Free Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination by Colleen Coble Page B

Doing something would be better than sitting around staring at four walls. He needed a diversion to make him forget that his wife was dead and his daughter still missing.
    Nick packed his Durango with camping gear, a rifle, and canned food. Dressed in camouflage gear, he drove to the camp, about 130 miles from Bay City. Fully expecting to have to convince the group that he was sincere, he was surprised to find that no one challenged him when he passed into the confines of the enclave. The lane had more muddy potholes than gravel, and he bottomed out several times before he reached the heart of the camp.
    There were more cabins than he expected and fewer tents. It almost looked like a small frontier town. Men dressed in camouflage hunting clothes and boots meandered across the road and into the woods. Nick saw one man with a dead fox slung over his shoulder.
    It wasn’t hunting season.
    Nick parked his SUV in the lot by the church and got out. With a smile that felt as tight as his new boots, he nodded to two women who walked along the side of the road. They carried buckets of water in their hands.
    “Good morning. I was wondering where I might find Moses Bechtol?” His research indicated that the man with the biblical name was the leader of the organization.
    The women looked at each other. “Maybe you’d better wait at the office,” one said finally. She pointed toward the church building. “He’ll be back sooner or later.” The women avoided Nick’s gaze and moved away from him.
    From the women’s reactions, he had to wonder what this Bechtol guy was up to. When the women were out of sight, Nick moved between the buildings. Everyone seemed to be out. The cabins were deserted.
    He reached the outermost cabin and turned to go back to the church when he heard a woman cry out. The cry seemed to come from the woods. Entering the trees, he saw another cabin hunkered under a huge oak. He glanced around to make sure he wasn’t seen, then approached the building.
    The cabin door rattled, and he darted behind the trunk of the big tree. A man stepped through the battered door. Burly and sporting a blond beard, he attached a padlock to the cabin door, then stalked off. Nick waited until the man disappeared through the trees, then, careful to make no sound, moved to the cabin.
    The door was solid wood, though old and nicked, and the shiny padlock was sturdy. He moved around the cabin, searching for a window. The back of the cabin had one tiny window. The glass had been busted out, but bars covered it. He cupped his palms around his eyes and peered into the dark interior. A woman sat on a small cot, her head in her hands.
    “Hey,” Nick whispered. “You okay?”
    Her head came up, and her tearstained face swiveled toward him. Terror marked the twist of her mouth.
    He smiled to reassure her. “My name is Captain Andreakos, with the Michigan State Police. I can help you.”
    The woman looked familiar, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen her. About thirty, she had long black hair and Asian features. Slim and attractive too.
    She stood and cast a fearful glance toward the door before sidling to the window. “Moses will be back. Get me out of here.”
    So the big man was the group’s leader. “I need a bolt cutter for the padlock. I’ll have to go get help.”
    She gripped the bars. “No, don’t leave me here. He’s kept me prisoner for three weeks!”
    Then it clicked. Nick had seen her face on a missing-persons poster. “You’re Iris Chen?”
    “Yes!” She rattled the bars again. “Please get me out of here.”
    “Don’t worry. Let me get some help. Is anyone else held prisoner here?” He couldn’t help but hope he’d find Keri. “Any children?”
    “No one, just me. Please get me out.”
    “I’m going to go for help now.”
    “Hurry!” She hesitated. “Don’t hurt anyone though.”
    He nodded, though hurting these scumbags seemed justifiable. Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped it open. No