The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy (9 page)

Donaldson yelled. “You vets think you know everything. We’ve got a war right here. If you walk away, your career is finished.”

Starkey kept walking and didn’t look back.

Puckett holstered his weapon and helped Donaldson secure cuffs on Cassie. “Should we go after Starkey?”

Donaldson shook his head. “Let him go. He chose his side.”

Deputy Wooten grabbed Lacy from the floor where she lay screaming, holding the bloody corpse of her dog, Buster. “I need to put zip-tie restraints on this one.”

“Do what you have to do.” Donaldson adjusted his utility belt and walked outside to retrieve the Child Services worker.

Cassie sat on the couch. Her face was blood red with fury, but she stayed calm for Lacy. “It’s going to be okay sweetie.”

The youngster screamed. “They killed Buster. I hate them. I hate them!”

A heavyset woman followed Deputy Donaldson back in the room. “Lacy, I’m Ms. Carrick from the Department of Child Services.”

Lacy spit at her. “I hate you!”

Ms. Carrick stepped away from her. “You’re just upset right now, but everything is going to be fine.”

Lacy kicked her feet. “Nothing is fine. You killed Buster. I hate you all!”

Ms. Carrick walked around the house. “Mrs. Parker, I’m here to do an evaluation. Your husband has been charged with crimes against children. It’s routine for Child Services to do an investigation after criminal charges involving minors. I’m going to be honest with you. So far, things don’t look good. Deputy Donaldson says you have weapons in the house.”

Cassie tried to bite her tongue and be polite, but she was furious. “I have a permit for my handgun.”

Ms. Carrick opened the doors on the entertainment center and snooped around. “There was no trigger lock, and the weapon was not secured.”

Cassie looked at the body of Buster lying lifeless on the floor. She wanted to lash out just as Lacy had. “I haven’t committed a crime. Why am I being interrogated like this?”

Ms. Carrick looked on the laptop computer. “Why do you have Ron Paul Homeschool Curriculum? Tennessee law requires homeschoolers to utilize Community Core materials. Supplemental resources must meet CC standards. I can assure you that this is not on the list of approved sources.”

Cassie tried to move her hands, which were cuffed behind her back. “We have the material given to us by the Department of Education. I was just looking at Dr. Paul’s materials to compare.”

Ms. Carrick handed the laptop to Deputy Donaldson. “Can you keep this in your evidence lock-up?”

Donaldson took the computer. “She has a paperback copy of Ron Paul’s,
The School Revolution,
here on the shelf. Should we take that?”

Ms. Carrick picked it up to look at it. “It should be considered hate speech material, but for now, it’s not against the law. Are you charging Mrs. Parker?”

“There are no charges at the moment. We’ll look through the house before we leave and see if we find anything.”

Ms. Carrick headed for the door. “Put the child in the back of my car.”

Donaldson nodded at Wooten. “Will do.”

“Mommy!” Lacy cried in agony as Wooten picked her up to take her to the car.

Cassie was as tough as nails. She fought back the tears until Lacy was gone. “Don’t worry sweetheart. Mommy will come get you very soon.”

Donaldson and Puckett walked throughout the house. Puckett walked into the master bedroom while Donaldson walked upstairs to the office. “Deputy Donaldson, they’ve got a gun cabinet in here.”

Donaldson walked back down the stairs. He saw Cassie’s keys on the table by the door. “Is it key or combination?”

“Keyed.”

Donaldson smiled at Cassie as he picked up the keys and joined Puckett in the bedroom.

Minutes later, Donaldson walked out carrying a pump action shotgun and a .22 rifle. “We’ll hang on to these so you don’t get yourself in any trouble.”

He handed the weapons, including Cassie’s Kahr, to Puckett. “Put these in the trunk with the computer. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Puckett left and Donaldson took his key ring out. “If I uncuff you, am I going to have any problems?”

She looked at the floor. “No, sir.”

Donaldson removed the cuffs from Cassie’s wrists. He watched her as he walked toward the door. “Have a nice day ma’am.”

Cassie rubbed her wrists as she watched the deputy leave.

The second they left the driveway, she walked out to the shed and retrieved the shovel. She started digging at the corner of the shed. Just beneath the concrete footer was a green ammo box. She pulled it out from under the footer and dusted it off. She opened the box and took out a Glock 26. It was the smallest nine-millimeter Glock manufactured. Despite its small size, the double-stacked magazine still held ten rounds. She took all three magazines from the ammo box and loaded them right there in the backyard. She popped one magazine in the pistol, racked the slide and stuck it in the back of her jeans. She placed the other two magazines in her back pocket. Cassie returned through the kitchen door, grabbed her car keys, stepped over Buster’s dead body, and headed toward the front door.

CHAPTER 10

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.

Thomas Paine,
The American Crisis

Noah waited for several hours before a guard finally came to process him out. “You ready to go?”

“Yes.” Noah signed a paper and was given a bag containing the clothing he’d worn in, as well as the rest of his personal effects. He took his things to a changing room and got dressed. He put his phone, wallet, and keys into his pockets and walked out the door.

A burly man with a thick beard was waiting outside of the door for him. “Mr. Parker?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Tom. Your bail bond is with me. I’ll need you to sign a few papers before you leave.”

Noah followed the man. “Is my wife here?”

Tom shuffled through his papers. “I don’t know.”

“Didn’t she bond me out?”

Tom handed Noah the first form. “Read this over and sign at the bottom. No, Elliot Rodgers bonded you out.”

Noah took the pen and scanned the page before signing. “Elliot Rodgers? Doesn’t sound familiar.”

Tom passed Noah the next form to sign. “He seemed to know who you were.”

“Do you have his number?”

Tom looked through the folder labeled Parker and jotted down a number on a scrap piece of paper. “Here you go.”

Noah looked at the number. “Thanks.”

Tom handed Noah another form. “This is a list of the requirements for your bond. If you need to leave town for any reason at all, give me a call and let me know where you’re going and when you’ll be back. I’m sure you understand why.”

“Absolutely. Thanks.”

Tom shook Noah’s hand. “Take care, Mr. Parker.”

“Thanks again.” Noah took out his phone and called Cassie.

***

Cassie had just started the car when the phone rang. “Noah?”

“I’m out. Someone bonded me out. Can you pick me up?”

Cassie thought about what she was about to do.

“Are you there? Can you come pick me up?” Noah asked.

Cassie’s mind was spinning. “I’m here. Actually, there’s a huge mess all over the rug. I have to get it cleaned up before it stains. Can you call a cab?”

“I don’t really want to waste money on a cab. I don’t have a job. I can wait. Take your time.”

Cassie cut the ignition in the car. “I’m sorry. I’ll get someone to pick you up and take you back to the school to get your truck.”

“Okay, I love you,” Noah said.

“I love you too. I’m so glad you’re out. I’ll see you in a bit.” Cassie hung up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She dialed Isaiah’s phone.

“Hello?”

“Isaiah, it’s Cassie. Noah is out, and he needs someone to pick him up and take him to get his truck. The Sherriff’s department came by a while ago with DCS and took Lacy. They also shot Buster. His body is in the middle of the living room floor. I want to get it cleaned up before Noah gets home. He doesn’t know yet. Can you help me?”

“Of course. Don’t worry about Noah. I’ll take care of getting him to his truck, and I’ll follow him home. Is there anything else you need right now?”

Cassie was holding back the tears. She knew, once they started, the flood gates would open. “I just need to get my daughter back.”

“We’ll get your daughter back. Just be calm and wait for Noah and me to get there. Let’s say a quick prayer.”

Cassie knew a prayer would make her start crying, but she reluctantly agreed. “Okay.”

“Dear Jesus, these are trying times for the Parkers. You assured us in John sixteen that, in this world, we would have trouble. You also said that we could take heart, because you overcame the world. I pray for a sense of peace and protection to cover Cassie, Lacy, and Noah. Hide them in the shadow of your wings, and keep them as the apple of your eye. Give us wisdom to know how to deal with this situation, and grant us victory in this battle. I pray that you’ll bring Lacy home soon. Thank you Lord.

“Cassie, I want you to know that God loves Lacy very much and that you can rest in the fact that he is taking perfect care of her while she’s gone.”

Cassie was sobbing by now. “Thank you.”

“We’ll be there soon,” Isaiah said.

Cassie put the phone down and let the tears flow for several minutes. She had to take a few minutes to be human and let the emotions out. Minutes later, a sense of clarity came over her. She felt a miraculous sense of peace. Suddenly she understood what a mistake it would have been to run after the Sherriff’s deputies in a rage.

“Thank you, Jesus.” Cassie dried her tears, got out of the car, and went back in the house.

She looked at Buster’s lifeless body and bent down to pet him one last time. “I’m not going down without a fight. I’m going to get Lacy back and avenge your death, Buster. I promise; it won’t be in vain.”

She walked to the bedroom, took the pistol out of her jeans, and exchanged it for her digital camera. She returned to the living room and began filming the crime scene. She narrated the video as she filmed. “This is our dog, Buster. He was shot this morning when the Sevier County Sherriff’s Department raided my home and kidnapped my daughter, Lacy. Before Buster died, he had a violent seizure, while my seven-year-old daughter threw herself on his dying body. Deputy Wooten pried her off of her pet’s murdered corpse and handed her over to DCS, still covered in the blood of her lifelong friend, Buster.”

Cassie walked into Lacy’s room. She filmed the line of stuffed animals meticulously placed on the perfectly-made-up bed. “This is my daughter’s room. Hours ago, she lived in a world where she felt safe and secure. We’re good parents. We always did our best to protect her and keep her from harm. So why was she ripped from our arms? Because my husband dared to mention the word ‘creation’ in a public school classroom.”

She walked into her bedroom and filmed the drawers that had been pulled out of the dresser and the contents dumped on the floor. She filmed the overturned mattress and the emptied-out gun cabinet. “This act of defiance against the great and holy state has resulted in my husband’s imprisonment, the abduction of our daughter, the murder of our pet, the confiscation of my personal property, and the theft of our firearms.

“If you count yourself as an atheist that sees Christians as a plague against this nation, glory in this battle that you have just won, but know that the war has only begun. If you consider yourself to be a Christian, you need to pray up and get ready for action. If you sit back in your easy chair and do nothing, you may soon find yourself in my situation. If you are a pastor of a church that doesn’t want to get involved in politics, you better change your stance or start training for a new line of work, because the ministry may soon be outlawed if you continue to sit on the sidelines.

“If you are a fair-weather patriot that is not ready to count the cost of freedom, you may soon learn the even greater cost of your inaction. If you are among the blind, the deaf, and the sleeping that have been ignorant of the growth of this totalitarian, police state that we now live in, open your eyes, pierce your closed ears, and wake up. The enemy is at our gates. If you have found a comfortable position straddling the fence, choose a side or else ready yourself for the consequences when a side is chosen for you. And mark my words, when this conflict is finished, either by free will or default, everyone will have chosen a side.”

Cassie finished the video and quickly took over one hundred photographs of the crime scene. She took the camera up stairs and put the photographs and videos onto multiple flash drives. Next, she uploaded the video to YouTube. While the video was uploading, she went downstairs to bury her dog.

She went outside to the shed, took the shovel, and walked to the orchard. Buster would always lie under a certain apple tree in the middle of the orchard when she and Lacy would go out to pick fruit. The strategically chosen spot allowed him to keep a faithful eye on them most anywhere in the orchard without moving.

“This was your favorite spot out here, Buster.” She began digging just far enough away from the trunk of the tree to miss the majority of the roots. Then, she went back to the house, moved the coffee table, and rolled Buster’s body up in the bloody rug. She took him to the grave and covered it up.

“We’ll miss you, buddy. You were a good friend to Lacy. Thank you.” Cassie started crying again, but more of a soft, sorrowful cry than the violent sobbing that had overtaken her before.

Back at the house, she filled a bucket with water and started to clean the blood from the wood floor.

***

Noah perused the papers given to him by the bondsman. His phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Noah, it’s Isaiah. Cassie asked me to pick you up. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. You must be starving. Why don’t you go across the street and get something to eat?”

“Sounds good. There’s a Wendy’s on 441. Can you pick me up there?”

“Too early for Krystal’s?”

“I haven’t been in jail that long.”

Isaiah laughed. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Thanks.” Noah folded the papers and started walking to the Wendy’s located just behind the jail.

Once there, he placed a big order. It was ready in a few short minutes. He took it to a window seat where he could watch for Isaiah. While he ate, he took out the number Tom had given him and dialed the phone.

“May I speak with Elliot?”

“This is him.”

“This is Noah Parker. I called to thank you for bailing me out. That was a very kind gesture. I don’t even know you.”

“You know me, and it was the least I could do. This is Deputy Rodgers. Well, former Deputy. I owe you a big apology . . . and a thank you.”

“Oh.” Noah had no words.

“What you said about the Nuremburg trials forced me to think about who I am and what I’m turning into. Obviously, you struck a nerve. I’m pretty good at shaking stuff off, unless it’s true. I didn’t join the Sherriff’s office to be a foot soldier for an oppressive regime. Most of the guys in the department didn’t either. It’s been a long, slow metamorphosis that we barely noticed. We’ve had some huge jumps, but I’ve never realized how bad things were until yesterday. I’ve made small compromise after small compromise to keep my job. Individually, they didn’t seem to make much of a difference, but collectively, they really add up. I filled out the paperwork for your arrest yesterday, and then turned in my badge.

“I’d like to buy you dinner and tell you more, if you’ll accept my apology.”

Even after looking at the last name on the paper Tom had given him, the thought that Elliot Rodgers could be Deputy Rodgers had never crossed Noah’s mind. “Yeah, sure. Apology accepted. I can’t believe you bailed me out.”

“Part of doing the right thing is accepting the cost,” Rodgers said.

“I’ll accept your offer for dinner as well. I’m out of a job, so that would be great. Of course, you’re out of a job also.”

“I actually have a lead on a new job already. Hickory Creek Lodge is trying to beef up security for the season. They’re looking for people with police experience. Once again, sorry for tasing you, and thanks for showing me who I’ve become.”

“I heard the lodge was looking to tighten security. I guess they had a lot of thefts by thugs from Knoxville last year. Thanks for bailing me out. Take care.”

“You too.”

Noah went back to his meal. What a strange string of events.

Isaiah pulled up minutes later. Noah walked out to his truck. He would soon learn of the assault against his wife, daughter, pet, and home. Cassie followed these types of news events. While nothing could have prepared her for what had happened, she was well aware of the increased militarization of law enforcement and the disregard for individual rights.

Noah, on the other hand, would be completely taken off guard. He typically stayed pretty cool, but when his family was threatened, he could become quite violent.