by Rose, Karen
Farrah left André’s embrace, coming to stand behind Mercy’s chair, still sniffling. ‘Oh, look at you, cutie-patootie. We need copies of these. My mama’s going to want to pinch your cheeks.’
‘We can scan them,’ Irina offered. ‘The photos will not be harmed, Amos,’ she added when Amos looked alarmed.
Mercy let go of Amos’s hand to touch Abigail’s sleeve. ‘Thank you for reminding him to bring the pictures. I haven’t seen my mama’s face in so long.’
Abigail shrugged. ‘I’ve never seen mine. She died when I was being born.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Mercy said softly. ‘Amos, do you still have her locket photo?’
He shook his head. ‘I didn’t think to take it after she—’ He cleared his throat. ‘Afterward. The healer removed the locket and it went back to the forge.’
‘Who took the photos?’ Rafe asked. ‘For the lockets, I mean?’
‘For a long time it was Waylon. He would take the film into the town to get it developed. Then DJ took it on after Waylon died. We haven’t had many weddings lately, but I assume DJ still does. He got a fancy new camera a while back. Seemed a waste of money to me.’
‘May have been a digital camera,’ Gideon said. ‘If so, the images might be on that computer you saw in Sister Coleen’s office. Which means you might be able to get one printed later.’
‘That would be nice,’ Amos said, laying his cheek on Abigail’s hair, ‘wouldn’t it, Abi-girl?’
Abigail snuggled closer, patting Amos’s pocket. ‘Yes, Papa. And you could keep it here, like you did with the other pictures.’
The sight of Abigail patting Amos’s pocket sparked a memory and Mercy patted her own pocket, panicking when it was empty. ‘Oh no. Belinda Franklin’s key is gone. I know I had it in my pocket.’ She rose from her chair. ‘Maybe it fell out in the van.’
‘Tom has it,’ Liza said.
Mercy blinked, having forgotten the woman was still there. ‘You’re sure?’
‘Positive,’ Farrah said. ‘You were sound asleep and we didn’t want to wake you to ask for the key, so I got it from your pocket.’
‘What does it open?’ Mercy asked, light-headed with relief.
‘Probably a safe-deposit box,’ Farrah said, but Molina cleared her throat imperiously.
Rafe leaned in close. ‘We’ll talk about it later.’
Because Molina was still here. Mercy had nearly forgotten about her, too. It seemed that it was all right for them to have discovered the key, but its purpose was something they weren’t supposed to know about. ‘Oh. Okay.’
‘Oh. Okay,’ Molina said dryly, clearly understanding what hadn’t been said. ‘Mr Terrill has given us enough information for the time being. I’ll be going to my office to begin working on it. Agent Hunter will be returning with me. Liza, we’ll drop you off on the way. Where will you be staying, Mr Terrill? We want to be sure you have a safe place.’
Because he is a valuable witness.
‘He’s staying here,’ Irina said.
‘But my presence here may be dangerous,’ Amos said, a worried frown creasing his brow.
‘I am leaving one of my agents to watch this house and the surrounding properties,’ Molina said. ‘Burton has already broken into one house in this neighborhood to use as a lookout. If he comes back, we want to catch him. Plus, I believe that Irina’s daughter Meg will also be staying to make sure Zoya remains safe.’
‘We want you to stay,’ Irina assured him. ‘You and Abigail. You are Gideon and Mercy’s family. We take care of family.’
Amos drew a thick breath, overcome. ‘Thank you. Where will you two go?’ he asked Mercy and Gideon.
‘Back to Rafe’s,’ Mercy said. She loved the Sokolovs, but she needed the quiet time. ‘All my things are there and I need to make sure I feed my cats.’
‘You could stay here,’ Irina said doubtfully. ‘We have enough rooms here for us, and there’s no reason for Agent Molina’s people to guard two houses.’
To guard me, Mercy thought. None of this would be happening if Ephraim weren’t obsessed with me. Well, Ephraim and now DJ. And, now that she thought about it, the fact that no one had really talked about DJ’s involvement was a giant red flag. Molina knows something that she’s not saying.
Still, Irina was right. As much as she needed the quiet of Rafe’s place, it really was selfish to ask the FBI to expend so many resources. She was about to say so when Molina stepped in and settled the issue.
‘We have agents stationed at Detective Sokolov’s house as well,’ Molina said. ‘Burton was able to plant trackers on Detective Rhee’s vehicle, so he was clearly in that neighborhood, too.’ She glanced at Rafe. ‘He also put a tracker on your sister’s Mini Cooper. We found it this morning, after you all had left for Santa Rosa.’
Rafe briefly closed his eyes, his fist clenching. ‘Thank you for finding it. And for adding coverage to my neighborhood. I’d hate for any of my neighbors to be assaulted like Mr MacGuire was.’
Molina pushed away from the table. ‘You’re welcome, Detective. Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs Sokolov. Call me if anything comes up. Anything at all.’
Granite Bay, California
Tuesday, 18 April, 8.10 P.M.
‘I have food for you to take with you,’ Irina announced once Agents Molina and Hunter were gone, Liza going with them.
And none too soon. Rafe liked Tom and Liza a lot, and, while he appreciated Molina’s protection of his family, the older woman made him antsy. She knew things that he needed to know to keep Mercy safe. Which he’d figure out, but first he’d see that his mother rested. Irina looked bone weary and Rafe didn’t like it one bit.
‘We still have food from the last time you sent stuff home,’ Rafe said.
Irina raised a brow. ‘I have food for you to take with you,’ she repeated.
Joining Irina at the stove to help, Daisy snickered. ‘Give it up, Rafe.’
Rafe sighed, knowing when to retreat. ‘Yes, Mom. Thank you, Mom.’
‘Abigail,’ Irina said, ‘I have a cake that you will love, but it’s also Mr Karl’s favorite. Will you go tell him to come to the kitchen? If the movie is almost over, you all can stay to finish it.’
Abigail looked to her father for permission and Amos nodded. ‘You know where to find the office?’ he asked.
‘Of course, Papa,’ Abigail said with an eye roll that would have made any teenager proud. ‘I’m not a baby.’
‘No, you’re not.’ Amos kissed her forehead. ‘You are growing up too fast. Now go and find Mr Karl.’ When Abigail had disappeared into the hallway, he immediately turned to Mercy. ‘That woman, Agent Molina. There are things she didn’t tell you.’
‘I know,’ Mercy said. ‘She’s like that. I hope she didn’t make you uncomfortable.’
Amos shrugged. ‘Her interview room was rather terrifying, but better than the back of DJ’s truck, so I can honestly say that I’ve had worse.’
‘What did you tell her that she’s holding back?’ Gideon asked.
‘She seemed most interested in Pastor. She asked a lot of questions, and I gave her what little information I know.’
Rafe sat up straighter and noted Gideon doing the same. This was important. Rafe was after Ephraim – and now DJ – because they threatened Mercy, but the Feds were after Eden as a whole. ‘Like what kind of information?’ Rafe asked.
‘I was a member of Pastor’s church. Before Eden.’ Amos smiled up at Irina when she refilled his cup with tea. ‘Thank you. It’s just what I needed.’
Mercy looked taken aback. ‘Pastor was an actual pastor? For real?’
‘Pastor was his name,’ Amos said, completely serious. ‘Of course he was a pastor.’
Mercy bit her lip. ‘I guess I assumed he was hiding from the law like Ephraim and Edward.’
‘They robbed a bank,’ Rafe added, not sur
e if Amos was aware. ‘Thirty years ago.’
Amos’s mouth fell open. ‘I didn’t know that. Good heavens.’ He sipped on his tea with a thoughtful frown. ‘But the timing works, I suppose. I joined Eden when I was nineteen. That was thirty years ago and the Eden church was brand-new. I was raised by my grandfather, who had been an active member of Pastor’s congregation before Eden. It was a nondenominational church in LA. But then, in the late eighties, Pastor was accused of embezzlement, of falsifying his résumé and stealing from the church’s accounts. He’d been the pastor in the LA church for at least ten years, and was accused of taking almost a hundred thousand dollars.’ His smile was wry. ‘Which was a lot of money in those days.’
‘It still is,’ Gideon said. ‘Did you not believe the accusations?’
Amos sighed. ‘I didn’t, no. Mostly because my grandfather didn’t. He was one of the church elders and was devoted to Pastor and his family. The church itself was divided on the accusations. About a third believed them true and pushed for Pastor’s ouster. A third stood by Pastor, who maintained his innocence. The remaining third said we were all crazy and left the church. This left only the “for” and “against” groups and they fought for control. It was vicious. I remember some of the members threatening violence on their “enemies”.’ He finger-quoted. ‘Finally, Pastor gathered his closest supporters together in secret and announced that he was starting a new church, that if he stayed in LA the government would seize his assets and make him an example.’
‘The government,’ Mercy repeated flatly.
Amos sighed. ‘It was a paranoid time.’
‘Waco was only a few years after that,’ Gideon said.
‘We heard a lot about Waco.’ Amos shook his head. ‘I don’t know if half of what we heard was true, but we got an influx of new members after that. Anyway, he offered to allow his “chosen few” to come with him. They’d get freedom from the government, freedom from the growing immorality of the world, fresh air, and back to basics. Their children would grow up without temptation and would remain pure.’
‘And what did they have to promise in return?’ Rafe asked.
Amos briefly dropped his gaze to his hands. When he looked up, Rafe saw shame in his eyes. ‘Everything,’ Amos said quietly. ‘“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me”.’
‘Matthew 19:21,’ Mercy said. ‘But you didn’t give to the poor.’
‘You gave it all to Pastor,’ Gideon murmured. ‘What did you sell?’
‘My grandfather’s house. All of our belongings, except for his pocket watch. I couldn’t bear to sell that. He was so disappointed that he couldn’t come with me. He was sick. Lung cancer. His last wish was that I would go to Eden and “thrive”. So I did. Or tried to.’
‘How much did you give to Eden?’ Mercy asked.
‘Several hundred thousand dollars. My grandfather owned a lot of land and developers had been after him to sell for a long time.’
‘Wow,’ Mercy whispered. ‘Did everyone give him that much money?’
‘Some gave him more,’ Amos said. ‘Some less. Some brought nothing but themselves and their children, like your mother, but looking back I can see there were more wealthy donors than poor members.’
‘What was Pastor’s name, back in LA?’ Rafe asked.
Amos gave him an approving nod. ‘That was what interested Agent Molina the most. His given name was Herbert Hampton, but now I don’t know if that was true, either.’
Rafe was already entering the name into his phone browser. ‘Nothing comes up on his name, but that’s not surprising if he hasn’t used it for thirty years.’ But he wasn’t discouraged at all. This was part of the hunt, his favorite part of the job.
‘Tom’s probably already searching,’ Gideon said. ‘He’s some kind of hacker whiz. If it’s on the Internet, or ever has been, he can find it.’
‘Or we could search the newspaper archives.’
Everyone turned to see Jeffrey Bunker standing in the kitchen doorway with Zoya, Karl, and Abigail. The sight of the little bastard reporter had Rafe’s temper rising fast, and from the way Gideon’s jaw bulged, his friend felt the same way. But Bunker had done some good today. He was trying to undo the harm he’d caused, and Rafe resolved to give the little punk a second chance.
‘This is a private conversation,’ Gideon growled, having clearly not come to the same resolution.
Zoya lifted her chin. ‘We were told to come for cake. Back off, Gideon. We didn’t do anything wrong.’
Abigail crossed the kitchen to climb into Amos’s lap. ‘He sounds mean again, Papa,’ she whispered, but so loudly that they could all hear it. ‘Why is he mean?’
Amos sighed. ‘He’s not mean. He’s frustrated. That’s not the same thing.’
Mercy was studying Bunker carefully. ‘Searching the newspaper archives is not a bad idea, Jeffrey. I’m Mercy, by the way.’
Bunker at least had the good grace to look ashamed. ‘I know. I’m . . . I’m sorry.’
‘I know,’ she said quietly.
Rafe had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from snarling. This man had seen the video of Mercy. Yes, it was grainy, according to anyone who’d seen it. Yes, he’d gotten it taken down within hours. But he’d seen it. He’d seen Mercy, naked and vulnerable, and Rafe wanted to rip his arms off for that alone.
But Mercy only smiled at the young man. ‘You helped Amos reunite with us, and I’m grateful. As far as I’m concerned, we’re more than even. I’ve missed him more than I can say. Thank you.’
‘And you reported my aunt Quill’s murder,’ Farrah added, ‘and for that I have to thank you.’
Farrah’s use of ‘have to’ wasn’t lost on anyone, especially Bunker.
‘She was a nice lady,’ Bunker said, dropping his gaze to his feet. ‘She was so proud of both of you. I hate that she was touched by any of this. That she . . .’ He glanced up at Abigail, who was watching everything with wide eyes that seemed to miss nothing. ‘Anyway. I’m so sorry for your loss.’ He squared his shoulders. ‘I’ll go to my room now. If you need me to help search archives for this Herbert Hampton guy, please ask.’
Irina rolled her eyes. ‘Sit, Jeffrey. We’ll have cake.’
But Rafe was too surprised by Bunker’s words to stem his own. ‘Wait. He’s staying here? In this house? With Zoya here? Why?’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘You never would have let us have “special friends” spend the night.’
Zoya glared at him as she took four servings of the cake. ‘He’s here because he brought Amos here, and Amos has most likely been discovered missing, which means that the people in Eden will be looking for him and anyone who’s helping him. Jeff’s at risk because he did a good thing. To make it worse, the FBI “can’t spare” anyone to watch his house to make sure he and his mother are safe. So they are here. At our invitation. Mine, Mom’s, and Dad’s. You don’t live here anymore, Rafe, so you can sh— be quiet,’ she amended, then gave Bunker two of the four plates she’d prepared. ‘Jeff, let’s go back to the office. We can take your mother and my sister Meg some cake, too.’
The two of them left the kitchen, Zoya with an angry flounce and Bunker with a quiet sigh.
Irina said nothing as she served cake to everyone still at the table, but Rafe thought he saw her lips twitching. ‘Mom, are you going to let Zoya get away with talking like that?’
‘Yes,’ Irina said simply.
‘Because she’s right,’ Karl added, taking a bite of his cake. ‘This is so good, Rini. Just like always.’
‘Zoya is right,’ Mercy murmured. ‘“Special friend sleepover” concerns aside, Jeff did us a big favor. I mean, I’m the one who has the most right to be angry about the article, and I’m really not. I’m grateful that Jeff cared enough to alert Irina to Amos’s email. He didn�
��t have to do that, but he did, and now Amos is here with us.’ She squeezed Amos’s hand, then turned a serious gaze onto Rafe and Gideon. ‘Abigail already thinks you’re an ogre, Gideon. I think we’ve got enough hatred coming at us from the true bad guys. Let’s not feed it with our own anger, okay? I’m tired of being angry.’
Farrah sighed. ‘You’re right. Why are you always right? And don’t look so happy with yourself.’
Mercy smirked. ‘I’m not right all that often, so I’ll be happy with myself as long as I want to.’
Rafe felt like Mercy had pulled a plug on his anger, and his shoulders sagged. He stuffed a forkful of cake in his mouth to combat the bad taste of that upcoming apology. ‘Dammit,’ he grumbled.
Mercy patted his face lightly. ‘I’m not happy about Bunker’s first article. I’m not. I’m embarrassed and I might have to wear a disguise out in public for the rest of my natural life. But here, when it’s just us, I’m safe enough, and I can be clearheaded enough to know that the real danger is a lot worse than a few thousand people seeing me in a less than pleasant light.’ She paused and looked around. ‘Nobody has really talked about the fact that DJ is out there, too. He could be anywhere. Maybe use all that energy to think about following Bunker’s advice. We need to find Eden, and Pastor is the cornerstone. If he embezzled that much money, somebody had to have covered the story. It exists somewhere, in some newspaper archive. We just need to find it. Amos, do you remember any of the articles from back then?’
‘No. We were told not to read them, that it was just Satan’s way of making us doubt.’
Rafe was about to scoff but saw the acceptance on Gideon and Mercy’s faces. ‘That was a thing, huh?’ he asked instead.
‘We were separate from the world,’ Gideon said. ‘And anyone who came into the compound from the outside had to take an oath to forget about the world and not speak of it. The world was determined to sway us from God and the Elders, so we were not to listen.’
‘Mark them,’ Mercy murmured. ‘Have nothing to do with them.’
The words and the eerie, detached way that she spoke them sent a chill down Rafe’s spine.
