Chapter 96

‘The mercy chair was kept in the basement of the old school at the Children of Job compound,' Poe said to Doctor Lang. ‘Israel told me that he and Cornelius had sectioned off one end of the basement with plywood. Made a whole other room. The door to this room was padlocked at all times; from the outside when the sectioned-off area wasn't in use, from the inside when it was.'

‘How did they explain what the room was for?'

‘Cornelius just told everyone to stay away from it. And when there was a course running no one was allowed in the basement at all.'

‘And nobody got curious?' Doctor Lang asked. ‘It must have been like Bluebeard's secret chamber; the one his wives were banned from entering.'

‘The hold Cornelius had over them all was ironclad. His word was law and if he told his followers not to do something, they didn't do it. That's how Israel Cobb described it and I've heard nothing since to suggest he wasn't telling the truth.'

‘And did the chair look like it might have been an old electric chair, like Israel claimed?'

‘Possibly,' Poe admitted. ‘It was definitely old and sturdy enough. The leather restraints looked like they were original. It certainly could have been used to electrocute death-row prisoners.'

‘But?'

‘But really, how can you tell?' Poe admitted. ‘Superintendent Nightingale has detectives in the States still trying to track down where it came from. I hope she finds the seller to be honest; I would hate to think someone in the UK had made it to order.'

They lapsed into a strange silence, almost as if they were putting off what was coming up next.

Doctor Lang broke it. ‘You said Israel had shown you the videos in chronological order?'

Poe nodded. ‘What he hadn't said though, was how young their victims were. The way he told it, Cornelius had abducted – because that's what it was – grown men, but the guys on the videos were barely older than the boys attending the courses.' He paused a couple of ticks. ‘I guess the longer you live on the street, the more wary you become of too-good-to-be-true offers such as the one Cornelius was peddling.'

Doctor Lang nodded. ‘I see a lot of street kids. Some have had to grow up so fast it breaks your heart.'

‘Cornelius didn't start recording until the victims were securely strapped into the mercy chair,' Poe continued. ‘I have no idea if they struggled while they were being restrained. They looked sedated, so maybe not. The first victim, the one from 2001, looked to be around eighteen years old, but he could have been much younger. Living on the street prematurely ages you.'

‘Were they scared?'

‘More nervous, I think. At least until they understood what was happening.'

‘Which was when?'

‘When Cornelius brought the boy in,' Poe said. ‘And at this stage it was clear the boy didn't know what was happening either. The shock on both their faces was genuine when Cornelius explained what was about to happen.'

‘How soon after the boys' feet had been whipped did this take place?' Doctor Lang asked.

‘Not long. Israel told me they were tortured then taken somewhere to get cleaned up. When they were brought back into the part of the basement with the mercy chair, the victim was waiting for them.'

‘And what they'd endured was enough for the boys to at least go through the motions of stoning the victims?'

‘No. Not at first. With the exception of Nathan Rose and one other boy there was pushback. But Israel hadn't been exaggerating when he said Cornelius Green was a charismatic man. The way he bent the boys to his will was extraordinary. He raged and he screamed and he fell to his knees in prayer, spittle and foam at the corners of his mouth. He would get up and pace back and forth, all the time urging the boy to do what was right, what was just. He was like one of those fire and brimstone revivalist preachers, the kind Stephen King writes about. All that was missing was the rattlesnakes.'

‘He didn't try to hide from the video?'

‘No,' Poe said. ‘He owned what he did. Israel too. The camera must have been on a tripod, as it didn't move. It was trained on the man in the mercy chair, but they were all in view. Cornelius was apoplectic, Israel was measured and focused, and the boy and the victim were both crying and begging. The victim for his life; the boy because of what he was being told to do.'

Poe took a silent moment as it all became a bit too raw. He had to explain, however, had to make her understand what had happened. He closed his eyes and shuddered at the memory. He opened them, clenched his jaw, and continued.

‘"Look how weak it is!" That's the type of thing Cornelius would shout at the boys. "See how it begs for its worthless life," or, "It's an abomination; the kindest thing you can do is put it out of its misery."'

‘Subtle,' Doctor Lang said.

‘But effective,' Poe countered. ‘You could see the boys' resistance crumbling in real time. While Israel fixed a hessian hood over the victim's head, Cornelius told the boys, "This is your only way out." He turned them so they were facing the young man in the mercy chair, handed them a baseball-sized stone, and screamed, "Throw it!"'

‘And they did?'

‘Yes,' Poe confirmed. ‘Every one of them flung the stone at the man in the mercy chair. Some screamed as they did, others, like Nathan Rose, were eerily calm. And after they had thrown it, Cornelius encouraged and praised them. Told them they were stepping back on the path of righteousness. Only two of the boys, Nathan Rose and the one who actually believed in what he was doing, repeatedly hit the victims on the head. The others either intentionally missed or lobbed them like grenades, nowhere near hard enough to kill. Whatever the boys did though, it didn't seem to matter to Cornelius. Israel offered them all another rock, but neither he nor Cornelius seemed concerned if they refused.'

Poe shut his eyes again.

‘It's a sound no one should have to hear,' he said. He opened his eyes and blinked in surprise, almost as if he hadn't known he'd closed them. ‘When it was obvious the boy on the course had given everything he had to give, they would all shake hands and pray together. This sometimes went on for no more than a minute, sometimes it was half an hour. And after they'd finished, Cornelius told Israel it was time for the boy to graduate.'

‘And what did that mean?'

‘It meant Israel taking a Stanley knife from his pocket, lifting up the man's hessian hood and, if he wasn't already dead, slitting his throat from ear to ear.'