Destroying Angel (28 page)

“She’s going to kick up a fuss anyway,” I said. “And if she doesn’t, we certainly will.” I peered into the darkness across the sand we’d trudged through on our way into the maze. “Where in blue blazes is Annabelle?”

I imagined her lying beneath her husband after vigorous lovemaking, with Jedediah snoring and Annabelle trying to squirm free. Or had she changed her mind? I couldn’t do this without her.

“We have to cooperate,” I said, “every one of us saying the same thing. That’s our only hope. We make our demands, and
then we hold firm. Remember van Slooten? If our husbands act like animals, we’ll treat them the same.”

“They’re men,” Laura said, her tone bitter. “They can physically overpower us.”

“Physically overpower a bullet?”

“What can we do?” Nannie asked, nearly crying. “We are only women.”

“Stop saying that!” I snapped. “What does that mean, anyway? I can work harder than those men and shoot better than the lot of them.”

“Oh, so now it’s Annie Oakley, is it?” Maude said. “What good is shooting going to do you? Are you suggesting we hide in Witch’s Warts and snipe them from a distance?”

“Of course not.”

“Then what?”

I fell silent.

“You’re a fool,” Maude continued. “So full of hubris you’re blind.”

“It’s not hubris, it’s desperation. Surely you, of any of us, understand that. You have more to lose than anyone.”

“I’m aware of that. But right now I’m facing three options. One, keep pretending and hope they never find out. Two, throw myself at your husband’s feet, confess my crimes, and beg him to protect me from Jedediah.”

“And three?” I asked.

“Make a run for it. Take Laura with me if I can.”

“For God’s sake, don’t say that,” Laura said in an anguished tone. “We can’t run. What about our children? Our sister wives? Unless we all run together, and even then…”

Nannie’s face crunched in on itself as she fought back tears. “They have priesthood. We can do nothing. We are lost.”

“If you won’t come with me,” Maude said to Laura, “I’ll go alone.”

“Why should we run?” I said. “We built Blister Creek. It’s ours. If they want to stay, they can follow our rules.”

Maude put her hands on her hips. She looked at me with cold fury, as if I were her enemy. “Let’s hear your brilliant solution, then. You’re always so confounded sure of yourself, why, let’s hear it. Let’s hear your plan for turning this corner of the forsaken wilderness into a glorious paradise for women.”

The other three looked at me expectantly, and I could see that they actually expected an answer—even Maude, who had punctured my plans with her accurate analysis. She was expecting, or perchance only hoping, that I had an answer. I tried.

“The men have their priesthoods,” I said. “And we have ours.” I reached into the pockets of my dress and took out three green aprons. They were the kind worn in the temple, sewn with leaves to represent the clothes Adam and Eve made to hide their nakedness when driven from the Garden of Eden. “Put them on. No time for dispute.”

They obeyed, and soon we all wore green across our waists.

“Now we form a prayer circle,” I said. “I will lead. The Lord will tell me what to say.”

Cynically, I already knew what the Lord would tell me. After speaking with Hyrum that afternoon and realizing he was no friend and ally, that he would side with a tyrant like Jedediah Kimball over his own wife, I’d thought of almost nothing else but manipulating the words of my prayer. Heaven help me, I was that desperate.

We formed a prayer circle. Laura hesitated at the last moment.

I mistook her hesitation for fear. “It’s the only way. Trust in the Lord. He will guide our actions.”

“I’m with you, sister. I’ve been with you since the beginning. But shouldn’t we wait until Annabelle comes?”

“We can’t wait any longer. We’ll tell her our plan after we’re done. The other women too. If we’re united, they’ll go along with us—that’s all men have. Organization and ruthlessness.”

“Something is wrong,” Maude said. “She should be here.”

“We can’t wait.”

“I don’t like it. What if they know?”

“Worry about Annabelle later. Complete the circle. Hurry.”

After I opened the prayer, I said, “Lord, thou hast multiplied our sorrows. We are weak in body and spirit. In pain we bring forth children, and thou hast commanded our husbands to rule over us. But we are thy children and thy servants. Shall we bow our heads before our oppressors for thy sake? Or wilst thou prepare a path through the wilderness, a land where we may live in peace and harmony, in fear of no man? A place where a woman answers only to the Lord and to her own conscience? Heavenly Father,
show us the way
!”

I closed the prayer and looked up to see the other women staring with shining eyes, faces caught in the almost otherworldly glow of the lanterns. The air was electric, like before a storm, and their bodies were warm next to mine. Never before had I felt such a connection, both with other women and with the other side of the veil. I could almost sense angels strengthening us. The despair lifted from my shoulders, and I believed we could win. The Lord had provided a way.

“This is what we do,” I said. “The problem is Jedediah. If he is gone, the others will be reasonable.”

“Are you suggesting we kill him?” Laura asked.

“I will do it. I killed the federal marshal, and I will kill Jedediah. I will go into his cabin at night and shoot him dead while he sleeps.”

“But van Slooten was a gentile,” Laura said. “Brother Jedediah is one of the saints.”

“He’s not a saint, and he’s no brother of ours. He’s a dark, evil man. You all know it. And the Book of Mormon says that it is better for one man to perish than for a nation to dwindle in disbelief. If we don’t stop him now, we will live under Jedediah Kimball’s oppression for generations to come.”

“Do it,” Maude said. Her face looked like stone. “Kill him.”

“Then what?” Nannie asked, voice trembling. “When the other men see, what do we do?”

“While I take care of Jedediah, the three of you gather the women and older girls. Go to the wagons the men brought in, circle them, pretend it’s an Indian attack. Send Sister Leticia for the spare ammunition we buried near the cemetery. I’ll join you when I’m done. Once the men see we are willing to fight to the death—and we will—they will negotiate. With Jedediah gone, I believe Hyrum will be reasonable. He might even be relieved.”

And what then? Never mind, I would figure that out later. Even Moses took forty years to find the Promised Land after he freed his people from Pharaoh.

“Well?” I said. “Are you with me?”

I looked at Laura. She bowed her head. “Thou sayest.”

Nannie said, “Thou sayest.”

“Thou sayest,” Maude said. “May the blood of the wicked justify the souls of the righteous.”

We broke our circle, faces set in stone. It was an awful deed to accomplish, and I felt it seeping into me, deep into my soul. We were taking an irrevocable step. I grabbed for the lantern.

“So, there are traitors in our midst,” a man’s voice called.

I turned with a shock. Jedediah Kimball appeared from the darkness on the other side of the clearing, a revolver in one hand. He wore boots and leather gloves, his hat and canvas trousers, but still had on his nightshirt. His eyes glittered in the reflected lamplight.

Two more men followed. Moroni Johnson came first, carrying a rifle. And then my husband. Hyrum wasn’t armed but wore a sour look on his face, as if he’d eaten something that didn’t agree with his digestion. He didn’t look at me. But I wasn’t fooled—the men wouldn’t act without Hyrum’s blessing. Whatever this was, my own husband was complicit.

Jedediah dragged Sister Annabelle out of the shadows and shoved her to the ground in the clearing. Her dress hung from one shoulder, torn all the way to the undergarments, one heavy breast exposed. Blood trickled from her lip, and one eye was swollen nearly shut. She looked up at me, and terror filled her face.

Hyrum stepped toward me, but I held the lantern between us.

“You bastard.”

“Don’t make it worse.”

“How could you?” I fixed Hyrum with a look of white-hot fury. “God will punish you for this.”

He looked away, and I saw something more than shame on his face. I saw fear. His glance slid sideways, cowardly-like, toward Jedediah Kimball, who wore a look of petty cruelty.

“Leave her alone,” I said as Jedediah moved toward Annabelle. “Don’t touch her. She didn’t do anything.”

Hyrum blocked my path. Jedediah grabbed Annabelle’s arm with his free hand and yanked her to her feet. “Oh, didn’t she? Tell them,” he said to his wife. “Admit your crimes. Condemn your fellow conspirators.”

Annabelle looked to the side, unable to meet either our gaze or that of her husband. He backhanded her. “Tell them, you whore. Condemn them—and yourself—with your own words. You meant to usurp the Lord’s anointed. Tell them!”

Annabelle nodded her head. Her voice came out in a whisper. “Yes.”

“It’s a lie,” I said.

“Then what are you doing out here?” Hyrum asked. He looked significantly at my apron. “And why are you dressed like this?”

“We were talking, that’s all. It’s not a crime for women to meet together. Alone, without men. We’ve lived almost three years alone, and you come in—” I stopped myself. I was truly afraid now, and would have taken it all back if I could, but it was too late for that. Now I had to protect my sisters. And that meant swallowing pride, even if it tasted like bile in my throat. “You are right, I did those things. But it was me, it was all me. These women were reluctant. I coaxed them, I inveigled. I made false promises. They are blameless.”

“Rebecca,” Laura said in a low, frightened voice. “No.”

“A lie, mingled with truth,” Jedediah said.

“Be straight with us,” Hyrum said. “It will go better for you. What were you planning? Tell us all.”

“Why ask?” Jedediah said. “There is no reason, she will only lie. We discussed it, we know what must done. Moroni!”

The youngest of the three men strode across the clearing. I braced myself, prepared to sell my freedom dearly. Instead, Moroni grabbed Maude and dragged her backward with one hand, aiming his rifle at the rest of us with his other hand. Maude screamed and tried to free herself, but Jedediah grabbed her other arm and together the two men subdued her. Hyrum stood apart, watching.

“Leave her alone, for pity’s sake,” I said.

Jedediah shook his head. “Wanton, lascivious behavior. Woman lying down with woman.” Disgust dripped from his voice. “Don’t you think we see? You didn’t establish a refuge, you built a nest of iniquity. A secret place where you could practice your abominations, to plot and scheme, to engage in all manner of blasphemy. And now I learn that my own wife thinks she is a man who can lie down with a woman. Better she gave herself to my horse instead.”

I turned to Annabelle, who quivered and moaned. She sank to her knees a short distance from where the two men held Maude. “Annabelle,” I said, “how could you?”

“I didn’t need Annabelle,” Jedediah said. “I knew. When I saw Maude, she was reluctant to share my bed. It was unnatural. I prayed to the Lord. He sent an angel to tell me the truth and to tell me what must be done.”

“That’s no angel, it’s an evil spirit,” I said.

“What do you know about evil spirits?” Jedediah asked. “No, there will be time enough later.” He grabbed Maude by the throat. “This one atones first for her crimes.” He pointed his pistol at her chest. Her eyes rolled back in terror and she went limp.

“No!” I screamed. I dropped the lantern. It flickered out, and fresh shadows leaped into the clearing from the remaining lights. I struggled past Hyrum and threw myself at Jedediah.

He lifted his pistol and pointed it at my chest instead, but I didn’t stop. A smile darkened his mouth as I ran at him, and I knew then that he would kill me. I no longer cared.

But at the last moment, Hyrum grabbed my dress and dragged me back. Jedediah turned his pistol back toward Maude. “Maude Kimball, I seal thee unto death. May the blood of the wicked justify the souls of the righteous.”

Her own words. He’d heard.

I twisted free from Hyrum, who seemed intent only on keeping me from attacking Jedediah and getting myself shot. I grabbed for the fallen lantern. My fingers wrapped around the metal handle, and I brought it around, intending to smash Jedediah in the head and then grab for his pistol while he recovered from the blow. Hyrum saw what I intended and lifted his forearm to block me. My arm hit his, and I lost my grip on the lantern. It thudded to the sand but didn’t break.

The pistol roared. Jedediah released Maude, and she fell backward.

The sound echoed through Witch’s Warts, drowning the cries of the other women and my own. And then it was quiet. Maude lay on her back, her eyes staring at the sky. Jedediah reached down and yanked off the green apron, then turned away with a snarl.

Laura threw herself on top of Maude, screaming. Nobody stopped her. Annabelle lay on the sand where they’d dropped her, moaning and shaking. Nannie wobbled on her feet and leaned against the sandstone.

Hyrum took me by the arm. “I’m sorry. I never wanted it to come to this.”

“Don’t touch me.”

He let me go, looked like he was going to tell me something else, but then shook his head. “Get the lanterns,” Hyrum said to the others. “We’ll get the body in the morning.”

“And then we’ll deal with the rest of it,” Jedediah said. “There will be questions, hard questions. We’ll get to the bottom of this, by God. It won’t stop until we’ve rooted out every bit of corruption and evil in this place.”

“No,” Hyrum said. “It ends here. All of it.” He fixed me with a brief glance, full of significance, and then turned back to Jedediah, a current of anger in his voice. “You’ve had your measure of justice. Now we’ll have peace.”

Jedediah snorted, but then he looked at Moroni Johnson. “Stop staring. You heard what he said. Let’s go.”

This time when Hyrum took my arm, I had no more strength to resist. He led me from the clearing. I gave a final, anguished look at Sister Maude, lying dead on the sand.