Page 18 of The Girl and the Lies

Her eyes darken slightly. “Marcus Kelsey? Why would you ask about him?”

“I heard he was fired from the ministry,” I say, purposely not answering her question.

“He was,” she says matter-of-factly. “He used to be a member of my outreach team. He was extremely committed to the ministry and one of the most, perhaps the most, fervent of my flock.”

“He was a follower,” I say.

She chuckles slightly and gives me a look that borders on chastising. “I don’t have followers,” she says. “I’m not a prophet or a cult leader. I’m just a teacher. I have people who listen to me and those who choose to follow the word I’m teaching, but they aren’t following me.”

It sounds like a brochure response, and I don’t believe it for an instant. She knows that people are following her, and that is what she wants.

“If he was so committed to you and what you teach, what happened between you two?” I ask.

“I thought that he was truly committed. I thought he believed in what I teach, in what we are trying to bring to the world as a way of fighting for the salvation of our community and all who live in it. Then I found out that he was not living up to the principles the way that he should have. He was indulging in temptations that brought him too far away from the path. He wouldn’t be honest with me about it until I confronted him with irrefutable proof, so I removed him from my circle,” she says.

“I thought there was supposed to be forgiveness and redemption,” I say. “Isn’t that a core tenant of your faith?”

Tracy goes quiet again, the same veil of control coming over her that did when Dawn spoke out. She stares at me for several long seconds before giving a slight nod.

“I can forgive without being willing to have those influences around me, and redemption only happens when someone does something to redeem themselves. I can’t have disloyal, dishonest people around me. I can’t allow the serpent into the nest, so to speak,” she finally says. “I won’t allow myself to be vulnerable to the influences that have destroyed so many.” She relaxes her face, pulling back on the intensity. “But I thought you were here to talk about Gideon Bell.”

“I am,” I tell her. “In the meeting, you said that people are trying to get you to change your schedule and not do the appearances you have planned. Even in light of Gideon’s death, you seem adamant that you aren’t going to do that.”

“I am adamant,” Tracy says. “Agent Griffin, what I do is not for the faint of heart. I don’t have the faith that I do and teach the things that I teach because they are easy. I find great joy in the truth that I carry in my heart, but that joy also comes with deep pain and sorrow as I watch the world around me fall to evil, misinformation, and darkness. I know that I’m not popular with everyone. I can’t be. If I were popular with everyone, it would mean that everyone believed as I did, knew as I did, and did what was right. And of course, that would mean there would be no need for me to teach, wouldn’t it?

“I call this a battle, a war, because that’s what it is. I’m fighting for the souls of all those in this world. It’s so easy to look at things around us that have become the norm, the mainstream, even the trendy and beloved, and think that they are good, normal, and true. It’s easy to tell ourselves that they wouldn’t exist if they weren’t supposed to, if things weren’t made that way. But that’s temptation talking. It’s evil talking. I can’t be weak in the face of that. I have to be stronger now than I ever have been. I will not turn my back on my faith and what that means.”

“Have you received any of the threatening messages yourself?” I ask.

“I receive threats all the time,” she says. “They don’t deter me.”

I give a tight smile. “Obviously not. I know Gideon spoke to you about the threats he received. Did he have any idea who might have sent them? Anything that he pointed out to you that might indicate who could be responsible?”

“He didn’t have anybody in mind that he mentioned to me,” she says. “He didn’t seem overly worried about getting them. Gideon was quiet. He didn’t make waves.”

“I need the names of the others who told you they got threatening messages,” I say. “I’m going to need to speak with them.”

Tracy reaches into her drawer and pulls out a notepad. Getting a pen from the holder on the desk in front of her, she starts writing out names.

“You are welcome to speak with Ander now if you’d like. Though there isn’t much time. I am expected at an interview in less than half an hour.”

The implication is that he will, of course, be going with her, only further underscoring the question of why, if she doesn’t want to show any fear, she insists on having a security detail. I’m sure she has a craftily spun explanation, but I don’t want to listen to any more of that right now, so I’m not going to ask. She writes down several names and hands the list over to me.

“I don’t know for sure that this is everyone. Others might have gotten them but didn’t bring them to my attention,” she says.

“Thank you for this,” I tell her, standing up. “And thank you for taking the time to speak with me.”

“If you need anything else, feel free to come back,” she says.

“I will.”

I walk out of the office and stop next to Ander. I can’t help but wonder if his entire purpose is to stand beside her office all day or if he does other things.

“Tracy just told me that you are among the company employees who have gotten the threats,” I say.

He nods and finally speaks, “I have.”

“I know that you’re working right now and you’re getting ready to go with her to an interview, but I need to talk to you about the messages. Can we set up a time to do that?” I ask.

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