by Carol Costa
Once again everyone fell silent. The only disturbance in the room was Benjamin"s constant coughing. Jacob suggested that Benjamin lie down and rest.
“Yes, Benjamin,” Barnard said. “We have more than hour before we need to be back in the courtroom. Let me take you to my private office. There is a comfortable sofa for you to rest on in there.”
Benjamin nodded and Jacob and Silas helped him to his feet and took him into Barnard"s private office.
When the men were gone, Cora moved over and sat next to Mary. “I"m frightened, Mary. It doesn"t seem to be going well for us.”
“No,” Mary agreed. “It does not, but we will have to trust Mr. Barnard to turn things around for us.”
“Do you think he can?”
“I don"t know,” Mary answered honestly. “I really don"t know.”
“I"m worried about Benjamin too. He is not at all well.”
“The Bible tells us that you reap what you sow.”
Cora was shocked. “Mary, he is your husband. Don"t you care what happens to him?”
“Oh, yes,” Mary said honestly. “I care very much, because what happens to Benjamin affects us all.”
Before Cora could question her further, Silas and Jacob joined them again.
“Mr. Barnard is working on some papers in his office. He is watching over Benjamin,” Jacob said.
“You were always on the boat with Benjamin,” Silas told Jacob. “Are you worried about what they will ask you on the witness stand?”
“Yes, but no matter what they ask me, I will not say anything that will hurt Benjamin,” Jacob declared.
“Benjamin is the true messenger,” Cora said. “We will be delivered from the trouble that has befallen us.”
Mary stared at Cora, but said nothing. She was a good woman, but did not possess keen intelligence. She would continue to believe in Benjamin until she was forced not to, and Mary was afraid that day would be arriving shortly.
Benjamin"s latest financial advisor was a man named Andrew Dewhirst. Mary had only met him a few times and didn"t like the man. He seemed to think he was second in command to Benjamin, ignoring the fact that she was Benjamin"s wife and heir. Although he seemed to get along well with Silas, Dewhirst had no respect for Jacob or Cora, two of the people who had supported Benjamin and helped him build the lucrative enterprises they reaped profits from today. However, Benjamin liked Dewhirst and trusted him to take care of all the financial business of the colony. Maybe because he saw in Dewhirst the determination and strength he himself had always possessed.
When the trouble hit, Benjamin and Mary met with Dewhirst who advised them to put a second team of lawyers to work analyzing the holdings of the colony so they could begin protecting its assets in the event the State"s case against the House of David was successful.
So, there was another team of lawyers who were scrambling to hide funds and transfer some of the House of David"s property to companies they were establishing. While she was forbidden to talk about any of this, Mary drew a small measure of comfort from the knowledge that this was going on behind the scenes. If the Judge ruled against them, the lawyers had assured them that the decision would be appealed and it would take years of negotiations to really dissolve the House of David. However, Mary also realized that if Judge Finley ruled against them it would be a huge personal loss to people like Jacob, Silas and Cora and more colonists would abandon them. Even if they were able to keep their material possessions in place, the emotional defeat could be devastating.
Benjamin looked somewhat better after his rest and Barnard led the group back to the courtroom, the same way they had left.
Jackson was already seated at the defense table studying some papers in front of him.
The spectators began to file in and Nichols took his place at the prosecution"s table. Finally, Judge Finley appeared again and called the court to order.
“The State calls Evelyn Warren,” Nichols announced as soon as the Judge gave him permission to begin again.
Evelyn was escorted into the courtroom by a deputy sheriff. Her wavy hair fell around her face and trailed down her back. She was dressed nicely in a blue dress with a white lace collar. Evelyn had always been a lovely girl, today she looked beautiful and Mary cringed at the admiring looks Evelyn got from the Judge and most of the male spectators.
As he had done with the witnesses that preceded her, the clerk asked Evelyn to state her name and then asked her to place her hand on the Bible.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”
“I do,” Evelyn replied.
“Be seated,” the clerk said smiling at her.
Evelyn settled herself in the witness box and looked expectantly at George Nichols.
“Miss Warren, how long have you been a member of the House of David colony?” Nichols asked.
“A little over eleven years. I came there with my folks when I was seventeen.”
“Tell us about your first days there.”
“My papa was a farmer so we were brought out to one of the vacant farms and given this horrible little cabin to live in. It didn"t even have an inside toilet. I was very upset and begged my folks to leave and go back to Illinois.”
“And what did your parents tell you?”
“They said they joined the House of David because Benjamin was the Seventh Messenger, the guardian of the true faith, and if we believed in him, we would be part of the Millennium.”
“And what exactly is the Millennium?”
“It is supposed to be a thousand years of peace and plenty, where Benjamin"s followers will receive eternal life. Of course, it"s just a big lie that Benjamin made up to cheat innocent people like my mama and papa out of all their money.”
William Barnard jumped to his feet. “Objection,” he shouted. “This witness is not qualified to interpret scripture. I move that her opinion be stricken from the record.”
“Sustained,” the Judge said.
Mary wasn"t sure what sustained meant, but she looked at the man who was writing down everything the people said in the courtroom and saw that he began scratching things out with his pencil. Apparently, sustained meant that the Judge agreed with William Barnard.
Nichols seemed undisturbed by the Judge agreeing with Benjamin"s attorney and asked his next question of Evelyn.
“All right, Evelyn, tell me this. When your family came to the House of David colony, did they give Benjamin any money?”
Evelyn nodded. “Yes, sir. They sold their farm in Illinois and when they joined the House of David, they had to turn every cent over to Benjamin.”
Barnard was on his feet again. “Objection. Colonists make voluntary contributions for the good of the community.”
The Judge turned to Evelyn. “Miss Warren, were your parents forced to give Benjamin their money?”
“Not at gun point, but if they wanted to stay in the colony, they had to do it.”
The spectators began talking among themselves and the Judge rapped his gavel and restored order again. Barnard repeated his objection.
George Nichols spoke to the Judge. “Your honor, the State will concede that colonists turn over their money as a voluntary contribution to the community known as the House of David.”
The Judge and Barnard seemed satisfied with that and Nichols turned back to Evelyn again.
“Miss Warren, tell the court about your personal dealings with Benjamin.”
“The first person I became friends with in the colony was Benjamin"s son, Coy Purnell. He was on the baseball team and traveled a lot, but he was really nice to me. Coy arranged for me to work in one of the souvenir stands at the amusement park. That meant I could leave the farm and live in one of the community houses across the road from the park and I was very happy about that. It was while I was working there that I met Benjamin. And right after that, Benjamin arranged for me to come to the Diamond House to live.”
Nichols had Evelyn explain that Diam
ond House was the residence of Benjamin and Mary Purnell and also housed the main business office of the colony and the people who worked in the office. “It also has several extra rooms where the girls that were invited to join Benjamin"s Inner Circle stayed,” Evelyn added.
The mention of the Inner Circle again, prompted Barnard to protest and he and the Judge and Nichols had a conversation at the bench that Mary could not hear. Even if she could have heard what the lawyers were arguing about, it would not have penetrated the shroud of sorrow that had suddenly covered Mary Purnell when Evelyn had mentioned her friendship with Coy.
How different everything would have been if Benjamin hadn"t destroyed Coy"s relationship with the girl he loved. Coy and Evelyn might have married and even if they had not married, Coy would probably still be alive. Mary steeled herself against the tears that were stinging her eyelids. She took a deep breath and swallowed down the bitterness that rose in her throat as she had done so many times since Coy"s death.
The Judge ruled that Nichols could bring up the Inner Circle in connection with the Diamond House because he was about to ask the witness about it anyway.
“Miss Warren, were you chosen to be a member of Benjamin"s Inner Circle?”
“No, sir. I was too old. When the girls in the Inner Circle got to be sixteen, most of them were replaced with younger girls.”
“Most of them, not all of them?” he prompted.
“There was one girl, named Celia, who kind of took charge of the other girls and helped them deal with Benjamin. She stayed in the Inner Circle until she was eighteen.”
“And do you know what happened to Celia?”
“Yes. Three years ago she was assigned to Frank Melicher, a rich man who joined the colony. Frank had two children and needed help minding them, so Celia became his housekeeper and took care of the children too.”
“And is Celia still living at the colony?”
“No. When these charges were filed against Benjamin, they matched a lot of the girls in the Inner Circle up with husbands and Celia had to marry Frank Melicher. He took her and the children away. No one knows where they went.”
Cora"s hand flew to her mouth. Evelyn had just told the Judge about the matchmaking they had done. That frightened Cora as she had played a major role in matching the girls with single men in the colony. Silas noticed his wife"s distress and took hold of her wrist and firmly pulled her hand down until it rested in her lap once more.
Cora wasn"t the only one upset by Evelyn"s words. They caused a mild uproar to break out in the courtroom and again the Judge rapped his gavel. “Order! Any more outbursts from the spectators and I will have the courtroom emptied.”
Everyone quieted down and Nichols asked another question.
“All right. We"ll put that matter aside for now. Please tell the court why Benjamin arranged for you to be at Diamond House.”
“I was brought to Diamond House to have sex with Benjamin.”
Mary turned to look at some of the spectators. She could tell that they were bursting to shout out again, but didn"t want to risk being ushered out of the courtroom. Every time Evelyn answered a question, she dropped another bombshell and the spectators didn"t want to miss the next one.
Barnard shouted for them, “Objection! This witness is clearly trying to turn these proceedings into a debacle.”
“She doesn"t have to try, counselor,” the Judge said sternly. “Your objection is over ruled. Sit down and shut up.”
Barnard quickly took his seat again and the Judge turned back to Evelyn. “Continue, Miss Warren.”
“Benjamin sent his assistant, Jacob. The man seated over there with the white beard and blue shirt to get me.” Every eye in the courtroom turned towards Jacob. Mary could feel Jacob trying to shrink down out of sight, but of course it was impossible. She patted his arm reassuringly as Evelyn continued. “Jacob said they wanted me to work in the business office of the park which was at Diamond House, and while I was working in the office, I could live there. I was so happy about that. Diamond House is a mansion.”
“So Diamond House is much nicer than the places the colonists lived in?” Nichols asked.
“Yes, sir, Diamond House is a palace compared to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.”
“You are referring to the rooming houses known as Bethlehem and Jerusalem?”
“Yes, sir. They aren"t as bad as the farm houses, but the rooms for colonists are very small, nothing like the luxury of the Diamond House.”
“All right, Miss Warren. Tell us about your experiences at Diamond House.”
“I moved my things over and went to work in the office. Like I said, I was very happy to be there, until that night when Benjamin came into my room and forced me to have sex with him.”
The Judge raised his gavel anticipating an outbreak of noise, but everyone was silent waiting breathlessly for Evelyn to continue her story.
“Benjamin Purnell raped you?” Nichols asked to make sure the Judge got the complete picture.
“Yes. I tried to fight him off, but he was so much bigger and stronger. I screamed and screamed, but people in Diamond House were used to girls screaming in the night and no one paid me any mind.”
“Tell me, Miss Warren,” Nichols said. “Were you a virgin when Benjamin forced you to have intercourse with him?”
“I was a virgin.” Evelyn answered in a clear, strong voice.
“And what happened after that first night?”
“I thought that would be the end of it, but he came back the next night and the night after that. Then, Benjamin"s wife returned from the trip she was on.”
“You"re referring to Mary Purnell?”
“Yes. She"s sitting right behind the defense table in the green dress.”
Now it was Mary"s turn to feel everyone"s eyes assessing her. Unlike Cora, Mary forced herself to sit up straighter and to keep her eyes focused on Evelyn to show that she was not unnerved by her testimony.
“She was really angry when she saw me at Diamond House because she knew her son, Coy, wanted me for himself. She made Benjamin send me back to the farm.”
“Did you ever have sex with Benjamin again?”
“Benjamin would send for me at various times and we would have sex. He kept promising to bring me back to Diamond House to live. Coy was on a long road trip with the baseball team and by the time he got back, I was pregnant with Benjamin"s child.”
“Objection,” Barnard cried.
“Over ruled,” the Judge told him.
Nichols paced for a few seconds and then asked Evelyn his next question. ”Other witnesses have testified that when the young girls became pregnant, Benjamin would send them away. How is it that you remained at the colony?”
“I was smarter than the other girls. When I told Coy I was pregnant, he hit me and ran off. A few nights later, I went back to Diamond House. I was used to sneaking inside and going to Benjamin"s room. This particular night I found him arguing with his wife and the three of us had a serious talk.”
This time no one looked in Mary"s direction. The attention of everyone in the courtroom was riveted exclusively on Evelyn. Slowly, Nichols led the girl through the events of that fateful night and the first time she had threatened to expose Benjamin"s activities with the Inner Circle and destroy his kingdom. When she finished telling the court about the confrontation in Benjamin"s suite that night, Nichols asked another question. “So how did Benjamin Purnell convince you not to make trouble for him?”
“He went into one of his trances and the next morning, he dressed me and him in white robes and told the colony that he had a message from the throne of God. He said that a great miracle was taking place, that I had been visited by the Spirit of the Lord and conceived a child, who would bring sunshine and light to them.”
“Benjamin said that you were like the Virgin Mary, about to have a child by the power of the God?”
“Yes sir. I"m sure he got the idea from the religions that believe that the mother of Jesus was a virgi
n.”
“And did the people believe him?”
“Sure. They believe anything Benjamin tells them.” Barnard objected again. “Your honor, this girl could not possibly know what other people believe or don"t believe.” This time the Judge agreed with Barnard and had Evelyn"s last remark removed from the court record.
“One more question, Evelyn,” Nichols said. “Did you give birth to Benjamin"s child?”
“I did give birth to a baby girl. Her name is Naomi and thanks to Benjamin"s message from God, everyone in the colony called her the sunshine child.”
Nichols said he had no more questions for Evelyn. The Judge decided that it was too late in the day for William Barnard to start asking Evelyn questions so he adjourned the court for that day.
Mary suddenly realized that Benjamin had not had a coughing spell since they had come back into court. Barnard and his assistant helped Benjamin to his feet and turned him around.
When Mary looked at her husband, she knew why he had not had a coughing spell that afternoon. He was on the verge of collapse, too weak to cough or utter any other sound.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Barnard managed to get the House of David group out of the courthouse area without incident. Now that the park was closed for the winter, the communal dining hall was full every night.
On the way back to the House of David, Silas and Cora decided to have their evening meal with the colonists from Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
“They will be bursting with questions about the trial,” Cora said. “What are we going to tell them? It went so badly today.”
“Tell them the truth,” Mary said. “They must be prepared for the worst.”
Silas looked at Mary sharply. “Surely you don"t believe that the colony will be dissolved.”
Benjamin, who had been sitting in the car so quietly, they thought he was asleep, suddenly spoke. “The Seventh Messenger shall be freed from his enemies. Tell my people to have faith. The Millennium is at hand.”