CHAPTER ELEVEN

Lisa Blackwood lived in Eureka Roadhouse, an equally tiny community a few miles west of Nelchina. Her property consisted of a small cabin with a wire fence that contained a vegetable garden, a chicken coop, a stand of berry bushes and a couple of odd structures that Faith didn't recognize. On one side of the house, animal skins were stretched out to cure. Lisa clearly took her survivalism very seriously.

She answered the door wearing more animal skins, including shoes that appeared to be made from hand-stitched leather. She was a rather petite woman of around forty with curly, mouse-brown hair and honey-colored eyes. She looked at the agents and went white as a sheet. Interesting.

"You need a warrant to search my property," she said tersely.

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Is there a reason we should search your property?"

"I don't answer questions," she said just as tersely.

She started to close the door, but Michael stopped it. "Let me tell you why we're here before you decide to kick us off of your porch. I'm Special Agent Michael Prince and this is my partner, Special Agent Faith Bold with her K9 unit, Turk. We're here because two members of your survivalist club were murdered, and we'd like to determine if you have any information that can help us solve this case."

She blinked. "Murdered? What…" A look flashed across her face that looked suspiciously like relief to Faith. "Oh. Well… I guess I should talk to you then."

She opened the door and ushered them inside. The heavy smell of incense washed over Faith. She coughed a little and looked at Turk. He shook his head irritably and sneezed.

"Yeah, that stuff's pretty strong," Lisa said apologetically. "But it's good for the soul. Really cleansing. This one's, uh… poppy, I think?"

Faith had smelled poppies before, and this was nothing like that. She wasn't here to talk to Lisa about her choice of potpourri, though. "Two of your members were murdered recently. Valerie North and Ethan Holloway."

Lisa sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. They were good people."

She didn't seem too broken up over the news. "If you'll forgive me," Faith said, "you don't seem very upset."

"Of course I'm upset. I just… I'm a little shocked, is all."

Faith's eyes narrowed. "Can you confirm your whereabouts three nights ago?"

"Three nights ago? Yes, Robert and I went out to dinner in Anchorage. I'll give you the number for the restaurant. They'll confirm we attended our reservation there. I'm not really a restaurant person, but Robert likes it, so once a month, I let him take me out. That was our night. Was that when the two of them were murdered?"

"That's when Ethan Holloway was killed. Valerie was killed a week before."

Her eyes widened. "And I'm just hearing about this now? I can't believe the others haven't said anything!"

"What others?"

"The rest of the group! That's why you're talking to me, right? Because I'm the leader of Nature's Guardians? Well, was the leader of Nature's Guardians."

Faith raised her eyebrow. "Nature's Guardians has disbanded?"

"Yes. We… well, I didn't really think through how difficult it would be to get a bunch of egotistical people like me to get along. Or a bunch of independent free-livers to work together as a group. I don't know. I guess I just wanted people to talk to. Don't get me wrong, Robert's amazing, and he puts up with all of my crap, as you can tell by our house."

She gestured around, and Faith took in the handmade goods, and most especially the lack of appliances. There was a fireplace and a wood-burning stove, but no electrically powered items of any kind except for the lights.

"But he doesn't have a passion for this," Lisa continued. "He'll go out with me on short camping trips, but… well, I would live forever like this if I could. Off the land, I mean. I wouldn't even have lights or books or anything that I didn't make with my own hands." Her eyes came alive. "I just feel so… real … when I'm out there. God gave us this beautiful world, and we insist on masking it and covering it up and pushing it away. I feel like we'd be so much happier if we just enjoyed the gift God's given us."

She sighed. "Anyway, I founded the Guardians because I thought I might meet some people who really understood what living off of the land meant. And I did. It just so happens that most other people who think like I do are extremely introverted. We did a few group activities, but it all just turned into haggling over who knew better about x or who should listen to who about y or some other crap. We had a final meeting two months ago, and I just said frankly, ‘If everyone thinks that they'd have more fun doing this on their own, then let's say goodbye here and go our separate ways.' And they said goodbye. Without hesitating."

"Who's they?" Faith asked.

"The others in the group."

"Names?"

"Oh yeah. Um. There was me, Ethan, and Valerie. There was Jake, Kelly and Graham. That was it. Just the six of us."

"Do you have full names for the last three?"

"Sure. Jake Thornton, Graham Nash and Kelly… Connell? Connelly? Connor! Kelly Connor." She chuckled. "I had trouble remembering her name for some reason. I dated a Connelly for five years before I met Robert, so I get it confused."

"How well did the group get along?" Faith asked. "Well, I guess you said not well. Did it ever become serious?"

"The squabbling? No, not serious. There were no fights or anything. People would just talk crap to each other. It was honestly really juvenile. I was kind of embarrassed for them sometimes."

"Did anyone hold any particular animosity toward Ethan or Valerie?"

"Not that I could see. Valerie was really quiet, probably the quietest of the group. She kind of kept to herself. She'd talk to Ethan sometimes, but even then, not much."

"Did they have a romantic relationship with each other?"

Lisa seemed to find this utterly hilarious. She threw her head back and laughed uproariously. "Valerie and Ethan? Oh no. No." She stifled her laughter. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh. Um, no."

"Why is that funny?" Michael asked.

"Well… Ethan was divorced, and it wasn't pretty. His wife was cheating with her boss for years. He was crushed when he found out. He never got over her. I don't think he ever had eyes for another woman. As for Valerie, she never had eyes for a man ever, if you know what I mean."

"She was lesbian."

"Yes."

"All right. And the others? Tell me more about them."

"Well, Kelly was the youngest of the group. The rest of us were in our late thirties to our late forties, but Kelly was twenty-three."

"Is that unusual?"

"It's…" she cocked her head. "Not especially common. There are young survivalists, but they're not usually so committed to the lifestyle. That's something that really set us apart from other groups. We are all, for the most part, deeply committed to this lifestyle, or as deeply committed as we can. We're all held back in our own ways. I'm held back by my husband. Oh God, that sounds terrible! I didn't mean it like that."

"I understand your meaning," Faith assured her. "Besides being serious about survivalism, what else can you tell me about Kelly?"

Lisa chuckled. "Well… she was twenty-three. I think that sums it up nicely."

Michael smiled slightly. "Expand on that anyway."

She shrugged. "She was very pretty, and she knew it. She was very knowledgeable but also very na?ve. Unfortunately, she didn't know that. Between you and me, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that everyone in the group slept with her at one point. Except for me, of course."

"Did anyone seem to be jealous?" Faith asked. "Anyone who might have felt betrayed by Kelly's promiscuity?"

"Oh no. No, I don't think anyone would have admitted to sleeping with her. I don't know that anyone even did, I was just pointing out that she knew she was pretty."

"Let's confine ourselves to concrete statements from now on," Faith requested. "Tell me about Jake Thornton."

"Jake was a very moody man. He's my age, forty-four, but he's not a happy person. I think he took up survivalism to escape something in his past."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, he was just always so surly. Not angry, really. He would talk to people, he was just… well, surly."

"Was there anyone in particular who annoyed him?"

"No, but Kelly definitely annoyed him the least."

"But you don't know if they were involved with each other?"

"I don't know, but like I said, I wouldn't be surprised. Kelly knew she could get it from anyone if she wanted it."

"Were you jealous at all of the attention she received?"

Lisa laughed again. "Oh no. Very much no. Robert only has eyes for me. And I make very sure he doesn't need to go looking for anyone else. That's another aspect of survivalism that I think could really help people. Sex is still viewed as a taboo thing in our society, even between married couples sometimes. I don't understand it. I love satisfying Robert. It's so exciting to see his face change like it does when he—"

"We don't need to hear about your private life with your husband," Faith interrupted.

Turk made a coughing sound that Faith recognized as laughter. Sometimes, Faith thought he understood more than he let on.

Lisa shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm not ashamed of it."

"Nor should you be," Michael said. Faith gave him a fishy look, and he cleared his throat. "And Graham Nash?"

Lisa's eyes widened in admiration. "Graham was the most committed of all of us for sure. And the least tied down. No family, no job, enough money to survive without working, enough skills to survive without money… He was, I think, only a half-step away from doing it."

"Doing what?"

" It." Lisa said. "Getting out of here. Going off the grid and just living as God intended us to." Her eyes shone. "I really admired him. I'll bet you anything that's where he is right now. Somewhere out there in the wilderness living in a hut he's built with his own hands, picking berries, fishing, hunting and just enjoying life far away from all of the distractions we've created for ourselves."

Faith was very interested in Graham Nash. He fit the profile of someone who had reached the peak of survival skill and might need to up the ante to gain a thrill. "Do you have contact information for these individuals?" she asked Lisa.

Lisa chuckled. "I mean, I do, but it's a tossup whether any of them will be available. Graham probably won't."

"You seem sure of that."

She sighed. "Not sure. Just hopeful. I want to live vicariously through him. I could never give up, Robert, you understand. Not even to live my dream life." Her smile grew wistful. "Love is a wonderful thing. It catches hold of you and never lets you go. I thought my whole life that I'd end up like Graham and eventually live off the grid. Instead, I met Robert, and that became more important than anything. Don't tell him I said so, but I would even move to New York City if he asked me. God, I really love him."

"Good for you," Faith said. She wasn't really sure what to say, but that sounded all right.

"Thank you for your time, Lisa," Michael said, handing her a card. "If you think of anything else, please give us a call."

"Oh, for sure. It was nice talking with you. Have a safe drive, and I really hope you find whoever's responsible for this."

"Yes," Faith agreed. "Me too."

She was troubled as they returned to their truck, but not because of the three new leads they had. Lisa's comment about giving up everything to be with the person she loved disturbed her. She realized with sudden clarity that she didn't feel that way about David. That was why she didn't want to move in with him. She loved him, but she loved her life more. She didn't want it to change.

She heaved a sigh as Michael pulled away from the property and headed back toward Nelchina. So much in life was out of her control. She just wished she could get a handle on the few things that were in her control.

Maybe just going off the grid and leaving it all behind wasn't such a bad idea.