Convert remained outside while people were still there. He wasn’t trying to be rude or even anti-social, but quite honestly he was in disbelief over the gravity of sadness he felt. He never thought he would have to feel pain like this again. He knew that eventually Jack and Marie would pass away, but not like this and not this sudden.
At around 7:00, everyone had left to go home and get ready for tomorrow. Convert wouldn’t have known it if Marie herself hadn’t have come out and told him. He felt her gentle hand on his shoulder and she passed by him and sat down in Jack’s chair.
“How are you?” She asked.
Convert didn’t know how to reply. He felt ashamed. She shouldn’t be asking how he is. It should have been the other way around. “I don’t know,” was all he could get out.
“That’s ok, you know,” she replied while sitting back. “You don’t have to know all of the answers. Neither do I. God is good. That is the only answer that matters at this moment.”
Convert looked up at her. “What about who did this? That’s pretty important to me. What happened? How did he get to Lake Storey without taking the car? Why would anyone kill him and decide to throw him in the water? All of these things matter to me a lot.”
“They matter to me too,” Marie replied. “But tonight we don’t have those answers. I believe we’ll find the evidence we need, but until then we cling to what we have.”
“What do we have?”
“I still have you. I still have my son.”
At that Convert burst out in tears and Marie got out of her chair to hug him.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to save him,” Convert moaned. “I’m sorry for the mess I have been since he died. Please forgive me for what I’ve done.”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” Marie said through tears herself. “We all grieve differently. What you need to know is that none of this is your fault. None. We will carry on together and we will find who did this.”
“I love you, Marie.”
“I love you too, son.”
19
Emma sat on her couch, with the laptop in her lap, staring at her cell phone waiting for it to ring as if she was back in high school. She had told Aaron at lunch to call her later today and he said he would, but she wanted to talk to him now. It was hard to comprehend the events of the day. She couldn’t remember a time when she had gone through so much emotion. Her friend, Lisa, had stopped by around 5:00 with supper. Emma was really glad to see her and, of course, the emotion of seeing her best friend got a hold of her and she had a good cry over Jack’s death all over again. Lisa just hugged her and cried along with her. She had known Jack too and was also heartbroken over what had happened. They ate their Chinese food before it had gotten cold and Emma told Lisa about the events of the day so far.
Lisa grinned as Emma told her about Aaron asking her to lunch. Emma couldn’t help, but to blush. It was hard for her not to smile about it. She also told Lisa about foiling the robbery at the restaurant. She told her everything; except for the thoughts that were popping into her and Aaron’s heads. She wasn’t ready to divulge that part yet.
“That was you guys!” Lisa said shocked. “I read about that on Facebook, but I didn’t know you were part of that.”
“Well, I spent part of my afternoon writing the article about it so that it would be in the paper tomorrow,” Emma replied. “My boss was pretty happy to get the first hand scoop.”
As they continued to talk they eventually began discussing the details of what happened to Jack. Emma hadn’t been able to research as much as she wanted to because of the article she had written. As a matter of fact, she still hadn’t even had a chance to call the taxi companies and see if Jack had used one yet.
Lisa stayed for about an hour, but after she left, Emma finally made those phone calls. She had found what she was hoping for. It was about 7:30 now and she had decided to call Aaron anyway. She had not wanted to seem too eager or to bother him, but she couldn’t keep the info she had in any longer. Emma put her laptop to the side and reached out to grab her phone. As she was grabbing it, it rang. It was Aaron. Immediately she answered it (so much for not looking eager) and said hello.
“Hi, Emma,” Aaron said. “Am I calling at a good time?”
Of course! She thought. “Yeah. It’s good to hear from you! I’ve got some new info I wanted to share.”
“Ok, great. What did you find out?”
“Jack used a taxi to get to Lake Storey. He was never kidnapped. He went out there on his own.”
“Really? What time did he get picked up from his house?”
“The dispatcher told me that they picked someone up from Jack’s address at 10:45 p.m., drove him directly to the Lake Storey Pavilion, and dropped him off at 10:56 p.m.”
“Did Jack say anything important to the driver? Didn’t the guy think it was weird to drop a him off there at that time of night with a storm coming?”
“The driver said they simply had some small talk about the weather and when they arrived at the Pavilion, Jack said he was meeting somebody and wouldn’t need a ride home.”
“Jack was meeting someone? And Marie was at home asleep during all of this? Why wouldn’t he need a ride home? I’m sorry, but this doesn’t sound like normal behavior for Jack.”
“I thought the same thing, but the driver didn’t see anybody else there and didn’t think there was a threat. Jack even gave him a fifty-dollar tip! The guy took it gladly and drove away.”
“So about forty minutes later, Jack died. I’m pretty sure we know the exact time.”
Emma paused for a couple of seconds. “Yes. We do.”
“Well, it seems that the more we find out, the more the questions come,” Aaron said. “It’s assuring to know he wasn’t kidnapped, but it makes no sense to me that he would leave at that time of night to go meet someone. He didn’t even take his own car and he told the taxi to leave. It’s almost as if he wasn’t planning to return home, but that makes zero sense to me as well. He would never leave Marie, or Convert, or his church. This is making my head hurt.”
“I know exactly how you feel. There is so much that still doesn’t add up. This is so unlike the Jack I know.”
“Do you think the taxi driver is telling the truth?”
“I don’t see any reason why he would make it up. He didn’t sound suspicious. As a matter of fact, he was pretty cooperative when he found out that Jack was killed. I think it scared him.”
“Any more random thoughts today?”
“No. How about you?”
“Nope. This has been the single most weirdest day of my life,” Aaron said with a laugh. “Do you realize we are asking each other if we have had any more weird thoughts in our head?”
Emma laughed. “Thanks for calling me back. Tomorrow is going to be a hard day at church. I don’t know if I’m ready for it.”
“I’ll be praying for you. I mean that. Maybe some time soon we can have another meal together without a robbery interrupting it.”
“I would like that a lot. You have my number.”
“I’ll talk to you later then. Goodnight, Emma.”
“Goodnight, Aaron.”
20
To most of the town of Galesburg, this Sunday was like any other Sunday before. It was two weeks before Halloween and many of the houses were decorated with either pumpkins or footballs or both. The murder of Jack McKenzie had made it’s way through social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, so the general population was aware of what had happened before the newspaper released their preliminary story about it. For many it had caused an alarm because of its mysterious nature involving the victim. To find Jack floating in the water with no witnesses to the murder sent chills in the community. After Emma had talked to the taxi company she suggested to them that they go to the police and tell them what they knew. The taxi company agreed a
nd did just that.
The wind had picked up a little this morning and blew off more of the multicolored leaves begging to hold on to their branches. There were less people walking around Lake Storey than usual. Of those there, the few who had heard what had happened decided to not let it affect their Sunday morning routine. Most of those there, however, had yet to hear the news at all.
In different households, some people were sleeping in after a late Saturday night out, others got their kids up and ready for whatever sports tournament had been scheduled, some woke up like it was just another day off to catch up on some sort of leisure, and yet for others it was the day they got ready to go to church.
Aaron usually got to his church, Faith Community, at about 8:00 in the morning in order prepare himself for the two morning services and the Sunday School class that he taught for the high schoolers. The first service was at 8:30, Sunday School was at 9:45, and the second service was at 11:00. After all of the events that happened yesterday, he didn’t necessarily feel like he was in the teaching mindset. Duty called, however, and he made sure he was ready.
Emma arrived at her church at around 8:00 in order to prepare for the service as well. Grant had called her last night and asked if she would be willing to help with worship since today would be a different kind of service. Jack had pastored Grace Trinity church for 45 years. It was a country church right outside the city limits of Galesburg and had always been smaller than the churches in town. It was a strong community of one hundred twenty people and they greatly loved Jack and Marie. That was why he had stayed so long in the first place. They never wanted Jack to go and he never really wanted to retire. His death, however, was not how anyone had prepared for him to leave.
Emma pulled up and saw the sign of the church. Under the church name, it said, Jack McKenzie, Senior Pastor. She sat and stared at it for a few moments. This was real. He wasn’t coming back. She didn’t know if Convert and Marie would be here today. She couldn’t imagine how Marie must be feeling. She knew Convert had to be hurting too. She certainly wouldn’t blame them if they stayed home. It all had to be too much.
Emma reached for her door handle and got out of her car. At that moment another car pulled in beside her. It was a very familiar one. Jack and Marie’s. She looked at the window and saw that Convert had driven and for the first time that she could remember he was wearing a suit and tie! He quickly got out and came around to the passenger side where it was none other than Marie McKenzie stepping out. Emma was shocked by their demeanor. Marie smiled as she looked at Emma. The smile was genuine, but the sadness in her eyes was genuine too.
“Hello, Emma,” Marie said. “Thank you for being here today. Jack and I have always appreciated the time you’ve put into our congregation.”
Emma walked over and hugged Marie. She couldn’t stop the tears. Seeing Marie without him broke her heart. “I loved Jack. I’m so sorry this happened and I am doing my best to find out who did it.”
Convert stood there silently. He too had vowed to find Jack’s killer. He didn’t know how he was going to be today. It was like his emotions were on a seesaw. One moment was sadness, while another, was anger, and yet another moment was appreciation for knowing Jack at all.
Marie looked Emma in the eyes. “None of us will bear this burden alone. God will direct us on the path we need. Today isn’t about finding the killer; it’s about praising our God whom Jack is with right now. Jack is fine. I miss him terribly and what happened was terrible, but we know that Jack is finally home and not only is he with Jesus, but he’s been reunited with Ralph again too.”
At the mention of Ralph, her voice cracked a little, but she quickly regained her composure. “Let’s head inside,” Marie said smiling again. “Today will be a good day.”
For the people of Grace Trinity church, the day turned to be a surprise for everyone involved. All who came were shocked to see Marie. Not because they didn’t want to, but because of the strength and love she exhibited. There were many hugs and many tears. The service itself started about fifteen minutes late, but no one had noticed. To Convert, it seemed like he was at a visitation instead of a church service, but seeing the love that the church had for him and Marie did a great thing for his heart. This is what the Church was supposed to be. He wasn’t merely experiencing a gathering of people, he was experiencing the body of Christ at work.
During the service, Grant had spoken briefly about Jack, and urged everyone to continue to show love to Marie and Convert. Emma sang along with some others on the worship team and, to Convert’s ears, her voice sounded the strongest and clearest it had ever been. She was indeed a beautiful person inside and out and the church was blessed to have her there.
Ultimately what many people thought was going to be a day of extreme sadness turned into a day of worship. The church raised their hands in praise to God. A God who is in control of all things even when it seems like the world has fallen apart. Marie sang while tears streamed down her cheeks. As a matter of fact, Convert didn’t think there was a dry eye in the place. He was glad that they had come. He needed this. He saw that he wasn’t alone. As Solomon said in the Bible, it was a “time to weep and a time to laugh.” Darkness was trying to creep into this town and Convert was resolute that it wasn’t going to happen on his watch.
“Jesus, whatever you need me to do, use me to do it,” he prayed. “Just give me the strength to do so.”
21
The first worship service at Truth Community ran normally considering all the events that had been happening. Charles Stratton, who was the senior pastor, got up after the opening song for his usual announcements and asked for prayer for Jack McKenzie’s family and church. Aaron was appreciative that he had mentioned it, but felt a tinge of sadness as the service moved along on schedule. To Aaron, Jack was one of the most important spiritual influences in his life. He longed to see Convert and Marie again to see how they were doing. He imagined they were at home trying to get their heads around what to do next. He knew that Convert would take care of Marie. There was no doubt in that. However, he knew how emotional Convert was and he was genuinely concerned about his well being. Aaron decided that he would be sure to visit them this afternoon. As for now, though, he had work to do.
Sunday school was uneventful. Aaron was currently teaching a series on the life of Elisha. Today’s lesson was about the time Elisha prayed for his servant’s eyes to be opened in order to see the army of angels surrounding them. Aaron always loved that story. It was good to know that God was there doing things even when you couldn’t see it. He felt it was especially relevant considering that thoughts kept popping into his head telling him things that no one else would know.
There were about forty senior high kids there, which was pretty good considering it was a Sunday morning. He was glad to see that he hadn’t lost everyone to sports or sleeping in. When he finished teaching, he talked to a few of the students. Some had thanked him for letting Convert speak Friday and Aaron promised to make sure to thank him again. Some of the other kids talked football, of course, and how excited they were for the first playoff game to be played on Halloween night. Clayton himself was not at Sunday school this morning, but Aaron was sure that he would be in the second worship service to the joy of many.
Aaron was packing up his stuff to put into his office before the service began when someone behind him said, “Pastor Aaron, could we talk to you for a minute?”
Aaron spun around and saw that it was Jordan with his three buddies, Trent, Mark and Josh. “Hey guys,” Aaron said with a smile. “What can I do for you?”
“We are all kind of confused about something that’s been happening recently and we were wondering if you had some time to talk to us about it?” Jordan replied.
“Is everything ok?” Aaron asked.
“We think so, but then again we aren’t sure?”
Aaron had never seen the guys like this. He had always k
nown them to be happy-go-lucky kids, but he could see in their eyes that they were serious. As a matter of fact, Trent had no funny remark to give like he usually did, which was definitely a sign that something was really going on. “Sure guys. Why don’t we head over to my office, ok?”
“Thanks,” Jordan said.
They left the youth room and made their way to Aaron’s office. When they finally got there he saw the clock on his wall said 10:50, which meant they only had 10 minutes until the next service started. Aaron didn’t have anything that he had to do in particular for the service so he knew he could take the time he needed with whatever was bothering these guys.
Aaron sat down at his desk while the guys found a seat as well. Aaron had a couch and a couple chairs so everyone was able to sit down. “So what’s going on guys?” Aaron asked. “You all look bothered by something.”
They all looked at each other as if they didn’t know what to say or who was going to say it. Jordan had always seemed to be their unspoken leader and Aaron wasn’t surprised that Jordan was the first to speak up. “Thanks for meeting with us, Pastor Aaron. I know the service is starting soon so maybe this wasn’t the time to talk.”
“We have all the time we need,” Aaron said. “I don’t have to be in the service so feel free to talk to me about what’s bothering you.”
Jordan glanced at his friends. “Well, the hard part is knowing where to start.”
Josh looked back at Jordan. “You might as well tell him everything.”
“Well, maybe not everything,” Trent said grinning. “We don’t need to know about when you were finally out of diapers.”
It was good to see Trent cracking a joke still. It put Aaron a little at ease. However, these guys were scared of something and that bothered Aaron a lot. “Go ahead and start at the beginning.”
So that’s what Jordan did. He talked about how Convert’s story motivated them to check out the abandoned barn since they now knew the real backstory behind it.
The Scarlet Plan Page 15
