Page 48 of Shadow of Death
“It’s all right,” Hunter assured her. “We understand. Trust me. Even seasoned law enforcement has been shaken up. Please, though, would you sit for a minute? We’d like to talk to you, and then a lovely woman from social services is going to speak with you—”
“Will they let Brian come with me?” Violet asked in a whisper.
“I believe so. It’s usually best when a child is placed in a familiar home with someone who loves them,” Hunter said.
“Please, sit. Can we get you anything? Coffee, tea, water, a soda?” Amy asked her.
“I’d love coffee!” She winced. “It’s so late...but I’d love coffee. I’ve already called in that I need a personal day tomorrow. I think...”
“That’s great. Brian will need you tomorrow,” Hunter told her.
“And maybe you can take him to see your sister.”
“My sister is crazy!” Violet said.
“No, not anymore. Once she sawBrotherMartin was ready to shoot her child, she was done with the whole thing,” Amy told her.
“Really?” Violet asked. “Wait, what? They threatened Brian? I just knew Peggy had been shot, I didn’t know—”
“She jumped in front of her child,” Hunter said. “And I think we can believe her. Something like that might be compared to a light bulb going on.”
“I believe she sees the truth,” Amy said quietly.
“I’ll get coffee,” Hunter murmured. “I think I need some, too. It’s... Wow. We are a few hours into tomorrow, which makes it today. I’ll be right back.”
He glanced at Amy. She knew he had needed to meet Violet. She could also see he believed the woman and could trust she cared deeply for Brian.
But he wanted to know if she had any other insights.
He’d be back quickly with coffee, and she meant to let him take the lead on delving into Violet’s mind and into what she might not know that she knew. So while he was gone, she asked casually about their parents and growing up.
Growing up had been fine. Their parents had raised them in a nondenominational church, one that, in her mind, taught the right things. Their folks had just been normal. Working, raising their children, looking forward to vacations, just normal.
Hunter came back in with a tray filled with coffee cups, a small pot, a little cream pitcher and packets of sugar and sweetener.
“It is late. You made me realize how late. Or early,” he added, grimacing.
He was good. He made Violet smile. They passed coffee around and then Hunter leaned back and said, “Violet, when your sister first became involved with this group and you saw Mateus and whoever else, did you get the sense Mateus was leading it all?”
“Oh, yes, definitely. They all believed he was a prophet. He had a great smile, a great way of telling a story and of playing with kids. At a fair, he would go to a ball toss, do well himself, and then teach the kids to do it themselves. It was easy to see how people liked him and fell for him at first. I think I still thought it was just a little weird they were involved in this new church in the wilderness. But then my sister stopped seeing her card group, my brother-in-law stopped playing poker. All so they could just be with this new church. Then they pulled Brian out of school—and for me, that was it. They had gone off the deep end.”
“What about Brother Martin?” Hunter asked.
“I saw him a few times at the beginning. He did whatever Mateus said.” She hesitated, shaking her head. “Peggy started quoting the Bible to me. End of Days! They had to be among the chosen, and they had to help whomever else they could. I said it was one thing to stockpile groceries and even build a bunker if you were afraid of war or natural disasters in the days to come, but I never imagined they could believe killing someone could save them!”
“And you never saw Mateus seem to listen to anyone else?”
“No. Except...” Violet began, stopping suddenly and frowning.
“What?” Amy prodded gently.
“Okay, and this was strange! I even said something to Peggy about it. Mateus was on the phone with someone and after, he said they needed to add in an extra meeting. There was a great deal going on, didn’t we see it in the world? God had spoken to him. And when he was gone, I said to my sister,what? God calls him on his cell phone? And she said she really shouldn’t be seeing me, anyway. I was a nonbeliever. I didn’t recognize a great prophet when I was given the opportunity to know one.”
Hunter leaned forward, his arms on the table. “Violet, thank you. And this is important. It was after the phone call Mateus made the announcement another meeting was needed?”
Violet nodded.
“Thank you,” Hunter told her, reaching into his pocket for a card and nodding to Amy so she could produce one, too.
