Darkness at the Edge of Town (Iris Ballard #2)(37)
“So Helen was there in the beginning too?” I asked.
“She must have been. Ken too. Maybe Betsy.”
“What can you tell me about them?”
“I told you all I know about Betsy. Guess we had no use for one another. I actually like Helen. Everyone does. She used to be a drug rehab counselor or something but lost her license after she got caught stealing drugs. She went to prison and lost custody of her son.”
“Is she a true believer?”
“Hell yes. If not about the religion shit, then about the helping people. She seems genuine. A hell of a lot more than Megan, Ken, and Mathias do.”
“Tell me about this Ken. Gia told me she was unnerved by him,” I said.
“I get that. He never smiled, has all these tattoos, and he’s a big guy who works out. He barely talked to anyone, but he was never mean or aggressive. I do know some of the tats on his sleeves are prison tats, but most of us have had run-ins with the law. Even Helen. It was no biggie.”
“And Mathias? What can you tell me about him?”
“You know people, like movie stars or whatever, who you just can’t stop looking at? You feel like five percent happier just being near them? He’s one of them. He talks, you listen. When it was one-on-one, you really knew he was there. He cared. And he knew just by looking at you if something was wrong; then he came and asked you questions. Talked it out with you. Told you everything would be okay. And you believed him.”
“He sounds almost too good to be true,” I said. “Like Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. I saw some photos on the website. All that was missing was a pipe, slippers, and a Number-One Dad mug. And I met Helen. Definitely the mothering type.”
“You went to The Temple?”
“Yesterday. I pretended to be a potential member. Megan greeted me like we were best friends forever. Helen made fudge and listened to my fake troubles. Then I went back for a party and a guy named Paul fell madly in love with me at first sight. He swore the universe told him we were meant to be. If I hadn’t let it slip I had a sizable settlement from my fake ex-husband, I do wonder if I would have received the star treatment.”
“Probably not,” Kevin chuckled. “Most potentials were like me. Poor fuck-ups in need of some understanding and companionship. But the upper-classy types were fawned over a little more, I guess. There was this one trust-fund kid. He and this girl Kelly were engaged within a month and he was living at The Apex around the same time. He might still be there.”
“Why do you think they targeted Billy? He only gave them two grand.”
“Maybe Betsy really is pregnant. Maybe it was an accident. Or not on her part. He has a lot going for him besides money. The loyal sort is hard to come by nowadays. And Mathias seemed to pay her a ton of attention. She was always by his side. And like I said, Billy dove into New Morningism head first. He believed every damn word they say. As I said, he’s loyal.”
“Yet he still sold you out because they told him to,” I pointed out.
“True, and I was pissed as fuck for a while, but I realized that wasn’t really my buddy Billy. He covered shifts for me. He lent me money once after my car got towed. He didn’t do it to hurt me, or at least I hope not. They probably told him if it brought me back to the main road on my journey, a little pain was worth it. Or he was my instrument of change guided by the universe. Who the hell knows?” He checked his watch. “Shit. I’m sorry, I gotta go. I can’t be late. I’m still on probation.”
“That’s fine. You’ve been a big help. If you think of anything else that might help, or if you think of anyone else who might talk to me, you have my number. Don’t hesitate to call.”
Kevin collected his tray and rose. “I will. And when you see Billy, tell him I’m still here if he needs me. I don’t hold no grudges.”
“I will.”
“Nice meeting you.” Kevin nodded before walking off. I shut off my recorder and sighed. With every interview, my worry grew. New Morningism was using almost every trick in the book to lure and keep people in their little movement. Sex, love-bombing, isolation, blackmail, even exhaustion. Working the land nonstop coupled with meditation and sweat lodges drained a body and mind to zero. People got so beaten down they had no defenses against a constant barrage of rhetoric. Cruel but effective. “Bastards,” I muttered to myself. Manipulating those broken women and men to be bait and whores was just downright fucking evil.
And even if my brother wasn’t tangled in their web, I needed to bring that web down with a giant fucking broom. Poisonous spider about to bite or no.
Chapter 8
The day’s confrontations took a lot out of me, so I went straight back to my grandparents’ house and vegged for a few hours in front of the TV after answering all my emails and sending the check to Gia. CBNN officially made me an offer, which I told my agent to accept. Miranda had visions of my own show dancing in her eyes. She already wanted to start pitching the idea of me becoming the next Nancy Grace or Tamron Hall to the networks, but I shut the idea down. I had enough on my plate even without the New Morning investigation.
After the Kevin Perry interview, my confidence in finding Billy within two days—or hell, within two weeks—hit a low. When I was on the train from New York City, I was convinced I’d just have to make a few calls, pull a few records, find the farm, talk to Billy, and report back that he was happy and healthy. Hope springs fucking eternal. As I sat with Grandma watching old sitcoms, I really tried to formulate a plan. The interviews provided zero new leads and my fingerprints probably wouldn’t be available until the next day. Okay, I knew what I should do next but wasn’t sure I had the energy to play make-believe, especially knowing all I did. I’d want to shake them all, smack some sense into them, especially Helen, and try to get them to see they were being used. That Mathias was just a pimp dressed up in the shroud of religion. But I knew what I had to do instead.