“You’re right about that, although I anticipate tonight’s meal with great pleasure. I’m here on a case, which I can’t discuss. I’m sure you understand.”
Crusher cleared his throat. “Uh, I ran into Director Smith at a joint FBI/ATF briefing yesterday and told him a little about your friend Birdie. It turns out he is somewhat familiar with the Mystical Feather group.” Crusher briefly glanced at the FBI agent. “So, I asked him to join us for dinner tonight.”
That was another reason I loved Crusher. Instead of trying to control my curiosity, he often thought of ways to help me and my friends find answers. “How do you know about Mystical Feather?” I asked Smith.
“I used to be assigned to Criminal Investigations. St. Germain was on our radar back then.”
“I heard a terrible rumor that some of the members of the society have disappeared, maybe forever.”
Smith nodded. “Without evidence, we couldn’t prove anything. When I transferred to Counterterrorism, my focus shifted to more global threats. But you’re right to be concerned about your friend and her husband.”
I led him into the living room, and we sat on the sofa. “I already told them Royal had been investigated by the FBI, and they didn’t care.”
He nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, once someone is committed to a particular philosophy, it becomes difficult to persuade them otherwise. People become involved because they perceive a group can satisfy certain emotional needs. No doubt you’ve observed something similar: when the topic is religion or politics, people’s minds seldom change.”
“But Mystical Feather has nothing to do with either politics or religion, does it? I thought they practiced metaphysics, like contacting their spirit guides.”
He shrugged. “That may be how Mystical Feather started out, but, after the death of Natasha St. Germain, it morphed into something more sinister. If your friends have been seduced by Royal’s promises, I’m afraid you might not be able to persuade them to abandon their decision to join.”
“Do you think Mystical Feather is a cult, then?”
“Maybe to some extent. Cults are like a religion, with a godlike dictator at the head who demands complete loyalty and surrender to whatever vision he’s promoting.”
Smith was a font of information sitting right next to me, and I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass. “A bunch of us, including my friends Birdie and Denver, are going to pay St. Germain a surprise visit at the commune tomorrow. Can you give me any advice as to what to ask or say or do that will demonstrate to Birdie she’s making a mistake?”
At that moment, the front door opened, and my daughter, Quincy, and her husband, Noah Kaplan, arrived with my five-month-old granddaughter, Daisy. The baby slept in her mother’s arms, peacefully bundled up in the pink basket quilt I’d made for her. I forgot all about Mystical Feather, rose from the sofa, and reached for Daisy. I could tell by the occasional movement of her tiny lips she must have been dreaming about eating. Soft brown fuzz covered her head. But one day it would be covered in curls; either copper-colored like her mother’s or black like her father’s. Crusher introduced Smith as a “colleague,” while I crooned to the sleeping Daisy.
Next to arrive was my half-sister, Giselle, with her fiancé, Harold Zimmerman, and my uncle Isaac. Uncle Isaac shuffled in wearing leather slippers, dark slacks, a white shirt open at the neck. His embroidered Bukharin skull cap sat on his white curls like a square box. The early stage of Parkinson’s made him kind of wobbly. Giselle escorted him to an easy chair.
“Good Shabbos,” he said to everyone as he sat. As soon as he saw the sleeping baby, he said, “Ah. Give the bubeleh to me.”
I placed Daisy carefully in his arms, where he cradled her tenderly and seemed oblivious to anyone else in the room.
Giselle’s fiancé, Harold, also wore a black pin-striped suit. With his bald head and glasses framed in black plastic, he and John Smith could have been bookends. He shook hands with Crusher and his “colleague” Smith.
Giselle wore a little black dress and stiletto heels that made her seem as tall as Harold. “Happy Sabbath, Sissy.” She kissed me on the cheek and handed me a bottle of pinot grigio. “You know, I’ve seen you wear that same outfit every Friday night. You really ought to do something more creative about your wardrobe. Come shopping with me tomorrow. Saks is having a sale on their spring collections. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find something nice in the plus sizes.”
I don’t know what irritated me more: the criticism of my wardrobe or the reminder I had to shop for plus sizes and she didn’t.
“Sorry, G. I’ve already made plans.” I kept tomorrow’s visit to Ojai a secret because I didn’t want my sister to be included. All she had to do was make one tactless remark, like the one she’d just made, and our chances of finding anything incriminating would be ruined. Before she could quiz me on my plans, I said, “Excuse me,” and busied myself in the kitchen steaming the asparagus and transferring the roast and potatoes to a serving platter.
Ten minutes later, I called everyone to the table while I recited the same blessing over the candles that Jewish women all over the world recited on the eve of the Sabbath. “Blessed art thou, oh Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctifies us by Thy commandments and commands us to kindle the Sabbath lights.”
Everyone repeated the Amen, and, in the chorus of voices, I distinctly heard the one belonging to John Smith.
My eighty-something uncle Isaac usually had the honor of reciting the prayers at the beginning of the Sabbath meal, but tonight he asked Crusher to do it. Uncle Isaac seemed frailer than I’d ever seen him, and I was alarmed by the weakness of his voice.
Even though John Smith sat next to me, I was reluctant to continue our earlier conversation during dinner. Giselle would surely overhear us and demand to be included on the trip to the commune.
I was glad when my sister and Harold had to leave early with a very tired Uncle Isaac. I could hardly wait until Quincy and Noah took the baby home. I intended to question John Smith once more. As soon as my daughter left, I heaved a sigh of relief and turned to the director. “We didn’t really have a chance to finish our conversation earlier.”
“I don’t know how much more I can tell you.”
“I just want to know what to ask or say or do once we reach the commune. You know, anything that might prove to Birdie she’s making a mistake.”
“St. Germain is too smart to fall for any trick questions. Your best chance would be to look for someone who seems unhappy or nervous. Try to get them alone. They might be willing to talk. If you do learn anything, call me personally.” He wrote down his private cell phone number and handed me his business card. “The bureau would love to nail this guy.”
Isn’t that what Paulina and Mansoor said?
Smith smiled and made a subtle bow. “And thank you for a delightful evening. It makes for a nice change to have a home-cooked meal.”
He looked at Crusher and gestured toward the door. “Levy? A word?”
The two of them stepped outside and talked briefly.
When Crusher returned, he said, “Babe. You need to be very careful tomorrow.”
His warning caught me off guard. “Why? What did you two talk about?”
“People have gone missing from Mystical Feather. The FBI has never been able to prove anything, but Royal St. Germain is now on their watch list.
CHAPTER