I had stopped spending time with the Sanders family, though they didn’t know the extent to which our relationship had been ruined yet. Malika had since married Franklin, the former chief lieutenant, who had by now denounced Bevel and his teachings. Bevel’s wife and several of his followers still had refuge in our community, but he was mostly gone, it seemed. I had stopped attending the Sanders’s events, and I knew people were starting to notice. Every day, I wrestled with why I didn’t make a bigger deal about the Bevel news.
