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"Because bad things are happening here now.”
The way she said it, Cora felt icy fingers trickle down her spine.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I mean that it is safer for you to leave." She leaned forward. "I don't know for sure, but I heard rumors that people in the foundation have died recently. And nobody knows how."
CHAPTER TEN
“Died?” Cora echoed. She exchanged a glance with Gabe. He was frowning worriedly.
"That makes it even more important that we find out," Cora pressured the woman. "We need to make sure our friend’s okay. Surely it's wrong that it's being covered up like this? Don't you want to help put a stop to this?"
But her argument got her precisely nowhere. The catering worker closed her lips and shook her head, and said, "I don't want to say more. I don't want any comeback."
"You could help save a life," Cora pleaded, but she shook her head.
"I could get into trouble if this gets back to anyone. At the moment, I do the catering for these events, and I don't ask questions. It's better that way."
"It'll never get back to them," Cora said.
But the woman stood firm. "I really can't say more.”
It was a dead end. Gabe and she had tried hard. But they'd gotten precisely nowhere, apart from finding out some very disturbing possibilities, and now they really did need to get the hell out before someone came looking.
They hustled out of the kitchen and retraced their steps to the way they'd come in. Outside, in the darkness, Cora took a good look around for guards. There were none in sight. So far, so good.
“You took a ribbon. Did you find out anything?” she asked Gabe.
He nodded. “Yeah. After about five minutes, a woman came up and started being very charming to me. She was telling me about the work the foundation does, all the good things they’re involved in, why they’re such a wonderful place. And I did get further with her.”
"You did?" Cora felt astonished. Gabe's people skills and non-threatening attitude might just have given them a lead. They hadn’t asked him for his armband or ticket. What did that tell her?
"She said that they treat everyone with respect but that some people they can immediately see have potential. And that I was one of them, and I might be able to become part of their inner circle."
“Gabe!” This really had gotten them further.
“She said that I must come to the foundation at any time if I was interested in meeting her and taking a look around. But in the meantime, she said something else that I think we could use.”
What was that? Cora looked at him questioningly.
"She said that the inner circle people were leaving the event shortly because there was something else that they were going to attend. I questioned her, and I didn’t really get a clear answer. Some kind of ceremony, maybe.”
"But?" Standing there in the dark, outside the mansion's quiet stone walls, Cora felt sure there was a 'but.'
"But it seemed to me, from what she said, that it's not far away and might be elsewhere on this property. She mentioned an old church and said that they walked to it. That something happens here, late at night, regularly. Maybe it’s something that’s connected with these murders somehow?”
“She told you all that?”
Gabe shrugged. “I asked in an innocent way.”
That was his strength, and this was valuable information for sure. An event like this might allow them to get closer to the cult, who seemed to use this property for many of their events.
“I guess we have to go hunting,” Cora said.
The night wasn't over yet. There were still answers waiting somewhere.
But where?
