The Cold Road (Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

The questions, motives and theories piled up in James's head and he found it difficult to focus on the slippery road in front of him. With relief, he pulled into the driveway of Cindy's.

The evening drifted on. After dinner, James found himself on Cindy's couch with a glass of wine, Cindy beside him, smiling and laughing. The evening was going well; he had to admit. She had cooked a good dinner, the wine was good and his head was beginning to feel light headed and forgetful of the mound of work back at the office that he could not touch.

'So I hear you arrested Rico Belberra this morning, but he got released?' Placing her glass on the table, Cindy brushed his arm and moved in close.

James sighed, his relaxed body stiffening. There was not enough alcohol in his body to be able to ignore her comment.

'Yeah. Plant released him after he kicked me off the case. They cancelled each other out.'

'So what are you going to do now?'

'Whether I'm directly involved or not, the investigation is still ongoing. Eric will need all the help he can get.' Sighing, James placed his glass onto the table. 'I can't leave without completing this case. It's my first. But if I can't be involved, I don't know what I'm going to do. There is nothing in this town for me. So the only option seems to be to wait it all out. For how long, I don't know.'

Massaging his arm, Cindy said, 'Nothing in this town for you? What about me? I'm connected to this all too, you know. There is nothing I can do here either.'

Shifting, James turned and looked at her. His eyes that had been happy to look at her changing to ones that refused to concentrate. 'What do you mean?' he asked, sharper than he meant.

'Catherine White isn't the only one to have lost someone to the Damascus Devil,' she told him, folding her arms and sliding away.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything,' James murmured, the alcohol starting to hit. He wasn't sure what he had said. 'But you're right. You're not the only one, I had forgotten.'

'Dad was the first, you know. Well, you found him, of course you know,' she added bitterly. 'And you think Belberra is the one responsible?'

'He is,' assured James. 'He was caught red handed.'

'Have you found anything solid to help you find the girl?'

Beside him, he felt Cindy's body stiffen next to his own as she asked the question. James's face darkened. 'Not anymore. It's all gone.'

'What about the rest of his gang?'

'What?' James frowned. He focused on Cindy's inquisitive, concerned face. 'What rest of his gang? You're the second person to ask that.'

'Oh.' Cindy shrugged, wordlessly picking up her glass. 'I do a bit of investigative reporting, on the side. It's what dad did.' Looking away, she tapped her foot, ignoring his puzzled looks.

'We're looking,' James hesitated, unsure how far he could go.

Relaxing, Cindy shuffled closer, linking her arm in James's. 'So you do know there are more of them.'

'Well, I guess. We also knew there was a cult out there. There've been rumours since the start. We just didn't think they were connected, but it makes sense. Make enough spooky noise and spread enough scary rumours to keep people away, they end up the perfect group of carry out murders. Listen, Cindy, this isn't good talk, I'm sorry.'

'I'm a grown girl, James,' she reprimanded him. 'I've changed a lot since we saw each other last. I want to know.'

'Okay.' James placed down his glass of wine, stretched out and crossed his arms. 'You want to know what I think? I believe the cult is merely the front. From what I read up, you either get asked directly to join the group or else you have to go through an initiation. The Cold is a pile of crap. Seasons change regardless of how many people you murder. Since the cult first came into circulation we started off with one death, each year the numbers have been steadily growing. You can take this as either the Cold's thirst for blood sacrifices has grown, or Belberra is using the murders as another means. Usually the cult leader has ulterior motives. I believe Belberra is using the murders as an initiation. If you kill someone, you're in. He then has leverage. The question is, what's he leading towards? It's immaterial unless we can connect the cult to the murders and then to the kidnapping and shut them down. But I can't do that because every time we get close to something, the evidence disappears, people are uncooperative and the person we're after gets away.'