The Countdown Begins

by Patrick Higgins

  Without saying a word, Chelsea followed her father out the door.

  Brian dropped his head and remained silent. Jacquelyn pressed her legs up against her chest and hugged them. We should have eloped to Las Vegas...

  The phone rang again. Brian motioned for Travis to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Mister Hartings, this is Ramon again from the concierge desk.” Ramon sounded a little more agitated this time. “Are you sure everything’s okay? Do I need to call security or perhaps the police?”

  “No need for that. We just received tragic news and we’re all grieving.”

  “Sorry to hear that, Mister Hartings.”

  “Thanks for the concern, Ramon. We really appreciate it. We’ll be fine soon.”

  The call ended.

  Travis Hartings prayed, “Father, we need You now. Our hearts go out to Renate’s family in this time of unspeakable grief and loss. To lose a spouse and child on the same day is a crushing blow for anyone to cope with. Our brother Charles and sister Jacquelyn both know this firsthand. Would You comfort Mister McCallister and his daughter, Megan, at this time, and draw them to You? Make Yourself known to them, Lord, as only You can.

  “As we mourn, please assure the newlyweds it wasn’t their fault. This was a choice Renate made on her own. Comfort and restore Brian’s and Jacquelyn’s broken spirits. Remove all guilt from their weary souls. Let them feel Your presence at this time and Your healing touch. I ask these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

  “Amen,” came the reply in unison.

  Brian and Jacquelyn remained silent. Both were trance-like. It felt more like they’d attended a funeral rather than their own wedding. It was a funeral they felt happened because of them.

  Brian, especially, really did feel like a murderer. He wondered if the gut-wrenching guilt and pain he felt would ever go away? He feared it wouldn’t. Help me, Lord!

  34

  THE FIRST NIGHT TOGETHER as husband and wife was a sleepless one for the Mulrooneys. Aside from consummating the marriage, nothing else had gone as planned.

  By the time everyone left their hotel room it was after 3 a.m. Sarah Mulrooney wanted to remain with her son and daughter-in-law all night, but Brian had insisted that she go back down to her room and do her best to calm her husband and console Chelsea at the same time.

  In near total darkness, Brian clung tightly to a pillow as Jacquelyn clung tightly to him. Brian’s eyes were closed, but how could he sleep with constant heart palpitations and with horrific visions assaulting his mind?

  Jacquelyn felt her husband trembling. Then again perhaps it was her. Peering into the darkness the only light in the room, dim as it was, came from a digital clock on the bedside table, a small red power light on the flat-screen TV, and from a few faint wisps of moonlight penetrating through a slight crack in the curtain.

  It was enough to dimly illuminate the white tissue box on the bed next to her.

  Other than that, it was pitch black.

  Jacquelyn had done so good overcoming her emotions leading up to the wedding. The stress and tension from dealing with her parents was overwhelming enough, yet she’d somehow managed to rise above it.

  But when Brian’s father stormed out of the church after identifying Tamika Moseley, the last layers of the onion started peeling away. Then Dylan and Megan McCallister—two people Jacquelyn didn’t even know and weren’t even invited in the first place—caused a commotion as the ceremony was winding down, and Jacquelyn literally felt herself shrinking away in her wedding gown.

  Now that she understood the source of their anger and grief, the onion had peeled completely away, sending everything in her life careening out of control again.

  Jacquelyn felt trapped beneath a new canopy of tragedy and despair. Now on top of that, part of her felt cursed in love. First to lose Tom and their child seven months ago. Now this? Had she already lost Brian on their wedding day? Would Renate’s suicide slowly pull them apart? Two husbands in seven months?

  Jacquelyn understood why Brian was grieving. She also understood why he was unresponsive to her affection. Having gone through a similar experience herself, she pretty much knew how he felt. But this was their wedding night and she desperately needed him now. Yet, Brian was so unreachable.

  Jacquelyn felt terribly alone, as if stranded on a desolate island with no one to comfort her. It was a dreadful thought to be sure.

  It only intensified when Brian climbed out of bed without saying a word to her. He got dressed and left the room.

  All Jacquelyn could do was cling to a pillow in the darkness and wonder in silence where her husband went, and hope and pray that he returned to her again.

  Brian rode the elevator down to the lobby and left the hotel. He was unfamiliar with Sterling Heights, Michigan and, therefore, had no idea where he was going. But that didn’t stop him from taking a long walk. His eyes were blurry from being so tired and from shedding so many tears over the woman he gave five years of his life to.

  For the first time since he broke up with Renate, Brian wondered if he’d made the right decision. Though he no longer loved her the way he once did, they’d shared a measurable amount of time together. Had he not ended their relationship so abruptly, chances were good she’d still be alive.

  It was impossible for his human side to not second guess himself. But his spirit side told him it was the right thing to do. Renate wasn’t a Christ follower.

  The fact that she adored Salvador Romanero—even mentioned him in her final seconds on Planet Earth—not to mention her worldly lifestyle and view point proved that much.

  Yes, ending the relationship was the right thing to do.

  Still it hurt...

  A few miles from the hotel, Mulrooney’s phone vibrated. He thought it was Jacquelyn. It wasn’t. It was a text message from Craig Rubin. After many months of silence, Craig finally decided to contact him on his wedding night of all nights.

  It read: I hope you know there’s a warrant for your arrest in New York for harboring a known fugitive! I gave the police all sorts of information on you, including where you live and work.

  What a loser you turned out to be! So glad I didn’t come to your wedding. And to think we used to be best friends. My father’s so ashamed of you. He told me to tell you to be a man and do the right thing. Turn yourself in!

  Brian didn’t reply. What could he possibly say? “How nice of you, Craig, to share such good news with me on my wedding night!” Mulrooney said sarcastically to himself. “You shouldn’t have, really!”

  Just then a state trooper, seeing Brian talking to himself and looking rather distraught, pulled his vehicle to a near stop.

  Are they looking for me here in Sterling Heights? Thanks to his own stupidity and Craig Rubin’s assistance, authorities in New York knew he was in Michigan. They also knew he was getting married. But he seriously doubted they’d be looking for him an hour drive from Ann Arbor.

  Unless, of course, his father ratted him out to the local police. He trembled at the thought.

  Mulrooney gulped hard when the police officer rolled down his passenger side window to get a better look at him. His palms were sweaty, and his mouth was dry like cotton. “Can I help you, officer?”

  “What are you doing out here at this late hour?”

  “Going for a walk.”

  “Are you from around here?”

  “I’m visiting. Why do you ask?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “You don’t look fine to me.”

  “Just received some bad news. I’ll be fine soon. Thanks for the concern.”

  After a five second stare down, the state trooper slowly drove off.

  Brian took a few deep exasperated breaths and decided he’d had enough of walking. He had to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible and start packing. Even though the room wasn’t registered in his name, his father knew where he was staying. If he shared his whereabouts with local authorities,
it wouldn’t end well for him.

  Walking back to the hotel, Brian thought about Tamika and Tom Dunleavey and how their lives had drastically changed for the worst after coming to faith in Christ Jesus. How could it possibly get worse than this?

  Brian pushed that thought from his mind. It would get worse, incredibly worse, in fact! He just didn’t want it to begin with him sitting in a jail cell.

  Halfway back to the hotel, Brian felt a sharp pain in his chest. He was so busy drowning in his own sorrows that he overlooked the needs of the woman he’d just pledged to take care of in good times and bad. How could I leave her alone like that?

  Brian picked up the pace and started jogging. Guilt stabbed at his heart every step of the way.

  When he returned, it was 5 a.m. Jacquelyn was wide awake shivering beneath the covers, staring at the wall across from her.

  Brian’s shoulders slumped. He was breathing heavily. “I went for a walk. Sorry for leaving you here alone, sweetie. Don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “I need to get out of Michigan,” she said, without making eye contact with her husband. “I can’t stay here another day.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Brian sighed. “The sooner the better.”

  Jacquelyn shot her husband a curious look, “Oh?”

  “I just had a brief encounter with the police.”

  Jacquelyn tensed up, “What happened?”

  “It’s okay. It turned out to be nothing. A squad car pulled to a stop as I was out walking. He looked at me suspiciously and asked a few questions. What spooked me most was that it happened immediately after I read a text message from Craig Rubin.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Basically, there’s a warrant for my arrest in New York City for aiding and abetting a known fugitive, and that I’m a loser and he’s glad he didn’t come to the wedding, and that I need to be a man and turn myself in.”

  Jacquelyn gulped hard, then put her hands up to her mouth. “Oh my...”

  “Yeah. Thanks to my father, I don’t feel safe at this hotel. Never thought I’d see the day when I couldn’t trust my own dad...”

  Jacquelyn sat up in bed and tousled with her hair. “Even more reason to leave then. We can’t go to church in the morning. Last thing we need is for your dad, my parents or even Renate’s father to lead police there. What would we do then?

  “And there’s no way we can go to my parents’ house. My folks already think you’ve brainwashed me. I can only imagine how far they’ll go to pull me away from you.”

  Brian gulped hard. For the first time in his life he got a taste of what being on the run felt like. “I’ll call Mom in the morning and tell her we’re leaving Michigan sooner than expected.”

  “I won’t text my folks until we’re out of Michigan. Last thing I need is for them to make a big scene.” Jacquelyn started sobbing, knowing she might never see her parents again.

  Brian said, “Who will move our things out of the house?”

  “Pastor Simonton already offered to help. Given the situation, I’m sure many from church won’t mind helping him load the truck, so Travis and Clayton can drive it to Pennsylvania for us.”

  Brian sighed. He was really looking forward to his final three days in Michigan before leaving for Chadds Ford. He and Jacquelyn had planned on taking Charles and Tamika on one last tour of Ann Arbor.

  And Pastor Simonton had planned a sendoff luncheon for them the day before they were scheduled to leave for Pennsylvania.

  Not only that, Jacquelyn had planned on inviting Tamika to stay at her house until a decision was made about her joining the ETSM. Now that Charles and Tamika were en route to who knows where, those plans were scratched.

  And all because they believed in Jesus....

  Brian reached for his cell phone on the table beside the bed. “Let’s see if I can change our hotel reservation in Pennsylvania.”

  Jacquelyn said nothing. She was too busy packing her suitcase.

  Brian understood. Completely.

  35

  “YOU’RE WHAT?!”

  “I’m a Christian,” Sarah Mulrooney said softly to her husband.

  “What are you talking about, Sarah. You’ve always been a Christian.”

  “What I mean is I’m no longer a Catholic.”

  Dick Mulrooney rolled his eyes. Jeez, not again! “You can’t be serious, Sarah.”

  “I’m totally serious.”

  Dick sat on the edge of the bed waiting for his wife to finish getting dressed, so they could have breakfast at the hotel restaurant before leaving for the airport.

  Still in deep mourning over Renate McCallister’s suicide, neither felt like eating. “Okay, I’ll play along. So, what caused you to denounce your Catholic faith?”

  “It happened even before coming to Michigan. All Pastor Simonton did was confirm it to me when he gave a clear description of the Gospel at the wedding. Never heard that kind of preaching before. His words made my soul rejoice. At least, until I watched the DVD...” Sarah lowered her head.

  Dick glanced at his daughter, Chelsea. She was sitting on the couch, phone in hand, chatting with friends online looking for comfort. After viewing the DVD, she hadn’t spoken a word to her parents since. Their constant arguing certainly wasn’t helping.

  Chelsea pushed her earbuds as far in her ears as they would go to hopefully drown out her parents’ voices. Not even the Xanax pills she took after her shower could numb the pain she felt.

  “Wedding, ha! What a joke,” Dick hissed. Even in mourning, he was clearly agitated. “Come on Sarah, it was nothing but a sham. It was a godless event that ended up being the main contributor to Renate’s suicide!”

  It was still difficult for Dick to accept that she was gone. A beautiful life snuffed out just like that!

  Also gone was the possibility of Renate giving him a grandson someday. What seemed so promising would never come true now. That dream died along with Renate. Brian and his false religion were to blame for it all. Surely, he was demon possessed.

  Sarah still knew nothing about his dream. It was the first thing Dick had ever kept from his wife in more than 30 years.

  Dick took a deep breath and tried blinking these disastrous thoughts from his conscience, but he couldn’t. His heart burned within him. “How could you possibly think God was present in such an evil environment? I mean, who in their right mind has a fugitive as part of their bridal party, a fugitive our own son harbored out of New York City?

  “Now there’s a warrant for Brian’s arrest? I dread going back home. Thanks to the internet, the Mulrooney name will be forever tainted. How will I be able to look anyone in the eye? I’m so humiliated! Yet, you seem perfectly okay with it.”

  Sarah searched her husband’s eyes. Now that hers were open, spiritually speaking, it wasn’t difficult seeing just how spiritually blinded Dick really was. “I figured you’d say something like that. You really believe I’m incapable of thinking for myself, don’t you? Which means you probably think I’m incapable of understanding the Word of God on my own, without Church supervision.”

  Dick wasn’t used to hearing Sarah’s voice bolstered like this. He wondered where the sheepish figure he’d grown accustomed to over the years had escaped to? “I never said that. It’s just that...” He paused, wanting to choose his next words very carefully.

  Sarah was too emotional to remain patient. It was time to defend her faith. “Let’s examine your comments, Dick. First, regarding your doubt about God being present at the wedding: let me remind you, dear, that God is Omnipresent, which means He’s everywhere at all times.

  “And come on, it’s not like Tamika’s a murderer or a drug dealer. Nor did she steal anything from anyone. She was simply searching for answers. Nothing more. Now that I’m a real believer, I understand why she did it.”

  “Yeah, I know, purely for spiritual reasons, right? Blah, blah, blah!”

  “Precisely.” Sarah did her best to ignore her husband’s sarca
sm. “Everything that followed was nothing more than spiritual warfare...”

  Dick snapped. “Give me a break, Sarah!” His voice was so loud that Chelsea nearly jumped off the couch.

  “About my experiencing God in such an evil environment; let me just say I felt His presence in that church more than any Catholic church I’ve ever gone to in my life. I finally got to experience true Christian fellowship, even if you didn’t!”

  “True Christian fellowship?”

  “Yes. Funny thing is, had it happened in a Catholic Church, you’d believe me.” Dick wanted to say something, but Sarah wouldn’t let him. This was too important! “I mourn the loss of Renate just like you. Lord knows how much I loved her and longed for her to be my daughter-in-law.

  “Who knows, had it not been for my faith in God, perhaps I would’ve killed myself last night too. Though I mourn, because of my new faith in God, I can feel His peace that surpasses all understanding the Bible talks about.”

  “What would you know about the Bible?” This was said with as much sarcasm as Dick could muster.

  “Been reading it every day since last November.”

  “You what?!” The look on Dick’s face resembled someone who’d just been completely blindsided. He shook his head, feeling totally betrayed.

  “Sorry for not telling you earlier. But had I done so, you and I both know you would have done all you could to stop me from reading it, especially since it isn’t a Catholic Bible.”

  You’re right about that! Betrayal quickly turned back to anger. “Man, oh man, here we go again! It’s like Déjà vu! First Brian, now you!”

  “I’ll have you know there were many former Catholics at the wedding, including one of the groomsmen. The older gentleman was a former priest named Tom Dunleavey.”

  “Don’t you mean Father Tom Dunleavey?”

  Sarah shook her head no. “He insisted that I not address him as ‘father’.”

  “Was this so-called former Catholic priest aware that a wanted fugitive was one of the bridesmaids?”

  “I believe so. Why?”