if a leader feels threatened the emphasis often shifts. Sometimes recruitment stops and existing members are monitored more closely. The demand for commitment to eccentric rules may intensify. The theme of doom may become more pronounced. The group can grow increasingly isolated and increasingly paranoid. Tensions with the surrounding community, or with the government, or law enforcement may escalate.”
“What could possibly threaten these megalomaniacs?”
“A member who leaves could be seen as a defector.”
“The leader might feel he’s losing control. Or if the cult exists in more than one place, and he can’t always be there, he might feel his authority is slipping during his absences. More anxiety. More isolation. More tyranny. It’s a paranoid spiral. Then all it takes is some external factor to pull the pin.”
“How disruptive would the outside event have to be?”
“It varies. At Jonestown it took only the visit by a congressman and his press entourage, and their attempt to return to the U.S. with a handful of defectors. At Waco it took a military-style raid by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the eventual insertion of CS gas and the breaching of the compound walls by armored vehicles.”
“Why the difference?”
“That has to do with ideology and leadership. The settlement at Jonestown was more internally volatile than the community at Waco.”
My fingers felt cold on the handset.
“Do you think Owens has a violent agenda?”
“He definitely bears watching. If he’s holding your friend’s baby against her will that should get you a warrant.”
“It’s unclear whether she agreed to leave him there. She’s very reluctant to talk about the cult. She’s been raised by these people since she was eight years old. I’ve never seen anyone so torn. But the fact that Jennifer Cannon was living at the Owens compound when she was killed should do it.”
For a while neither of us spoke.
“Could Heidi and Brian have sent Owens over the edge?” I asked. “Could he have ordered someone to kill them and their babies?”
“Could be. And don’t forget, he’s had some other blows. Sounds like Jennifer Cannon may have concealed those phone calls from Canada, then refused to go along with something Owens wanted when he found out. And of course there’s you.”
“Me?”
“Brian gets Heidi pregnant against cult orders. Then the couple splits. Then the thing with Jennifer. Then you and Ryan show up. Odd coincidence in names, by the way.”
“What?”
“The congressman who showed up in Guyana. His name was Ryan.”
“Give me a prediction, Red. Based on what I’ve told you, what do you see in your crystal ball?”
There was a long pause.
“From what you’ve told me Owens may fit the profile of a charismatic leader with a messianic self-image. And it sounds like his followers have accepted that vision. Owens may feel he’s losing control over his members. He may see your investigation as an additional threat to his authority.”
Another pause.
“And this Kathryn is talking about crossing over to eternal life.”
I heard him take a deep breath.
“Given all of that, I’d say there is a high potential for violence.”
I disconnected and dialed Ryan’s pager. While I waited for him to phone back I returned to the Hardaway report. I’d just pulled it from the envelope when the phone rang. Had I not been so agitated it might have been amusing. I seemed destined never to read that document.
“You must have hit the floor running this morning.” Ryan’s voice sounded tired.
“I’m always up early. I have a visitor.”
“Let me guess. Gregory Peck.”
“Kathryn showed up this morning. She says she spent the night at UNCC and found me through the faculty directory.”
“Not smart to list your home address.”
“I don’t. Jennifer Cannon lived at the Saint Helena compound.”
“Damn.”
“Kathryn overheard an argument between Jennifer and Owens. The next day Jennifer was gone.”
“Good stuff, Brennan.”
“It gets better.”
I told him about Jennifer’s access to the phone and her friendship with Heidi. He came back with his own shocker.
