Last Writes (30 page)

For the next twenty minutes, the ride was tense and silent, each absorbed in thought to occupy the miles. Claudia guessed that Jovanic was mapping out a strategy in his head for what to do when they arrived. He had a weapon and the force of the law behind him, but he lacked Rodney’s advantage of being thoroughly familiar with the compound. Even Claudia had a rough knowledge of the layout of the buildings. Some of them anyway. She had not gone past the little village area.

Her mind kept returning to Kelly—wondering where she might be or what trouble she might have run into. She tried phoning several times, but the calls all went straight to voicemail. Either Kelly was avoiding her and had turned off the phone or she was using it. When she got into the hills about five miles before arriving at the Ark, Kelly would lose her cell service altogether.

Jovanic drove into Lamb Canyon with only about ten miles to go.

“We don’t have any idea what the situation is gonna be when we get there,” Jovanic said. “Rod, forget what you said about being peace lovers. What weapons are there at the Ark?”

“None that I’m aware of, I swear. I truly don’t believe there are any. Brother Stedman has always preached Isaiah 2:4:
‘They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning-knives.’
I can’t imagine him suddenly going against that now. It would be completely unlike him.”

Claudia couldn’t help her retort: “But last week, you couldn’t imagine him performing child sacrifice, either. Now he’s talking about a knife, and you believed it was serious enough to take Kylie and run. Rodney, how far do you think he might be prepared to go to make sure he gets his way on this? What will he do to protect his plans for your child?”

“God, I wish I knew.” His voice cracked. “I just don’t know anymore.”

Jovanic said, “Rod, I need you to explain the layout of the compound to me. You’ve got to stay calm and tell me everything you can think of that might be important.”

“Yes, you’re right. If you have something to write on, I’ll draw a map.”

Claudia said there was a steno pad and pen in the glove compartment. “There’s a gated entry,” she explained to Jovanic as Rodney drew. “And a guard twenty-four seven. On each side of the guard shack, there’s a hedge at least eight feet high that runs—Rod, does it go all the way around the perimeter?”

“No. In the back, at the far end of the property we have a working farm. The fields are fenced, but not that high. It would be a long hike to get back there from the road; it’s better if we go in through the front gate.” He pondered for a moment. “I think Brother Martin would be on duty tonight. He’s a good friend; we shouldn’t have any trouble with him.”

Given the circumstances, Claudia was less sure they should count on
anyone
being friendly.

“Inside the gate there’s a parking lot, then a Victorian house. That’s where the offices are and where the governing board have their apartments. Behind the house is a big garden patch, then the cafeteria and some other buildings—the school, the print shop and bindery, the general store. Like that.”

Rodney took up the narrative. “Past the industrial buildings are the residences. We call that area the village. That’s where my house is. A little ways beyond the village is the church; and past that, the farm. That’s pretty much everything, I think.”

“How many people live at the compound?”

“Around two hundred, usually. Around seventy-five or so are adult men.”

“Where’s the underground bunker you told me about, Claud?” Jovanic asked.

“It’s in the area where the industrial buildings are. Rodney, do you know how to get in there?”

“The bomb shelters? Sister Ryder keeps the keys to most of the buildings, but I don’t know about the bomb shelters. Brother Stedman might be the only one.”

“Sounds like a lot of possibilities to consider,” Jovanic said. “We only have one weapon between us, not exactly a lot of firepower if it comes down to a fight. Might be best if we wait for Hemet PD.”

In the front seat, Claudia saw Rodney go rigid in protest. “No! We can’t wait. We can’t risk my daughter’s life. I’ll go in by myself if I have to. Nothing on earth is going to stop me.”

“Face it, Rod, you can barely walk on your own,” said Jovanic. “You’re not going to be a whole lot of help.”

“This is my child! Don’t you understand he’s going to kill her?”

“Do you honestly believe the members would allow him to actually sacrifice a child?”

He got very quiet; then he said, “One thing I know for certain: whether they like it or not, they will go along with anything the governing board tells them to do.”

They had arrived at the narrow access road leading to the Ark. Jovanic made the left turn and drove slowly into the unlit woods. “Shit, it’s darker than Bin Laden’s soul out here.”

“And just as treacherous,” Claudia said. “I’ll tell you when we get to the last curve before the front gate. Maybe we should park there and walk the rest of the way in.”

She gave him the heads-up and he pulled over to the side of the narrow road, switched off the headlights, and killed the engine. Rodney handed him the rough map he’d drawn and Jovanic studied it in the light of the glove compartment. They were still around the corner from the Ark, but there was no point risking drawing attention by using the dome light. When he had finished, they all climbed out to walk the last few yards to the Ark.

As they stepped out of the air-conditioned Jaguar, the heat enveloped them like a blanket, instantly dampening Claudia’s forehead with perspiration. She had become accustomed to the late-evening temperature in the hills behind Hemet hovering in the mid-eighties, but tonight the humidity was unusually high.

“Where’s the Maglite?” Jovanic asked. Unable to talk Claudia into handling a firearm, a few months ago he had supplied her with a heavy-duty flashlight as an emergency weapon.

“Under the front seat. We’re gonna need it behind the house; it’s as dark as pitch out there.” She felt stupid that she herself had not thought of bringing it along, now that it would have come in handy. Jovanic just nodded as if he knew. He clicked the flashlight on and off to check the batteries.

Rodney was limping badly, but insisted he was fine. “Let me go first. If Jerry Martin is in the guardhouse, he’ll let us in without a problem. I’ll find out if Erin and Brother Johnson are here.”

They turned into the long driveway. Claudia came to a sudden halt. “Oh, Jeez.”

Blocking the gate was a red Mustang. Its trunk open.

 

 

 

“Oh shit, Kelly’s car.” Claudia’s voice sounded quavery in her own ears. “Is she inside?”

“Wait here. I’ll see if Brother Martin is on duty.” No engine sounds carried on the still night air as Rodney started limping toward the guardhouse.

Standing in the shadow of the trees, they watched him cover the short distance. Claudia noticed that Jovanic kept his hand on the Beretta, and was grateful to have him beside her. She had gotten herself out of a few jams in the past, but having Jovanic there with his weapon felt like the difference between a skateboard and an armored tank.

The guardhouse was not much larger than a tollbooth and had a two-part Dutch door on one side. The top half was open. Rodney was in the small building for only a couple of seconds before he backed out and hobbled all the way around it. When he was finished he waved them over, shaking his head in bewilderment.

“This is really strange. There’s nobody here. Someone is
always
supposed to be at the gate. It’s never to be left open like this.”

Jovanic said, “Let’s find out what’s up with Kelly’s car.”

Together, he and Claudia went around to the rear of the Mustang and looked inside the open trunk. The carpet had been folded back, the sheet of Masonite that covered the spare tire left askew. Neither of them spoke; the look they exchanged was enough.

Leaving the trunk they went to the driver’s door. As Claudia reached out to open it, Jovanic grabbed her hand. “Don’t touch anything . . . just in case.”

“You think it could be a crime scene? Oh God . . .” The driver’s side window was down. She leaned forward and peered inside, taking care to keep her hands away from the surface of the vehicle.

She could see that the key was in the ignition, Kelly’s key ring with the little silver shark attached dangling from it. The key ring had been a gag gift from a former husband—not because she was a lawyer, he’d said, but because she was predatory. She’d been amused.

Her purse lay discarded on the passenger seat; her iPhone on the floor, half hidden under the accelerator. Claudia gave a quick glance back at Jovanic. His face gave away nothing, but she could feel his heightened vigilance; knew he had seen it all, knew he had read the fear in her eyes.

The three of them walked around the front of the Mustang and through the open gate, onto the grounds. In the parking area, the SUVs and several smaller sedans were still parked in the same spaces as when Claudia and Kelly had left the Ark so many hours earlier. There was one difference: a Toyota that matched the one Rodney had pointed out near Tabby’s house was parked in front of the Victorian, both doors wide open as if the occupants had left in a hurry.

Shining the flashlight around at the bushes and shrubs surrounding the house, Jovanic strode ahead and checked out the Toyota. When he turned back to them he shook his head, confirming what they already knew.
Not here.

Up ahead, the front windows of the Victorian were lit up like the Fourth of July. Only the night lights should have been burning this late. They started up the front steps, Claudia straining in vain to see any activity through the open drapes.

Rodney rushed across the porch, ignoring any pain he might be feeling in his smashed foot, and wrenched open the front door. When Claudia and Jovanic followed him inside, he was still standing in the entry, staring helplessly in one direction, then the other, as if unsure of what to do next.

“Where are they?” Panic made his voice squeak. “Where could they be? Oh, God in heaven, please show me where they are.”

The house was hushed with an emptiness that left Claudia edgy. She pointed to the staircase and mouthed to Jovanic,
Stedman’s rooms.

He nodded that he understood and took the lead, motioning them to stay close to the wall. They ascended the stairs with Rodney leaning heavily on the handrail. His breathing was labored as he climbed, and Claudia went behind him in case he needed help. In her view, it was stupid for him to go when he was so impaired, but he insisted and there was no point wasting time in an argument.

On the second floor, light flowed into the hallway from Harold Stedman’s open office door. Jovanic stopped several feet short and raised his voice. “Mr. Stedman?”

Aside from his voice and their breathing, the silence was complete. Signaling for Claudia and Rodney to stay where they were, Jovanic moved quickly around the doorway, his weapon out in front of him. He returned seconds later shaking his head:
No one there.

The door to the guest room Claudia had occupied was also open but no lights were on inside. While she and Rodney waited at the top of the stairs, Jovanic cleared that room and then the bathroom. Two other closed doors—nothing but additional empty bedrooms.

“The governing board members live on the third floor,” Claudia said in a low voice, remembering what Rita had told her.

“No!” Rodney insisted. “We don’t have time to go up there. They’re not here; we need to go to the church.”

Jovanic spoke quietly. “Let’s keep it low-key. If we’re systematic about this, we’ll find them. Where’s the altar located? The special one you said they were building for the ceremony.”

“Behind the church.” Rodney started nodding. “The sanctuary. That’s gotta be it; that’s where we have to go.”

They returned to the first floor and were walking single file through the hallway that led to the back door. Jovanic, who was in front, came to a sudden halt. Claudia, on his heels, crashed into him. “What?”

He half turned. “Hand me the flashlight.” He squatted into a crouch and pointed the beam at something he had spotted on the floor. Straightened; turned to them with a grim face. “Could be blood.”

“Oh, dear Lord God,” Rodney moaned.

Claudia swung around. What little color he had drained from his face, and for a moment it looked as if he might pass out. “Lean over,” she urged him. “Put your head down.”

Jovanic said, “If it
is
blood, there’s enough here to indicate serious injury.”

Claudia looked past him and saw the dark stain on light-colored floor tile. “Of course it’s blood. I can see drops all the way to the back door.”

Jovanic turned to Rodney. “Is there any other way out of the building that will get us to the church? We have to avoid contaminating this area.”

Rodney slowly shook his head, shock still registered on his face. “Only the front door. We have to go back out the way we came and walk around to the back.”

They retraced their route, leaving through the main entrance. With every step to the back path, the words chanted in Claudia’s head:
Please don’t let Kylie be hurt.

 

Overhead, the sky was hazy with clouds that obscured the moon and stars as thoroughly as the gravel obscured further signs of blood. Somewhere in the distance, Claudia heard the rumble of thunder. Summer rain in Hemet was not unheard of, but certainly was out of the ordinary.

They strainined for any sound as they went, but there was only the slight crunch of their footfalls. They had walked about fifty yards when Claudia’s ears picked up something else. Jovanic, walking in front of her, gave no indication that he had heard it.

“Joel!” She grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him with her whisper. “Listen.” They came to a halt and let the silence envelop them. Seconds later it came again: a soft groan of pain, followed by a cry for help.