Page 35 of Mountain Captive

“Did you look for any fresh graves in the woods?” Chris asked.

Rand felt the shock of her words. “You think they were murdered?” he asked.

She looked as if she regretted saying anything.

“Why graves?” Travis prompted.

She shifted in her chair. “I don’t have any proof, but other people who did things the Exalted didn’t like had a way of disappearing or meeting with accidents or sudden illness.”

“Your father,” Travis said.

“Yes. And there were others. Anyone who complained too much or spread what the Exalted deemed to be ‘radical ideas,’ and certainly anyone who opposed the Exalted, was soon gone, and everyone else was forbidden to even say their names.”

“We’ll continue searching for the two men,” Travis said.

“What about this guy who calls himself the Exalted, Edmund Harrison?” Rand asked. “His refusal to allow anyone to summon outside help is the reason Lana died.”

Travis’s expression tightened. “Harrison denies having that policy, and no one would admit otherwise when we spoke with them,” he said. “We researched his history, and he has no criminal record.”

“The official story is that Lana herself refused help and that her brother went to fetch help against her wishes,” Ryker said.

“The Exalted has brainwashed everyone to see outsiders as the enemy,” Chris said. “If you bring anyone from outside into the group, you risk having families torn apart, horrible diseases inflicted on the group by way of things like vaccinations and medications, children forced to attend public schools, et cetera. If there’s a bogeyman the Exalted and his enforcers can conjure to keep people obedient, he’s happy to preach about it until fear is as much a part of them as breathing.”

“He says they have no record of you ever being a member of his group, and he doesn’t understand why you would be so fixated on them,” Travis said.

Color flooded her face. “I’m not lying. My parents were members of the Vine, and we lived with them for seven years. And you were there the day Jedediah came up to me and said it was time for me to marry the Exalted.”

“Edmund Harrison says you misunderstood,” Travis said.

The lines around her mouth tightened. “There was no misunderstanding.”

“Has he made any more threats against you?” Travis asked.

“He doesn’t know where I am right now,” she said. “But once he does, he’ll send someone after me.”

“Why is he so focused on you?” Ryker asked.

“No one defies him,” she said. “My mother and I did. He’s like a spoiled child that way. Deny him something and he’s going to do everything he can to get it.” She smoothed her hand down the tattoos on her left arm. “But he doesn’t want me, really. He just wants to punish me. Maybe make an example of me.”

“We interviewed him,” Travis said. “By Zoom. He is supposedly in Texas right now—on business, he said. He denies knowing you. Denies having more than one wife. Denies keeping anyone in the group against their will.”

“I’m sure he told you the group is all about peace, love and free will,” she said.

“That’s about it,” Ryker agreed.

“Harrison told us the group planned to leave Colorado and move on to Oklahoma,” Travis said. “When we returned to the camp yesterday, everyone was gone. They didn’t leave one piece of trash or so much as a food scrap behind.”

“Where did they go?” Rand asked.

“We don’t know,” Travis said. “They may have decided they were getting too much attention from law enforcement.”

“They’re probably putting as much distance between us and them as possible,” Ryker added.

Chris said nothing, though Rand felt the tension radiating off her. “Is there anything else you think we need to know?” Travis asked.

“Don’t believe it when they tell you they’re just a close-knit community of nature lovers,” Chris said. “And I don’t think they’ve left the area.”

“We’ll keep our eyes and ears open,” Travis said. “Let us know if you hear anything.”

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