Chapter 8

Everyone busied themselves downstairs, and then we hauled their bags up to one of the upstairs bedrooms. Before long a caravan of vehicles arrived with two dozen people from Camp Verde, including the woman from the filling station. She shook my hand and then hugged me.

"Now, Brother David, Brother Chris has a panel van; we'll load suitcases in there and he'll leave at once. The statists are about an hour behind us." I shook the man's hand as well. His grip was firm and confident. It was odd, that. Except for Brother Jerome I'd never really met a man of the Faith up close. He was rough-hewn, the solid foundation of any organization.

We quickly worked to bring the suitcases out. I was surprised at how many of the young women actually had relatives in Camp Verde, perhaps half and the ones that didn't were made welcome. Then the group fell to with a will, first clearing the entrance to the barn, where the bus was.

Another man, this one nearing sixty, stood next to me as the snow flew. "I've been inside the barn, Brother David. You can't see it from here, but part of the roof fell in and landed on the bus. Still, the bus has just a few scrapes and dents -- nothing serious. It even started right up. For now we're going to leave it here." His eyes twinkled. "We can't take the Maidens of the Faith back to Camp Verde in it, lest the statists wonder how they got here in the first place. We'll fetch it in a few days."

"Thank you, Brother."

"I'm Brother Brooks, Brother David, I'm the Elder of the Camp Verde congregation." Another firm handshake. "Brother David, Brother Jerome and I have thought long and hard about what we wish to do here. The Camp Verde congregation is getting large and diverse, and it is time that we formed a new congregation." He smiled and waved around.

"I do not think I will find many volunteers to move this far from civilization."

I blinked; I hadn't thought about it that when I'd told Brother Jerome I'd be happy to settle here. In fact, I hadn't thought about my personal life since I'd been in Texas. Good grief! Then I laughed. If I had a cell phone connection, I was no further away from work here than I'd been in Phoenix.

I looked at Brother Brooks and nodded. "I don't think this will be for everyone. It would be, I think, a nice place to get away from it all for a while -- if all you wanted to do was go someplace and think. It's not like a beach or lake or other vacation spot."

"That's so Brother David." He looked at me curiously. "I have a -- I hate to call it a problem, Brother David. A distraction in my congregation. I've sought the advice of the other Elders and Brother Jerome in particular. They, like me, are torn. Now Brother Jerome tells me that perhaps the solution is something you could deal with."

"Brother Brooks, I am unskilled just now. I've come to accept the Faith, I've come to accept everything, pretty much that I've been told. But there is still a lot to learn. And I have no training at all for this calling."

He clapped my shoulder. "Brother David, the Elders of the Faith wouldn't hold with what a gentile clergyman has to learn these days! They are trained more as social workers than as a person of God. Oh, there is some of the latter, but far more of the former. We learn our job by doing it. Yes, we make mistakes, but they are mistakes from the heart -- and thus ones we're most eager to correct and not repeat.

"There are two young women in our congregation, Brother David. Sister Catherine and Sister Abigail. They kindled too many sparks together when they were younger. Not only do they live together, but they've also applied for permission to get married in the Faith. The Elders are -- perplexed. The sisters say that they found great joy in being brought to the Light, but they have found greater joy in the comfort of each other's arms. Sister Abigail has a son, a blessed child of Brother Jerome's. Sister Catherine was brought to the Light by a man who has since passed. She is, she says, more than willing to be quickened by another Father of the Faith.

"Still, our original doctrine would name them sinners. But I've known both of them their entire lives, Brother David. They are good women, cognizant of the tenets of the Faith and scripture." He chuckled, "That, Brother David, and they are in what I understand is akin to your line of work. They are web designers. I've seen the web, and I agree it is an interesting idea, but I don't know quite how it applies to the Faith.

"Please Brother David, it would be a good thing if you could take them in, at least for a little while."

I stood up straight. "There isn't much room upstairs."

"Still, because of the current interest of the statists, they will have to be upstairs. They know of the Lower Temple. As I've said, they are true women of the Faith; they would never risk revealing the Lower Temple."

"I'll do my best," I told him. "I'm not sure how the statists will react if I have two single women under my roof."

"Brother David, both are in their twenties. If the statists try to make an issue of it, they will surely come away with egg on their faces."

He led me to them. "Sister Catherine, this is Brother David; he will be the Elder of the congregation at the new Temple." He gestured at a woman that I would have called "awesome" in my earlier days. She was easily six feet or more feet tall, large-boned, but I doubt if there was an ounce of fat on her body. She was dressed as the other women of the Faith in a long gingham dress that barely avoided brushing the ground. Her hair was raven black, and even using the tight braid that the women of the Faith favored; it reached below her shoulder blades.

Sister Abigail was more like the other female members of the Faith: medium height, rather mousey brown hair, on the thin side, but glowing radiantly -- a model of robust health.

"You will accept us into your congregation, Brother David?" Sister Abigail asked.

I was tempted to lift an eyebrow; I would have expected Sister Catherine to be the one asking questions. "Yes," I said evenly.

"We wished to be married in the Faith," she went on. "Are you willing to do that?"

I knew the current secular laws wouldn't permit it and Brother Brooks had evaded a direct answer to how the Faith thought about it. I sought to temporize. "Sisters, I am new at this. So far as I know I've not been ordained or whatever ritual the Faith uses to appoint someone to such a responsibility."

I was unprepared for Brother Brooks to grin. "Brother David -- you are a Father of the Faith! The Maidens of the Faith accepted you -- thus you are ordained. None of the Elders of the Faith could ever say 'no' to the wishes of our Maidens."

I blinked. "I can perform marriages?"

"Yes, although I don't believe we have officially registered you as such yet. It would probably be best to defer such a sacrament until the i's are dotted and the t's crossed. But if it was your wish to marry them, we would hold the marriage valid and simply date the paperwork to match the statist's needs."

I turned to Sister Abigail. "Sister, if the two of you wish to share your lives for Eternity, I would not stand in your way. I think it would be better to wait until the statists requirements -- for me -- are met, but it would be up to the two of you."

"Truly, Brother David?" Sister Abigail asked.

"Truly, Sister." I stopped and thought. "While I don't see any difficulties beyond that, I would like to talk to the two of you together and individually, to make sure this is your true hearts speaking."

"It is our true hearts, Brother David," Sister Abigail told me.

"I understand that you are web developers," I asked, changing the subject.

"We will not die if we don't have an Internet connection for a few weeks, Brother David." That was Sister Catherine. "But soon ... we want to be able to support ourselves and the Faith as others do."

"Sisters, I too have a web footprint." Both of them looked startled. "I'm sorry to say, I haven't thought about my responsibilities to those who read my material since I went to Texas. Still, we have a cell phone tower nearby. And where there is a cell phone connection, there is wi-fi, and where there is wi-fi there is the Internet."

"That is so," Sister Catherine replied. "I do software; my sweet Sister Abigail does the graphics and design. Obviously, people all over understand the travail we've gone through in the last few weeks; nonetheless we feel obligated to our clients to continue with our best work."

"I feel the same; I'm ashamed that I haven't cared enough to do anything about it until now."

Brother Brooks wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Brother David, anyone who looked around here would understand that you had a few things on your mind besides this Internet thing."

"Amen," breathed Sister Abigail, and echoed by Sister Catherine.

Susan came up and joined us. The two older women nodded to her and Brother Brooks smiled at her. "Granddaughter, have you been well?"

"The statists took my son -- your great grandson; no I'm not well."

He sighed. "We will do whatever it takes to get all of the children of the Faith back, as fast was we can."

"Brother David has asked me to marry him and I have agreed. Obviously this is Arizona and I'll have to wait. I don't want to wait."

Brother Brooks turned to me. "Sister Susan is my granddaughter by my oldest daughter. She is a fine young woman of the Faith, Brother David. I will be happy to counsel you as to what a burden you've taken upon yourself."

Susan kicked his shin, but not very hard.

He smiled at her. "Brother David, you were right just now with Sisters Catherine and Abigail. It is a duty of the Elder of the congregation to insure that the partners in a marriage understand what they are to undertake. It isn't a duty that can be waived, even if it is an Elder to be counseled, even if it is a Father of the Faith."

"I have no problem with that, Brother Brooks."

"Then here." He handed me a prosaic business card. "Call my answering machine and we'll set up appointments for you and Sister Susan." Again, he surprised me by stepping close to Susan and wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. "I am so happy for you, granddaughter!"

"You were the one who counseled me to take my time and be sure that my heart was in the right place. I ignored that the first time; this time my heart is clear."

He looked at her and then looked at me. "As I told Brother David earlier, mistakes from the heart are the ones we learn from the best -- and the ones we outdo ourselves never to repeat."

Susan looked up at him with a smile that would have melted the Antarctic ice cap in a heartbeat.

The three women walked away, talking amongst themselves. Brother Brooks gripped my arm. "Brother David, the Faith says that any of our children are all of our children, and that none may show favoritism, one over another. An Elder of the Faith in particular should never show favoritism -- except to his wives and his own children and then in moderation.

"There are some trials, Brother David, that we aren't meant to bear -- and treating bright sparks like Sister Susan as just another daughter of the Faith -- that is beyond my abilities."

I looked at him and nodded. "Brother Brooks, there are some mistakes of the heart we should be in no hurry, ever, to correct."

His grip on my arm grew painful for an instant.

"As usual, Brother Jerome knows whereof he speaks. You are truly meant for this calling Brother David."

"Even if I still have lingering doubts?"

He laughed at me. "I'm much older than you, Brother David, and came equally reluctantly to my duties and obligations as a Father of the Faith and Elder of my congregation. I still have lingering doubts. When you watch a young woman seeing the Light for the first time -- you can't help but wonder if you are doing something right -- or something wrong.

"Brother David, years later when they come up to you, fine sons or daughters or both in tow -- and you see what a fine person the young woman has become, when you see how well she raises and protects her children -- then you understand."

He patted me on the shoulder. "You have a few years to wait for that, Brother David, but rest assured, it will happen."

I thought of Rebecca and Nadine, Rose and the rest. I mentally crossed my fingers and prayed I wasn't letting that part of me lead me astray.

He looked up. "Ah, here are the statists. Brother David, Brother Shepherd is a wise and clever man. His boss is equally wise and clever -- besides he likes his job and if the Faithful didn't support him, he would have a difficult time being reelected."

I smiled at him. "You're telling me to relax and let him handle it. He told me that earlier and his wife repeated it not so long ago."

There was a caravan of a half dozen black Suburbans. When the passengers climbed out of their vehicles, it was clear there were two separate groups. One those from Texas, a party of a half dozen, the others, about twenty, were from Arizona.

One of the Texans, ludicrous in a white Stetson -- as if that made him a good guy -- stepped forward. "Which of you is David Strom?"

I allowed that I was.

"I have a warrant for your arrest," he told me.

Deputy Shepherd spoke. "You have no jurisdiction here, sorry."

"This is a Federal warrant," he said smugly.

"And the charges?" I asked. I saw the deputy shake his head, but I wanted to hear them.

"Attempted murder, kidnap, interstate flight to escape arrest, transporting of minors for lascivious purposes..."

One of the men with Deputy Shepherd stepped forward. "Are you Steven Sheffield?" he asked.

"I am, what of it?"

"Sir, I have several warrants for your arrest. The Federal warrants are for interfering in a duly-designated national emergency and hindering in efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, that your agents, acting under your direct orders, failed to heed air advisories from the Federal Aviation Authority and direct warnings from the Transportation Security Administration. Sir, I'm the FBI SAC of the Phoenix office and I'm placing you under arrest." He waved at a man in a three-button suit. "Cuff him, then read him his rights."

"I have a warrant too!" Sheffield demanded.

"Since rescinded by the Federal judge who issued it, when he found out that the woman you said Mr. Strom tried to kill actually says he saved her life. Who was kidnapped?"

"A number of young women?"

"Names!" he snapped.

Sheffield looked at the warrant and read nine names -- at least I recognized the first names. I have no idea if it was, fate, karma or design ... the FBI agent looked at Sheffield coldly. "Are there any of those people here?"

Susan stepped up. "I'm Susan Bickerstadt."

"And Miss Bickerstadt, have you been kidnapped?"

"No, sir. I have no idea who would make such a claim. I wanted to come and visit my grandparents for the holidays. Brother Jerome in Texas arranged for a bus to take some of us from Texas to our families, here in Arizona and Colorado." She jerked her chin in Brother Brooks' direction. "My grandfather is here, sir. I wasn't kidnapped. I was dropped off, as scheduled, in Camp Verde. Mr. Strom talked with my grandparents and they all agreed that taking anyone on the plateau wouldn't be wise, so my grandfather organized people in the congregation to take in those who would have had to go further on."

She gestured at the Sheffield. "I have no idea who this man is or why he pursues a vendetta against those of us of the Faith."

"Damn it! This man tried to kill one of my investigators!"

Then I saw Detective Grace slide out of one of the SUVs and stride forward.

Sheffield saw her and clearly blanched.

"None of you were here," she said without prolog. "You can't imagine what I saw when I was finally fit enough to look outside. The snow here," she waved around them, "wasn't as packed down then as it is now.

"The doctors who examined me in Texas told me that I had less than a half hour to live when David Strom pulled me from my car."

Bless her, she laughed. "I expect to find it in the spring, because even though I have the GPS coordinates, just now all I saw is a sixty-foot mound of snow about where it was.

"I was comatose and near death. Mr. Strom strapped me to a children's sled and hauled me for nearly a mile through this at great risk to his own life. I can't even begin to imagine how hard that must have been. Mr. Strom is, I've learned, a modest, unassuming, shy man. Nonetheless he stripped my clothes off, dried me off, got me in bed and wrapped me in blankets. Then he called Mr. Sheffield who got our county coroner involved in treating me. While Mr. Sheffield seems a little unclear as to the details, the coroner and the other doctor consulting on my case were not. They informed Judge Rayburn that without Mr. Strom's help, I would have died. He didn't try to kill me -- he kept me alive.

"I spent six days in this house. Yes, I was sure I saw him and some or all of the young women here. I'd been breathing carbon monoxide from a poorly maintained county vehicle from the time I left Texas. I had headaches the entire day preceding my arrival at this ranch. It wasn't something that Mr. Strom could have possibly engineered. I was, I'm told, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning compounded by altitude sickness. Those of us from the flats may have noticed shortness of breath; we're over seven thousand feet up here.

"Mr. Strom acted in the finest fashion of Americans -- he risked his life to save mine at considerable risk to his own. He saw to me and saw that I had the best medical treatment that the rather severe circumstances permitted. What Sheffield has done is an unspeakable injustice."

"Grace!" Sheffield yelled, "You're fired!"

She laughed at him. "I can't think of a finer job recommendation that you could have given me, sir, that I wasn't up to your very, very low moral and ethical standards."

He looked like he was sucking on a pickle. FBI agents put handcuffs one him and read him his rights. I swear, each phrase of the Miranda Warning seemed to cause him to shrink in on himself.

Finally there was just the SUV Ellie had arrived in, plus the pickup that had brought Brother Brooks, and an ancient VW beetle that held sisters Catherine and Abigail.

Ellie walked up to me. "I'm sorry, David. This wasn't anything like I envisioned as possible."

"It's not your fault," I told her. She glanced at Sister Catherine and Abigail. "Starting off with two wives?"

Sister Catherine's expression was dark rage; Sister Abigail's was light-hearted mirth. Sister Abigail spoke. "You know, you're kind of cute in a butch sort of way? Wanna threesome with Cat and me?"

Ellie looked startled and confused. "Ellie, they're gay," I explained. "Brother Brooks and his congregation don't know what to do with them. I am, I'm told, a fellow of modern times and should deal with them. Ellie, I don't have problems with gays."

She blushed. "I have no idea why everything I think about in regards to you is about sex. I'm sorry again."

"Ellie, I've said this before. You are a victim of our culture and your upbringing. You need to open your eyes and look around."

"You seemed to have jumped the traces easily enough."

"If you think it was easy, you're wrong. Faith, true faith, Ellie, is something that can be learned, but can't be taught. I don't honestly think I'll ever stop learning, and I'm more than willing to never stop. Think about it."

Ellie looked at Brother Brooks and Susan. "Your granddaughter, eh?"

"It's a matter of public record," he told her. "No matter what you might thing was happening, she would never have left Camp Verde."

I thought that was laying it on rather thick, but Ellie simply nodded. "Every step since I left Texas has been wrong."

I willed Susan not to speak again. Wishful thinking on my part.

"You love Brother David, Sister. You may not know you are my sister, but you are. And you might not know that you love him, but you do. Yet there is nothing in your faith or your upbringing that even admits such a thing is possible. You are lost, Sister. If you wish, I will teach you about the Faith."

Ellie stood frozen and I spoke quickly. "Ellie, I told you that if you wished, I'd arrange some interviews with the young women of the Faith I brought to Camp Verde. Please, Ellie, listen to at least one."

Brother Brooks spoke as well. "You understand that we of the Faith hold you and those you work with in very low regard. Even so, if you were to follow me to my home, I will bring several of the young women accused of being kidnapped and molested before you. You may pick which ones you wish to interview. I will instruct each, as I stand before you, to answer any and all doctrinal questions that you ask truthfully. However, personal questions are out of bounds. That said, I feel I know Brother David's heart -- I will take your word that no such questions will be asked -- and it will only be you and the young woman in the room. The Faith doesn't believe in coercion, Detective.

"All you have to do is follow me to my home in Camp Verde."

Ellie thought about it, and then nodded. "You have my word my questions won't be personal."

With that Brother Brooks gathered together his wife, a daughter in her late thirties, another young woman Susan's age and Susan and they all drove away.

I turned to the two remaining women. "Sister Catherine, Sister Abigail, I believe that for the time we're going to have to stay upstairs. I admit that we spent half of our sojourn here downstairs -- at the time I didn't mind -- you couldn't see anything looking out the windows anyway."

I gestured around me. "Now, though, as hard as it might be to imagine, I find myself once again looking forward to something other than a wall to regard.

"There are three bedrooms; I'm in the master bedroom. You may take either of the other two and move in whenever you wish."

They exchanged glances. "Tomorrow, Brother David. We've been keeping things mostly packed because we were expecting the congregation to banish us. This isn't that, and we're both overjoyed we can stay in the Faith."