After their taillights went out of sight, he called, “Come!”to Tonks (who’d taken care of her business, and by the way, she now had “come,” “drop it” (which she mostly had before from the fetch sessions) and “leave it” down, so she came right away).
We went inside, and as Hutch locked the door, I said, “It was kind of you to invite them to stay for dinner.”
He looked at me.“She’s like me.She needed to be sure you’re okay.”
God, this guy.
I went to him, put my hands on his chest and said, “Honey, seriously.I’mfine.”
“Talked to Rus today.They still haven’t apprehended Enstrom or Buress.”
I frowned.
Then I said, “They’ll get them.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m gonna make hot chocolate,” I informed him.“You want anything?”
He shook his head.
I rolled up to my toes and gave him a quick kiss.
Then I walked into his fantastic kitchen to warm up some milk on a century-old-plus stove.
THIRTY-ONE
Your Answer
Hutch
Late Wednesday afternoon, Wade pulled up the crime scene tape for Hutch, and Hutch ducked under it.
He thanked Wade but headed right to where Harry was standing.
Harry handed him some protective gear.“For your boots, and need you to put on some gloves.It’s been processed, but protocol.”
Hutch put on the shoe protectors and gloves then walked into one of the houses on The Lion and The Lamb compound.
He whistled.
It wasn’t big but it had a big flat screen.Game console.Nice carpet.Roomy furniture.
And a mess of someone who packed quick and got the hell out.
“I’ll take you to one of the flock’s houses next,” Harry told him.“But safe to say, Enstrom, Burress and their boys didn’t rough it as much as the rest of the congregation did.”
“How did they hide this shit from the others?”Hutch asked.
“They didn’t,” Harry surprised him by saying.“And you got two different takes on that from the men and the women.The men, it was obvious their leaders would need to remain plugged into the outside world and keep abreast of what was happening.They were devout, but they weren’t Amish.And anyway, Enstrom convinced them the more you turned your back on worldly things and became one with nature and God, the more grace you’d be earning.Though, somehow those men thought he was godly, and didn’t put it together he wasn’t doing the same thing.”
“And the women?”
“Varied.Those two I mentioned who I thought had Stockholm Syndrome actually didn’t.Found out, they, too, were true believers.Head down.Do your work.Take care of your man.Raise your community up.All that shit.The others thought this,”—he threw up a hand—“was just more proof their men were brainless idiots.”
“But those soldiers you talked about lived like this?”Hutch asked.
“The stuff wasn’t as nice, but yeah.”
