Keepers of the Cave Read Online Free PDF Page B

come on. No one is going to have that much control. Who would allow that? If you’re just out of high school and you want to go to college, you’re telling me they’d have to clear it with Ester Hogan?”
    “There is no school. Everyone is informally homeschooled. From what I’ve learned, that’s how it’s always been, long before it was fashionable. Another thing is birth records. Officially, there have been six births in the last thirty-five years.”
    “Officially?”
    “That’s how many birth certificates were issued and Social Security numbers applied for. Six.”
    “Okay, this whole thing is really strange,” Paige said. “It’s going to take a little time for us to get the feel of it. You’ve had seven months.” She paused. “There are two people who work here from town. They had to have gone away for their education,” Paige said. “Let’s research them more thoroughly.”
    “Yes. Fiona Hogan is a science teacher. She’s very good and the girls love her. Gretchen Hogan is the school nurse. She’s much more reserved than Fiona. She’s also much older. I’m certain the only reason they were allowed to go to college was so that they could come back and infiltrate the school, if I may use that word,” he said. “Of the six official births, three are Fiona, Gretchen, and the town’s so-called doctor, Don Hogan. I know it sounds strange, but trust me. Once you’ve been here awhile, you’ll understand.”
    “Who do the other three belong to?”
    “I have their names,” he said. “That’s it. If they are still around, I’ve not seen them or heard mention of them. Two should be eighteen now. The other was born the same year as Fiona.”
    CJ stood, pacing. “Okay, we get that the community lives off the grid. But babies are born but not documented?”
    “ If babies are born, yes, that’s what it appears. Like I said, I haven’t seen children. I’ve asked for them to research it as far back as they can. The community was quite large at one time. Birth certificates—and death certificates, for that matter—don’t exist for most of the residents.”
    “Yet some are documented. Predestined?” Paige guessed. “Fiona was documented and went to college. Gretchen too. And the doctor. Of course, presuming at birth that someone is going to be brilliant enough to be a doctor is really rolling the dice.”
    “His medical degree is suspect,” Avery said. “From a college in the Dominican,” he said. “That’s the only record of him. Nothing here. If he is actually practicing medicine, it would be very basic.”
    “What about here at the school?” Paige asked. “You have a nurse. But what if the kids need emergency care?”
    “San Augustine has the closest medical facility. We also have two doctors who come by on a rotating basis.” He smiled to himself. Seven months on the job and suddenly it was “we” when speaking of the school. Perhaps this assignment had grown on him more than he’d realized.
    CJ ran her fingers through her hair in what he assumed was a nervous habit. “Okay, let’s get back to the reason we’re here in the first place. The mysterious disappearances. The town’s quirky, sure, but are you suggesting there’s something sinister going on here? As far as I know, there’s not one shred of evidence that links this town to the disappearances. And as weird as this town seems, we’re here to investigate the disappearance, not the community. Right?”
    “All I can say is take a drive there. Go by the café. See if you don’t feel it too. It’s a dead town, that’s how I describe it. You won’t see smiles or hear laughter. Muted conversations that stop suddenly. You may only see one person, yet feel eight pairs of eyes on you.” He shook his shoulders as if trying to ward off something. “It’s creepy.”
    “Okay, so it’s like a cult of some sort,” Paige said. “Is that what you’re suggesting?”
    “That’s your word, not mine,” he said