Blood of the Faithful by Michael Wallace

Author:Michael Wallace [Wallace, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Police Procedurals, Thrillers & Suspense, Thriller, Series, Thrillers, Crime
ISBN: 9781477821145
Amazon: B00MBTLDIQ
Barnesnoble: B00MBTLDIQ
Goodreads: 23222520
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2015-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

“Elder Smoot was lying,” Miriam said when the Christiansons were back outside and climbing into the truck.

“How do you know?” Jacob asked.

“Trust me, he wasn’t very good at it. When his son made that comment about the roads, Smoot was caught flat-footed. He’d already claimed Eliza couldn’t hear him, but then his son seemed to contradict him.”

Jacob started the truck and drove slowly back down toward the valley. Lights were on at Yellow Flats to the west. That would be Sister Rebecca and the other women roused by Lillian.

“Smoot said Eliza struggled to hear him, not that she couldn’t hear at all.”

“And think about the timeline,” Miriam continued. “Eliza calls on the radio, waking Ezekiel up. No way he hears that and goes right back to sleep. Smoot then tries to raise Blister Creek, sees lights in the valley. You’re telling me that fifteen minutes later Ezekiel is still in his sleeping bag? He didn’t bother getting out to take a look through his binoculars?”

When she put it that way, it did sound suspicious.

“And did you notice that the bunker door was unlocked?” she added.

Another good point.

“So you think they made up that part about Eliza?” David asked. He sounded upset. “She never called in the first place?”

“Who knows?” Miriam said.

Jacob gave it a moment of thought. “Forget the radio, why wasn’t Ezekiel out of the sleeping bag in the first place to see what was going on in the valley?”

“He was still in the sleeping bag,” Miriam said, “because he’s all hot and sweaty from running down from the cliffs. It’s got to be five miles from where that elevator came up, around the back of the reservoir, and down to the bunker. He didn’t want us to see that he’d been running.”

“It smelled strong in there,” David said. “I thought it was because men had been sitting in there around the clock. Men who no longer take regular showers.”

“It always smells rough,” Jacob said. “But a little worse tonight, I think.”

“A lot worse,” Miriam said. “I noticed right away.”

“Then why didn’t you say something?”

“Because you keep hammering on me to play it cool. Didn’t seem to be any rush, and it would have been hard to prove, anyway.”

“Hmm.”

Jacob wasn’t buying it. So now she was turning cautious?

He stopped the truck when they reached the valley floor. “I’m trying to decide. Do I check out Yellow Flats or drive back up to confront the Smoots?”

“What would you do that for?” David asked.

“Yeah, let’s go back to town,” Miriam said. “Maybe something has turned up.”

Jacob shrugged. “Maybe something has turned up at Yellow Flats too.”

“There are only women out there,” she said.

“I’m not so sure. I haven’t been out there for a while. But you’re probably right.” Jacob shifted out of park and turned the truck around to head north again.

“What are you doing?” Miriam asked.

“I told you, I’m going to confront the Smoots.”

“Don’t do that. It’s dangerous.”

Jacob hadn’t yet started driving again and now he turned on the cab light so he could study Miriam’s face.

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