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Authors: Hazel Hunter
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things had bothered her all day. They needed to talk. She knew they did–and she wanted to–but not now.
She recounted everything, as fast as she could. She’d had to tour the entire place this time, complete with viewing the promotional DVD. It’d taken her all afternoon to finally get away.
“Kayla wouldn’t just leave,” Susan said, sniffing. “Even when she moved there, she said goodbye. It’s just not like her.”
Mac checked Isabelle and she nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like Kayla, at least not the Kayla she knew.
“Fine,” Mac said. “Let’s assume she didn’t leave or she left but not of her own free will. In either case, we’re going to have a hard time getting a search warrant. The Green Earth Commune is clean from the law enforcement side. I looked into them today.”
“You did ?” Susan asked.
Mac nodded and Isabelle couldn’t help but smile. He was Special Agent MacMillan, on the case, and it reminded her of when they’d worked together.
“But the news is as I suspected. On paper, it’s a non-profit that’s getting along well in the community. There’s no evidence of wrong-doing and only one inquiry has been filed by,” he said, inclining his head at Susan, “parents trying to communicate with their daughter.” He shook his head. “But it’s not a crime to father dozens of children.”
“It’s disgusting ,” Susan said, her face contorting but no longer panicked. “But, if it’s not illegal and everything looks fine, how can we find Kayla?”
“We have to look for her,” Mac said, as though it were obvious. “ Ourselves .”
“Can you do that?” Susan asked, her voice tinged with the tiniest amount of hope.
“I’ve already started,” Mac said.
“You have?” Isabelle and Susan said together.
“Based on what Isabelle described yesterday, I was already convinced it was a cult. In and of itself, that’s not necessarily bad but when misplaced adoration for a particular person is at work it almost always leads to abuse. Geoffrey sounds like a textbook example. Where abuse of one type is taking place, he’ll be taking advantage in other ways as well. You say the members adopt a minimalist lifestyle once they’re there. Leave their worldly belongings.” Isabelle nodded. “According to the Bureau, the commune receives donations of every type. That’s likely from the members. Even so, from what you describe, it’s an extensive operation. It takes money to do something like that. A lot of money. Much more than can be accounted for with donations.”
“So we look for her ourselves,” Isabelle said. “How?”
“We join,” Mac said.
Isabelle stared at him.
“How do you know they’ll take you?” Susan asked. “Won’t they find out you’re an FBI agent?”
“The Cyber Division is setting up a fake identity for me. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, the whole works, including a bank account. The Green Earth Commune recruits online and it turns out that I’ve already downloaded all the brochures and videos after signing up for their mailing list. The Cyber Division was ready to go. All I had to do was give them an excuse.”
“When will you go?” Susan asked, giving them both a questioning gaze.
“First thing tomorrow,” he said.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Until they knew what it meant, Mac had to agree it was probably best to keep the broken frame and photo from Susan. Isabelle had revealed it on the way home. There was no point in upsetting Susan further but finding it in the trash was not a good sign.
Mac sat at the dining room table and took a good look at the picture, though he didn’t touch it. Daniel had been handsome. Even in the black and white photo, his sandy hair and light eyes stood out. As Mac studied it, he realized he was looking for some resemblance to himself. But there wasn’t any–not that he could see.
Isabelle took a seat in front of the frame and removed one of her gloves. Her normally full lips were drawn into a thin
She recounted everything, as fast as she could. She’d had to tour the entire place this time, complete with viewing the promotional DVD. It’d taken her all afternoon to finally get away.
“Kayla wouldn’t just leave,” Susan said, sniffing. “Even when she moved there, she said goodbye. It’s just not like her.”
Mac checked Isabelle and she nodded in agreement. It wasn’t like Kayla, at least not the Kayla she knew.
“Fine,” Mac said. “Let’s assume she didn’t leave or she left but not of her own free will. In either case, we’re going to have a hard time getting a search warrant. The Green Earth Commune is clean from the law enforcement side. I looked into them today.”
“You did ?” Susan asked.
Mac nodded and Isabelle couldn’t help but smile. He was Special Agent MacMillan, on the case, and it reminded her of when they’d worked together.
“But the news is as I suspected. On paper, it’s a non-profit that’s getting along well in the community. There’s no evidence of wrong-doing and only one inquiry has been filed by,” he said, inclining his head at Susan, “parents trying to communicate with their daughter.” He shook his head. “But it’s not a crime to father dozens of children.”
“It’s disgusting ,” Susan said, her face contorting but no longer panicked. “But, if it’s not illegal and everything looks fine, how can we find Kayla?”
“We have to look for her,” Mac said, as though it were obvious. “ Ourselves .”
“Can you do that?” Susan asked, her voice tinged with the tiniest amount of hope.
“I’ve already started,” Mac said.
“You have?” Isabelle and Susan said together.
“Based on what Isabelle described yesterday, I was already convinced it was a cult. In and of itself, that’s not necessarily bad but when misplaced adoration for a particular person is at work it almost always leads to abuse. Geoffrey sounds like a textbook example. Where abuse of one type is taking place, he’ll be taking advantage in other ways as well. You say the members adopt a minimalist lifestyle once they’re there. Leave their worldly belongings.” Isabelle nodded. “According to the Bureau, the commune receives donations of every type. That’s likely from the members. Even so, from what you describe, it’s an extensive operation. It takes money to do something like that. A lot of money. Much more than can be accounted for with donations.”
“So we look for her ourselves,” Isabelle said. “How?”
“We join,” Mac said.
Isabelle stared at him.
“How do you know they’ll take you?” Susan asked. “Won’t they find out you’re an FBI agent?”
“The Cyber Division is setting up a fake identity for me. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, the whole works, including a bank account. The Green Earth Commune recruits online and it turns out that I’ve already downloaded all the brochures and videos after signing up for their mailing list. The Cyber Division was ready to go. All I had to do was give them an excuse.”
“When will you go?” Susan asked, giving them both a questioning gaze.
“First thing tomorrow,” he said.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Until they knew what it meant, Mac had to agree it was probably best to keep the broken frame and photo from Susan. Isabelle had revealed it on the way home. There was no point in upsetting Susan further but finding it in the trash was not a good sign.
Mac sat at the dining room table and took a good look at the picture, though he didn’t touch it. Daniel had been handsome. Even in the black and white photo, his sandy hair and light eyes stood out. As Mac studied it, he realized he was looking for some resemblance to himself. But there wasn’t any–not that he could see.
Isabelle took a seat in front of the frame and removed one of her gloves. Her normally full lips were drawn into a thin
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