Chapter 21
Matt was taken from his cell and escorted out of the main cell block into the administrative wing of the prison. The guard stopped in front of the warden's office and opened the door. Matt took a deep breath. He had waited almost two weeks for this appointment and he was anxious to get it over with. The warden's secretary stopped typing, looked up and smiled at him.
"Oh, Mr. Coleman. I'm Melinda, the warden's secretary. I’m glad I’m finally getting to meet you. Come in. Sit down."
"Thanks."
"I followed your case in the newspapers. Why on God's green earth did you plead guilty? That totally blew my mind."
"Well, it's a long story."
"I bet. I think I know part of it."
"You do?"
"But we can't talk about it now."
The door opened to the warden's office and a short, stout, grey-haired man walked out. Matt stared at Melinda, wondering what she knew and how she would have gained that knowledge. She looked back at him with a sympathetic smile then turned away and began typing.
"Mr. Coleman, come in," the Warden said.
Matt got up, looked back at Melinda one last time, and walked into the warden's office. The office decor was World War II, with pictures of a B29 Superfortress, the Flying Tigers, and several Army plaques strategically placed on the walls about the room. The warden's desk was heavy oak and looked like it had been through a few battles itself. The warden motioned for Matt to sit, so he took a seat in a dark wooden side chair.
"Well, Mr. Coleman, my people tell me you've really whipped the library into shape."
"I've tried to make it more functional for the inmates."
"I'm afraid I can't honor your request for the Texas statutes on CD ROM, however. I just can't see how that is a necessity."
"It makes research a lot easier."
"I'm sure it does, but if you think I'm fool enough to make it easier for you guys to file lawsuits against me, then you've misjudged me," the warden said smiling.
"Well, I suspected you might feel that way, but I figured it couldn't hurt to try, right?"
"No, it never hurts to try," the warden said.
"Anyway, that's not why I wanted to see you. What I wanted to know is if it would be okay to start a Bible study group?"
"A Bible study group?"
"Yes."
"But that would be something the chaplain would do, not you."
"I know, but many of the men don't have a religious preference but would like to learn more about the Bible without the pressure of a clergyman present. This would be strictly an academic endeavor."
"I don't know. I can't believe very many inmates would want to study the Bible."
"Well, if your aim here is to straighten people out and make them good citizens, I can't see how Bible study would hurt. You know, I pled guilty and everything, but I was really innocent. There were threats to kill my wife if I didn't plead out."
"And you thought someone who would threaten to kill your wife would keep their word?"
"Well, I figured they were businessmen and they'd honor a contract."
"You're pretty naive."
Matt hung his head. "Apparently so."
"So what's your point?"
"Well, if I have to spend eighteen months of my life behind bars, I might as well try to do something constructive. I think I can really get through to some of the guys in here. Since I'm a prisoner like they are, they'll listen to me. It's worth a shot, don't you think?"
"Okay. If I were to approve your proposal, how would you handle this Bible study group?"
"Oh, we'd have several meetings each week to discuss the various scriptures. I've already got a half dozen or so guys wanting to join."
"Is that right?" the warden said skeptically as he rubbed his chin pondering the idea.
"Uh huh."
He shook his head and frowned. "I don't know. This is a very unusual request."
Matt leaned forward. "Well, I don't think it's unreasonable."
The warden looked Matt straight in the eye and after a moment cracked a smile. "No, I guess not. . . . All right, I'll authorize it—two one-hour meetings per week. Let’s see how that goes and if there really is a lot of interest, then I may give you more time."
"You're welcome to join the group, Warden," Matt said beaming.
The warden laughed and replied, "No, I don't think so. I get all the Bible study I need at my own church."
"Okay, but if you change your mind let me know."
"Don't hold your breath," the warden chuckled.
"Oh, Eduardo Gomez will be helping me with the program."
The warden frowned. "You've got to be kidding."
“No, I’m serious.”
The warden shook his head in shock as Eduardo Gomez was one of his most violent and feared inmates.
"Well, if you can convert that son of a bitch, then I'll owe you a debt of gratitude."
"I will. He wants to be saved. He's told me so."
"Damn, Coleman. Maybe there is hope for your little study group."
Matt nodded, turned, and left the warden's office. As he passed by Melinda's desk he stopped and looked at her.
She smiled and whispered, "Don't worry. I'll be in touch."
He frowned in confusion and started to ask her a question but she put her fingers to her lips and said. "Not now. Go."
As he left the office, he wondered again who this woman was and what she knew about his predicament. He opened the door and reluctantly left her. The guard who had been waiting at the door took him back to the library. While he was alone working on his curriculum for the Bible study group, his mind couldn't let go of the mysterious Melinda. Who was she? An admirer? A spy hoping to find out what he was up to? Finally, he decided it didn't matter, as he wasn't about to take her into his confidence. He finally put her out of his mind.
Once he had focused back on the task at hand, he called the chaplain and arranged to get fifty new Bibles. There was much work to be done to prepare for the first session. At lunch he sat with Eduardo and one of his friends and they discussed the meeting with the warden.
"So, how did your meeting go?" Eduardo asked.
"It couldn't have been better. The warden said we could meet twice a week for now and maybe more later on, depending on the turnout. He was impressed that you were involved in the project."
He cracked a smile. "I bet he was. The turnout is going to be outstanding, man, I guarantee. It may be damn near 100 percent."
"I doubt that. Some guys just aren't religious no matter how lucrative it promises to be."
"So what do you want us to do?"
"Find me two groups of twenty-five guys that you know will want to join the program. We'll have one group on Tuesday and one on Thursday. I don't want any skeptics at this stage, just devout Christians. We’ll cut out the chaff later on."
"Okay, man. Do you need any help before then?"
"Yes, I'll need some help getting the Bibles ready. Find two or three guys with good handwriting."
"Okay, I'll send them over this afternoon."
"Thanks."
The lunch buzzer went off and the inmates got up and assembled to be taken back to their cells or various work assignments. When Matt returned to the library there were two boxes sitting on the floor. He opened them and discovered they were his new Bibles. He took one out and inspected it carefully. Then he pulled some tracing paper out of his drawer and began first folding and then tearing it into pieces just a little bit smaller than the pages in the Bible. After he had carefully written down the material he intended to discuss he pasted them in his Bible.
Later on that afternoon three inmates showed up and said Eduardo had sent them. Matt thanked them for coming and gave them their assignments of duplicating what he had done with his Bible. It took them several hours but they finally finished just before dinnertime.
Plastic Gods, A Rich Coleman Novel Vol 2 Page 36
