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Vigil didn’t confirm or deny.
Well, shit. That could only mean one thing—he hadn’t just been regular military. He’d been in spec ops. He could prove to be a powerful ally… or a dangerous enemy.
“What were their names? The couple that disappeared?” He’d give the information to Pierce to check out.
“Benjamin and Olivia Harrington,” Vigil said.
Cal’s heart dropped. “Who?”
Again, the trio exchanged a glance.
“You know them?” Clarity asked.
“Ben Harrington was a client. He was arrested last year for DUI. It was his third, and he was facing jail time because he hit a pedestrian. I got him released on bond, and he skipped town.”
“So maybe they’re just hiding?” Clarity said, turning to Vigil. “Maybe they disappeared of their own volition. Maybe someone found out they were wanted, and that’s why they left.”
Vigil’s lips thinned into a hard line. He shook his head. “That doesn’t explain why they left all of their possessions behind. They had a stash of money in their cabin. You need money to live in the outside world, and they didn’t take it.”
“But why would Hopeful kill them?” Clarity’s voice trembled, her face pale. “He preaches peace and love.”
Sincere snorted. “Hopeful preaches whatever suits him best.”
“What about the girl?” Cal asked. “She tried to leave. What happened to her?”
Clarity anxiously twisted her hand in the flowing belt of her light blue robe, then released it, then wound it up around her palm again. Judging by the belt’s frayed end, it was an ongoing nervous tic of hers. “We haven’t seen her since she was brought back.”
That was what Cal was afraid of. If the girl was dead, it would crush Ellie. And, honestly, him too. He’d forever wonder if he could’ve done something differently to help her in time. He drew a fortifying breath, steeling himself against the answer to his next question. “Did Hopeful kill her?”
“Doubtful,” Sincere said. “She’s his daughter and he’s always held her up as some kind of prophet. He won’t kill her, but he’s almost certainly holding her captive somewhere and punishing her for trying to leave.”
Cal decided to take a chance. Maybe it was foolish, but if he could get the answers he needed now, he could take Ellie away from here before she was in any real danger. “What about the girl’s mother? Hope?”
Clarity covered a sharp gasp with her hand. “How do you know about Hope?”
“I have my sources.” Cal knew he had crossed a line and going back wasn’t an option. Each revelation was another step towards the precipice of danger. He couldn’t put the brakes on now – not when Ellie was involved, not when innocent lives were at stake.
Sincere broke the tense silence that followed. “Hope… is gone.”
“Did she escape?”
“No,” Clarity said so softly that Cal had to strain to hear her. “Hope... she’s dead.” She looked down, her fingers worrying at the robe’s belt again.
Dead.
Cal felt his heart stop for a beat.
Hope was dead.
This news was going to crush Ellie.
“When?”
Clarity twisted the belt of her robe around her hand again. “Just… right before you got here.”
And wasn’t that convenient for Hopeful? Every alarm bell Cal possessed was ringing off the hook. “How did she die?”
“I asked Serenity about it, and she said it was natural causes,” Sincere answered. “The rest of the Blues all backed up that story, but…” He glanced over at Clarity, the only Blue in the room.
