The Lincoln Myth(119)

Timing was everything.

“What the senator said about Cassiopeia is true. When I learned of the photograph you kept of you and her, I realized you might still care. I asked Cassiopeia if she would be willing to approach you and she agreed.”

“Is that true?” Salazar asked.

Cassiopeia nodded. “I was told you were involved with some illegal activities. Even murder. I wanted to clear your name.”

“Murder?” Rowan asked.

Stephanie said, “He murdered a man in Michigan for a Mormon journal. Then he killed one of my agents.”

The senator seemed genuinely shocked by the information.

“Josepe,” Rowan said. “Please tell me she’s lying.”



SALAZAR LOOKED TOWARD THE ANGEL FOR GUIDANCE.

“They know not what we face. We guard Saints and all they hold dear. Elder Rowan wanted that done. He cannot complain as to the methods.”

“Their agent was sent to destroy us,” he said. “My task was to not allow that to happen. The agent was not murdered. He was properly atoned, now with Heavenly Father enjoying his reward.”

“You beat him,” the new woman said. “Then you shot him. He had a wife and children.”

“This woman’s fault. Not yours.”

“Josepe,” Rowan said. “Is what she says true?”

“Be not afraid.”

“It is.”

“Then you have greatly sinned.”

“It has always been our way to offer atonement to our enemies. It was that way in the beginning, and remains so.”

“No,” Rowan declared. “We renounced violence long ago. Never is that a means to an end. I’ve spent my life working for a way for Saints to be independent, to be free of outside influence, without violence.”

Was he hearing right? He was being chastised for doing what was expected. And Cassiopeia?

“Why did you lie to me?” he asked her. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“It was necessary. What you’ve done is wrong.”

“How dare she. She must know her place.”

“I am sworn to obey the prophets, and that is all I have done.”

“When you suggested the formation of Danites,” Rowan said, “never did I imagine you would go this far.”

“He is weak, Josepe. A fool, like all of the others. Do not tolerate it. We cannot tolerate it. Not any longer.”

The angel was right.

“Prophet Joseph tells me that you are wrong,” he said.

“Joseph Smith has been dead for over 150 years,” the new woman said.

“Shut up,” he yelled, jutting the gun her way, leveling the barrel at her chest. “Never say such a thing. He lives.”

“Find out about the elder. We must know where he stands.”

“Is he a traitor?” he asked her, motioning toward Rowan with the weapon.



ROWAN HAD ALLOWED SALAZAR A FREE REIN AND ASKED precious few questions, but he’d honestly never factored murder into the equation.

“Did you kill that man in Michigan, as Ms. Nelle says?” he asked.

“We needed his journal and he would not sell it. So he was atoned for his sin.”

“Which was?”

“Greed. What else? And we’re here today partly because of my act of kindness toward him.”

“Is that how you describe murder?” he asked. “Kindness?”

“It is as the prophet declared.” Salazar’s attention returned to Nelle. “How is this apostle a traitor?”

“You’re here to find a document Abraham Lincoln entrusted to the Mormons. So ask him, where is it?”

A question Rowan had been asking himself. He’d assumed that things would be obvious once here. But there was nothing inside Falta Nada except rocks, the pool, and a statue. Yet this was where Lincoln had directed. He’d seen the inside of the watch. But that was assuming both the watch and the image were genuine.

He pointed at Nelle. “She told me this was the place.”

“And it is,” she said. “This is the location Brigham Young gave Lincoln. Where the Mormon gold was stored. Lincoln etched it inside the watch. So where’s the document?”

She’d posed the question straight to him.

He saw that Salazar was waiting for an answer.

But he had none.

Nelle lowered her arms. “He has no answer because there’s nothing here. He’s not your ally. In fact, he’s your enemy. He tells you it’s okay to form the Danites, then is upset how they operate. He wants results, but complains how they’re obtained. He’s a respected member of the U.S. Senate. Part of the government of the United States. Do you think for one moment he’s going to assume any responsibility for any illegal acts you might have committed?”