"Actually," said Andie, "I already checked. None of the decedents had friends or family members who are unaccounted for."
"Good," said Victoria. "Ruling out the obvious is always a good place to start. Now, tell me more about this supposed cult itself. I understand the philosophy, but what about its size, its makeup, its physical location?"
"We have some information on that from the Yakima County Sheriff's office. They own an old farm just outside Yakima. About thirty people live there. We have photos of some of the members because they were arrested in a peaceable civil disobedience where they chained themselves to the pipes when Water and Sewer tried to put an irrigation drainage ditch across the land adjacent to their property. According to the arresting officer's report, they seemed like a rather peaceable but paranoid bunch, thinking the whole drainage-ditch project, was just a government ruse to spy on them."
"Any other trouble with the law?"
"No"
"How about the individual members? Any arrest records in the bunch?"
"Not one of those arrested on the civil disobedience charge had a prior arrest record. They were just ordinary people, much like the people I saw at the meeting last night."
Isaac interjected. "So I take it this Shirley Borge over at WCCW has no official connection to the cult?"
"None that we know of. She wasn't part of the civil disobedience group, anyway."
"Not to ask a stupid question," Victoria followed up. "But I don't suppose Beth Wheatley's picture was among the photos of cult members who were arrested."
"No," said Andie. "And that's not a stupid question. To address Isaac's question at the outset, one of the things I want to accomplish with this assignment is to determine whether Beth Wheatley is a victim. Or an accomplice."
"Accomplice to what?" asked Lundquist. "Let's not lose sight of the fact that this whole theory is based on a tip from a convicted felon who wants to get out of jail, collect a quarter of a million dollars in reward money, and move to Tahiti. We don't have any evidence that Steve Blechman or anyone else from this so-called cult has ever met Beth Wheatley or any other of the victims of this serial killer."
"Which is exactly why I need to go on this retreat," said Andie.
Lundquist said, "Working in a used-clothing store in Yakima undercover was one thing. Infiltrating a cult is quite another."
"What are you saying?" asked Isaac. "That the assignment is foolhardy?"
"I say that if it's evidence we're after, we get a search warrant and go look for it."
"You know as well as anyone that a search warrant has to be specific. We have to list exactly what we're looking for in our affidavit."
"How about Beth Wheatley? That's pretty specific. If we really think Beth Wheatley could be at the farm owned by Mr. Blechman's cult, I say we get a search warrant and turn the place upside down till we find her."
Andie was about to speak, but Victoria beat her to it. "Bad idea," she said loudly over the box. "Any overt action by the FBI could prompt the cult members to turn the place into a poison drinking fest, like Heaven's Gate or Jonestown, or a deadly inferno, like David Koresh in Waco. Cult members are by definition suicidal, since they have already killed off their past life. From what Andie told us of Blechman's teachings, this cult is no different. He preaches the need to sever ties with family and friends--everything that keeps you vibrating at a human level. Based on what I've heard, Blechman isn't afraid to die. And he isn't afraid to take his followers with him--whether they're willing or unwilling."
Lundquist grimaced, seemingly unconvinced. "I'm just trying to strike a reasonable balance here. We have a serial killer who could strike again at any moment. I don't want to get sidetracked on some expensive and protracted undercover operation that turns out to be totally beside the point."
"That's a valid concern," said Andie. "But storming the compound isn't the answer."
"I didn't say storm it," snapped Lundquist. "I said get a search warrant. Don't twist my words."
"Sorry. But I think the point Victoria was making is that the distinction might be lost on a paranoid group of cult members who went so far as to chain themselves to an irrigation pipe in order to stop the government from spying on them."
Lundquist was searching for a reply but was coming up empty. "Smartass," he muttered beneath his breath.
"Come on," said Isaac. "Let's not get personal."
"On the contrary," said Lundquist. "Now is precisely the time to get personal. I sense that you're leaning toward some kind of undercover approach. So the next logical question is, who is the right man for the job?"
"At the risk of sounding like a bumper sticker, I'd have to say the right man is a woman."
"Is that so?" said Lundquist. "Andie, why don't you relate to us your previous undercover training and experience?"
She had none, but she felt compelled to say something. "I did some acting in college."
"Wonderful. You can be Eliza Doolittle in the cult revival of My Fair Lady. Isaac, how'd you like to play 'enry 'iggins?"