Before He Harms (A Mackenzie White Mystery—Book 14)

by Blake Pierce

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “This is Burke.”

  He had the tone of a man who was wide awake and ready to face the day. It was much preferable to some of the small-town law enforcement Mackenzie had worked with who sounded like there might be some dead animal lodged in their throat when they rolled out of bed in the morning. Of course, she remembered that Burke had already been up for hours.

  “It’s Agents White and Ellington,” Mackenzie said. Her phone was on speaker mode, allowing Ellington to also hear the conversation while he drove. “We’ve had some pretty interesting developments. We spoke with a woman named Amy Campbell this morning. She was roommates with the young woman we found dead tonight, supposedly named Bethany Hollister. Amy has been doing her best to help women escape a nearby religious commune known as the Community.”

  “Damn. Not that mess again.”

  “Seems like it,” Mackenzie said. “She says there was a minor investigation that ended up dead-ending. You know anything about that?”

  “Yeah, I think that was from two years back. But because she went straight to Salt Lake City, the Fellsburg PD was left out of that loop.”

  “Our director in Washington sort of hinted that the SLC branch of the FBI might be very hesitant to approach the Community. What do you know about that?”

  The morning cheer in Burke’s voice was slowly fading with each word that came out. “Yeah, that was four or five years ago. There were some teens that went up to the Community’s front gate to do some hell-raising. But when they got there, they realized there’s actually something of a guard shack at the front and you can’t get in. So they found some other way around through the woods and came to a back gate sort of thing. When they got there, they said they heard this wailing, like someone in pain. They took video with their phones and even though you can’t see anything other than the shapes of trees and the fences, you can sure as hell hear what they’re talking about. They got pretty good audio of what sounds like a woman being beaten or raped or both.”

  “And no one was ever arrested?” Ellington asked, amazed.

  “The kids brought the video public and after a failed investigation on our part, the bureau was called in due to the sensitive nature of the case. It nearly went to trial, but once the Community people started screaming that their religious liberties were being infringed upon, the government stepped away as quickly as they could. The fact that there were no abused women from the Community stepping forward certainly did not help, either.”

  “Any other problems come out of there since Amy Campbell tried pressing charges?” Mackenzie asked.

  “None that I’ve heard of.” He let out a deep sigh and added: “I suppose that’s where you’re headed right now?”

  “We are.”

  “Do you need any help?” His tone indicated that sending help was the last thing he wanted to do.

  “No. If things are as touchy with this place as you say they are, the last thing we need is for them to feel like they’re being ganged up on.”

  “They’ll likely feel that way anyway,” Burke said. “At the risk of sounding uncaring, these are the kinds of people that have gotten very good at playing the victim.”

  Thinking of Amy’s story, Mackenzie figured there were all sorts of victims in stories like these. The trick was to find out who was actually being victimized and who was using it as a shield.

  “I assume they lead a peaceful life, at least to the rest of the world?” Ellington asked.

  “Yeah. Before these two instances we’ve both discussed, they were a little more flexible about letting outsiders in. I assume you saw the photos in the police records?”

  “We did.”

  “If there are any firearms on the grounds, they’re incredibly well hidden. I honestly doubt there are, though. In terms of any sort of threat, I think it comes down to a numbers game.”

  “There are like seventeen hundred of them, right?”

  “I think that’s a little inflated. It’s likely closer to twelve or thirteen hundred. Still, I’d say that’s a hell of a lot of isolated folks that buy into polygamy and female abuse.”

  “Agreed,” Mackenzie said. “Listen, we need the address for this place. Also, while we’re headed there, it might be a good idea to park a unit somewhere within sight of Amy Campbell’s home. If her story is true, we have to assume the death of her roommate could somehow connect it all. That would make her a very likely target if there is indeed a killer knocking off women.”

  “I’ll send someone out right away. And Agents? Look, I doubt you’ll be in any physical danger, but be careful out there. The last thing I’d want to see is the two of you walking into some sort of political trap. Based on what I’ve seen, these people were scream ‘religious freedom’ at the first smell of trouble.”

  While Mackenzie had never worked directly with people like that, she had heard horror stories. So while she was not one hundred percent sure what to expect, she felt she was prepared to deal with it.

  “Anything else?” Ellington asked.

  “That’s all I can think of. I appreciate you going out there. No one around here ever wants to because of the risk.”

  Very aware that they were heading into what might very well be a time bomb, Mackenzie looked over to Ellington and they gave one another a shrug. It would have been a cute synchronized moment if not for what they were driving toward.

  “Anyway,” Burke said. “Here’s the address I have for the place, though it’s really just directions to the dirt road that will carry you there.”

  Burke gave them instructions, which Mackenzie typed down on her phone. Meanwhile, the morning grew bright around them as the day set itself into place, as if pulling up the best seat for the show.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Community was located exactly eleven miles outside of Fellsburg, a little less than a forty-five-minute drive away from Salt Lake City. Ellington guided the car off of a back road that fed off to a dirt track. The track meandered through a little strip of woodland and then along the edge of a rather beautiful field. The sun had come up a little over an hour ago, but it still did a fantastic job of providing a nice morning view along the field and the bordering forest.

  The dirt track went on for about a quarter of a mile before it came to an end. It stopped at a shack that closely resembled the sort of checkin found outside of most parking garages. Only this one looked more accommodating, like a child’s rendition of a house. There was only one window along the front of it, and a single door on the side. It was quite clear that no one was manning the station.

  A chain-link fence ran across the road, stretching on another thirty feet to the right before it was overtaken by the forest. To the left, it was more of the same. The forest on the other side of the fence opened up in a U shape that gradually allowed more and more room for the Community grounds. It allowed the fence to be something of a forgotten item, hidden away in the forest while the rest of the grounds looked totally free and accommodating.

  Mackenzie opened the door and got out. She looked behind them and saw that the back road they had turned off of was out of sight. From somewhere beyond the fence, there was a slight murmur of conversation. She was pretty sure she could hear a goat crying out into the morning as well.

  “What are you doing?” Ellington asked.

  “I was going to knock.”

  “What?”

  Mackenzie walked to the fence. There was a section right beside the gate that had been cut out and filled in with a rather elaborate door. The door, like the fence, was also a chain-link structure, bolted to the side of the little shack and held in place by two latches that were locked from the inside. The door was about eight feet across, enough room to allow vehicles to pass through comfortably.

  She slapped at the chain-link fence as hard as she could. The sound was abrasive and broke the still quiet of the morning. “Hello?” she called out.

  She looked to the other side of the fence. The immediate ar
ea in front of her was only open grass. Several feet beyond were several flower beds that she assumed served as the entrance. Past that, the ground descended slightly. She could see the sides of a few buildings and the tops of several rows of corn over to the left. Other than that, there was nothing.

  Ellington came up behind her as she started to slap at the fence again. It made a loud jangling noise, an almost alien-like clatter.

  “You want me to just honk the car horn?” he asked.

  He was being funny, but she thought it was a great idea. “Would you?”

  He looked at her, a bit surprised. But before there could be a conversation about it, they spotted two people coming up the slight hill. They were both male; one looked to be about forty or so, the other no older than twenty. They looked at Mackenzie and Ellington with a degree of wonder. The twenty-something man even seemed to be smiling.

  “Good morning,” the older man said as they approached the gate. “Can we help you?”

  Both men stopped about five feet away from the gate. It was clear they did not intend to get any closer.

  “We’d like to have a word with whoever is in charge,” Mackenzie said.

  “Is this a prearranged visit?” the older man asked.

  “If you’re asking if I have an appointment, the answer is no,” Mackenzie said. “However, I truly hope you’ll allow us inside.”

  With that, she took out her badge and ID and pressed them against the door. “I’m Agent White, and this is my partner, Agent Ellington. We’re with the FBI and would like to come inside the grounds, please.”

  “For what reason?”

  “We simply need to ask those in charge a few questions,” Ellington said.

  Mackenzie nearly followed up on this but she realized that if this was a culture that treated women like trash, Ellington was going to be their best bet at getting inside. So she took a step back and let Ellington do his thing.

  “What is it concerning?” the younger one asked.

  Ellington chuckled and stepped closer to the fence. “I know you guys are isolated out here, but surely even you guys know how this works. We’re the FBI. The I stands for investigation. That means we ask the questions, not the other way around.”

  “We do not let many visit the grounds,” the older said.

  “I’m aware of that. So here’s the deal I’m going to give you, and it’s going to be the best one you’re going to get. You let us in and talk to some folks and that will be the end of it. We’ll get the information we need—just Agent White and I—and then we’ll leave. But if you cause problems, we’ll be forced to go back, do a ton of paperwork, and come back anyway. And when we come back, we’ll probably have one or two ore agents with us, probably a few members of the local PD, as well. And maybe while all that paperwork is being filled out, I’ll call a few journalists. Maybe a Salt Lake City news team. So you make the call: just Agent White and myself, or about twenty very interested people, some of whom work for the media.”

  The older man looked incredibly angry. His jaw was set and it was clear that he was not used to being placed in such a situation. The younger man, however, had likely never experienced something like this. His eyes were wide, probably because he had never heard anyone speak to a member of the Community in such a way. But Mackenzie thought she saw a bit of excitement in those wide eyes as well.

  “I am not in the position to make such a decision,” the older man said. “Stand by while I ask someone who can.”

  “Thank you very much,” Ellington said. He made a show of backing away and sitting on the hood of the car. “We’ll be right here, waiting.”

  The men turned away quickly, the older one looking over his shoulder a single time as they made their way back down the little hill and toward the Community.

  “Well done, Agent Ellington,” Mackenzie said. She leaned in and kissed him briefly on the corner of the mouth.

  “I can be mean, too.”

  “Yeah, but it’s just an act.”

  “It worked, didn’t it?”

  She nodded and sat down beside him. They looked through the gate at the opening to the Community while they waited for someone else to arrive.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Mackenzie had expected a long wait, so she was rather surprised when a trio of men appeared less than ten minutes later. They came over the little hill in a single-file line and approached the gate. Mackenzie had also expected a long drawn-out conversation, but she was shocked there, as well.

  Without saying a word, the man in front of the trio went directly to the gate and disengaged the locks. He pulled the door all the way open, smiling at them as he did so. This man looked to be in his fifties. His hair was mostly white, but he had a rugged and handsome face. The other two who had come with him were the same men that had greeted them earlier.

  The leader of the three extended his arm, gesturing Mackenzie and Ellington inside. “Come on in, Agents. I’d love to hear why you’re here.”

  Mackenzie was taken aback, but did not want to let it show. She started stepping forward but then slowed to allow Ellington to lead. She was shocked when the older man offered his hand to be shaken. Ellington took it and the man introduced himself.

  “Marshall Cole,” he said. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “Agent Ellington, and this is my partner, Agent White.”

  “I must admit, this is not the first time some form of law enforcement has come by the Community.”

  “We’re aware of that,” Mackenzie said.

  “So what can we do for you today?”

  “Well, I’m sure you understand that we can’t give specifics, as we’re in the middle of an ongoing investigation,” Ellington said. “What I can tell you is that in the midst of this investigation, the Community came up in conversation. And because we are not at all familiar with this place, we thought it best to get a lay of the land, maybe speak to some people.”

  “I understand completely,” Cole said. “But you must be aware that we rarely get visitors. Many of them may not speak to you merely out of a lack of trust.”

  “I expect nothing more,” Ellington said. “For now, do you mind just giving us a look around?”

  “Of course!”

  Cole did just that, leading them down the little hill and into the Community. The other two men flanked them to either side. The younger one walked a little too close to Mackenzie, but that was fine. She and Ellington worked as a fluid team, communicating on near-psychic levels at times. When Ellington had requested to have a look around, that was essentially code for Mackenzie to study everything they passed while he kept Marshall Cole talking. She did exactly this, while also listening to the conversation.

  “Let me go ahead and get this out of the way,” Ellington said. “I hear you are all polygamists. Is that true?”

  “Some of us are, yes.”

  “And do you marry your relatives?”

  “No, not at all,” Cole said. He chuckled at the absurdity of it. “That is false, though we are aware that we somehow got that reputation.”

  “And people mostly leave you alone out here?”

  “Mostly. We will, on occasion, get a teenager or two that comes by to yell insults. Fairly recently, we had one come by with a paintball gun. We had to call the police on him when he started firing through the fence.”

  “Do you know if the shooter was arrested?”

  “I have no idea. I simply stood by as the police did their job. After that, whatever happened to the young man is none of my concern.”

  “So you have a fairly decent relationship with the local PD?”

  “For the most part,” Cole said. “I’m sure you know, being a good investigator, that we have had a few words here and there with other branches of the law.”

  Ellington nodded to this as Cole led them deeper into the Community. It was pretty much what Mackenzie had been expecting based on what she had seen in the police photos. It reminded her of African villages she had seen photos of, on
ly more well-kept. This was especially true of the dwellings. She could not see inside any of them, but there was no way they were any larger than two bedrooms and a living area.

  “How big are the homes?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Big enough,” Cole answered.

  “Can you be more specific?” Ellington asked.

  “One bedroom, one large central area that serves as kitchen, dining room, and den. We have five communal showers near the back of the property, and a series of outhouses on the opposite side.”

  “How many people live here?” Ellington asked.

  “Seventeen hundred.”

  As they walked along a little dirt strip that separated two rows of dwellings, they started passing by some of the Community members. The men looked at Mackenzie as if she had two heads. The women, on the other hand, would not even look at her. Their eyes were downcast and Mackenzie did not see a trace of a smile on any of their faces. The women were all dressed in basic dresses, some with prints, but most just plain white or light blue. It was almost an Amish-style of dress, only a little more colorful and comfortable.

  “Mr. Cole, are you in charge here?” Mackenzie asked.

  When he answered, she could tell that he did not like answering questions from a woman. She was not at all ashamed that she enjoyed the feeling.

  “I am the Chief Elder, yes.”

  “How many elders are there?” Ellington asked.

  “There are four more under me.”

  “All men?”

  “Yes,” he said, answering it as if it were the dumbest question he’d ever heard.

  “How young do you allow the women to marry?” Mackenzie asked.

  Cole did not answer her. He kept walking as if he had not even heard her. The other two men seemed to draw in closer, building something of a wall around the agents and Elder Cole.

  “So here’s the deal,” Ellington said. “I know you guys are a little primitive in how to treat women, but my partner is one of the most skilled agents there is. So you can either answer her questions, or she can start walking around here and asking questions of the women.”