animosity of suspects—that was pretty common—but this visit was sounding more and more like a bad idea.
And if the most she had to fear from them was the evil eye, what kind of threat were they?
“The leader, Ward Butler, was friends with Lee Cartwright when they were kids,” Jen explained as she sped along the barely paved roads.
Evelyn stared at her. “You know Cartwright’s claiming he’s got a copycat, right?”
“Yeah, I heard. I wouldn’t take anything that guy says at face value, though. He’s not exactly the type who’d warn the government. He’s more likely to watch the news from prison and cheer when it happens. Or taunt law enforcement, acting like he knows who’s copying him, just to get a rise out of us.”
“Okay,” Evelyn said. “I can see that. But if Butler and Cartwright are friends...”
“Were friends,” Jen corrected her. “Like twenty years ago. They grew up together, but there’s no indication they’ve been in contact in a long time. Then they had a complete falling-out when Cartwright went violent, and Butler started his compound.”
“So you’re saying Butler’s group isn’t violent,” Evelyn said, getting frustrated. “Why are they a threat?”
“They haven’t been violent yet,” Jen replied. “But I think they’re going to be.”
“Why? And how long have they been nonviolent?”
Jen slowed the SUV and turned off onto a dirt path. “Just because they’ve been quiet for a few years doesn’t mean they plan to stay that way. Butler refers to the place as a ‘refuge’ for other survivalists. And we have a lot of those—people who want to live off the land, with no interference from anyone. Most of them wish they’d been born a couple of centuries ago, with no law except maybe a local sheriff, and the chance to be as isolated as they want.”
“I know about survivalists,” Evelyn said. “And sure, some of them are a problem, but plenty of them just want to be off the grid. Leave them alone and they leave everyone else alone.”
The SUV bounced along the potholed trail, and Jen’s silence dragged on until she said, “You know the Unabomber’s cabin was only about twenty miles from here? His neighbors probably thought he was harmless and just wanted to be left alone.”
Evelyn held in a sigh. “You still haven’t told me why you think this particular group is more dangerous than any of the dozens of other cults we’ve got.”
Jen’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “You’re too young to remember some of the crap from the nineties, but...”
“I know enough.” Evelyn could see where this was going. “And yes, there’s been an uptick in homegrown terrorism chatter over the past few years, but...”
“Officially, the Butler Compound is a low threat,” Jen broke in. “The FBI thinks Butler is more likely to feed his followers Kool-Aid than plan an attack against anyone. But I’ve been around cults. One of my very first assignments was in Waco, Texas.” She gave Evelyn a meaningful look.
“The Koresh disaster? You were there?” David Koresh and his followers had been in a fifty-one-day siege after Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents tried and failed to deliver a warrant. Koresh and his followers had fired on the ATF agents and barricaded themselves in the Apocalypse Ranch—a name that should’ve set off warning bells from the start. The FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team had eventually surrounded the place. In the end, Koresh and the cultists had set their own compound on fire, and most of them died.
“Yeah, I was there. Mostly getting senior agents coffee, but trust me, I have experience with cults. I heard the crazy ranting, I saw the few cultists who came out, I saw the place burn. Hell, I even walked through crowds of protesters and had egg thrown at my face. But this compound is different. It’s got some of that same creepy vibe, but I’m telling you, this is more than a simple cult. There’s just something off about the place. I know there’s more happening. And I’m not going to be the FBI agent who overlooks it.”
No wonder BAU had refused to take on the file. The Butler Compound had already been evaluated and Jen had nothing but her gut to say there was a genuine threat.
Evelyn was probably going to find a group of survivalists who wanted nothing to do with her or Jen. She’d come home with nothing useful from Cartwright, and an unsanctioned side trip that would make her miss her flight.
Jen must have sensed her frustration, because she said defensively, “See for yourself.”
The SUV rounded another bend and the compound seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was a larger building than she’d expected in such a remote place, and much more sophisticated, too. Usually survivalists built small, and used the materials they found in their immediate vicinity. Not this group.
The compound looked more like an aboveground bunker than a house. Windows were barred as if they lived in the city instead of the wilderness, and there was a tower at the center, rising high in the air, that Evelyn hadn’t seen until they’d gotten close. But if anyone was up there, they would’ve seen her and Jen coming for miles—a single set of headlights approaching through the darkness.
Evelyn peered through the windshield, squinting at the rooftop. “Are those...?”
“Solar panels,” Jen broke in. “Yeah. Judging from the chimneys, they have a couple of fireplaces. And I know they’ve got some massive generators, but they’re not hooked up to the grid at all. As far as we can tell, they have no electricity and no internet. They’ve even rigged their own system to bring in water. They’re totally off grid.”
What a way to live, Evelyn thought but didn’t say. Then again, there were plenty of cultists who lived without electricity while their leader had excessive luxuries.
And this group was supposedly made up of survivalists, so maybe they really didn’t need modern comforts.
The compound was nestled at the base of a steep, curved peak that would prevent anyone from approaching on either side. The rest of it was surrounded by a tall, chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. But the gate at the entrance hung open.
“Well, this is kind of weird,” Jen said as she drove in.
“What is?” Evelyn asked, sitting straighter.
The group had cut down trees to put up the fence and to keep anyone from scaling a tree to hop over it; inside they’d left the environment alone. There wasn’t much more than a few scraggly pines, but they were still big enough for someone to hide behind. No one emerged. She didn’t see anyone at all. A nervous shiver crept up Evelyn’s spine.
“Usually they meet me at the gate,” Jen said, her tone wary.
“How often have you come here?” And how clearly had she advertised her suspicions?
“Just three times.”
That would make her interest obvious, Evelyn figured. But where was everyone?
“Maybe BAU was right about the Kool-Aid,” Jen joked. Her voice held no humor.
She parked close to the compound, took out her cell phone and started to call
