The Left Behind Collection: All 12 Books (108 page)

“Well,” she said, “what would you say if I told you I didn’t appreciate that very much?”

“I can understand, Loretta—”

“I’m not so sure you can, Captain Steele. I’ve had things kept from me all my life just because I was a polite, southern lady.”

“A southern belle is more like it,” Rayford said.

“Now you’re patronizin’ me, and I don’t appreciate that either.”

Rayford was taken aback. “I’m sorry, Loretta, I meant no offense.”

“Well, it offends me to have secrets kept from me.”

Rayford leaned forward. “I’m quite serious about doing this for your own good. The fact is, someday, and I mean someday very soon, very high-placed officials may try to force you to tell them where Tsion is.”

“And you think if I know where he is, I’ll crack.”

“If you don’t know where he is, you can’t crack and don’t even have to worry about it.”

Loretta pursed her lips and shook her head. “I know y’all are livin’ dangerous lives. I feel like I’ve risked a lot just by puttin’ you up. Now I’m only your landlady, is that it?”

“Loretta, you’re one of the dearest people in the world to us, that’s who you are. We wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. That’s why, even though I know it offends you—and that’s the last thing I want to do—I’m not going to let you intimidate me into telling you where Tsion is. You’ll be able to communicate with him by phone, and we can communicate with him by computer. Someday you may thank us for withholding this from you.”

Amanda interrupted. “Rayford, are you and Buck saying that Tsion is where I think he is?”

Rayford nodded.

“Is that necessary already?” Chloe asked.

“I’m afraid so. I wish I could say how long it will be for the rest of us.”

Loretta, clearly peeved, stood and paced, her arms folded across her chest. “Captain Steele, sir, could you tell me one thing? Could you tell me that you’re not keepin’ this from me because you think I’d blab it all over?”

Rayford stood. “Loretta, come here.”

She stopped and stared at him.

“Come on now,” he said. “Come right over here and let me hug you. I’m young enough to be your son, so don’t be taking this as condescending.”

Loretta seemed to be refusing to smile, but she did slowly approach Rayford. He embraced her. “Ma’am, I’ve known you long enough to know that you don’t tell secrets. The fact is, the people who might ask you about Tsion Ben-Judah’s whereabouts wouldn’t hesitate to use a lie detector or even truth serum if they thought you knew. If they could somehow force you to give him up against your will, it could really hurt the cause of Christ.”

She hugged him. “All right then,” she said. “I still think I’m a tougher bird than you people seem to think, but all right. If I didn’t think you were doin’ this with my best interests in mind, misguided as y’all are, I’d throw you out of my boardinghouse.”

That made everybody smile. Everybody except Loretta.

There was a knock at the door. “Excuse me, sir,” the funeral director said to Rayford. “The sanctuary is empty.”

Buck was last in line as the five of them filed into the sanctuary and stood by Bruce’s coffin. At first Buck felt guilty. He was strangely unmoved. He realized he had expended his emotion during the memorial service. He knew so well that Bruce was no longer there that he largely felt nothing by simply noting that his friend was, indeed, dead.

And yet he was able to use these moments, standing there with the people closest to him in the world, to think about how dramatically and specifically God had acted in his behalf even just within the last several hours. If there was one thing he had learned from Bruce, it was that the Christian life was a series of new beginnings. What had God done for him lately? What
hadn’t
he done for him? Buck only wished he would feel the same compulsion to renew his commitment to the service of Christ when God didn’t seem so close.

Twenty minutes later, Buck and Chloe pulled into the parking lot of
Global Community Weekly
. Only Verna’s car was in the lot.

To Buck, it seemed Verna looked both surprised and disappointed to see Chloe hobbling in with him. Chloe must have noticed too. “Am I not welcome here?” she said.

“Of course,” Verna said. “If Buck needs someone to hold his hand.”

“Why would I need someone to hold my hand?”

They sat in a small conference room with Verna at the head of the table. She leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers. “Buck, we both know I hold all the cards now, don’t we?”

“What happened to the new Verna?” Buck asked.

“There was no new Verna,” she said. “Just a slightly mellower version of the old Verna.”

Chloe leaned forward. “Then nothing we’ve said, nothing you and I have talked about, nothing you’ve seen or heard or experienced at Loretta’s house or at the church has meant anything to you whatsoever?”

“Well, I have to admit I appreciate the new car. It is better than the one I had. Of course, that was only fair, and the least Buck could do for me after ruining mine.”

“So,” Chloe said, “your moments of vulnerability, your admitting that you had been jealous of Buck, and your realization that you had been inappropriate in how you talked with him, that was all, what, made up?”

Verna stood. She put her hands on her hips and stared down at Buck and Chloe. “I’m really surprised at how petty this conversation has begun. We’re not talking about office politics here. We’re not talking about personality conflicts. The fact is, Buck, you’re not loyal to your employer. It’s not just a matter of worrying, because it isn’t journalism the way it’s supposed to be. I’ve got a problem with that myself. I even told Chloe that, didn’t I, Chloe?”

“You did.”

“Carpathia has bought up all the news outlets, I know that,” Verna continued. “None of us old-fashioned journalists enjoy the prospect of covering news our owner is making. We don’t like being expected to put his spin on everything. But, Buck, you’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. You’re a spy. You’re the enemy. You not only don’t like the man, you also think he’s the Antichrist himself.”

“Why don’t you sit down, Verna?” Chloe said. “We all know the little negotiation hints from the books that teach you how to look out for number one. I can’t speak for Buck, but your trying to tower over me doesn’t intimidate me.”

“I’ll sit down, but only because I want to.”

“So, what’s your game?” Chloe said. “Are you about to engage in extortion?”

“Speaking of that,” Buck said, “I’ll thank you for my checks for the last several weeks.”

“I haven’t touched them. They’re in your top drawer. And no, I’m not a blackmailer. It just seems to me your life depends on who knows or doesn’t know that you’re harboring Tsion Ben-Judah.”

“That’s something you think you know?”

“I saw him in church this morning!”

“At least you thought you did,” Chloe said.

Buck flinched and looked at her. So did Verna. For the first time, Buck saw a flicker of uncertainty on Verna’s face.

“You’re telling me I didn’t see Tsion Ben-Judah in church this morning?”

“It certainly sounds unlikely,” Chloe said. “Wouldn’t you say?”

“Not really. I know Buck was in Israel and that his papers were found with a Ben-Judah sympathizer.”

“And so you saw Buck in church with Ben-Judah?”

“I didn’t say that. I said I saw Ben-Judah. He was sitting with that woman who put me up the other night, Loretta.”

“So Loretta’s dating Tsion Ben-Judah, is that what you’re saying?”

“You know what I’m saying, Chloe. Ben-Judah even spoke in that service. If that wasn’t him, I’m no journalist.”

“No comment,” Buck said.

“I resent that!”

Chloe kept the pressure on. “You were sitting somewhere where we couldn’t see you—”

“I was in the balcony, if you must know.”

“And from the balcony you could see a man sitting in the back with Loretta?”

“I didn’t say that. I meant I could tell he was sitting with her. They both spoke and it sounded like it was coming from the same area.”

“So Ben-Judah escapes from Israel, apparently with Buck’s help. Buck is brilliant enough to leave his official papers with some enemy of the state. When Buck gets Ben-Judah safely into North America, he brings him out in public at his own church, and then Ben-Judah stands and speaks in front of hundreds of people. This is your thought?”

Verna was sputtering. “Well, he, well, if that wasn’t Ben-Judah, who was it?”

“This is your story, Verna.”

“Loretta will tell me. I got the impression she liked me. I’m sure I saw him walking out the back with her. A small, kind of stocky Israeli?”

“And you could tell from behind who he was?”

“I’m gonna call Loretta right now.” She reached for a phone. “I don’t suppose you’d give me her phone number.”

Buck wondered if that was a good idea. They had not prepped Loretta. But after the incident in the office with Rayford earlier, he believed Loretta could handle Verna Zee. “Sure,” Buck said, scribbling the number.

Verna hit the speaker button and dialed.

“Loretta’s phone, Rayford Steele speaking.”

Apparently, Verna had not expected that. “Oh, uh, yes. Loretta please.”

“May I ask—”

“Verna Zee.”

When Loretta came on, she was her typical, charming self. “Verna, dear! How are you? I heard you were at the service today, but I missed you. Did you find it as moving as I did?”

“We’ll have to talk about that sometime, Loretta. I just wanted to—”

“I can’t think of a better time than now, sweetheart. Would you like to meet someplace, come over, what?”

Verna looked irritated. “No, ma’am, not now. Sometime, maybe. I just wanted to ask you a question. Who was that man with you in church this morning?”

“That man?”

“Yes! You were with a Middle Eastern man. He spoke briefly. Who was he?”

“Is this on the record?”

“No! I’m just asking.”

“Well I’m just telling you that that’s a personal, impertinent question.”

“So you’re not going to tell me?”

“I don’t believe it’s any of your business.”

“What if I told you that Buck and Chloe said you’d tell me?”

“First off, I’d probably say you were a liar. But that would be impolite and more impertinent than the question you asked.”

“Just tell me if that was Rabbi Tsion Ben-Judah of Israel!”

“It sounds like you’ve already named him. What do you need my input for?”

“So, it
was
him?”

“You said it. I didn’t.”

“But was it?”

“You want the honest truth, Verna? That man is my secret lover. I keep him under the bed.”

“What? What? So, come on—”

“Verna, if you’d like to talk about how moved you were by our memorial service this morning, I’d love to chat with you some more. Do you?”

Verna hung up on Loretta. “All right, so you’ve all gotten together and decided not to tell the truth. I don’t think I’ll have much trouble convincing Steve Plank or even Nicolae Carpathia that it appears you’re harboring Tsion Ben-Judah.”

Chloe looked at Buck. “You think Buck would do something so royally stupid it would not only get him fired, but it would also get him killed? And you’re going to use the threat of this news to the Global Community higher-ups in exchange for what?”

Verna stalked out of the room. Buck looked at Chloe, winked, and shook his head. “You’re priceless,” he said.

Verna rushed back in and slapped Buck’s checks on the table. “You know your time is short, Buck.”

“Truth to tell,” Buck said, “I believe all of our time is short.”

Verna sat down resignedly. “You really believe this stuff, don’t you?”

Buck tried to change the tone. He spoke sympathetically. “Verna, you’ve talked with Loretta and Amanda and Chloe and me. We’ve all shared our stories. You heard Rayford’s story this morning. If we’re all wacko, then we’re all wacko. But were you not in the least impressed with some of the things that Bruce Barnes garnered from the Bible? Things that are coming true right now?”

Verna, at last, was silent for a moment. Finally she spoke. “It
was
kind of strange. Kind of impressive. But isn’t it just like Nostradamus? Can’t these prophecies be read into? Can’t they mean anything you want them to mean?”

“I don’t know how you could believe that,” Chloe said. “You’re smarter than that. Bruce said that if the treaty between the United Nations and Israel was the covenant referred to in the Bible, it would usher in the seven-year tribulation period. First there would be the seven Seal Judgments. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse would be the horse of peace—for eighteen months—the horse of war, the horse of plague and famine, and the horse of death.”

“That’s all symbolic, isn’t it?” Verna said.

“Of course it is,” Chloe said. “I haven’t seen any horsemen. But I have seen a year and a half of peace. I have seen World War III break out. I’ve seen it result in plagues and famine with more to come. I’ve seen lots of people die, and more will. What will it take to convince you? You can’t see the fifth Seal Judgment, the martyred saints under the altar in heaven. But did you hear what Rayford said Bruce believes is coming next?”