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

status, or demand the details of their lives prior to our meeting. They share what they choose to share.”

“Yet, you urged them to cast all of that away. Entire lives. Families.”

“I ask nothing of the sort. Those who do so were and are inspired by something far beyond me. Far beyond you.”

“Seems like your wife might have minded a little bit. All those beautiful young women with their lithe, smooth bodies. And there she was, aging in the sunlight right beside you. Is she a jealous woman?”

“She is not. She is a willing and generous servant of the Lord.”

“Who likes to spank other women?”

“Discipline is a valuable teacher.”

“You were quoted as saying you felt your God working through you when you performed surgery. Based on your performance history and that poor soccer player, it seems as though He may have taken a few days off now and then.”

“Miracles cannot be explained,” Abraham said. His smile was benign. He said nothing more, but sat looking at her.

Kali reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny anchor charm. She removed it from the plastic bag and held it up, then pushed it across the table toward him.

“And what about this? Was this a good luck charm you carried in the pocket of your scrubs just in case God wasn’t answering the phone?”

Abraham leaned forward, examining the small object. A look of absolute disbelief flooded his face. He looked up at Kali and Walter sharply, then moved his chair closer to the table. He reached forward and lifted the charm from the table.

“Where did you get this?” he asked, his voice losing its smooth cadence. Kali felt Walter shift beside her, and tried to hide her own surprise at the response. Abraham’s reaction struck her immediately as genuine. Though his shock at seeing the charm appeared to be sincere, he clearly recognized it.

“Never mind where I got it,” she said. She spoke her next words emphatically. “Do you know who it belonged to?”

The expression on Abraham’s face had become guarded. His eyelids drooped slightly. He looked down at the charm again, then up at Kali. He had regained his composure.

“This is a common Christian symbol,” he said. “As for whom it might have belonged to . . .”

“Perhaps a young girl, wearing a bracelet with tiny anchors dangling from it? Your daughter Abigail, for instance. We have reason to believe this anchor charm belonged to her.”

Abraham shrugged, but Kali could see that he was disturbed. “Children’s baubles. She had so many. I’m sure I can’t say with any certainty.”

“Perhaps you could say why this anchor and two others identical to it were found buried with human remains in the pineapple field just beyond the property line of Eden’s River?”

His face tightened. Kali had no doubt that he was struggling to parse this information, and that he was troubled by it.

“How interesting,” he said. “I suppose I should be grateful that these remains you mention were not found on the church property.” He grew suddenly restless. “I assume that now I’ve answered your questions, I am free to leave?”

“Certainly,” said Kali. She turned to Walter. “Is there anything you’d like to add or ask before Abraham gets on with his day? He must be very busy with the details of his new property on Maui, and with making sure he develops a sales pitch to attract a new batch of young women to colonize it.”

Walter addressed Abraham. “Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Waters. Please do not leave the island. I feel confident that we’ll have more questions for you quite soon.” He stood up, and Abraham rose to his feet. Kali remained in her chair, her hands folded in her lap, smiling up at Abraham.

“I look forward to chatting again, Abraham. Until then, enjoy your day.”

Walter signaled to Hara at the glass, and he appeared in the doorway to escort Abraham out of the room. Walter and Kali listened as the front door to the station opened and closed. Hara rejoined them, and they sat back down at the table together.

“He was really taken aback to see the anchor charm, wasn’t he?” said Hara.

Kali nodded. “Shocked.” She looked thoughtful. “I’d like to get Bill Bragden in for more questioning. Let’s bring him over here to do it. I’d like to get him away from his house where he’ll be less comfortable.”

“Will do,” said Walter. “We’ll bring him over first thing in the morning.” He looked at Kali, a question in his eyes. “Why didn’t you say anything to him about what’s in that autopsy report you showed me?”

“I’m saving that,” she said. “It might be more effective to show it to Abigail.” She took the paper out of her pocket and handed it to Hara, who scanned it quickly.

Hara looked from one of them to the other. His face grew flushed and he fidgeted slightly.

Walter sighed and shook his head. “What is it, Hara?” he asked.

“I’m just wondering, Captain.” Hara looked at Kali. “Detective Mhoe, does all of this implicate Abigail Waters in the killings?”

“I don’t know if we can prove that she was physically there, or if maybe she was a small part of some ritual that involved the killings,” answered Kali. “She didn’t move a refrigerator on her own. But her bracelet was certainly there. And I think we can safely use the term murder now. None of this was spur-of-the-moment.”

CHAPTER 28

Instead of going directly home, Kali drove to the hospital to pick up Makena. She was preoccupied with processing the things that Abraham had said, and couldn’t keep her mind from speculating about all the things he hadn’t said. There was little conversation on the drive. By the time she’d parked the Jeep and helped Makena up the steps and inside the house, the light was growing dim. Hilo had rushed out to greet them when she opened the door, and had followed Makena to the sofa. She reached out to scratch his back. He wriggled