THIRTY

 

 

September 26th, 2016

Las Vegas, Nevada

 

JULIA WAS SITTING there, staring at the remains of her BLT and wishing she hadn’t eaten as much as she had, when beside her Lott suddenly got very excited, almost bouncing on the seat.

He took a deep breath and smiled at Annie. “You hit the key to this mess.”

“I did?” Annie said, looking puzzled at how her father was smiling after all this.

Julia had no idea what Lott was even thinking. Or why he was excited.

“We need an extensive family history,” Lott said, “or a family tree as you said, of everyone involved in that nudist compound way back.”

Julia just looked at him. She had no idea exactly where this was going.

Lott smiled at Julia and then his daughter.

“I’m not sure I like where you are headed with this,” Andor said.

“We thought this was a serial killer who had help,” Lott said. “Now we have just discovered there may be three or four involved with this. Right?”

Julia nodded.

Andor just shook his head. Clearly he was following Lott’s thinking.

“There may be even more,” Lott said.

“Oh, wonderful,” Andor said.

Julia agreed. She didn’t like the idea of that in the slightest.

“It all stems back from that compound in Florida of Paul’s great-grandfather,” Lott said.

“You think we have a cult operating here,” Andor said.

Lott pointed at Andor and smiled. “Bingo.”

Julia just sat there, shaking her head, trying to digest that they might be uncovering an entire cult that kidnapped and killed people regularly. And had been for at least thirty years.

Maybe a lot longer.

“Damn,” Andor said, shaking his head. “Just damn.”

Annie was already on her phone.

Julia and Lott and Andor turned to listen to her end of the conversation as the sounds from the casino and restaurant seemed to fade away.

“Drop everything,” Annie said, “and do this research quick and very hidden. No traces.”

She nodded, then said, “I need a complete family tree of everyone that was in the Thorn Compound in Florida. Where they lived, when they died, and if a child or grandchild is still alive, what they do for a living and if they are connected in any way with any other family member from that compound.”

She again nodded.

“Find any of them in this area who own land under any form of the names from that original compound. And in the Reno area,” Annie said.

Julia watched as Annie listened.

“Put everyone we’ve got on this,” Annie said. “And have Fleet call me. We’re going to need to get Doc back here.”

She nodded and said, “Thanks” and hung up.

Then she turned and smiled at her dad. “Finally, something in all this that makes sense. Good idea.”

“After Maxwell disappeared so effectively with his wife,” Lott said, “and we found all the missing people around Reno, it started to make sense.

Julia just shook her head. “I can see it now, but I never would have made that jump.”

And she wouldn’t have. Sometimes Lott and his ability to put parts of a large puzzle together just amazed her.

“Annie suggested it,” Lott said. “Family tree.”

“One really sick tree,” Andor said.

Julia could only agree to that.