WHEN I LEFT LIVERMORE I dyed my hair and assumed a flower girl name. I knew my father would send someone after me eventually. I didn't expect it to be so cloak-and-dagger, but my new life must have horrified his spies. After the mask there was a pill to "help me relax," and I don't know how long I slept but here it's cool and there's a lilting whine, but maybe that's just in my dizzy head. Bare walls, window too high to see anything but a blue patch of sky. Nothing but a narrow bed.
In comes the suave rat in the soft brown hat. Weirdly, he's wearing one brown shoe, one blue.
"What took you so long to find me? Did you sucker Daddy into paying by the day?" Knew it couldn't last, dropping out; but with my belt-buckle full of stash it would NEVER go back to bad. Wonder what Murdock's up to? Maybe he'll give it a try. . . .
"Your father's a long way from all this, Carol."
"Then why do you know my name?"
"We need you to go on a long trip. Are you prepared to leave your Laguna Beach life for many weeks, maybe months? No goodbyes? There's a mission of more importance than anyone from the Brotherhood can afford to be away--it would call too much attention to the church. "
"You're Brotherhood!" I had wondered how I'd be called . . . so THIS is how the Brotherhood of Eternal Love indoctrinates a sister to administer the sacrament!