Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Eliana was about to ask him what he meant by destiny when Sylvia strode into the waiting room, carrying a briefcase-sized leather bag, and spotted them. She wore her usual slacks and blouse with heels, as if it were the afternoon and not almost midnight after a long day.
Compared to the very put-together director, Eliana felt a little disheveled and in need of a hair tie.
Sylvia took a seat one down from Tony. “Update.”
Before Eliana could answer, he said, “Everything here has been quiet.”
Eliana frowned. “Are you expecting something to happen?” She glanced between them. “Or are you talking about me?”
Her mom had called her back, but she just texted to tell them she couldn’t talk right now.
The last thing she wanted to do was hash this out over the phone when they were thousands of miles away and she was exhausted.
It would be much better to have the conversation in person when they were here, and when there was less threat of people dying.
“It’s been a busy day,” Sylvia said. “I’m glad things here have been quiet. And I am sorry about your friend. The Shrine will do everything we can to assist with Luci Ryson’s medical care.”
“Not that I’m not grateful, but are you guys really doing that just out of the goodness of your hearts?”
Sylvia glanced at Tony, then back at her. “You know we consider you family. And you consider Luci to be family.” She shrugged, as if that settled it. “Would you like an update on what I’ve discovered?”
Eliana tapped her phone on her leg. “Sure.”
What else did she have to do when she was waiting for Carlos to come back with his coffee?
Sylvia reached into her bag and pulled out a paper file.
She held it on her lap but didn’t open it.
“A request came in today from City Hall that we host the meeting of religious leaders that is happening tomorrow night. They were considering us as one venue on a short list, and made this decision today. The location will be kept secret from everyone except those attending. Which includes Lydia Rosenberg.”
“I’m guessing you’re going to tell me I should stay far away from the meeting.” Eliana tipped her head to the side. “Won’t it be a little awkward when they realize you’re holding criminals in your basement prison cells?”
Sylvia waved her hand, a gold watch sliding down her forearm. “Our guests will not be a problem. They’ve been picked up by state police and transported to a facility elsewhere in the state.”
As if that was intended to be an explanation that would satisfy Eliana’s questions.
What about due process? If the Shrine really thought that her being their boss was her destiny, they were going to have to start explaining things to her more thoroughly than that. Or doing things differently altogether.
Was this what her mom had thought when she took over Dominatus?
Kenna Banbury had dismantled the group from the inside, but first she’d conducted a full inventory of the entire organization.
Every stone had been uncovered. No matter how ugly what was underneath had been, the truth had come to light in a way her mom could then ensure it was all shut down.
It was possible Eliana could do the same thing with the Shrine. But was that really the destiny she wanted to claim for herself?
Tony shot her a pointed look. “I don’t think you should stay away from the meeting.”
“And if having the event at the Shrine is a setup?” She couldn’t think what the plan could be, or who was behind it, but she’d been through far too much lately. All of it was based on who people thought she was rather than who she actually wanted to be.
“We’ll deal with it.” Tony seemed so certain.
Sylvia opened the file on her lap. “We’ve been digging into Lydia Rosenberg since you provided us with her name.”
Eliana said, “I’m guessing she’s not just a lawyer.” Or not just a feature in Eliana’s dreams since she was a child. There had to be a reason Maizie had told her to get out of Chicago the second she heard Lydia’s name.
Sylvia passed a paper to Tony, who scanned it. Then said, “We’ve discovered several unsolved murders committed in the same way as Doctor Splitfield was killed. Same MO. Hands nailed to the table, tongue cut out. Tea set for two.”
The image of it rolled through Eliana’s mind. In a way that she knew she would never forget seeing the doctor left like that.
Sylvia continued, “The locations of these unsolved murders track with where we know Lydia has lived throughout her life.”
“Hold up,” Eliana said. “I thought she was born and raised in Chicago.”
Sylvia shook her head. “Almost all of the bio that exists for Lydia online is a fabrication. We traced her college years back to childhood in Arizona. Your mom actually met her, in a fashion, in Phoenix years ago. Lydia was eight at the time, but already not a normal child.”
“Great.”
Sylvia closed the file. “She has been in and out of facilities for people with psychoses, but never officially charged with a crime. We believe she considers herself to have a special bond with you, likely because of your mother.”
“She’s been coming after me. She even snuck into my apartment to bring me that blade you gave me after I lost it.”
Sylvia frowned. “That’s concerning.”
“It’s less concerning than being nailed to a table and having your tongue cut out.”
“Good point,” Sylvia said.
“So you believe that Lydia is the one who killed Splitfield? What about my neighbor?”
“I’ll get to the Dreamer in a minute.” Sylvia sniffed. “First, I need to know if the Reverence Sisters ever approached you after you moved here, early on. Maybe trying to recruit you to a Bible study.”
The only person who had ever invited her to a Bible study in Chicago was Carolena, but she wasn’t about to tell them that. Not when her friend was missing and hadn’t turned up yet. “The only person who ever knocked on my door was Patience. She had my mail, and we got to talking.”
Both Tony and Sylvia perked up hearing that.
“She’s my neighbor and she’s eighty-four.”
While they absorbed that information, she unlocked her phone and sent Carlos a text.
Where are you?
Then she turned to Sylvia. “So you think Lydia is the Mother of the Reverence Sisters? It could be she has a grudge against my mother, and that’s why they were trying to kill me. But it seemed like there was someone else involved as well.” She shook her head, confused by the whole thing.
“We haven’t been able to identify the Mother as yet.
” Sylvia paused. “But what we do know is that Lydia used to be in a relationship with Michael Edmondson. He’s the CEO of The Underground, the web collective who developed the Elysium app.
Their company has control of a whole lot of subsidiaries, including the pharmaceutical research group that developed those canisters used to dose people across the city with a chemical mixture that incorporated Elysium and some other drugs. ”
“So she’s connected to that as well?” This was starting to sound more like a justification for why Maizie had told her to leave town as soon as she learned Lydia’s name. But her sister couldn’t possibly have known all this.
Sylvia nodded. “Lydia Rosenberg is possibly now fully in control of the app.”
“Why is that?” Eliana shook her head.
“Michael Edmondson disappeared six weeks ago,” Tony said with a tight voice. “And no one has seen him since.”
That didn’t sound good. “You think she got rid of him and now she’s in control of the whole organization?
” Eliana paused a second. “And she organized the agreement between religious leaders. She is spearheading cleanup of the chaos that happened on the streets. She’s in the middle of everything, and you also think she’s behind it all? ”
“It could explain the connection to the dreamer’s death in your building. Maybe.” Sylvia shrugged. “Or she could have come to your apartment looking for you, found him instead, and decided to amuse herself.”
Eliana bit the inside of her lip. Sylvia didn’t even know about her current nightmare. But then how was she going to explain having seen the woman before she’d ever even met her in person? It was likely just some kind of bizarre way for her brain to cope with something she didn’t understand.
“Where does that leave us?” Eliana asked. “If she’s behind the murders, the canisters, and the app, but we don’t know if she’s the Mother or not.”
“We still need the FBI to ID the leader of the Reverence Sisters,” Tony pointed out.
Sylvia said, “But the meeting is tomorrow, so she’ll be in the Shrine.”
Eliana didn’t like the sound of that at all. “I think we are kidding ourselves if we think it’s all going to go smoothly, and nothing is going to happen. But I for one have no idea what she has in store for us. I think she might be capable of anything.”
Sylvia nodded. “You might be right about that.”
Eliana looked down at her phone. No text from Carlos.
“What is it?” Tony asked.
“Carlos hasn’t come back from getting coffee, and he’s been gone a while. He isn’t responding to me.”
“Luci might not be dead,” Tony said, “but it is still a form of grief to know that he won’t ever get her back the way she was.” His expression softened. “He might need some time by himself.”
She didn’t want to argue, because that would only make her feel self-centered, wanting Carlos here to support her when he was the one who needed support right now.
Or to be alone. But that didn’t mean her instinct wasn’t to hunt him down and make sure he was safe.
Everyone seemed to jump with the same sentiment toward her.
Why couldn’t she have the same protective instincts for the people she cared about? Especially now that Luci was safe.
The niggling question about her missing friend didn’t leave her mind.
Tony said, “What is it now?”
How did he know there was something on her mind? But asking that would provide her with an answer she probably didn’t want. One that had to do with how much she looked like her mother. “How much research have you done into Carolena Diaz?”
Sylvia frowned. “The standard background check that comes with all our employees. If there’s something to know about her, we would’ve found it.”
“So you’re certain she couldn’t possibly be the Mother of the Reverence Sisters, or part of the group?
” Before they could respond, Eliana said, “Most likely, that police detective is in charge of it, but I was wondering about Carolena. Maybe that’s why we haven’t been able to find her, and she hasn’t turned up dead either. ”
Eliana winced thinking about what she’d just suggested—that her best friend could be the leader of a dangerous religious group.
“Forget I said that.” She shook her head. “It’s more likely that it’s the detective.”
“Nevertheless, I’m going to call Laramee Fox at the FBI and find out what they have to say.” Sylvia stood. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Tony was staring at her.
“What?”
“You want to go and find Carlos?”
She nodded.
“Let’s go. I’ll keep you company.”
“I can defend myself, you know.” She shot him a look of her own. “I have my knife.”
“Good. With this Lydia woman out there, you might need it.”