Keepers of the Cave Read Free Page A

one to the other. “They are very secluded. They don’t venture out very often. Not for Sunday church. And as far as we can tell, not for funerals.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Not sure what that means,” he said. “We can assume people die there. What they do with the bodies is anyone’s guess.”
    “Okay, now it’s getting weird,” Billy said.
    “You think it’s just now getting weird?” Ice asked.
    Howley pulled up another photo of the community on the monitor. “Everything is basically funded by Ester Hogan. They got their original fortune in timber back in the early 1900s. They acquired hundreds of thousands of acres. It’s one reason they’ve been able to remain isolated. It’s hard to tell if other families might have moved into the community, but judging by the age of the houses, I’d say it’s been forty, fifty years, maybe more.”
    “What about utilities?” CJ asked.
    “They’re pretty much off the grid. They have a community water system. Basically, it’s just a large well and cistern that feeds all the houses. Again, built at the expense of the original Hogan family. It’s considered a private water well so there’s no state inspection. There is no evidence of phone lines. I would assume, but don’t know for sure, that some have cell phones. Avery says there are no TV antennas and no satellite dishes. There are generators and solar panels. Not very many cars. Like I said, pretty much isolated.”
    “So...are we looking at something like the Stepford Wives here?” Paige asked. “Or a situation like Waco?”
    “We’re not sure what we’re looking at,” he said. “Like I said, on the surface, things appear perfectly normal. Dig a little and you find all this. There are no birth records, no marriage records, no death records.”
    “But what evidence is there linking this community to the disappearances?” Ice asked.
    “None. No evidence.”
    They all looked at him questioningly.
    He shrugged. “It’s all we got. It threw up red flags because, frankly, it’s a little too similar to David Koresh’s setup in Waco.”
    Paige leaned back in her chair, twirling a pen between her fingers. “Evidence of firearms?”
    “No.”
    “I thought this was a family, not some religious cult,” CJ said.
    Howley shrugged. “We don’t know. Your job is to find out. Again, there’s no evidence linking Hoganville to the disappearances. This is purely a precaution.”
    “Well, this is going to be loads of fun,” Paige said dryly.
    CJ nodded. She hated cases like this. Precaution . In other words, killing time. She glanced at Paige, wondering what her take was on the “couple” thing. That part of it was going to be uncomfortable as hell.
    “Okay, that’s all I have. Read the file. Ice, you and Billy will stay here in Houston. Your job is research. I’m sure after CJ and Paige get there, they’ll have lots of questions. Your job is to find the answers.”
    “Cool with me,” Ice said. “I have no desire to go to the woods.”
    He looked at CJ and Paige. “The cabin you’ll be staying in is furnished. Avery has given me an inventory list so if there’s something you can’t live without, bring your own. That list is in the file. You leave in five days.”
    Howley left them alone, and CJ could feel the tension in the room. The guys were glancing between her and Paige. She wondered what they were expecting. So, she did what she normally did with them. Reverted to flirting.
    “So,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows teasingly at Paige. “Should we go practice kissing or something?”
    Paige rolled her eyes. “In your dreams, tiger.”
    “Oh yeah, baby,” she called after her, staring at Paige’s backside as she retreated. “You’ve definitely been there.” CJ grinned at the guys. “My lucky day, huh?”
    “Damn right,” Billy said. “Man, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat.”
    CJ raised her eyebrows.
    “What? I’m just saying, she’s smokin’ hot. She may be my