Keith repeated the same story he’d given many times over the years: he’d been at a bookstore with fellow AG members.
“Now, speaking of Advocates for God,” Alex said, “do you know this man?” He placed a photograph of Steve Roman on the coffee table in front of Keith.
Keith shot Alex, and then Laurie, a confused look. He picked up the picture for closer inspection. “Never seen him.”
“He’s a member of your church, and we believe he is determined to shut down this show’s production-using violence when necessary.”
Keith reached for the mic clipped to his shirt collar. They’d assumed he would try to leave once he realized they were departing from yesterday’s script, but at least they had him here. The LAPD was here. All they had to do was get him to say something that would give Detective Reilly probable cause to detain him.
“Keith, it’s important,” she said. “There are things about the church you don’t know.”
Keith’s gaze suddenly darted away from Laurie. She turned to see Nicole stepping from the kitchen. Nicole was terrified of retribution from Martin, but Laurie, Leo, and Gavin had convinced her the previous night to be present at the house, listening from the next room, in case she decided to help confront Keith.
“I told them about my fight with Susan,” she said. “They know I was the one who introduced you to Martin and AG. You know I left the church. Los Angeles, too. But I never told you my reasons.”
“You left because Susan was killed. She was your best friend.”
As Nicole took a seat next to Keith on the sofa, Laurie noticed Detective Reilly take a step forward. He was paying close attention.
“No, that wasn’t it. Keith, Reverend Collins is not the man you think he is.”
63
Keith Ratner could not believe the words that were coming out of Nicole’s mouth.
First Nicole claimed to have had a secret relationship with Martin, and now she was saying he abused a little girl?
“Nicole, these are crazy accusations. No wonder Martin was so worried about you being a part of this show.”
“I saw him with my own eyes, Keith. And you would not believe he was a good man if you heard the threats he made against me. Some part of you must see the truth. Look at his lifestyle. All that money he raises isn’t going to good works. It’s lining his pockets. And think about those families he chooses to help-always with young girls, always with vulnerable parents. I didn’t see the pattern either until that night. But I couldn’t prove anything. Who knows how many other victims he’s had? You can help. You’re in his inner circle.”
Keith covered his face with his hands. This was absolutely insane. “I haven’t seen you in twenty years, Nicole. Why should I believe you?”
“Ask yourself: How did Martin feel about your doing this show? Did he want you talking about AG?”
“Yes, in fact. I didn’t even want to do it. Martin’s the one who pushed me to accept.” But as Keith finished the sentence, he felt a tug of doubt. He recalled the moment he first mentioned Under Suspicion to Martin. Keith had wanted no part of the show. He hated the idea of having his name dragged through the mud again. Martin had been the one to steer him here. Martin had wanted to know what Nicole was up to. His exact words had been, You let me worry about my own enemies.
But child abuse? Was it possible that Keith had devoted his entire adult life to a church led by a man who would do something so heinous? It was unimaginable.
He cleared his throat, as if it could somehow clear his thoughts. “What do you people want from me?”
A cameraman in a baseball hat lunged forward, a badge in his hand. When were the surprises going to stop?
“Mr. Ratner, my name is Detective Sean Reilly with the Los Angeles Police Department. Let me be straight with you. I’ve got Ms. Melling’s twenty-year-old recollection of an unconfirmed observation. I don’t have the name of whatever child she saw with your reverend. It’s not even close to the evidence we’d need for a prosecution. But I think you’ll agree that a person of good conscience can’t ignore this. You asked what we want from you? Under California law, police can monitor a telephone conversation with the consent of one party.”
“You’re asking me to turn on Martin.”
“You’re not turning on anyone. Just tell him two things.” Reilly ticked off his points on his thumb and index finger. “The police asked you about this man Steve Roman. And they raised the possibility of child abuse in the church. If he’s innocent, we’ll find that out. But if he’s not?”
Keith thought of all the hours he had spent at Martin’s side, delivering food to needy families. Without the church, Keith would still have been the shallow, insecure kid he used to be. Then he pictured all the young girls he’d seen in the families Martin helped. He hadn’t seen Nicole for twenty years, but she was right about the type of family Martin preferred. And he couldn’t imagine Nicole lying about something so awful.
“Okay, let’s do it.” He said a silent prayer that this was all a misunderstanding.
While Detective Reilly prepared Keith for his phone call to Martin Collins, Laurie walked Nicole to the driveway, giving her a brief hug before turning her over to the care of her husband, Gavin. Two weeks ago, when Laurie first met the couple in their gourmet kitchen, Nicole had seemed distant and cold, still trying to cover secrets that were two decades old. Now Nicole couldn’t stop sobbing, and Laurie wondered whether the woman would ever regain control over her emotions.
But Laurie forced herself to focus on the hard facts. Even twenty years ago, Nicole had been mature enough to begin a relationship with Martin, an adult man. She had ignored Susan’s warnings about Martin and his so-called church. Even after she caught Martin inflicting perhaps the worst harm imaginable, she had buckled under his threats, running away and leaving the child behind.
Laurie could empathize with Nicole, but she couldn’t sympathize.
64
Laurie was surprised at how simple it was for Detective Reilly to record Keith’s call to Martin Collins, with a simple cord from Keith’s cell phone into a laptop’s microphone port. After considerable negotiation, Reilly agreed to let Leo and Laurie listen in on the call, but with no cameras or recording on their part. If the call panned out, Laurie could find another way to report the facts for the show. Right now, she just wanted to hear what Martin Collins had to say.
With the help of an audio splitter, Leo, Laurie, and Detective Reilly were all plugged in with their own earphones. She gave Keith a thumbs-up as he hit the dial button. The man was far from perfect, but today he was doing the right thing.
“Hey, Martin, it’s Keith,” he said when the call connected. “You got a sec? I had a weird visit from the police.”
“The police?”
“Yeah, asking about a Steve Roman. Bald, muscled, maybe in his forties. They said he belonged to Advocates for God, but I told them I didn’t know him. Does the name ring a bell?”
“Sure,” Martin said nonchalantly.
Laurie arched an eyebrow in her father’s direction. They had just connected the head of AG to a man spotted near Lydia Levitt’s murder, a man who was monitoring their movements just days prior to the attack on Jerry. Was it really going to be this easy?
Through her headphones, she listened as Martin continued. “I told you I wanted to know what Nicole was saying to those TV people? I asked Steve to lend a hand. He’s helpful that way.”
“Helpful? The police think he killed a woman in the Bay Area while he was snooping on one of the show’s participants. And three days ago, someone broke into the show’s set, stole a bunch of equipment, and nearly killed a member of the production team.”