The Healer in Hiding

Chapter 15

Cara summoned all of the energy she could to be gracious toward the church members who visited her throughout the morning. They brought her gifts of potted herbs and flowers to welcome her home. She recognized most of the faces. Only a few were new. Without their miracle healer, it had likely been difficult for Masters to entice new members into his web.

She absentmindedly spun a simple gold ring that Masters had brought to her along with the few possessions he deemed to be acceptable. "You know that only married couples can share a cabin, but this will be our little secret," he told her with a wicked grin. "Don't make me regret it."

The communal lunch was an expected spectacle with Masters proclaiming that God himself sent him the location of their beloved healer and he used the powers that God gave him to rescue her and the man she was forced to marry. "But she healed his heart, just like she has healed so many of us, and they fell in love. God told me I could not leave him there. I must embrace him into our family."

Cara could feel Lucas' anger. He was seething, but he played the part well, knowing it was the only way they could continue to stay together.

She picked at her meal until she saw Sarah give her a slight nod before leaving the food hall. "Lucas, I am just so overwhelmed by all of the love here today. I think I need to walk a bit and get some fresh air. Would you please escort me?"

He stood without hesitation and followed her through the doors. "Where are we going?" he asked quietly.

"Sarah and I grew up together. When we were kids we found this old stone building at the far end of the property. We used to play pretend there, and then when we got older we used to escape there to talk about what life outside of a cult must be like," she led him into the woods behind her cabin and followed a narrow makeshift trail.

"And then when you got older?" Lucas pushed.

Cara laughed. "We had a lot of very sinful sex."

Lucas took a breath and considered his next question carefully. "What happened between you two?"

"We knew there was no future for us. Not here. There was an effort to get me out, but Sarah couldn't leave her family. It's why she stayed and didn't run any time she had the opportunity and she's had several."

Lucas wanted to dig deeper but thought better of it. It had been less than 24 hours since they were taken from Cara's home and that was enough trauma for one day. He followed her in silence thinking about how she spent her formative years walking through these woods for brief moments of normalcy. He understood now why she spent so much time outside, opting for long hikes through the state parks instead of any place that drew a crowd. 

The remains of a small stone building appeared through the trees. One side of the roof had collapsed but the rest of the moss-covered structure seemed to hold firm. Lucas followed Cara through a low doorway that opened up into a larger room set down into the earth. Sarah and another woman sat at a weathered wooden table in crudely handmade chairs. A small propane lamp supplemented the sunlight that dripped into one side of the room. They smiled as Cara and Lucas came closer.

"We can't talk long, but Je -- Cara," Sarah stumbled slightly over the unfamiliar name. "I wanted you to meet Diane as soon as you could."

"I don't remember you from my time here," Cara sat down on the dirt floor and pressed her back into the wall. Lucas followed her lead.

"I arrived a couple of years after you left," Diane shifted in her chair to face Cara. "I'm undercover with the FBI and I've been trying to nail Jonah Masters with arms and drug trafficking for the past three years. I can't get close enough to him or anyone in the leadership to obtain enough evidence to throw him in jail. Now that you're here, I think we'll be able to make it happen."

"Took y'all long enough," Cara said with a hint of bitterness.

"I know," Diane sighed. "We were working on another case when Masters was named. He wasn't even on our radar. But he is now."

"What's your plan?" Lucas added.

"Right now it would just be collecting as much information as you can while keeping a low profile. I'm allowed off the compound once a month to go to the feed store to make and pick up orders. I transfer intel to the agent I have working there. If you can get access to his computer that would be great, but any conversations you're privy to while in his presence will be a good start. We'll go from there," Diane stood up and picked up a basket of herbs that sat at her feet. "Are you in?"

Cara stood up with ease afforded to her by decades of yoga. Her face was stone cold and emotionless. "Let's burn this place to the fucking ground."

"Wonderful," Diane and Sarah walked toward the door. "We'll see you at dinner. I'll be passing you a book with some information. Burn it when you're done with it."