Part 33 (1/2)
”They referred to themselves as the Brethren,” Ben said. ”I saw a church with that name in Beecherville. You know anything about it?”
”That'd be the Community Brethren. The congregation-the Brethren-are a powerful group in this area.”
”You a member?” Ben asked.
Cobb shook his head. ”My family only moved up here about ten years ago. Most of the folks in the area have been in these parts for a lot longer than that.”
”How about Sheriff Crawford?”
”Crawford, the mayor of Beecherville, more than half the people in that area belong to the church.”
”Must be a pretty tight-knit group.”
”Real tight-knit.”
”The men who broke into our room said Priscilla Vreeland got what she deserved,” Ben said. ”It isn't the first time we've heard that sentiment. You mind telling us why the Brethren might feel that way?”
The deputy glanced around as if he were afraid someone might see him. ”I'll tell you. It's not exactly a secret. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't say where you heard it.”
”Fair enough.”
”Priscilla Vreeland met her husband, Isaac, in Portland a couple years back. He's in insurance. I suppose he was there on business. The members discourage marriages outside the church, but I guess Isaac was in love. He and Priscilla got hitched and she joined the church, but...”
”But..?” Autumn prodded.
”But there are things about this particular church she couldn't go along with. She started speaking out, said it wasn't right and tried to encourage some of the members to stand up for their rights. Twice she turned a report into the sheriff's office that she was a.s.saulted. She couldn't identify the men and they were never apprehended.”
”So what is it about this church that Priscilla didn't approve?” Ben asked.
The young man glanced around, but the area was quiet, not even a car on the distant road. ”They practice plural marriage. According to the Brethren, they're just following the Lord's plan, leastwise to their way of thinkin'.”
”I can't believe it,” Autumn said. ”Plural marriage is illegal in this country.”
”Maybe so, but no one's ever been able to stop 'em.
The Brethren legally marry one wife, then take the others to wife in private ceremonies that aren't recorded. There's no law against living with more than one woman.”
”I've read about this happening up in Utah and down in Arizona,” Ben said. ”Fanatics who claim G.o.d gave them the right to marry more than one woman.”
”That's what their leader says. He's the head of the inner circle, the high mucky-mucks in the church. They call themselves the Brotherhood of Lazarus. Some of the members claim they can personally talk to G.o.d.”
”What's their leader's name?” Autumn asked, still trying to digest the fact that the men in the church had multiple wives.
”Samuel Beecher. His family founded Beecherville back in the late 1880s.”
”From what I've read,” Ben said, ”the men marry very young girls and incest is often involved.”
”Like I said, no one's been able to stop it from happening. The women are raised to accept their lot and that's what they do. Priscilla Vreeland never had a chance. Those women weren't about to change the way they live. That's just the way it is.”
”So two of the Brethren murdered Priscilla to keep her from trying to persuade their women they didn't have to go along with the status quo.”
”Could be.” Deputy Cobb glanced back at the house. ”No matter how bad it looks, people in these parts are mostly law-abiding citizens. They don't like violence and they don't cotton to murder. We find the men who did it, they'll go to jail. Odds are, in time we will.”
Ben stepped back and extended a hand. ”Thank you, Deputy. You've been a real help.”
Cobb accepted the handshake. ”You want to file a report on what happened at the motel?”
”Not today,” Ben said. ”Maybe some other time.”
They left the deputy in front of the house. Autumn let Ben help her into the pickup, then waited for him to climb in. As they drove back down the gravel driveway, his jaw looked as hard as the face of Angel's Peak, looming over the canyon in the distance.
Ben's gaze caught hers. ”Tell me you don't think Molly was taken to become some religious nut's wife.”
”I don't know. But it seems...”
”It seems what?”
”You mentioned Elizabeth Smart. Well, that's what happened to her.”
”Elizabeth was in her teens. Molly was only six when she was taken.”
Autumn looked over to where Ben sat rigidly behind the wheel. ”You're right. It probably has nothing to do with Molly.”
But she didn't think he believed it and neither did she.
As soon as they reached an area where Ben's cell phone worked, he pulled onto the shoulder of the road and dialed Pete Rossi's number.
”Pete, it's Ben. I need everything you can find out about a group called the Brotherhood of Lazarus. They're connected with the Community Brethren Church. They're into plural marriage, Pete. Their leader is a guy named Samuel Beecher. Find out about him too.”
Ben hung up the phone and pulled back onto the road. ”If he's touched her, I'm going to kill him.”
Twenty-Seven.
Autumn lay next to Ben, staring up at the canopy over the bed in her condo. Ben was asleep. He was exhausted and terrified for his daughter. He hadn't heard back from Pete Rossi. There hadn't been enough time.
She turned her head on the pillow so that she could see his face. Such a handsome face, beautiful, masculine.
Every day that face grew a little more dear to her, a little more beloved. She had never felt about a man the way she felt about Ben, had never let a man get this close. Not even Steven Elliot.
Her heart pinched. She was falling deeper and deeper in love with him. She had known she was in very grave trouble the moment she had awakened at the motel and seen the men in the room, one of them pointing a gun at Ben's head. As frightened as she had been, she was even more frightened for Ben. She was falling head over heels and it was exactly the wrong thing to do.
She told herself to lock away her feelings, that she didn't have time to deal with whatever she felt for Ben. That would have to wait until after they found Molly.
And they would find her, she vowed. They hadn't come this far to fail. She would give Ben back his daughter no matter what price she might have to pay.
She lay back against the pillow, her eyelids drooping, her body heavy with fatigue. As tired as she was, she was afraid to fall asleep, afraid of what she would see in her dreams. The muscles in her neck and shoulders ached from her struggle with the man in the motel room and her eyes felt gritty. Still, she fought to stay awake for even a little while longer. Maybe if she was tired enough, she wouldn't have the dream.