Page 9 of Only Girl Alive

Again, Eve’s thoughts turned to Maggie. She always wondered how her mother allowed them to fall under the fundamentalists’ control. As an officer, Eve dealt with domestic violence. Even so, Eve could not reconcile her mother’s decisions that cost them so much. After Maggie took her from the polygamist community, her biological father had not returned to their lives. Maggie rarely spoke of him and didn’t give her daughter much opportunity to ask questions. Eve had buried so much of her past deep within her mind. She needed her mom to stand up and explain. It ate at her and she wanted that part of her life over and done.

She sat in the county attorney parking lot trying to clear her thoughts and focus on the next fight with Aaron.

She stepped through the smoked-glass doors and approached the counter. A young woman stared pointedly as Eve drew closer. She must be new. Eve didn’t think she could possibly be over twenty years old. The young woman wore a pastel-blue prairie dress with light brown hair swooped high and proud in the front above a plump face. She had a cleft lip that had not been surgically repaired. Cosmetic surgery was an abhorrence under God’s rule. The number of children in this area with cleft palates here was far higher than the national average, probably as a result of inbreeding. This had been the reason little Becky was taken away when Eve was young. Her lips were unable to suckle.

Ignoring the woman’s contempt, Eve got straight to the point. “I’m Detective Sergeant Eve Bennet, here to see the county attorney. He’s expecting me.” She’d used her full title to reinforce her lawful authority over this region. It didn’t matter that the only law they adhered to was that of the prophet and his twisted teachings from God; Eve had a murdered family who deserved justice.

“He will be with you when he has time.” The words were slightly slurred and Eve felt compassion. The young woman knew exactly who she was from the moment she’d entered the office. There was even a chance she was related to Aaron and by that route, to Eve as well. It was hard to forget the teachings she grew up with and she still thought of her stepbrother as a sibling even if there was no blood relation.

Aaron had planned to marry her and even a close family tie wouldn’t have stopped him. With that disgusting thought, she really needed this meeting over quickly.

She took a seat and after another harsh glare, the woman turned away. Eve had planned to stare her down the entire time so took the back of her oversprayed, lifted hair as a win. The fact the receptionist worked outside the home showed one of several changes in the community. When Eve lived here, this was unheard of. She hoped the girl wasn’t yet married but chances were good that she was. She could also have a child or two by now. Eve shuddered.

She sent a text to Aaron advising him she was waiting in his office since the receptionist had not so much as buzzed his phone. She waited for his reply while she thought about the rules that continued enabling this community.

Utah law stated you had to be sixteen with parental permission to marry. At age fifteen you needed a judge to agree. Judges in this county either practiced polygamy or were the recent descendants of polygamist marriages. They granted permission for the teen marriages and Eve could do nothing about it. Marital unions of girls as young as twelve were illegal but Eve suspected they were still practiced. She herself had been one step away from child rape and to this day, she knew she was one of the fortunate ones.

A ring sounded from the phone on the woman’s desk. When the receptionist looked at Eve, she knew her brother was on the line. If he kept her waiting longer, she would leave. He could come to her and they would do the meeting in the cold.

“I’ll walk you back,” the woman said in her tight, lisping voice.

Eve followed her through a locked door, past offices that hadn’t changed since her last visit. Some were occupied, some empty of attorneys. Each held a wooden desk and the back of a computer screen facing the door. Most had one family photo with the man surrounded by many wives and children turned so visitors could see it displayed. The number of wives and children proved their devotion to the prophet.

She entered her brother’s personal domain. It was the largest room at the end of the hallway. The woman walked away and Eve didn’t spare her another glance.

“Adding women to the justice roster—I’m impressed.” Aaron’s family photo was also displayed but she didn’t look closely at it. His worship of a man who sat in prison for horrible offenses against children made her sick.

Aaron blinked a few times, his bloodless lips tight. “Denise is my newest wife. She has a medical problem and may be unable to bear children. When she’s here, it keeps her mind off her failure.”

Eve’s eyes involuntarily went to his family photo before she could stop herself. His expression turned smug. He sat with his hands steepled in front of him. It was his judgment pose; one he’d trained himself to do since he was a young boy. She couldn’t help the chills that ran over her arms.

Her stepbrother had told her that tidbit about his wife to anger her. She placed her hand out.

“The statement,” was all she said.

Aaron lifted a manila folder from his desk and slapped it into her hand.

“That’s your copy to take with you,” he said pointedly.

He probably hoped Eve wouldn’t read it in his office. Disappointment would soon be his best friend. She wiggled a bit in the chair to get comfortable. Her brother sighed.

While Aaron watched, Eve read the exceedingly brief statement.

I went to pick up my brother and his son but no one answered the door. I entered the house and found them dead. I called the police.

“You consider this a statement?” she asked, shocked despite herself: this was typical. “You told me more than this on the phone.”

“It’s what was given to me by Brother Wall. I simply added the personal conversation I had with him. I thought you wanted my help?”

Screaming was not an option.

“I’ll interview him first thing tomorrow morning and get a complete statement. Set it up.” She gave him a look that she hoped he wouldn’t ignore. If things moved more slowly, she would need to call the oversight judge every five minutes. “I want a list of every Tanner family member including anyone removed from the home over the past five years. This includes grown children if any live outside the house. I want the names and addresses of every home in a mile radius. We’ll be interviewing the husbands and wives.” Eve noticed he didn’t write what she said down. “Don’t press me or you’ll find yourself before Judge Remki, who is not one of your cronies.” The original federal judge assigned Remki to handle the heavy work and that was who Eve dealt with. They got along passably well, though in Eve’s opinion, he was not hard enough on the interference she always ran into.

Her stepbrother, movements stiff, took out an eight-by-ten legal pad and removed a pen from his desk. He scribbled a few things then looked back at her. Eve was sure this was a job a secretary normally did for other county attorneys but he didn’t like others seeing their battles when she had the upper hand. Aaron would never call in his wife because he wouldn’t take a chance that she would be corrupted by Eve’s apostate ways.

“I need the local police to make their evidence room available,” Eve said after a slight hesitation in order to level her tone and not turn this into more of a battle than it already was. “We’ll need someone there when we check it in for chain of custody. I’ll try to keep it within office hours but I can’t make promises. An after-hours cell number too.”

Aaron wrote it down as Eve glanced around the stark office. Not a single landscape to add ambiance to the plain white walls. His pride was in the number of women he enslaved and the money he earned for the church. His home and surrounding property belonged to the prophet. The prophet had absolute control over Aaron, as Aaron had over his wives. Eve, even with her upbringing, would never understand.

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