Heartfield Ranch (Communities of Discipline Book 2) (14 page)

Lynette, who was sorting laundry, glanced up. “About what?” Then she stopped upon seeing how serious the other two women’s faces were.  “Oh, Lord,” she said. “Is something wrong?”

Karen shook her head. “No. But Ann Marie and I are about to do something sort of risky and we need to tell someone before we do.”

Lynette sat down. “Define ‘risky.’”

Ann Marie shot Karen a nervous look. “Well, ‘risky’ as in ‘forbidden.’ By our men.”

“Oh my,” Lynette said. “What is it?”

Ann Marie explained what she wanted to do, and Karen watched carefully as the other woman listened and nodded. She knew even before Ann Marie finished her story that Lynette would agree to help them. After all, she’d expressed understanding of Karen’s situation the night before. Karen was sure she would sympathize with a woman who’d come here from the outside and who wanted to tie up lose ends she’d left hanging from her former life.

“Are you sure it’s going to be safe?” Lynette’s baby had begun to cry and she picked it up now as she asked the question.

“I’ll have Karen with me,” Ann Marie said confidently, and Karen wished she felt as confident as her friend did. “Everything will be fine.”

“Then why tell me?”

“Because, on the slim outside chance something did happen, someone from the community needs to know where we are.” Ann Marie paused. “Someone we trust who will only tell if they absolutely have to.”

Lynette looked down at the nursing infant and then back up at the two women. “You know if Randy found out I knew what you were up to and didn’t tell him he’d tan my hide.”

“We do realize it’s a risk,” Karen said. “And you don’t have to do it. We wouldn’t even be mad if you threatened to tell, but we don’t think you’ll do that. I’m sure you know as well as we do that the men sometimes…”

“…don’t see things our way.” Lynette finished. “I agree. It’s not easy, and being told to pray doesn’t always cut it. On the other hand, I want you both to understand this really isn’t how we should handle these things. Sometimes I think the men and women of this community should sit down and discuss the way decisions are made. I mean, none of us want to abandon the Heartfield way of male leadership, it could be more accommodating of our feelings, you know?”

Karen and Ann Marie nodded. They did indeed know, and it felt good to have someone else confirm evidence of a problem they’d both been experiencing.

“So what time are you leaving?” Lynette asked.

“Day after tomorrow,” Karen said. “We have the workshop in the morning and then we’re going to go over to pay a visit to the Fales. We’ll be back by late afternoon and no one will be the wiser.”

“And hopefully by then I will have restored my relationship with my parents,” Ann Marie said optimistically. She looked at the other two women. “I can’t begin to tell either of you how much this means to me,” she said. “Really.”

“Don’t mention it,” Karen said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Lynette agreed. “We women have to stick together. Heartfield is about family, but the way we live means the females here have a bond and an understanding that other women in the outside world could never share or understand. That makes us sisters in a way.”

“Yeah, it kind of does, doesn’t it?” asked Ann Marie with a smile. Karen found herself smiling, too, and feeling far better about being part of the community than she had the night before.

They woke up to rain on Wednesday morning. As Clay shared coffee with Karen in Lynette’s kitchen, he looked out the window and scowled.

“It’s supposed to do this all day,” he said. “Maybe you and Ann Marie should cancel.”

“No!” Karen said suddenly and Clay looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize how important it was for you to learn to make soap.”

Karen stood and walked over to the sink. She gave a quick glance to Lynette as she passed.

“Well it is, Clay,” she said. “The sooner I can learn some skills the sooner I can make more of a contribution.”

“That’s my girl.” Clay turned and walked over to kiss her, making Karen feel slightly guilty. “Since your insisting on going, I do want you to take this. My phone number is the only one plugged into it. All you have to do to reach me is hit the send button.”

He handed her a cell phone and Karen took it gratefully. Heartfield tried to live with as little technology as possible. There was only two computers on the compound – one in the library and the other in the main office. For years they’d done without cell phones, but after Jake’s arrest decided to keep some on hand for when members were traveling.

“Thanks,” Karen said, tucking the phone in her pocket. “But don’t worry. We’ll drive carefully and be home by dark.”

“Well, if the roads get bad, don’t be afraid to stop. And if you get delayed, give me a call. Since that whole business with Jake, it makes me nervous to see folks go out.”

“I can understand that,” Ann Marie chimed in. “But we can’t just hide here, Clay. There are a lot of good seminars and workshops at the agricultural center. I don’t want to miss out on them because of some spirit of paranoia.”

“I needed to hear that,” Clay replied. “But still, I’ll feel better when I see you two drive back in this evening.”

“That makes two of us.” Jake had walked in, and nodded to Lynette. “Forgive me for not knocking, but I didn’t want to wake the baby.”

“Thanks,” said Lynette, glancing down at the child, who’d fallen back asleep in her lap.

“The weather’s pretty bad today,” Jake repeated.

“I know, but we’ll be fine.” Ann Marie said. “Really, guys, we know how to drive, so stop worrying, OK?”

“I’ve already gotten that speech,” said Clay. “I think they’re trying to tell us something.”

“Which is to get out of my kitchen and get to work so they can get to town,” Lynette said with a laugh. “All of you, scoot! The longer it takes to get started the longer everything will take.”

***

“I don’t want to use the cell phone to call her,” Ann Marie said as they approached town. “I’m pretty sure the guys go over the bill and if they checked the numbers, they would know.”

“That means we’ll need to find a land line,” Karen tucked the phone into her pocket. “I’m sure there’s one at the agricultural center.”

There was, but the women didn’t call right away. As it turned out, Karen enjoyed the workshops as much as she pretended she would, and for the first time felt she could be as successful a crafter as she was a cop.

At around mid-morning, they asked to borrow the agricultural center’s phone. Ann Marie’s hands were shaking as she picked up the receiver.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Karen asked.

Ann Marie nodded, took a deep breath and dialed. A housekeeper picked up on the second ring.

“Fales’ residence,” she said.

“Hi, Gladys, it’s me, Ann Marie. Is my mother or father there?” There was a pause, and Ann Marie knew it was from surprise. No one, not even the housekeeper, was expecting to hear from the prodigal daughter.

“Hold on. I’ll check and see if she’s in.”

Karen, who was listening in, crooked an eyebrow at her friend. “Are they always that formal?” she whispered.

Ann Marie mouthed, “yes,” and waited. The minutes ticked by, and when she just as she was about to give up, her mother’s voice came on the line.

“Ann Marie?”

“Mother. How are you?”

“Surprised.”

There was a moment of silence.

“I’d like to come by and visit today if I could. I’m in town. I’d love to come see you and Daddy.”

“Your father’s not here,” Melissa Fales said. “He’s in Vancouver on business.”  She didn’t tell Ann Marie that things had become so tense between the two of them that Harlan spent more time away from home than in it.

“Could I just come see you then?”

Another pause. “Why should I want to see you, Ann Marie, after the way you treated me at that horrible compound?”

“Mother, please. I don’t want to argue over the phone. I know you disagree with what I’ve done, but I’d really like to come see you and maybe work through our differences.”

“Well, life is too short …” Melissa Fale’s voice softened.

“Yes,” her daughter replied.

“Very well, Ann Marie. But I’m not promising you I’m going to accept what you’ve done.”

“You don’t have to, Mother. I just want to see you.” She paused. “But one more thing - I’m bringing someone…”

Her mother cut her off. “If it’s that man you call a husband, he is not welcome here. We don’t recognize..”

“It’s not Jake,” Ann Marie said. “It’s my friend, Karen Patterson.”

“Karen Patterson … that
ex
-police officer? The one who left the force to join the group?”

“Yes,” Ann Marie said, grimacing a little. “That one.”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Mother, please. If you can just talk to her she can help you understand that Heartfield is really a good place.”

“As you wish, dear, but again I am not promising you anything. You understand that, don’t you?”

“I do,” Ann Marie said. “We’ll see you around one then, alright?”

Karen heard the woman on the other line murmur something and then Ann Marie hung up. A big smile spread over her face as she put the receiver in the cradle.

“She said ‘yes!’ She didn’t promise anything, but she said ‘yes.’ And that’s a start.”

Ann Marie threw her arms around Karen. “I’m so happy!” she cried.

She wasn’t the only one. Sitting in her ornately furnished living room, Melissa Fales was having a hard time believing her good fortune. Turning to Jarret Miller, she smiled. “We’re in luck,” she said. “As it turns out we won’t need to hire someone to follow my daughter after all. She’s in town, today. And she’s coming here!”

Miller leaned back, crossing his legs. “Is she now?”

“Yes. And it gets better. She’s bringing that disgraceful former cop, Karen Patterson.” Melissa Fales stood. “Excuse me,” she said to her guest and then opened the door to the living room. “Gladys, would you come here please?”

She returned to her chair and waited for her housekeeper to come into the room.

“Yes, Mrs. Fales?”

“I just wanted to let you know I’m giving you the rest of the day off. You’re free to go.”

The older woman looked confused. “But your daughter. Is she coming here? If she is I don’t mind staying to…”

“Whether my daughter is coming is none of your concern,” she said. “You are being given the rest of the day off. Now take it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The housekeeper turned away with a hurt expression that went unnoticed by her employer. When she was out of earshot, Melissa Fales turned to her guest with an icy expression.

“You’re fully prepared to follow through with the plan, then?”

“Completely,” he said, standing and smiling his most brilliant smile as his eyes raked across the handsome woman. Maybe after this was over she’d be open to a relationship. How hard would it be to convince a beautiful older woman that she could do better than the inattentive husband who left her alone? With her money and his libido, it could be a win-win situation. But he couldn’t think about that now. Right now he had to focus on what was at hand.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Fales. By the end of the day, your daughter will be back and that bothersome former cop will be unwelcome on either side of the Heartfield fence. Count on it.”

***

Ann Marie was chatty and bubbly as they drove along the road to her family estate. Karen carried along with the conversation, much of which centered on what they’d learned at the workshops, but inside she felt a gnawing sense of dread. She tried to conceal it from Ann Marie, not wishing to cloud her ebullient mood, and chalked her nervousness up to the fact that she and her friend were keeping something from the men in their lives.

“Wow. They got a new fence.”

Karen looked up to see a huge wrought-iron barrier in front of them. As the truck approached, the gate swung open to admit them onto the long drive that led up to the house.

“You grew up here?” Karen asked.

“Don’t sound so impressed,” Ann Marie said. “It was never a happy place. You need good parents to have a happy home.”

“So why are you still trying?” Karen pressed.

“Stubborn, I guess,” Ann Marie said. “I guess down deep we’re all just kids who need to be loved.”

The comment made Karen sad, and she was still pondering it as they pulled up to the front of the house and parked. A set of large semi-circular steps led to a wooden door with a leaded glass panel in the center.  Ann Marie rung the bell and the pair waited for a moment before the door opened. Melissa Fales was wearing a light pink fitted suit with a pearl necklace that picked up the tint of the garment in its gleam.

“Where’s Gladys?” Ann Marie asked.

“Is that how I’m to be greeted?” Melissa Fales’ voice was cool and curt, and she cast a hate-filled glance at Karen as she spoke. “If you must know, she’s out doing some shopping.”

“Sorry.” Ann Marie leaned over and gave her mother an awkward kiss on the cheek before Melissa stepped aside so the younger women could come in.

The foyer of the house was cavernous; Ann Marie’s sneakers squeaked on the marble floor, and Karen felt underdressed and wished she’d worn something other than jeans.

“I had Gladys put some tea and cookies in the sitting room before she left.” Melissa Fales led the way, her heels clicking as she went. She did not glance back at the pair, and Karen wondered if she were always this aloof and formal.

A door to the left of a short hallway led to a room with a bay window overlooking a rose garden that was now past its peak. The furniture was heavy, dark and antique, giving the room a somber feel. Over the fireplace hung an oil painting of a foxhunt. In one corner of the painting, the fox’s head was thrown back in agony as the hounds savaged it. From their horses, the riders watched with dispassionate expression. Karen wondered who could have painted such a picture, and who would want it.

She heard the door to the drawing room click shut, and was just about to turn to thank Ann Marie’s mother for allowing her to come along when she felt a hand clamp over her mouth. She was simultaneously pulled backwards and instinctively kicked back at her attacker as she’d been taught to do in the police academy. But her captor was ready and her heel did little more than connect with the lower inside of his thigh.

She heard a scream and realized it was Ann Marie’s. Then she froze as a knife went to her throat. Karen stood stock still, not wanting to risk a cut. The only thing she could move were her eyes, and she looked over now to see Ann Marie standing there, distraught and confused as her mother laughed.

“You really didn’t think I was just going to let this go, did you, sweetie?” Melissa Fales asked her daughter. “Ever since that humiliating ordeal at that awful cult compound I’ve been planning a way to put an end to your nonsense once and for all.” She walked over to Ann Marie and slapped her hard across the face, watching as her daughter turned back to her with tear-filled eyes. “Do you have any idea what you put me through, Ann Marie?” She turned to Karen. “And you. I had everyone from your boss down on my team. If you had just done your job I never would have had to resort to this.”

“You’re only making things worse for yourself, Mrs. Fales,” Karen replied. “Kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment are both against the law.”

“So is making false statements during an investigation.” Miller’s voice was hot in her ear. “And by the time I’m finished with you, Missy, you’re going to give me a written statement that everything you put in that report was a lie, that Heartfield keeps women there under duress and that you delivered Miss Fales back to her family today because you wanted to save her from the abusive atmosphere of what you now realize is a cult.”

“The hell I will,” Karen said, and Miller jerked her back angrily. In that instant, Karen dropped her hand to her side and pushed against the pants pocket. Neither Melissa Fales nor Jarret Miller realized what she’d done, but as Karen’s eyes connected with Ann Marie’s, she knew her friend had activated the cell phone she had hidden there.

“Please,” Karen prayed. “Let the call go through.”