AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Of all the mistakes she’d made in her life,hewas the biggest. In fact, that was how she’d come to think of him—as The Mistake. He’d been forbidden, with stolen sessions snatched in dangerous locations laced with excitement, all at the height of her heartbreak when she needed to feel alive and attractive again. But when the novelty wore off, so did the excitement, and only the danger was left.
But not for him. When she started pulling away, he gripped harder. Nothing overt—no physical abuse, not even any name-calling. But an underlying intensity she could never put her finger fully on, and that left her unsettled.
So she’d made him think the breakup was his decision—or, at least, made him think it benefited him. Convinced him that with Pete’s vicious jealousy, he’d use his money and power to destroy them both.
They’d agreed to end it. So why was he calling?
She hit the ignore button.
Because the problem was now gone, she realized. Since Pete had filed for divorce, the gossip had splashed and rippled through every corner of Oakhurst and the surrounding area.
“Fucking hell,” she said aloud, hoping she was wrong. Because how could she get rid of him now? And if he found out about Rick—Oh, God.
She slipped into problem-solving mode, the controlled state she used when dealing with dangerous births and other emergencies: one step at a time, handling whatever came. She tapped the corner of the phone as she thought.
A voice mail notification chimed, followed by a text:Hey beautiful. Miss you. Let’s meet up.
On the surface it was simple enough, something she could take or leave. But she knew better. He wouldn’t settle for a no. And because she’d told him about the prenup when justifying the end of the affair, he knew her weak point—now one phone call offering to testify to the affair would give Pete all the evidence he needed.
She slammed the phone onto the table in frustration. She needed this like another hole in her head on top of everything else, trying to keep Pete from finding out about Rick, and trying to keep Rick from losing patience with the situation—
That was it. She’d put him off the same way she was putting off Rick.
She sent the response, direct, truthful, but with no details:Life is too complicated right now. Hope you’re well.
He didn’t respond right away, and she hunched over the phone, praying for some version of “no biggie, just wanted to say hi, take care.”
I’ll call tomorrow so we can talk.
Ice burrowed through her. He wasn’t going to let it go.
Her thumbs flew into position, about to tell him not to call. But—if she could juggle it rather than swatting him down right away, maybe something else would catch his attention and he’d move on. She’d let him call, but wouldn’t pick up. She’d send another text delaying gently.
By the time he got the message, she’d have something else figured out.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
As Arnett drove back to Crone Ridge from Madison’s mother’s apartment, Jo texted Sophie to let her know what was happening, then dove into a search for the purported Pagans in Scoby.
“Found something,” she said, skimming. “Pretty much what Rankin said. Trespassing, kids wearing black, all the typical Satanic Panic accoutrements. But wait—here’s a more in-depth article about the group responsible, from our old friend Lacey Bernard.” Bernard was a journalist who’d recently helped Jo and Arnett solve a case. “They call themselves Lucifer Lost.”
“Very poetic.”
“Mmm. The article includes an image of the symbol we saw on Madison’s abdomen. Apparently it’s called Lucifer’s Sigil. And the group’s not just from around here, there are several chapters across the country. Including a physical location in Boston.”
“Tell me we don’t have to make that drive.”
“The group’s name reflects their underlying philosophy. ‘Lucifer’ was a figure in Greek and Roman mythology before he was the fallen-angel devil. The name translates to ‘light-bringer,’ and he’s associated with dawn and the planet Venus. The argument is that when Christianity subsumed the figure into its teachings—”
“But isn’t the fallen angel in the Old Testament? Would that make it a Jewish change?”
“He was called something else in Hebrew, and later translators switched the name to Lucifer. The point is, the members of Lucifer Lost feel the name ‘Lucifer’ has been inappropriately commandeered and his ‘light’ extinguished. They’re against any religious strictures that limit freedom and try to control people. For them, a return to Lucifer isn’t about the devil, it’s about a rejection of controlling dogma.”
“While replacing it with a different dogma?” Arnett asked.
Jo shrugged. “I’d have to know more to say. And Bernard identifies the member of the Scoby crew she talked to, Brad Pratt, aged twenty-one.”
“Sounds like it’ll be worth paying Mr. Pratt a visit once we talk to the CSIs.”
