Джеффри Дивер - The Goodbye Man

“Now, do you see why I can take away all our pain, your depression, anxieties, mourning? Because you’ll always know that happiness, a gorgeous happiness awaits you in the Tomorrow.”

Eli’s voice rose in volume and resonance. “There’s no death; there’s no separation from your loved ones. Everyone’s True Core moves from life to life, forever.”

He smiled reassuringly over his rapt audience. “When the time comes for us to leave the Today, we give the Foundation’s traditional farewell.” He placed each hand on the opposite shoulder, crossing over his chest. “And we say, ‘Goodbye, until Tomorrow.’”

That’s what Adam had muttered before he jumped to his death.

Eli continued in a soft, droning tone: “The Tomorrow — when you and your loved ones will meet again, when you’ll begin a new life and find the happiness and comfort you deserve. Say it with me. Goodbye...”

Collective joyous shouts: “Until Tomorrow.”

“Remember, death doesn’t exist. We never say we ‘die.’ What we say is that we ‘advance.’ We advance from this life into a better one.” As he walked off the stage, he cried, “The best...”

“...is yet to come.” The crowd erupted in applause and kept the chant going at full volume.

But Colter Shaw didn’t hear the driving words. All that was in his head was the line Victoria had said to him just an hour ago.

When I advance next week, everything will be fine...

She didn’t mean graduating from the Process; she meant that like Adam Harper she was going to kill herself.

He had his answers.

Shaw had come here to find out why Adam Harper had leapt from the cliff and learn if Victoria or anyone else — like the wounded deer that Adam had been — was at risk.

Eli — David Ellis, the former real estate developer and stockbroker from Florida — was no simple huckster; he was killing people.

The Osiris Foundation was a suicide cult.

He’d wondered why Adam had offered that eerily calm smile just before he plunged to his death. Now he understood. The young man was going to be reunited with his mother. The last three seconds of his life had not been filled with anguish, as the sniper Dodd had speculated, but joy at what lay ahead in the Tomorrow.

Shaw glanced at the Companions wandering from the Square, some talking excitedly, some pensive. He guessed that the majority of them would consider the immortality angle suspect or purely bogus, resigning themselves to having wasted a chunk of their kids’ tuition signing up for the Process.

But there were also plenty of true believers. Shaw could see it in their eyes. Like Adam, like Victoria, they were convinced there was a better world in the Tomorrow, and they’d take their lives when confronted by too much pain. Or maybe just minor setbacks.

What could Shaw do?

As for law enforcement, he didn’t think a fraud charge would hold up, any more than you could claim you’d been defrauded by donating to a born-again church promising eternal life in heaven. He’d seen Hugh and several AUs beat someone but witnessing the crime wasn’t enough for a prosecution, and it was likely Klein would take to heart Hugh’s threats and stay mum. In any event, Hugh and the AUs would never implicate Eli, who might not even know about the reporter’s assault.

He knew that Harvey Edwards had murdered the San Francisco journalist but could he tie that to Eli? SFPD Detective Etoile might be pursuing the case, though investigations like this would take a long time.

If Shaw could get cell phone records, notes, memos... something to connect the homicide to the cult leader. A witness who’d overheard Eli give the command would be perfect but if there were such a person, he or she would be an Inner Circle; they’d never admit to any such orders.

Shaw’s meditation about strategy for Eli’s downfall was postponed for the moment, however. He heard angry shouting from not far away.

Eli, Hugh and the two bodyguards were on the tree-lined path from the stage back to his residence. They had turned and were facing curly-haired John, the Novice from Southern California, whose friend had died in the car crash. He was leaning forward toward Eli and he was angry. Gray and Squat were cautious but seemed to sense that the young man was not a major threat; either could have dropped him with a single blow. Shaw moved off the trail, remaining in the brush, and got within twenty feet of the altercation.

Several other Companions had heard and turned, walking toward the sound. Two AUs appeared and ushered them away with stern faces.

John said harshly, “You took her to the Study Room. She told me what happened there.”

“Novice John,” Eli said, “this isn’t any of your business.”

“It’s a breach of the rules. No relations with staff or Companions.”

“That’s not what the rule is for. In the Study Room we can delve into certain elements of past lives that can be critical in uncovering the True Core.”

“Uncovering,” John said, scoffing at the word. “Let me ask you a question: Is it only the pretty girls you delve into?”

So that was what the Study Room was for, not meditation at all.

Strenuous...

Hugh: “You’re out of line, Novice John.”

“I’m not out of line at all. Abby’s sixteen, for God’s sake.”

So, the Guiding Beacon had committed statutory rape.

Eli’s reaction was in fact no reaction at all. His face was momentarily blank, then he looked briefly to Hugh. No reaction from the head of the AUs but Steve frowned slightly then wiped the expression away. Eli said, “I wasn’t aware of that.”

Steve said, “On her application she stated she was eighteen.”

“Well, maybe you should’ve checked that out, don’t you think? Maybe take a look at her, and think, oh, let’s see some ID. Hm? You could’ve found her high school yearbook. They have those online, you know. Or did you just think, she’s hot, and decide not to find out her real age?”

In a bland monotone, Eli said, “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Novice John. I will apologize to her myself. And we’ll take measures to make sure this never happens again. I’ll speak to our admissions people.”

John had apparently expected more pushback. He didn’t know where to go from here.

Eli said to him, “To be honest, after this, I don’t think you’re really the right candidate for the Process. I think it’s best for you to withdraw from the Foundation.”

“Hell, yes, I’m quitting. And that immortality babble? How the fuck can you get anybody to buy that?”

Eli said, “We’ll send you a refund.”

Hugh said, “Novice John arrived on one of the shuttles. We have a car to take him back to Snoqualmie Gap.”

“What about Abby?” John asked.

Eli said, “She’ll have to leave too, of course. We’ll have her parents pick her up. I’m truly sorry this happened. But I appreciate your bringing it up.”

“Sorry doesn’t really fix the problem now, does it?”

No! Let it go, Shaw thought.

However, it was too late. In fact the young man’s fate had been sealed the instant he’d brought up the subject of Abby’s visit to the Study Room.

Hugh looked around and made certain no Companions were nearby. In one of his slick martial arts moves, he slammed a fist into the young man’s chest. John gasped and went down hard, breath knocked from his lungs. Hugh reached into his pocket and extracted several zip ties. He bound John’s hands and feet. The man pulled his walkie-talkie off his belt and spoke into the unit. In no more than a minute, a golf cart appeared, driven by an AU. He hefted the young man and dumped him into the back of the cart then covered him with a tarp. Shaw crouched farther into the bushes and the vehicle drove into the woods, turning left onto the hidden path and heading for the main gate.