“Right? Well, she used some kind of facial recognition software and found them. Maybe. About forty years ago, there were two teens suspected of killing a family.”

“Okay. Awful.”

“The kids were arrested and taken to the county jail. Where they escaped. Somehow, a deputy left their cells unlocked. I don’t know. It was all very suspicious. And they were never heard from again.”

“Cook, are you telling me that the Fosters killed a family when they were kids?”

“I’m saying that according to facial recognition software, they were arrested for the crime. But there’s more. These kids were part of some super-religious cult. The members of this cult believed that the children were touched by God to ferret out the unholy and destroy them.”

“Okay, this is all sounding eerily similar to what I’m finding out.”

“So, this cult, if a bunch of nuts living together and marrying children is a good interpretation of the word —”

“I think it is.”

“— believed these kids were the second coming. As soon as they escaped, the sheriff went to the compound to find them. It had disappeared. Overnight. The entire group of thirty-something members vanished. And none of them have been found again, either. Not one single member.”

“Wow. So, you think the whole cult was behind the murders?”

“Either that or they condoned anything these kids did. Charley, they did everything but worship them outright.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“But there’s more.”

“This is like a soap opera and a gossip show all rolled into one.”

“The children arrested for the crime?”

“Yes.”

“Charley, they were brother and sister.”

Okay, that one surprised me. It surprised Reyes as well. He sat completely motionless, deep in thought.

I glanced over at a nearby table. They were eavesdropping. I could hardly blame them. Shit didn’t get more bat than religious cults. And/or brother-and-sister couples. Because ew.

“Wait. You got this from Pari? Our Pari?”

“The one and only.”

“And how does our Pari have access to a secure FBI database?”

Silence.

“Is she hacking again?”

“She didn’t sound phlegmy.”

“Websites. Databases. She’s gotten into some serious trouble in the past, and she’s on some kind of probation. She’s not even supposed to go onto the Internet. Ever. For any reason.”

“Wow, Charley. I knew she was good with computers. I had no idea she’d gotten into trouble.”

“That’s not on you. I’ll have a talk with her. In the meantime, this is crazy stuff.”

“Should we talk to Robert?”

“Yeah. I’ll call him.”

“Great. Talk soon.”

I hung up the phone and scanned Reyes’s expression. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Makes sense.”

“It does. Well, all except the brother-sister thing. I’m hoping that one was a mistake.” I picked up the phone and found Ubie in my contacts.

“Hey, pumpkin. Cookie told me you took the day off.” He was so happy, I couldn’t tell him he had nothing to do with it.

“I did. So, has she told you anything about the case we’re working on?”

“No. She’s been… well, I’ve been a little distracted lately.”

“Care to tell me why?”

“No.”

“’Kay. So…” I filled Ubie in on the usual. It was enough to grab his interest with razor-sharp claws.

“I’ll keep you updated on what I find out, but if you can check out this cold case —”

“I can do that,” he said.

Reyes and I left the restaurant. It was one thing to allow eavesdropping of some random bits of research that can be found online. It’s another altogether to allow information about my client to leak. I had yet to confront Shawn about his providing an alibi for the Fosters when Dawn Brooks was abducted. I would definitely need an explanation, but now was not the time.

I explained the entire case to Ubie, leaving out the details about who my client was. I focused on the Fosters and what Cookie found.

“Charley, if that is true, I’m going to need more. I don’t think I can get a warrant on information obtained… creatively.”

“Okay, so, like what? How about a confession?”

“If they are who you say they are, they’ve been on the run and in hiding a very long time. They aren’t just going to recite you a tell-all.”

“I have a plan.”

“When don’t you have a plan?”

“True.” I looked over at Reyes as he drove home. “But it’s a pretty good plan, providing I have a little help.”

“Okay, well, keep me in the loop. On the stalker front —”

“Joe?”

“Joe?” he repeated.

“Joe Stalker.”

“Right. On the Joe front,” he said, finding it easier to go along with me than point out the many flaws of my mental process, “we are all set on this end if you’re sure you still want to go through with it.”

“Of course I want to go through with it. Why wouldn’t I?”

“I figured you would. Just checking.”

“Have you heard from Amber?”