The Wreck Emerged

by Joseph Webers

  “The Cubans wouldn’t let the Americans into the country, and we wanted Bhatt to have some investment in our project. But he became careless, and thus a liability. I sent my cousin’s son down there to take care of him.”

  “You might be interested to know Bhatt is still alive and Manan Ganguly is in jail there for attempted murder. You said you paid Bhatt well. We know about the eighteen billion rupees you got from Hem Laghari. How did that transfer take place? Why was it necessary to steal your own money and how did you do that?”

  “We knew Mr. Laghari was very influential,” Rishaan said. “We didn’t know what would happen to us if he changed his mind. He was responsible for a lot of pollution, so this was basically extortion. If the money disappeared before we got it, then he couldn’t come after us. Rushil told me Jackson, who worked for Bhatt in Brazil, had done this before, but on a smaller scale. She had logged in to both the bank in the US and the bank in India at the same time.

  “Rushil was on the phone to Jackson when I had the appointment to transfer the money. He watched me through a window and when I scratched my head, he told Jackson and she swiped the money. The bank official couldn’t believe what happened, and Laghari was furious. I acted bewildered, but he refused to give up any more money.”

  Bob consulted his notes, and noticed that Phil had added several questions. He glanced at Phil and nodded, then continued, “Bhatt had a computer expert besides Jackson working for him. Did they know the MiGs were to shoot down the plane?”

  “Yes. There were two hackers and a translator, who was there only to help them with the locals. I doubt they would have told him their business. They sent me a coded message every day to let me know they were still functional.”

  “Where did you get the American thirty-millimeter ammunition?”

  “We got a good price from a vendor. I don’t remember who he was, but the information may be on my laptop. If you give me some paper, I’ll write down all the passwords. One of the passwords opens a document I keep the rest of the passwords in. We got the ammunition drums from several Air Force training accidents of American A-10 fighters. They assembled them to the MiGs in Brazil as one of their tasks. All the ammunition was kept at Nicaro.”

  “You had teams ready to exterminate cities in China, India, Italy, Macedonia, Albania, and the US. Where did you get these teams from?”

  “They all came to me based on online publications and speeches I had done. They all volunteered to help out on anything we needed to have done. They all told me how they hated all the pollution in their countries. I had Rushil look into their qualifications and ideologies. He didn’t accept everyone, but only those who showed promise. One of the requirements was that they speak English. It made the meetings and other communications go much smoother. We also didn’t have to deal with translators, whose loyalty and discretion can sometimes be suspect.”

  “Tell me about the name, International Bread Consortium.”

  “When we decided on delivery trucks for the dispensing of the gas, we wanted to have a theme that wouldn’t raise any suspicions. All cities have bakeries, so we had our trucks painted to be bakery trucks. We had several meetings in public places, so we adopted the name so we could have our meetings on the marquee. That way, people not connected with us wouldn’t be interested in coming.”

  “You relied on Rushil Singh for almost everything.”

  “He took care of a lot of the details I didn’t have time for. He seemed to be a good assistant.”

  “Did you ever think he might have outside help in what he did?”

  “No, not really. Now that I think about it, he must have had a contact in Russia for inserting the device in the luggage.”

  “What did he do for a living in Allahabad?”

  “I’m not sure. He told me he worked for the university.”

  “Was there anything that ever gave you the impression he wasn’t who he said he was?”

  “Not until the last night before I left India. I found out he had falsified the application to the Federation of Indian Scientists, the group I was president of when I met him. Dasya didn’t trust him, though, especially the last few weeks. I should have listened to him.”

  “One last question from me. What were you planning to do after you shot Maggie Trillbey and Matt Carven?”

  “I was going to disappear. I got plenty of money from Hem Laghari that is completely untraceable. The account information is on my laptop, along with all the other accounts. I know I will probably disappear anyway, because of what I’ve done, but I am prepared to take what’s coming to me.”

  Bob, Phil, and JC exited the interrogation room, leaving the British authorities to continue the questioning. “He doesn’t have a clue about the Russians,” Phil said.

  Bob checked his phone. A half hour after he had called Chuck, he had gotten a reply text, “Khatri is ours.” Shortly after that, he had gotten a second text from Chuck, “Papers are ours.”

  “Let’s get a little sleep,” Bob said, “and then invite Maggie Trillbey and Matt Carven for breakfast somewhere, and tell them what we can. Without their involvement, we’d all be dead. Not only that, if Chabra hadn’t decided to kill them, we never would have caught him.”

  147

  “What will happen to Rishaan Chabra?” Maggie asked over a splendid breakfast at the Doubletree.

  The American intelligence agents had been telling Matt and Maggie what they could about the events of the past three weeks. “All indications are that he will be extradited back to India to stand trial,” Bob said. “There was an Indian couple on the plane, and there will be other charges. I wish we could tell you both more, but rules are rules.”

  “You both have an amazing story!” JC said. “They told me on the flight over. I’m glad for you, and I’m glad for the whole world.”

  “Yes,” Bob said, “they promised me a DVD of your meeting last night. I want to see what you said that turned that raging murderer into a calm and peaceful human being. He knows he’s facing the death penalty in India, but isn’t even fighting it.”

  “You should all come back tonight and hear the rest of our story,” Maggie said.

  “And I can tell you,” Matt said, “that Maggie’s story is just beginning.”

  “We’d like to,” Phil said, nodding to Frankie Ross, who was waiting to take them to the airport, “but we’re heading back. We’re finished here, and there is a lot that’s broken that still needs to be put back together. The world is waiting for us to tell them what happened. Please send us a DVD of tonight’s program.”

  “I will,” Maggie said.

  “After tonight,” Matt said after the others had left, “I’ll be going back to Gary.”

  “I’m sad to see you go, but I know we’ll see each other again. God told me I’m ready.”

  “Yes, you are. He told me that, too. He also said I haven’t done the job yet.”

  “Do you know what it is?”

  “No, Maggie. All I really know is that it’s here in England somewhere. I think it may involve you. I hope so, and I don’t think it involves Charlotte, but I might be wrong on both counts. Even though it may not involve you, I will never stop being your father! I hope I get to enjoy watching Jenny grow up.”

  The next morning, Charlotte drove them all back to Bristol. Matt had arranged a flight for the next day, and Maggie announced she and Jenny would accompany him to London to see him off. After lunch, she took them all to see her classroom at the primary school, as well as the childcare facility she passed every day on her way.

  After Maggie fed Jenny and put her down for a nap, she and Matt went to Tinto Lounge to reminisce and start saying their good-byes.

  “I’ve been thinking about the time when we first met on the plane,” Matt said. “I had lost my whole family. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to grieve properly between one tragedy and the next. But God showed himself strong for me, like he did for you.”

  “It seems like so long ago,” she sa
id. “So much has happened since then.”

  “I want to tell you something,” Matt said.

  “Oh, what’s that?”

  “I was a wreck, and you found me.”

  “No, Matt, it was God who brought me to you!”

  “If God hadn’t brought you, Maggie, I might have been miserable the rest of my life.”

  They were quiet for a moment. All over England, petunias were in full bloom. “Trade places with me,” she said.

  “Okay.”

  The swap was made. “I want to tell you something,” Maggie said.

  “Oh, what’s that?”

  “I was a wreck, and you found me.”

  EPILOGUE

  148

  The Chicago airport was crowded, which was typical for the day after Christmas. When Maggie had called him, she sounded more bubbly than she had lately. “I found a man,” she had said, “and I want you to meet him.” The sparkle in her voice told him this wasn’t just some random man. She was bringing him to her father for his approval and blessing.

  The five months had passed quickly. They traded the journals they had agreed to write, and both were amazed at each other’s feelings and recollections. After Matt had gotten home, shortly after Rishaan Chabra’s arrest, they video-chatted almost daily, and as the months passed, their chats declined to weekly. Maggie almost always included Jenny in the chats. Matt was thrilled at her growth and development. She always recognized him, and lately, she would point at him and laugh when he first came on.

  Lisa would not be visiting her parents, Harry and Gert Somerset, at Christmastime, so he had borrowed all the baby things he needed, and set them up in Rachel’s room. The young man would get Todd’s room. The weather in Gary during their three-day stay would not be conducive to outdoor activities, which was just fine with Matt.

  The public address system announced their flight, and the passengers were coming through the exit doors. She had told him they would be flying coach, so he expected there would be a lot of travelers coming through before he saw her. Finally, there she was, pushing the stroller while her companion pulled two rolling carry-ons. He was a little shorter than Matt with a medium build, short dark hair, and a thin mustache. Is he the one, Lord? Matt opened his mouth to ask, but he heard the “Yes!” even before the words were formed on his lips.

  They made their way to where Matt was waiting. Jenny saw him, pointed, and said, “Gumpa!” Matt gave them a hug and they kissed each other on the cheek.

  Maggie was totally beaming. “Matt, I want you to meet Louis Moore, Jenny’s dad. Lou, this is Matthew Carven.”

  His mouth dropped open in surprise. Laughing, she reached up and pushed his lower jaw closed.

  They shook hands. Matt noticed Lou’s confident grip. Jenny reached out for Matt, so he took her. He squeezed her and kissed her and made her giggle.

  “Don’t ask now,” Maggie said. “We’ll tell you on the way to Gary.” They piled the carry-ons into the stroller, which Lou pushed on their way to baggage claim and to Matt’s mini-van.

  “I didn’t tell you at first, because there was nothing much to tell. Later, I decided it would be fun to surprise you. We started seeing each other soon after you left,” Maggie said, as soon as they left the airport traffic behind. “It was easy to be with him, and we have a lot in common. He adores Jenny, and she is comfortable with him.”

  “About a month after Jenny was born,” Lou said, “I remembered about her and her foot. I didn’t understand why, but I began to feel sick about how I had treated Maggie. About that time, a real longing developed, but it wasn’t for Maggie or even Jenny. To make a long story short, it was God pulling on my heart. I had moved from London to Birmingham, and there was an older man at the construction management company I worked for, who told me about Jesus. When I gave myself to Jesus, all that longing was replaced by a peace I had never felt before.”

  “Maggie, how did your mom react when you told her about Lou?”

  “Mum realized when they first met she was a kindred spirit with Lou. They got along great! When I finally told her, she didn’t know what to say. The next time Lou came over, she hugged him and cried all over him.”

  All the way to Gary, they talked about how their relationship had blossomed. He lived about a half hour north of Cheltenham, so Maggie had spent most of the rest of the summer with her mum, who was very willing to watch Jenny while she and Lou spent time together. They talked about their jobs and careers. They prayed together and read the Bible together.

  “Have you found groups of other followers of Jesus,” Matt asked, “in Bristol and Birmingham?”

  “Yes,” Maggie said, “we have each found a church which has believers like us. In both cases, it is a smaller group within the church that really follows Jesus. I’ve told our story twice at mine and once at Lou’s.”

  “Maggie told me about the baptism of the Holy Spirit,” Lou said. “I had never heard of it, but she told me about her and your experiences, and we found it in a lot of places in the Bible, so I finally asked Jesus to baptize me, and he did.”

  They arrived at Matt’s house, and after showers and supper, Maggie took Jenny upstairs to put her to bed. “Jenny’s schedule is all messed up because of the six-hour time difference. We all slept some on the plane, so we should be okay for a little while. I think we’ll get over the jet lag about the same day we go back.”

  While Maggie was feeding Jenny, Lou said to Matt, “I’d like to talk to you about your daughter.”

  “She told you all about that?”

  “Yes, and I spent some time on the Internet finding out about American customs. I am asking your permission to ask her to marry me.”

  “You are both old enough so you don’t have to ask.”

  “Yes, I know. We prayed about it together and we even fasted one day. I believe it honors you and her both. What she told me about you has given me the greatest respect for you, and we both want your blessing. I know I owe her this, being Jenny’s father, but we look at this as your confirmation that we’re not making a huge mistake.”

  “After Jesus, I love Maggie and Jenny more than anyone else in the whole world. Do you know what that means?”

  “I believe so,” Lou said. “I know I would be committing to her entire well-being, and Jenny too, above my own, whatever it takes. I just don’t know what all that might be. She told me about your song. She didn’t remember the words, but she said it’s beautiful. I’d like to hear it one day.”

  “Tell me what you know of how the Lord will use Maggie to tell the world about him, and his plans for her and Jenny, and how you will support her in that.”

  “God blessed her with absolutely brilliant experiences while she was with you. She talks to groups at least weekly, many times to teens that have harmed themselves like she did. She helped a daughter of one of my coworkers. I know God will use her to bring many to himself. I will never have that kind of ministry, but I know it’s my job to protect her in what she’s doing.”

  “Do you know what it would mean to be her covering before God?”

  “No, I never heard of that.”

  “It’s not something you do, it’s something you are. It’s your position as head of the household. God made you strong to protect her—body, soul, and spirit. It is God’s plan for a family. The mother and father each have a very important, but different, role. Picture holding a steel umbrella over a petunia plant during a hailstorm. You’re that umbrella, protecting your family from all the attacks of the world and the devil. Without your covering, Maggie and Jenny would be very vulnerable. I’ll teach you both more about it while you’re here.”

  “Yes, I’d like that, and I know Maggie would, too.”

  “Maggie is utterly different than she was a year ago. Totally new.”

  “Yes, Matt, and so am I. The old me would not have the slightest desire or ability to care for her and love her like she needs and deserves, and Jenny too.”

  “Yes, you have my blessing,” Ma
tt said. “You both have my blessing. It would be such a pleasure and honor to sing my song again, and hopefully again sometime after that, if grandchildren come along.”

  “Thank you. You’ll walk her down the aisle?”

  “Yes, but only if she tells you yes! Her, and Jenny too. It will be a package deal. Are you ready?”

  “Absolutely! If you don’t mind, I’d like you to witness my proposing to her.”

  “It would be my delight.”

  After a few minutes, Maggie came down from the bedroom. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep after feeding Jenny. Did I miss anything?”

  “We were just talking,” Matt said. “We have time to worship our creator now, if you both would like.”

  They did. Matt started, and soon a beautiful three-fold harmony of praise and worship ascended to the throne on high.

  The next morning, over breakfast, Maggie asked about Larry Williams. “You haven’t told me much, which is fine with me,” she said, “but I’m curious, and Lou knows very little.”

  Matt told Lou about the project, and updated Maggie on the latest. “The US Navy Seabees are in charge of the military part. They are getting help from the Brits, and they’ve already started working on a runway. Larry and I deal with them strictly through our lawyers. He is using the same lawyers as you and I. The conex arrangement was a stroke of genius. They said it could be flexible up to fifteen per year. The shipments will start in April, and he will ship materials to build a solar farm and houses, which will require a lot of drilling into the rock. Nodule collecting will come in the next phase.