FORTY-ONE

Caleb yanked Abbie to her feet. His eyes twinkled as he pulled her across the hall to what in another era would have been called the smoking room. The heavy velvet drapes were drawn so that only a slice of sunlight managed to sneak in through the window. The walls, covered in a silk the color of pine, matched the long curtains. Joseph Smith and Brigham Young stared down, unsmiling, from gilded frames.

Caleb pulled the pocket doors closed behind him and pushed Abbie to the ground.

“Get up,” he snarled, his voice no louder than a whisper. Only Abbie could hear him. She did as instructed.

He grabbed her jaw in one hand and pulled her face to his. “Don’t give me a reason.”

Abbie tried to pull away, but couldn’t. Caleb Monson was a man of physical strength. He released her jaw and, in one swift blow, struck Abbie’s cheek with the back of his hand. She stumbled, but remained standing.

The last thing she heard before the second blow was Caleb whispering, “Bitch.” Then the room went black.

*   *   *

When Abbie opened her eyes, she was alone. Her wrists and ankles were tied together with duct tape. She was lying on the leather sofa in the dark-green room with the portraits of the first two Prophets looking down on her. She had no idea how long she’d been out. It was bright outside, so either she hadn’t been out for long, or it was tomorrow.

Voices were coming from across the hallway. Abbie swung her bound legs to the ground and sat upright. She stood and hopped on the thick Turkish carpet to the pocket doors. She pressed her ear against the wood.

Port was midsentence. “… since the Mormon War. I was able to persuade a few old friends to let our dear Brother Monson be honorably discharged despite a well-established pattern of theft, torture, and murder. Our devout brother has come back home to Tooele to start a new life working for me. Most of the time he takes care of video recordings for our more sensitive meetings, but from time to time, I need his special skill set.”

Bowen must have said something, but Abbie had a hard time making it out.

Port responded, “Not a concern. Brother Monson does not want the details of his former life to be disclosed. He has a wife and a baby on the way.” Port coughed, then continued, “Remind me, what is her current status at the police department?”

This time, Abbie could hear Bowen’s voice clearly. “She’s been suspended without pay. The Peace Officer Standards and Training council is set for tonight. They will determine what action, if any, is warranted.”

“Have we managed to find anything particularly helpful for that meeting?”

“I expected there to be a lot more obvious infractions, but there aren’t,” Bowen answered. “I don’t think we want to mention the recording of the last meeting of the Quorum.”

“No, we certainly do not.”

There was a brief moment of silence, and then Bowen spoke again. “May I speak frankly, President?”

“Yes,” Port said. “You have earned that privilege.”

“I’m worried that what we’re doing—what we’ve done—that it isn’t good for the Church. I don’t think an objective observer would look kindly on what has happened. I mean to say—”

“Ah.” Port exhaled the word slowly. “Now I understand why you have such a heavy heart. Don’t worry. Surely you know by now that there is no such thing as an ‘objective observer.’ We have members of the Church. They’ve already made up their minds about what is true. Facts don’t concern them. We don’t need to persuade them. They live according to what we—the leaders of the Church—tell them. If we say doubt is bad, they work on their faith. If we say dissent is bad, they stay silent. We’ve told them to only believe information that affirms their faith. And that’s what they do.”

Abbie didn’t know what Bowen’s reaction was. He didn’t speak. Port added, “You know, Brittany Thompson didn’t even ask who her husband would be. It didn’t matter to her because she knew I was revealing our Heavenly Father’s truth. Her testimony was strong. The Lord will forgive her momentary lapse in judgment.”

Abbie pulled her ear away from the door. A chill settled around her in the dark room.