Free Reluctant Runaway by Jill Elizabeth Nelson

picked it up and opened her mouth.
    Max held up a hand. “Don’t ask. Yet.” She led the way into the warm New Mexico dusk. They climbed into Jo’s beat-up car and pulled out of the driveway.
    Max let out a long breath. “Under control, she says? Not hardly. What my sister calls an interestin’ conversation, I call downright spooky.”
    “Spooky how?”
    Max tapped the magazine in Desi’s hand. “Like that.”
    Desi looked at the title on the cover. “The
Inner Witness?
Jo used that phrase in the kitchen. Sounds like something to do with Jehovah’s Witnesses.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is your sistergetting hooked in with them? I can see why you’re nervous.”
    “Beyond nervous. Jehovah’s Witness stuff I have an answer for, but I don’t know
what
to do with the Reverend Archer Romlin.”
    “Romlin? I’ve heard that name recently.”
    “Maybe you caught his TV show sometime.”
    “No, but I met this large fellow at that White House party Tony says Hamilton’s a crook, but Ham claims to have come to the Lord under this Reverend Romlin’s ministry. Says his life’s turned around. I don’t know the whole story, but if it’s legit, that’s a pretty cool testimony”
    “Big ‘if there. Jo talks about this Romlin every time I call these days. I tuned into the show a few times out of curiosity. I’ve got to admit that the man sounds and looks great.” Max cast Desi a sideways glance.
    “But?”
    “He
feels
wrong. When he talks about Jesus, he calls Him the Lamb of God.”
    “That’s scriptural.”
    “Yeah, but they’ve got this ritual Feast of the Lamb thing goin’, kind of a cross between the Jewish Passover and Christian Communion. Romlin promises miracles to those who daily consume the body and blood.”
    Desi looked down at the magazine. “I’m all for regular Communion. I’ve received answers to prayer when the bread and wine reminded me of the price Jesus paid to redeem me.” She flipped the pages and stopped on one displaying a full color photo of the Lord with His pierced hands outstretched.
Our Communion is with Him through the precious blood
, the caption read. She tapped her upper lip. “On the surface, this stuff looks great. But you’re right. It feels wrong.”
    “That’s the spooky part. The lingo is ambiguous enough toquestion and yet close enough not to condemn. Jo says Romlin teaches his followers to listen to their Inner Witness. She’s convinced hers is sayin’ we’re the ones to get to the bottom of what happened to Karen.”
    Desi groaned. “Is Inner Witness another term for the leading of the Holy Spirit, or does it refer to another kind of spirit—a dangerous fake?”
    “Exactly!” Max turned the vehicle into the grocery store lot. “I love my sister, but she goes from one faddy spirituality to the next.”
    “Yeah, you’ve told me about a few of her faith experiments. ‘Always learning, but never coming to knowledge of the truth.’ One of the toughest kinds of people to reach.”
    Max parked the car. “My opinion? A lot of Karen’s identity problems came from all the screwed up philosophies Jo’s tried. I had high hopes when Karen met Brent and started goin’ to his church. Thought maybe she’d help her mom find the way, but I think the opposite happened. Jo and this Inner Witness Ministries pulled Karen into something that’s … off. And did it before she had a chance to get her feet on solid ground with the Lord.”
    “Could the Inner Witness have anything to do with Karen’s disappearance?”
    “Wouldn’t a cult be a better explanation than bein’ a thief or a murder victim?”
    Desi shook her head. “I’ve heard how hard it is to get people free of cult ideology, but it’s an avenue to explore that won’t put us afoul of a legal investigation. The magazine says the ministry headquarters is in Santa Fe. Too convenient to ignore. We should look into this.”
    ‘Deal.” Max held up her hand.
    Desi smacked it. She laid the magazine