The Cold Road (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-One

The Iron Feather Inn rose out of the street, presenting a pleasing outlook to customers. The inside was snug, faint traces of smoke from the closed fire wafted through the dining area. Behind the bar, Mrs Montgomery wiped the spills of a drink. She smiled as James seated himself in the booth at the far end of the restaurant.

James focused on the group of three men that sat at the table a couple of rows ahead of him. They were men that kept their heads down and talked quietly while clutching their glasses of beer. They ignored James and Montgomery and after a minute, James ignored them and turned away. His mind, filled with ideas, plots and plans, was unable to focus and his eyes kept sliding off the menu to look at his watch. Time was ticking.

'Someone persuaded a judge to release Amsler. Belberra has that power, but so do...' James lifted up the menu and kept it in front of his face as he shut out the world. His mind was powering up, skidding over the rubble and soaring through connections. Someone told Belberra about Amsler's arrest.

Who knew about it? Jeb? James thought of dismissing the idea but paused as he thought about it. Jeb did not have authority as he was a beat cop, but that did not mean he was not in league with Belberra. Plant? James gritted his teeth. The man did not like to think outside of the box, but was that a motive? Franks? Well, the man was just as annoyed as he was when Amsler had been released. The man had also had three years to investigate and had found nothing.

Gripping the menu, James's knuckles turned white as he glared at the paper before him. How could an investigation last three years without a single scrap of evidence showing up? What if the police force was compromised?

'You okay, James?' Montgomery asked, walking up to him. Her notepad was in hand for taking orders, her face drawn in concern. 'You've been staring at that menu for a while now and your hands are shaking.'

The menu dropped from James's hand and he looked up, confused and angry. 'I'm fine,' he snapped. 'I'll have a coffee,' he added as an afterthought. He paused again, watching Montgomery's hurt face as she wrote down his order before walking away.

How many people were there really? He asked himself. Everyone in town had an opinion and something to say about Lindsey's abduction. Always good things to say about the Perette's, except for a couple whose theories posited a possible motive for Geoff White's murder and Catherine's disappearance.

It was only after he started investigating the kidnapping and people started pointing to Catherine, that the woman disappeared. She disappeared just as he needed to speak with her to confirm suspicions. Now it was all the more suspicious as he could not find her. She was a nuisance.

Time ticked away on his watch and James drank his coffee, waiting for a call from Heinrich, or anyone, which would give him something to do. His phone rang just as Franks entered the tavern and stopped at the bar.

'It's Heinrich. Belberra owns the farm, but apparently doesn't use it. He's not been seen there in years. As for a possible location for the murders, it fits. It's private property and secluded. No one is close enough to the road to see any cars coming or going. If you walk up there without a warrant you're trespassing.'

Grinning, James sighed in relief at the news. 'But if I catch the cult up there, then so are they,' he replied.

'Not if it's run by Belberra. Remember, James, there is no proof linking the cult to the murders or kidnappings, yet. The only thing you could possibly book them on is disturbing the peace and that would be a stretch. Even if they are doing something, I don't know, ungodly to themselves, you'd face to catch them with a body. '

No proof yet, James filed that comment away for later. 'Have you found anything in the car yet?'

'Not yet. Well, nothing definite. If you find something that corresponds or relates to something I have found, I will let you know.'