Chapter Forty

She took a moment to work through the logistics of making three cups of coffee with a single two-cup brewing machine and then unplugged the coffee machine in room ten. She carried it, along with the coffee pods and cups, through the connecting doorway and set the things down on the table in her room.

“Katy, take the chair,” she instructed gently.

Katy looked dazed but she followed directions.

Amelia gave her a reassuring smile and then took a moment to pull on her light travel robe. Next she busied herself with the task of brewing coffee.

When she turned around she saw that Gideon had put on his shirt and was in the process of tossing a quilt over the rumpled sheets on the bed. For some reason it amused her to know that he found the intimate scene awkward in the presence of a third party. It was a side of him she had not seen until now. At least he was dressed, she thought. She was running around in a nightgown and robe.

“The whole time with The Colony feels like a bad dream,” Katy said. She raised her hands and massaged her temples. “I mean, I know it was real. But I don’t understand how I could have allowed myself to get swept up in a cult.”

“The experts will tell you that no one ever joins a cult,” Gideon said. “People think they’re getting involved with a movement. That they are part of something larger than themselves. Sacrifices are required. Things go bad from there. In your case, you were the victim of a very skilled hypnotist.”

Katy lowered her hands and folded them in her lap. “Merlin was a hypnotist?”

“That’s right,” Gideon said.

Katy shook her head. “Before any of this happened I would have told you that I couldn’t be hypnotized. I didn’t think I was the type.”

“Most people think they can’t be hypnotized, at least not against their will,” Gideon said. “Luxford started out as a con man, but at some point he convinced himself he really was born to control a cult.”

Katy shuddered. “And I was going to rule by his side, his chosen bride. He was twenty years older than me and not even good-looking in an older man sort of way. I must have been out of my mind.”

“No,” Amelia said. She set a cup of coffee on the table in front of Katy. “You were in a trance.”

“I was convinced that I had a duty to avenge his death,” Katy said. She looked at Gideon. “It’s so weird. During the day I told myself to forget him and move on. But when night fell I could not resist the compulsion to stalk you. I had this stupid plan, you see. I would leave things on your doorstep. The invitation. The flowers. The veil. And then I would kill you. Afterward I was going to kill myself.”

Gideon accepted a cup of coffee from Amelia and looked at Katy. “Where did the plan come from?”

“I don’t know,” Katy said. “I honestly have no memory of making any sort of plan. But somehow I knew what I was supposed to do.”

Gideon watched her for a moment. “Let me guess. You visited Luxford in jail after he was arrested, didn’t you?”

Katy frowned. “Yes. Once.”

“That must have been when he planted the hypnotic suggestion and explained exactly what you were supposed to do,” Amelia said.

“But I don’t want to kill anyone. I just want to go home.”

“How did you get the key to my room tonight?” Gideon asked.

“There was a spare in the motel office. I saw it hanging there this afternoon. Tonight when I felt the compulsion come over me I used a credit card to break in to the office and take the key.”

“What about the knife?” Amelia asked. “Where did you get it?”

“I brought it with me from San Diego,” Katy whispered, stricken. “I remember buying it one night in a shopping mall. The same night I bought the veil and the flowers and the invitation.”

“How did you find Gideon here in Lucent Springs?” Amelia asked.

“That’s easy,” Gideon said. “She put a tracker on my car.”

Amelia stared at him. So did Katy.

“Seriously?” Amelia said. “You knew there was a tracker on your car?”

“I discovered it after the wedding invitation landed on my doorstep,” he said. “I left it in place. Figured my stalker would turn up in person sooner or later. I admit I didn’t expect you to follow me to Lucent Springs, though, Katy.”

Katy blinked. “Did you know who I was when I arrived here at the motel?”

“I wasn’t positive,” Gideon said. “Not until you made your move tonight. But, yeah, the timing made me suspicious. So did the self-help book.”

Katy grimaced. “ When Life Gives You Lemons: Ten Steps to Moving On. I hoped it would help me recover from the trauma of the cult. Are you going to call the police now?”

“Not unless you’re having second thoughts about murdering me,” Gideon said.

“No, I swear it,” Katy said, clearly anguished.

“Gideon was just joking,” Amelia said quickly.

“Not entirely,” Gideon muttered.

She shot him a warning glare. He ignored it.

Katy started to cry. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just want to get my life back.”

“Of course,” Amelia said bracingly. “And that starts with breakfast. Don’t forget it’s free here at the Cactus Garden Motel.”