Free Righteous02 - Mighty and Strong by Michael Wallace Page A

church of the Devil. Either way, this is the Lord’s test for you. And maybe a reward.”
    “Reward? I like the sound of that. The FBI offered ten thousand bucks. Is this going to be more than ten grand?”
    “That sounds like mocking to me, mister.” There was a teasing tone in her voice and she rolled over now and put her arm around him. “I’m talking about finding another wife.”
    “Oh, that.”
    She must have felt his body tense. “You know you can’t put it off forever.”
    “Watch me.”
    “We can’t keep living in the Lone and Dreary World. Sooner or later we have to return to our own people.”
    “It’s not so bad, is it? We have good neighbors. They don’t judge us, they don’t force their views or their religion.”
    “But they’re not our people, Jacob. Don’t you miss it?”
    “Miss what? You want to go back to the days when you were Elder Kimball’s fifth wife?”
    “No, of course not. But I miss my sister wives. I miss belonging to Zion. That feeling of community where everybody pulls in the same direction.”
    Truth was, he felt it, too. There was a depth in Zion, a solid feeling the world outside didn’t have. Here, there was too much change, too much uncertainty. Even the good people seemed lost sometimes, confused.
    “But why does going back have to mean plural marriage?” Jacob asked. “I have one wife already. That’s all I need.”
    “Come on, don’t be so proud. It won’t be that bad, you’ll see.”
    “I’m not being proud, I just don’t want it. Some people are wired that way, I’m not. I only want you, that’s all.”
    She was quiet.
    “Don’t you like that?” he asked. “You can have me all to yourself.”
    “Okay, I’ll admit it, I love hearing you say that. But it’s only the selfish part of me. The rest of me says you need to find another wife sooner or later. It’s the only way you’ll grow to become a true leader in Zion.”
    Whoever said I want to be a leader in Zion?
    He wanted to help his people, but through medicine, by bringing reason and justice to a closed community. Moderate its excesses. Fight those who lusted for power. A leader? Hah. He didn’t even feel comfortable leading his own family.
    “I just know there’s some young woman down there who needs a good husband,” Fernie said, more firmly this time. “S often your heart, listen to the Spirit, or you’ll miss it. Find her, bring her into our family. It could be the whole reason the Lord is sending you.”
    “Fernie, come on, you don’t—”
    “Shh, don’t argue. Just stay open to the possibility.”
    “I’ll think about it,” he said. “That’s all I can promise.”
    And he did think about what Fernie had told him as he faced Brother Timothy at the pageant in Manti. He spotted the other two men who’d trailed him through the crowd. They stood together some distance off, faces blotted by shadows. There were thousands of people here, but Jacob felt alone, vulnerable.
    “Only one person sent me,” he told Brother Timothy. “The Lord.”
    Brother Timothy searched his face with those penetrating eyes. If he had the gift of discernment, he would be using it now. At last he stood up and held out a hand to help Jacob to his feet.
    He put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “Say goodbye to the Lone and Dreary World, brother. Thou shalt never see it again.”
    “Thou sayest.”

Chapter Nine:
    “Can I help you, officers?” the man asked.
    He’d introduced himself to Agents Krantz and Fayer as Erik T. Peterson. For some reason, every LDS church employee Krantz met insisted on using a middle initial: Boyd K., Terrance P., Willard H. And now, Erik T.
    “We’re so grateful you could meet us on short notice, Elder Peterson,” Fayer gushed, to Krantz’s annoyance. Normally she was bony angles and spines. She could work an interview until she had what she wanted, and not feel bad leaving her subject smarting from a dozen pricks. The way she spoke to this church functionary,