Unaware by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-21T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

The situation was exploding. A third murder? Cora felt a sense of unreality as she took in the news. This meant that the killer might have been on the prowl when she and Gabe were there last night. She needed information and to know the circumstances, and fast.

“What happened last night?”

"It was one of our part-time members, Tony Inkley. He got promoted recently. His ceremony was a few days ago." Pierre spoke rapidly, and Cora thought that in his shocked state, he was probably spilling out more information than he'd otherwise have done.

“And what happened to Tony?” she asked.

“He must have arrived early this morning, ready to start with the milking shift. His car was in the parking lot, and his body was lying beside a hedge a few yards from where his car was parked. As soon as someone else arrived, they saw him. He was stabbed in the chest with a pitchfork."

"Someone knew who he was and where he was," Cora said.

It was a different MO again, and she was now leaning strongly toward the killer being a man. Stabbing with a pitchfork spoke of brute strength.

"You've got someone at large in your grounds," she said. "Or else one of your followers has gone rogue. Maybe one of your inner circle?"

His face darkened. "They would never do that. Never!" he insisted.

"Okay," Cora decided. Time to get to work, to put her misgivings aside – for now, anyway. This was no senior member who'd been wearing a white gown and participating in a weird ceremony. This man was someone who'd been working as a farm hand and arriving to milk the cows. Yes, he was part of the foundation but not closely involved. He wasn't one of the elite circle. She felt this killer had crossed a line – or maybe it was just that she was perceiving the situation, and the line, differently now.

“How often do people get promoted in your foundation?” she asked. “How often would someone achieve higher status?”

“About two or three people a week,” he said. “Tony only moved up a minor level.”

“Two or three people a week. So why aren’t all of them dead? Why these people? Why Heidi and Serena and Tony?” She exchanged a glance with Gabe. “We need to figure out why they were targeted. Because if we can, it’ll help us to work out who this killer is.”

“What about getting demoted?” she asked.

"Nobody gets demoted. Once you have earned a level, you keep it. But people do leave, and they are permitted to. And yes, from time to time, we see people aren't working out, and we ask them to step away. Even if they have achieved some progress through the levels, it can occasionally be necessary, but it's usually the lower level people, or those not yet on the ladder, who are asked to leave.”

Cora didn’t miss the sense of ownership, of pride, in his voice as he spoke about the levels and the achievement. He walked his talk.

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