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After a moment, when he did respond verbally, she broke eye contact and unzipped her bag, pulling out the thick binder she’d had with her earlier. “I did some more research…”
He grinned at that. Of course she had. Research was her life. “Find anything new?”
“Maybe. Look at this.” She shifted the binder to open it and pointed at a printed photo. It was of the girl—maybe five years younger—in the same white robe, but it was a group photo this time. There were about twenty people, all wearing the same flowing garments, their faces varying degrees of serene and stoic. They stood before an old but well-kept house nestled among towering redwood trees. “I found it in a Reddit thread about escaping cults. The user who posted it didn’t respond when I asked about the picture.”
Before Cal could comment, Rose appeared at their booth with another mug of beer for him, a glass of white wine for Ellie, and a plate of nachos piled high.
“You’re mostly through that one, Cal,” she said, nodding at his half-empty pint. “Thought you might want a top-up.”
“Thanks,” he replied, sliding his original glass toward her.
But her attention had already moved on to the picture on the table between them. Something in her eyes had Cal sitting up straighter. He held up the photo. “Do you recognize these people?”
Rose hesitated a beat. “Not the people specifically, but they’re all from the commune.”
Both Cal and Ellie stared at her.
“What commune?” Cal asked.
“The one on the mountain. My parents and I lived there for a while when I was a kid, but I guess they started getting weird vibes, so we left.”
Ellie frowned. “What kind of weird vibes?”
“I don’t know. I was only five or six when we left, but I do remember those robes.” She hitched a chin toward the kitchen. “My dad’s here today working the kitchen. I can ask if he’s willing to come out and talk about it if you want.”
“We’d appreciate that,” Cal said. As Rose started to turn away, his conscience got the better of him, and he added, “You should know your husband warned us away from this.”
She glanced back and lifted an eyebrow. “Did he?”
“Thought you should know before you got involved. I don’t want to cause any problems between you.”
Rose scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. “Aw, don’t worry about us. Fighting is our love language. If Mr. Grumpy has a problem with me talking to you, he’ll get over it. Eventually.”
Ellie gave a soft chuckle, toying with the glass Rose had just placed before her. “I wish I could be more like her,” she said more to herself than anyone else. “Not caring what others think.”
Cal turned his gaze to Ellie, her glasses reflecting the pub’s dim light. He reached out to touch her hand, still wrapped around the glass. She looked surprised but didn’t pull away, which he took as a sign she was softening toward him again.
Progress.
“You’re perfect just as you are.”
She avoided his eyes, focusing on the melting ice cubes in her drink. “This is strictly professional,” she reminded and drew her hand away from his.
Fuck.
He smothered a flare of annoyance with a long drink of his beer. With her, it was always one step forward, two steps back.
A few minutes passed in awkward silence before a man appeared at their table. Pete Galasso. He looked every bit the aging hippie he was. He wore a tie-dye T-shirt under his apron and had his long gray hair pulled back into a ponytail under a hair net. His eyes were kind, albeit wary beneath bushy brows. He pulled the hairnet off and took a seat next to Cal.
“Hey, Pete,” Cal said.
Pete nodded a polite hello even though apprehension filled his eyes. “So my Wildflower says you’re looking into the commune on the mountain? What do you want to know?”
“We think my sister Hope may have joined them at some point, probably around twenty years ago.” Ellie pulled up a picture of Hope on her phone and showed it to him. He studied it carefully before shaking his head.
“Sorry, we left around that time. I don’t recognize her.”
Disappointment flickered over Ellie’s face before she hid it. “She’s been missing for all these years, and the commune is the first real lead we have. Whatever you can tell us about them will be helpful.”
