Dead Even - Mariah Stewart [7]
“But . . .”
“Miranda, why don’t you tell us what you’ve heard?” Aidan covered one of Mara’s hands with his own.
“Jules is working with Reverend Prescott in some executive capacity, we do know this. He’s apparently involved with their finances, but right now, we’re not sure exactly where he is. He has been here, at some time, but I’m afraid that neither Jules nor your daughter is with the movement here in Wyoming.”
“How do you know?” Mara fought to control her emotions. “How can you be certain?”
“All I can tell you at this time is that the Bureau has someone inside the compound. She has confirmed that they are no longer here. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to find out where they went when they left, but she’s still working on that. She has asked that you and Aidan leave the area. The interest you’ve shown in the movement, the questions you’ve been asking of the members when they come into town . . . it’s been noticed. Our agent is afraid you’ll call unnecessary attention to the group and, sooner or later, to her.”
Mara looked at her blankly.
“In other words, back off, because we could jeopardize the life of our agent.” Aidan summed it up.
“That’s exactly right.” Miranda nodded. “I’m sorry, Mara, I know how hard this has been for you—”
“No. No, you do not.” Mara pushed herself away from the table slowly. “With all due respect, Miranda, you have no idea how hard this has been. If you’ll excuse me for a minute . . .”
When Mara passed through the door to the restroom, Aidan turned to Miranda and said, “Who’s inside?”
“Genna Snow.”
“The boss sent his wife?” Aidan’s brows lifted in surprise.
“Who better to look into a phony religious movement led by a bunch of self-appointed apostles who seem to be attracting a lot of runaways and street kids? All adolescent girls, many of whom seem to have disappeared into thin air?” Both agents knew Genna Snow’s story. As a child, she’d been abused by a pedophile who masqueraded as a man of the cloth. Twenty years later, he’d been released from prison and had tracked her down. She’d taken him out with one shot through the heart, but not before he’d engaged in a bloody business that had left few survivors. “We think some of these kids are being sold over the Internet. It’s a very ugly business they’re running out there. Valley of the Angels, my ass. More like the Valley of Lost Souls.”
“Why don’t we just go in and shut it down?”
“So far, the Bureau is apparently long on suspicion and short on facts. We’ve been trying to get into their computers, but someone inside has been remarkably good at erecting firewalls around firewalls.” She toyed with her hair. “Funny, but we originally started looking at Prescott because we’d traced Jules Douglas to him in Colorado. Then, the agent who went in noticed all of these messed-up young girls coming in, staying for a while, getting their acts cleaned up, then just disappearing. When he asked, the only thing he was told was that the girls had been ‘cleansed’ and sent on their missions.”
“Cleansed?”
“A lot of them come in drugged up, dirty, sick, right off the streets. The movement promises them a new life, new hope. They get them clean, perhaps brainwash them a bit, then sell them to willing buyers.” She made a face that spoke volumes of her disgust. “God only knows what happens to them after that. It’s no secret that there’s a huge market for underage kids. From your basic pedophile to the porn industry, there’s a long line of hungry buyers just waiting for the right girl to come along. Reverend Prescott is getting very, very rich making sure that everyone finds the right girl to suit his—or her—needs.”
“Genna’s found Jules and Julianne in there?”
“Are you sure you want to know?” Miranda raised one eyebrow. “Could you know and not tell her if she asks?”
Aidan mulled the question over.
“I knew as soon as I got the call that you were on your way that we must be very close this time.”
“Closer than you know, pal.” Miranda leaned back in her chair and watched his face.
He sighed deeply.
“It’s been