Tomas’s Trials, page 4
“Of course,” Tomas agreed, “and she’ll be stuck yet again. What was her marriage like?”
“It was terrible,” Amber replied. “He got into this group without her knowledge or agreement. One day she came home from work, and the house had been cleaned out, and he said he was taking her for a ride, and they moved into this place. She didn’t like it here and didn’t really want to stay, but she didn’t have a whole lot of recourse at that point.”
“Interesting,” he murmured. “So how did the guy die?”
“Nobody really talks about it.”
“What does she say?”
“She’s not talking either. Don’t forget. We’re always under surveillance, and it’s never something that you can trust. There is never an opportunity to talk without somebody listening in.”
“That’s a problem,” he murmured again.
“Not quite what you expected, hmm?” she asked him.
“Preppers are one thing,” he noted, “but this sounds much more like a cult.”
“It is. I agree.” She smiled, with a nod. “The thing is, don’t ever underestimate these guys.”
“But every cult has a leader,” he asked, looking at her intently. “Who is leading this one?”
“He keeps a low profile, but, as far as I can tell, … Baxter.”
Tomas hadn’t met him yet, but he thought he recognized the name. “I might have heard that name,” he noted. “Baxter, huh?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Baxter is the only name I know. I’ve met him a couple times, but he doesn’t really have anything to do with me.”
“And maybe that’s a good thing,” Tomas said.
“Absolutely. I have more than enough to deal with on my own,” she muttered.
“Yeah, I agree with that.” He nodded. “So we’ll do what we can, and we’ll get this cleaned up.”
“I don’t think any of it’ll be easy,” she admitted, with a heavy feeling in her chest. “Honestly, some guys are on the fringe here who seem to be looking for an explosion to happen.”
“Yeah. When these guys don’t get an outlet for all that hate and violence,” he explained, “what happens is they create their own explosions within the groups. Often groups like this don’t stay together, simply because they don’t have enough of a physical outlet to blow off steam.”
“That could be what’s happening here.” She shrugged. “I really don’t know, but it’s unnerving.”
“It is,” he noted. “An awful lot of testosterone is here.”
She nodded. “Too much.”
He smiled, as he looked over at her. “Considering you’re responsible for bringing more in, thunderbolt—”
She looked at him in surprise, then smiled at him calling her thunderbolt. She had been expecting it in a way. She had been called hardheaded and stubborn before, so she didn’t take offense. Thunderbolt was a nickname she liked. “Yeah,” she agreed, “I guess I am responsible for some of it, but let’s hope that it’s your testosterone that’ll focus on the job and get me out of here, before it all goes to shit.”
“You and your friend.”
“Yes,” she agreed, “and before it all goes south.”
“Are you expecting it to go south?”
“I’ve never expected it,” she noted, “but, with some of these guys around here, I’m not exactly sure.”
“And what have you seen that you feel is problematic?”
“Outside of stockpiling weapons, which I know is perfectly legal in Texas,” she noted, “I haven’t seen too much in the way of illegal dealings here. But I do know that some people here I am somewhat close to, like Peaches, and others to a degree, they won’t talk about what happened to my friend Annette or to Peaches’s husband. They won’t talk about what’s troubling them. They are too afraid. It’s unnerving to say the least.”
He nodded at that. “Do you know where they’re buried?”
“No.” She frowned. “Not exactly. But I know it’s somewhere on the other side of the property.”
“Are we allowed to go pay our respects?”
She stopped, looked at him in surprise, and replied, “You know what? I’m not sure. But that would be a good thing to find out.”
“It would be a really good thing to find out,” he agreed. “And it would give us a chance to figure out just what leeway we have or don’t have.”
“Count on having none,” she noted calmly. “And you’ll be prepared for the answer that they’ll give you.”
“Right.” He nodded. “Sounds like a fun place.”
“If you’re part of the team and if you’re somebody they’re willing to keep, then absolutely,” she replied. “But, other than that, not so much.”
“What about the women?” he asked. “The other women?”
“Some of them you have to watch like a hawk,” she admitted, “because they appear to be completely innocent and, you know, fragile and sweet. Like they may even be trying to get out of here,” she added. “But then you hear them talk behind your back, and you realize that they’re all just part of the same nightmare.”
“Sounds like you’ve been having fun,” he teased.
“Hell no,” she stated quietly. “Just so much is going on here that I feel like there’s more than can really be explained.”
“Okay,” he said. “That’s all good. We can sort it out one step at a time.”
Looking up at him, she added, “I’m warning you specifically about Mary. She’s Baxter’s partner. She’s … she’s somebody you must steer clear of. More so because you’ll think you never have to watch Mary. Or you might have. But she is deep. I’m pretty convinced that she plays both sides, then takes everything back to Baxter. You’ll see him occasionally, but he does like to stick to himself. He’s rarely even at dinner.”
“It adds to the mystery,” he noted, with a nod.
“If that’s what it is, then yeah,” she agreed. “Yet seems we already have enough mystery in this place though.” She shivered in the cool air, even though they were inside.
“What about heat?” he asked, looking around. “Do you have any?”
“I do, but then I pay for it,” she muttered. “Everybody has to contribute in places like this, and, since I’m not paying rent because, you know, … how can you earn any money in a place like this? So I just help out,” she added. “I don’t feel like I should add to the problems.”
“Does Peaches live alone upstairs?”
Amber nodded. “It was given to her and her husband when they moved in, but, in the group’s eyes, she doesn’t have any right to stay here all alone.”
“Ah, so then the property itself is a problem too?”
“Exactly,” she said, with a nod. “In a case like this, I think that property becomes a bigger problem than most of us realize.”
“If you realize just what these people are like,” he replied, “it does make sense.”
“Maybe it makes sense to you, but, for me, it doesn’t make any sense at all,” she admitted, with a half smile. “A lot is going on here that isn’t comfortable, and I would just as soon get out of it all.”
“And the only problem you’re concerned about is—”
“Peaches,” she stated. “Plus, I would like to know what happened to my friend Annette.”
“In order to get one out, we might not get the other set of answers.”
“We just need as much information as we can uncover right now,” she replied, “because, when I get out, I’m not coming back in.”
Tomas believed her, evidenced by that resolute sense within her that she was coming to the edge of whatever it was she had committed to doing here. “Hold tight,” he murmured. “Just a little longer to give me a chance to see what I can find.”
“You can’t find anything,” she declared. “That’s the problem. Whatever was to be found is not down here. Maybe at Baxter’s but not here.” With that, she picked up a napkin and quickly drew a map of the houses. “That’s all I know,” she stated.
“When did you last see Baxter?” he asked, and she frowned, as she thought about it.
“Quite a while ago.”
“Any idea if he’s even still alive?”
She stared at him in surprise. “I assume so, of course, but I guess I don’t have any reason to believe one way or the other.”
“Okay,” Tomas said, “and what about his number two?”
“That would be Brutus, I guess,” she replied, a shadow crossing her face, immediately dimming her features. “He’s the guy who took me to town. I begged and pleaded for a chance to get out, so I could meet up and see you. I knew what was happening in town, and he allowed me to tag along, but I’m pretty sure it was more because he is trying to get me for himself. But he’s a cagey one so I’m not sure.”
“Is that the guy who was trouble at the dinner table earlier?”
“No, that was a different one, Cal. Brutus wasn’t there tonight. I don’t know where he was. Maybe he’s finding out more about you.”
“Maybe.” Tomas shrugged. “I’ll individually interact with all of them at some point, so that is inevitable.”
“Maybe,” she murmured, “but remember. A lot of firepower is here, and plenty of people don’t have a problem using it. Particularly if they get to use it illegally.”
“And is Brutus one of those?”
“I’d definitely say Brutus is gun-happy.” She nodded. “He likes to flaunt all his firearms. Yet I’ve never seen him fire any of them. I can only tell you what I’ve seen, but it seems to me that a couple guys are quite happy talking about killing for the sake of killing, and Brutus is one of them.”
“Good enough,” Tomas noted. “When I have a chance to meet with the real leaders, Baxter and Brutus, you need to point out each before either surprises us.”
“Yeah. Of course I will let you know.”
At that, a heavy banging came on her front door. She gasped and stepped closer to him. In a low voice, he asked her, “Is this a normal thing?”
She shook her head. “No, never. Honestly, I’ve made it a point of coming to my room every night, right after doing the dishes, and locking myself in,” she replied, looking terrified. “I don’t answer the door, and I don’t bring anybody over. Not ever.”
“So, what do you think this is then?” he asked, as he walked to the door.
“I don’t know. But I can tell you that it’s not good.”
He smiled at her. “Maybe we should open the door and find out for ourselves then.”
She immediately shook her head. “That’s a bad idea.”
“Sure, but we don’t have a whole lot of choice.”
And, with that, he opened the door.
Chapter 3
Amber barged up to the front door, now open, and plastered a smile on her face when she saw Brutus, clearly angry and red in the face. “Hey, Brutus. What’s the matter?”
“He’s the matter,” Brutus snapped, looking at Tomas. “What the hell happened?”
She looked at him in surprise. “What?” she asked, with what sounded like genuine shock. At least she hoped it sounded genuine. “What are you talking about? You know how long I’ve been waiting to see him. Why are you even bothering us right now?” she asked, stepping closer to Tomas.
Brutus looked at her in disgust. “I figured you were just lying.”
“Lying about what?” she asked, staring at him in shock. “About his existence?”
“Yeah,” Brutus said. “And I didn’t know until just now. I had dinner at my place tonight, so I didn’t meet your mystery man.”
“Believe me. They were all bugging me about Tomas. I’m sorry if his appearance was a surprise,” she noted. “Obviously it was a surprise for me too and a welcome one at that,” she said, with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for him for months.”
“I just didn’t believe that boyfriend line,” Brutus repeated, growing impatient.
Amber tried to calm her nerves. “Let me introduce you two now.” She then quickly made the introductions.
Tomas nodded and reached out to shake his hand. Brutus looked at him in disgust. “Office type, huh?”
“Definitely not the office type. And, hey, sorry to arrive unannounced.”
“Yeah, sure you are,” he said, with a hard look at Tomas. Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.
She wasn’t even sure what to say about that, but, as soon as she shut the door, she turned to Tomas. “Now that’s not normal,” she murmured. “In fact, this makes me even more worried.”
“He obviously thinks that you should be his,” Tomas stated.
“I never gave him any reason to think I would be in favor of that. In fact, he’s not been one of the grabby ones,” she muttered in a low voice. “He’s always given me the creeps because I never really knew where he stood on that issue. Honestly, I thought he might be gay, which, in this group, is not something he’d want outed. But he’s the one who took me to town. So maybe that was part of his motivation.”
“Understood, but, judging by the way he looked at you just now, he considered you his,” Tomas murmured. “So that’ll be a problem.”
“I don’t want it to be a problem,” she muttered. “I don’t want any of this to be a problem. I’ll try again to calm him down. We sure don’t need his ugly self on our asses all the time.”
“Maybe not, but you’ve stepped into something that’s ugly regardless.”
“What you’re saying is that I stepped into something that’s uglier than I had any idea of before,” she corrected. “I don’t think that Annette and the guy Peaches was with are the only two people these guys have killed.”
“Probably not,” Tomas agreed. “Once they get a taste for that kind of thing, it’s pretty hard for them to stop.”
She nodded slowly. “At the same time, it’s just pretty unnerving.”
He smiled, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Hold on tight,” he said. “The ride could get a little rough, but we’ll make it to the other side, okay?”
She looked over at him, smiled. “I wish I knew that for sure.”
He nodded. “You came here for a reason, so, if you want me to get you out now,” he stated, “I’ll get you out. Just say the word. I have no idea what excuse I’ll give them, but I’ll come up with something.”
She immediately shook her head. “No, we can’t leave Peaches behind. That woman’s been through enough.”
“You want to elaborate?”
“No, I don’t,” she replied. “I just know that her husband was very abusive, and everybody here knows it. She’s pretty damn sure that, if she hooks up with any of these men, it will be more of the same, and that’s the last thing she wants.”
“When you’ve already experienced being a punching bag, you don’t want to go back for round two,” he murmured.
“Exactly,” she agreed, looking at him in surprise. “You do understand.”
“Of course I do,” he stated, looking at her. “I’ve never quite understood why women stay in the first place, but I know that they do. Maybe getting her out of here will her set up with enough of a life that she can live in peace beyond this.”
“That’s my hope,” she agreed quietly. “But I know she’s also terrified. I don’t think she sleeps at night.”
“Anybody bothering her?”
“No, that’s outside the code,” she replied. “I mean, if she were to complain, then I’m sure somebody would step in and say something.”
“Maybe, but who would she complain to?”
“That’s part of the problem,” she murmured. “Mary is always watching, but I’m not sure exactly what side Mary is on anymore.”
“I think Mary will be on Mary’s side, and, if she’s partnered with the big boss, then you can bet that she’s providing information to him constantly, letting him know exactly how things are down here,” he murmured. “It’s just interesting that he keeps himself apart. And, like I said earlier, I just think that’s part of the mystery. The mystique that is required to keep people believing in him and this place.”
“So how would you do it?”
“Stay out of sight, have my various spies watch for any dissent in the group, and, when there’s a problem, come down on them, raise complete hell. Then clean it up, lay down the law, and fade back into the shadows.”
She smiled. “Exactly. You know how they think.”
“Oh, I do,” he agreed. “The question is whether Baxter himself understands just how badly things will go to hell down here.”
“I think he’s also getting older, and he may be unwell. I don’t know if …” She hesitated. “I would say cranky, but I don’t know. I think he’s not … I mean, I don’t know if he’s as bad as the rest of them.” She fumbled on the last sentence, lost in her racing thoughts.
“He might be the one making the rules,” Tomas noted calmly. “He could be the one who’s running it all from the shadows, and maybe there is a chance that he gave the order to kill Peaches’s husband. He might even have pulled the trigger himself,” Tomas added, looking at her calmly. “You cannot trust anybody in a scenario like this.”
“Got it,” she replied, then relaxed ever-so-slightly. “You know what? I’m really glad you’re here.”
*
“And not a moment too soon from the looks of many things.” He didn’t like any of what he had heard so far. The sooner he got Amber out of here, the better.
“No, I think you’re right,” she agreed, shuddering. “I didn’t realize how much getting into town would stress me out.”
“There are other ways to make it to a meeting,” he murmured.
“You don’t understand,” she argued. “I’m not allowed any electronics—although Saul hooked me up. It’s a sexist thing here, where none of the women have phones, computers. Maybe Mary does. Anyway I feel like I’m being watched all the time.”
His gaze sharpened. “And do you still think that?”
She frowned and then nodded. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“Anybody in particular?”
She shook her head. “No, not really. It’s just, just … everybody, I guess.”
