by Karen Rose
EDEN, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, MAY 30, 7:30 P.M.
Tom found Liza in Hayley’s room holding the baby an hour and a half later and his heart . . . hurt. Some of it was sad hurt, because he couldn’t help but think about what Tory would have looked like holding their baby. He didn’t think Liza would fault him for that.
But most of it was good hurt because she looked beautiful holding that tiny bundle. She was standing, rocking the baby while she hummed a lullaby off tune.
She looked up and her expression filled with concern. She walked over to him, and he could see that the baby was sound asleep. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking that if we ever have kids, they’ll never sing in a choir.”
She chuckled. “We don’t have the best musical genes, do we?”
He relaxed then, her simple acceptance that they’d have a family a balm to his soul.
“Of course,” she added, “if we adopt kids, we could get the next Beyoncé. They’d make us a mint and we could retire young. Or we could just adopt normal kids and make them happy.”
She’d chosen her words with such care, and he loved her for it. Yes, they’d try for kids biologically. And if they were successful, that would be great. But even if they were, there were kids out there who needed a home, and they’d provide that, too.
“How’s Hayley?” he asked. The girl was curled up on the pallet, her head in Tamar’s lap while Tamar knitted what looked like a baby blanket. “Is she all right?”
“Asleep,” Liza murmured. “She was really far along by the time we got here, so Jellybean came fast.”
Tom brushed his finger over the baby’s soft cheek. “Hi, Jellybean. It’s gonna be okay.”
Liza frowned at him. “Are your hands clean?”
“Like I’d touch a baby with dirty hands,” he scoffed. “I just washed them with soap and hot water. I had to after helping Graham get clean. Oh my God.” He shuddered.
“I know. But you know why he did it, right?”
Tom nodded, still touched by the boy’s love for his sister. “Yes. He really is a kid genius. He set up the dish and the solar panels and hooked it all up to the computer. The solar panels are trash because of Joshua, but at least Graham got out that one message.”
“He’s a hero.” She met his eyes. “You want to hold her?”
Tom nodded, his eyes burning when she put the baby in his arms. “You’re a lucky little girl, Jellybean. Your parents love you. Your daddy cannot wait to meet you.”
The baby yawned, looking too damn cute.
Liza sighed. “Will you bring charges against Hayley and Graham’s mom?”
“I don’t know. Molina is making notes of all the infractions. Which reminds me of why I’m here. Gideon and Mercy arrived, along with several agents. Things are getting tense. Rebecca was yelling that Molina is denying her rights.”
“Molina can charge her with kidnapping. She stole Tamar’s baby.”
Tom was floored. “What the hell is wrong with these people?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Well, at least Joshua isn’t carrying his shotgun anymore,” Tom said. “I convinced him to put it away. It was confiscated by the ATF agent who arrived in the second wave.”
“That’s good. Oh, and Tamar is really Tiffany and I promised her that she could leave and we’d take her baby and pending DNA testing she’d get him back.”
“I’ll make sure Molina knows.”
“Thank you. Did you say there was hot water?”
“Yes. We’ve had two helicopter drops—both included tanks of water and a gas-powered water heater. Does Jellybean need a bath? We’re going to need baby seats, too, for the transport vehicles.” The logistics of this transport were daunting. “Oh, I also need you to come with me. There are a number of people who need medical attention.”
“Why didn’t you say that right off?”
“Because you were holding the baby and my brain circuits fried.”
She patted his cheek gently, then turned to Tiffany. “I’m going to take the baby with me,” she said. “Can you stay with Hayley in case she wakes up? Until Rebecca is confined, I don’t want to leave Jellybean here, and I don’t want Hayley thinking the baby’s been stolen.”
They heard the shouting as they drew close to the entrance. Tom gave the baby to Liza and rushed to help. As expected, Joshua was in Gideon’s face, calling him a liar and a fraud, sent by the government to take away their First, Second, and Fourth Amendment rights. Molina stood next to Gideon and there were four federal agents behind her.
Mercy stood to the side, looking anxious. She’d known that coming back here would resurrect a lot of bad ghosts, but she’d done it anyway because she’d wanted to help.
Graham sidled up to Liza. “I’m clean. And sanitized. Can I hold my niece now?”
Tom rejoined them, watching the gathered crowd from the sidelines as Liza put the baby in Graham’s arms. The boy began to cry, the sight sweet and at stark odds with the angry Joshua.
Gideon remained calm, ignoring Joshua’s rant and talking to the members of Eden who stood silently gawking at him. “If you want to leave, we will transport you. My sister Mercy and I came back to let you know that there is life after Eden. We will help you find a place to live and integrate back into the community at whatever level you wish. If you’ve suffered at the hands of a husband or as an apprentice like we did, there are resources to help.”
That seemed to strike a chord. Many of the members nodded and whispered to each other.
“And if we don’t want to leave?” Joshua demanded.
“Do you really want to stay?” Gideon countered. “You don’t have fresh water or food. You don’t have sanitary toilet facilities or real medical help. Sister Coleen did her best, but many of you need trained doctors, not merely a person who wants to be helpful but gets all of her medical know-how from books and the computer.”
“When is she coming back?” Joshua demanded.
Tom thought they should tell the truth, but Molina had been afraid of a riot. Apparently, she had changed her mind. Probably because of the agents standing behind her.
“She’s not,” Molina said, and the murmurs grew to irate cries.
“You’ve arrested her?” Joshua shouted, and the tension ratcheted up tenfold.
Many of these people had been brainwashed as to the evils of the government for thirty years. Tom marveled that Amos had adjusted so well.
“No,” Molina said, holding up a hand for order. “She was killed by DJ Belmont.”
“That’s a lie!” Joshua cried. “Why would he do that?”
Mercy stepped forward, her face drawn and pale. “Probably because Coleen found out about me. That I survived. That DJ lied when he said I’d died trying to escape. He shot my mother in cold blood. She did die. But he was interrupted when he was trying to kill me.”
“That. Is. A. Lie,” Joshua repeated.
“Listen to it with your own ears,” Molina said. She produced a cell phone and one of the agents hooked it up to a speaker. “The hospital where Pastor was staying provided computer devices to all the patients and their families. They can be used as cameras and tape recorders. We think Coleen was recording Mr. Belmont in an attempt to prove to Pastor what she’d learned. She was suffocated and there were bruises around her neck where Mr. Belmont grabbed her locket chain and twisted.”
Tom noticed several women in the gathered crowd put their hands to their throats, their expressions indicating that they had also been controlled by their locket chain.
Molina tapped her phone and DJ’s voice could be heard.
“Where is he?”
“Back in the solarium after his nap,” Coleen replied.
“What did he do while he was there?”
“He met a little girl earlier, and they chat
ted. He wanted to feel the sun on his face, so I took him back and left him with his nurse. I wanted to talk to you.”
“What did they chat about? And who’s with him now?”
“They chatted about all kinds of things. His kids, you know, his real kids. Bo and Bernie.”
“That doesn’t hurt me like you think it does,” DJ said. “I never wanted to be his kid.”
That drew a gasp from the crowd.
“How did they get that tape?” Liza asked Tom in a whisper.
“Someone in billing finally clicked on the link in my e-mail. I got into the security network and downloaded this file while Croft and I were driving to you. Sunnyside uploaded everything the patients and families did on the devices.”
Coleen went on to accuse DJ of deceit when it came to Mercy. Tom watched the crowd as DJ admitted it all. This was making a difference. And then . . .
“Are you going to tell Pastor?” DJ asked.
“If I were going to tell him, I’d have done it already.”
“What are you doing, Sister Coleen?” he asked, his voice suddenly louder.
“Nothing.” Coleen’s voice was hoarse, like she couldn’t breathe. “Just filling in the blanks. You’re hurting me, DJ.”
The recording abruptly ended and the crowd was absolutely silent. Even Joshua had ceased his ranting.
“Sister Coleen was found a few hours later, dead in her bed,” Molina said.
Joshua stepped back, shaken. “No. That’s a fake. Like the moon landing.” He spun around and addressed the membership. “Don’t listen to her. She’s lying. She probably has Sister Coleen in a cell somewhere.” Then he spied Graham holding the baby and started for him, a foul look on his face. “Don’t you touch my wife’s baby.”
Graham’s eyes widened and he turned, showing Joshua his back and protecting the baby with his own body. He didn’t have to.
Tom stepped in front of Graham, never so glad to be six-six with heavy muscle. Joshua wasn’t a small man, but he had to look way up.
“You will not put your hands on him,” Tom said quietly. “Or the baby. Or her mother.”
Fear crossed the man’s eyes and he turned to the crowd. “This is how it starts. They come in and tell us what to do. How to live. How to worship. Pastor will fix this when he comes back.”
Molina cleared her throat. “Pastor is also dead. DJ killed him, too.”
A collective wail rose from the group, many of the members falling to their knees in grief.
“Why?” Joshua demanded. “Why would Brother DJ kill Pastor? That makes no sense.”
“Agent Hunter?” Molina said. “Please tell them why.”
Tom raised his voice. “Because he wanted Pastor’s money. Pastor’s bank account had fifty million dollars in it.”
Once again there was silence, broken by muted weeping. Joshua laughed harshly. “Fifty million dollars? You are insane. Look at us. We don’t have anything.”
“How much did you donate to Eden when you joined?” Tom asked Joshua.
Joshua frowned. “We sold our home and donated the profits. It was about three hundred thousand dollars.”
Tom pointed at another man about Joshua’s age. “And you, sir?”
“Four hundred thousand,” the man said, clearly troubled.
Tom pointed to various members, and after five people, the total was already over two million dollars. “He invested well and supplemented with sales of the drugs you grew and harvested.”
One of the men shook his head. “We never sold drugs.”
“Tell them to look in the cave room where the tools and schoolbooks were stored,” Graham said. “There’s a box marked Smithy Tools. It’s filled with cocaine and pot. Full disclosure,” he added, “I took a brick of the coke to try to blackmail Brother DJ into letting my sister go to the hospital. Like Pastor was able to. The coke is hidden under a rock near the computer. The package is unopened.” He pointed a finger at Joshua. “And before you can claim I smuggled it, remember that Isaac, the head of our household, thoroughly searched us. Those drugs belong to DJ.”
A man stepped forward. “I’ll check. One of your policemen may come with me.”
Tom exhaled slowly. He’d thought they’d ask who killed DJ and he wasn’t sure how to answer that. He’d had to surrender his weapon and badge to Molina on the way to the caves. It was standard procedure when one fired their service weapon. He’d probably have to undergo counseling before he was reinstated.
Molina clapped her hands to regain the group’s attention. “While they are checking Graham’s claim, we can transport anyone who wants to go now. If you’d like to talk to Gideon and Mercy first, they will be here. Amos Terrill will also be here in a few hours.”
A middle-aged woman stepped forward. “Amos is all right? And Abigail? I’ve been so worried. She’s my daughter’s best friend.”
“They are very much all right,” Molina said kindly. “Amos realizes that many of you may want more proof, and he will tell you what he saw that drove him to run from Eden. If you’d like to leave, the first transport will depart in two hours. I’ll stay here to answer any questions.”
“And if we choose to stay?” Joshua asked, still belligerent.
“I can’t make you come with us,” she said, “unless you’re suspected of a crime. Like kidnapping or child endangerment.”
Joshua’s jaw tightened. “And for those of us who are innocent of wrongdoing?”
“I can’t make you come with us, but you can’t stay here. This is private property.”
Two hours later, the first transport departed, Tiffany and her little boy on board, and there wasn’t an empty seat.
And, after Amos arrived and talked to the remaining members, the next transport was also filled.
Finally, an ambulance arrived with two paramedics. Hayley and her baby were loaded in with Graham riding in the back with them.
Tom waved as they drove away, headed to Sacramento, where Hayley would be checked out at UC Davis. Arm tightly around Liza’s waist, Tom turned to Gideon, Mercy, and Amos, who’d stayed to help the members understand the new world.
“We did it,” Tom said, feeling both satisfied and oddly unsettled. “We found them.”
“You found them,” Mercy corrected with a smile. “You and Liza. Thank you.”
Amos nodded. “Yes. Thank you both. For me and for Abigail and every person who felt trapped and too afraid to escape.”
Tom didn’t want the gratitude. He was doing his job. He knew Liza felt the same way.
“Did you notice that no one asked about DJ?” Liza asked, redirecting the conversation. “I think everyone knew that he was capable of everything we told them.”
“I agree,” Mercy said. “And I for one am not sorry at all. Pastor, Ephraim, and DJ are all gone. We can live our lives and not worry that they’re coming to kill us.”
Amos put his arm around Mercy’s shoulders. “Abigail never has to worry about what happens when she turns twelve. You all have done a good thing. I’m proud of you.”
“It feels . . . unfinished,” Tom murmured. “I mean, there’s still the fifty million to figure out, but over a hundred people have to start new lives.”
Amos sighed. “They’ll have to learn technology and how to function in a real community. They’ll have to unlearn all the fiction they’ve been taught as fact. Some of them might even choose to continue living in isolation, but they’ll still need support. Land and supplies. Medical care and guidance on how to rebuild legally. It’s not going to be easy.”
Gideon nodded. “The hard work has just begun.”
EPILOGUE
GRANITE BAY, CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2:30 P.M.
How was your first day at nursing school, lubimaya?” Irina asked, settling into the lawn chair next to Liza’s.
Liza
thought this might have been the first time Irina had sat down in days. The Sokolovs were hosting a barbecue and Irina had been in overdrive. The kitchen was filled with food, the house filled with people, and, because no one was shooting at them, the backyard was crowded as well.
The day was a scorcher, well over a hundred degrees, but awnings shaded and fans blew and children ran through the sprinklers. So many children, including a few from Chicago.
Karl and Irina had invited Liza and Tom’s family to join them, and they had. It had been a huge surprise—for both Liza and Tom. Apparently Irina, Tom’s mother Caroline, and Liza’s adopted big sister Dana had been burning up the phone lines, setting all this up.
It was heaven.
“Surreal,” Liza answered. “I mean, I’d wished so long to get there. I’d served my tour and gotten my undergrad degree, all while hoping to be accepted at UC Davis. I was seriously just happy to be there. But then I went to orientation last week and everyone knew my name.”
“You are a hero,” Irina commented with a smile. “Again.”
Liza rolled her eyes, still embarrassed. The news had been saturated with their discovery of Eden and the defeat of DJ Belmont and Pastor. Gideon, Mercy, and Amos had become the poster children of cult survivors, and Hayley and her baby had been showered with Internet affection and real-life gifts.
Baby Liza Tiffany was the most pampered infant in the city. And grown-up Liza still got a lump in her throat every time she thought of Hayley naming the baby after her.
“I did what anyone would,” Liza murmured. It was her stock answer and she held to that belief with both hands.
“Anyone with a good heart and a healthy amount of courage,” Irina said.
“I had good role models.”
“Here one of them comes,” Irina commented as Dana Dupinsky Buchanan approached, a tray of cold drinks in her hands.
“Absolutely.” Liza squeezed Irina’s hand. “And another one is sitting right here.”
“Ach.” Irina fanned her face with her free hand. “You make me cry.”
“Liza.” Dana took the chair on her other side, passing them the drinks. “Why are you making this nice lady cry?”