The implications were becoming clearer.
“Have you ever heard of the Mountain Meadows massacre?” Snow asked her.
She shook her head.
“A shameful chapter in our history. A wagon train from Arkansas, bound for California, passed through the Utah Territory in 1857. This was at the height of tensions between Saints and the federal government. An army was on the way to subdue us. We knew that. Fear was rampant. The wagons stopped in Salt Lake, then traveled south, pausing at a place called Mountain Meadow. For reasons that are still not known, local militiamen attacked the wagons and slaughtered 120 men, women, and children. Only 17 youngsters, below the age of seven, were spared.”
“Horrible,” she said.
“It is,” Snow said. “But it’s a sign of those turbulent times. I don’t defend what happened, but I understand how something like it could have happened. Paranoia had taken over. We’d traveled west to be safe, to be left alone, yet we were still being attacked by a government that should have protected us in the first place.”
Snow paused, as if gathering himself.
“It took seventeen years but, finally, in 1874, nine people were indicted for the murders. Only one man was eventually tried. John Lee. It took two trials, but an all-Saints jury finally convicted him and he was executed. To this day many believe Lee a scapegoat. Some say Brigham Young himself was involved. Others say that’s not possible. We’ll never know.”
“Because the truth was covered up?”
Snow nodded. “Time allowed everything to muddle. But Brigham Young, as prophet, made sure that the church survived. That is my task, too.”
“But at what cost? People died back then for that to happen.”
“And it seems we have come full circle.”
“Except,” Daniels said, “an entire nation has to survive this crisis.”
She got it. “You want Rowan and Salazar dead?”
Snow bristled at her directness, but it had to be asked.
“The United States of America does not assassinate people,” Daniels said. “Nor do we condone political murder. But—if the opportunity for Rowan to not survive presents itself from a third party, there’s nothing to say we have to interfere.”
She caught the message. Find an acceptable way.
“Now, Salazar?” the president said. “He’s an entirely different matter.”
And she agreed.
The United States of America did avenge its own.
“Elder Salazar,” Snow said, “worships an idol that I’m afraid never existed. Joseph Smith, our founder, had many good ideas, and he was both bold and brave. But men like Salazar refuse to acknowledge any flaws. They see only what they want to see. These Danites he’s organized are a dangerous group, just as they were during Smith’s time. They have no place in our church.”
“Did you know the Danites existed before I told you?” Daniels asked.
“I had heard a rumor. Which is why I’ve been watching Rowan and Salazar.”
She recalled what Edwin Davis had said. We were hoping that time had taken care of things. But we’ve received information indicating that this is not the case. And she realized something. “You kept us informed?”
Daniels nodded. “For over a year. By then we were already watching Rowan, too. So we shared information. Each of us knew things the other didn’t.”
“Now you two are the only ones who know it all?”
No reply came to her inquiry.
“The fact that Salazar killed one of your agents saddens me,” Snow finally said. “But it does not surprise me. Once, in the beginning, we believed in blood atonement. Killing was rationalized, even legitimized. We repudiated such barbarism long ago. Our church does not, in any way, condone murder, for any reason. My heart aches for that dead man.”
“This has to stop,” Daniels said, his voice stronger. “We’ve discovered secessionist movements scattered all around the country, and Rowan is stoking those fires. He has people ready and waiting to exploit what will happen in Utah. As we learned this morning, he has a majority of the Utah legislature, along with the governor, supporting him. It will be just like in 1860. South Carolina led the way, and other states quickly followed. We certainly cannot use violence of any form and, considering what we know about the founders, we may not legally be able to prevent it.”
A moment of strained silence filled the room. They each seemed to be considering the consequences of what had to be done.
“I want you to accompany the prophet back to Utah and find a way to stop Rowan and Salazar at Falta Nada.” The president paused. “Permanently.”