Beverly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, stammered, “Ah, I didn’t do anything. You’ll do just fine in your interview.” As she removed the makeup cape covering Laius’s pristine white Balmain Boucle Tweed Jacket, she added, “I always tell everybody just to imagine the interviewers naked. It makes them seem less intimidating and keeps you from being uptight.” Her eyes sought Laius’s for approval.

  Laius laughed softly and touched Beverly’s cheek as she rose from the chair. “Thank you, dear Beverly, I’ll do just that.” She removed a card from her clutch and handed it to Beverly. “Please do come to one of our services, Beverly. We meet twice a month at the CDRS chapel in Midtown. We have some wonderful sessions that offer a reaffirming, renewing, and empowering worldview for women like yourself. You’ll find that the Divinely Redeemed Sisterhood is for women in every walk of life, from busy executives to haggard single mothers struggling to get ahead.” She placed her hand gently on Beverly’s arm, and her piercing blue eyes bore into the makeup woman’s deep brown eyes. “I’ll have my assistant Celine reach out to you to welcome you. I’d love to see you there. Worshiping… with us.”

  As if on cue, a young male assistant producer appeared with a stressed-out Celine at his elbow and said, “Ms. Laius? You go on in five minutes. Please follow me.”

  Inanna Laius again assumed her regal air, her nose pointed skyward, and walked away briskly, the fledgling producer and her assistant scurrying to keep up.

  Beverly watched the three of them walk away. She looked at the card in her hand, a quality eggshell card stock with an elegant logo and raised printing, and thought…

  That bitch is batshit crazy.

  THIRTY-SIX

  The young assistant producer hurried to keep pace with Laius and Celine as the two of them strode purposefully through the hallways leading to the CNN news set. How did this woman know where she was going? “Ms. Laius? Ms. Winters! Please slow down. You need to follow me. I need to share some information with you before you go on air.”

  Inanna and Celine came to an immediate halt, almost causing the young producer to collide with them. Laius fixed him with a steely gaze and gave him an almost bored, “Yes? What is it you have to tell me?” Celine looked on, nervously glancing at her watch.

  Flustered and a bit overmatched by Laius’s aggressive manner, the young man colored briefly, and mumbled, “Sorry. I just wanted to tell you a few things you’ll need to know going into the interview.”

  Laius regarded the assistant producer as she would something unpleasant she had stepped in while walking through her garden. “What is it?” she snapped, unable to conceal her disdain for the young man.

  Taken aback, the producer replied, “Uh, I just wanted to let you know there’s been a slight change in the interview’s format.”

  “And what change is that?” she clipped.

  Unnerved, the young man continued, “Ahem. Well, instead of just being interviewed by American Sunrise host Monica Coleman this morning, you’ll also be joined in studio by our lead male anchor, Heath Blitzen.”

  Laius’s eyebrows arched as she looked first at Celine then back to him. She regarded the young man warily. “Really? And why is that?”

  “Well, the executive producer felt that this would be an excellent opportunity for you to share the story of your, ah, group in a larger context. Ms. Coleman was merely going to cover the relationship between your organization and the young woman involved in the recent fitness center bombing. I think Mr. Blitzen wants to ask you to share more background information on your ministry, your beliefs, your teachings, and how you speak to and for women. He believes you are reaching a lot of women on a national, even international, scale and would like to address that.” He blew out the entire explanation in a mad rush and flinched visibly, awaiting a loud tirade by Laius.

  Instead, her face relaxed, and she spoke to the young man serenely. “Really? So, Mr. Blitzen wants to do a more in-depth report on the Divinely Redeemed Sisterhood and its role in society, currently and going forward?”

  The young producer nodded earnestly.

  Laius drew herself up, smoothing her hands across her midsection. She exhaled, visibly relieved, as the intensity seemed to flow from every pore. Celine exhaled as well, her flushed face visibly relieved by Inanna’s reaction. “Excellent!” she smiled. “I’m sorry, Mr.?”

  “Mark… Mark Redmond.” He extended his hand and she daintily shook his hand, as if afraid she might catch something.

  “Mr. Redmond, thank you so much for being patient with me this morning. I’m afraid I haven’t quite been myself today. I’ve been rather… snappish, I’m afraid. I get very anxious in situations like this. Please forgive me if I’ve appeared abrupt with you. I appreciate the good work you’re doing here, and I especially appreciate how you’ve taken the time to brief me on what will be covered during my appearance this morning. I’m most grateful.” She smiled at Redmond, almost sincerely.

  “You’re welcome, Ms. Laius. Now, if you can just go over there to the grey-haired woman with the clipboard, she’s the location manager, and she’ll mic you up and get you positioned in your chair. Ms. Coleman and Mr. Blitzen will take their places approximately 20 seconds before we go live.”

  Laius focused on the set and saw the location manager waving her over. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, closing her eyes. “Well. I’m off, then.” She turned to Celine and murmured almost inaudibly, “Get me away from this fool.” Pausing to admire her reflection in Celine’s glasses, she stepped briskly toward the set, ready to begin her interview.

  Celine gave her a quick thumbs up and moved briskly to the left of the set, well out of camera range, her lips moving feverishly. She was either praying or running through a laundry list of what could go wrong.

  Redmond watched Inanna walk on-set and position herself according to the location manager’s instructions. He observed Celine positioning herself stage left, and briefly felt sorry for the mousy, timid little assistant who was obviously bullied by her superior. He smiled sadly as he watched her adjust her glasses and clutch her notebook closer, her pen at the ready to take notes to remind her boss of critical information. He hoped for her sake that this Laius woman was not violent.

  Several last-second preparations went on around Inanna as the countdown to the broadcast began. The three of them engaged in no pre-show banter, each of them focused on his or her thoughts. Redmond contemplated Inanna’s oddly detached, dispassionate face and shivered as he thought…

  That bitch is batshit crazy.

  THIRTY-SEVEN

  Flint and CJ were still in her office, doggedly digging through as much online information as they could glean from the internet about the Church of the Divinely Redeemed Sisterhood and its founder, Inanna Laius. The more they pursued the various threads of the ministry’s beginnings and the life of its prophetess, the more troubling the picture became.

  “Talk about an enigma shrouded in mystery told in a riddle and wrapped up in a conundrum,” Flint murmured as he read the Wikipedia page on the CDRS.

  CJ stared at Flint with disbelief.

  “What?” Flint deadpanned innocently.

  CJ’s mobile alarm beeped in three quick tones. “Ah! Quick! Let’s stream the CNN American Sunrise broadcast. I saw a promo that Inanna Laius’s going to be on this morning. Let’s hear what she has to say.”

  Within seconds, CJ had the morning show’s livestream on her laptop screen. She raised the volume on her speakers until Flint nodded that it was loud enough. The opening sequence featured beauty shots of iconic American scenes, framed by dramatic theme music, and a vibrant voice-over proclaiming “Welcome to CNN’s American Sunrise with host Monica Coleman and special guest host Heath Blitzen.”

  The screen was then filled with the inviting face of Monica Coleman, longtime CNN American Sunrise host. Monica was one of the first African-American women to exclusively host her morning news show on a national stage. She was cool, professional, and always prepared — or at least her producers made sure that she was. She was viewed as fair, impartial and unbiased, a rarity among news anchors, no matter the network. Inanna Laius could expect to be handled thoughtfully and equitably.

  Her co-host this morning was Heath Blitzen. Blitzen had made his journalistic bones during the first Gulf War, and subsequent major news stories since then. His combative, aggressive, no-holds-barred style was the antithesis of Monica Coleman and seemed to be the standard by which most current television journalists operated. He could be as fierce as a junkyard dog when he attacked a topic and could not be counted on to be non-adversarial with regards to Laius’s story.

  CJ gave a low whistle. “Wow. There could be fireworks this morning.”

  Flint nodded absently, watching Laius for any behavioral ‘tells.’ She appeared calm and assured, attentive to every nuance from the two morning show anchors.

  Monica Coleman turned to Laius and welcomed her warmly, her smooth, easy delivery instantly putting Laius at ease and setting the tone for the interview. “Ms. Laius — or Reverend Laius? What should I call you?”

  Laius smiled at Coleman and replied, “I don’t have an official title other than the founder of CDRS. Many of my followers refer to me as ‘The Divinely Redeemed Priestess,’ so, in our worship gatherings and outreach and training sessions I am known as ‘Priestess Inanna.’ In situations such as this interview, please feel free to call me Sister Inanna. I am not focused on titles, Ms. Coleman, but rather on helping the women in our Sisterhood achieve spiritual and personal enlightenment and growth.”

  Coleman nodded. “Yes, I’ve spent some time on your website and social media platforms, and you do indeed offer many opportunities for women who are suffering to achieve a higher form of spiritual growth and development. I’ve noticed that you are particularly attentive to women who are struggling economically, and those who have suffered abuse and neglect at the hands of males within their workplace, social, or family environments.”

  Laius nodded, considering Coleman’s observations. “That’s right. Women comprise over 50% of our nation’s population, and I think most would agree that within the workplace and other situations, gender inequality is prevalent. While women are making strides in the workplace and other aspects of life, there is still much work to be done until we are on a level playing field in what has long been a male-dominated society. We seek to provide our sisters with a means to nurture themselves spiritually while achieving their ultimate potential as strong and confident women.”

  Offset, Celine gave a mental fist pump. Yes!!

  Coleman studied Laius’s face, smiling slightly, and glanced at Blitzen, giving him an almost imperceptible nod.

  Blitzen leaned forward and addressed Laius, his made-for-TV face reflecting the gravitas he sought to convey with every utterance. The joke around CNN was that Blitzen even made ‘I’ve got to take a leak’ sound like he was announcing an attack on New York City. “Ms, Laius, I—”

  “Sister Inanna, please,” she interrupted.

  “Pardon me. Sister Inanna, we appreciate the opportunity to have you with us today. We know this must be an especially difficult day for you and your followers, especially considering the unfortunate circumstances surrounding the death of Phoebe Washington.”

  “Yes, Sister Phoebe was a lovely young woman. She was a loyal follower. She attended many of our worship services as well as our training and development sessions.”

  Blitzen slipped a yellow sheet from the bottom of the stack he had in front of him, covering the in-desk teleprompter. Glancing at the sheet, he asked, “She was also an ardent contributor to the CDRS online community, including its chatroom and social media platforms, isn’t that correct?”

  Laius’s right eyelid twitched slightly at this unexpected detour in questioning. “I believe so. I’m unable to follow all of the online activity of our followers, but yes, I believe she was an outspoken and committed CDRS sister.”

  Flint interjected, pointing at the laptop screen “CJ, did you see that? Did you see her right eyelid twitch when he asked her about Phoebe Washington?”

  “Shhhh! Of course, I did! Quiet. I want to hear what’s being said, Flint!”

  Blitzen smiled at Laius. “Yes, outspoken certainly, and committed for sure… You’d have to be committed in a very big way to blow yourself up as well as over 70 other people - all of whom, I might add, were men.”

  Laius’s upper lip twitched involuntarily, causing her to flinch slightly from Blitzen’s remark, almost as if she’d been thumped by an invisible hand.

  “Er, Sister Washington was apparently a, uh, troubled individual, and her more, ah, virulent viewpoints do not reflect the, um, the temperament of the Church of the Divinely Redeemed Sisterhood as a whole.” Laius was rattled, and while still composed at this point, was becoming less self-assured by the moment.

  Blitzen gave her a thin smile. “While that may or may not be the case, Sister Inanna, is it not true that whoever the administrators are for the CDRS chatroom frequently couch their advice to the sisters who frequent your site with anti-male rhetoric?”

  Laius’s face spasmed again, this time much more noticeably. Flint and CJ looked at each other, eyes wide, then returned their attention to her laptop screen.

  Laius cleared her throat, “Um, do you have any water? I’m sorry, my throat is very dry. I’m afraid my allergies are acting up.” Her eyes took on a ‘deer-in-the-headlights’ look as she looked vainly for Celine, the glare of the lights making it impossible for her to spot her assistant.

  The location manager slipped her a bottled water, while the main camera focused on a close up of Heath Blitzen, his left eyebrow cocked, and his expression one of faux concern.

  She sipped the water, her hand shaking visibly. “Erm, better, thank you. Mr. Blitzen, I’m afraid you may have misconstrued some of the comments from our chatroom and our social media platforms. Taken out of context, some of these comments may, at first viewing, be misinterpreted.”

  Blitzen’s smile became a thin flat line, as his jaw muscles clenched in a well-practiced display of focus and determination. “Misinterpreted, you say, Sister Inanna? Let us pull some direct quotes from the chatroom and social media platforms and see if they might indeed be ‘taken out of context’ as you say.”

  With that, the large monitor behind them displayed a montage of quotes from the CDRS chatroom as well as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Laius’s left eyelid was fluttering uncontrollably now as she took another sip of water, attempting to steady her nerves.

  Blitzen’s skills as an interviewer were never on display more vividly than when he smelled blood in the water. And like a shark, he bore in mercilessly to figuratively skewer his subject again and again, until his desired effect was achieved — ratings generating mayhem.

  “Sister Inanna,” Blitzen’s voice oozed like blood from a puncture wound, “look with me now at several quotes directly from numerous online CDRS sources. Audrey from San Francisco says, ‘Thank you for pointing out the hypocrisy of the patriarchal system in our society. Men are scum and there is no justice for women as long as they have all the power.’ Or perhaps Consuela from Boston who says, ‘I have been dominated and abused by men all my life. No longer will I subject myself to their control. It’s time to throw off the yoke of their testosterone-fueled oppression.’” He paused, staring at her, knowing his selection of quotes had stung.

  Her upper lip trembling, Laius placed her hands together on the desktop, attempting to still their frantic trembling. “I, ah, surely you can’t blame me for the remarks of a few disgruntled followers. Our sisterhood is composed of loving—”

  “Loving?” Blitzen’s face was a mask of utter incredulity. “Perhaps you have misconstrued and misinterpreted the remarks by your followers. Our research team has found hundreds of comments similar to the ones I just read.” He held up a sheath of papers, shaking them in her face. “Sister, I am not going to read some of the other quotes our staff discovered. Suffice to say, those quotes were not vague or indeterminate at all. There’s no way anything could be taken out of context.” His upper lip curled slightly, forming a cold sneer. “If anything, their meaning is all too clear. The advocation of violence towards men — whenever and wherever it suits your purpose.”

  Monica Coleman and Heath Blitzen fixed their eyes on Laius, awaiting her response. Her head down, she remained silent for several seconds. With dead air between them, Coleman and Blitzen glanced at each other nervously. It was never good to have an excess of silence in an interview, and this lengthy pause was rapidly approaching no-man’s land.

  Coleman spoke first. “Ah, Sister Inanna? Do you have anything to say?”

  Slowly, she raised her face to them. The camera zoomed in for a close-up, hoping to catch every nuanced expression on Laius’s face. Instead, it saw something else altogether. There was no nuance at all. Inanna Laius’s face was a seething, boiling, mask of pure, unadulterated fury.

  CJ caught her breath and whispered almost inaudibly…

  “That bitch is batshit crazy.”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Inanna Laius’s eyes were rolled back in her head. Her skin had gone cold and clammy, even under the hot set lights. Her hands were flat on the top of the desk at which the three of them were sitting. Her nose was again pointed skyward, not in a posture of arrogance, but one of ecstasy, as if she were experiencing the chemically-induced euphoria of a massive hit of cocaine.

  Blitzen’s expression had gone from one of a cool, professional, totally in-charge interrogator to that of someone who’d just pried the lid off the Lost Ark of the Covenant, unleashing the demonic hordes. To her credit, Monica Coleman sat with a bemused expression, watching the tortured face of Inanna Laius twist through a series of bizarre contortions on national morning TV.

  Blitzen cleared his throat and spoke almost in a whisper. “Bear with us a moment, ladies and gentlemen, as we give Ms. Laius, uh, Sister Inanna a moment to collect herself before we resume our interview.”

 

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