“Everyone at Paradise Ranch is free to go anytime they like, Agent Looper,” Elijah said with coarseness in his voice. “Rest assured, we don’t keep anyone here against their will. Everyone is here because they want to be. Feel free to ask around. We have nothing to hide.”
“You’re saying she just strolled right out of the front gate?” Jack asked.
“Actually, we don’t know how or exactly when she left,” Elijah responded. “All I know is that her spot was empty at breakfast that next morning. We sent someone to look for her but she was nowhere to be found. Her clothes and all of her belongings were in her apartment. We even sent a search party out around the grounds to try to find her.”
“Did she talk to anyone?” Jack asked. “I mean, lead-ing up to her disappearance.”
“If you mean did she tell anyone she was leaving, the answer is no,” Elijah said. “We want to know why one of our own met such a horrible end just as badly as you do so we’ve left no stone unturned trying to find out what happened.”
“And what have you found out?” Jack asked as he leaned in.
“What we’ve found out, Agent Looper, is that who-ever did this unspeakable act was not among the resi-dents of Paradise Ranch,” Elijah said with certainty. “If you’ve come here looking for a suspect, you’ve come to the wrong place. The person responsible is out there, beyond our gates. You have my word on that.”
“All of your residents are beyond reproach, huh?” Jack asked.
“We are all family here,” Elijah replied.
“Cain and Abel were family too,” Jack shot back. “That didn’t work out so well for Abel as I recall.”
Elijah let out a long sigh and shook his head.
“I can see you’re a suspicious man, Agent Looper,” Elijah said. “I guess I should have expected no less. It’s part of your job description.”
“Yeah, it pays the bills,” Jack quipped.
Elijah sat back and looked at the agent as if to size him up.
“Have supper with us,” Elijah invited.
“Do what?” Jack responded.
“It’s almost time for supper. Stay and break bread with us. I would consider it an honor to have you … and your partner of course,” Elijah invited. “That will give you a chance to meet the people of Paradise Ranch and speak with them. We have nothing to hide here. I think after you see the sort of people who live here, you’ll realize the killer is not amongst our numbers.”
Jack looked at his host for a moment. The invitation had come as a surprise.
“Does that invitation include a tour of your fair village,” Jack said with a grin.
“That goes without saying,” Elijah smiled back. “I’ll give you the nickel tour myself but you can feel free to walk about on your own and meet the people one on one. I want your mind to rest easy knowing we harbor no killers here in Paradise.”
“How can I refuse such an offer?” Jack said as he stood up and extended his hand.
Their handshake was interrupted, however, by yells coming from outside the office window.
“We’ve got a problem, Elijah,” one of the guards said as he popped his head in the door.
“Is that problem about five-foot-four with long dark hair?” Jack asked as they all dashed downstairs to check out the source of the commotion.
Jack’s question was prophetic. They were met by the howls of a man who was thrown over the hood of the borrowed sheriff’s car. His arm was twisted in a hammer lock behind his back with Ashley wrenching the appendage to the point of breaking it.
“You don’t ever touch me again, you hear!” Ashley shouted in the man’s ear. “What part of federal agent didn’t you understand?”
“Stand down, Agent!” Jack yelled out as he saw the spectacle.
He looked over at Elijah who appeared more entertained than alarmed by the sight.
“I can’t take her anywhere,” Jack quipped as he again ordered the agent to release the hold.
“He was feeling me up, Jack!” Ashley declared as she gave the man’s arm one last tug before letting him go.
“I wasn’t feeling you up,” the man replied as he tried to shake feeling back into his arm. “I was searching you. How was I supposed to know you were a federal agent? You were armed.”
“How?” Ashley replied. “Because I identified myself ten times! You’re lucky I didn’t break your arm after you stuck your hand in my pocket.”
“But you didn’t look like an agent,” the man countered.
“He has a point,” Jack chimed in. “You really don’t look like an agent.”
Ashley glared at her partner as she pushed her gun back into her waistband.
“That’s Earl,” Elijah interjected, still with a smile on his face. “He didn’t mean anything by it. He was just being protective of his neighborhood. He’s part of the safety committee here.”
“Well, Earl here pulled a gun on me,” Ashley replied. “That doesn’t sound very safe to me.”
Her revelation brought a glare from Elijah in the direction of Earl.
“These are our guests,” Elijah said. “Apologize to Agent Reynolds.”
Earl gave Elijah a questioning look. “But, I …”
“Apologize now,” Elijah said in a commanding voice. Earl immediately responded to the tone, looking like a scolded puppy.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Earl said sheepishly. “I didn’t realize.”
Ashley answered his apology with a snarl. She didn’t like being manhandled by the complete stranger, especially when his frisk got a little too frisky.
“Good news, Ashley,” Jack announced as they stood in front of the main hall. “We’re staying for supper.”
“We’re what?” Ashley said in disbelief.
“Supper, you know that thing you do when you eat in the evening,” Jack clarified. “Elijah has graciously invited us to stay and enjoy a meal with him.”
“Are there more like this one?” Ashley asked, cocking her head toward Earl.
“No, I assure you that you will be well received, Agent Reynolds,” Elijah said. “And Earl did apologize. I hope you will forgive him for his indiscretion.
“Earl, go tell the kitchen staff to expect a couple more for supper. I’m going to take our guests on a tour of the ranch and then we’ll be over. Make sure there’s an extra place at the main table.”
Still rotating his arm and rubbing his shoulder, Earl scampered off, giving Ashley an apologetic look.
“I really am sorry, ma’am,” he said as he walked across the street. “And I didn’t mean anything by the ‘peaches’ thing.”
“She really hates pet names,” Jack said in spite of himself. “You’re really lucky she didn’t break your arm.”
“Once again, Agent Reynolds, I want to offer my apologies for Earl’s … overzealous actions,” Elijah said as he began walking with them down the main con-course of Paradise Ranch. “He was just being protective. We don’t see many outsiders here, so you can understand his suspicion.”
Ashley was still irritated by the encounter. She gave her host a cool look.
“I’m sorry. How rude of me,” Elijah said as he stopped and extended his hand to Ashley. “In all the excitement there wasn’t time for formal introductions. My name is Elijah.”
With Jack nodding to her, silently telling her to for-give the Earl incident in the name of their mission, Ash-ley took her host’s hand.
“I’m Ashley Reynolds, Agent Ashley Reynolds, that is. Do you have a last name, Elijah?”
“Funny you should ask, Agent,” Elijah said as he continued his walk down the main street. “As I was telling Agent Looper a few minutes ago, we are all family here therefore there is no reason for last names. We leave our differences at the gate. That includes anything that divides rather than binds us together. Here, we are all the family of Paradise.”
“I bet that’s pretty confusing for the people named John here,” Jack quipped as they continued walking. “How many residents do you h
ave?”
“One hundred, seventy-three - I mean, one hundred, seventy-two - with our recent loss,” Elijah revealed. “That includes twenty-five children, starting at just a few months old, up to a couple who are seventeen. They are the future of Paradise Ranch - the next generation.”
Jack studied his surroundings as they casually strolled down the main street for several minutes, pausing to look inside the large furniture factory where the Paradise brand was made before continuing on toward the edge of the settlement.
“That’s quite a challenge, I bet,” Jack began. “I mean to maintain a place like this in the middle of nowhere.”
“Actually, we have room to grow,” Elijah revealed with pride. “I conservatively estimate that, with our present resources, we could maintain a town of three hundred without compromising our present comfort level. As you can see, construction is currently in progress. Paradise Ranch is growing daily. Our infrastructure is equal to what any middle class neighborhood would be in an average town. We all pitch in together for the betterment of all. Anything over three hundred and that would be …”
“Harder to control?” Jack interrupted.
Elijah didn’t break stride as he laughed politely to Jack’s comment.
“No, it would just be harder to supply a community larger than that,” Elijah said. “Plus we already have nearly ten square miles of fence that surrounds Paradise. As you undoubtedly realize, fencing can be quite expensive.”
“And, without the fencing it would be harder to keep them in,” Jack offered.
“You never give up, do you Agent Looper?” Elijah said with a smile. “Actually, the fence is not to keep our people in, it’s to keep the world out. There’s evil out-side our gates. I’m sure you’ve seen it, Agent, in your line of work: man’s inhumanity to man, a disregard for all things sacred.”
“Oh, I’ve seen a bit of it,” Jack shot back before stopping dead in his tracks as they reached the edge of downtown which overlooked a rise at its outskirts.
“What is that?” Jack asked, wide-eyed.
“Haven’t you ever seen a golf course, Agent?” Elijah asked. “You know, playing a few holes once in a while might help you relax.”
“You’ve never played golf with me,” Jack said, still surveying the scene. “I have to repent of my sins every time I slice a shot – and I slice a lot.”
Jack and Ashley both stood gawking at the sea of green before them, something that entertained their host.
“You know, people of faith are allowed to have fun once in a while,” Elijah offered. “Like I said, we want to provide a high quality of life to the people of Paradise. It’s just nine holes. It should be done in a couple of months.”
“Impressive,” Jack whistled. “What about the factory? We haven’t seen that yet.”
Elijah smiled and pointed the way to the factory, located about a block away from where they had walked.
“No tour would be complete without seeing the factory,” Elijah said as they walked toward the building, which appeared to be the oldest building in town.
The earthy smell of wood was overwhelming as they entered the large double doors of the saw mill. The equipment was silent as the workers had left for supper. The loading crew, Elijah noted, would be in later to load the transport trucks.
“Everyone in Paradise shares in the labor,” Elijah revealed as he casually walked around the factory, stopping to show the agents examples of their handiwork. “Not to brag, but we really do produce the high-est quality furniture in the country.”
Ashley wandered off from the group as Elijah was busy showing Jack the tools of the trade.
“What’s in here?” Ashley called out as she noticed a steel door that read “No admittance” which was located on the far end of the factory, furthest from the entrance.
“That’s just our finishing room,” Elijah looked up from his conversation with Jack. “We have some toxic chemicals stored there we use for varnishing and sealing our product. You’re welcome to take a look but I’ll have to insist that you wear a breathing apparatus. We don’t want you inhaling something harmful. That might take the fun out of our tour.”
Ashley shook her head. The idea of having some-thing covering her mouth and nose made her shiver. She was sure she would have a panic attack if she put a breathing mask over her face.
“That’s okay,” Ashley said. “I was just wondering.”
The group strolled back to the entrance and emerged into the afternoon heat that had only slightly subsided despite the lowering sun.
“Anyway, I think you’ve seen the highlights,” Elijah said. “What do you say we head to supper and we can continue our conversation over a delicious meal? The ladies of Paradise are second to none when it comes to cooking.”
Elijah continued playing tour guide on the way to the dining hall, proudly pointing out parts of Paradise Ranch, like a real estate agent trying to sell a house. His presentation of the campus was giving his guests a feeling of normalcy until they entered the large dining hall.
A hush fell on the hall as Elijah and his guests entered. As if on cue, everyone in the room stood in unison. Jack looked at the crowd and then at Elijah.
“It’s respect,” Elijah answered Jack’s unasked question as he led them inside.
The smell of food overwhelmed their senses as they walked through the silent crowd, all the expectant din-ers standing at their tables as Elijah nodded to them while making his way to the head table.
“Agent Reynolds,” Elijah said as he paused and gestured toward a nearby table. “Do you mind sitting here?”
Ashley gave her host a questioning look.
“Only men are allowed at the head table,” Elijah revealed as he turned and continued to the head table. “I hope you understand.”
Ashley opened her mouth to let her host know she ‘most certainly did not’ understand when Jack touched her on the shoulder.
“When in Rome, Agent,” Jack said before leaning close and whispering. “Plus it’ll give you a chance to talk to people without Elijah right there.”
Ashley gave Jack an irritated look before begrudgingly nodding her head.
“No problem,” Ashley responded, refusing to look up as she took her place at the table while Jack and Elijah settled in at the main table.
She stood stewing at her seat even through the blessing. She finally looked across the table as everyone sat down. She had not taken note of her fellow diners when she first took her place. There, sitting directly across from her, was the mother of the little girl she had spoken to earlier in the day. Ashley sat locked in an awkward gaze with the woman.
“I’m sorry I was so rude today,” the woman offered, breaking the silence. “It’s just that we don’t get many strangers around here.”
Ashley nodded. “It’s okay. Everyone should be so protective of their children.”
The woman gave Ashley a broad smile as she passed a dish of mashed potatoes across to her.
“My name is Laura,” the woman introduced herself. “I’ve, well, me and Jana, have been living here almost a year.”
“I’m Ashley Reynolds,” she responded, then, immediately going into investigator mode, “Do you like living here?”
“It’s the greatest place in the world,” Laura beamed. Their fellow female diners, who were listening to the conversation at the table, all nodded in agreement. “I can’t think of a better place to raise my daughter. It’s like one big family here.”
Laura’s conversation with Ashley released the flood gates as everyone else at the table started to chime in, all eager to share their love of Paradise Ranch to the investigator.
“I wouldn’t live anywhere else,” volunteered a strawberry blonde in her thirties, who sat to Ashley’s left.
More testimonials followed, all offering their take on life at the ranch as the women enjoyed dinner. While labeled as a cult by some outsiders, Ashley realized she was there to solve a murder, not expose a cult. Plus, the people at th
e table didn’t seem like cultists; they seemed like regular people.
“What about Carol Parker?” Ashley interjected, her question stopping the testimonials.
“She loved it more than anyone,” offered the blonde . “She hit the ground running. She was into everything.”
“Everything?” Ashley asked.
“Yes,” Laura chimed in. “She was one of our newest members but she wanted to be part of everything going on. She served on every committee we have. She was full of energy. If it was happening in Paradise, Carol was there.”
“Then why did she leave?” Ashley asked.
“No one knows,” another woman replied. “She seemed so happy here. I saw her the night before she, well, you know … and she was her regular bubbly self.”
“What about friends?” Ashley said. “Did she hang out with anyone in particular?”
“She was pretty well friends with everyone,” Laura replied.
“Was she ever known to leave the ranch?” Ashley wondered. “Maybe go for a long walk to stretch her legs?”
The women looked at each other and shook their heads. “No, and especially not at night, after curfew,” Laura said.
“Curfew?” Ashley repeated. “You have a curfew here?”
“Yes. For our own safety,” the blonde explained. “Elijah says nothing good ever happens after ten o’clock so everyone has to be indoors by ten unless there’s special services or something like that.”
“What if you’re not?” Ashley wondered. “What happens if you get caught out after curfew?”
“That would be disobedience,” Laura answered. “We don’t disobey. Disobedience is sin.”
“Let’s say you did,” Ashley continued. “What hap-pens?”
“We would get privileges taken away,” a short, older woman replied from across the table.
Ashley looked over to see a funny look on Laura’s face. “Did you get caught out after curfew?” Ashley asked.
“No,” Laura chuckled. “But that just reminded me that Carol did get caught once, out after curfew that is.”
“When was this?” Ashley followed up.
Paradise Ranch (Jack and Ashley detective series Book 2) Page 5