"What kind of things?"
"That the real target of the conspiracy to commit murder wasn't a homeless person but her own mother. That her unnamed accomplices were possibly gang members. The gang theory sounds even more interesting now that the FBI is talking about a cult. But if I mention it now, you know what will happen?"
"What?"
"Think about it. If I give them inside information about Shirley's conspiracy to commit murder, they'll probably think Beth was one of Shirley's unnamed accomplices."
Carla shot a look across the kitchen, then returned to cooking. It was a brief exchange, but Gus seemed to know what she was thinking.
"I have to do this, don't I, Carla?"
"Do what?"
"If I'm going to debunk the FBI's suspicions about Beth, the first thing I have to do is prove she wasn't part of Shirley's little group."
"I didn't say you had to do anything."
"You didn't have to."
It was the darkness of a new moon. Miles away from the glow of city lights, just an hour past sunset seemed like the dead of night. With each passing moment, another cluster of stars seemed to emerge in the ocean of blackness overhead.
Andie, Ingrid, and their two younger roommates walked together from their cabin to the camp area near the river. As instructed, they had their paper shopping bags with them, filled with their belongings. It was a large campfire with flames that reached eye level. The group was seated around it, just close enough to bask in its glow and feel its warmth. They eagerly expanded the circle to make room for the newcomers.
Andie didn't see Blechman among the group. The meal had begun without him. No one was talking. The group was taking its cue from Felicia and the other "lieutenants," as Andie had labeled them. As long as the honchos ate in silence, so would everyone else.
Several baskets of food were passed around. Andie watched and imitated Felicia. The drill was to take something from each basket as it passed, place it on a big cloth napkin on the ground before you, and eat at your own pace. Andie took one of everything, leaving her with an assortment of delicacies. She first ate the smoked salmon, which was more like a jerky than the delicacy served in restaurants. The dried berries were tasty, left over from last summer. The meat--some kind of stringy and pungent game--she left for last. She tried something that resembled a cookie, somewhat sweet but very dry.
"It's a camas-root cake," said Felicia, breaking the silence. She had been watching Andie pick over her food. "It's good," said Andie.
"Camas root is the bulb of lilies indigenous to this area. It has been a natural source of nourishment for peoples of the land for thousands of years."
"How do you make them?"
"The roots are dug from the ground and baked in an oven over well-heated stones. Then you pound them till the mass is as fine as cornmeal, knead them into cakes, and dry them in the sun."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"You'll have help."
Andie realized she'd just been volunteered. Felicia asked, "Who wants to help Kira make the camas cakes for tomorrow's meal?"
Andie's eager young roommates thrust their hands into the air.
"Very good," said Felicia. "Ingrid, how about you? Care to make it a project for your whole cabin?"
The older woman hedged. "Oh, I'm not much of a cook, I'm afraid."
"Then you can gather the roots," she said reprovingly. Ingrid nodded nervously. "Whatever you say."
Andie leaned toward her and said quietly, "It's okay if you don't want to."
The older woman smiled awkwardly and whispered, "She seemed a lot nicer at the sign-up."
They ate in silence for several minutes more. When the last among them had finished, the baskets were passed around again to gather the leftovers. A young woman collected the baskets and took them away. At Felicia's direction, a man stoked the fire and added a few more logs. Finally, Felicia rose to address the group.
"We have six newcomers with us tonight, and the principal purpose of tonight's banquet is to welcome all of you. We don't have a secret handshake or password or anything like that. None of us is big on ceremonies and rituals. But there is one tradition that has developed over time. This is something we have done on the first night of every retreat for as long as I can remember. It does have a certain symbolic significance. But more important, it will put each of you in the proper frame of mind to get the most out of this retreat.
"At this time, I would ask each of the newcomers to please stand."
Andie and the others rose. Ingrid was at her side. Her other two roommates were down to her right. Two men were standing on the opposite side of the fire.