The White Lily

by Susanne Matthews

  “But we don’t know,” Ellie said, dejected, her arms wrapped around Rachel, who’d stopped weeping and was staring at Jacob. He might not want to be considered someone’s messiah, but from the look of adoration on that woman’s face, he’d just stepped into his uncle’s shoes. Lilith shivered.

  “Only the elders know the location and the time the Creator has set for atonement,” Ellie continued. “We can’t help you, and there are no elders among us who can.”

  Jacob smiled sadly. “Then I’ll be satisfied with whatever you can tell me that may lead me to figure it out on my own.”

  “That’s it?” Reuben’s raised eyebrows showed his disbelief.

  “That’s it.”

  Jacob spent the next half hour answering questions about Australia and his farms, working to establish a rapport with the four. He’d dropped the formal language, and his vocabulary was peppered with the colorful expressions she’d become familiar with. He seemed at ease, as if he was satisfied with himself, and so was she. For a rookie, he’d handled the situation well. Even Rachel perked up when he mentioned kangaroos and koala bears.

  “Can I see my granddaughter before I go?” Reuben asked.

  “Where is your granddaughter?”

  “I don’t know. They separated the fillies when we arrived.”

  “What’s her name?” Lilith asked.

  “Annie.”

  “Annie and all the others who were with you when the women were rescued will be going with you, Reuben. No one will be left behind. If you agree to my terms, I’ll have the young ladies brought over here as soon as possible,” Jacob said.

  “Will she work for you, too?”

  “No. I don’t employ anyone under sixteen. She’ll attend school like the others her age who live on my property.”

  Tom and Reuben spoke quietly together for a moment. Tom cleared his throat and looked directly at Jacob.

  “Since we have no elders, Reuben and I are the leaders here. If we agree to this, the others will obey us. What else will you expect of us?”

  “You have to set aside all of my uncle’s teachings. The manifesto no longer exists. Women are not horses nor are they inferior in any way to men. All people are equal regardless of color and gender, and all have the right to freedom and happiness. My farm manager, Toba, is Aborigine, so whatever racist ideas and behaviors you have are to be left here with the filthy garments you wear. If you can’t do that, then you’ll rot in jail as terrorists.”

  The vicious way he’d said the last words chilled Lilith. Jacob had said he was used to being in charge of things, and she well believed it. His “my way or the highway” attitude grated. Jacob Andrews was a lot more like his uncle than he thought he was, and that scared the hell out of her.

  “I know it won’t be easy at first, but I’ll expect you to try. Because I agree it’s important to have a spokesperson, you and Reuben may continue in that role. Once you arrive in Australia, everyone will have a say in whatever decisions affect the community, but each person shall be free to do, act, and say as he or she believes.”

  Reuben nodded. “When I married my wife, before the Prophet said the Creator had decreed a new order, I loved her and I treated her with respect. I’d been ill and wasn’t forced to take another, but I missed our times together.”

  “Is your wife here, Reuben?” he asked

  “No. The cancer got her last spring. She never even told anyone she was feeling sick.”

  Probably didn’t want to be released.

  “Secondly, you can’t dress like that on the farm, and you most certainly can’t stay filthy like this. It’s hot at Evergreen, not a desert climate, but a tropical one. We’ve made arrangements for suitable clothing—socks, underwear, nightwear, and daywear—to be brought to you. You’ll pick out at least three outfits that fit. If there aren’t three that fit you, I’ll get more. On my farm, we don’t judge people by the color of clothes they wear, so until you get used to that, I suggest you stay away from brown, gray, or black. Thirdly, you’re to shower and scrub yourselves clean. You’ll be given deodorant and everything else you need. Give what you’re wearing to the guards for disposal. Finally, one of you will write down the names and shoe sizes of everyone here as well as in the other facility. Lilith and I will be back tomorrow, and I’ll bring pictures of your new home. From now on, New Horizon no longer exists. If you feel you need a group name to identify yourselves, then choose one and we’ll discuss it tomorrow.”

  “Will you bring Annie?”

  Lilith smiled. “We’ll try.”

  “Any other questions?” Jacob asked.

  “What should we call you?” Rachel spoke meekly, the tracks of her tears clearly evident on her face.

  “You call me Jacob. It’s my name,” he said, and it was clear he’d brook no argument to the contrary. “I’ll see you tomorrow. If you need anything else, ask the guards. Reuben, I’ll arrange for you to speak to Annie on the phone so that they follow these instructions, too.”

  “Thank you. It’ll be done as you wish.”

  Jacob opened the door, and Lilith followed him out of the room.

  “That went better than I thought it would,” he said.

  She smiled. “You handled the situation well. What did you do? Memorize the manifesto?”

  He reddened. “Sort of. I spent a lot of time last night reading about cults and deprogramming. Being clean of whatever drugs they’d been given helped because without their minds clogged with that crap, they were willing to listen. I hadn’t expected what Rachel said, but it certainly opened the door to doubt, and Tom—I wonder where he came from. It might be a place to start. I know they didn’t give us much, but I had to establish a rapport. Since we know the Promised Land isn’t ready, we may have bought ourselves some time.”

  “I agree. We’ll see how well they listened when we come back tomorrow. You know, you can be pretty bossy when you want to be. Where are you going to get the photographs of the farm?”

  “I’ll call Toba and have him send a promotional package to my tablet along with info from Australian tourism. I’ll put together a slide show using your computer, if that’s okay with you. I’m sure the task force can get its hands on an LCD projector and a screen. Do you think we can get the girls transferred today? The group needs to see I keep my word.”

  “I’ll talk to the guard about that phone call while you contact Rob about your audiovisual equipment. Let me get my Glock first. After the girls are cleaned up, we can arrange a secure transfer first thing in the morning.”

  Lilith reached out and touched his arm. “I’m amazed by your generosity. What you’ve offered those people was even better than what I expected. No matter what your brother and uncle have done, you’re a good man. Doing what you did to save Ellie’s daughter ... I have no words for that.”

  Jacob hung his head. “A good man? I don’t think so. A good man never would’ve left his own flesh and blood back there. I have sins to atone for, some of which I never can. Once we find my nieces and nephews, I’m bringing them to Australia, too. They’re the only family I have left that I’ll claim.”

  “I’m not sure Mary and Ruth will agree.”

  “Then, as they say, I’ll make them an offer they can’t resist.”

  Lilith bit her tongue. There was that behavior again, the one that said, “If I want it, I get it.” He might not want to be a master, but he was damn well acting like one.

  “Where do we go now?” he asked.

  “It’s almost two, and I’m starving. After we finish what we have to do here, let’s get something to eat before we go back to the station.”

  “Have you been to Cheers?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Then let’s go there, and afterward we can go back to my hotel suite and work on that file. Now that we know more about the cult, we may find clues we missed before.”

  Lilith was about to say they could do that back at the office, but surely he had other things to do that might be easier to ac
complish from his suite. He needed to contact his farm manager about that information and whatever else he wanted for tomorrow, as well as those friends in high places he’d mentioned. Permanent immigration usually involved a great deal of red tape. Besides, they were partners working on a case together. Did it really matter if they did it in the comfort of a luxurious hotel room instead of a cold interrogation room? The idea of a leisurely lunch and a chance to get to know him better appealed to her.

  “Okay. Do you know the address?”

  “Yes, but why not park at the hotel and we can walk through the Boston Common? After being in there for a couple of hours, I can use some fresh air.”

  Lilith laughed. “Me, too.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jacob lifted the mug of draft to his lips and tried to remember when he’d enjoyed a meal more. By some tacit understanding, they’d avoided discussing the case and talked about all kinds of things, getting to know one another the way regular couples did. They covered topics like sports, movies, music, and television shows. While they had quite a few things in common, her opportunities to see the world had been limited. He’d traveled extensively, both in Australia and throughout the Orient. Maybe someday, she’d come to visit the cult members and make sure the resettlement had gone well. He’d take her to the opera in Sydney, surfing on the Great Barrier Reef, and searching for opals in the outback. Although she claimed her idea of roughing it was instant coffee, he’d love a chance to show her how wonderful it could be out in the desert at night.

  “It must be nice to be able to just come and go as you please,” she said and sighed. “You never have to worry about money or your boss noticing you’re ten minutes late coming back from lunch.”

  He smiled. “I wouldn’t think that would be much of an issue. Trevor seems a decent sort.”

  “Not Trevor. When this case is over, I’ll return to Quantico and my cold cases. I spend a lot of my own money following up leads on Rose and another girl who disappeared five years ago—and then of course, there are my shoes.”

  Today, she wore a calf-length, gray tweed skirt with a matching jacket and a black crewneck. With them, she’d paired black, patent leather boots with silver, four-inch heels. He loved a woman in tight leather boots, but he’d keep that opinion to himself. Theirs was a friendship based on work and a mutual loss. He didn’t want a random comment to ruin the rapport they’d established.

  “I guess we need to get back to work,” she said, and he was pleased to hear the tinge of regret in her voice.

  “Not yet, but soon. I need to order some coffee to take the edge off the two pints I’ve had.”

  “That’s a good idea.” She took a mouthful of beer from her stein. “So, what’s your favorite meal?”

  “I’m torn between a good steak and Aussie pie.”

  “What’s Aussie pie?” Lilith asked, furrowing her brow in the cute way she did when she was confused.

  “It’s probably Australia’s national dish. It’s a meat pie made with ground beef and spices topped with shredded cheese.”

  “It sounds delicious. I’d expected you to say kangaroo.”

  He laughed. “Kangaroo isn’t actually very popular anymore—it used to be, but most Aussies prefer beef, lamb, pork, and seafood now. The one thing I never developed a taste for was vegemite.”

  “I’ve heard that word before, but I can’t place it. What is it?”

  “Well, an Australian band from the eighties mentioned it in a song called “Land Down Under.” It’s still popular in places. Vegemite is a dark brown paste that comes from brewer’s yeast. It has a tangy, bitter flavor, but it’s actually very good for you. I’ll take peanut butter any day.”

  “I know that song, and now that I know what it is, you can keep the vegemite sandwich. Just about the only normal things I won’t eat are lima beans. They have a strange texture,” she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

  The waitress came over, and Jacob ordered coffee and asked for the bill. He didn’t want this interlude to end, but he’d made promises to those people, vows he intended to keep.

  “Maybe tomorrow you can find out exactly how many of the people you know are left. If your uncle seeded the cult with fanatics from other groups and spread the New Horizon people around, changing things to suit his taste would’ve been easier. It’s going to take a lot of re-education before those girls will behave even closely to regular teenagers—the same goes for the women. Rachel isn’t much more than thirty. Why didn’t she have other children?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that and the comment she made about James not choosing from the mares available—God, I hate that word. I may never be able to use it again even referring to my horses.”

  “You have horses? That may make the people feel more at ease.”

  “I also have some camels that come in handy when I decide to go walkabout in the outback.”

  She burst out laughing. “Seriously? You ride camels? What did you do, buy them in the Sinai?”

  “I most certainly did not. I’d probably be evicted from the country if I did. There are more than a million wild camels in Australia, roaming the outback. They’re actually considered a bigger problem that the donkeys and kangaroos. I had my men round up about a dozen females. They make excellent pack animals. That’s why the British brought them to Australia in the first place in the mid-1800s. Once the twentieth century came around with its cars and trucks, the government ordered them destroyed, but their keepers disobeyed that order and released them into the desert, where they thrived. Now, the herds are culled regularly to keep the population down.”

  “That’s terrible,” she said, her cheeks red with indignation, and Jacob would like to see someone try to kill a camel anywhere near her. The guy wouldn’t stand a chance.

  “I agree, but they’re an invasive species with no natural predators. They’re detrimental to the environment, both in the amount of greenhouse gas they produce and the plants they eat. As well, they destabilize sand dunes and damage both fresh and salt waterholes. We’re looking at other ways to control the population now. The meat’s popular in the Arabian peninsula, so maybe they can be raised as a food animal like cattle, sheep, or pigs.”

  She shook her head. “I see too much death in my line of work. I hate to think of wholesale murder as the only solution to any problem, but I can understand why the animals need to be curtailed. It just surprises me to discover how much I don’t know about Australia, and how many stupid opinions I have based on that lack of knowledge.”

  Jacob finished his coffee and stood. “Come on. We’ll stop at the car, pick up the files, and go up to my suite. I have calls to make to get things into place for tomorrow, and I’d like you to phone the jail and see how things went.”

  Lilith nodded and moved away from the table ahead of him. The sun was shining, and it was quite warm. Like him, she’d removed her jacket. Considering it had been in the low seventies this morning, why did the top under it have long sleeves?

  “Aren’t you warm?”

  “Why?” she asked, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, you mean because of the sleeves. I never wear short sleeves.”

  He realized his comment had embarrassed her, but curiosity spurred him on.

  “Why not?”

  She looked away and began moving down the steps into Boston Common.

  “My skin’s too sensitive.”

  He nodded. “I’d suspected as much the first time we met. When you come to Australia, you’ll need to wear loose, flowing clothing and a hat. You don’t want to burn that cute little nose of yours,” he said, reaching out and touching its tip.

  “I’ll remember that.”

  Mindful of her shoes, Jacob set a slow pace through the park, stopping here and there to admire one thing or another, and it was well past four when they reached the hotel.

  “I can just call it a day and go back to my place to do this,” she said when they reached the car the valet had left near the entrance at his req
uest.

  “No, you can’t. Trevor said we were partners in this now, and I want to help, Lilith. Maybe I’ll see something someone else missed. You know, fresh eyes and all that. Besides, I want you to look at the photographs Toba will send and help me put together the best possible presentation. As a cult specialist and a behavior expert, you’ll know what to combine to make the greatest impact.”

  “Since you put it that way, how can I refuse?”

  She opened the trunk and took out her laptop as well as the file folder there. “We need to let Trevor know where we are or he’ll call out the cavalry.”

  “Relax, he knows. I called while you made arrangements at the jail. I spoke with Rob. You’re to make sure you have your escort when you leave.” He pointed to the gray sedan parked three cars over where two men were just getting in.

  “I saw them in the restaurant,” she said anxiously.

  “Yes,” he said. “They’re your shadows. Rob told me they’d switched the squad car for an unmarked one. Trevor thought it would be more effective and less obtrusive.”

  “I see,” she said, and he thought she might be annoyed, judging by her tight lips. Had he overstepped his boundaries?

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  Her brow furrowed, and then understanding filled her eyes.

  “I’m not angry with you. You did the right thing. I’m just mad at myself for relaxing my guard, not realizing they were following me, and forgetting about that monster. Some FBI agent I am.”

  Jacob chuckled. “I’d like to think you were distracted by my company, but I think it’s because, like me, you have too many things on your mind.”

  “Probably, and speaking of which, before we went off on a tangent on camels, I started to say something about Rachel. Is it possible your uncle has gone so far that he’s engaging in selective breeding, like Hitler tried to do during the war? The Nazis apparently chose the best and the brightest of those who exemplified the ideal Aryan and forced them to have children. I remember reading about French and Dutch girls taken from their homes and raped until they got pregnant. What James did wasn’t that far off that, was it?”