The Seventh Messenger

by Carol Costa

  “Lenore, what"s happened to you?”

  “Don"t ask questions. Get up and get dressed. We have to get out of here.”

  “What happened?”

  “It was Benjamin. He"s an evil man. We have to get out of here.”

  “Lenore, no,” Alice protested. “He is an angel. Mama says he"s seen God.”

  “Mama is wrong,” Lenore whispered. “He is a devil. He hurt me, and if we don"t get out of here, he"ll do the same thing to you.”

  Alice was stunned but her sister"s appearance convinced her that what she said was true. Quickly, Alice scrambled out of bed and began to get dressed.

  *** The next morning, the housekeeper reported to Mary that the Sullivan girls were not in their rooms. Mary had not known who the new girls were that were to be initiated into the Inner Circle. She could not believe that Benjamin had chosen them. Didn"t he know that their father would find out and come there and kill him?

  Mary went to Benjamin"s suite to confront him, but he had already dressed and went downstairs. She found in him his office looking relaxed and satisfied.

  “Benjamin, the Sullivan girls have left the house,” she said. “So find them,” he replied curtly. “Why do you trouble me with these things?”

  “I was told that you had Lenore brought to you last night. What happened?”

  Benjamin glared at him. “Since when do you question my activities with the girls in my Inner Circle?”

  “Since it has become a danger to all of us. Those girls have a father who carries a gun. I have warned you time after time to be careful. You are an old man, yet your sexual appetite is that of a teenager.”

  Benjamin"s anger quickly turned to rage. He rose and came around the desk with fire in his dark eyes. “And you are a dried up prune of a woman,” he shouted.

  Suddenly Evelyn appeared in the doorway. “I suggest you close the door,” she said. “Your voices can be heard echoing through the hallway.”

  “What do you want?” Benjamin asked, his voice still shaking with anger.

  “I want what you promised me weeks ago. I was to go to Chicago to the religious conference, but my travel arrangements have not been paid.”

  “Benjamin has had other things on his mind,” Mary said coldly.

  “I don"t care,” Evelyn replied. “He promised me the trip and I want to go.”

  “Get out of here, both of you,” Benjamin yelled.

  “Am I going to Chicago or not?” Evelyn yelled back.

  “You are going back to your office and attend to your duties. I have arranged for Samuel to go to Chicago.”

  Evelyn stared at him in disbelief.

  Mary was enjoying her disappointment. “Really, Evelyn, I thought you would have learned by now not to count on Benjamin"s promises.”

  “Maybe it"s time Benjamin learned not to disappoint me,” Evelyn said as she stormed out of the office.

  Benjamin turned his attention back to Mary. “Leave me.”

  “With pleasure, but you"d better decide what to do about the Sullivan girls.”

  “Stop worrying about things that do not concern you.”

  “You have grown into a very foolish old man,” Mary told him.

  Benjamin moved toward her, but she turned and made a hasty exit. He went back and sat behind his desk and pounded his fist on its surface.

  Evelyn had heard enough to know that something had happened with the Sullivan girls. She rushed back to Bethlehem to talk to them. She found them in the kitchen with their mother. Both Lenore and Alice were crying. The other kitchen workers had left the area, embarrassed by the scene that was taking place.

  “You blaspheme,” Martha said to her daughters. “You curse yourselves and me with these lies.”

  Lenore tired to reason with her. “But mama, it"s true. Everything I said is true.”

  Martha slapped Lenore across the face and Alice backed away frightened. “What is wrong with you? We will be expelled from the colony by your evil lies.”

  “I am not lying,” Lenore yelled.

  Evelyn rushed forward. “What is going on here?” she asked.

  Martha"s faced her with fear in her eyes. “Nothing. My girls are upset. May I be excused so we can go to my room and talk?”

  “What are they upset about?” Evelyn asked, looking from Lenore to Alice for an answer.

  Their mother was glaring at them, so the girls said nothing.

  “It is not important,” Martha insisted. “I will take care of them.”

  “Very well,” Evelyn said kindly. “Take the girls to your room. I will find someone to take your place here.”

  Martha herded the girls out of the kitchen and hurried across the dining hall. Evelyn watched them go with a knowing smile on her face.

  *** Evelyn had stopped at the Melicher house on her way to see Benjamin that morning and left Naomi there for Celia to mind.

  “Anna is still sleeping, but Naomi can help me with chores until she wakes up,” Celia said, obviously delighted to see Naomi.

  Naomi was still there with Celia so Evelyn left Bethlehem and headed down the road towards Benton Harbor. When she arrived at the Whirlpool factory she asked for directions to the main office.

  “It"s urgent that I see Nathan Sullivan,” Evelyn told the girl in the office. “It"s about his children.”

  The girl hurried to find Nathan and brought him back to the office within a few minutes. Nathan"s face was white with worry when he saw Evelyn.

  “What"s happened?” he asked.

  “They are not seriously hurt,” Evelyn said, trying to reassure him. “But there is a problem. I need to speak to you privately.”

  Evelyn and Nathan left the factory and went back to Bethlehem together. Nathan went directly to Martha"s room. Lenore and Alice were alone there as Martha who still refused to believe their story had gone back to the kitchen to finish her chores.

  As soon as the girls saw their father, they ran into his arms as they had all those years ago, when he had come for them the first time.

  Evelyn knew what had happened the night before at Diamond House, but she stayed with Nathan and listened to Lenore tell her story again.

  “We ran back here. Everyone was asleep so we slept on some towels in the laundry room,” Alice told him, as Lenore finished her story.

  Unlike her mother, Nathan believed Lenore. He told the girls to pack their things; he would be back for them in a few minutes. They didn"t realize what Nathan intended to do, but Evelyn did and she ran out of the room after him.

  “Nathan,” she said urgently. “Where are you going?”

  “To find Martha and choke the life out of her,” he said.

  “No, Nathan. That will only make things worse for Lenore. The most important thing now is to get the girls to a safe place where no one in this colony can see or talk to them.”

  Nathan took a deep breath. “You"re right. I"ll take the girls to town first. I can deal with Martha later. And the angel will be seeing God again a lot sooner than he expected.”

  “Don"t be crazy, Nathan. Your daughters need you. Don"t come back here with your gun or you"ll land in jail before Benjamin.”

  “Jail is too good for him.”

  “I agree. Listen, I"ll go to town with you and the girls. We"ll get them settled and then go to the sheriff"s office together.”

  Nathan agreed, only because he knew Evelyn was right about getting his daughters out of the house and away from the colony as soon as possible. They went back to the room and Evelyn helped the girls pack their things.

  When they got to the front door of Bethlehem, Samuel was working in the garden weeding the flowerbeds. When he saw that they were carrying the suitcases, he stood up to confront them.

  “Where are you going with Martha"s daughters?” he asked, directing his question to Evelyn.

  “They are my daughters,” Nathan told him angrily. “And I am taking them away from here.”

  “You cannot do that without their mother"s permission,” S
amuel insisted.

  “Mind your own business, Samuel,” Evelyn said.

  Samuel stepped onto the pathway, blocking their way. Nathan picked him up as easily as if the younger man were a sack of feathers and threw him back into the garden.

  The fall knocked the wind from Samuel and by the time he regained his breath and struggled to his feet, Nathan and Evelyn were well on their way to Benton Harbor with Lenore and Alice.

  Samuel ran into the house and found Martha in the kitchen.

  “Nathan has taken your girls away,” he whispered breathlessly, not wanting to alarm the other kitchen workers.

  Martha dropped the vegetables she had been washing into the sink and stared at Samuel. After a long silence, she picked up the carrots she had been rinsing and resumed the task. “He is their father,” she said softly. “He has the right to take them from the colony.”

  Samuel was stunned by her unexpected complacency, but turned and left her. Martha"s hands began shaking so badly, she was splashing water all over herself. She backed away from the sink, sat down on the floor and began to sob.

  Having heard the rumor that there had been trouble between Martha and her daughters, the other kitchen workers continued their preparations for the midday meal leaving Martha to deal with the grief and guilt that consumed her.

  It was late afternoon, before the girls had been calmed down, fed, and settled into Nathan"s rooming house. Evelyn told Nathan she would give him some time alone with the girls and meet him at the sheriff"s office in an hour. He agreed.

  *** Mary had gone directly from Benjamin"s office to Bethlehem. She found Cora and asked her if she knew where Lenore and Alice were.

  “Aren"t they at the house with you?” Cora asked. “Oh, I suppose they are,” Mary said calmly. “How does their mother feel about the girls going there to live?”

  “She is delighted,” Cora replied.

  “Yes, I"m sure she is.”

  Most people were at the park managing the concession stands and attractions on this warm summer day, so Bethlehem was empty and Mary was not surprised that no one there was aware that the Sullivan girls had left Diamond House in the middle of the night.

  Mary went to the storage building where she had a good view of the front entrance to Bethlehem. She waited there until she saw Nathan Sullivan arrive with Evelyn and then an hour or so later, watched as Nathan and Evelyn took Lenore and Alice away.

  Assured the girls were now safely with their father, Mary returned to Diamond House. Strangely enough, none of that day"s activity at Bethlehem had been reported to Benjamin who came to the evening meal as if nothing out of the usual had happened that day.

  Jacob and Mary were already seated at the table when Benjamin arrived. A few minutes later, Louella came in to report that Silas Mooney was there wanting to talk to Benjamin and Jacob.

  “Have him come in and dine with us,” Benjamin told her.

  Silas hurried into the room and took a seat at the table. It was obvious that he was upset.

  “What is the problem?” Benjamin asked him.

  “Nathan Sullivan came to the house this afternoon and took his daughters away. Martha is very distraught but refuses to call the sheriff.”

  “Have you done so anyway?” Jacob asked.

  “No. I wanted to speak to you and Benjamin first. Martha said the girls were sent here yesterday but returned to Bethlehem sometime during the night.”

  “Yes. I think they didn"t like being away from their mother,” Benjamin said calmly. “Sit down and have supper with us, Silas. We can discuss this matter later.”

  Silas looked puzzled, but sat down at the table.

  Louella and one of her helpers, Bernice, began serving dinner. Mary was about to take a sip of her soup when a large noise came from the back of the house. Before anyone knew what was happening, Nathan Sullivan was in the dining room. He grabbed Benjamin and pulled him out of his chair and started choking him.

  Louella and Bernice started screaming. Jacob and Silas jumped to their feet and tried to pull Nathan off of Benjamin.

  Mary just sat and watched the scene in front of her, thinking that Nathan might actually kill Benjamin. Neither Jacob or Silas had the strength to stop him.

  Benjamin was nearly unconscious when Evelyn and two uniformed men burst into the room. The sheriff"s deputies pulled Nathan away from Benjamin who fell to the floor in a heap.

  Silas and Jacob ran to minister to Benjamin while the officers tried to subdue Nathan who was struggling and still yelling profanities at Benjamin.

  Evelyn and Mary looked at each other across the room. For the first time in all the years she had known Evelyn, Mary understood why she had remained in the colony. Evelyn wanted revenge and Benjamin had finally given her the opportunity she needed to exact it.

  At last, Nathan was calmed down and Benjamin was lifted to his feet by Silas and Jacob. Benjamin was dazed by Nathan"s attack, but snapped to attention when the sheriff made his announcement.

  “Benjamin Purnell, you are under arrest for the rape of Lenore Sullivan, a minor child.” The deputy pulled Benjamin"s hands behind his back and handcuffed him.

  Nathan turned on Evelyn. “Damn you, Evelyn. Why did you bring the law into this? He"ll hire a fancy lawyer and go free. It"s my girl"s word against his.”

  Evelyn smiled smugly and walked over to confront Benjamin.

  “That"s where you"re wrong, Nathan. Benjamin has forced himself on many girls over the years. I have lined up several who will testify against him.”

  “You blaspheme,” Benjamin shouted at her. “The Seventh Messenger is without sin. You are a harlot, a liar!”

  “No, Benjamin. I am another one of your victims. And now I am going to destroy you, before you can hurt anyone else. By the way, I really wanted to go to Chicago. You should have allowed me go.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  William Barnard was the best attorney that money could buy and Silas hired him that very night. Benjamin was out of jail by the following morning. Bernard brought Benjamin back to the Diamond House and called a meeting with Benjamin, Mary, Jacob, Silas, Cora, and Samuel.

  “I don"t know how extensive the prosecution"s case is go

  ing to be but you need to start working on damage control immediately,” the attorney told them. “Evelyn Warren and her daughter have already left the colony. I believe they are staying in Benton Harbor with Nathan Sullivan and his daughters,” Cora told the lawyer.

  “How many witnesses do you think she has lined up to testify against Benjamin?” he asked.

  “No one knows,” Mary said.

  Jacob interrupted. “There are very few who would speak against Benjamin. Our people love him.”

  “Listen to me,” Barnard said. “If Miss Warren has the names of the girls that were part of Benjamin"s Inner Circle they can be subpoenaed and put on the stand to testify whether they like it or not. So, you had better compile a list of names right now so we can get to them first.”

  “There have been so many over the years,” Jacob said anxiously. “I don"t think I can remember them all.”

  “Some of the girls have left the colony,” Benjamin said. “The ones that are still here will get married immediately.”

  Barnard smiled at Ben. “That"s an excellent idea and exactly the type of damage control we need.”

  Mary looked at the lawyer and spoke sharply. “What good will it do to force these girls into marriage?” she wanted to know.

  “It will make them seem less vulnerable to have a husband by their side when they are called into court,” Barnard told her.

  “Jacob, Cora, and Silas,” Benjamin said. “You three will coordinate the girls with single men and take them down to the courthouse to be legally married as soon as possible.”

  All three nodded their heads in agreement. “We will need two lists,” Silas said.

  “Get this organized immediately.” Barnard added. “Then, go to your office and burn any documents that may be incriminating
. I"m betting Nichols will have people over here by tomorrow morning to confiscate all your files.”

  “Is Nichols the county prosecutor?” Samuel asked.

  “No, son. I"ve gotten word that Benjamin will be prosecuted by the State of Michigan. George Nichols is handling the case and he is a very thorough man.”

  Mary closed her eyes, frightened for the first time. She didn"t understand much about the law and courtrooms, but she knew that having the whole State of Michigan against Benjamin could not be good.

  Satisfied that the damage control he wanted was under way, the attorney left the house. Mary excused herself and went upstairs to her room. She wanted no part of the match-making process that the others were working on so feverishly.

  *** Evelyn, Nathan and Lenore spent hours that day with George Nichols and various people on his staff telling and retelling their stories about Benjamin, his Inner Circle and how all the girls had their blood purified by Benjamin.

  George Nichols was a tall, thin man with lots of curly blond hair and kind blue eyes. He talked to Lenore for a long time, getting her to relax and trust him before he began questioning her about Benjamin.

  When Lenore finally told her story, she sat up perfectly straight in her chair and stared at the wall behind Nichols as she talked. It was her way of distancing herself from the painful memory of her experience with Benjamin Purnell.

  “He said he was going to cleanse my blood so I could have eternal life,” Lenore told Nichols in a clear strong voice. “Then he raped me.”

  Nathan sat forward, his anger close to the surface. Every time Lenore had to repeat what happened to her, he wanted to go back to the House of David and shoot Benjamin. He imagined how he would put the first bullet into Benjamin"s groin before the second bullet went into his head.

  Evelyn sat on the other side of Nathan, reading his thoughts. She kept placing a hand on his arm as if to restrain him. She herself was strangely calm for a woman whose life had changed drastically in the last twenty-four hours. For the last ten years, she had kept the names of all the girls in Benjamin"s Inner Circle and had convinced some of them to testify against him.