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"Interesting," Cora agreed. There were a few similarities here, but she still wasn't closer to understanding why they would have been targeted by the killer. There were probably a lot of only children in that setup. She thought it was designed to attract them, make them feel part of a bigger family they'd never had.
Cora tapped her fingers on her knee, feeling frustrated. They'd been at this for what felt like hours and still hadn't found anything concrete. The only thing that seemed to connect the victims was that they had all been promoted within the ranks recently, but that meant nothing when others had, too.
"Maybe this is just a random choice of victims based on jealousy," she said eventually. "Maybe he's just sneaking onto the premises when he can, whenever he has time. Gabe, do you think we're going about this the wrong way? Perhaps we shouldn't be looking at their commonalities. Maybe we should be looking at all the people who didn't make it. Who left the cult? We got the two who were born in October, but that still leaves a lot of others."
"The leader is the one who would know who left on bad terms," Gabe said. "I think your theory's good. And he never sent us that list in any case, so it's time to go back and question him again."
***
Cora was getting used to the drive between the hotel and the foundation's premises. It seemed to be going faster and faster each time. It felt like no time had passed before they were sitting in that living room again, staring at those blank walls and waiting for the leader to show his face.
"Someone who left under a cloud, or after a fight, or because they were kicked out for bad behavior?" she suggested.
"Yes," Gabe agreed. "Maybe someone who was frequently passed over for promotion and saw others go ahead, getting higher? This man needs to have a strong reason for harming the people who stayed and were promoted."
"Wait!" Cora's head snapped up. She half rose from her wooden seat.
"What?" Gabe stared at her in surprise, then also stood up as he saw Cora was looking at something beyond him. Something on the other side of the window that was diagonally behind him.
"While we were talking, I'm sure I saw a flash of movement from there. Someone was looking in, and the minute I looked their way, they ducked out of sight. Gabe, wait a sec. I'm going to go out and see."
Cora ran for the entrance, sprinting around the outside of the farmhouse building to where the window was.
It was a big sash window, about a yard off the ground and a yard high. There was nobody there. Nobody around.
But when she looked closer at the soil below the window, she saw a footprint there. It wasn't deep - the soil was shallow - but it looked fresh.
It was definitely a man's size, and she picked up the tread of a thick sole. So it was a farm shoe or a work boot. Not that this narrowed it down because everyone wore them. But for sure, someone had been standing out here and looking in.
This place was being staked out, and she was sure it was the killer. He was bold - extremely so - and stealthy. Why had he been looking in? But now, there was no sign of him. He could have run behind one of several outbuildings or else into the thicket of trees nearby.
Shaking her head in puzzlement, she returned to the farmhouse door and headed inside.
She arrived back in the living room at the same time as the leader emerged from down the corridor.
He had regained his composure overnight, she saw. Now, he didn't look stressed but rather calm and collected.
"Have you had any results?" he asked. "The police are still gathering information, but their speed is glacial."
Cora shook her head. "We need more information from you," she explained.
She thought that would put him off, and it did. Immediately, he frowned.
"More? What do you need?"
"You said you’d send us a list of the people who left. We still need that. Now it’s urgent. And in particular, we need to know about everyone who's left this foundation on bad terms. Everyone who left under a cloud. You know who's who.”
He shook his head, looking reluctant. "People are entitled to their privacy if they choose to leave," he grumbled. "Especially those who aren't in the inner circle."
"Do you want this crime solved or not?" Cora demanded. "Why do we have to force information out of you? What are you so scared of?”
"It's just the way we operate here," he muttered.
“Do you know that there is someone prowling around your property right now? Gabe was attacked with an ax earlier, and someone was looking in the window just now. I went out to try and see who it was, but they were gone. You need to get more security on site and give us what we need, fast. Or I promise you, you'll have another death on your hands soon."
"All right.” He took a deep breath. I'll put a list together. You'll have it within twenty minutes, and I’ll email it to you.”
Then he turned and strode down the corridor again.
