Page 51 of The Last Session

It was the same reason I’d left my own laptop back home.

“But hey.” Jonah smiled faintly. “Quid pro quo. How didyouknow to come here?”

I briefly explained Catherine’s note, the logo, and thecome homepodcast episode.

“So you think Moon and Sol sent her a message using the podcast?” he asked when I finished. “And she wanted you to hear it?”

“Yes. I mean, otherwise that’s a huge coincidence, right?” I exhaled. “I don’t know what I was expecting, though. Now that I’m here… I don’t know what to do. How to go about this.”

He dug into the sand, picking up a palmful and dropping it again. “I say we spend tonight and tomorrow getting as much info as we can directly. Tomorrow night, we case it out.”

“Case it out.” The term sounded foreign.

“Search the building.”

“So you think she might be here?” The thought made the back of my neck prickle.

“You don’t?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I did feel like someone was watching me in the courtyard this afternoon. But I didn’t see anything. I could’ve just been making it up.”

He continued to watch me. I knew it was a technique, and yet I couldn’t stop the words tumbling from my mouth. “I called one of the officers who came to the unit after Catherine left, and she made me feel like such an idiot. She told me that Catherine also disappeared five years ago, but that she was pulling out money the whole time.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Why does that make you an idiot?”

“Well, because maybe Catherine justdoesthis. Disappears.”

“But why?” He leaned in. “She’s caught up in something. That’s why her parents hired us—and a hacker to try to break into her bank’s system. We couldn’t find anything. Until now. Catherine’shere, Thea. She left—maybe got away?—but now she’s back.”

“Two-minute warning!” Moon called from the other side of the fire.

“So you think they’re involved?” I lowered my voice further. “Moon and Sol.”

“Absolutely.”

“What do you think of them?”

He stared at me. “What do I think? They’re cult leaders. This is a cult.”

“You’re that sure.”

“I mean, they’re just getting started, but yes.”

“So do we question them at some point?”

“After we search the building. Until then, we keep quiet. Don’t let anyone know why you’re here. Whywe’rehere.” He softened his voice. “Okay?”

“Obviously.” I paused, my stomach fluttering with a new thought. “You don’t think Moon and Sol… could they have been the impostors who picked Catherine up? I saw some video footage. He was tall; she was short. Though his body shape was different. And she had blond hair. Though of course she could’ve worn a wig…”

Jonah nodded approvingly. “I wondered that too. So I sent pictures of Moon and Sol to Killian and Lisette, who forwarded them to… what’s her name? Diane? She confirmed that the couple who came inwasn’tthem.”

“Oh.” The flash of inspiration faded into disappointment. Then again, it was a long shot. I couldn’t picture Moon and Sol flying to New York, somehow making fake IDs, and sneaking in with disguises like undercover restaurant reviewers at the hottest new bistro.

“One minute!” Moon called.

“Why would they even have a retreat weekend if they’re hiding Catherine?” I gestured towards Moon. “Isn’t that risky?”

He shrugged. “To keep everything seeming normal? Or maybe they need the money. They’re making what… 24K in one weekend?”

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