Page 86 of Stay With Me
THIRTY-SEVEN
Luna
Aftertenminutesofconversation around the island, the other agent, who introduced himself as Special Agent Cooper Thorne, finally came inside.
We move to the kitchen table, and Noah pulls my chair close, his fingers softly brushing my shoulder.
With both agents sitting across from me, all my nerves rush back. I’ve worked hard to forget a lot over the last ten years, and the thought of talking about it makes my skin crawl.
“I appreciate you talking to us today. For the record, this conversation will be recorded so we can use it as evidence if needed.” Special Agent Hunt places his phone on the table, face up. “We’ve been able to get information here and there about The Family, but the members tend to be pretty tight lipped.” Special Agent Hunt presses a button on his phone.
“Yeah, because we were told that if an outsider wasn’t willing to join The Family, then they couldn’t be trusted. It was hammered into us from as early as I can remember.”
Both agents nod. “Yeah, isolation is typical. If that was all they did, we probably would have left them alone. But we have someevidence that shows they’re stockpiling weapons and may have been involved in some kidnapping cases.”
My eyes go wide. “I don’t know about the kidnapping. As for the weapons, I heard some of the elders talking about them, but I never saw them. As a woman, I wasn’t allowed to know that information.”
“Why don’t you start at the beginning? Were you born there? Do you know who your parents are? Are they from there?” Special Agent Thorne asks.
I take a deep breath and just start to talk. “To my knowledge, I was born there. My mom is one of the women I was raised around, and Jess and I share a mother. We have different fathers, though.”
“Do you know who your father was?” Hunt asks.
“Yeah. He was one of the elders. Elder John. I was raised like the other children, more in a group versus by my parents. Around the age of five, you start to work. Normally, you start in the fields and help tend the gardens. Once you turn six, you get matched to your future husband.” I hear the girls’ sharp intake of breath.
“Were you matched with kids your age?” Hunt asks.
I shake my head. “Not all the time. Sometimes, but other times we weren’t. However, you couldn’t get married even if you knew who your husband was until the woman came of age at sixteen.”
“If older men are matched to younger women, that checks. The age of consent in Utah is sixteen,” Thorne states as he makes a note in his notebook.
“What does that mean?” I question.
“It means that the state will legally recognize the marriage if both parties are over the age of sixteen. As long as a parent signs something giving permission for the person under the legal age of eighteen. But if your parents were in The Family, they most likely would if anyone questioned them.” Noah chimes in.
“I don’t know if any of the marriages were legal,” I admit.
“Some are filed. I’m not sure how they pick, but our best guess is that it’s one per household. But from what I understand, polygamy is the route that they take,” Thorne adds.
I nod. “Yes, the Father had sixteen wives, and the five other elders had at least three, but no one had more than Father.”
Both Hunt and Thorne look at each other and then back at me.
“What?” I ask, confused.
“Nothing. We’re piecing together what they kept from their original family unit and what they came up with on their own.”
My eyebrows furrow further down. “Kept what?”
“How much do you know about how The Family started? Like do they teach you that?” Thorne questions.
“Not much, only that Father wasn’t welcome in his family after he had a vision that he had to leave. God showed him the way to the land that he found and showed him his first wife in a vision. From there, a new family was made.”
Hunt pushes his notepad to the side and leans forward on his elbows. “Kind of. Solomon John was born in 1958 to a branch of the Fundamentalists. Solomon was born to the prophet as the youngest son. He didn’t like his place in the family or some of the teaching that happened, so he left and started his own. He was able to convince one male and his wife, who were his age and didn’t have kids yet, to come with him. From there, the three of them started anew, and The Family was created.”
I sit back in my chair and blink at them. I shouldn’t be shocked because Father didn’t seem like the type to not be in the spotlight.
“So when did you start to question what was happening in The Family? I’m guessing that kids questioning everything wasn’t normal,” Hunt asks.
