A Light in the Desert

by Anne Montgomery

  Kate grasped on and he pulled her up. She dropped the pebbles in her palm to the dirt.

  As they walked back toward the media pen, Kate suppressed a smile. He was nothing if not persistent. Had been since the day she met him eight years earlier while covering a murder case. But Kate always shied away from dating cops, worried that, with her job, a boyfriend in blue could become a conflict of interest.

  “I really should get back to Phoenix,” she said.

  “Why? You planned to be out here tonight, and I can use your help. Someone with your experience covering crimes.”

  “That’s a bit of a stretch.”

  “Not at all. You ran into plenty of criminals when you were on the city beat. Seems I recall you doing a number of investigative pieces on crimes on the res, as well. Am I wrong?”

  “No, those stories were on unresolved sexual assaults on Native land. They earned me two Emmys.”

  “That’s one of the things I love about you. Your modesty.”

  Kate couldn’t help herself. She laughed and shook her head.

  “Seriously. I’m formally asking for your assistance, Kate Butler.” Cooper was unwilling to let Kate slip away again. “I have some interviews to do with the girl’s mother and stepfather. Drive along with me.”

  “Interviews? Well, that’s certainly right up my alley.”

  He paused, a frown creasing his face. “While I hate to even ask, you’re not working for any other media organization at the moment, are you?”

  “No, Coop. Fear not. I am credential-less. Just an average civilian.” With no prospect of any work at the moment and nothing to go home to. “But don’t you think your boss might get just a little squirrelly knowing you’re driving around with a reporter while you’re on the job?”

  “Let us not forget, you were officially deputized yesterday.” They made their way to the white Yuma County Sheriff’s Department Blazer.

  “That’s true.”

  “And besides, what Buddy doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Cooper opened the passenger side door. “I don’t see a problem. Now get in the truck. And if you’re a good girl, maybe we’ll get ice cream.”

  Kate slugged him on the arm.

  Leaving the wreck and media crews behind, Cooper turned the truck onto Hyder Road. Having Kate along on police business was not really kosher, but the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office was not the Phoenix P.D. Things were a bit more laid back in the boonies. It was one of the reasons he’d given up his job in the city.

  “So, did you get anything new on the kidnapping?” Kate asked.

  “I learned that the mother’s name is Miranda Garcia.”

  “The Feds gave you information?”

  “No.”

  “You were listening in, Officer Cooper?”

  “That’s Deputy Cooper, missy. And no one asked me to move away from the tent. Wasn’t my fault. Anyway, I just got the same information from Buddy.”

  “Pretty casual out here, aren’t they?”

  “Just the way I like it. Anyway, I was surprised. I never knew Miranda had a child.”

  “Miranda? You’re on a first-name basis?”

  “Like you said, things are casual out here. And there aren’t many people. Everybody knows everybody else, or at least knows of them.”

  “Yet, you didn’t know this woman had a child?”

  “Nope. Seems odd. Though being a mother might not be something Miranda would want to advertise.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, she’s … um …”

  “What?” Kate rose one eyebrow and stared at Cooper. “Spit it out.”

  “She’s … um … very attractive. Hispanic and Native American. Exotic. Pours well into a tight pair of jeans, and—”

  “Okay. I get the picture.”

  After a minute of silence, Cooper spoke up. “Just so you know, I’ve never hit on her. Never even been introduced. I’ve just seen her out and about. Not my type.”

  “What? You don’t like your women attractive and fit?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do, but Miranda Garcia is reputed to be a world-class, scary bitch.”

  “Ah.” Kate bristled at the term that had often been used in her direction. It seemed any strong, accomplished woman had to be a bitch. Maybe the appellation should be worn as a badge of honor.

  “Look, Kate. When you meet her, you decide.”

  “Is she at the hospital?”

  “She was released this morning. Her injuries are fairly minor. Her husband picked her up.” He checked his watch. “And they should be home by now.”

  32

  A BATTERED BLACK pickup rested on uneven ground in front of the fenced yard, as chickens pecked at the dirt around the vehicle’s bald tires. Sea foam green aluminum siding, faded and weathered, gave the tiny house a single source of color. A cracked cement slab formed the front step.

  Cooper knocked and waited. Kate stood by his side.

  The door opened. A slender, handsome man of Mexican descent with dark chocolate brown eyes, smooth skin, and perfect white teeth stood before them. Despite having spent a fortune on her mouth, enough to put numerous dentists’ progeny through college, Kate’s teeth would never look as good as Eduardo Garcia’s.

  “Mr. Garcia, I’m Deputy Cooper of the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office.” He displayed his shield. “This is Kate Butler. May we speak with you for a few minutes? I would like to ask you some questions about your daughter.”

  Kate, who considered herself a master at the art of reading an interviewee, detected a change in the man’s eyes at the mention of the girl.

  “Of course. Please come in.” Eduardo held the door open.

  “Who is it?” a woman’s voice called from another room.

  “It’s the police.”

  “I already talked to them. If they don’t know where Kelly is, tell them to go away.”

  “I’m sorry,” Eduardo apologized. “Miranda is feeling poorly. She hit her head in the accident.”

  “And I’m sure she is terribly worried about your daughter,” Kate said.

  “Yes, of course. Please sit.” He pointed to a shabby red couch that took up much of the living room, then pulled over a straight-back wooden chair and sat before them.

  “Mr. Garcia,” Cooper began.

  “Eduardo, please.”

  “Eduardo, did anyone have any reason to want to take Kelly?”

  “No. No, Kelly hardly knew anyone. She was … is very gentle and sweet.”

  “Kelly has some sort of birth defect. Is that correct?”

  “Yes. Her face is … different.”

  Kate had a hunch. “Is she competent mentally?”

  Eduardo’s faced creased into a frown.

  “Did she attend school?” Kate said before he had a chance to answer.

  Eduardo shook his head.

  Kate looked at Cooper and stood. “Thank you, Mr. Garcia. We’ll be in touch.”

  Cooper, surprised to be cut short, followed Kate out into the yard. Suddenly, the front door flew open behind them and bounced hard off the aluminum siding. Miranda stood unsteadily in the doorway exuding a wobbly, but haughty air. Disheveled, raven-colored hair swarmed over her shoulders giving her that just-got-out-of-bed look. Kate wondered if somewhere in the woman’s distant past there was a royal ancestor or two. She certainly demanded attention like some sort of spoiled princess.

  “You want to know where my daughter is?” Miranda shrieked. “Go talk to that stupid religious woman. She’s the one who wanted to take Kelly from me.”

  “You mean Elect Sun?” Cooper asked.

  “You ask her. Go ask that freak!”

  Eduardo reached out and tried to guide Miranda back inside.

  She wrenched her arm away.

  “Thank you for your help,” Cooper said. “We’ll look into it.”

  As they drove out of the yard, Kate asked, “Elect who?”

  “Elect Sun,” he answered curtly. Perhaps he’d made a mistake bringing Kate alo
ng. “They use the title Elect to signify that they are God’s chosen people. Think of it like a nun; Sister So-and-So.”

  “They. Who are they?”

  Cooper ignored her question. “Do me a favor, Kate. Don’t end my interviews for me. I’ll let you know when we’ve asked enough questions.”

  “Got ya, chief.” Kate had overstepped her bounds. But she was used to running interviews. Hadn’t even given a second thought to jumping on Cooper’s turf. Still, she didn’t apologize.

  Five minutes later, Cooper turned the Blazer down a dirt road lined with towering date palms. A wooden sign, once brightly painted in rainbow colors but now faded, proclaimed The Children of Light—on Land of God’s Ownership.

  “Where are you taking me?” Kate watched as the house at the end of the lane came into view. “Jesus, Coop.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Exactly what?”

  “Jesus.”

  “Quit playing games. Where the hell are we?”

  “Hell is very off target.” Cooper eased the truck to a stop on the gravel and switched off the ignition. “This is the compound of the Children of Light.”

  “I got that much from the sign.” Kate stared at the sprawling ranch house surrounded by an orchard of citrus trees and shaded by a towering cottonwood.

  Cooper turned to face her. “The Children are waiting for the Second Coming.”

  “Really? And will that be sometime soon? Because I have some bills due, and it would certainly be nice not to have to worry about paying them. Also, I’d like to make some plans so I’ll be ready for Armageddon. Now there’s a story I’d like to cover.”

  Cooper was silent for a full count of ten. “Listen, Kate. Don’t be such an ass. These are nice people. Nobody said you have to subscribe to their beliefs, but I won’t allow you to be rude to them. They are old and kind, and if you can’t be polite, you can wait here while I talk to them.”

  “Shit, Coop. I’m just an old recovering Catholic. On the 12-step program. Religion doesn’t always bring out the best in me. It’s a knee-jerk reaction that I’m truly working on. But when you’ve been smacked by a sadistic nun or two, it’s hard to take any of that power and glory and loving God stuff too seriously. Trust me, I’m much more tolerant of believers than I used to be.”

  Cooper rolled his eyes. “Sorry I jumped on you.”

  “Let’s go meet the Children.” Kate reached for the door handle. “I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  Elect Peter met them at the door. “Deputy Cooper. Please come in.” He led them into the living room, which Kate was surprised to see was dominated by a timeworn upright piano and a drum set. A tall, silver-haired woman with a patrician bearing and blue-gray eyes introduced herself as Elect Sun.

  “Have you come about Kelly?” she asked after the introductions.

  “Then you know?” Cooper held his cap in his hands.

  “That she’s missing? Yes. We called the information line that was posted by the authorities as soon as we heard about the accident. They said nobody by Kelly’s name or description was on any of the injured lists.”

  “Are you sure she got on the train?”

  “Yes, Deputy Cooper. I took her to Hyder Station myself. Watched her get on the train with her mother.” Elect Sun’s voice broke. “She waved at me from inside the car.”

  “We just came from Miranda Garcia’s home. I have to tell you, Elect Sun, she seems to think you took the girl.”

  The woman stood stunned by the accusation. Elect Peter moved to her side and placed his arm protectively around her shoulders.

  “Please understand. I don’t believe you had anything to do with Kelly’s disappearance. I just thought you should know what Miranda is saying.”

  Elect Sun nodded. “We just want what’s best for Kelly and her baby. She’s been living with us for the past few months. Miranda no longer wanted her because … because …”

  “Eduardo Garcia is the baby’s father,” Kate finished for her.

  “Yes,” Elect Sun said. “And we would be happy to have Kelly live with us. Her child, as well. But Miranda wants to be rid of her. She claimed she was sending the girl to her sister in Los Angeles, but no one around here has any memory of Miranda ever having a sister. God knows where she was really shipping Kelly off to.”

  Kate and Cooper eyed one another, but said nothing.

  “We want her to stay with us until she’s old enough to go out into the world on her own,” Elect Peter explained. “We want to educate Kelly. We’ve been working on her reading skills since she’s been here.”

  “She’s sixteen and doesn’t read?” Kate said. “Is she mentally handicapped?”

  “No, I don’t think so. But she hasn’t ever attended school. She has a facial deformity, which combined with other symptoms, is called Moebius Syndrome,” Elect Peter explained. “She can’t physically express herself like you would. She can’t smile or frown, because she’s missing certain muscles in her face, or the ones she has don’t function properly. But there’s nothing wrong with her mind. She’s just never had anyone take an interest in her education.”

  “Why not?” Cooper asked.

  “You know Miranda, Deputy Cooper.” Elect Sun frowned. “She seems to think Kelly is ugly. Finds it difficult to believe she produced what she sees as an unattractive child. From what the girl’s told us, only Bryan Kelly was ever kind to her.”

  “Bryan was her biological father?” Kate asked.

  “Yes,” Elect Peter answered. “He killed himself about eight years ago. When he came back from Vietnam, he seemed all right despite his wounds. But he began to drink. Then he started passing out regularly. He also had Agent Orange poisoning. Eventually, he couldn’t hold a job. He just kept getting weaker and developing more medical problems. They say he would have ended it much sooner had it not been for Kelly.”

  “He’s buried out in the old Pioneer Cemetery,” Elect Sun added.

  “There’s something I don’t understand,” Kate said, changing tack. “How, in this day and age, in this country, can a child exist who doesn’t go to school? Don’t the authorities come and ask why she’s not enrolled?”

  “We live just a few miles from Kelly’s home,” Elect Sun explained. “And until a few months ago, we had no idea she existed.”

  “Her mother kept her locked up?” Cooper asked.

  Elect Peter shook his head. “No, it wasn’t like that. I think Miranda just didn’t want to advertise the fact that she had a child who was different. Kelly mostly stayed home or wandered in the nearby desert. And there aren’t that many people out here.”

  “Folks tend to mind their own business.” Elect Sun slumped into a chair. “If they ever saw Kelly, they were probably put off by her face and ignored her.”

  Elect Peter sighed and shrugged. “She just fell through the cracks.”

  “So who would want to take her?” Kate asked. “Here’s a kid nobody even knows, yet someone went to the trouble of kidnapping her from a wrecked train.”

  “We’ve been struggling with that.” Elect Peter glanced at Elect Sun. “We don’t know.”

  “Does she have any friends at all?” Kate inquired.

  Elect Sun looked like she wanted to say something, but held back.

  “No friends,” Elect Peter answered. “But she did have a problem with a boy recently.”

  “Who?” Cooper asked.

  “We don’t know his name. But he tried to sexually assault her.”

  “Did you report it to the police?” Cooper asked.

  “I’m afraid we didn’t,” Elect Sun admitted. “She wasn’t harmed and no one knew the boy. We didn’t want her to go through any more trauma, especially with the baby. You understand, don’t you Deputy Cooper?”

  Kate knew that he didn’t. He and Kate had both attempted to interview rape victims over the years who wanted to remain silent, allowing the perpetrator to attack others. But this was not the time to fight that battle.

  “We
are just grateful Jason came along and rescued her.”

  “Who is Jason?” Kate and Cooper asked in unison.

  33

  RAMM SLEPT FITFULLY and, despite the aroma of fresh coffee and bacon, awoke groggy and agitated. He pushed himself off the couch, showered, dressed, and walked barefoot into the kitchen where he found Kelly had already prepared breakfast.

  “Smells great,” Ramm forced a smile. “I didn’t know you could cook.”

  “I always cook at home. My mom doesn’t like to, but my stepfather and I both enjoy cooking. He taught me.”

  Ramm sat at the table. Kelly ceremoniously placed a platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, and French toast with maple syrup before him. She produced an empty glass from the cupboard and poured fresh-squeezed orange juice from a white pitcher.

  “Aren’t you having any?” he asked when she sat facing him at the table with only a glass of juice.

  “I ate a long time ago. While you were sleeping. Are you feeling better today?”

  “Yes,” he lied. “Much better.”

  A cool breeze laced through the open window. Kelly tilted her head. “Maybe a walk would be good.”

  Later that day, Ramm, Kelly, and Dog took the easy trail that led past the main Rowley Mine shaft and down into the soft, sandy wash. They made progress slowly, owing to Kelly’s pregnancy and Ramm’s general malaise, stopping numerous times along the way; once to watch a darting hummingbird, his crimson collar fiery in the sunlight as he busied himself gathering nectar from the tubular red flowers of a chuparosa.

  Ramm watched the girl. The baby was due soon, but he had no fear for Kelly. He’d witnessed women in Vietnam bring children into the world without so much as a whimper. While Kelly was small, she was fit and strong, and if there were any problems, he could use his medical training to help.

  Perhaps, he rationalized, there was no real need to quickly return her to Miranda. The woman obviously didn’t want Kelly around. Wouldn’t it be better to let her have the baby among friends?

  A jackrabbit burst from behind a slab of fractured white quartz. Dog yelped and bolted, but with only three good legs she was no match for the hare, which darted back and forth, finally ducking into a fall of boulders at the base of a basalt mound.