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49

Havenwood

Dean could hear everything Kara, then Catherine, said through his earpiece, but he didn’t dare respond.

He and Sloane were standing on the far side of the barn. There was something going on inside, but he couldn’t see what. Michael was headed to the building Riley had identified as the prison.

The valley was open and wide; there were trees all along the eastern edge, and the cabins had been built among them, but here where the barn, warehouse, greenhouse, and storage stood was right in the open.

Mass suicide? Nothing Riley had told them about Havenwood said that they were suicidal. They weren’t a doomsday cult. They weren’t a religious cult. They were a personality cult built on a cooperative lifestyle that saw themselves detached from the outside world. Would that detachment equal a death agreement? Dean didn’t know.

That he didn’t know bothered him.

Matt heard a rattling of the lock. He braced himself, then he heard a familiar voice.

“Matt, you here?”

“Michael?”

His friend and colleague came down the stairs.

“I knew you’d find me,” Matt said.

“It was a team effort. Are you injured?”

“I can walk,” Matt said, “but I’m chained. I don’t know where the key is.”

“I don’t need a key. Just a better light.”

Michael turned on his flashlight, held it between his teeth, and worked on picking Matt’s locks.

“What’s happening out there?”

“Catherine is negotiating with four of Calliope’s people on the road who were sent, we believe, to find Riley. Calliope refused to give proof of life, and then Riley ran away through a window.”

“Did you find her?”

“She’s here somewhere. Kara is tracking her. Dean and Sloane are in position behind the barn. It’ll take SWAT nearly thirty minutes to get down the road. But Tony doesn’t want SWAT action unless there’s no other option. Too many children.”

“Good call. Catherine hates it when I say this, but Calliope has a screw loose. I’m worried about these people. They looked both content and scared, as if they are content living in fear. It’s weird.”

“Hold on.” Michael stopped working for a moment, was listening. “Dammit. Catherine said Anton, Ginger, and two others committed suicide rather than be taken into custody.”

“Get me out of these,” Matt said, fearing for the lives of everyone in Havenwood.

Suddenly, the chains fell to the floor. Michael handed Matt his backup piece and spoke into his comm. “Agent Costa is okay. He’s with me.” Michael looked at him pointedly. “You look like shit.”

“I’m sore and need a hot shower, but I’m okay. I have your back.”

Kara saw Riley exit a cabin on the edge of the community. By the looks of it, it had been her grandmother’s—she could tell by the tree in the front, the way the trunk twisted, just like in Riley’s drawings.

“Riley,” Kara said quietly.

She turned, eyes wide. “Go.”

“We have a plan and you’re blowing it.”

“You don’t understand. My mother will hurt people.”

“We have Anton, Ginger, and two others in custody,” Kara said. She didn’t tell her that they all tried to kill themselves. Kara didn’t know if they were dead or alive, but sensed that if Riley knew they might die, she would be even more furious.

Riley shook her head and started walking toward a barn on the opposite side of a cleared-out area with a giant redwood in the center of the small community. Kara needed to get Riley away from the situation.

“Your grandmother wouldn’t want this,” Kara said.

Riley stopped, whirled around. “My grandmother created heaven and my mother created hell. I will stop it today.”

That’s when Kara saw Michael and Matt coming from the food storage. She was so relieved, so happy, that she smiled like a loon. “Riley,” she said. “Look.”

Riley watched Matt and Michael approach them. She stared at Matt. “You’re not dead. I thought for sure she had killed you.”

“She planned to, but I think she’s hedging her bets.”

“Something’s going on in the barn,” Michael said. “Dean needs backup.”

Kara held Matt’s eye for another beat. In that moment, she silently said all she wanted to say. And it was as if he read her mind.

I love you. Don’t scare me again.

He smiled at her and mouthed, I love you, too.

A woman came out of one of the cabins holding a tray. She stared at Riley. “Riley? Riley? Is that you?”

Great, Kara thought. So much for stealth.

The barn doors opened. Calliope stood there. In person, Kara was stunned at how accurate Riley’s drawing had been. It was as if her mother had posed for her.

“I knew you would come home,” Calliope said loudly, her arms spread wide. “My beautiful, sweet girl.” She scowled at Kara. “Go away.”

“Not going to happen,” Kara said. “Where Riley goes, I go.”

Calliope stared at Matt and Michael, frowned. She opened her mouth to speak, but Riley interrupted her.

“You have destroyed Havenwood, Mother. I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

“You are my daughter . You left me. But you came back, just like I knew you would.”

“I came back to stop you.” Riley raised her voice. “Havenwood! You know I speak the truth! Calliope has kept you in prison long enough. You are now free to come and go as you please.”

Calliope scowled. “That is not how this works. You know better.”

“You’re scared, Mother. You must be terrified that you kidnapped a federal agent, which will bring the wrath of the government down here to our valley.”

They had drawn a crowd and Kara couldn’t tell whether these people sided with Riley or with Calliope. She couldn’t keep her eyes on all of them at once. Slowly, she, Matt, and Michael shifted so their backs were to the giant tree so no one could get them from behind. But still, they were sitting ducks. The entire village seemed to come out of the cabins, the greenhouse, the paths.

The barn doors opened again and two men went immediately to Calliope’s side.

“It wasn’t my decision,” Calliope said. “It was a mistake. But I adapted. I’ve always adapted when other people screw everything up. My mother, my sister, my father—all dead because they screwed up!”

A gunshot rang out and Kara pushed Riley to the ground, gun in hand.

“Shut up!” A blond man held a .45. He had come not from the barn, but from a path behind it. He was only twenty feet from the group, and he didn’t look well. Riley had drawn him, but Kara didn’t remember his name until she said it.

“Evan,” Riley whispered.

Matt was only a few feet behind Kara and Riley. He motioned for Kara to stay down. He and Michael sidestepped so they were partly obscured by the giant tree.

“Everyone, do not drink anything in that barn!” Evan shouted. “Calliope poisoned the tea. She would rather everyone die than admit she destroyed Havenwood.”

Murmurs in the group.

“Liar,” Calliope said, her face red with anger. “Traitor!”

“It’s the truth,” Evan said. “I killed Jane. I killed her. I didn’t want to, but I did for you, Calliope. I lost everything and everyone I loved. You twisted my grief and I didn’t see the truth until now. You are the killer.”

He turned to the group. Out of the corner of his eye, Matt saw Dean and Sloane behind the barn, eyes on the situation. No one had a clear shot of Evan. People or trees were in the line of fire. Dean was trying to maneuver to get to a better position.

“She killed Athena,” Evan said. “You all remember Athena, everyone loved her. I heard Anton and Calliope discussing her death. They killed her. And so many others. Anyone who wanted to leave. And you know it! You all know it and do nothing .”

Riley slowly rose. Kara tried to pull her back down, but Riley sidestepped Kara to get out of her reach.

“Evan is right,” Riley said. She walked over to a bench and climbed on it so she could be heard. It also made her a damn target. “Calliope ordered the deaths of people we all loved. I left here nearly four years ago with Jane. Two weeks ago, Calliope killed her. She used Evan—” her voice cracked, but she didn’t look at him “—but it was her decision. Calliope told you that Thalia killed Robert, my father. Thalia didn’t kill him. Robert left of his own free will. He was living in Virginia until Calliope had him killed two weeks ago.”

“He stole from us!” Calliope said. “What is the punishment for thievery?” she asked the assembled group.

No one responded, though there was some whispering among the people.

“Don’t make this any more difficult than it needs to be,” Dean said as he slowly approached Calliope. “Evan,” he said, “put the gun down.”

“No,” Evan said. “She can’t get away with this.”

“She won’t,” Dean said. “Everyone, stay where you are, hands where we can see them. No one needs to get hurt.”

His voice was calm, clear, in control.

“I’m not leaving,” Calliope screamed. “You can’t take me!”

She sounded panicked. Gone was her control, her confidence. Fear etched her face.

A gunshot rang out. Calliope fell to the ground, blood spreading across her chest.

Evan dropped the gun he held and fell to his knees. “I’m sorry, Riley. I’m so, so sorry.”