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“Have you seen Sister Courtney?”
“Sister who?”
His response surprised her. Unlike Patricia, he’d been heavily involved in Courtney’s indoctrinization and should have recognized her real name. “Trix. The new convert.”
“Oh, yes. I think she went back home to her parents.”
“She did?”
“That’s what the Holy One told me.”
“When?”
His scowl was always unsettling, with his lazy eye drifting off to the left. “Does it matter? Why are you asking?”
“I’m…” Her voice trailed off beneath his glower, and suddenly she felt silly for being worried. Ethan was a man of God. He gave beautiful, moving sermons about being true to oneself, about being generous in spirit, about becoming a better person.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “She didn’t come to work so I was afraid she might have fallen ill.”
“She’s not ill. She’s gone. Hopefully, for good.”
Sarah’s fingers curled into her palms. “You didn’t like her?”
“I like everyone,” he said, even though his expression suggested just the opposite. Aloof and difficult to read, he dogged Ethan’s every step, and had ever since she’d joined. But he wasn’t like Ethan at all. Sometimes, he was downright unfriendly. “I just didn’t appreciate some of the lies that came out of her mouth,” he added. “Not everyone is capable of upholding the covenants we make. This was clearly not for her.”
Sarah could understand. She was the first to admit that living in the commune wasn’t easy. She herself sometimes struggled to trust her leaders. This was a perfect example. “Yes, Brother.”
He waved toward the cheese factory. “Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
Her chin nearly hit her chest as she nodded. Not only was she questioning her faith and doubting God’s anointed, she was being derelict in her duty. “I’m on my way.”
“Make it quick.” He started off again but turned back. “Before Courtney left, she mentioned to several people that she’d learned something shocking, something—or so she claimed—that would destroy us all. Did she tell you about it?”
Sarah didn’t know how to respond. Courtney hadn’t really told her anything. Sarah had merely overheard what the others had said. She opened her mouth to say as much but that irrational fear she’d been feeling welled up inside, and it was powerful enough to silence her. She didn’t want to be thrown out. She had friends here who’d become more like family to her than her own emotionally aloof father. And she had nowhere else to go. “No, Brother.”
“Well, if you do hear anything, it was all a pack of lies. Courtney was a lost soul, as you know. We did our best to redeem her, but one must be repentant and willing to be cleansed.”
“I agree.”
Why was he bothering to explain this to her?
“It would be wise to remember that anyone spreading gossip or falsehoods will be shunned. God will not stand for His prophet to be mocked.”
Was Ethan worried about being mocked—or questioned? Sarah got the impression he refused to allow either. “I’m aware of God’s laws.”
“I’m happy to hear it,” he said. “Peace be with you.”
Having an explanation for Courtney’s disappearance helped. Sarah felt relieved as she hurried to work. It made her sad that Courtney hadn’t bothered to say goodbye. But that didn’t matter as long as her friend was safe. Sarah was used to being forgotten.
“Self-pity is a sin,” she reminded herself as soon as the “forgotten” thought passed through her head. Then she said a prayer of thanksgiving for a Savior who made it possible to repent and change. As she stepped inside the cinder-block cheese factory, she decided she didn’t care what her leaders did. As long as her heart was pure, her soul would be saved.
Or was it a little more complicated than that? Did she have more of a responsibility to make sure her leaders were being honest than she wanted to acknowledge?
Rachel rubbed her temples as she stared through the windshield at a white single-wide trailer. Judging by the dents and the rust and the broken picket skirt, it had to be at least thirty years old. There was a dog pen on one side, also broken in places, and a rock pile in an area Rachel couldn’t even call a yard. It all sat at the end of a dirt drive. They’d actually been driving on dirt for a while. The only way to reach Portal was to go around the mountains or over them, and the road over was dirt. Taking the pass meant you risked running into one of the thunderstorms that could happen so suddenly during monsoon season, but Nate had insisted on the direct route, and Rachel hadn’t been surprised. He was in his beloved ramshackle truck; that was what he felt such a vehicle was for. “This is it?”
“It is if we can trust our directions.” Nate didn’t sound any more enthusiastic than she was.
“Wow.” Thanks to her job, she’d lived in plenty of dumps. She’d tolerated soggy, water-damaged ceilings, threadbare carpet, cockroaches, cigarette smoke clinging to drapes, bedding and furniture, leaky plumbing and paper-thin walls in motels where she could hear headboards banging, courtesy of her prostitute neighbors. But she’d always had electricity and running water. This place had a generator, if it worked, and an outhouse made of sun-bleached wood that listed to one side.
Taking a deep breath, she studied the surrounding area. As Nate had promised, the Chiricahuas were close by. They rose like islands from the desert “sea,” which was why, according to Nate, these mountains and others like them were called “sky islands.” Rachel was happy that this part of the state wasn’t quite as flat as the land they’d crossed coming from L.A. In addition to creosote and cacti, they now saw some oak and pine.
The sunset resembled taffy melting on the mountain peaks in stunning layers of red, orange and gold. It was one of the most spectacular displays Rachel had ever seen—but all she could do was gape at the remote outpost she’d be sharing with Nate for God knew how long.
“How much is Milt paying in rent?” she asked.
“I lined this up. I knew I was getting taken even at the time, but…shit,” he grumbled. Then he was gone, carrying their luggage to the front door as if they might as well get on with the task at hand.
Nate had mentioned snakes. If Rachel had her guess, there were plenty of scorpions, tarantulas and lizards, too—not to mention the odd mountain lion. She could picture the Apaches who’d holed up here with Cochise and Geronimo in the 1860s and ’70s. Two of the last bastions of the Old West—Tombstone and Douglas—weren’t far away. Nate had talked about the area’s history as they’d passed the grocery store/café constituting the center of town. Apparently, there wasn’t even a gas station in Portal. You had to drive seven miles to Rodeo, New Mexico, in order to fill up.
