She stood, wiped her lips with the back of a bloody hand, wondered how long she’d been working on him. She should have left him to die in the dirt, but some part of her had been drawn to try to save him, even if it was simply for other people to see justice.
“Where’s Rachel?” she asked.
“Jordan’s people have her. She’s okay.”
“Thank God.” She turned and saw the woman then, standing between Fletcher and Baldwin, felt a coolness slip over her.
Curtis Lott was in her early sixties, tall and slim, with the deepest strawberry blond hair Sam had ever seen. Her eyes were like the sky, deep blue and unfathomable. She watched Sam with her head slightly cocked to the side.
“Thank you.” Her voice was soft, gentle. “You have saved us all.”
Sam knew she was speaking to the FBI agents, but the woman’s voice seemed to echo in her mind, as though she was speaking directly to Sam.
Baldwin slapped handcuffs on the woman’s wrists. She didn’t fight him, just stood there serenely, as if she had all the time in the world.
A young woman appeared in the mouth of the cave.
“Mother!”
She started to run to Curtis and Sam saw the resemblance between them. They had the same eyes, though the girl’s were blue, not green; the same tilt of the head. Their hair was different, too. The girl’s was a light blond. Sam glanced down at the dead man at her feet. Just like his.
Jordan caught the girl and whirled her around, toward the cavern wall, her forearm in the girl’s back so she wasn’t a threat.
“It is well, my child,” Curtis Lott said. “Do not fight them, Lauren. These are the brave souls who have saved us.”
She stopped fighting, and Jordan released her. Lauren’s face was streaked with tears, but she was still beautiful, delicate in the ways her mother had aged away from. She nodded to each of them in turn, her eyes touching them in benediction, her white robes making her look like an angel.
“Thank God for you. You have removed the beast from this earth. Adrian has been terrorizing us for years. He moved us around, kept us locked in dungeons and basements. He kept Mother and me prisoner. We’ve been locked away for so long. The things he did to us—” She broke off, went to her mother’s side, put her arm around her waist.
Curtis leaned her head on her daughter’s shoulder. She addressed the wall of FBI agents still on alert, still holding their weapons up. “Is the girl still alive? She told me her name was Rachel.”
Baldwin looked skeptical. “Yes, she is. So is Kaylie Rousch.”
Sam looked immediately for Kaylie, realized one of the men must have taken her out of the cave.
Curtis smiled beatifically. “Kaylie is alive? She made it out? He told us she was dead. That he found her body rotting in the woods, along with Doug. Oh, we must give thanks. Lauren, will you lead us?” They both bowed their heads, but Baldwin interrupted.
“Now isn’t the time. You’re under arrest, Ms. Lott. You’re going to be transported to FBI headquarters, where you will be interrogated, and then charged.”
She nodded and smiled, spoke as if he’d complimented her cooking instead of signed her death warrant. “I understand. There is much we need to discuss. We will have time to thank the great Mother later. She knows all our thoughts.”
Curtis stumbled a little bit as Baldwin led her from the cavern as if her legs had been numbed from the bounds. Sam could have sworn she saw Curtis nod at her daughter. Lauren stayed back a few feet, following slowly.
Sam turned to Xander. “I’m confused. What just happened? Why didn’t they arrest Lauren, too?”
“While you were working on Adrian, Curtis Lott told Baldwin and Jordan that she and Lauren have essentially been held hostage for years. There are a lot of questions to be answered.”
“Do you believe her? It contradicts everything Kaylie told us.”
He watched them disappear into the darkness, adjusted his arm in the sling. “No, I don’t. But she might have a shot at convincing a jury.” He pulled her to him with his good arm. “It’s over, Sam. It’s over.”
*
They emerged from the cave to see the flames licking at the remains of the farmhouse. There was a group trying to extinguish the fire. Others were running a hose from the well, pumping water onto the surrounding trees so they wouldn’t catch and light the entire forest.
Fletcher joined them, and together they watched the wall of flames.
Thor pressed against her legs, cautious of the fire. It smelled much different than the one in their fireplace at home, or Xander’s fire pit; he knew it wasn’t safe.
“Where’s Rachel? And what happened to Kaylie?” Sam asked. “Do they have her in custody?”