White Heat

But he hadn’t tracked down Martha, and that grated on Ethan. He couldn’t abide the thought of a Covenant member leaving the group and then spouting off about him to the outside world. Martha was a Judas and would suffer God’s wrath, just as traitors like her deserved.

The other Spiritual Guides stood behind him, too, but Ethan wasn’t as completely sure of them as he was of Bartholomew. Some had been with him since college, but whether they stayed because of loyalty or self-interest, he couldn’t say. He protected himself by telling them only what he wanted them to hear.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep this particular situation between him and Bart, as he would’ve preferred. Harry Titherington knew he’d been with Courtney the night she went missing. Ethan had spent an hour trying to convince the entire group that she’d been alive when she left his apartment, but he wasn’t positive they all believed him. Especially Harry…

Head bowed, Ethan waited for the prayer to come to a close. It was beneath him to have to reason away doubts and accusations, but he had to put the rumors concerning Courtney to rest. He also had to prep his people so they’d know how to react if Courtney’s parents reappeared at the gate or, God forbid, sent the police. He wasn’t sure Paradise could tolerate another media onslaught, not on the heels of the botched stoning.

The sudden silence notified him that the prayer, said by one of the Spiritual Guides, was finally over.

“Thank you for your eloquence, Brother Whitehead,” he called out.

A resounding “Praise be to God” rang loud and clear in response.

“Yes, praise be to God,” Ethan said. “And now, before you go about your day, I have an issue of some importance to discuss.”

A ripple of expectation filtered through the crowd. The last time he’d said those words, he’d had to tell them that Sister Martha had escaped God’s justice and could not be found. As a defensive measure, he’d also had to exhort them to speak to no one about the incident, to pray that she could be caught before her evil tongue destroyed the work of God and to remember their covenants to put God’s work and glory above all else.

“Many of you celebrated with me when Sister Courtney Sinclair was saved from the cesspool of the outside world two short weeks ago. As you remember, because she was underage, we voted on whether or not we would take the risk associated with accepting her into our family.” In a private meeting before that, several of the Guides had voted against it, but he’d wanted her in his life and forced the issue. Now he was paying the price.

“We took a great deal into consideration,” he went on. “But, envisioning her with us after the world is cleansed of pride and iniquity, we took that risk and rejoiced at having reclaimed another lamb of God.” He changed the inflection of his voice. “Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, she has already lost her way.”

This time a groan sounded from the crowd and Ethan thought he heard someone mention Martha, but he ignored that and the disapproval he felt from the Brethren who hadn’t wanted him to admit Courtney in the first place, and talked over the noise. “She informed me of her decision to leave over the weekend. It was with a sad heart that I listened to the news. But I did not attempt to persuade her to stay. Not one so young. We can’t afford trouble with the authorities. They don’t understand us and those who don’t understand prefer to destroy.”

“They persecute and belittle!” someone cried.

“That they do,” Ethan responded. “Thus, I allowed her to make the choice on her own and then I escorted her to the gate that very night. Several of your Spiritual Guides saw me do it,” he added, even though, other than Bart and Harry, there wasn’t a soul who’d seen him with Courtney on Monday. Everything had happened in the pit and only the Brethren had direct access.

Murmuring arose. “I saw her go, Holy One.” “Me, too.” “How could she?” “Why would she do it?” “We loved her.” “We accepted her into our family.”

Slightly relieved by the response, he raised a hand to indicate silence. “Bartholomew tells me that many of you have expressed concern about some of the things she was saying before she made the decision to leave. I assure you, those were the words of Satan. He grabbed hold of her heart when it was at its most vulnerable, and he’ll grab hold of yours, too, if you do not watch and pray constantly.”

“We will watch and pray” came the echo.

“And to stop the poison from spreading further, we will speak no more of her,” Ethan continued. “We won’t so much as mention her name. She is to be shunned completely and, here in Paradise, it shall be as though she never existed.”

“All betrayers deserve to be shunned,” Sister Titherington called out.

“That’s true,” Ethan agreed. “It says in the scriptures, ‘If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out…and if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.’”

“Praise be to God!” everyone cried. “We will cast out the devil.”

Ethan raised his voice even louder. “Yes, cast out the devil, cast out all evil, my brothers and sisters. Be strong. Fret not about Courtney’s sudden withdrawal. As with Martha, God will punish her and justify us in the end.”

“We will pray for her soul!” the woman standing next to Sister Titherington yelled.

“As will I,” Ethan said. “Pray also that the Lord will provide us with others who seek the truth. Others who are more sincere in heart and more capable of taking on His covenants and promises. That way, we will have many hands to build up His Kingdom and plenty of friends with whom to rejoice in the enlightenment we have received.”

“Amen!” they called.

“Guard even your thoughts,” he cautioned, “lest ye be ensnared by the devil and dragged down to hell.”

“Amen!”

Warming to his role, Ethan stepped forward, once again feeling invincible in their worship. “And although it greatly pains me, I must broach another part of this issue. When we decided to accept Courtney, we decided to protect her from discovery and removal.”

“I remember,” Roger Lamkin shouted from the back.

“We sheltered her from the parents who’d been so unkind to her.” Ethan shook his head. “And now she will betray us, put us at risk. I have no idea what details of our lifestyle she might twist, but she could cause problems for us. I have made this a matter of much thought and prayer and it has been revealed to me that we are to stick with what we told her parents initially. Courtney was never here. The Lord would rather have us maintain that as the truth than to admit a lie that would cause the innocent among us to suffer.”

“The Lord will protect us.”

“He has shown us how to protect ourselves,” Ethan added, wanting to drive that point home.

“We only lied to make her free!” someone else called out. “We only lied to protect her. For the greater good of truth and freedom.”

“And in that we are justified.” He rubbed his hands together. “As we are justified, according to His word, in this—if outsiders come to call, you will say nothing of Courtney. You will come directly to me, and I will handle all inquiries. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Holy One,” they cried.

Cupping a hand around his ear, he spoke louder. “What did you say?”

“Yes, Holy One!”

The unified response satisfied him. “Good. Now, go on about your work and don’t worry. All is well.”

“All is well,” they echoed. “Praise be to God.”

Bartholomew came up behind him as the crowd dispersed. “You have led them in the right way,” he murmured.

Ethan turned to study his friend’s haggard face. He had bags under his eyes and a gray tinge to his skin that made Ethan suspect he wasn’t entirely well. But Bartholomew wouldn’t go back to bed even if ordered to do so. He was on guard, waiting for this latest problem to blow up or blow over. “It’s the only way.”

“We’ll be fine so long as we’re consistent. She came to a meeting here. That is all we admit. We never saw her after that. We cannot undermine our credibility by changing our story. The Lord will protect us if we hold our tongue on all else.”

The belligerence on Courtney’s face during their argument flitted through Ethan’s mind. He was shocked that she’d tried to blackmail him. Or had he been hallucinating about that, too? That was what really frightened him. Maybe she’d posed no threat and he’d killed her, anyway…. “Another scandal so soon after what happened with Martha is regrettable.”

“All will be well,” Bartholomew said. “Leave it to me.”

“I’ve left Martha to you, and it’s been weeks,” he complained to deflect attention from his own mistake.

“I’m working on it. I know she’s in Willcox.”

“If you know she’s in Willcox, why haven’t you been able to bring her back?”

He lowered his voice. “She’s not exactly listed in the phone book, Ethan. But I’ll find her. I have two men there as we speak.”

“Not with the mark—”

“Of course not! Do you think I’d send men so easily identified as belonging to us?”