Rescue

name?“
    Severn seemed about to say something else, then shut up.
    Wyeth said to Tidyman, “I take it you still believe the official case is not sal -vageable, then?“
    A shake of the dour face. “No. I realized when Francis here came to see me last night that we couldn’t send it through the system anymore. Too many loose ends. We’ll have to deal with him here.“
    A resolute nod from the Reverend, who turned to me and picked up his pencil. “Very well, I want you others to be wit- ness to this session, in the event that they have others like him doing their bid- ding now.“
    I said, “Who’s they?“
    A thunderous “I ask the questions here!“
    I didn’t say anything back, and Wyeth spoke to me more normally, sounding almost hurt. “When first we met, I thought I saw some -thing solid, some -thing Christian inside you. When we broke bread at the Lord’s Table, I thought you seemed a man who under- stood . Now I see that you have instead been in their em- ploy in some way. What evil is it they wish you to do?“
    I looked to Tidyman, but got nothing from his expression. I’d told him already; it wouldn’t hurt any more to tell the madman as well. “Reverend, I came looking for Eddie Haldon, the boy that Axel here kidnapped in Boston .“
    Wyeth laughed, a smug, hearty sound. “Surely you know by now, that is just their earth -ly disguise.“
    “Disguise?“
    “Yes, of course. As the Bible tells us, however, there is one thing they cannot hide from us. All their evil, all their temp- ta -tions, these they can shield from the eyes of man in the image of God. But what they can- not hide from us is the Mark.“
    I said, “You mean Eddie’s birthmark?“
    “The Mark of Cain!“ The madness blazed through his eyes.
    The Good Book tells us of the Mark, but not in detail. I alone have been chosen by the Lord Our God, priv- ileged to study those who bear it, to learn from them what we need to know. They are discovered as foundlings in the nests of my flock and brought to me here. Oh, and they are clever, as well. Sly in their ways, seemingly so in -nocent at first. It is only after weeks, sometimes months, of exami- na -tion, of inqui- si -tion, that their true natures surface, that the truth most foul finally spews forth from their mouths.“
    I looked first at Lutrice, then Tidyman. “He tortures little kids in this room.“
    Because I’d stopped with Tidyman, the back of Wyeth’s left hand caught me from the blind side. “Not children! No, change- lings. Earthly husks, cocoons of Satan for growing his minions and then using them to cor -rupt all that is good around them. It is only I who can reveal the masquer- ade , and in doing so, gather the information that will one day permit us to tri -umph in Glory over the Unclean One.“
    I said, “I want to see Eddie.“
    Tidyman said, “Not a chance. Reverend—“
    “I make the decisions here!“
    Wyeth barely glanced at Tidyman, but Lutrice and the sergeant exchanged looks that carried clear messages. Hers was “Let’s take our clothes off,“ and Tidyman’s was “He won’t be around forever.“ I thought of Zoe’s “stand-up guy“ remark.
    Wyeth fixed me with the television stare. “The blasphemer wishes to see how we deal with the minions of Satan, he shall see. Bind him.“

    They led me down the hall opposite the interrogation room, my hands tied behind me by a strap Cody took off the bolted chair. Royel Wyeth carried a flashlight kept in the drawer of his writing table. Axel Severn used a key ring from his pants pocket to open a door.
    At first, my eyes didn’t adjust well, the taint of disinfectant and urine stinging them. No windows at all, the only light in the room creeping in from the dim corridor. I could make out bunk beds, eight of them, in four tiered pairings. Then a movement in one of the bunks, and I realized I was looking at something out of Romania before they put the Ceauşescus up against a wall.
    Five boys, three of the beds empty. Heads shaved, they seemed to be held in by straps like the ones on the bolted chair. A single toilet in the corner of the room, next to a sink. The holding cell at the sheriff’s substation was palatial by comparison.
    Wyeth said, “Clark, aided by Cody, tries to look after their needs as best he can when he’s not on duty at the Lodge, but they often soil themselves just to foul their bedding. Their na -ture, I’ve come to learn.“
    He clicked on the flashlight, shining it in the