Jeff DeAngelo entered the room, carrying a cane in his right hand and his briefcase in his other. Everyone in the room stood and began to applaud, followed by the under-sheriff extending his hand to Jeff.
“Welcome back, Sheriff,” he exclaimed as he pulled Jeff toward him and administered a crushing bear hug. The welcome was followed by a chorus of voices, all agreeing with the under-sheriff’s words. Deidre stepped up, holding the key to the sheriff’s office.
“Jeff, this is one the happiest days of my life. Here are your keys, here is my badge, here is your department back, and don’t ever do this to us again.” She laughed joyously, even while her eyes glistened. “Welcome back, friend.”
The crew was able to celebrate for nearly a half-hour, and finally Jeff had to settle them down for their morning meeting. He pulled his chair up to the table and calmly started the day as though nothing unusual had happened while he was gone. Deidre slipped away so quietly, no one paid any attention to the fact she was no longer present.
*****
Ben had told Deidre that when the FBI’s preliminary report was drawn up, she would have the option of reading it, and one day in early December, they rode to Duluth together. He and Deidre would spend an hour with Director Benton, and Ben would spend the remainder of the day working in his capacity as an FBI agent. She was going to do some Christmas shopping, then pick Ben up after work. She was relieved that her bout of not feeling well earlier in the fall had subsided, and her old energy had returned.
“Deidre, come in,” Benton invited her. “It’s really good to see you after these several weeks. You look as though you’re pretty well healed. How you doing with the nightmares?”
She appreciated his concern. “Getting better. I’m down to seeing the shrink every other week, and soon only once a month. She’s happy with my progress. Thanks for asking.”
Benton got right to the point. “I thought you might like to read this.” He shoved a paper across the desk toward her and Ben. They picked it up and looked at it together.
Monday, December 18
Re: Militia Incident August 13, Two Harbors, MN
On the above date of incident, a militia known as the Populus Reipublicae Militia created a situation (see Addendum A) to draw the Minnesota National Guard into a firefight. The intent was to force an armed conflict and martyr some of their own troops. The plan included kidnapping the acting sheriff of Lake County, Deidre Johnson, and use her as bait for their trap (see Addendum B). The outcome of the operation can be found in Addendum C.
Upon interrogation of those militia who were captured unharmed, a plot was uncovered to strengthen militias, known and unknown, across the United States to the point where, if united under one command, they would be capable of mounting an all-out war against the government of the United States. Plots of this nature were carried out nearly simultaneously in six states (see Addendum D). There has been an increased number of incidents of police officers being ambushed to foment a feeling of empowerment by various militias (see Addendum E).
Deidre flipped to that page and skimmed through a few of the incidents that were listed.
March, 2011: Members of an extremist group were charged in Wisconsin with seditious conspiracy and attempted use of weapons of mass destruction in connection with an alleged plot to attack law enforcement and spark an uprising against the government of the United States of America.
April 27, 2012: The leader of a Christian militia planned an elaborate, two-part training session for this month and told members it was okay to “kill anyone who might stumble upon the operation.”
September 13, 2014: A late night ambush outside a state police barracks in Pennsylvania’s northeastern corner left one officer dead and another critically wounded.
As Ben and Deidre scanned the addendum, it became painfully clear that, nationally, violence against government officials was increasing exponentially, and much of it was for the purpose of fueling what they hoped would be a massive armed revolt. With what happened to Jeff and Deidre, the addendum’s contents hit too close to home. They turned back to the body of the report.
The members of the Populus Reipublicae Militia remain in custody and the legal process continues to work its way through the courts. The FBI is doing everything it can to engage the U.S. attorney general’s office.
Deidre looked at Director Benton. “Scary stuff.”
He nodded. “Their tactic will be hit and run fighting. For instance, they want to destroy bridges, railroads, communication towers, and human targets. Right now a disease I call anti-government fever is gripping our nation. I truly believe that the rhetoric of some of our congresspeople is akin to throwing gasoline on the fire, raising the temperature. Only time will tell how hot it will get.”
Chapter Fifty-Three
Deidre’s day of shopping was a joy. Outside, the thermometer registered twenty-five degrees, about average for December in Duluth. The stores were filled with shoppers, and she couldn’t help but smile at the sight of families, the little children staring wide-eyed at Christmas scenes in the store windows. She felt a twinge in her abdomen, reminding her she had a doctor’s appointment the next day, and she prayed everything would be all right.
As she walked past the newsstand in a book store, the headlines of the Duluth Herald caught her eye, Child Abuser Nabbed in Oregon. Deidre dug in her purse and paid the dollar for the copy, went to the store’s coffee bar and ordered a tall decaf with cream and three packets of sweetener. As she sipped the steaming brew, she concentrated on the article. It said that a man named Jerome Burk, alias Reverend Isaiah, had been arrested the day before as he tried to purchase flour and other staples in a grocery store in Enterprise, a small village in the eastern part of Oregon near the Idaho border. It went on to say that he would be extradited to Minnesota to face charges of statutory rape of several girls and false imprisonment of women. Authorities were searching for other men who had belonged to a group in northern Minnesota called The Sanctuary.
With a degree of satisfaction, Deidre finished her coffee and left to pick up Ben. On the way down the hill to the Federal Building, she wondered what would become of the women who had been coerced into living Reverend Isaiah’s version of God’s will. More so, she feared for the emotional wellbeing of the children spawned there.
She put those thoughts out of her mind when Ben got into the car. “How you feeling?” was his first question.
“Oh, pretty good,” Deidre answered. “I do get a little tired by this time of the day, though.”
“What time is your doctor’s appointment tomorrow?” He continued to fret over his wife’s health.
“In the afternoon,” she answered, and then changed the subject.
“I sure hope the girls like what I found for them today. I couldn’t resist buying them matching jeans and sweatshirts just one more time. Lately, they’ve made it pretty clear that they want to establish their individuality. When we get home, take a look, and you can tell me what you think of the outfits.”
For the remainder of the trip, they talked about banal topics—the weather forecast, what color lights they should have on the tree, whether they should try the lutefisk at the restaurant downtown or not. Ben was a little concerned that Deidre was avoiding the subject of her health, but he knew not to press the issue.
That night Deidre seemed particularly moody, and Ben chocked it up to her being tired from shopping all day. She fell asleep in his arms the way she did most nights, but tonight he had a difficult time getting to sleep. He could feel his wife’s chest rising and falling with each breath and could hear the soft whisper of her breathing. With his free hand, Ben gently stroked her hair, brushing it back from her face, and was overcome with the love he felt for her at that moment. He pictured her face, and even though it was dark in the room, he could visualize every line and contour. At that mo
ment, he loved her more than life itself.
*****
The next night, the four of them sat down for supper, Ben and Deidre on one side of the table, Megan and Maren on the other. Deidre had made a special meal that included fresh pie made with apples picked from their own tree the last fall and stored in a cool room in the basement. She also made Aloha Burgers: a hamburger patty with a slice of pineapple on it and a tangy sauce, all on a toasted English muffin. She put out wine glasses, and filled them with a sparkling grape juice.
“A toast to our family,” Deidre said as she raised her glass. The others followed suit, and they clinked them together in a mutual salute. “I have an announcement to make.” The twin girls looked at her face and immediately assumed something must be wrong.
“You went to the doctor today, didn’t you?” Maren more stated than asked. “What did he say?”
Deidre took her time answering, looking first at her plate and then up. “Well, he says I’m pregnant.”
Megan was just about to take a bite of food, and her fork clattered to her plate. Maren blurted out, “How did that happen?” The words had barely left her mouth when Megan jabbed her in the ribs, and Maren’s face turned the proverbial three shades of red. “Oh,” was all she said. Now that their secret was out, Ben sat there, grinning.
“And the doctor said something else,” Deidre added. Ben looked up, a question mark written on his face. “He says I’m having twins!”
Preying in Two Harbors Page 30
