died in that motel,” Kaylee whispered, interrupting his prayer, “I knew it was Noah, but he’d managed to convince the police that Trisha missed me so much she deliberately overdosed and did so away from The Farm to save them from getting into trouble.” She snapped her head over, her eyes hot. “He staged her murder to look like suicide! The police closed her file without another thought!”
Eli held his breath. What other dangerous things was Noah doing with his flock?
Keep Phoebe safe, Father. Use me to stop Noah.
The highway narrowed to two lanes as it wound through small towns at the western edge of New Brunswick. The border with Maine lay half an hour ahead, but Eli couldn’t content himself with the passing scenery of quaint cottages, now closed for the season.
He cleared his throat. “How did Trisha get involved with Noah?”
“It wasn’t him initially,” she answered tersely. “It was another member. John Yale. Trisha was camping at Baxter State Park when she met John. He spent a lot of time talking to her.”
John. So their second cousin still hung around. Eli hadn’t been able to confirm if he’d stayed on when Noah had moved his cult from Florida to rural Maine.
“He’s an older man,” she continued. “But for his age, he sure can climb mountains.”
The strong, wiry John had been a fixture at family get-togethers and, taking a liking to Noah, would dream alongside him of running big companies and changing the world.
Eli gripped the steering wheel. Noah had always wanted power and control. Even as a child, he’d bullied and ruled their home. “So John recruited her there?”
Kaylee nodded. “Pretty much. Trisha was always an idealist. I told her once that she’d probably love to see the world blown up because then her ideals would be justified. We had a huge fight and didn’t talk for weeks.”
“We’re you both living at home then?”
“Yes.” She toyed with the straps of her knapsack. “In Nova Scotia.”
“Did your parents always live there? How did you end up in the middle of New Brunswick?”
“My father worked on the oil platforms. He met my mother in Halifax and settled there. I took some college courses in agriculture and management and was close to securing a job up here at a local potato-processing plant.”
He glanced over at her. “And you lost all chances when Noah kept you?”
“I’d been gone for two years and there wasn’t much fight left in me. Plus, I’m still malnourished. That was Noah’s way of gaining control over people. Hold back just enough food to ensure you’re always hungry.”
Eli’s already firm grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles ached.
Kaylee looked as if she could barely stand discussing this. Still, she said, “I came to the point where I just got used to the gnawing hunger. Everyone around me was the same way and they didn’t complain.”
He felt the uneasy pause.
“Certainly not in front of Phoebe or Noah.”
He was at a loss at what to say. Finally, he murmured, “Doing without can make us better people.”
“What good is doing without food?” She pulled up on her knapsack as she snapped, “It destroys the body and you’re certainly not any better for it.”
Guide my words, Lord, he prayed swiftly. “Have you asked your pastor about that?”
“I told you, Pastor Paul is not my pastor. I went to the church in Riverline because Lois asked me to and I owed her for helping me settle in. That’s all.”
He swallowed. “When bad things happen to Christians, we try to remember that our time here is miniscule compared to eternity in Heaven.”
“Yeah, if you’re good.”
Eli shook his head. “No! You’re saved by faith, not by works.” He hadn’t expected to witness to Kaylee and pulled a face as he tried to concentrate on his driving. And where they were going. “Do you like Lois’s church?”
She took her time answering. “Yes. The people there are wonderful. They’re kind and considerate.”
“They’re doing God’s work—not for salvation, but because they love Him.” He felt his tight grip on the wheel relax, hoping to give good answers without his full attention. “I wish I could take back all the awful things my brother did to you. You didn’t suffer any permanent damage, did you?”
“Physically, no.”
He knew what she meant. “Emotionally, you’re strong, too. You’re here today, aren’t you?”
She twisted around in the seat and pinned him with a steady stare. “Were you kids raised in the church?”
“Mostly. I don’t know the reasons for the breaks we took from church. Mom and Dad didn’t discuss it. All I know is that Phoebe loved church and would become withdrawn when she couldn’t go. Being the youngest and the church having some great kids’ programs, she had all the fun. Our parents felt that Noah and I should sit through the regular service. We were treated as though we were the same age, even though he’s eighteen months older than I am.”
Noah bullied everyone. It wasn’t until he started his cult that his parents saw that. By then, he’d taken Phoebe and hurt them all.
As if reading his mind, she asked, “How long have you been looking for Phoebe?”
“Actively? Five years,” he answered.
“Searching must have been hard for you,” she murmured. “But in all honesty, Eli, it’s not going to be easy to talk to her.”
The forest deepened and the quiet road narrowed. The sun retreated behind a bank of thick clouds and the brilliant fall leaves mutated into dark, ominous clumps.
“Then just get me in,” he finally said.
“I won’t be welcomed, you know. Noah was the only one who wanted me there. He called me Deborah, the prophetess. I was to reveal knowledge that he’d been secretly feeding me.” Despite her derisive tone, her voice quivered. “I could barely handle it.”
“But you did.”
“It was either that or he’d kill Trisha.” Her voice shook. “So I ended up doing as he said.”
Eli glanced at her. He should pull over, take her and hug her. Tell her it’s over; she’s safe from Noah.
But was she? The border crossing had just appeared ahead of them. There was no turning around now. They were headed right back into the very danger from which she’d escaped.
He was as cruel as his brother was.
The border guard checked their identification and asked some basic questions that Eli answered just as briefly.
The
