by Polly Iyer
“Would you like to spend more time with your mother?” he asked, wondering who Anna’s mother was. Wondering what the population totaled in this pretend haven.
Anna nodded.
Mountain Man moaned louder now, distracting Lucier, but the sound came from deep in his throat. Best he could do with a gag in his mouth. Lucier wished he had some of the drug they gave him, because this guy looked like he could pull the cot from the floor bolts and walk through the door with it attached.
“I need your help. People will die without it.”
Anna thought for a long time. “Are you sure you won’t hurt anyone?”
A groan came from the cot. The big man’s eyes sprang open, and he tried to get up. He realized he was tied to the bed and writhed and twisted, peppering his efforts with grunts and growls. Lucier was sure he wrenched his arm when he squealed in pain. The captive spit out his gag.
“When I get loose,” he screamed, “I’m gonna kill you. Your girlfriend too. I don’t care what anyone tells me. You’re a fucking dead man, Lucier.”
Anna flinched. Fear once more sparked her blue eyes. Lucier approached the restrained man and socked him squarely in the jaw. He looked dazed but still conscious. Lucier hit him again, and this time he fell back into dreamland. Lucier rubbed his throbbing knuckles, then wadded up a bigger chunk of fabric and forced it into the man’s mouth, glad he didn’t have to worry about losing his fingers in the clamp of teeth. Facing Anna, he asked again, “Now will you help me?”
With her frightened gaze on the tethered man, she said, “Yes.”
Chapter Forty- Eight
The Truth Will Set You Free
Eggs floated in the air like little puffs of clouds. A magic wand kissed each one, cracking the shells, and infant Dianas pranced out, smiling and kicking, having the time of their baby lives. They crawled into her ears, talking, whispering sweet words, calling her Mama. Then their voices turned angry, urgent. Wake up. Wake up.
Diana sprang up from her bed, body soaked. Sweat dripped down her back and chest, yet the room was cool. Confused, she shook off her sleep and tried to focus. Dim light bathed the room. She stared at the picture on the wall until her head stopped spinning.
Voices still sounded in her ears. Was this a dream within a dream? No. People were talking outside her door. She couldn’t make out what they said, but one voice was definitely a woman. They seemed to be arguing. Diana tiptoed to the door, and put her ear close.
“Why would I have the key to her room if my father hadn’t sent me?” the woman said. “You know who my father is, don’t you?”
“Yes, Miss Maia, I do, but no one informed me you were coming, especially at this late hour. I was told not to let anyone inside her room except your father, Mr. Crane, or Brother Osiris.”
Diana covered her mouth, smothering a gasp. Maia. What was she doing here?
“Okay then, go ahead, call my father,” Maia said confidently. “He’s organizing the meeting and won’t be happy to be disturbed. You know what he’s like when he’s mad. He’ll probably chew you out, but do what you must.”
After a long silence, the male voice said, “Well, okay. I guess it’ll be all right.”
Diana heard the jingle of keys, and the door opened.
Maia turned back to the guard outside. “We won’t be long. She’s expected at the meeting before the stars are in alignment. This is a private offering.”
Diana moved back into the room. She started to say something, but Maia shook her head as a warning to play along.
“Okay, Miss Psychic, get dressed. Daddy wants you to perform tonight.” She stared down the guard, who had inched into the room. “She can’t dress with you in the room.” Maia waved him out and closed the door. She turned to Diana and whispered. “No questions. Hurry up and dress. We have to get out of here.”
Diana didn’t have to be told twice. She yanked off the flimsy nightgown and searched through the closet. Oh for a pair of slacks. She found a silky blouse and a short stretchy knit skirt that allowed for movement.
“Hurry,” Maia prompted.
“I’m done.” she said. “What’s go―”
“Shh. Not now.” Maia slid the key into the door lock and pulled it to. Silas Compton and Edward Slater stood waiting. Compton, wrapped in a terrycloth robe, looked disheveled and sleepy, unlike Slater, wide awake and fully dressed.
“Where do you think you two are going?” Compton said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Maia, Maia. Did you really believe you could get away with this with us a stone’s throw from this room?”
Slater pointed to the little red light in the vent and shook his head.
Diana glanced at Maia and jerked her head toward the camera with a shrug. “I forgot.”
“The guard wasn’t fooled,” Slater said. “Our people are well taught. There are no surprises, even when the daughter of one of the directors tries to pull a fast one.”
“I’m disappointed in you, Maia. Selene warned me, but I wouldn’t listen. How could I imagine my own flesh and blood would betray me? Not once but twice.”
Maia squared her shoulders and threw out her chin. “It’s you who’ve betrayed me, Father, by making us all accomplices in your crimes. Federal crimes.”
“You fail to comprehend the ultimate objective, my dear. The creation of a new world. One of beauty and sensuality and brilliance. The special babies will be nurtured in a paradise of intellectual stimulation. So what if a few people make sacrifices in the process? There’s always collateral damage in the quest for a better life. The returns more than make up for the losses.”
“Parents whose babies were stolen from them don’t agree.”
“They’ll have others,” Compton said. “If they knew the loving care and exaltation their offspring will enjoy, I’m sure they’d offer their babies to us without hesitation.”
Maia clasped her hand over her heart and struggled for breath. “You’re insane.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, but I won’t let anything stop what we’ve started.” He brushed her off. “We’ve wasted enough time and energy with traitors. Phillip is right. Time to rid the compound of all those who refuse to embrace our ideals. I’m afraid that includes two of my daughters. We will offer you to God’s adversary, our supreme leader, as a measure of our devotion.”
Maia stuttered in disbelief. “So…so you’ll eliminate Anat and me and anyone else who hinders the propagation of your Utopia? Tell me, did you kill my mother, too, when she didn’t go along?”
Compton straightened and settled his gaze on his daughter. “A necessary progression. Your mother didn’t understand. She was lost to me after the death of your brother. So sad.”
Maia’s knees buckled, and she fell back against the wall in despair. Covering her mouth didn’t muffle the unearthly wail that rose from her soul.
Diana moved to comfort her. Compton and his group of Satan worshipers were worse than she imagined. Now, with cold calculation, they were about to become murderers. A vision of Lucier smiling, his topaz eyes watching her, flashed in her mind, and the thought that she’d put his life in danger left her lightheaded. She looked up at Slater. “Edward, how…how can you let this happen?”
A small shrug. “Life is a series of tradeoffs, Diana. I traded off, for love not evil. You’ll see. You’ll be safe here, cherished. Just do what we ask of you and you’ll live a charmed life.”
Diana wanted to argue the point, but for once she decided to keep her mouth shut.
Inside her scream would not be silenced.
Ernie, where are you.
Chapter Forty- Nine
Breaking the Weak Link
Captain Jack Craven followed his gut, and he didn’t like the warning sign churning there like a bad case of indigestion. Another day and no word from either Lucier or Diana Racine. So far, the police had kept their disappearances quiet, but that wouldn’t last. Someone was bound to talk. If Jake Griffin got hold of the story, the implications would be disastrou
s.
No one accused men like Phillip Crane and Silas Compton of heading a satanic cult without irrefutable proof, and they didn’t have it. One incriminating word and Compton’s attorneys would come down on the district like an out-of-control meteor. Owning a house where satanic rituals were practiced didn’t make Compton the devil.
Beecher’s visit to the Easley home yesterday produced a big fat zero, other than to pinpoint the boss in the family. Martin Easley was a weak link, and Craven wanted to talk to him without his wife supplying the answers. He phoned Easley’s office personally to make the request, but the secretary said he hadn’t come in this morning. Then Craven called his home. The lack of response sent an even more ominous signal since Beecher mentioned they employed a housekeeper. Craven decided to follow up. Beecher went with him. In ten minutes, they pulled into Easley’s circular driveway.”
“No cars,” Craven said.
Beecher pointed to the back. “There’s a three-car garage behind the house.”
The house appeared deserted, curtains pulled closed. They climbed the few steps to the gallery and rang the bell. When no one answered, Beecher lifted the fancy doorknocker and rapped. Nothing. He shrugged.
Tension in the air stretched tight. A spiral of fear slithered down Craven’s back. He walked to the bay windows that flanked the right side of the door. A small crack in the drapes allowed for a peek inside. He waved Beecher over to take a look.
“Shit,” Beecher said.
“Call for backup, an ambulance, and a crime scene unit,” Craven ordered. He pulled out his weapon. “Probable cause.” Then he shot the lock off the door.
* * * * *
Craven watched as Charlie Cothran, the assistant coroner of Orleans Parish, bent over the body of Martin Easley and examined the knife stuck in his chest. “He’s still in rigor. Best I can guess is death occurred sometime early this morning,” Cothran said. “Can’t pinpoint the exact time ’cause the air conditioner’s off. Place is like an oven.”
“Yeah, I know,” Craven said. “Smelled death the minute I walked through the door. Still taste it on my tongue.” He saw Ralph Stallings duck under the yellow crime scene tape that encircled the Easley home. The agent flashed his ID to the cop on guard and lumbered up the stairs to the front door. He donned booties and gloves and entered the house.
“Take over, Detective Beecher,” Craven said.
Stallings nodded to Beecher. “Damn heat,” he said, looking around. “Jesus, you got a mess here.”
“Another body in the kitchen. The housekeeper.” Craven said. He nodded toward Easley’s body. “My weak link.”
“Guess someone else thought so too.”
“Long as they contained their little cult, Easley went along. But kidnapping babies and a cop involved set off his panic button. He harbored a pathological fear of the police.”
“Yup. Read his file. No wonder.”
Craven motioned Stallings into the kitchen. Blood covered the floor and spattered the cupboards. He’d already seen the slaughter, but his stomach lurched again. “Bigger mess here.”
Stallings made a hissing sound at the sight of the woman lying with a gaping slice across her throat. “Jesus. “You never get used to carnage like this. Poor woman worked for the wrong people.”
“Maybe she was a threat because she knew too much.” Craven poked through the papers on the kitchen desk. “We’re not going to find anything incriminating here, but we’ll sift through them anyway.”
After a visual sweep of the room, Stallings asked, “Where’s the Missus?”
“Good question. One of the neighbors said she left with luggage early this morning. Neighbor didn’t think much of it. The Easleys were always going somewhere, she said.” Craven ran a hand across the back of his neck. “Wish I knew where.”
“May be able to help you out.” Stallings wrinkled his nose. “Let’s get out of this room. I just had lunch.” They walked outside into what seemed like frigid air after the house’s sweltering interior. They leaned against Craven’s car. “My investigators untangled a large tract of land from a land trust about five hundred miles from here in Oklahoma. It’s remote, not too far from a national park. Might be what we’re looking for.” Stallings loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. “Crane’s father bought the property way back when, and his lawyers shifted ownership from one shell company to another. Phillip Crane’s geniuses did the same.”
“Reckoned it was something like that.”
“I guarantee when you find Mrs. Easley, she’ll deny knowing anything about these murders.”
“If we find her. Either Anastasia Easley killed her husband, or she called someone else in to do it, then she calmly packed her bags and left.”
Stallings nodded in agreement. “I’ve already contacted our office in Oklahoma City. They’re sending a chopper to scope out the area.”
“I hope it’s what we’re looking for. After this scene I’m more worried about Ernie and the Racine woman. These people crossed the line too many times. There’s no turning back. Crane and Compton tie up loose ends, and Ernie and Diana are loose ends.” Craven related Cash’s theory about the kidnapped babies. “Ernie was working on the idea, but frankly, it sounded too weird yesterday. Doesn’t sound weird now.”
“A genetically mastered race, huh?” Stallings said. “Somewhere in Oklahoma? I agree with you. Sounds far-fetched. Even if you’re right, they have corporations, employees, houses. Christ, their families are in Louisiana.”
“They wouldn’t be giving up anything. Both the Crane and Compton corporations are intertwined and run by family members. They’ve probably funneled funds into emergency accounts all over the place, as well as property. If they felt it was time to pull out, they’ve protected their assets.” Craven pushed himself off the car and paced a few steps. “From what Ernie said, Compton is an arrogant megalomaniac. He thinks we couldn’t find our own dicks with both hands, let alone their private Hades.”
“Maybe he’s right,” Stallings said. “The Oklahoma City boys might not find a thing. And even we find them, owning property isn’t a federal offense as long as they pay their taxes.”
Fire roared in Craven’s gut. “But kidnapping and murder are.”
Chapter Fifty
Welcome to Paradise
Lucier waited a long minute for his eyes to adjust to the dark. He took some more time to scan the perimeter. Satisfied they were safe, he hopped inside the golf cart Mountain Man used to travel around the compound. Anna slid in beside him, issuing directions. He didn’t move. Turning to the girl, he asked, “Are you with me, Anna?”
The young girl paused before she answered. “I came here when I was very young, so I don’t remember much of the outside world. When new people came―not our people but surrogates and guards―they mentioned things. My friends and I talked about what we heard. We weren’t supposed to, but we did. We’re not allowed TV, and computers are loaded with studies the leaders choose, no Internet. Speak out and you disappear into these cabins or you’re put in isolation, like Anat and Master Cal. We accepted the rules, but now…” she steadied her childlike blue eyes on him, “I guess it’s time for me to be brave.”
He let out a breath. Anna appeared to be processing whether to reject everything she’d been taught. Exactly how much did she know? How deep was the group’s dogma implanted in this fourteen-year-old innocent’s brain? She could lead him right to Slater or Compton and he wouldn’t know the difference. With nothing and everything to lose, he had no choice but to trust her. “Okay. Who else is in these cabins?”
“You’re the only one. They said you were going through indoctrination.”
Lucier snorted. “Yeah, if you call indoctrination being tied to a chair and shot full of drugs for two days.” The heavy weight of the Glock pressed against the small of his back gave him a measure of comfort. But one gun didn’t mean much in a place where the only escape was a plane trip out.
“Where are they keeping Ms. R
acine?” The girl hesitated. “It’s a matter of life and death, Anna. Please.”
Still wary, she glanced back at the cabin. “In…in the visitor’s quarters. I served her.”
“Now tell me, is Mr. Compton here? Mr. Crane? What about Mr. Slater?”
“You mean Brother Osiris?”
Lucier almost laughed. He wondered if Anna’s mythology classes told the story of the mythical Osiris. Somehow he doubted it. “Yes.”
“I think so. They’ll want to hear how badly you’ve been treated.”
Oh, for sure. Had this child already been taught to worship a dark god? Lucier doubted they were given a choice. He thought back to other compounds, other messianic cult leaders who led their flocks to follow, even to their deaths.
“I’m sure they will too, sweetheart. Now, how do we get to the visitors’ quarters without exposing ourselves?”
She stared into the dark night. Was she having second thoughts? He was telling her to hide from people she’d trusted all her young life and help him, an outsider, who wanted to stop everything she’d ever known. He needed this girl to get to Diana and figure out the next move after he found her. Come on, Stallings. Keep searching those tangled deeds and trusts until you find this place.
“Do you trust me, Anna?”
She hesitated. “I don’t want anyone hurt.”
“Has anyone been hurt?”
She didn’t answer for an excruciatingly long time. Every minute meant more danger for Diana.
“Miss Maia is locked up, too.”
Had he heard right? “Maia? Here?”
“She’s always been my friend, and now I can’t even talk to her. She’s in a guest suite.”
“If Maia is here, she’s in danger too, Anna,” Lucier said. “You must trust me.”
Tears fell from the young girl’s eyes. He understood her confusion. He’d made his case. Either she bought his story or she didn’t.
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you? About Miss Maia, I mean.”