Deep Waters

suppose it's possible that she actually believes that the spaceships will arrive."
    Elias studied the scene on the beach. "If you're pre pared to buy that, I've got a nice pier I can sell you. No, she's not crazy, she's got an agenda. Be interesting to know what it is."
    "Power?"
    "That's probably part of it, but not the whole. If she just wanted to run a cult for the sake of exercising power, she wouldn't have announced such a close deadline for the arrival of the spaceships."
    "I wondered about that myself," Charity said. "The Voyagers just got here last month, and the fifteenth of August is only five days away. She's bound to lose a lot of credibility when the ships don't show."
    Elias braced a booted foot on the bottom rung of the fence. He kept his grip on Charity's hand. "There must be some significance to the deadline."
    "Most people think she's in it for the money. Newlin says that his girlfriend, Arlene, and the others have turned over their life savings to her."
    "That's standard procedure for this kind of thing. But why bring her followers to Whispering Waters Cove? The place has got to hold some bad memories."
    "And humiliation." Charity grew thoughtful. "The new Mrs. Pitt is here, after all. Gwen and Jennifer must run into each other at the grocery store and at the post office. A little awkward, to say the least."
    "How's Gwen's ex, the real estate broker, dealing with it?"
    "Are you kidding?" Charity made a face. "I'm sure Leighton is thoroughly embarrassed by the situation, but he can't force her to leave. She does own half-interest in this campground, after all. He's trying to ignore her."
    "And the second Mrs. Pitt? What's her response?"
    "I don't really know Jennifer very well. No one does. She's from California."
    Elias grinned briefly. "That explains a lot."
    "From what I've seen, she's keeping her cool about the whole thing," Charity said. "I guess she figures all she has to do is wait it out until the fifteenth. But it can't be easy for her, either."
    "Nothing like having the first Mrs. Pitt running a cult on the edge of town while the second Mrs. Pitt tries to establish herself as the new wife of one of the most influential men in the area."
    "True."
    "Were you here at the time of the divorce?"
    Charity shook her head. "The scandal broke shortly before I arrived. But I know most of the juicy details, thanks to Radiance."
    "What's Radiance got to do with any of this?"
    Charity chuckled. "She does the second Mrs. Pitt's nails. She's actually grateful to her because Jennifer did a lot to help make fancy acrylic nails fashionable here in town. Until Jennifer showed up with her long, perfect, California red nails, everyone else just used nail clippers."
    "How scandalous was the divorce?"
    Charity regarded him with speculation. "You know, you don't look like the type to be interested in sordid gossip."
    "I collect information," Elias said softly. "Sort of a hobby."
    "Hmm, well, according to Radiance, the whole thing blew up one day early last summer when Gwendolyn showed the old Rossiter place to some clients. They all walked into the cottage, which is located in a very isolated location near the point, and found Jennifer and Leighton in bed together."
    "Not a pretty picture."
    "No. Radiance told me that Leighton and Jennifer had been using the Rossiter place for their rendezvous for several weeks before they were discovered."
    "Rough way for Gwen to learn that her husband was cheating on her," Elias said.
    "Yes. You can imagine how the gossip flared up again when Gwen and her Voyagers arrived in town last month."
    Elias looked down at the beach and watched as Gwendolyn held forth on the exciting events that would take place on the fifteenth. "Something tells me that the fuel that runs Gwendolyn Pitt's engine comes from something more than old-fashioned power and greed."
    Charity was suddenly acutely aware of the swift fall of night. The shadows were lengthening around the looming motor homes and campers. "What else be sides power and money could motivate her to go to all this effort?"
    Elias shifted his enigmatic gaze from the scene on the beach to Charity's face. "You have to ask me that after what I just told you about my plans for Garrick Keyworth?"
    "Vengeance? But that doesn't make any sense. How could all this"—Charity spread her free arm out to indicate the Voyagers and their campground—"be about vengeance?"
    "I don't know. I'm only saying that there are other motives in the world besides