by Mark Romang
Normally laidback and friendly, a stern look soured Crenshaw’s wind-chiseled face. “We need to talk, Andrew. Can I come in?”
Maddix opened the door wider. “Sure, Jack, come on in. I’m sorry I took so long to answer the door. I must have slept in,” he said, stifling a yawn.
Officer Crenshaw stepped into the apartment. Maddix closed the door and Crenshaw walked over to a sofa and sat down. Maddix followed and sat down across from him in a tattered recliner. Maddix noticed Crenshaw studying him, appraising his lean, muscular physique. Maddix wore no shirt.
“You have to be the fittest pastor on the planet…and easily the most dangerous,” Crenshaw said.
“Dangerous?”
Crenshaw nodded. “With your SEAL training you could easily manhandle most people. You could probably defeat ninety-five percent of the world population in hand-to-hand combat.”
Maddix shrugged. “I suppose. But I don’t really see a need for my past skills. I’ve moved on. My life is on a different trajectory.”
Crenshaw nodded. He looked briefly at the stack of MMA magazines sitting on the coffee table, and then looked up at Maddix. His gray eyes narrowed. “But still, a court of law would consider you a deadly weapon.”
“I’m not sure I’m following this conversation, Jack.” For the first time Maddix noticed a small leather binder in Crenshaw’s right hand. Crenshaw opened up the binder. Inside the binder was an official looking document. Crenshaw pulled out a pen from a holder next to the document.
“You will in a moment, Andrew,” Crenshaw said. The officer leaned back and placed his arms behind his head. Sweat circles stained the armpits of his uniform. “I’m sure you’ve noticed we have visitors in town.”
“We are a tourist town, Jack. Is that so strange?”
“I’m not talking about the visitors to the park, or even the curiosity seekers and news crews camping out around the church.”
A light bulb flickered on in Maddix’s head. “You’re referring to the atheist group, the four men in the Escalade?”
Crenshaw nodded his head soberly. “Yes, the ones you had a run-in with.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Because Aeton Lasko has pressed assault charges against you, that’s how.”
Maddix stood up and began to pace. Quick strides from one end of his living room to the other made the floor creak. “You have to believe me, Jack. I was set up.”
“Maybe you were, and then again, maybe not. That’s why I’m here. I’d like to hear your side of the story, Andrew.”
Maddix sat back down. He dragged a hand up and down his scalp. “I just noticed them tailing me everywhere I went. Their black Escalade was never far away. If I was in the church, they were parked outside. If I was here in my apartment, they were parked across the street. They weren’t even discreet about it. It’s like they didn’t care if they were spotted.”
Crenshaw wrote something down in the binder. He looked up at Maddix. “And you couldn’t take it anymore and confronted them, more specifically, Lasko?”
Maddix nodded. “But I didn’t assault him. If anything, he assaulted me.”
“It doesn’t matter. Lasko contacted us first. Anyway, go ahead with your account, Andrew.”
“Okay, I was briefly in Sara Kendall’s store. When I left her store I saw them parked across the street. All four men were sitting in the Escalade. Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to go talk to them. I walked up and introduced myself. I was polite and cordial. But Lasko became agitated right away.”
“Can you describe his behavior more specifically?”
Maddix closed his eyes and tried to relive the event in his mind. “Lasko immediately wanted to step out of his car when I approached his window. And he seemed to have an agenda he wanted to follow, as if everything had been rehearsed. He didn’t mince words or waste any time accusing me of being a fraud, a scoundrel using the YouTube video to swindle money from simpleminded folk.”
“At what point did your discussion with Lasko become confrontational?” Crenshaw asked, still writing everything down.
“Lasko became combative when I asked him why he thought the video was a fraud.”
“What did he do? What did he say?”
“He said he knew the video was a fraud because there is no God, no Heaven or hell, angels or demons. His voice raised an octave as he was saying this.”
Crenshaw stopped writing for a moment. “And then what happened?”
“I told him God does exist and that God loves him very much. And this is when he came unhinged. He took a step forward and started jabbing me in the chest and telling me how the Skeptikos Alliance will never stop fighting to remove God and objects of faith from the public sector.”
“Is this when you pushed him down?”
“I promise you, Jack, I didn’t push Lasko down. He flopped like a fish out of water. All I did was gently place my hand on his chest to keep him from coming any closer. When my hand touched his chest he immediately threw himself backward into the Escalade.”
“You should know that there is a witness to this altercation,” Crenshaw said.
“Let me guess, Sophie Gengler?”
Crenshaw tried to suppress a grin but couldn’t quite succeed. “Yep, and I’ve already talked to her. Sophie swears you pushed Lasko down.”
“Sophie never has liked me much.”
“But I’ll let you in on a tidbit of info about Sophie. She’s legally blind. She can’t see well enough to drive a car. So her testimony would probably be dismissed in a court of law. Really, it’s all up to the prosecuting attorney to decide if there’s enough evidence to go to trial.”
Maddix let out a sigh. “I finally caught a break.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. The Skeptikos Alliance is a ruthless organization. They’ll stop at nothing to win a battle. They have unlimited finances and the best lawyers money can buy. If they want to take you down, Andrew, they’ll find a way to do it, even if it means bribing the DA.”
“So what should I do?”
“Just hang tight. Camp out in this apartment. Stay out of the limelight. Don’t do anything controversial or illegal. And in the meantime I’ll drag my feet writing my report. And when I do go before the prosecuting attorney I’ll do my best to dissuade him from pursuing the case.”
“So you believe I’m innocent then?”
Crenshaw nodded. “Right now I do. But if anything else happens I reserve the right to change my mind,” he said as he snapped shut his binder and stood up.
“I promise I’ll behave, officer,” Maddix said with a smile.
“You better, Andrew. If you don’t I’ll haul you off to jail. I don’t care if you are a war hero and a pastor. No one is above the law in this town.”
****
Sitting forlornly at the base of worn-down mountains the color of dead grass, and strung out along a treeless, hardscrabble valley, General Dick Stout Field, more commonly known as the Hurricane Airport, stretched for nearly 3,410 feet. Home to mostly small planes and a few helicopters, Kyle Miller based his Zion Canyon heli-tours from this nondescript airport.
Miller directed a Shop-Vac hose into a hard to reach crevice inside his helicopter and sucked up debris from last night’s raid at Perdition Canyon. Mud from the Canyon floor littered the cabin floor. He had a tourist flight at one P.M. and needed to spit polish the MD-500 for his guests. First impressions were everything.
Sweat dripped off Miller’s nose as he worked. An autumn heat wave battered the region. Local meteorologists predicted temperatures to flirt with triple digits today. Miller believed they might actually get the forecast right for once.
Engrossed in his work, Miller didn’t notice the man approach him from behind. He flinched when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Miller turned and saw Washington County Sheriff Webster Morgan looking at him. Miller turned off the Shop-Vac. After the noise died down he said, “Good morning, Sheriff, may I help you?”
The lawm
an nodded curtly. “I need to ask you a few questions. Your name is Kyle Miller, correct?”
“Yes, sir, that’s what people call me.” Miller waited for the sheriff to respond but he didn’t. Instead the lawman studied the fast rope apparatus mounted to the outside of the helicopter. He inspected it closely, and then examined the operations platform, even stepped up onto it. Miller felt his stomach sour.
The sheriff looked down at him. “Can you tell me what this external equipment is all about?”
“It’s a mechanism that allows for fast-roping,” Miller said.
Sheriff Morgan continued to snoop. He looked inside the helicopter cabin, spotted the thick rope coiled in the corner like a sleeping python, and tugged at it. “Why do you need it? You run a canyon touring company, don’t you?”
“That’s correct, I do. But I’m thinking about branching out and offering my helicopter to police departments that want to train for fast rope insertions,” Miller lied.
Sheriff Morgan stepped down off the platform. He was a black man with droopy eyes, and stood about two inches shorter than Miller. He also carried around twenty to thirty pounds of extra flab. “A local rancher called me this morning and said there was a helicopter flying around Perdition Canyon last night. I’ve already talked to the other helicopter pilots working out of this airport. They all deny that it was them.”
That didn’t take long for us to get busted. “I won’t deny anything, Sheriff. It was me.”
“What were you doing out there flying in the dark? Sounds like a risky thing to do. Did you file a flight plan?”
“Helicopter pilots aren’t required to file a flight plan. And flying at night isn’t dangerous if you’re using night-vision goggles like I was.”
“Okay. But you still didn’t explain what you were doing out there?”
“I was just practicing flying at night. Most fast rope insertions are done at night. So how about it, Sheriff, you think your deputies would like to slide down a rope dangling from a helicopter?”
Sheriff Morgan removed a handkerchief from a pocket and dabbed at the sweat collecting on his brow. “They probably could use some excitement, but our tiny budget doesn’t have room to add anything else. We got some new cars. There isn’t much money left until next year.”
“I understand. But just pick a day and I’ll let you guys train for free. I’m just starting out on this new endeavor and I need to perfect my product. This one is on the house.”
“I’ll keep the offer in mind, Kyle. Now, promise me you won’t fly too many more times around Perdition Canyon. There’s something wrong about that slot canyon. A couple of hikers came out of there the other day babbling a bunch of nonsense. They kept muttering something about dark forces. We had to take them to St. George for medical treatment. They were acting crazy.”
“I’ll be careful, Sheriff. You have my word,” Miller promised. But I’ll be flying there tonight. God willing, that will be the last time, he thought to himself.
Chapter 24
Downtown Felicity
Maddix stared vacantly at his plate of food. He pushed the fettuccine noodles around in aimless circles with his fork. The food Sara Kendall prepared was delicious. But the conversation he had earlier in the day with officer Crenshaw dominated his thoughts and ruined his appetite.
“Is something wrong with the food, Andrew?” Sara asked, still wearing an apron.
Maddix looked up and smiled at her. She looked like a seductive homemaker. “The food is excellent, Sara. It was very kind and thoughtful of you to cook for us.” Webb, Miller, and Cody joined him around the small dining table.
“The food is first class, Sara. My compliments,” Kyle Miller added.
Sara blushed. “Thank you, Kyle. It’s nothing elaborate. I spent more time on the dessert than the meal.”
“There’s dessert?” Cody piped up.
Sara smiled. “There is. Are you ready for it?”
“I’m always ready for dessert.”
Maddix watched Sara leave the room and enter the kitchen. He stood up and looked over at Webb. “C-Dub, I need to speak with you in private.”
“What did I do now?”
Maddix smiled weakly. “It’s not what you did, it’s what I did. We can talk outside on the balcony.”
Webb nodded. “Lead the way, buddy.”
Maddix entered the kitchen. He touched Sara’s arm. “May Webb and I be excused; we need to talk over some things?”
She smiled at him. “Sure, go ahead. But hurry back. I made red velvet cake for dessert. It’s my grandma’s recipe. You don’t want to miss it.”
“This won’t take long,” Maddix assured her. He opened the sliding door off her kitchen and stepped out onto the narrow balcony. Webb followed and shut the door behind him.
“Sara is one fine woman, Mad Dog. She’s beautiful, smart, tough, and a fabulous cook. What more could a man want?”
Maddix leaned his elbows on the balcony rail. He nodded. “I won’t argue with you. Sara is special.”
“Are you two dating?”
Maddix laughed. “No, she’s a member of my church. She’s the church treasurer.”
“But she likes you, Mad Dog. It’s obvious. Anyone can see it.”
“I have a lot of baggage, C-Dub. She doesn’t have a clue how much I’m carrying around. And people I love tend to betray me at some point.”
Webb snorted. “We all have baggage, Mad Dog. None of us are perfect. You’re a pastor. You know how flawed we all are.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about asking Sara out to dinner. I’ve just been a little busy lately. I’ve been fighting demons.”
“I liked you better when we were SEALS, when you weren’t all spiritual. You wouldn’t have wasted any time flirting with Sara. You would’ve had her number in ten minutes or less, guaranteed. You’ve lost your mojo, Mad Dog. You must be getting old.”
Maddix snorted. “We’re all getting older. Some of us are just getting wiser,” he said.
Webb punched him in the shoulder. Maddix howled. He looked at his buddy, all muscled up from the grueling workouts he performed daily. “Have you had you’re first cage fight yet?”
Webb shook his head. “I’m too one-dimensional right now. I need to work more on my wrestling and submission holds. I have the striking down,” he said proudly. “But don’t change the subject. If you don’t hurry up and ask Sara out, I will.”
Maddix threw his head back and laughed. “She hates you, C-Dub. She’d turn you down in a heartbeat.”
“No way, that’s all an act. She just doesn’t want to admit she has feelings for me. Girls always pretend to hate the big dumb jocks.”
“There are a couple of things I need to tell you, it’s why I brought you out here,” Maddix said, his voice suddenly becoming somber.
“I’m all ears, buddy.”
Over the next few minutes Maddix told Webb about his encounter with Aeton Lasko and the Skeptikos Alliance. He also told him about the criminal charges he was possibly facing in the near future.
“That’s tough, bro. I know some good lawyers I can hook you up with. Sounds like you’ll need them.”
Maddix rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s something else you need to know.”
“It can’t be worse than what you just told me, can it?”
Maddix nodded. “I’m having flashbacks.”
Webb’s shoulders slumped. “When did this start?”
“They started a week ago.”
Webb placed a meaty hand on Maddix’s shoulder. “Did you have one last night in the canyon? Is that why you wouldn’t answer your radio?”
Maddix dropped his head down.
Webb’s olive eyes blazed. He shook his head and walked to the far end of the balcony. “You could have gotten us all killed, you know that, Mad Dog?”
Maddix pulled a pill bottle out of his jeans and showed it to Webb. “I have medicine for PTSD; I don’t always remember to take it.”
“I
think you better not go tonight. Give me the sword and Cody can help Sara. The flashbacks make you unreliable,” Webb said grimly.
“I’ll be fine. I just took a dose before I came over here. I’ll take another one before we enter the canyon. Don’t worry, C-Dub, I won’t let anyone down. God will see me through.”
“This isn’t good. If it happens again I’m through.”
“It won’t happen again,” Maddix said. He looked through the sliding glass door. Sara was laughing as she served Cody a big hunk of the red velvet cake. He suddenly realized how right Webb was about her. She’ll make some lucky guy a fabulous wife, and some lucky kid a great mom.
Webb wrapped a powerful arm around Maddix. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go get some cake before Cody eats it all.”
Chapter 25
That same moment
Across town, Nikko Castellanos stood at the door to Maddix’s apartment. Dressed in black from head to foot, he blended into the night, a shadow within a shadow.
No lights shone in the apartment, but Castellanos already knew no one was home. As soon as he had confirmed Maddix was at Sara Kendall’s house he hurried over.
On a hunch, he placed a gloved hand on the door and tried turning the knob. It didn’t budge. He wasn’t surprised when it didn’t turn, and wasn’t too concerned either. The locked door delayed his mission only slightly.
Castellanos extracted a small leather case from his jacket pocket. He pulled out two metal objects from the case. Both objects were thin, and one had a curved end. He inserted the tension wrench into the keyhole and turned it as if it were the key. At the same time he applied pressure and inserted the pick and lifted the pins. He listened intently for the pins to fall into place. The pins made a metallic clicking sound when they fell into place.
Castellanos looked over his shoulder instinctively. At this hour the drug store was closed. And there was only Maddix’s apartment over the drug store. He didn’t have to worry about nosy neighbors. But still he remained cautious. In his business one couldn’t be too careful.
