Page 40 of Only Girl Alive

“Why am I creeped out right now?” asked Ray when they entered Elijah’s room.

“He fought. He knew he was dying and still he fought,” said Clyde.

They silently closed the child’s door behind them. Last was the attic.

“I don’t even want to see the pictures when this case is over.” Bina looked up the stairs and Eve felt the same dread. “This entire house is evil.”

Eve ran her hands over her arms, wanting to get it over with.

The attic, with its bed and chair, remained as they had left it. The chair disturbed Eve the most. It represented a horrible monster and what was done to those inside these walls. Did he sit in the chair and torment them?

She glanced at her team, all dwelling in their own thoughts. The climb down the attic stairs and then to the front door was done in silence, each carrying a supply bag where they’d placed the items they’d gathered.

Eve gave a soft sigh of relief when they finally walked outside. She called Aaron before they left.

“I’m heading to the Wilson home for interviews. Should I expect trouble?” she asked.

“Those women know nothing about your homicides and this is pure harassment.”

Eve cut him off before he continued. “The judge has the recordings of what happened yesterday including my interviews. I will be calling him next. The interference in this case stops today. I’ll ask again. Should I expect trouble at the Wilson home?”

“No.”

The line went silent. Aaron had disconnected, again.

Eve dialed the judge’s office. It was early and she was hoping she caught him before he took the bench. She spoke to his clerk.

“We received your files and the judge will review them today. If you could call back this afternoon, I should have more for you.”

It was frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it. They drove the van and SUV to the Wilson home. Sheila’s husband answered Eve’s knock. He was wearing dress pants with a white button-down shirt and tie. It had taken time but Eve had finally recalled the Wilson name. The men were high in the hierarchy and several married to the prophet’s daughters. One had taken the brunt of a federal investigation into welfare fraud. He had willingly given up five years of his life. The others responsible were let off the hook by his confession. It was how their system worked.

It also explained why Mr. Wilson, younger than most with large families, had so many wives.

The Wilson men were considered easy on the eye. They held a certain charisma. They had good facial bone structure and somehow eluded the appearance of inbreeding that many families couldn’t escape. Mr. Wilson had dark, almost black hair, with deep blue eyes. This was another family trait. Eve had admired several of the Wilson boys during church when she was young. She and Sheila giggled about marrying one of them.

The Wilsons had the direct ear of the prophet and believed his was the voice of God. If the prophet told them to kill, they would.

It made this man very dangerous.

Twenty-One

“Mr. Wilson,” said Eve with a slight nod, relieved her brother had taken her warning seriously and the family was still here. “We need to interview the adults in your home.” She was careful to let him know they would not be speaking to the children. “If you would like to start, Detective Smith is waiting in the van. I will interview Kathryn first. I was unable to speak with her yesterday.”

Eve did not want to give away the information she’d obtained from Candace. If she chose to tell her husband, she could. Each person in the home would be interviewed and asked the same list of questions her team had decided on. This was standard procedure to pin everyone to a story. It allowed the team to cross-reference answers.

Kathryn was a lead at this point. No matter how strange it was in the polygamist community for a woman to leave her home at night, it did not mean she killed four people. If the interviews uncovered more threads leading to her, they would reevaluate quickly.

“I do not want you in my home,” Wilson said with a condescending sneer.

“We have the van and SUV,” she replied calmly, knowing what was coming next.

“I will be present when you interview my wives.”

“That is not possible,” Eve told him, leaving no room for argument. “This is a homicide investigation and my team is speaking to everyone privately.” She ignored the instant fire in his eyes and hard press of his lips. “Please have Kathryn step outside and we will begin.”

He wanted to argue. She was sure he’d spoken to Aaron and was aware Eve had every right to interview the women. Their male arrogance was impossible to control when they spoke to women and this man would push at everything she said even if he knew the eventual outcome.

After a full minute, without saying a word, he backed away and closed the door behind him. A few minutes later, he walked outside with Kathryn. Her hair was at least an inch higher than it had been the day before. Eve was unimpressed by her righteousness. She knew from the look on the woman’s face the interview would not go well. Her husband had most likely forbidden his wives from sharing any information. Mr. Wilson went to the van where Bina and Ray waited. Clyde would monitor the recording equipment in the back of the van.

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