I stopped him. “I thought they were these remote outcasts. How’d they have phones, let alone service?”

“We don’t know about any of the others, but Ray has been in San Francisco, and he’s the one she’s been talking to.” Dean paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. The bags underneath his eyes suggested he’d been up for days. “There’s a few things you need to know about Ray. First, he’s also who Kate refers to as Abner. We’ve always operated under the theory that Abner was some kind of divine being they believed in as part of their whacked-out theology. Early on we considered the possibility that he might be a person, but we ruled it out fairly quickly, because of the way she spoke about him. Basically, we thought he was their god.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Turns out, he is, in a way, just not how we imagined. Kate says he’s Shiloh’s father. We put a rush on the DNA, but she has no reason to lie about that, so it’s a pretty safe bet to assume that he is. Also, you should know she’s been referring to herself as his wife since they brought her in.”

I felt Scott’s sharp intake of breath beside me. I’d always suspected Ray was Shiloh’s father. Hadn’t he? I’d always assumed it was why we hadn’t talked about it. Everything was awkward enough without addressing that part of the equation.

“Is that why she came home?” The color drained from his face. “To bring Abbi back to him?”

I placed my hand on his arm. “Let’s try and sit, okay?” I led him to the chairs Dean had motioned to earlier, and he reluctantly took a seat in the one next to me. I tucked my purse underneath my feet.

Dean leaned against the hallway wall and crossed his arms on his chest. “Something legitimately spooked Kate enough to leave Love International. Her terror in the beginning was real, so it had to be pretty bad. But that’s the thing with domestic violence victims—the fear never keeps them away. They go back. She was the one who made initial contact, and her voice changed as soon as she heard his. She was under his spell almost immediately, talking in this weird submissive tone I’d never heard her use. By the end of their first phone call, she was begging him to come back. In the beginning, he refused to take her back. He—”

Scott interrupted. “Why did she contact him the first time? Did she ever say?”

“She did, but I don’t want either of you to ever tell Abbi what I’m about to tell you.” His eyes were serious.

Scott and I exchanged a glance before nodding our agreement. What could he possibly have to tell us that we couldn’t share with Abbi?