by Lowe, Sheila
“Someone had left the gate open and the guard was gone, so after Erin and the big dude drove through, I parked at the gate so they couldn’t get out. The only weapon I could think of was the tire iron in the trunk, so I got it out. I followed Erin into the Victorian. Lynn Ryder was there, rounding people up, sending them over to the church.”
“Is that when you hit her?”
Kelly’s lips twisted. “I didn’t mean to hit her. It was a mess. I was yelling at Erin, and Kylie was crying. Then Lynn Ryder showed up. Seeing her pissed me off all over again about being drugged and all that. She’s the last person I remembered talking to, so I thought she probably had something to do with it. I was asking her about it . . .”
“Asking her?”
“Okay, fine, I was accusing her. Then the big dude stepped in and got all threatening. He reached out and tried to grab me, so I swung the tire iron. He ducked out of the way and Lynn Ryder was standing there, so . . .”
“I get it.”
Claudia had spent some time thinking about Ryder and wondering whether she would be held liable for any of the events at the Ark compound. There weren’t many members left to share blame. It seemed ironic that she had been recruited by the FBI and blackmailed into being placed inside the cult as an operative, but something in their teachings had struck a chord. She had been so thoroughly taken in by Harold Stedman’s charisma and his promises, she became a true believer.
Stedman had been so convincing.
Chapter 32
A week after the suicides.
Claudia and Jovanic were spooning in her bed, safe together, and for now that was all she asked for.
“The coroner’s report came in on Harold Stedman,” Jovanic said. “Turns out he had a brain tumor.”
“A brain tumor? You mean, that’s why—”
“The likely cause of visual and auditory hallucinations.”
“That explains his twisted thinking,” Claudia said, remembering the odd handwriting he had showed her. “And his channeling automatic handwriting. If that had been authentic, at least some of the words would have been legible.” The strange body heat she’d noticed must have been a result of his illness, too. Despite everything she couldn’t help feeling sorry for the man and wondered whether he had somehow managed to meet up with his followers “over there.”
“I talked to Jesse Oziel, too,” Jovanic added.
“You’ve been very busy, Columbo. Is that where you went today? To the office?”
He grinned. “Hey, babe, I’m done eating bonbons and watching soap operas. The doc’s releasing me.” The grin faded. “Now I just have to get past the review board.” Firing his weapon while on leave meant facing a board of inquiry to justify his action.
“They should give you a commendation for what you did.”
“I’ll be lucky if I get to keep my job.”
“You saved Kylie’s life, which ought to be worth a lot.” She scooted closer and Jovanic folded her in his arms, his cheek resting against hers. “What did Oziel say?”
“You already know that his team got to the Colorado temple just in time to prevent another mass suicide. They’ve started processing the kids they found there. Oziel admitted they were all well cared for. I think he was actually regretting having to return them to the welfare system.”
“A system that’s already failed them once.”
“It’s the law, babe. He’s sworn to uphold it, just like I am.”
A great wave of sadness washed over Claudia as she remembered the young members of the Temple of Brighter Light—Esther. Magdalena; her sister, Rachel. She remembered all the others, too—Rita, the Treadwells, the Diehls, and all the rest. Good, decent people, she was certain of it, but lemmings who had followed their leaders off a cliff. Well, maybe the lemming thing was a myth.
This is what rejecting independent thinking gets you.
She sighed and he kissed the top of her head, held her a little tighter.
“Are you thinking of Erin again?” he murmured into her hair.
“She was so young, so completely taken in by Stedman. They all were. Why? Why were they so gullible?”
“You’re the psych major, babe. You tell me.”
“I suppose most of them were missing something from their lives. Maybe they were like Erin and didn’t have good parenting when they were growing up. Or they lost something along the way and were looking for guidance—for authority figures, so they were willing to do whatever they were told. They were so desperate for a better world that they went along with Stedman’s bullshit, and now they’re dead. Nearly two hundred people, wiped out in a few minutes.”
“At least it was fast and supposedly easy.”
“The bastards gave it to Kylie in a lollipop. Thank God she survived.”
They’d Googled fentanyl together and discovered that the drug was a painkiller a hundred times more addictive than heroin. It had been pumped in gas form into the air vents at the church. The elders had a supply in the cavern ready to use on themselves after Kylie’s sacrifice. The mass suicides had long been planned.
“How’s Kelly doing?” Jovanic asked.
“It’ll take a while for her to get over it all. She blames herself for Erin’s death, though she couldn’t have changed anything.”
Rodney and Kylie were staying at Kelly’s condo until he could figure out what to do with the rest of his life. He had begun to question the TBL teachings, but as indoctrinated as he was, it would likely take a long time for him to let it all go, assuming he ever could. But before he was able to move forward in any way, constructive or not, he had some grieving to do.
“I think we need a vacation,” Claudia said after they had discussed it all over again.
Jovanic laughed and stretched to kiss the tip of her nose. “I think it’s about time I went back to work and got some rest. Chasing criminals is a lot less exciting than hanging out with you, Grapho Lady.”