The Bone Field by Debra Bokur (top e book reader txt) 📕

of sadness. “We live together in peacefulness, and in righteousness, and in humility without possessiveness. We tend the earth and bring forth food. We comfort the sick—those who are physically ill, and those whose minds have fallen into the dark trough of evil that is the world. We strive to save those souls we can from eternal damnation.”

“Sounds like that must keep you pretty busy,” said Kali.

“Darkness likes to creep in, taking little steps that go unnoticed, until only the children of God can help those whom it has chosen to devour.”

“I see,” said Kali again, though she did not. She looked at Abigail’s clothing. “The blue skirt you’re wearing. It’s such a lovely shade. Is it a kind of uniform? I noticed the young women in the garden were also wearing them. And I may have seen them somewhere else as well.”

Abigail smiled. “We make them. My mother started the tradition a long time ago, when we first came to Hawai‘i. God demands modesty, of course. And the color reminds us of the pure waters created with the forming of the Earth.”

Kali nodded. “Blue seems like a nice choice, then.” She reached into her pocket, pulling out the small anchor charm. “And is this a talisman also connected to the water theme of your . . . church? Something perhaps used by members of Eden’s River to help ward off evil?”

Abigail’s eyes grew wide. She reached out slowly with one hand toward the anchor. Kali could see that her fingers were trembling. Abigail touched the surface of the metal gently, then looked up at Kali.

“Who gave this to you?” she asked.

“No one,” said Kali. “It was found with the skeletal remains of a man discovered in the old pineapple fields on Lna‘i.”

Abigail’s hand withdrew, the movement swift. She stared intently for another few seconds at the anchor, then stepped back. Her lips twitched. “The anchor is the symbol of our church, keeping us steady in the midst of earthly temptation.”

“And did this particular anchor belong to anyone you knew?”

The woman looked away. “It’s a common enough symbol in Christianity. There were many of these anchors. I’m afraid I can’t say.”

“Can’t say or won’t say?”

“I think you should leave,” said Abigail. Her voice was low, almost a whisper. “If you have any more questions, you should address them to my father. As the head of our family, he will be most helpful to you.”

Kali didn’t press her further. For the moment, Abigail had told her plenty.

* * *

She pulled the Jeep back onto the long driveway, slowing once she’d passed through the wooden gates, easing to a halt. She dug out her phone and called Walter.

“I’m at the Waters’s place. There’s definitely something wrong here. Can you get someone out here to check the buildings? I’m pretty certain he’s restarted his cult.”

“You mean his commune.”

“Cult, commune, compound—call it what you like, it’s creepy as hell here. While I was talking to him, I got the impression he could have killed everyone we found and convinced everyone around him he was doing something important and meaningful. A couple of Frontier Barbie doll clones in prairie skirts look as though they’ve had lobotomies. They’re pretty young, too, and they’re both pregnant. I’d say they’re in their early twenties. Plus one guy, maybe a few years older, who says he’s taking care of the gardens. I’d like to know what they’re growing and how many people are living there besides Abraham, the daughter, and the weird grandson.”

“What’s weird about him?”

“Everything, as far as I can tell. He’s got to be at least twenty, but he may have been living under a rock for his entire life. Everything that comes out of his mouth is some sort of biblical decree. Gave me a bunch of grief about my arm tattoo.”

Walter chuckled. “Taking it personally?”

“It was meant personally. I guarantee it.”

“Okay. I’ll take Hara and a search warrant with me and check it out. You get the sense that something dangerous or illegal is going on?”

“I don’t know about proving that immediately, but I’d like to get a better idea of the living situation here. Nathan, the grandson, would have been too young to have been part of anything, but someone here knows what the hell happened, and how those bodies found their way to the pineapple field.”

“Agreed. Hara’s been digging stuff up. Waters is listed as the leaseholder on the Maui property, after a real estate transfer that was made by someone who was identified as one of his followers.”

“He likes to use the term ‘family.’ It’s a good-sized piece of land, and I’m getting a strong sense that there’s been at least a partial revival of whatever nonsense he was running on Lna‘i. I spoke with the daughter, Abigail. When I asked her how many people were in residence, she avoided my question.”

“Right. I’m on it. You heading back here to the station now?”

“Yeah. I want to look through those photo albums that Manuel shared with us and then drive over to talk to him about Abraham and whether or not they ever crossed paths. Manuel may have known Matthew Greene as well.”

“Good idea. We can compare notes later.”

Her voice was quizzical. “Great. Afterwards, maybe you can explain why all these people insist on lying while they’re quoting Scripture and talking nonstop about God.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the one with all of the spiritual insight?”

“Yeah, right,” she said, her voice dark. “I keep forgetting.”

CHAPTER 23

Walter was waiting for Kali when she got back to the station.

“The coroner called. We’ve got news from Honolulu,” he said by way of greeting. “Some details on the pineapple man. The tests they ran in Honolulu strongly suggest that he was no more than seventeen or eighteen years at the time of death, and that he was roughly five feet six.” He grimaced. “According to the report, the head was not hacked off in a rage, but cut cleanly, probably after he