Page 9 of Scatter the Bones

Maybe my brothers never abandoned me after all.

I was angry they left me behind. Surface anger. Underneath, even as a kid, I suspected they no longer walked the Earth.

That’s why when Ruth brought me my papers and encouraged me to leave, I did. Even though it meant leaving Jezzie.

Did he kill all of these other people too?

I pick up one of the ID cards—James Lamb. He disagreed with one of my father’s sermons. Not long after, he disappeared from the compound, leaving his wife and kid behind. My father said he wasn’t committed enough.

As I continue shifting through the documents, I encounter other names—both familiar and unfamiliar. Mr. Lamb’s the only person I have a specific memory about.

I stuff my family’s documents into one envelope, fold it in thirds, and shove it in my back pocket.

I know what I have to do now.

Barrels of lye.That’s what I need. My father stored them behind the barn. Kept them for making soap and other farm chores.

I’m about to use it for a much different purpose. Maybe my father did too.

Maybe I’m more like him than I want to admit.

My father’swhere I left him. Shackled to the wall. Leaning on it for support, cheek against the cold bricks.

“Wake up.” I grab the bloody whip from the floor and crack it in the air.

He moans and turns his head, fixing me with a bleary-eyed stare.

I snap the envelope free and pull out Gideon’s birth certificate, shoving it right under his nose. “Did you kill Gideon?”

Pain or fear seems to break his stoic expression. He shifts his gaze away. “They were evil, wicked boys. Had the Devil in them.”

“Them?” I pull out Joshua’s birth certificate and hold it in front of his face. “You’re about to find out if there really is a god—although if there is, I suspect you’ll be going in the opposite direction—so come clean now. Unburden yourself,” I add, fighting hard to keep my tone more grave than sarcastic.

“I’ve always done God’s will,” he whispers.

“I’m sure you think so.” I shake the birth certificates in my hand, the thin papers rustling in the dank air. “Speak the truth. Did they really run away?”

“They were stubborn and rebellious.” His voice rises with conviction.

“So, what’d you do, stone them to death?”

“They dishonored us—your mother and me. The Scripture is clear, boy.” His voice trembles with the same righteous indignation that used to spark fear in my chest. “Deuteronomytells us to purge the evil from our midst. A rebellious son is an abomination in the sight of God. It is my duty as your father to see that His justice is served.”

That’s probably as close to the truth as I’ll ever get out of him.

“What about Mom? She didn’t just up and die one day.” I ask. “What’d she do to deserve your twisted version of ‘justice’?”

Anger ripples over his face. Minutes away from death and he seems to be gaining strength. “The woman who betrays her husband betrays God Himself.” The same imperious tone he used for his lengthy sermons fills his voice. “Scripturedemandsdeath for her sin. ‘Both the adulterer and the adulteress must die.’ Elizabeth abandoned her duty to God and to me. Her punishment was just.”

“Bullshit! She never cheated on you. When would she even have the time? If you weren’t working her to death with chores, she couldn’t leave the farm without you glued to her side.”

“There are many ways a woman can abandon her duty to her husband, son.”

“What? What justifies murder? Taking a mother away from her kids? What? She didn’t want to fuck you anymore after you started bringing home teenagers to add to your harem? Was that how she ‘disobeyed’ you?”

He winces as if the curse word is the worst thing about my accusation. “There’s more evil coursing through you than ever, boy. Living with those people in the outside world has corrupted you beyond my wildest nightmares.”

“Don’t you dare say one fucking word about Boone and Em. They treated me more like a son than you ever did.” A fist of grief wraps around my throat, but I fight to keep my face blank. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing Boone and Emily are dead. He’ll see it as some sort of sign from God that he’s the righteous one. “You killed my brothers. Did you kill my mother too?”

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