The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy

by Mark Goodwin

  Elliot counted his change and left a generous tip. “I got him on at the lodge. They have several openings for third shift. Did you find a job yet?”

  “My pastor wants me to focus on this trial, so he basically put me on staff at the church while I fight this. He thinks it’s an important battle for Christians everywhere.”

  Elliot nodded. “A fight for freedom anywhere is a fight for freedom everywhere. He sounds like a smart man. Where do you attend?”

  “Faith Church. The pastor is giving a special message tomorrow about freedom and duty. You should come.”

  Elliot gave Noah’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be there. Mind if I bring my wife?”

  “Bring anyone you want.”

  “Okay, I’ll bring Starkey too. He could use a trip to church.”

  The two men said their farewells, and Noah headed home.

  ***

  Noah walked in the house and handed the new computer to Cassie.

  “A laptop?” Cassie was so excited. She took it straight to the table and hooked it up.

  “The deputy that walked off, Kevin Starkey, bought it for us.”

  “He was a Marine; we should be the ones buying something for him to thank him for his service. How did he know they took our laptop? He left before they stole it.” Cassie continued the setup process on the new computer.

  “He read the report before he quit. It mentioned that the laptop was taken. I’m going upstairs to send an email to George to let him know that Leo will be joining us for the interview tomorrow evening.”

  “Okay, I’ll be here.”

  Later that evening, the Parkers took their meatloaf over to the Rays’ house, where they shared a meal and visited with their daughter. After dinner, the trial and the upcoming protest were the main topics of conversation.

  Becky Ray brought coffee around to the adults in the living room. “I think it’s so great that Pastor Mike is putting the full weight of our church into this battle.”

  David Ray followed her in with a container of milk and a bowl of sugar. “It’s like he said, ‘if you lose, we all lose.’ I hope you both know that Becky and I are committed to this. It could have just as easily been us that all of this happened to. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Cassie sipped her coffee. “Actually, you could show us how to operate an AR-15. I just bought one. I could probably fumble around and figure it out, but you can get me through the learning curve a little faster.”

  “Did you bring it?” David asked.

  “Yes.” Cassie set her coffee on the table and went to the car to retrieve the rifle.

  When she returned, Cassie handed him the case. David opened it. “DPMS, this is a good rifle for the money. They won NRA Gun of the Year a couple of times. I’ve probably got a few extra parts lying around if you’d like me to trick it out for you.”

  Cassie clasped her hands together. “Wow! That would be fantastic.”

  Becky caught David before he left the room. “And give her some of those metal magazines. They’re taking up too much room in the closet.”

  “Okay.” David left to retrieve his tools and some attachments for the Parkers’ new rifle.

  Becky rolled her eyes. “During the last magazine scare, Magpul thirty-round Pmags completely sold out for months. David went crazy and bought all the metal thirty-round magazines he could find before they were out of stock. A year later, when the market normalized, he bought a bunch of Pmags. Now, the metal ones are just collecting dust and filling up my closet.”

  David came back in the room with a large toolbox and seven metal magazines. “These are great magazines; I just like Pmags better.”

  Cassie took the magazines. “Thank you so much.”

  David opened the toolbox. “I have an aluminum four-rail handguard if you want it. It adds a little weight, but you can mount a light, forward grip, and backup sights.”

  Cassie looked at the handguard. “Okay.”

  David placed the D-ring tool on the front of the rifle and quickly changed the handguard. Next, he put on a set of backup sights, an inexpensive reflex sight, and a forward grip. “I don’t have an extra tactical light, but you can buy a good one online.”

  Noah looked on in amazement at how quickly David had totally changed the appearance of the AR-15. “Very cool. Thank you so much. What do we owe you?”

  David passed the rifle to Noah. “You can pay me back by learning how to use it.”

  Noah took the rifle and followed David’s instructions on how to change the magazine, operate the safety, and deploy the backup sights.

  David scratched around in the box a little more and dug out a single point sling attachment. “I’ll put this on and try to find you an extra sling. Bring it over here next Saturday morning, and we’ll go over some shooting techniques.”

  “Am I invited, too?” Cassie asked.

  David laughed. “Of course.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “That must be Sharon.” David got up to peek out the peephole before opening the door.

  David opened the door and Sharon Beck came in.

  “What a night at the restaurant,” she said.

  “Busy?” Cassie asked.

  “Yes! I thought we were ready for the season, but we still need a couple more cooks and a server. I was doing everything tonight.” Sharon plopped down on the couch next to Becky.

  “That’s a good problem,” Noah said.

  “Hmm. If I could find decent help, it would be. You’d be surprised how hard it is to get good workers. Especially with unemployment so high. But the government makes being unemployed so easy, people don’t see why they should make any effort. I guess Cassie thinks it’s part of a conspiracy to make people easier to control. I never would have believed that before, but why else would the government want people to be totally dependent on handouts?” Sharon looked at Cassie as if she thought Cassie would explain it all.

  Cassie just shrugged.

  Becky said, “You’re blessed to be so busy. A lot of the local restaurants might not make it through the season. Overall, tourism is way down.”

  Sharon unbuttoned her coat. “Most of them are way overpriced. In this economy, you have to offer people value. A restaurant is just a business. You have to deliver a good product that folks can afford. To make it around here, you have to show people that you can hang on. We have people that come back every year; they like the food and know we offer a fair price.

  “Hickory Creek Lodge is still doing well because the rich folks love that place. We still get plenty of them every fall. The high-priced places like that do okay if they can put out good food. A few other inexpensive places like The Kettle do all right, too. It’s the places in the middle that are getting squeezed. Pretty much like America. We’ve got rich and poor, but there ain’t much in between these days.”

  Lacy and Lynette walked into the room.

  “Are you ready to go, sweet pea?” Sharon asked.

  Lacy nodded. “Mom and Dad, am I going to see you at church tomorrow?”

  Noah grabbed his little girl and hugged her tightly. “Of course.”

  Cassie gave her a kiss on the head. “You be a good girl for Ms. Beck.”

  Lacy put her coat on. “I will. I love you. Goodnight.”

  Noah and Cassie left the Rays’ house shortly after Lacy and Sharon.

  ***

  The next morning, Noah and Cassie arrived at church a little early.

  “There’s Elliot and his wife. Let’s go say hi.” Noah led Cassie toward the Rodgers.

  Noah waved when they got close. “Elliot, this my wife, Cassie.”

  Elliot shook her hand. “Pleasure, ma’am. This is my better half, Caroline.”

  “Very nice to meet you,” Noah said.

  Caroline grinned widely and hugged Elliot’s arm. “You’re the man responsible for turning my husband into Sam Adams?”

  Noah put his hands up. “Oh, I think that rabble rouser has always been
in there. If I had anything to do with waking him up, I do apologize.”

  Caroline looked at Elliot. “Actually, I kind of like it.”

  Cassie said, “We have to go say hi to our little girl, but why don’t you two sit with us?”

  “That will be fine,” Elliot said. “We’ll save you a seat.”

  “Where’s Kevin?” Noah asked.

  Elliot said, “Probably shooting some espresso. He worked third shift at the lodge last night. Said he was going home to change.”

  “Okay, see you in a bit,” Noah said.

  The Parkers went to see Lacy, then met the Rodgers back in the sanctuary. Kevin Starkey had arrived and looked very alert. Introductions were made, and Cassie said, “Thank you very much for the laptop.”

  Kevin grinned. “Glad I could help.”

  The service started, and the choir sang a few worship songs. Next, Pastor Mike began teaching.

  “John Adams said, ‘Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.’

  “I’ve avoided politics from the pulpit for years. I thought I was doing the right thing by focusing on the Bible. Now, I see what has become of our nation, where thousands upon thousands of pastors, just like me, avoided politics. We’ve missed, perhaps, our greatest calling.

  “Proverbs thirty-one, verses eight and nine, say, ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’

  “Who are those who can’t speak for themselves? Isn’t it our children who will be left with the world we leave them? Who are the poor and the needy that need their rights defended? Isn’t it us? Compared to a federal government with unlimited resources, aren’t we all poor? If any one of us has his or her rights violated by the state, isn’t that person the needy?

  “I’ve asked permission to share the Parkers’ story with you this morning. I think most of you are aware of their plight, but I’ll elaborate. Today, I’m going to explain what they’ve gone through in the past week. We’ll watch a video made by Cassie at the end of the service, and then we’ll have a call to action.

  “In first Corinthians twelve, verses twenty-six and twenty-seven, Paul says, ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.’

  “As I tell you what happened to the Parkers last week, I want you to visualize that all of these things are happening to you. Because if we are all one body, as Paul said, then these violations happened to each and every one of us.”

  Pastor Mike continued to describe in graphic detail everything that had happened to the Parkers. He left out no fact and pulled no punches. He described Lacy’s screaming; the bloody corpse of Buster, the family dog; and Noah’s arrest.

  Afterwards, Pastor Mike played Cassie’s narrated footage of the crime scene. When the video finished, he asked, “If that had just happened to you, what would you be willing to do to make it right? What are you willing to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again? Whatever you’d be willing to do if that had been you is what you need to do tomorrow, because that just happened to each and every person in this room. I was just arrested. That was your dog that was murdered. Every one of our children was abducted when Lacy Parker was forcibly taken from her mother’s arms.

  “Ephesians says, ‘be angry and sin not.’ Sitting back and letting this happen when you have the power to stop it is a sin.”

  It was very uncharacteristic for Pastor Mike to raise his voice, so the congregation was caught off guard when he shouted, “Now who’s angry?”

  Elliot Rodgers was the first person to stand up and start clapping. Kevin Starkey was next. Soon everyone in the sanctuary was standing and clapping.

  Pastor Mike calmed everyone down. “We’re holding protests at the county courthouse starting tomorrow. We’ll be petitioning to get Sherriff Gregory to step down, and we’ll be asking for the support of our county commissioners. I want you to ask for the support of every person you know. Either people are with us or they are against us. It’s time to draw a line in the sand. Everyone who stood up and said they’re mad, I expect you to walk the walk. No excuses! The church is providing lunch after the service, so no one has any reason to leave. You’ll have plenty of time to sign up for the protests and get copies of the petition, so you can start collecting signatures.

  “I don’t want to live in a country where this kind of stuff happens. You shouldn’t either.”

  After Pastor Mike prayed, he said, “God bless, and I’ll see you all outside for the picnic.”

  At the picnic, Noah’s time slot sign-up sheet for the protest was soon filled, and people began writing their names on the back. His stack of forty petitions soon dwindled down to only two, so Lynn Barnes took one to the church office and made more copies. Most all of the congregants of Faith Church offered their support to Noah and Cassie.

  Jim and Sandy Taylor came to say hi after the crowd started to thin out. Jim took a petition sheet. “God is with you on this, Noah.”

  Noah nodded. “I think you’re right, Jim.”

  Jim said, “I spoke with Commissioner Laurence. You already have support from the majority of the county commissioners. Once the protest and petition hit the news and people start calling them, it will probably be near unanimous.”

  Noah was happy to have a friend like Jim who was well connected. “Good to know. I trust you’ll keep your finger on the political pulse.”

  Jim smiled. “You can count on me.”

  ***

  Noah and Cassie arrived home from church just in time to get ready for the interview. Leo Cobb pulled into the drive only minutes later.

  Noah opened the door for him. “Come on in. Can I offer you some coffee or water?”

  Leo removed his overcoat. “Can I have a cup of coffee for now and some water for the interview?”

  “Sure thing.” Noah went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

  Cassie entered the living room, greeted Leo, and set up the laptop. “This computer has a better camera built in than what we have connected to our desktop in the office. Besides, we can position it so we can all sit side-by-side on the couch.”

  Leo said, “Sounds good to me.”

  Cassie fidgeted with the computer for several minutes, trying to get a good camera angle. “Let’s put the laptop on a chair, and it will give us a wider view while we chat with George.”

  Noah reappeared with coffee and water for everyone. He set the drinks on the coffee table. “Is everyone ready?”

  “Ready.” Cassie directed Noah to sit on her right and Leo on her left.

  George McConnell called on Skype and briefed everyone on the format of the show. He instructed Cassie to cut the video feed to save bandwidth and thereby increase the audio quality. The interview began, and the first few questions went over the events of the past week.

  Next, George directed his questions to Leo Cobb. “Mr. Cobb, it was very gracious of you to represent the Parkers pro bono. Did you have to compete against the ACLU to get the case? I know that organization represented John Scopes in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. I know they’re for freedom of speech, no matter which side of the evolutionary argument a person happens to stand on.”

  Leo laughed. “The ACLU would certainly have you believe that. Their actions tell a different story. Back in 2004, members of the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, wanted intelligent design to be offered in addition to evolution. When the material was made available, the ACLU was on the side of suppressing the county’s freedom of speech. The ACLU won the case, and intelligent design could no longer be mentioned.”

  George said, “It sounds like the ACLU might have some agenda other than the civil liberties of Americans.”

&nbs
p; George continued the interview, covering the particulars of the case. He wrapped up the interview with a call to action. “For Sevier County residents, please stop by the courthouse, show your support, and sign the petition to have Sherriff Gregory removed from office. This has to start at the local level. We have to send a message to our elected officials in our communities. If they won’t stand up for our constitutional rights, they’ll be handed a pink slip. If we won’t take action to change our communities, how can we ever hope to address the corruption in Washington?

  “If you’re a listener outside of Sevier County, visit the Parkers’ website, ParkerMonkeyTrial.com, and share the videos on social media, send links to your pastor, and call your local news stations. Let’s get this message out there. Hopefully, your local elected officials will get the message that a police force can’t walk into people’s homes without a warrant and abduct their child when the child is perfectly safe, and you can’t have a policy that has no other way of dealing with family pets than shooting them. There is no reason the deputies who shot Buster couldn’t have allowed Cassie to put him in the other room if they felt threatened. We’re going to tell Sherriff Gregory that since he won’t change those policies, we’ll find someone else who will.”

  Once the interview was finished, everyone said their goodbyes, and Leo left. Noah made a pot of tea to share with Cassie to help them unwind. While he had no idea of the drama to come, he did know the following day would be a big day.

  CHAPTER 16

  In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

  Mark Twain

  Noah awoke to the smell of coffee and pancakes. He rolled out of bed and followed the enchanting aroma to the kitchen.

  Cassie was setting the table. “You slept in this morning.”

  Noah poured his coffee. “It took me a while to go to sleep last night. I was thinking about the protest. I should have gone for a run last night, but I was so tired from all the activity.”