Page 22 of Only Girl Alive

This had bothered Eve. What was the actual death timeline? With how cold it had been there was the small possibility the bodies were there longer than Eve thought?

“Yes, the murders happened yesterday. Bart Tanner was at a brief church meeting the evening before.” he snapped.

She scribbled in her notebook, which irritated him, if his fisting hands were a clue.

“Why did Bart and Howard have different last names?”

“You lived here. Is that question necessary?” he grumbled.

“It could come up in court. So yes, it is.”

“Howard and his mother were reassigned after his father died. Bart had moved out by then.” Relocated wives and children took on the name of the new father.

“Thank you for the interview.” Eve smiled as sincerely as she could manage. “I’ll try not to bother you again but that may be impossible. Thank you also for the use of your evidence room. The state lab will have all items collected and out of your hair as soon as possible. We should have the scene processed within a week.”

He climbed from the car before she finished, though he did wait to slam the door.

Fourteen

A state tech arrived and picked up their DNA and fingerprint evidence before five. Her team loaded the van with the items going to the police department. Collin and Ray dropped the packages off while Eve, Bina, and Clyde drove to the hotel. Ray and Collin picked up dinner but they showered before bringing it to Eve’s room. The mood was a somber one once everyone was together. They had no leads, no murder weapon, and no idea what the outcome of the case would be at this stage of their investigation. It troubled them.

“I can’t get the attic out of my mind,” Bina complained. “Whatever happened within that family, it was evil.” She stood and began pacing, her hand going involuntarily to her pocket for a gummy bear. “I’ve tried to think of another explanation besides the obvious one of sexual abuse. Nothing makes sense. No one is even screaming about funerals. We’re always treated as pariahs but this time it’s like we aren’t here.”

The confrontation with her stepbrothers popped into her head and once again Eve decided not to bring it up. They had enough to deal with without muddying the waters with her family history.

“They’re hiding something,” Clyde stated emphatically. “We need to be prepared for this to be a high-ranking church official. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”

“They’re always hiding something,” Eve said in frustration. “I agree with you though. They’ve got to be protecting someone important to them or maybe one of his past wives. A brainwashed woman committing these murders would cause this reaction. It would make it more newsworthy to reporters and that’s the last thing the men of the community want. Or, for all we know, their prophet could have said something that instigated murder and it backfired. I’ll have Tamm check to see if he’s changed a rule from behind bars again.”

The prophet was notorious for writing long revelations in prison, given to him by God, that changed the doctrine for his congregation. Some were simply crazy, like the seed bearer dictate. Who knew what his insanity would come up with next?

The meeting ended and the guys left to get some sleep. Bina showered, then Eve. She had to wash her hair even though she was exhausted. She did it in sections, pulling a wide-tooth comb through the tangles after adding conditioner. After her hair, it was a relief to scrub the residue of the crime scene with the spray of hot water and a lot of soap. She towel-dried then braided her damp hair before leaving the bathroom.

Sitting up against her bed pillows, she reviewed the photos she’d taken earlier in the day. The same creepy feeling filled her when she went through the images from the attic, her gaze resting on the chair. It made her angry. It wasn’t like her team hadn’t seen or handled sexual abuse cases before. They just hadn’t resulted in the brutal death of four people. She knew in her gut the room and the deaths were connected. She put her laptop aside when she could no longer keep her eyes open. Sleep was a blessing.

Eve and Clyde left before the sun rose. The trip to the medical examiner’s office took three hours. It was the first stretch of time where they were able to speak without the others.

“How are you holding up?” Clyde asked her.

“Confused, upset about the attic, and angry at Aaron for covering up whatever it is he’s trying to keep us from discovering.” She was in the passenger seat looking over her notes, hoping something made sense.

“I have the same thoughts,” he said. “We all do. You’re the one who interacts with him the most. I’ve always felt he was too smart for his own good.”

“He’s too smart to follow an insane prophet who says he speaks directly to God.” Eve put her notes aside and closed her eyes. “I don’t understand how intelligent people fall for this.”

“It’s manipulation by the man who leads them. The prophets are always charismatic with huge egos. The more fear they create, the more people follow blindly. If it made sense, we could easily fix the problem.”

She had studied the radicalization of these groups in college and the fundamentalist Mormons were not alone in the outrageousness of their belief system. Direct communication with God or believing the leader was some type of messiah seemed to be the common denominator. The polygamist sect was her history though and it weighed her down when she was here. Childhood memories dogged her and she often wondered if she were the right person for this job.

When they entered the next county, she gave a huge internal sigh of relief. It was always like this. The demons of her past haunted her worse when she was in the fundamentalist lair.

She skimmed through her text messages, found the information Tamm had sent for the knife expert, and hit the number. He answered on the first ring.

“This is Detective Sergeant Eve Bennet. You spoke to my assistant, Tamm Mackity, and I emailed the images we have.”

“Yes, I’ve been expecting your call. You have an interesting group of homicides.”

“That we do. Any chance you can identify the type of knife used?”

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