“I don’t know,” said Josie. “We know nothing about this guy.”
“We’re only here to talk,” said Gretchen. “He ought to know that. He’s got what? A half-dozen voicemails from you telling him that?”
Josie nodded. Other than his possibly having tampered with Amber’s surveillance camera, and possibly having gotten into an altercation with Amber on the street two weeks earlier, there was no reason to think that Gabriel Watts would try to harm them. They had no reason to believe he was armed or dangerous, and taking on three police officers carrying weapons would be monumentally stupid. Still, she couldn’t quell the sense of dread building in her stomach.
“Let’s just do this,” Josie said.
Gretchen led the way to the front door. A broken slab of concrete made up the crooked stoop. Josie’s breath preceded her. She pulled the coat tighter around her shoulders as Noah pounded against the front door.
They waited, their clouds of breath mingling. No sounds came from inside. Noah knocked against the door again. “Gabriel Watts,” he called.
From her periphery, Josie saw a movement in the window to their left. The curtains swung. She reached forward and knocked again. “Mr. Watts,” she called. “My name is Detective Josie Quinn from the Denton Police Department. I left you several messages. I’m here with my colleagues. We really need to talk with you.”
Nothing.
Gretchen knocked on the door and called his name. Still no response. Josie repeated her words from earlier. This time, she added, “It’s about your family.”
A moment later, a pale face peered through a crack in the door. Dark eyes regarded them warily. “I don’t want to talk,” said Gabriel Watts.
Noah, Gretchen, and Josie held up their credentials but he didn’t glance at them. “Please leave now,” he said. “I don’t want to talk.”
Josie said, “Mr. Watts, this is really important. It’s about your family.”
“My family is the church.”
Gretchen said, “Gabriel, we know you had contact with your sister Amber in the last two weeks. We know that you tampered with the surveillance camera she kept outside her front door.”
There was a long silence. His eyes darted to each of them and then upward, as if he was deciding how much to say. “Yes, I saw her. Now please go.”
He started to close the door. Josie raised her voice. “We need to know where she is, Mr. Watts.”
The door stopped closing. Only an eye was visible. “I can’t help you.”
Noah said, “Then tell us what you talked about. Amber told people close to her that she hadn’t spoken to anyone in your family in ten years; that she wanted nothing to do with any of you; so why did you go see her? Why did you tamper with her camera?”
Slowly the door swung open, revealing Gabriel in a pair of jeans, long-sleeved black T-shirt, and black sneakers. His wavy brown hair was tousled and flat on one side as though he’d been sleeping.
“Are you awake?” he asked.
Josie stared at him. “What?”
He stepped outside, pulling the door partially closed behind him. His gaze burned with intensity as he addressed her directly. “Are you awake? Are you living in faith? Have you found your faith?”
Gretchen said, “We can talk about faith another time, Gabriel. Right now, we have a very grave situation involving your family.”
Noah said, “We’re looking for your sister, Amber Watts.”
Gabriel turned his dark eyes to Noah. “I told you I can’t help you.”
Josie said, “What did the two of you talk about?”
His head swiveled back to Josie. “Amber had not found her faith. She wasn’t awake. There were things she needed to atone for and I was encouraging her to do that. I wanted her to wake up to her faith, like the great pastor preaches, and do the right thing.”
Josie was finding it difficult to reconcile this wild-eyed disciple with the charming, easy-going Thatcher Toland. Vivian must have been right that Toland didn’t know Gabriel personally. Josie wasn’t sure he would want to, if he ever met Gabriel.
“What was the right thing?” Noah asked.
“That’s between Amber and God.”
Gretchen said, “This is very serious. If you know where Amber is then you need to tell us or take us to her.”
His piercing gaze stabbed at Gretchen. “I told you already that I can’t help you.”
“After ten years, you just decided one day that Amber needed to ‘wake up?’” Noah said. “Is that how it works?”
“I do what God guides me to do,” Gabriel said. “If you want to talk about your faith, we can continue. If not, then I’d like you to leave.” He placed a hand on his doorknob.
“When is the last time you saw your sister Eden?” Josie asked quickly.
“I don’t know,” replied Gabriel.
“How about your mother?” said Gretchen.
He didn’t answer.
Noah said, “Where were you Monday morning between four and five?”
For the first time, Gabriel’s eerily calm expression faltered, confusion flickering across his face. “I was here,” he answered. “Sleeping.”
“Alone?” asked Gretchen.
“Yes, alone.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?” Noah said.
“No. Why would someone need to corroborate that?”
“Because,” Josie said, “that was about the time that your sister, Eden, was being marched to her death at Russell Haven Dam.”
A brief series of rapid blinks overtook his eyes. “What does that mean? To her death? What are you saying?”
“You don’t know?” said Noah. “Your sister, Eden, is dead. Murdered.”
His gaze dropped to his feet. Words poured from his mouth in a tone so low, Josie couldn’t make them out at first. Then she realized he was praying. “Mr. Watts,” she said. “Please try to remember the last time you spoke with Eden.”
“Eden was trying to find her faith,” he muttered. “She was trying, but I’m not sure that she or Amber could ever rectify the things they did. Especially Amber. Pastor Toland teaches us to drag our sins into the light and own them and then to do everything in our power to rectify them, but some things can’t be fixed. I’m sorry for what’s happened to my sisters, but you must understand that there are some sins you cannot atone for.”
Josie and Noah exchanged a bewildered glance. Noah said, “What sins? What sins did your sisters commit that they couldn’t come back from?”
“That’s between them and God. All the rest of us can do is try to guide others in the right direction. We have to help people wake up to their faith.”
“Did you help Eden?” Josie asked, wondering if leaving Eden in the dam was some sick sort of baptism.
“I can only help those who want to be helped.” The mumbled prayers started again.
“What about your mother?” asked Gretchen. “Did she want to be helped?”
He finished his prayer and answered, “My mother abandoned her sinful ways a long time ago. She has only to rectify. When she is ready, I will help her.”