“I think we need to take you to the station for questioning.”
Jump took her hand. “I don’t think that’s necessary. She was with me when the fire started.”
Dooley didn’t look happy about Jump’s interruption. His lips pinched tight, and he looked from her to Jump. “If this was arson, which that’s what they are calling it now, you’ll need to provide answers about your location. It would be best if you came willingly.”
“I can answer questions.”
“Not at the station,” Jump said. “There is no reason to take her there. She can answer questions here, or at the place where we are staying.”
“Where are you staying?” Dooley asked.
Jump pulled out his phone. “I’ll send you the address. Give me your number.”
She hated that Jump was involved in this. She didn’t want him to suffer because of her. She was about to speak up and tell Jump to stay out of it when the officer started speaking.
“Do you have any idea who could have set the fire?”
Years of conditioning and punishments to keep her mouth closed came back. Telling the police anything about The Faithful would put a target on her back. But there already was a target on her back and it was getting wider each passing day. Staying quiet would sign her death warrant.
“Grayson.”
Dooley rolled his hand like he needed more. But what more did she have? Grayson didn’t have a social security number or birth certificate. She knew his last name as Gold. She doubted the police could track him down because The Faithful taught their people how to stay untraceable.
“What is his last name?” Officer Crane asked.
“It’s Gold. But he doesn’t have a social security number or birth certificate. There wouldn’t be any trail of him.”
Dooley looked up from his notebook. “No documentation? So no driver’s license?”
She shook her head. “The cult is called The Faithful. We, well they, flew under the radar.”
Crane blew out a breath and shook his head. “How? Like how did they exist? Do you have a license?”
“I do.”
“How?” Dooley asked.
She hated that she had to divulge the worst things that had happened to her to a total stranger. But telling them this would be the only way she could escape the blame for the fire. If they didn’t believe her, she could end up with charges for arson. She wasn’t rich, had no connections, and had been born into a cult. They wouldn’t see her as innocent, and that wasn’t just the cult upbringing talking.
“I was lucky and was taken in by CPS when I was a kid. They got me a birth certificate and a social security number. By the time I made it back to my parents, I’d been documented. When I left the cult, I could get a driver’s license and rent an apartment. I’ve moved around, trying to stay hidden. But Grayson found me.”
“Why would he be searching for you?” Dooley asked.
Pressure built behind Blakely’s eyes and spread, leaving her dizzy. How much should she tell? She’d already told them about her being in CPS custody. The police had no reason to believe her because little of her story could be checked with facts. The Faithful lived beyond facts. They lived where nothing in their lives could ever be tracked by the government.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jump put his arm around Blakely, hoping that his touch would be a steadying presence. There wasn’t any way he would let the police interview her on her own. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and he knew the police would use her as a scapegoat and pin this on her since it would be the easy answer.
“So she was beside you all night?” Dooley asked.
“No. But I have an alarm on the unit, and she didn’t know the code. If she’d opened the door, I would have gotten an alert on my phone. There were no alerts. She didn’t leave my apartment.”
Dooley didn’t look convinced. Jump worried that he would have to contact one of the JAG officers and get them to back him up. He didn’t want JAG involved. He didn’t want anyone from the Navy involved. His buddies wouldn’t hold this against him, but someone from the officers’ ranks could.
“I can show you the alerts.” He opened the application on his phone and held it up for Dooley to see. The man frowned then flicked his gaze to Blakely.
“Why haven’t we ever heard of this cult before?”