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They waited until she could sit up. Then Nate squatted in front of her. “Tell us why you came here.”
“To warn your wife,” she said.
“Warn her about what?”
“Nothing. I have to go.” She managed to get up but wobbled on her feet.
Nate blocked her way to the door. “Why did you feel it was necessary to tell my wife to leave the compound?”
“It’s dangerous here. You heard about the woman who was stoned, didn’t you?”
“It’s true, then?”
“Of course. I was there.”
Nathan’s heart began to race. Had they just found an informant? A witness? That could make a huge difference. “What about Courtney Sinclair? Can you tell me anything about her?”
“I don’t want to talk about Courtney. It’s not safe for me to be here.”
“If you know about the stoning and you don’t agree with it, if you’re so scared, why haven’t you gone to the police?” Rachel asked.
“Because they can’t protect me. They couldn’t protect Martha, could they?”
Nate grabbed her arm. “You know Martha went missing? Is she here? Did they bring her back?”
She didn’t answer. Jerking away despite her unsteadiness, she reached for the door, but Nate wouldn’t let her open it. “What if I told you we could offer you protection? Real protection? Would you tell us what you know?”
“No one can offer me real protection.” She touched her injured cheek. “Least of all you.”
“That’s not true. We work for a private security company. We have people who are trained in that sort of thing, and they’re damn good at it. I promise you we’ll provide the manpower. All we need is your testimony.”
“You’re not who you said you are?”
Rachel cut in. “We’re colleagues—not husband and wife. We were hired to figure out what’s going on here. We’re going to stop Ethan, for the sake of Martha, Courtney, Sarah and anyone else who might be at risk. Will you help?”
“You know Sarah’s missing, too?”
“We know she helped recapture Martha. Then she disappeared. Help us find her? Can you do that?”
Her eyes shifted between them. “What about my family? My friends?”
“They’ll be protected, too. The sooner we put Ethan away, the better off everyone will be.”
Her hair, brown streaked with gray from what Nate could remember, fell forward as she bent to pick up the hood Rachel had removed. She turned it over in her hands, staring at it. “Okay. Meet me downstairs in the storage room off the main laundry. It’s just past the kitchen. But give me fifteen minutes to make sure it’s safe. If Ethan or Bart find us, we’re all dead.”
A Covenanter who’d talk. Now they were getting somewhere. “What’s downstairs?” Nate asked.
“Something you should see.”
Rachel sat on the bed in silence. Nate was beside her, but she didn’t touch him. Not after the frenzy that had consumed them before Ethan’s housekeeper had let herself into the room. He’d asked her to say she loved him, but her emotions had been the problem before. He didn’t want a commitment. So why he’d said such a thing she had no idea. She needed to push what had occurred between them out of her mind, avoid the confusion. She couldn’t deal with it right now.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Sarah,” she lied.
“What about her?”
“I’m wondering why she betrayed Martha.”
“You know the brainwashing people in cults go through. You went through something similar. Ethan probably told her it was God’s will. Or she’d be shunned by her family and friends if she didn’t do what he said. Some damn thing. Maybe he even threatened her life. You never know. Not with Ethan.”
Rachel said nothing, but her thoughts turned to her father. Why did he insist on living in such a small world? Why couldn’t he allow others some freedom of choice, have respect for their decisions?
Nate startled her by taking her hand. “What we were talking about before…?”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Before what?”
“When we were making love,” he said pointedly.
It took effort to sound nonchalant, but she managed it. “What about it?”
“I want to discuss it again. After this is all over.”
She pulled away and clasped her hands together in her lap. “I think we should leave it alone.”
“Maybe. But we’re going to talk about it, anyway,” he said. Then he checked his watch. “It’s time. Let’s go.”
30
The pit was real. Nate had guessed it would be. They stood at the top of some metal stairs that extended into a dark, cavernous void, which resembled a kind of cellar. Except that it was bigger than any cellar he’d ever seen. The air billowing up from inside smelled of fire and incense. But it seemed to be empty.
“This is where Ethan performs his rituals?” he asked.
The housekeeper, who’d just told them her name was Maxine, had turned on a light in the pantry, making it possible for them to see her clearly for the first time tonight. Her hair was mussed, disheveled by static from the hood she’d worn, but her makeup was mostly intact. Obviously, she hadn’t been to bed this evening. The swelling where Nate had hit her was beginning to close her right eye, although she seemed to be thinking coherently. “If Martha and Sarah are alive, they’ll be in the pit,” she said, and motioned for them to go down ahead of her.
Nate made no move to do so. Something about Maxine was making him cautious. He couldn’t figure out exactly what. She had reason to be nervous, and she was. She also had reason to sympathize with Martha and Sarah, if not Courtney, and she acted as if she did. That was why she was helping them. He even found it believable that she’d kept quiet about the stoning for fear of reprisal. It all made sense.
So…why did he feel uneasy?
Maxine motioned toward the stairs again. “Don’t you want to look in the pit? Martha might still be alive. Maybe we can get her out while Ethan’s sleeping. The Brethren are finished in there for the night. We might not get another chance.”
Then they’d have to force an entrance later, Nate thought, because he couldn’t go in that hole, couldn’t put himself and Rachel in such an indefensible position. There was only one way in or out—a single door that could easily be controlled by Ethan, should he become aware of their presence.
