Last Writes (18 page)

And then there was the matter of the different printing styles. One was block printing, the other, manuscript printing in upper- and lowercase; another reflection of two quite different personality types. Unless she was dealing with a multiple personality, which was possible but rare enough to make the possibility unlikely, Claudia would have to look elsewhere for answers.

Had she made an error in assuming that the writing in the file cabinet and the sample that Stedman had given her were Rodney Powers’s? It seemed unlikely, considering the content of the note.

She read it again, asking herself what the note might mean:
the evildoing.

The “my child” had to be Kylie. What the hell was going on here? This was a far more serious accusation than sending a child off to what amounted to a convent.

What were the chances of someone trying to trick Claudia into believing the note was from Rodney?
Who? Lynn Ryder? For what purpose?

Then it struck Claudia that the more troubling question was, how had the note found its way into her briefcase? Had Ryder come to her room while Claudia was out barging in on James Miller’s assignation with Kelly? No, that didn’t work. Why put it in the briefcase, rather than leaving it out in the open for her to find?

The answer arrived in a flash of memory.
Goth Girl with the purple hair.
She had been a decoy, distracting Claudia while the note writer—whoever it was—had slipped the paper into her briefcase. She remembered that the briefcase had been on a shelf under the lectern while she spoke with the AV guy. Her back had been turned to it for at least four or five minutes. She’d quickly stuffed her papers back into the folder after her lecture without paying much attention. She might not have found this note at all if she hadn’t decided to organize her papers tonight.

Goth Girl had detained her with a question, then abruptly let her go. Maybe she had received a signal from a cohort that he or she had succeeded in placing the note in the briefcase. Claudia tried to recall the man seated next to the girl, but she hadn’t gotten a strong impression of his appearance. Distracted by preparations for opening the class, she had not paid enough attention and was unable to visualize anything about the man.

Goth Girl had leaned over to speak to him.
Was he the one who had left the note? Could it have been Rodney?
The possibility both excited and angered her. So close, yet still elusive.

She pulled the quilt off the bed and draped it over the back of the desk chair, wondering what she ought to do about the note. It referred to proof of something evil going on at the Ark. Her stomach clenched.
All the more reason to find Kylie.

Before getting into bed, she slipped the note back into her briefcase, snapped it shut and spun the combination lock, which she rarely had reason to use, then stood it on the floor right beside her. Switching off the lamp, she thought,
It’s going to be a very long night.

 

 

 

The crowded breakfast room was filled with the noise of TBLers chattering. Having slept as little as she’d expected, and fitfully when she did, Claudia rose grumpy and out of sorts. Before parting at Kelly’s room the previous evening, they had agreed that Claudia would make her move on James Miller after breakfast.

The conundrum she faced about the odd note and its writer had not miraculously solved itself overnight, nor did anything fall into place when she rethought it again this morning. The note was still locked safely in her briefcase.

She was itching to tell Kelly about it, but there had been no opportunity to speak privately.

A familiar face came out of the crowd. “Sister Rose, come and sit with us!”

“Esther!” Claudia was pleased to see their young guide.

A welcoming smile lit the girl’s face, but the woman walking with her gave her a sharp poke in the ribs and spoke into her ear. Esther’s smile faded. Wordlessly, she ducked her head and hurried off toward the kitchen.

“Welcome to the Ark, Sister Rose. I’m Martha Elkins, Esther’s mother.” The woman faced Claudia with a cool glance that was at odd with her words. She looked young to have a daughter Esther’s age—no more than thirty, Claudia guessed. Her skin was smooth, unflawed. Glossy brown hair, pulled back from her face.

“You have a lovely daughter, Mrs. Elkins. She was a great tour guide when we arrived.”

“Well, today she’s got work to do, so she won’t be available to take you around.”

Claudia blinked in surprise. The woman’s taciturn manner didn’t fit with the smiles that had greeted her up until now. She pulled out a chair, wondering what was behind Martha Elkins’s sour expression. “Do you mind if I sit here?” Claudia asked.

“Suit yourself, there’s a place if you want it.” Then Esther’s mother relented. “I’ll save your seat for you. Go on up and get what you want.” She indicated a buffet line where the members were dishing up plates of sausage, eggs, and pancakes. Claudia took her place in line, looking for lighter fare. Like Kelly, she was a night owl who found it hard to face a big breakfast so early in the morning.

She spotted Kelly, already seated across the room, chatting with a young man Claudia had seen around. Kelly always went for younger men, and they were usually happy to oblige.

Claudia carried her plate of fruit and yogurt back to the table where Martha Elkins had saved her seat as she’d promised. The elder in charge of the table turned out to be Esther’s father. He looked substantially older than his wife, but a good match with his unsmiling demeanor. Esther must have gotten her sunny nature elsewhere.

Brother Elkins acknowledged Claudia with a nod and welcomed her to the table. Asking everyone to bow their heads, he launched into a blessing so lengthy that Claudia was glad she had selected cold foods. When they had echoed his Amen, Elkins picked on a boy at the end of the table, assigning him to read a Bible verse and a TBL-authored article about the importance of abstaining from sins of the flesh.

The boy cleared his throat several times through the reading, his face flaming with embarrassment. He stumbled through phrases like “anal sex” and “self-abuse,” which the article stated were ungodly practices strictly forbidden to TBL members, including married couples. Apparently the governing board of TBL had appointed themselves the Bedroom Police.

Claudia noticed that the others at the table ate fast, with their heads down, shoveling food into their mouths as if eating their last meal. She wasn’t sure whether it was more due to the subject matter or that Brother Elkins began encouraging them to finish their meal and get ready to go to their work assignments.

Seeing that there would not be much time for her to ask questions, Claudia jumped into the first lull in the conversation. “Esther was telling us yesterday about a little girl who’s been chosen for a special program. It sounded really interesting.”

The woman seated next to her perked up. “That would be Erin and Rod Powers’s child, little Kylie.” She had a round face that didn’t suit the Buster Brown haircut many of the women at the Ark seemed to favor. She’d introduced herself simply as Mary.

“Esther needs to keep her lip buttoned,” said Martha Elkins. “She’s turning into a little gossip.”

“It wasn’t like that,” Claudia said quickly, not wanting Esther to get in trouble. “My friend and I were asking her about young children at the Ark, that’s all. We hadn’t seen many here, and we were just curious.”

Mary said, “Kylie’s a beautiful child. Very special.”

A woman across the table nodded. “It’s a shame she and Sister Powers didn’t bond better.”

Claudia looked at her in surprise. “Didn’t bond? What do you mean?”

“I think Erin wanted a baby too badly; she needed too much from her. Sister Powers—Erin—didn’t have a good family of her own to raise her properly, you see.” The woman leaned forward as if she could hardly wait to spill what she knew. “That’s why having the baby was so important to her. The sad thing of it is, when Kylie was born, she wasn’t the kind of baby that wanted to be picked up and cuddled all the time. Not all babies do, you know. At least, Kylie didn’t want to be held by her mother. Different story with Rod, though. He was always—”

“Now who’s gossiping?” Martha Elkins interrupted sharply. “Erin’s a fine mother.”

“Of course she is, Sister Elkins,” the woman said in a mild tone. “I’m not saying she isn’t, but you do have to admit that the child is closer to her father.”

Brother Elkins rose and frowned down at them all. “Brothers and sisters, it’s time we got to work. If you have time to sit around, talking idly about our brethren who aren’t present, then perhaps you need some extra duties added to your load.”

Everyone stood up and began hurrying to disperse.

“Are you taken care of, sister?” Brother Elkins said to Claudia, who was scanning the room for James Miller. “Do you know where you’re meant to go?”

“Yes, thank you. Mr. Stedman has something for me to do.” She spotted James walking toward the door, chatting with another man. She excused herself and left Brother Elkins staring after her.

 

By the time she caught up with him, Miller was alone and moving fast along the path in the direction of the Victorian.

Claudia sped after him. “Mr. Miller, James. Could I speak with you, please?”

He turned back, the beginnings of a smile on his lips. She saw in his eyes, and the way he blanched, the instant he recognized her from the evening before in Kelly’s room. His shoulders tensed and he started to hurry away. “I don’t have time to talk. I have to get to the office. I have a project—”

“Wait, please, James, I promise not to take long. It’s really important.”

“I don’t know you. I have nothing to say to you that won’t get me into trouble.”

He wore a long-sleeve white dress shirt and tie, a crew-neck T-shirt peeking out from the neck. It must have been uncomfortably warm and gave him the look of a nerd. The navy blue serge trousers and brown dress shoes didn’t help, either. The only thing missing was a plastic pocket protector.

His panicked look made her feel sorry for him, but for Kylie’s sake, Claudia hardened her heart. She said matter-of-factly, “Maybe you’d rather say it to Brother Stedman.”

James stopped short at that and gave her deer-in-headlights fear. “What is it you want from me?”

“Do you think we could we find someplace private where we can talk for a moment? Please?”

His eyes darted left and right, seeking a way of escape. Not finding one, his shoulders sagged. His voice held defeat as he told her to follow him.

He left the dirt path, Claudia trailing, and headed through the trees about fifty feet to a small glade. They were only a hundred feet from the dining hall, but were well hidden here from curious eyes and ears.

James turned to her and held out his hands in entreaty. “If you report me, I’ll be excommunicated. Look, I know I’ve committed a grievous sin, but at least if you give me a chance to confess it myself, it won’t be—”

“James, stop! You don’t have to worry; I’m not going to say anything to Stedman or anyone else. I really don’t care who you have sex with.”

“We didn’t—it wasn’t—we just—”

“Yes, I could see what you didn’t do. Anyway, I don’t care. It’s your business and Kelly’s, not mine. I’m not the sex police.”

A tall hedge stretched in both directions as far as Claudia could see, and appeared to run along the borders of the property. The branches had woven around and through the dull metal of a chain link fence. No one would be able to enter or leave the Ark that way.

James backed up against the hedge as if he needed the protection of something solid behind him. He gripped his arms across his chest and stared at her. “Well—what is it you want with me?”

“I’d like you to tell me what you know about Rodney Powers’s whereabouts.” She felt like a detective, asking him like that. He had no obligation to answer, of course, but if he refused to cooperate, there was still the threat of blowing the whistle on him for hooking up with a nonmember. For hooking up at all.

James’s face drained of color. “Rodney’s—wait a minute—you know about Rod? How do you know—?”

She answered his question with another. “Do you know where he is?”

“I don’t, uh . . . I, uh . . .”

Claudia spoke gently, as if he were a frightened animal who might startle away if she moved too fast. “I know you don’t want to lie, James. What would Brother Stedman have to say about that?”

He licked his lips nervously, unfolded his arms and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Why do you want to know about Rod? Who are you two really? And what are you
doing
here?”

“We’re looking for Rod. That’s what we’re doing here. You’re the person he’s closest to, so you’re the most likely person to know where he is.”

“Did Sister Ryder put you up to this?”

“Lynn Ryder? Why would you think that?”

“She knows everything that’s going on around here.”

“Electronic monitoring,” Claudia said, half to herself. “They’re watching and listening to everything?”

“Anything she knows,
they
know.”

“Who do you mean, ‘they’?”

James caught himself. “I don’t mean anything. I don’t know what I’m saying. I haven’t had enough sleep, I . . .”

“I know you’re under a lot of stress. You’re helping Rod and I expect the elders wouldn’t approve if they knew you were taking sides between a husband and wife. That must be difficult for you. I know you want to do the right thing, James. Look, little Kylie needs her mother.
Please
tell me where he’s taken her.”

James drew a sharp breath, and in that moment Claudia caught a glimpse of the inner turmoil that was tearing him apart. She willed him to take the relief valve she was offering him in sharing his secret.