Just Keep Sweet (The Compound Series) (8 page)

Nope, couldn’t be it. I protected women every day on the job; it was more than that. It had to be. It was
her
.

Shaking off my mounting attraction, I got down to business. I wasn’t doing either of us any favors by acting like a stupid-ass teenager in her presence.

“Did you bring the note? Is there anything we can use?”

Aspen reached into her bag, nodding. “Yes, but I’m not sure. I’ll leave that to the expert.”

I studied the note, rage building in my gut with each sentence. So much condescension and entitlement in one little piece of paper. When I reached the part about myself, I could feel my neck grow hot. There was no way he could know of my attachment to Aspen, but I felt as if he could read my mind. It creeped the shit out of me.

Aspen could read my face. “There’s nothing, is there?”

I shook my head, feeling defeated despite the anger flaring in my gut. “I’ve spent some time on our database, and it looks as though a few of the prophet’s customers in the ledger have quite the record.”

“Record?” she asked, following me to my desk. I pulled a chair around for her and gestured for her to take a seat as I finished logging into my laptop.

“Criminal record . . . some were busted for drugs, one was arrested for indecent exposure.”

Aspen knitted her brow. “What is that?”

“It’s when you show your naked body to someone unsolicited and in public.”

Aspen recoiled as if she’d tasted a sour lemon. “Who would do that?”

“Who would pay to spend time in the prophet’s room of horrors? We’re dealing with some fucked-up characters, Aspen.”

“Good point.”

“Sorry about the language.”

She shook her head and grinned. “I don’t even notice it anymore.”

I gritted my teeth. “That might not be such a good thing, Little House.”

“Hm.” She bit her bottom lip and looked down at the floor.

“What?”

“When you first called me that, I despised you for it. You were making fun of me and I knew it. It was infuriating. But now . . .”

I swallowed hard, looking into her eyes, overwhelmed by their subtle intensity. “Yeah?”

“You have no idea how nice it was to hear it again, to
be
here with you. I feel safe again, even though I know I’m not.” She shook her head. “Not in the slightest.”

“You
will
be,” I said with determination. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Aspen tilted her head to the side, studying my eyes as she narrowed her own. “I believe you.”

A knock at the door startled us both. Aspen jumped in her seat, and I clutched the arm of my chair as I looked up, hoping I wouldn’t see Sergeant Ross beneath the doorframe. Instead, I saw another member of the FLDS, a woman I’d never seen before.

“Holly?” Aspen said, confusion in her voice.

The young woman, not much older than Aspen, had deep blond hair and dark eyes. Her presence was meek, unassuming, like most of the women I’d encountered from the compound. Her mouth was dropped open as she stared at us.

“Aspen?” she asked, looking as confused as Aspen sounded. “What are you doing here?”

Aspen rose to her feet and crossed the room. “You shouldn’t be here,” she snapped. “How did you find me?”

Holly shook her head, her skin turning a deep shade of red. “I wasn’t . . . I mean, I didn’t know you’d be here and I didn’t mean to
interrupt
.”

“You interrupted
nothing
,” Aspen said, a defensive bite in her words.

“Of course not.” Holly closed her eyes, shaking her head in embarrassment before locking eyes with me, her eyebrows raised in question. “My husband sent me. Detective Cooke?”

I stood and joined the two women at the entrance of my office. “Yes, please, come in.”

Holly closed the door and stared at Aspen and me, directing her attention back and forth, back and forth, but saying nothing.

“You said your husband sent you?” I asked, glancing at Aspen, who swallowed hard and interrupted my confusion.

“The prophet,” she deadpanned. “Holly’s married to the prophet. She delivered the phone to me . . . and the note.”

“I didn’t read it,” Holly insisted, “and I haven’t read this either.”

With trembling hands, Holly placed a sealed envelope in my hand.

“Detective Jonathan Cooke” was written in the same chicken-scratch handwriting as the note Aspen shared with me only minutes before.

“I should go,” Holly said, turning to the door.

“Stop.” Aspen jumped in front of Holly, blocking the door. Holly, clearly rattled, backed away, peering at me with desperate eyes. Aspen closed the gap between them and pressed one finger to Holly’s chest. Holly gasped as Aspen demanded information.

“Why are you here? Are you working for him?”

“Of course not. You know how I feel about that man.”

“I thought I did. But now you’re running his errands.”

“Because I have to, Aspen. I have no choice. He’s still my husband, and the prophet.”

Aspen scoffed, shaking her head. “What did he tell you about Jonathan?”

“Nothing, I promise you. When I returned home after delivering your phone, I was a little defiant. Clarence is punishing me by sending me here. He knows I have no interest in doing his bidding; that’s why he chose me. Don’t you see that?”

“I don’t know what I see anymore.” Aspen shook her head, disgust painted across her delicate face. “I thought you understood me.”

“I do,” Holly said with wide eyes. “You have no idea. That man makes my life a living . . . well, you know what I mean without me having to spew vulgarities.”

I dealt with liars each and every day. Holly was telling the truth, I could feel it. “Holly?”

“Yes.” She seemed relieved that I’d interrupted the stand off between her and the skeptical Aspen.

“Will you help us?”

“With what?”

“The prophet. We’re going to take him down. He’s betrayed everyone in your community, and it’s time he is brought to justice.”

“Yes.” Holly’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I can help. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Aspen turned to me, daggers in her eyes. “Jonathan, no. We can’t trust her.”

“Yes, you can!” Holly said, voice raised, tears building in her brown eyes. “I despise that man with every fiber of my being. I’ll do whatever you need me to do, I swear on my faith.”

“Don’t do that,” Aspen said, her eyes pressed tight, her hands secured to her hips. “That’s blasphemy.”

“No, it’s not.” A tear fell down Holly’s cheek. “I know he’s going to marry Ruthie. And I know he’s trying to get inside your head, to torture you as he does me. I can’t stand it anymore, and I want to help you. Please let me.”

I walked to Aspen, my fingers grazing her elbow. She flinched at my touch, and I did my best to ignore it. “What do we have to lose?”

Aspen sighed, looking up at the ceiling, hands still clinging to her hips.

“Everything.”

“Not true,” I disagreed. “Look, we have just a few weeks to get a warrant before he takes Ruthie as his wife. We’re on borrowed time and we have to act fast, we need information, as much as we can possibly get. Holly’s in his home. She can get us information without anyone knowing; she can fly under the radar.”

“Under the
what
?” Annoyance filled her voice. She hated when she couldn’t understand me, and this turn of phrase seemed to push her over the edge of her already developing anger.

“No one will notice her.”

“He’s right. No one pays attention to me there. I’m practically invisible as it is.”

Aspen said nothing but looked back at Holly, who was clutching the doorknob as if her life depended on it.

“He sent you to me, and now he’s sent you
here
. You’re not invisible, Holly, not in the slightest.”

“He’s punishing me, that’s all. Tomorrow he’ll go back to pretending I don’t exist while I wash and iron his clothes. That’s all I am to him, a laundress. Please, Aspen, let me be something else. Let me help. I’ll do whatever I can, I promise you.”

Aspen crossed her arms in front of her chest and cocked her head to the side. “And what do you want in return? What do you expect from me? From us?”

Holly paused, swallowed hard, and tilted her chin up with confidence. “I want out.”

Aspen gasped and her reaction came in an angry whisper. “Out of our community?”

Holly wiped her teary eyes with the back of her sleeve. “There’s no place for me there. I want another chance, another start, and I can’t find that within the church.”

“And you want us to help you leave? No,” Aspen said. “Absolutely not.”

“I don’t understand. Are the rumors not true?”

“What are you talking about?”

“A few years ago, you helped one of your sister wives leave. You drove her off the compound.”

Aspen’s nostrils flared. “You have
no
idea what you’re talking about. That was a special circumstance. Lehi beat her within an inch of her life; I had no choice.”

“Neither do I.” Holly shrugged. “If I stay there, I’ll die, Aspen. It’s killing me. Clarence is slowly depleting my will to live.”

Aspen rolled her eyes. “You’re just being dramatic. Once Clarence is gone, you’ll be fine, you’ll see. I’m not going to help you leave.”

“I will,” I interrupted, ignoring Aspen’s volcanic stare. “I’ll get you out.”

“Jonathan!”

I turned to look Aspen in the eye. It pained me to see her anger now directed at me, but I didn’t care. There were larger issues at hand, and she wasn’t seeing the big picture. “Do you want to save Ruthie or not?”

“Of course I do! How can you even ask that?” Her voice was incredulous, insulted.

“Look, we
need
to save your girl, and I think Holly is exactly who we need to help us do that.”

Aspen said nothing, but nodded, her eyes pressed shut. I gestured for Holly to take a seat. She wiped the last of her tears from her cheeks, sat in the chair, and released a sigh of relief.

I returned to my desk chair and closed my laptop, tearing the end of the envelope from Clarence Black. “Now, let’s get started.”

Chapter 8

Dear Detective,

It has come to my attention that you are taking advantage of a poor, misguided (and possibly deranged) woman of the faith. Because I cannot determine why you would entertain her foolish delusions, I find myself questioning your integrity and professionalism. In fact, I must assume that you are aiding her for personal gain. Perhaps she is trading sexual favors for your assistance . . . perhaps you just like playing with the minds of those who cannot think clearly for themselves. Whatever the case may be, I must warn you that if you do not cease all investigation of myself and of my people and do not leave the woman in question alone, I will be forced to report you to the chief of police. Take heed of my warnings, sir, for I will do everything necessary to protect my people, even those who betray me. You, however, are fair game. So, watch your back . . . or you’ll be crushed like the insect that you are.

The one true prophet, Clarence Black

I’d studied the prophet’s note more than a dozen times. Aspen was incensed when she read it, taking offense to his insinuations that she was delusional and stupid. But once I explained that he was doing whatever he could to break our bond, our camaraderie, our
partnership
, she understood the point of the letter. She understood his plan.

Divide and conquer.

“What is that mantra?” I asked her. “The one you always tell your children and the other wives.”

“Keep sweet,” she said with a nod.

“Yes, that’s it,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “Just keep sweet. Never let him see you sweat. We’ll win this . . . we will. You know what this letter tells me?”

I flicked the paper before tossing it on my desk.

“What?”

“He’s nervous. He’s feeling vulnerable and scared. You scare him, Aspen.”

“Impossible,” she scoffed, shaking her head.

“No,” Holly interjected. “I agree. You have him rattled. He thinks if he can get Jonathan to abandon you, you won’t have any support and you’ll give up, you’ll give in.”

Aspen’s nostrils flared and her cheeks grew red again. Slowly, she said behind gritted teeth, “Never. There are too many lives at stake. I can’t let him hurt anyone else. I can’t let those gentiles ruin any more lives.”

Lines formed above her nose. “I . . . I’m sorry, I didn’t mean you. You know that, right?”

“Of course,” I assured her, brushing my hand against her elbow, grateful that she didn’t flinch again at my touch. Although it was quite possible that it was a deliberate, guilt-ridden action, I didn’t care. My relief was all consuming.

“What gentiles? And what do you mean there are
too many lives at stake?
I’m so confused by this discussion,” Holly said.

The dread on Aspen’s face was apparent. With her brow knitted and her eyes pleading, I knew she wanted to give Holly as little information as possible.