It was always dangerous as a journalist to like your subject too much, so J.B. Madison III of the Big Loft Bulletin knew he was in trouble ten minutes into his interview with Captain Hamilton of the three-man police force of Tinyville, VA.
Captain Hamilton's talk was measured and mellow and in his warm baritone, and the way he handled even difficult subjects with such a mature and compassionate outlook, with hatred for none, was rare.
“Let me say for the record that I didn't know that Mr. Braxton and company had ordered my parents' murder until 30 minutes before the world knew it,” he was saying at the ten-minute mark. “It never entered my investigative process and I never would have known it had not Mrs. Selene Slocum-Lofton, that elegant, brilliant firecracker of a Southern grande dame, worked all of the secrets out of the man.
“I'm glad I didn't know until then, of course. I'm only human, Mr. Madison. I could not have stayed objective with even the thought in my mind, so the Lord hid it from me until it was the proper time. Captain Lee in Big Loft and my uncle General Ira Hamilton suspected it because we know my father's work as councilman assured the conviction of the men who did the Tinyville Massacre in '72, and of course there was a resident of North Eagletop involved with that. But that line still didn't cut straight to Mr. Braxton.
“About Mr. Braxton: I have never met such a perfectly aged victim of narcissistic personality disorder in my entire life, and since I don't expect to meet the man the Bible calls the Anti-Christ, I count myself to have gotten as close as I ever will. According to Mr. Braxton, he could have been the world ruler the Scripture describes, but voluntarily gave that up to win Mrs. Selene Slocum-Lofton after 67 years of waiting. Just think about the magnitude of that statement.
“There is no bottom to the crimes Mr. Braxton and the cult of personality may have done – as you know, the investigation has gone all the way up to the FBI at this point. It's not just my family that has been hurt; it's hundreds of families around the country and the world. This is what I want to really get across: when we in law enforcement and the media look the other way at the first signs of trouble – and they have been apparent for that same 67 years in Mr. Braxton's case – we are complicit in ruining all that will be ruined when you let a man like Mr. Braxton continue to act out for nearly 70 years with an increasing amount of wealth and influence.
“What was it like to look Robert Lee Braxton in the eye after finding out … anger, for my family and for many others … sadness, because he is a wreck that didn't have to be … finality, because by quietly taking him and the rest into custody, that put an end to all of the nonsense … relief, when it was done.
“How do I feel about it all? I haven't sorted that all out yet. It's a lot to sort out. The Hamilton family across multiple generations has been vindicated, of course, and for many of us, the healing can now accelerate – but here is the thing, Mr. Madison. I'm a Christian. I was 14 when I lost my father. It's not like the Lord Jesus Christ left me without healing all that time. It's not like I've carried that chip on my shoulder, all that time. I desperately miss my father and mother still, sometimes … Christmas can be hard, although I can't show that to my children. But I also couldn't have survived with all that bottled up … so it's not like I have some kind of outburst coming. It's going to take a little while for me to have a good answer for you.
“Can't I just hate Mr. Braxton and the cult he rode in on like a normal person? No. I'm only human but I'm abnormal. What you love you focus on. What you hate you focus on. I hate evil. I hate injustice. I'll fight both, as my father did, to my last breath. Yet, people come and go, and Mr. Braxton is gone. He will never see the free light of day again, and neither will the rest of his little cult. They've taken enough from me and mine so I don't need to give them any more energy. Now I'm not quite where the Lord Jesus Christ is yet … He's the only Human Who Is God, so I'm not at the 'Father, forgive them' stage and if I'm ever going to get there, the Lord Jesus is going to have to do a special work – but in the meantime, I have many better things to do than to be hating Mr. Braxton.”
At the end of the interview, Mr. Madison made sure that he turned off everything before saying, “It is looking better and better to be abnormal in a good way in a world like this, because we have plenty being abnormal in a bad way."
Captain Hamilton smiled.
“Sounds like you may be ready to be introduced to the only Human Who Is God, Mr. Madison.”
“I do find myself leaning in His direction, Captain Hamilton, because apparently He has me surrounded with good representatives!”
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