Page 44 of Shadow of Death
“She’s on her way here,” Andy said. “Belinda has a pack of computer games and other things to occupy Brian while we work out some kinks. You’ll be able to speak with Violet when she arrives. She’s anxious to meet you—the agent who saved her sister and nephew.”
“Well, that’s nice. I’m just sorry we’ll meet due to her sister being shot,” Hunter said. “I’ll be glad to speak with her. Amy is here, right?” he asked.
Andy nodded. “Conference room three,” he said, looking at Hunter with a slight indication of his head toward Brian.
He didn’t want the kid to know his father was in there being grilled, as many suspects and/or witnesses referred to an interrogation.
“Brian—”
“I’ll be fine—Ms. Montgomery seems very nice,” Brian said.
“Well, thank you!” Belinda Montgomery said. “You don’t know me yet, but I promise I’ll try to live up to that opinion!” She smiled and ushered Brian off. She told him she’d set up a game system in one of the conference rooms, and she was ready to beat the pants off him in something calledWicked Wanda Wars. He grinned and assured her he’d beat her instead.
“I’m thinking the kid has had enough already,” Andy said.
“Thanks,” Hunter murmured. “I’ll join Amy, if I may.”
“Sure. I know how you must feel, though. Don’t leap across the table to throttle the father, huh?”
“I will be the height of professionalism,” Hunter said.
“I don’t know about that. Just don’t throttle our witness in there.”
A witness who had brought a child to a murder scene.
But no. It might take some effort, but he’d been at this game a while. He wasn’t going to throttle anyone.
He entered the room, and found Amy and Bret Johnston were in there alone seated across from one another. Bret Johnston was not in handcuffs. He was under arrest and would be held in a federal facility until he was arraigned and faced trial for accessory to attempted murder. But Hunter was certain the man hadn’t had to be told his cooperation was something a judge would take into consideration.
They also had to worry as well about his safety, and the safety of his wife and child, and that of the others who were scooped up from the cliffs.
They’d learned cult leaders could be vindictive. And with this group, the priest or shaman or whatever name he used, Mateus had already convinced his flock murder was a holy thing if they were taking on the sins of those being murdered.
That would come later.
He pulled out a chair and took the seat next to Amy and stared at Bret Johnston.
Johnston looked at him nervously, looked back at Amy, and swallowed hard. “I am telling Special Agent Larson everything that I know!” he swore.
Amy looked at Hunter. “Problem is, he doesn’t know much.”
“We thought... All right, all right, so it started with Brian,” Johnston said.
He was not going to leap across the table and throttle the man. He had promised.
“Brian?” he repeated, and he knew the sound of his voice was like a cannon. “Don’t even try to blame participation in a heinous murder on an eleven-year-old boy!” he said. His words were tense as he leaned forward. “That is one great kid, and you...”
He sat back. Apparently, Johnston hadn’t asked for an attorney. He didn’t want to be the straw that broke the camel’s back and have Johnston suddenly deciding not to talk.
“No, no, no!” Johnston said quickly, glancing at Amy. “At school. Some of the kids were being jerks to him. Bullying is a big problem these days, and Brian... Well, he could just let anything slough off his shoulders, but I was worried. We were at a festival and we met Mateus. He was great! There was one of those water-shooting booths—and as we watched, we saw Mateus lose on purpose, letting Brian win. He talked to us after, and we wound up talking about kids, and how cruel they could be. He mentioned our church was great and casually said he was a minister himself at his own nondenominational church. He said his flock was amazing. The kids were homeschooled, and all learned to be good to one another because they had so many activities. And we met people, and they did have all sorts of fun activities. Mateus knew how to be around kids of all ages. We took Brian out of public school and started up ourselves. Mateus was fantastic in the way he taught the kids about the cliffs, about God’s beauty in nature, and how kindness was the greatest thing asked of us. Then...” He paused, wincing. “We’d all been through so much—the whole world, I guess, with disease ravaging the planet. When he told us there were signs, there had been signs already, and the black horse of the Apocalypse came to him each night...we believed.”
“Were you involved with any of the murders at the pits by the river?” Amy asked quietly. “Trying to save sinners?”
Hunter didn’t think an Oscar-winning actor could have pulled off Bret Johnston’s look of stunned confusion.
“What? Oh! Right, yes, I mean no! No, no, no! I heard about it on the news, but... Oh, God, no! This was the first that we saw anyone about to be hurt—hurt, yeah, sorry, brutally murdered—but we really did believe she needed to be saved. It wasn’t just what she did for a living... I mean, she didn’t have to. Her father is richer than Midas, but she wanted to put herself through school, and that was a sin of pride. Mateus said she defiled her heart, mind, and body. But with the End of Days so close and coming on, she had realized her ways. She had come to him.” He shook his head. “He made us believe!” he whispered.
“How many members were in his church?” Hunter asked.
