by Elaine Meece
Tristen grinned. “She’s only forty, and he’s sixty-eight.”
“At least he listened to me on the prenup,” Cynthia added. “But now, she’s not extremely fond of me.”
Tristen laughed. “You insisted on it.” He pulled the SUV into the hotel lot and parked. “I think Cynthia would have kidnapped her dad before the wedding if the bride-to-be hadn’t signed a prenup.”
Brice chuckled. “Glad I have boys. They won’t care.”
“Wait, let me grab my jacket in back. It got a little chilly last night.” Cynthia said. “Open the back.” She climbed out and walked around.
Tristen and Brice waited at the rear corner of the van.
She reached for her jacket. “How did Mallory’s doll get in here? She had it in the room last night.”
Tristen snapped his fingers. “She must’ve left it this morning when she helped me carry in the snacks and drinks from the car. I’m almost positive she had it with her.”
“Mallory is probably frantic wondering where it is.”
Brice stared at the creepy doll. Its eyes opened and moved around.
“My name is Jenny. I want to be your friend. My name is Jenny. I want to be your friend.”
“Turn that thing off,” Tristen said. “I need to tell my father not to send anything that talks.”
They laughed.
Cynthia flipped a little switch on back. “It’s off.”
They discovered the kids at the pool. They appeared to be having fun. Their nanny, Sierra, seemed more like a kid herself. The boys had taken right up with her.
“Let’s meet in the lobby in an hour,” Cynthia said. “That’ll give everyone a chance to change clothes.”
Brice nodded, then glanced back at the pool. “Boys! Get out.”
Gabe came running. Shawn pouted and did an eye roll, but climbed out.
At the same time, Cynthia rounded her group up and told them to go get dressed.
Tristen waved. “See you in an hour.”
In the elevator, his boys stood with towels around them, shivering.
“It’s cold,” Shawn said.
“I’m freezing,” Gabe added, his teeth chattering.
The elevator doors opened, and the boys ran to the room. Brice unlocked the door, and his sons shot off like a rocket to the bathroom.
By one that afternoon, they sat in the hotel’s restaurant. His boys had ordered their favorite food⸻cheeseburgers and fries.
Cynthia and Tristen’s girls had ordered chicken tenders and fries.
He’d been afraid when the adults had ordered steak, that Gabe or Shawn would holler for it also. Cynthia insisted on covering all their meals.
Mallory held the doll in her left arm. Obviously, she’d turned the damn thing back on. Its eyes kept moving.
“Mallory, didn’t I tell you to leave that doll in the room?” Cynthia asked.
Mallory shrugged.
“Mal, when Mom tells you to do something, you need to listen,” Tristen added.
“But Jenny insisted on coming.”
“Give me the doll,” Tristen ordered.
Mallory sighed. “She likes being with us.”
“Give it here,” Tristen ordered. “I’ll give it back later.”
Mallory’s bottom lip poked out as she handed Jenny over.
Tristen turned the doll off. Within seconds, it came back on. He flipped the switch again.
Again, the doll’s eyes opened. “I’m Jenny. I want to be your friend.”
Tristen opened the back and removed the batteries. This time the doll remained silent.
“Glad I have boys,” Brice said. “No talking dolls.”
“My robot talks,” Gabe said.
“Be sure to leave it at home.”
Cynthia pushed her plate back. “Let’s finish up. We’re going to Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum and then Clark’s Planetarium. We may even squeeze in the Natural History Museum.”
Shawn and Gabe’s eyes filled with excitement.
Out of the blue, Gabe spoke up. “Is Annie coming with us?”
“No, she had other plans,” Brice said.
Gabe put his elbows on the table. “Well, I like her.”
“Can she go to a movie with us again?” Shawn asked.
Brice choked. He hadn’t planned to mention their evening with Annie.
Cynthia and Tristen shared an acknowledging glance.
Brice needed to explain before they jumped to the wrong conclusion. “We ran into her at the theater, and she joined us.” He decided it was time to change the subject. “Should we cancel the cookout Sunday? It seems a little disrespectful to Mr. Garner.”
Cynthia shook her head. “It’s not like it’s a party. We already had it planned.”
Brice nodded. While finishing off his food, he thought of Kayla Miller. If she were the one responsible for the drone, what was she trying to accomplish? Why follow him? She reminded him of a feral cat sharpening her claws.
♦♦♦
Annie wiped her eyes. Leaving Megan behind had left her devastated. A knock on the motel door startled her. Leaving the chain latched, she opened it.
Two men stood on the other side.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m Sheriff Roberts and this is Deputy Thompson. You’re gonna take a little ride with us.”
Annie recalled what her sister said about the sheriff being a part of the group. “Let me grab my purse.”
“You won’t be needing it,” Sheriff Robertson said.
Her gun was in the purse. She had no choice but to leave it behind.
Annie unlatched the security chain and opened the door, then followed them to his patrol car. The sheriff opened the door, and she slipped in back.
They climbed in front.
Her muscles flinched when the doors locked. “May I ask what this is about?”
“The letter you sent me.”
“How’d you know I was in town?”
“Not many outsiders come our way.” He drove to the edge of the parking lot. “The motel mainly stays in business from locals having flings.”
She thought of the sheets she’d slept on and hoped they were clean.
“Lem mentioned you had returned.”
“The motel clerk?”
“Yep. He remembered you from before, remembered you’d asked a lot of questions about Cactus Point. I know you were in the store this morning the same time as your sister. Did you get to speak with her?”
“I tried, but Megan refused to talk. May I ask where we’re going?”
“To the commune.”
Annie’s heart lodged in her throat. She didn’t want to end up buried in the desert.
“Here put this on,” the deputy said.
She tied the bandana around her head, covering her eyes. “Why do I have to wear this?”
“They don’t want outsiders disrupting the privacy of the commune.”
If they didn’t want her to see, it meant they intended to return her to the motel room instead of burying her in a shallow grave. The thought eased some of the tension from her muscles.
Annie had paid close attention to the direction they had driven when leaving town. The patrol car smelled like motor oil and burgers. Apparently, they’d eaten before picking her up.
The car crossed a railroad track. She tried to imprint in her mind the exact bouncy motion as the vehicle as it crossed it. She mentally counted as they drove.
At two hundred, the vehicle made a right turn. She counted another three hundred before the car took a sharp left. This time they drove over cattle crossings and stopped. The window rolled down.
“Here to see Hawkins,” Sheriff Roberts said.
“He’s expecting you,” a man said. “Drive on.”
The car rolled over gravel. Rocks popped up and hit underneath the car. They had to be at the commune.
A short time later, the car stopped again. They escorted her inside a wooden structure. She smelled candle wa
x. Once inside, someone removed the blindfold.
Women, men, and children of all ages filled the pews inside a primitive sanctuary. Little faces peered from bonnets and hats, staring with interest.
Up front, a tall, older man stood. “I’m Joseph Hawkins, the leader of this group, and a prophet sent by God. I understand you spoke to your sister today in town.”
She nodded. “I tried to get her to leave with me.”
“Why didn’t she?”
Before answering him, Annie thought carefully. If she said something different than Megan, it would be devastating for her sister. “Look, she didn’t take time to explain. I’d like to know myself why she wants to stay here.”
Hawkins stepped down from the altar and stopped in front of them. “Why didn’t you leave with your sister?”
Megan’s eyes held fear, yet she smiled at the leader. “I want to be where Libby is. My daughter is happy here. And now that I’ve accepted God’s will, I am too. Dan’s a good husband.”
Annie’s stomach dropped. Her sister’s proclamation seemed so real. Had they done something to her since that morning?
“So, you see,” Hawkins said, “she’s not being held against her will.” He turned to a young girl. “Tell your aunt how you’re treated here.”
Annie realized the girl was Libby.
“We are loved here. This is truly where God wants us to be.”
“If they want to leave, they can go with you now,” Hawkins added.
Megan shook her head. “No, like I said, I don’t want to leave. The outside world has nothing I want. I have found true joy with Dan.” She turned to Annie. “Dan and I are having a baby.” She smiled at Dan and took his hand. “Don’t bother coming back in September. Tell Mom and Dad I love them, but I’m staying.”
Annie had almost been convinced Megan had meant every word of it until she mentioned September. Then why would Megan choose to stay when he offered to let them walk out? The problem still centered around Libby.
Another thought occurred. Hawkins wouldn’t have let any of them leave. They could’ve ended up dead. Megan had written the only way anyone left the group was in a coffin.
Megan placed an arm around Libby. “I want to help prepare Libby to be a good wife and mother. With my blessing, she’ll marry Mr. Hawkins at the end of July.”
Annie fought to speak her mind to their leader. Instead, she nodded. “May I hug them both?”
Hawkins nodded. “You are welcomed to give up your life in the outside world and join us. Then you could be with your sister and niece on holy ground.”
Annie shuddered at the thought. “No, this wouldn’t be the life for me.” She hugged Libby first. The girl tensed under her touch. “Take care of your mother.” Then she hugged Megan. “I love you.”
Annie assured herself Megan’s pledge to remain at Cactus Point was to convince them not her.
The sheriff handed her the bandana. “Put it on.”
As she was guided to the car, she tried to see through the cloth but couldn’t. After lowering her into the backseat, the sheriff and deputy strolled over to some people. She could hear them talking but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Judging from the distance of their voices, she didn’t believe they could see her in the car.
If they caught her with the mask down, it might cost her, her life. She had to chance it. Because now meeting Megan at the store wouldn’t be a means of escape. Her sister would be watched anytime she went into town.
Annie would have to come up with another plan before July.
She lowered the bandana just enough to see, then cocked her head and peered out the window. Children and dogs ran about. A lot of old houses, trailers, and barns covered the space. The church where she’d been taken stood in the center of the commune. One building’s roof was partially made from a large billboard sign that someone had taken down. The sign had big red letters and a picture of a red bull.
Hearing the gravel crunch beneath their feet, Annie pulled the mask over her eyes.
Flying over at a low altitude, she’d be able to recognize the commune. Problem was Annie didn’t know how to fly a plane.
Back in town, Sheriff Roberts stopped the car. “You can uncover your eyes.” He turned and peered over the back seat. “You heard your sister say she wants to be there. No one is forcing her to stay.”
“I’m not happy about it, but I have to accept her decision.”
“Don’t come back here trying to cause trouble.”
Annie shook her head. “I won’t.”
She climbed from the patrol car, then glanced back at him. “I’ll head back first thing in the morning.”
“That’s not an option. You’ll leave town now.”
“Am I allowed to stop at the diner to eat?”
He nodded. “After you eat. Head out.”
After checking out of the motel, Annie drove to the small café on the far end of town. She’d half expected the sheriff and his deputy to escort her to dinner.
A bell over the door rang, when she entered. The tables had blue and white gingham table clothes. Mostly ranchers sat around the tables. Of course, then she reminded herself that the men at the commune were mostly ranchers.
She ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and salad. The waitress returned with her tea.
While waiting for her food, Annie considered two things. She needed help getting her sister and Libby away from the commune, and it wouldn’t be easy. It’d be a dangerous mission for whoever she recruited. Could she convince Evan to help her?
“Do you know anything about Cactus Point?” she asked the waitress when she brought her order.
The girl shook her head. “Smart people don’t talk about it.”
No one in this town would help her.
She’d almost finished her lunch when the sheriff and his deputy entered the café.
Time to get out of Dodge.
Chapter Eight
Leaving the diner’s parking lot, Annie ignored the sheriff’s warning and turned toward the commune. After five or six miles, she came to the railroad track they had crossed. The car rolled over the track with the same bouncy sequence of motions as before.
She counted to two hundred and came to the road where Sheriff Roberts turned off. After counting to three hundred, she found the turnoff for the commune. It was too great a risk to take it, so she kept driving.
Where does this road go?
Annie continued driving on the road, but it twisted around and headed south. A narrow road branching off headed up a small mountain. She took it hoping to get an aerial view of the valley. If another car came from the other side one of them would have to back up.
When a wider section appeared in the road, she pulled over and parked. She dug the binoculars from her bag, then left the car and walked to the edge. From years of flying, she estimated she stood two thousand feet above the land below.
The late afternoon sun still sprayed light over the Arizona valley, giving a panoramic view. She adjusted the binoculars and did a visual sweep of the entire area. The farms and ranches ran into another one. Endless fields of rolled hay and cows grazing came to view. Irrigation systems ran across many of the farms. Some of the land had been taken over by cacti. In the distance behind the land stood rugged reddish mountains.
Her breath hitched. The barn with the red bull on the roof came into focus. Now, she knew where the commune was. On the opposite end of the wild uninhabited area, she saw something odd. It looked like it could’ve been a small airport at one time. A hangar stood next to a long strip of brown gravel and soil. As she pivoted her stance, she zoned in on old single engine airplanes.
From her vantage point, she spotted the patrol car cruising down the road below. Her heartrate increased. She wondered if they were looking for her. Had someone seen her turn and drive in the direction of the commune? They drove past the road leading up the mountain.
Annie blew out a breath of relief. She needed to leave. But she couldn’t afford
to run head-on into the sheriff coming off the mountain road. Instead, she’d stay put until it was dark.
Annie returned to her car. She removed some paper and a pen, then etched out a map. She drew in squares for the surrounding farms. The commune backed up to the desert area and behind that was the old airstrip.
Asking Evan for help popped into her thoughts. Would he do something so risky?
Annie heard something move on the front seat and gasped.
The big scorpion inched closer. Its tail raised.
“Ooo, how’d you get in here?” Then she recalled leaving the door cracked.
It moved toward her.
Annie grabbed the binoculars and slapped them down on top of it. After a few minutes, she assumed it was dead. Using her shoe, she scooped the dead scorpion up, rolled the window down, and tossed it out, then quickly rolled the glass up.
The sun faded behind the red rugged hills faster than Annie had anticipated. She had to drive down now. Would she run into the sheriff?
♦♦♦
Thursday night, Brice stared at his sons asleep in the double bed beside him. They’d had a big time and were exhausted from the three museums. His phone rang, playing the Star Wars tune. Not wanting to wake the boys, he answered it quickly not stopping to see who was calling. He hoped it was Shea. “Hello.”
“I want to fuck you.”
His breath hitched. “Who is this?”
The caller disconnected.
He sat stunned. While the voice had definitely been female, it had been distorted, making it impossible to recognize. It wasn’t Shea. She’d already done that to him in divorce court.
It had to be a wrong number. Someone prank-calling their boyfriend must’ve dialed him by mistake. But if that were the case, why use a voice scrambler?
His phone rang again. He looked at the number this time. His private investigator. “Hello, Richard. Any news?”
“One of your rats met up with Kayla Miller today. I have pictures of their meeting.”
“Which one?”