Chapter 26

‘This is barbaric,' Poe said to Oldwater. ‘You can't forcibly change someone's sexuality. All you end up with is a gay person with psychological scars.'

‘You understand why they can never become a charity?' Oldwater said. ‘You've heard of that infamous Baptist Church?'

‘Those dickheads who picket soldiers' funerals in the States? They were banned from entering the UK a few years back for inciting hatred. Shame really; I'd have enjoyed watching what would happen if they tried that shit at a British squaddie's funeral.'

Oldwater nodded. ‘That's them. Well, in my opinion, the Children of Job are the UK's equivalent. They aren't so overt, which is why they aren't on anyone's radar, but by whatever definition you care to use, they are a virulently anti-LGBTQIA+ organisation.'

‘You seem remarkably well informed, Nicholas,' Poe said. ‘Might this explain your reticence in showing me your file? I don't imagine you found all this out by reading the parish newsletter.'

‘I have a discretionary fund and a congregation with an olla podrida of skills, experiences and contacts.'

‘Olla podrida is a Spanish stew, Poe,' Bradshaw said without looking up from her scanning. ‘The phrase has been appropriated to mean . . . I guess hodgepodge would be the closest English definition.'

‘You have a bunch of ex-spies and ex-cops to call on?' Poe said.

‘And business leaders and politicians and diplomats, Washington. The Church is a . . . well, broad church.' Oldwater reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. He passed it to Poe. ‘Speaking of which. This is my private number; I can be contacted on it at all times. If you run into difficulties with some of my more mulish members, please do not hesitate to call. Maybe I can open doors that might otherwise remain closed to you.'

Poe tucked it into his wallet. He tapped the top sheet in his hand. ‘And what about this guy?'

‘Cornelius Green?'

‘Yes.'

‘Born in Ohio to biblical literalist parents, hence the name. According to the New Testament, Cornelius was a Roman centurion who converted to Christianity. He's widely regarded as the first gentile convert. Our Cornelius was active in his local church from an early age and, from what we can gather, on the periphery of un-savoury activities in his teens and early twenties.'

‘Such as?'

‘Firebombing abortion clinics. Threatening to kill doctors. Daubing homophobic slurs on HIV healthcare centres. Nothing that could be proven but he was a person of interest to the FBI. He called himself a Christian soldier.'

‘Are his parents still alive?'

‘They're in their eighties, but yes.'

‘What did they think of all this?'

‘Pride, I imagine,' Oldwater said. ‘They're currently in prison for sending letter bombs to a COVID-19 vaccine production plant in California. They called the virus God's Judgement and anyone interfering in the cull of the fallen had to be held to account.'

‘Well, don't they just sound delightful?'

‘When he was twenty-two, Cornelius must have got involved in something he didn't want to face up to as he fled the States. Ended up in Cumbria. He's been here for almost forty years.'

‘You said he was a founding member of the Children of Job?'

‘The founding member. It was basically his.'

Poe read the top paragraph of Cornelius Green's biography. ‘He owned the land and the old school buildings outright?'

‘That's correct.'

‘How did he fund it? If he was twenty-two and fresh from the States, I don't imagine banks were falling over themselves to lend him money.'

‘An American benefactor bankrolled him. One of those revivalist preachers with a mega church and an even more mega bank account. Probably a friend of his parents. Cornelius bought what was then Chapel Wood School, changed the name to the Chapel Wood Institute, and founded his organisation.'

‘Who inherits it, now he's dead?'

Oldwater pointed at the file. ‘It's all in there. There's a robust continuity plan.'

‘He planned for his death?'

‘Seems so. Don't assume too much from that though – most big organisations have plans for the death of their founder.'

‘Is it possible he had a falling out with his benefactor? Rich men can reach all the way around the world without leaving their bed.'

‘Perhaps,' Oldwater said.

‘But you don't think so?'

He shook his head. ‘In my world, as in yours, Washington, a zealot is just another word for an extremist. I think it's there you need to start.'

‘And sometimes religious group is just another name for a cult.'

‘If the toe tag fits,' Oldwater said.