any details about the case because I don’t know them.”
“So this is personal for you?” Lorne noted something on his phone with the stylus.
“I’m not interested in being interviewed. But I have some questions for you if you know more than the basics about that group. Have you had any experience with them?”
“I caught the story because of the religious angle,” Lorne said. “Who’s to say their disappearanceisn’ta result of the rapture? That’s certainly what the scene looked like.”
“You’ve been there?” State police should’ve locked it down until it was cleaned up.
Lorne blushed. “That’s not the real issue, is it?”
“If you know who they are, we might be able to find them. Otherwise, we have an unknown number of women and men who are simply gone, and no way to identify who they are.” The door opened and a wave of cool air rushed in, ruffling the collar of Carlos’s cargo jacket.
“I don’t know anything about the group other than what I found online in my research. I believe there’s a local woman who used to be part of them and?—”
“She might not want to go on record. If they’re the kind of people I believe they might be, she’ll want to stay under the radar.” This guy didn’t need to put Faith Blackburn in danger.
“I can always list her as an anonymous source,” Lorne said. “How do I find her?” He held his pen poised, as if Carlos would give up the information.
Carlos shrugged. “How does anyone find anyone?”
He walked away while the guy sputtered, praying that Lorne didn’t make life difficult for Faith. Just in case, he sent her a message to give her a heads-up that this guy was sniffing around.
He slid into his truck and drove over to the museum so he could catch Eliana and give her a ride home. After the past few days, he didn’t like the idea of her walking to the Ltrain and arriving home on foot in the dark. Nothing about this situation in the city sat right with him, but he had no idea how he could help resolve it.
Without finding out who had dosed people across the city with those canisters, there was no guarantee it was over.
His phone rang—from an unknown caller. But the number came up as the switchboard for the FBI office. He tapped the dash screen. “Ryson.”
“Yeah, this is Special Agent Laramee Fox with the FBI. You contacted us about a case we’re working involving the Reverence Sisters?”
“That’s right. I’m Chicago PD, but I’m looking for my sister.”
“So personal interest, not regarding what you found at their community?”
“Correct,” Carlos said. “And I know you have a house in the city under surveillance.”
“So far no one has come or gone. We’re beginning to believe it’s a bust.”
He figured she’d called him back because they were fishing for information.
“Could I get your sister’s information?” Fox asked. “We can add it to what we know.”
“Sure.” Carlos checked his mirror so he could change lanes, pull over, and send her Luci’s contact info.
“In fact, if you’d like to swing by the office, someone can take your full statement. Knowing the identity of at least one of the Sisters will help us make this case before we’re ordered to drop it.”
“I’ll come by now. I’m not working.”
“Great,” Fox said. “I’ll tell the front desk to expect you.”
Carlos told his truck to direct him to the FBI office in Chicago. As he drove, he noticed people on the streets kept their heads down and didn’t interact with each other. He spotted a woman who kind of looked like Eliana, but she would still be at the Shrine.
It seemed like everyone in the city was on edge after yesterday. All he could do was pray that a solution would come quickly.
