White Heat. Brenda Novak

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      “His wife insisted it was just a ‘phase’ Ethan was going through, that he was purposely trying to provoke Manson, the same way he tried to provoke everyone else. And then the problem seemed to solve itself. Ethan grew disenchanted with Manson, quit writing him and the relationship ended.”

      “But that was a pretty ominous start, and it led to a bigger problem.”

      “Exactly. Now Ethan’s set himself up as a prophet, the Holy One, the man to lead all Christians to enlightenment.”

      “And let me guess—enlightenment happens after this life.”

      “With your background, I knew you’d be familiar with the dogma.”

      Far more than she wanted to be. She’d tried hard to distance herself from the brainwashing she’d undergone as a child, but it wasn’t easy to put all those hours of religious “instruction” behind her. Not when there were so many lasting effects, some of which she blamed for the embarrassing blunder she’d made with Nate six months ago.

      “Sounds as if he’s as whacked as Manson,” she mused. Or, like her father, his teachings and devotions could be similar enough to mainstream religions to fall within what society deemed “normal.” Not that her father’s “normal” was normal to most people. From the moment she got home from school every day, Fredrick Jessop had kept her under lock and key, forced her to read the Bible for hours on end and go to church three or four times a week. Until she’d left home at seventeen, he’d had complete control. Even after she was on her own, she’d been so well trained she was twenty-five before she lost her virginity; at that point she’d finally slept with a man just to punish her father after an argument. That had turned out to be such a bad experience, so cheap and unsatisfying, she hadn’t had sex again until she met Nate. But, for different reasons, her encounter with Nate had been even more disappointing than the original one.

      “He might be crazy,” Nate said. “But making up your own religion isn’t a crime. You know that better than most.”

      Her father and his cronies had done it, hadn’t they? “So what law has Ethan broken?”

      Nate’s broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. “That’s the reason for this assignment—to find out.”

      She’d already assumed as much. But she wasn’t comfortable with the religious element. Her background dealing with religious zealots had taught her there was no way to win, no way to argue any doctrine logically because people like her father always referred to the illogical to back up their beliefs.

      “Do you think I have the experience for this?” she asked. Before coming to Department 6, she’d worked undercover for the LAPD, pretending to be a prostitute, as well as helping in some drug busts. Since hiring on at Department 6, she’d continued with drug enforcement, generally contract labor for the DEA. Bottom line, she’d specialized in something that was more straightforward, easier to fight. And she liked it that way.

      “You have as much experience with this type of thing as anyone else at Department 6,” he said.

      That was probably true. They all did more drug work than anything else. “There must be something besides his affiliation with Manson that’s brought this man to our attention,” she said. “I’m guessing there are a lot of whack jobs who’ve contacted Manson over the years.”

      “A woman by the name of Martha Wilson recently escaped from the commune,” Nate explained.

      Now they were talking. “Another interesting word choice, seeing that escaped has the connotation of being held against her will.”

      “Her word,” he said. “She claimed Wycliff punished her for sleeping with her own husband.”

      “I thought sex was dealt with in a more liberal fashion in this commune.”

      “It is. But she was on ‘restriction.’”

      Because it was beyond awkward to talk about sex with Nate after what had occurred between them, Rachel tried to cover her anxiety by toying with the edge of the file in front of her. “You’re kidding.”

      “Nope. Otherwise, sex is open to anyone, married or unmarried, as long as both people are consenting and of age.”

      “Now I see why Ethan’s attracting converts. Religious endorsement of drugs and sex. No willpower required. What’s not to like?”

      His lips quirked in a wry smile. “It’s not quite as simple as it might sound.”

      “With religion, it never is,” she muttered.

      “Only those who live according to various ‘higher laws’—” he made quotation marks with his fingers “—gain that benefit. But there’s a cost. Once you join, you begin a process that culminates in embracing certain rituals that go with these laws. We’re not sure what these rituals are. We got most of this information from what was reported in the papers. Martha was vocal about the group’s abuse, but less so about their beliefs.”

      “And Milt can’t get more information?” Milton Berger owned the company. Slightly eccentric, he was basically a wealthy businessman who’d never spent a day in the field. At forty-five, he drank and smoked so much he couldn’t possibly run the forty-yard dash. But he had an eye for talent and a talent for making money.

      “He’s relying on us to figure out the rest.”

      “Do you know what the prize is?”

      “The prize?” he repeated.

      “What do the people in Ethan’s religion get for living these supposed higher laws? There’s always a prize for good behavior. It’s usually called salvation.”

      “They’re admitted into ‘the Holy One’s’ inner sanctum and become sanctified like he is. Or something like that. Again, there might be more to it.”

      Remembering what she’d been taught regarding the few elect who would rule with God, she made a face. “How do people fall for this crap?” She’d been steeped in it and still couldn’t buy it, although there’d been plenty of times she’d wished she could. It would’ve made her life so much easier.

      “I think psychologists say they’re not happy with the world in which they’re living. Some want to prove how unique and special they are. Others are just hoping to feel as if they belong.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “But who really knows? Motivations are as individual as people.”

      “Doesn’t sound to me like the world they’re building will be any better than the one we’ve got.” No matter how hard her father and brother had tried to convince her that the afterlife was all that mattered. “How badly did Ethan Wycliff beat the woman who escaped?”

      “She says it wasn’t him. It was a public event—a stoning modeled after those in the Bible.”

      She stiffened. “Stoning is a death sentence in the Bible.”

      “Martha managed to escape.”

      “How?”

      “We don’t know exactly. But according to her, Ethan’s getting crazier by the day. She says everyone СКАЧАТЬ