Baptist DISTINCTIVE: An Adam Mykonos Mystery (The Adam Myknonos Mystries) (7 page)

The appearance of their
workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel

Calvary was a wheel within a wheel within a wheel,
the first wheel was and remains the Independent Baptist Movement and the outer
most wheel the Christian Church itself. Wheels within wheels within
wheels.
 
One of the things we know is
that when a wheel falters it does not matter where the fault begins the entire
wheel falls apart no matter where the flaw was first encountered.
 
Picture in your mind a circle of say five
thousand dominions it does not matter which domino I push over first, they will
all fall in a circle back to the one right before the first one knocked over. If
I set them up again and again and each time began with a different domino the
result is always the same, they all fall down.

So in relating to you the fall of Calvary, or as
those still there may prefer to think of it, my fall, I can begin anywhere on
the circle.

Wherever I begin on the circle does not matter. In
some way though all of the circles are connected. In the center is the wheel or
circle of my life, next is the wheel and circle of Calvary, the next outer
circle that is the story of our movement, which many would claim is not a
movement, of course the outer most circle the Christian Movement en mass. A
Domino that falls in the inner circle cannot be strong enough to knock down the
next circle or the one after that, but any piece that falls in a circle can
affect the ones inside of it.

For the sake of argument and so that no one can
accuse me of being haughty or proud, let us pick as our first piece to fall, a
domino in the inner circle, my circle. The piece that falls represents my
marriage.

To say that Ivy and I had trouble in our marriage
from the onset would be an understatement of epic proportions.
 
As you know we hold fast to the Christian
belief that the Lord has created for all/many…most…it is hard to actually
say…let us settle on most. For most of us a mate from the onset of eternity. It
was clear to me at our wedding that Ivy was not that mate, and that I had made
an error.

Ivy and I had a massive fight on the night before
our wedding, truth be told I barely remember what it was about except of course
it involved money. Or the lack of it. As you are aware my late Step-Father: Andrew
Blaine was from a wealthy family, and while he lived as a simple country
preacher and instilled in myself, Luke and our siblings the same values, money
is really not an issue for my family. However because we were taught to live
simply I have never felt the need to over indulge in conspicuous consummation.
Ivy for various reasons did not feel the same way. She liked the high life, as
they say, and that became apparent right from the start.

I knew then she was not the right woman but of
course divorce seemed, then, out of the question. I knew the Lord had called me
to preach and in our movement (there is that wheel) a divorced man cannot be a
preacher.
 
As much as I was called to
preach so Ivy felt that she was called to be a preacher’s wife. And so we
became trapped in a dance of mutual need. To accomplish what we thought was the
mission that God had in mind for us we needed to stay married.

In retrospect one of the things I find fault with in
our movement is the marriage dance that permeates the colleges associated with
our church. As you know Ivy and I attended college at the same time, the same
college that a few years later would host Luke, his wife Ann and Mac. It is a
bit of a tradition, though not written in stone, that the wives of preachers be
just a few years older than them, and so by the time Ivy was senior the race
was on for her, the clock ticking and she needed, to find a mate. The man she
was originally interested in choose another woman so Ivy turned her attention
to me.

In fairness to Ivy the Glover’s never had much when
she was growing up; her father pastored a small church on the outskirts of
Baton Rouge and often donated his entire salary back to the needs to the
church. Ivy has a heart for Christ. I believe that, but she also has a very
human need to be cared for. To be better than she was and to assist her family
in whatever way she can. So while she, with a willing heart, heeded the call to
be a preachers wife, she felt no shame in trying to make sure that the
preacher’s whose wife she would be, had a few ‘bucks’ as you would put it. And
so when Ryder Mathewson turned her down, she married me.

Chapter
Six

I have often wondered how the Good Lord
leads so many Christians to my wife’s diner. Is there some kind of mystical
neon sign that they see in their hearts that leads them to Lighthouse.

Whether it be the after church on Sunday
crowd, and Rita only opens from eleven Am to two PM on Sundays’ especially for
that group, (though local Pastors also know they can get a cup of coffee and a
bacon and egg on a roll, on the house as early as Six AM) or a trucker at Three
AM on a Tuesday looking for a cup of coffee, Christians tend to find her place.
Therefore, after we made a pit stop at the bank and got to the diner I was
surprised to see the Glover’s at a table ordering lunch. Nor was it a surprise
to see the Daniels at another table at the opposite side of the place, what was
surprising was seeing Doug Hallman with them.

My Step-Daughter Roberta was working the
cash register.

“Did they come in together?” I asked
leaning over the counter.

“Who?”

“Those three over by the far window.”

She shrugged. “Who knows?”

I let out an exasperated sigh.
 
Roberta and I have a complicated
relationship. She is convinced that I do not like her and that I am intolerant
of her lifestyle, which includes far too much drinking, partying and over all
laziness and does not include any relationship with God.

The truth is I love her dearly but being a
sinner, as we all are, I do not think that anything is served by supporting the
mistakes that others make.
 
That being
the case we asked her a few months ago to find her own place, which seemed at
age twenty to be overdue any way, she did but not without an enormous amount of
whining.
 
One of the things that the
lifestyle of drinking and partying has done is limit in a great way Roberta’s
powers of observation.

Rita clutched my arm and kissed me on the
side on the head “Go find out 5-0.” She turned to Robert and smiled “Is that
register accurate?”

I walked away leaving them to their daily
grind of resolving the register after Roberta has worked it for any length of
time.

“Pastor Daniels, Mrs. Daniels, Mr. Hallman
how nice to see you at our place.”

“Your place?” Doug Hallman asked.

“Well my wife’s” I made a gesture over
towards where Rita and Roberta were standing.

Mrs. Daniels smiled genuinely “Well how
wonderful, I must say this Chicken Salad is outstanding and whatever that is
that Bob is eating is good, but terribly spicy.”

I looked at the Pastor’s plate “Ah you
tried the Akcee and Salt Fish, brave man.”

He chuckled. “Yes, I do not often get out
of my comfort zone but when I do I like to live large.”

If Ackee and Salt Fish was living large,
this poor man was in trouble. Not that I do not like the dish but it was well
within my comfort zone. I looked over at Hallman’s plate. One egg sunny side
up, bacon, and white toast. Not surprised at all.

“I did not realize that you guys knew each
other?” I said with what I felt was sincerity.

“Oh we have known Dougie since he and Mac
were in college.” Stated Mrs. Daniels.

I nodded “Good to have old friends at a
time like this.”

Hallman stared at me for a moment, began to
say something then stopped and then started again on a different track. “So you
do not believe that Ivy Lexington was the killer?”

“No. “I turned to the Daniels. “I mean no
disrespect by that, I knew you daughter and liked her. I would prefer to be
sure that her killer is brought to justice.”

Pastor Daniels nodded. “No disrespect taken
Sir, I appreciate the sentiment. I find it hard to believe myself that Ivy did
this, but jealousy is a terrible sin you know.”

“Ha.” Snapped Hallman “A shame to see two
women ruined their lives over that pompous self-promoting bag of hot air.”

Gee I thought why not tell us how you
really feel.

“So” I said still smiling. “I take it you
were not a fan of Joshua’s?”

Hallman shook his head “No Sir, I was not.
I never have been, my father knew his father and his Step-Father and all three
of them would be appalled at the kind of man Joshua turned out to be.”

“Because of his marriage failing?”

“Because the first words out of his mouth
were JOSHUA LEXINGTON not Jesus Christ. He thought to highly of himself and did
not decrease so He could increase.

The Daniels shifted uncomfortably.

I tried to smile. “I did not realize that
you knew Joshua that well, my understanding was you went to school with his
brother, Luke, not him.”

“Step-Brother Luke, but the truth is that
the entire Second Generation of the Blaine-Lexington Clan has always been a
disgrace to our movement.”

“I didn’t know that. I’m kinda a new to
this what do you mean?”

“What do you know about Bob Jones Sr. and Separatist
Movement?”

I shook my head, truth be told what I knew
about Bob Jones Sr. I was not found of, I did appreciated his grandsons bravery
at moving away from some of the more extreme positions his grandfather had
taken.

“Not much.”

Hallman leaned back in his chair, he was a
bigger man than I had first realized, somewhat taller than me and a good sixty
pounds heavier. He had looked small when surrounded by Lexington and Mathewson,
though now looking at him I suspected he was larger than both, he was one of
those man who shrank away when dealing with those more knowledgeable and formidable
then he. I laid low and allowed him to think that he could bully me, for the
moment.

“Our movement maintains sola scriptura that
we are a separated people; we do not go for this worldly evangelism of the
likes of Graham.”

“I understand that.”

“Do you understand that even the late John
R. Rice was incorrect when he invited Criswell and Lee to the 1971 conference?”

I had only a vague idea what he was talking
about.
 
“No.”

“No, you don’t? Or no you don’t think he
was wrong?”

This was getting me nowhere I felt I needed
to go.

“My understanding is that Dr. Rice felt
that the importance of soul winning trumped the minor disagreements among
Christians.”

Hallman slammed his fist into the table, rattling
plates and turning heads. “And that my friend is the problem. You and the whole
Lexington- Blaine crowd buy into that nonsense. We must maintain purity above
all!”

“Heil mein Freund.” I said while snapping
my arm up.

Hallman leaped from his seat. “Did that
teach you that sarcastic mouth in prison?”

He took a step towards; I could smell the
eggs and bacon on his breath.

“The NYPD actually.”

“I am sure it got your butt whipped when
you were locked up.”

I smiled. “Got people to step to me. Not
many got passed that.”

We let the tension hang.

“Dougie” said Mrs.
 
Daniels sorrowfully “Please, sit, I know you
are still hurting over Mac, but please this is unbecoming.’

Hallman took a step back “I have to meet
Brother Beau anyway; we need to get to the courthouse. I will not allow the
Lexington-Blaine’s to destroy another young woman.”

He threw some money on the table and
stormed out.

The Daniels looked up at me as I took a
deep breathe, fighting the urge to follow him. I noticed the Glover’s watching my
every move.

“Pastor Daniels, Mrs. Daniels I am sorry
for my part in that incident. Please forgive me. “

Pastor Daniels nodded. “Of course, please
do not pay too much attention to Dougie; he is beside himself with grief.”

“I understand. And he must be under tremendous
pressure, I mean he came into the meeting with Brother Ryder and then left with
Dr. Longstreet. A tough day.”

They smiled weakly.

“I will leave you to your meal. “ I turned
and caught Roberta’ eye.
 
“Honey, put
this meal, and The Glover’s on the house tab.”

She nodded.

I walked over to the Glover’s table at the
opposite side of the diner.
 
Mike Glover
rose to greet me, hand outstretched. “Bother Adam please sit.”

I pulled a chair up, mildly surprised at
the warm greeting.
 
I let them know that.
“I must say Pastor I am a little surprised you are so friendly.”

He grinned the big goof ball country boy
grin that I had seen on a number of CD covers. “What is it that those A-rabs
say ‘the enemy of my enemy’?”