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“Did you talk to the police yet?” Fleur asked Mike.
“That’s why I came to see you. The inspector is on his way here. I already explained everything on the phone to him, but he wants to hear it from you two as you were the ones who found the remains.”
“Fine.” Fleur gently set one of the monkeys to the side and pushed up from the ground. “I’ll need a quick shower, but we could meet you in the restaurant in twenty minutes.”
How Fleur was able to walk away from the animals blew my mind. I wanted to stay in our happy bubble for the rest of the day, but I too was sticky from our sex marathon last night, so I followed her to the bathroom.
“I don’t mind showering with you, but there will be no sex,” she warned. “I’m already walking like a cowboy.”
“Is that a complaint?” I teased and stepped in behind her when she turned on the water waiting for the right temperature.
“No.” She smiled when I kissed her shoulder.
Twenty minutes later we met up with the local police inspector and explained what we knew. He seemed serious, and he and Mike took us back to the place we’d found the remains. After searching a bit, we found another shoe and some more bones.
Fleur was adamant about a ranger being involved and Mike and the inspector promised her to investigate.
It was almost two in the afternoon when we were back at the lodge and I brought up my conversation with Atlas.
“Remember that cult leader you talked about? The one who lives close by?”
“Yes.” Fleur fetched water bottles from the fridge in the room and handed me one.
“Is his name Anthony Rochester?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
“The thing is, I spoke to Atlas yesterday and he asked if I could go and interview Anthony. He and Jolene have a research institute in Chicago where they do psychological experiments and try to find answers to mind control and that sort of thing. They’ve already interviewed hundreds of people who were members of different cults, but it’s very rare to find a cult leader who is willing to talk.”
“I met Anthony once and he seemed very open about his experience.”
“Great, then maybe you could introduce us.”
“Do you want me to reach out to him?”
“Would you?”
With a single jut of her chin, Fleur picked up her phone and started searching. “He teaches meditation; let me find his phone number.”
I listened as she called Anthony and my heart sped up when she made an appointment for us to go and talk to him in three hours.
“Let’s hope we can borrow a car from Mike,” Fleur pointed out.
“I’m on it.” I was out the door to find Mike before she could react. I couldn’t explain why, but sitting down with Anthony felt both nerve-wracking and significant to me. Unlike Atlas, I'd never been consumed with finding answers to why my father did what he did or why he was as disturbed as he was. I’d just turned fourteen when my father lost his mind and used drugs and his persuasive powers to get his followers to believe in a life after death where they could all be together. I hadn’t been present when he made them shoot themselves, but now I wondered what kind of questions I’d ask him if I could see him again.
Mike lent us his car, and Fleur and I took off with a GPS and a list of questions on my phone from Atlas and Jolene. I had a few of my own that I wanted answered too.
Anthony Rochester was a man in his late forties. He reminded me of Hitler right away. Not that he had that weird little mustache, but he was scrawny like a kid and kept pushing his brown hair back.
He remembered Fleur and told her he was a great admirer of her work. Maybe that’s why he hugged her so tight. When he greeted me, I stuck out my hand, not interested in a hug.
“Come in.” His house was nice and cool with African art on his walls. Nothing looked expensive or extravagant, giving me the impression that at least he hadn’t swindled people out of millions and run away with it.
“Please take a seat.”
Fleur and I settled on his couch, while Anthony tucked his bare feet under him in a comfy chair.
“I understand you grew up in a cult,” he said with a friendly smile that instantly rubbed me the wrong way.
