The Detective Bride

by Sylvia Damsell

  “Paul, or Saul as he was called then, wasn’t a good man,” Jude said. “Clever, yes, because he was a Pharisee and a teacher of the law. That definitely made him religious. But he didn’t know Jesus. In fact, he was antagonistic towards those who followed Him and persecuted them to the point of imprisoning them. He’d even okayed Steven being stoned to death not long before that. Could you read it for us please, Esmé?”

  Esmé started to read and Susannah was fascinated by the story. Saul being blinded by the glory from Jesus, hearing His Voice and then turning his life right around from being religious to being a follower of Jesus.

  “I was like that,” Jude said after Esmé finished reading. “Not for the same reason as Paul but because I was filled with resentment over what happened to me in the accident. In fact, I often didn’t even believe there was a God. But now it doesn’t worry me because Jesus has done so much for me and I belong to Him. When did you first follow Jesus, Esmé?”

  Esmé told them with a few others following her, and Susannah found it far more interesting than she expected it to be. She hadn’t done what they did but she must give it some thought. She looked at Blair and wondered what he was thinking.

  “Paul never stopped telling everyone about what Jesus did for him and how He forgave his sins,” Jude said, shutting his Bible. “Even when he was persecuted or imprisoned he wouldn't. I want to keep doing that too. Would you close in prayer please, Hannah?”

  Another young lady whose husband was sitting on the floor playing with a little girl and boy prayed and Susannah felt she had never heard anyone pray like that before. It was so natural, just as if God was in the room, not like the formal prayers she had heard before. Everyone started to clear up afterwards and Susannah held the Bible out to Hazel.

  “Keep it,” Hazel said. “We have a few here which we give away.”

  “I left mine at home. I could pay for it.”

  Untrue because the only Bible in their house was in a book case. “No. We don’t want money. Did you enjoy the morning?”

  “Very much.” At least that was true because she had enjoyed it and even the Bible bit.

  “You can either go with Blair or come back with us.”

  “Blair and I have a bit of discussing to do so I may stay around here until the children come out of school. I could bring your boys home, if you like.”

  “Thank you. They’ll like that, I know.”

  Vivien walked across the room towards them. “Becky and Dan are really settling well,” she said. “They said they’re going to live with you until you find their mother.”

  “I’m wondering now if I should have promised that,” Susannah said. “I’ll do everything I can to do so but I’m not sure if she’s alive or why they were left in the orphanage.”

  “They’re not Blair’s children then?”

  “Well, technically they are at the moment because he adopted them, that is, until we find their mother. He didn’t know there was a mother who could be alive and we had communicated with each other with a view to marrying, except that I’ve changed my mind about that. The children want to be with me though, not because Blair isn’t a good father but because, I suspect, they don’t really want another father at the moment. Theirs died.”

  “That’s sad,” Vivien said. “Maybe you could all come to us for a meal soon. My daughter will make the children feel at home and we have lots of animals which children love. But then so has Bruce and Hazel. You could bring Larry and Tony too if they would like to come.”

  “Thank you.”

  They were so friendly, Susannah thought when it came time to leave. Was it something to do with their faith?

  But she had more pressing matters to deal with because she had to find out about the land rights and why their client was trying to get the land. She had to establish who it really belonged to though she didn’t really want to sue the church because everyone was so nice.

  Except that it wasn’t the church Miles was suing but the body building the seminary and university. She had to remember that at all times and not start getting soppy.

  She made her way into the mercantile where Blair said he was going and looked round with interest. It really was nice but she couldn’t see Arena anywhere. Maybe she wasn’t working today because she mentioned she didn’t work every day. Susannah moved round to look at everything, trying to decide what to buy the children.

  They could do with more clothes, she thought, so maybe she could bring them soon to choose them. Not today though because Larry and Tony would be with them. She walked over to where Blair stood looking at some shirts.

  “We need to discuss what we’re going to do,” she said. “How about you treat me to lunch at the boarding house?”

  “Me treat you?”

  “Yes, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

  “I’m no gentleman.”

  “I know but you’d like people to think you are.” She grinned as he looked at her briefly. “Do clothes come under expenses?”

  “Of course and so does food for both of us. We could discuss in your apartment.”

  “Aren’t you buying anything?” As he turned from the table.

  “I have enough shirts,” he said.

  “And you’ve run out of money. Alright then, I’ll treat you to a meal. Have you got enough food?”

  “I haven’t run out of money and I’ll treat you. I have money for expenses with me. Why are you in here?”

  “Because you came in. I was just thinking. The children really need new clothes. We could bring them in tomorrow after school.”

  “We?”

  “We. What’s the matter? You sound a bit grumpy.”

  “I’m thinking, that’s all.”

  “What about?”

  He shrugged. “Life. Why we’re here. That sort of thing.”

  “Brought on because of this morning’s Bible study, I would imagine. What did you think of it?”

  “It was all too new to me and I want to talk to someone about it.”

  “How about Zedekiah? We don’t have to go to lunch.”

  “We’ll have lunch first. Shall we go now?”

  “Alright.”

  He was really serious, Susannah thought, and she had found it a bit challenging too though she wasn’t desperate to discuss it with anyone. They walked over to the boarding house and Samantha who had been at the church answered the door at their knock.

  “We wondered if you have room for two people to eat,” Blair said.

  “Yes, of course we do. It’s nice to see you.”

  “You cook, don’t you?”

  “Yes. Usually someone else answers the door but I was passing. There’s a menu in the dining room and one of the waitresses will take your order.”

  “Thank you.”

  They went in and the first people they saw were Michael, Vivien and their little twins. When the family saw them Michael stood and walked over to them.

  “Would you like to join us?” he asked. “The table is plenty big enough. I’ll get a couple of chairs.”

  Susannah nudged Blair. “You could speak to Michael,” she muttered.

  “I don’t want everyone listening,” he muttered back.

  “We’ll sit at the table for two,” Susannah said to Michael.

  “Yes, of course.” He went to move back to his table.

  “Well, what I mean is you and Blair could sit at it and I’ll sit with Vivien. You can discuss manly things and we’ll do what females do.”

  “Gossip,” Blair said.

  “Just go to your table.” Susannah looked at Michael. “Do you mind?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Draw him out. He wants to talk about this morning.”

  “You really are the most unsubtle person I have ever met,” Blair said.

  “And I get results. Go.”

  Susannah sat opposite Vivien. “He needs a sympathetic ear,” she said.

  “And you’re very thoughtful. Michael will give him a good o
ne, I promise.”

  “Were you a mail order bride?”

  “No. I’ll tell you how we met one day. I do love living here though and have done since I arrived. Everyone is so friendly and helpful and it has a good atmosphere. The residents say it’s since Jonathon and Linda Barnsley arrived a few years ago. Before that it was just a place to live but they brought life in more ways than one, which includes spiritual. They preached Jesus instead of religion.”

  “There are many religions,” Susannah said.

  “There are so to call Christians religious is stupid. The Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus’ day were religious and it didn’t do a lot for them.”

  Susannah picked up the menu. “I’m not particularly conversant with the Bible. I’ve never read what we read this morning.”

  “That passage means a lot to Jude, as I’m sure you noticed. Before he received Jesus he was an atheist, he said, but God knew he would receive Jesus and brought him here where he would hear about his need of Him.”

  “Does God do that?” Susannah asked.

  “Oh yes, He does. Some people never will give their lives to Jesus and God knows who they are from the beginning of their lives. But those who He knows will receive Him He makes sure hear of their need of Him. It tells us in 1 Peter 1 that we are chosen according to His foreknowledge. He loves everyone, of course, which is why Jesus died, and it is not His will that anyone should perish. But we have free choice as to whether to receive Him or not.”

  Susannah looked at her thoughtfully. “They never taught that in the church I attended. Well, maybe they did and I wasn’t listening. How do you receive Jesus?”

  “You pray and ask Him in and at the same time give your life to Him.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why must you receive Him?”

  “Because our sin separates us from a holy, perfect God Who cannot accept sin. Before Jesus came animals were sacrificed to bear the sins of the people but the problem was they still kept sinning. But God always had the plan of sending Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice. When He died on the cross He took the sins of the world on Himself. All we have to do is accept what He did and accept Him into our lives. When we do that He forgives our sin, makes us a part of His Kingdom and family and puts His righteousness in us so that when God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Jesus which is in us. I’m sorry. I’m not sure I’m explaining it that well.”

  Susannah took a pencil from her bag and a piece of paper. “Draw it,” she said.

  “Michael is better than me at this.” Vivien drew two obvious hills with a tree on each to denote what they were. She put a background of water with the water flowing between the two hills plus quite a few rocks. On one hill she wrote SIN and on the other GOD then drew a few stick people falling off the side which said sin.

  “They’re trying to get to God,” she said. “Some do it by trying to be good, others by going to church, others by praying and reading their Bibles. Nothing is enough.”

  “Is that hell underneath?” Susannah asked.

  “Yes.” Vivien drew a cross which went from one hill to the other and wrote Jesus on it.

  “Jesus,” Susannah said.

  “Yes. The only way to God.”

  “Can I keep what you’ve drawn?”

  “Yes. Of course you can.” Vivien pushed it over.

  “I want to show Becky and Dan. What do I say?”

  “To them?”

  “To God.”

  “Just ask Him to forgive your sin and ask Jesus to come in.”

  Susannah shut her eyes and started to pray, not aware of the wetness in Vivien’s eyes. “Please, God, forgive my sins. I know there are a lot of them. Thank You, Jesus, for dying on the cross and taking my punishment. Please will you come into my life. I give my life to You. Amen.”

  “Thank You that Susannah is now Your child,” Vivien said. “Please fill her, Holy Spirit, and make her powerful for You, Lord. In Your Name, Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

  “Jesus,” Lucas said, bouncing on his chair.

  “Jesus,” Deborah added, doing the same.

  “Yes, Jesus.” Vivien tucked their napkins in their collars as the food arrived.

  “I feel different,” Susannah said.

  “That is because you’re a new creation. It tells us that in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17. If anyone is in Christ He is a new creature. The old has gone. The new has come.”

  “How does that tie up with my job?”

  “Your job?”

  “I’m a detective.”

  “And your client is Larson Miles?”

  “Yes.” Susannah looked up as the waitress walked over to her. “I’ll have the chicken stew. It sounds good.”

  “It is good. Potato and vegetables?”

  “Yes, please, with apple pie and custard to follow. Thank you.” Susannah turned to Vivien as the waitress walked away. “I’m hungry.”

  “You’ve come to the right place then. Samantha’s cooking is out of this world.”

  “So what do I do?”

  “About your work?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do what you’re paid to do. There’s nothing wrong in that and it’s good to have a lady detective. God gave us brains to use and you’re here to dig out the truth. Hopefully it will benefit the university and seminary but it’s the truth we want, not sentiment.”

  “That sounds very wise,” Susannah said.

  “Do you have any concrete plans concerning your investigation?”

  “We plan to see Mr. Miles on Saturday. He is our client but, as you said, we want the truth.”

  “Why did they send you so far to do this assignment?” Vivien asked.

  Susannah shrugged. “They have affiliations with a detective agency in Los Angeles and they came up with the scheme of marrying their detective to me so things will look more authentic. The marriage wouldn’t have been genuine, however, and I didn’t want to carry through with that in view of the children. Blair thought the children would add an authentic touch to everything.”

  “And then he would have returned them to the orphanage.”

  “I’m not sure he would have done that.” She definitely was sure but she didn’t want to say it. “Fortunately they have a mother and maybe God has a hand in that if we can find her.”

  “I’m sure He has. Michael and Blair are coming over to join us.”

  To tell them Blair had received Jesus, they found, and Susannah could not quite believe everything. This was certainly not something she expected when she woke up and she couldn’t quite take it in. Except that she was more than happy about it and the fact that Blair had received Jesus was an added bonus. It did not make her love him romantically but it made her happy. Now she was eager to lead the children to Jesus.

  They had a leisurely lunch where Michael and Vivien told them about a Bible study on Friday evenings which would be held at Seth and Hannah’s farm. Children were welcome, Michael said, and they usually took part in the discussion and sometimes acted out what they were talking about. When they finally stood to leave it was going on for the time the children would come out of school.

  They had left the horse and wagon in a field which was for that purpose behind the church and decided to walk to the school. The children ran to meet them when Larry and Tony didn’t spot their parents, and Blair directed them into the wagon.

  “We said we’d bring you home,” he said to Larry and Tony. He delved into his pocket and handed out four balls plus a little chocolate each. Both acceptable, Susannah could tell as their faces lit up, and he was definitely improving.

  “Thank you,” they said in unison.

  “How did school go?” he asked, getting on the front of the wagon.

  “We did sums,” Becky said.

  “And we wrote stories,” Dan added.

  “I got all my sums right.”

  “So did I.” The words were a chorus from all three boys.

  “Good for y
ou. Have you played ninepin?”

  “No.” The reply was once again made together.

  “I bought a box of them. It has instructions. You could play it later, if your want. I got two sets so you can either all play together or in your own houses.”

  “We’ll play together,” Larry said. “Mama can give us some cakes and drink.”

  “Good.”

  “Can we eat our chocolate now?”

  “Yes. Of course you can.”

  He was decidedly more friendly, Susannah thought. Did it have something to do with receiving Jesus? She was dying to tell Hazel as well as the children but she mustn’t impose on Hazel because she was very kind. The children chatted while they drove and it wasn’t long before they reached the ranch.

  Hazel came out of their door carrying Amos and invited Blair and Susannah for a drink and cakes with the children. The young people opened their boxes of ninepins and Susannah followed Hazel into the kitchen.

  “Blair and I received Jesus,” she said, unable to keep it in.

  Hazel turned to look at her. “That is wonderful. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

  “Michael and Vivien were in the boarding house where we went for lunch and they explained it to us. I feel totally different though I don’t know how to explain it.”

  “I understand,” Hazel said.

  “Yes. I guess you do because you have Jesus too. I was a bit worried afterwards that doing what I do is wrong but Vivien said God gave us brains to work things out and that is what I’m trying to do, aren’t I?”

  “You are and He did. You can ask for His help, which He will give you. I am so pleased. When people receive Jesus the angels rejoice so we should have a celebration.”

  “I want to tell the children.”

  “Then do that first and afterwards we’ll have a party. In fact, we could have one tomorrow after school and invite people round.”

  “Do the angels have a party?” Susannah asked.

  “I’m sure they do and angelic food must be out of this world. It says in the Bible that the manna God provided for the Israelites in the desert was angels’ food. It would have been far nicer than my cakes.”

  “Then it would have been truly delicious. Thank you.”