Last Writes (19 page)

But he shook his head slowly. “They’re in a safe place. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not right to take a child away from her mother, James. Think how it is for Kylie right now, in a strange place with nothing familiar to her; not having her mother to care for her. Do you really believe it’s the right thing to send a child of her age into Jephthah’s Daughters? She’s about to turn three. Only three years old!” As she spoke, Claudia was reminded once again of the words in the note she’d received:
It’s not the way it seems.

James looked down at his shoes. He began picking at a scab on his arm, concentrating on it as if it offered him a way out of the conversation. Finally, he mumbled, “I have to go back. I have to go to work.” But he made no move to leave.

“James, do those children ever come back from the program? What happens to them there?”

His head jerked up.
“What are you up to?
Are you from the governmnet?”

“No, we have personal reasons for needing to know.”

“What personal reasons? What’s going on? I asked you before, I’ll ask you again: Did Sister Ryder put you up to this?”

“No, of course not. I’m sorry I can’t tell you more right now, but if you help me, you’ll understand later.”

“Kelly.” He choked on her name. “She was using me, wasn’t she? She was just using me to find out . . .”

“I’m sorry, James. I know she didn’t intend to hurt you.”

His eyes narrowed. “I should have guessed that someone like her wouldn’t be interested in someone like me.”

Exasperation made Claudia snap at him. “Good God, James—
interested in you?
What did you expect from a woman you’ve known for little bits of a couple of days?”

Color flooded his face. “Maybe you’ve guessed, I don’t have a whole lot of experience with women.”

“That’s your choice, isn’t it? Yet, you stay here and follow the TBL rules.”

“The rules are important; they keep us clean. What I did with Kelly was filthy, evil. I have to go to the governing board and confess. I deserve whatever they decide to do to me.”

“James, how old are you? Thirty-eight? Forty? Have you ever had sex? How long are you going to let these men tell you what to do?”

“They’re teaching us the Lord’s will.”

From where Claudia stood, she could see that his entire body was trembling so hard he was almost vibrating. He darted a look at her, but glanced away quickly again. “You shouldn’t meddle here, sister. You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“That sounds almost like a threat. Is that what you meant it to be?”

“No. I don’t know. You should leave right away. It’s not wise to engage in independent thinking.”

“Maybe a little independent thinking is exactly what’s needed right now, James.”

“The elders know what’s best for us.”

“Is that why you’re helping Rodney hide Kylie until the time comes for her to be symbolically sacrificed? Even though her mother has changed her mind, and doesn’t want her to go?”

Abruptly, James turned and stumbled a few feet away to a clump of bushes, where he fell to his knees and vomited. He stayed there, hunched over, retching until he had emptied his stomach. Then he retched some more until there was nothing to bring up.

Claudia found some crumpled Kleenex in her pocket. She went over and passed it to him over his shoulder. Bile rose in her own throat as the strong odor of regurgitated sausage forced her to back away. “Think about it, James,” she pleaded. “Think about little Kylie. If you don’t help, you’ll become a part of whatever’s going to happen to her. We’re talking about a baby, here.” Her voice was unsteady with emotion.

James wiped his mouth with the back of a trembling hand. “I can’t—I can’t . . .” Tears began streaming down his face. “Don’t ask me . . .” He faltered, sobbing. “I’m being torn into a thousand pieces.”

With a low moan, he bolted off, running in a ragged zigzag back the way they had come.

 

 

 

Claudia was back at Rodney Powers’s desk by eight. She still hadn’t talked to Kelly, and she badly wanted to tell her about the note in her briefcase and her encounter with James Miller. Later, she would have to find an excuse to leave the Ark and call Jovanic. But for now, while it was still blessedly cool in the little office, she would finish up her work for Harold Stedman.

Maybe James’s conscience would get the better of him and he would decide to tell her whatever it was that he knew before she and Kelly left the Ark in a few hours.

What if he confessed to the governing board?
That would not help them in their quest to find Kylie before the ceremony. Claudia felt deeply frustrated, as if the information had been within her grasp when James broke down.

Lynn Ryder stopped by to bring her the new envelope from Stedman. Keeping in mind what James had said about the security chief knowing everything, Claudia kept her conversation bland. She would have preferred to ask what the hell Ryder had been doing in her room, going through her things. But there was no point in tipping her hand.

“Will you be working in here all day, Sister Rose?” Ryder asked.

“I don’t know right now. It depends on how much work Mr. Stedman has for me. Why? Do I need to account for my whereabouts?”

Ryder gave her a strange look. “No, of course not. Brother Stedman suggested that if you finished early, you might want to attend a class.”

“I don’t think so. I’ll have plenty to keep me busy for a while, and after that, I’ll probably make a trip into town. And by the way, we’ll be leaving for home tomorrow morning.”

“Well, okay then. If you change your mind about the class, just let Rita know.”

Claudia forced a smile. “I won’t. Thanks anyway.”

When Lynn Ryder left, Claudia found a letter opener in the desk drawer and used it to open the envelope. She tipped the new set of handwriting samples out onto the desk and shuffled through them, getting an overview of each sample before beginning the actual task of analysis.

The third one made her jaw drop. Block-printed writing that matched the note Erin had showed them at Kelly’s condo, she was certain of it. Her memory of the block-printed writing with the scrawled signature, “Rod,” was quite clear.

So, if
this
was Rodney’s handwriting, then who had left the note in her briefcase, which was not the same writer?

Claudia shoved the samples into the envelope and pushed her chair back from the desk. She strode out of the purchasing agent’s office in search of Rita the office assistant and found her at one of the desks in the main office, underlining text in a TBL magazine.

Rita looked up with a smile. “Good morning, sister. I missed you at breakfast. Did you enjoy it?”

“Yes, thank you, breakfast was fine. Rita, I need you to tell me where I can find Kelly. Now, please.”

Rita’s face closed up. She returned her gaze to the computer monitor. “Sister Kelly is in class this morning; I’m afraid she can’t be disturbed.”

“She never said anything about going to a class.”

“It was arranged after breakfast. She said she wanted to learn more about how the Temple of Brighter Light got started, so it was arranged for her to have a private session.”

“Didn’t she already take that class with Mr. Norquist?”

“I don’t think so, sister. Anyway, she’ll be busy for the next few hours. They’ll break for lunch.”

Claudia put iron into her tone, not caring how demanding she might sound. “I need to see her now.”

Rita was shaking her head. “Once the doors are closed, they can’t be opened until the lunch break at noon.”

“I need you to tell me where to find her. It’s critical that I speak to her.”

“I’m telling you, Sister Claudia, the doors are locked and—”

“What do you mean? You told me there are no locks here.”

“Did I?” Rita looked flustered. “Oh, I didn’t mean it literally. Of course there are some locks. The classrooms . . .”

“The classrooms are locked but there are no locks on private sleeping rooms? What’s wrong with that picture?” Claudia leaned her hands on the desk, getting into Rita’s face. “Tell me where I can find Kelly, Rita.
Where
is the classroom?”

Rita sighed, a gusty breath that sounded like irritation. Maybe she just didn’t know what to do with someone who thought independently. “I’m not sure it will do any good, sister, but come with me. If you’re sure it’s that serious, I’ll take you over there.”

Rita had been telling the truth. The door to the classroom was locked, and no one was answering Claudia’s knock. Leaving her at the door, Rita hurried away. Claudia knocked harder, all her pent-up feelings channeled into the heel of her hand as it slammed against the door.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
The door rattled against her hand.

“What in the good Lord’s name is going on here?”

She heard the voice, foghorn deep, come from inside. Then the turn of a key and the door opened on a man she hadn’t seen before: a dark-skinned giant of a man. Six five, three-fifty, Claudia guessed, looking up at the narrowed eyes, annoyed features. He wore a shirt and tie similar to James’s; a name badge on the pocket read “Jermaine Johnson.”

“Why are you making that racket?” he demanded. “Didn’t anybody tell you—”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your class, but I have to see Kelly Brennan right now. It’s an emergency.” She tried to look behind him, but his bulk effectively blocked her view.

The man tried to stare her down, but Claudia stared right back at him, refusing to be intimidated by his size or his antagonistic glare. When he understood that she wasn’t going away he told her to wait and shut the door in her face with some force. She heard the turn of the key in the lock.

After several minutes, Claudia was preparing to start banging again when the door opened once more, and Kelly stood there, alone. Something about her eyes—

“Kelly, are you okay? We have to go. I’ve got to talk to you. A bunch of stuff has happened . . . come on.”

Kelly just stared back at her with that odd, empty look. “You shouldn’t be interrupting, Claudia. I have to go back inside. I’m in class.”

“Kelly! Snap out of it!” Claudia grabbed her friend’s shoulders and shook her, but that was about as effective as shaking a dishrag.

Kelly twitched out of her grasp. “Don’t bother me while I’m in class.”

Before she could react, Kelly slipped back inside and closed the door.

 

 

 

Claudia stood there staring, the closed door challenging her.
Okay, what now?
Kelly in what appeared to be a hypnotic trance, James throwing up breakfast because of something he knew, an anonymous note telling her to look for proof of something.
Proof of what?
The pounding in her head felt like her fists banging on the door. She hurried back to the Victorian and found Rita back at the computer.

 

“Did you find your friend?” Rita asked.

“Yes.”
And she’s either hypnotized or drugged, or both.
“I have to go into town. I need to get some medicine.”

Rita looked at her with concern. “Oh dear, what’s wrong, Sister Claudia? I’m sure we’ve got whatever you need here.”

“It’s a prescription,” Claudia lied. “I won’t be long.” Without waiting for a reply, she ran up to her room, grabbed her briefcase, and headed for the Jag.

 

Claudia hooked her Bluetooth headset over her ear. As soon as she had cleared the hills and had a sufficient number of reception bars on her cell phone, she called Jovanic and told him everything.

He listened until she was through but he didn’t comment on what she’d said. Instead, he surprised her.

“After we talked last night I called a buddy of mine, a federal agent,” Jovanic said. “You’re gonna have to get out of there right away.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“I asked if he’d heard of the Temple of Brighter Light or Harold Stedman.” Long silence while Claudia waited, her nerves beginning to twang. “What I’m going to tell you has got to stay right here. If anything gets back, they’ll be glad to hand this guy his ass on a stick. This information is absolutely confidential. You can’t repeat it to
anyone
, including Kelly.”

“Honey, in her present condition I wouldn’t tell her what’s for lunch.”

“Claudia, I’m dead serious. Give me your word to keep it to yourself.”

Her mind was racing, already trying to guess what she might hear. The migraine continued to hammer and she pulled off to the side of the road, leaving the engine running with the AC pointed at her face. “Of course you’ve got my word, Joel. Now, would you tell me!”

“My buddy did some digging around. The church and Stedman both have been on the bureau’s radar for quite some time.”