Wings of Deception (14 page)

“Why would you say this
and what has it to do with Carol
?”

“
W
hen
J
udge
Langley
dismissed
Carol
’s
case, she angered certain people
. P
owerful people who would want her out of the way
as well as…let me just say they have other agenda’s as well.
These people
hate Christians and
Langley
was a Christian.
”

“
Surely you are not talking about the
ACAA?”

“No, not the ACAA, the power of these people reach far beyond what the ACAA
possibly
could.
There is not much
more
I can
tell you right now, it would not be safe for you
,
but I need you to know that I
have no
part
with
these people. I may not believe in your God but I certainly do
n’t
believe in theirs either
, whatever it may be
.
I do not hate people because of any religion.
No matter what happens remember th
at
and know that I will never change my mind
where
these people
are concerned
.”

“
Y
ou are
frightening
me, who
could want to hurt anyone just because they are Christian. It sounds
fanatical
.
”

“I told you, I can
’
t tell you more but I need to know everything you know about
Carol
. Anything at all about this
….
thing she does and anything about her parents. You may not think so
,
but I really am in the business of protecting children. I have no motives for convicting innocent p
eople
. There are too many real abuse cases out there.  I swear, I will believe whatever you say if you give me your word.”

Honey
hesitated as food w
as
put before them. Her appetite was
certainly
lacking
now
a
nd
she studied the face of the man sitting across from her.
His chiseled features gave him an old world Roman look and she studied his eyes as they boldly looked into her own.
Was
this
a trick? S
omehow s
he did not think so.
There
was concern mingled with intrigue in her answer.

“
Alright,
I give you my word.”

“I am listening.”
Nodding, h
e relaxed in his seat
, giving Honey his full attention.

“I
t
start
ed
with
the first time I met
Carol
…
.
and her parents. I guess I probably felt a lot like you that day. I did
n’
t believe in God
either
but unlike you
,
I did believe in a ‘higher power’
….
and the greater good of mankind. I believed that Jesus was like Santa Claus and when you were little, big people wanted you to believe
in them
so you would be good or in my case do whatever you were told to do.
”

She
paused
,
unsure
of her words
but decided to just be truthful all the way. “You
s
ee
Jacks,
I was one of your unprotected children.”

She blinked to stop her eyes from watering
,
saw his frown
,
but
went on. “When
Carol
sat in my office
that day
and told me things she could not have possibly known because no one knew, I was
astounded
. This little eight year old girl
,
who is
not well
,
looked at
me
with such pity and compassion it took me
completely
by surprise.
Afterwards
,
I left my office
and I will not bore you with details but when I returned to that same office three days later, I was a different person. The person you see right now.
Carol
gave me back something that I lost a long time ago and
believe me,
it did not cost me one little penny. Since then
,
I have come to know not only
Carol
but her parents and
many of
their friends
as well
and I swear to you, these people have never gained by what
Carol
is led to
say to
anyone.”

Jacks nodded, looking at her, believing her.

They both were
silent for
a m
oment
taking bites from their sandwiches
before he asked, “How
is it
do
you suppose she knows these things?”

“There is no doubt in my mind that
Carol
has a special gift and all gifts come from God.”

“Let me rephrase that, discounting the God factor, how could she know things…that
are
impossible to know
u
nless
one is
Psy
chic
. Is that it? Is she
Psy
chic
?
”

Honey
sighed with a touch of exasperation, “You do not get it do you? You cannot discount God, it is not even possible. There is no other
explanation.
She is not Physic, at least not in the way you mean. The gift
may be
the same as the gifts Physics have
I suppose
, for God gives gifts without repentance. That means he will never take a gift back even if they are used for evil
or not used at all
. What
Carol
has is not used for evil, but for good.”

“Whatever it is, you have to convince her parents to put a stop to it.
Now.
For some reason she has the attention of some very dangerous people. They do not play around.
”

“But you
cannot
tell me who?”

“
I told you, i
t is in your best interest. I have trusted you and now I am asking you to trust me on this.
” He leaned forward looking
inten
tly into her eyes.
“
Please work with me to protect
Carol
.
She may not need protecting from her parents but believe me; she does need to be protected. You have to make sure she does not contact anyone she does not personally know. It is too dangerous for her. Evidently
,
she know
s
things
that these people want to make sure she never tells.
”
He stopped and rubbed his face
as if he were very tired. “Do you understand me at all?”

“
I think so. Anyway,
I am willing to ask that
Carol
not be around anyone that does not know her well so that she
talks to no
outsiders
,
but that is all I can promise.
I cannot interfere with God’s work.
Why have you not contacted the police?”

“Because
I cannot trust them, n
o one can be trusted until I know more.
”

“Jacks, does this mean that you believe me about
Carol
?
That her parents are decent and loving parents?
”

“It means that I am willing to believe the child
has
Psychic abilities, it does not mean that I believe
your
Jesus is sending
any sort of visions
to her
or that the parents are right to let her go around talking to strangers
.
Obviously
,
she has talked to someone connected to these people.
”

“What will you do now?”

“
I plan to delay the system as long as I can but I can only
do that
for
so long.
You have to know that there will be another hearing. It is already in the works and I
won’t be able to
stop it.
This time you can bet the judge will be
quite different from Judge Langley
. I
’ll know more
after my trip to New York.”

“You are going to New York?”

“I have to
. It’s
just an overnight thing but when I get back I hope we can talk again. I am taking a risk
in
trusting you and I hope it will not end up being a mistake.” He looked
closely
at her face.
Her
eyes were bright and
clear and
for some reason
he knew
it was not a mistake
.

The waitress brought the check
and
he insisted on taking care of
it.

“Thank you Jacks, you have given me much to think about. I will pray that this is not as serious as
you think and Judge
Langley’s
murder
as terrible as it was,
has nothing to do with
the Bowler case.
I
also
hope you will keep me posted.
C
all me at work or at home
, please
.”

“I will, but save your prayers for they will not undo what is done.”

She was quiet as he walked her to her car.
She knew that he would not see until God gave him the eyes to
see
…just
like he did with her. No, it was not her place to judge
,
but to pray for him and let God do the rest.

“Good night Jacks, it has been interesting. Thank you for sharing all this with me. And, so long as you know, prayers do not cost a thing and
can
come in handy
. I will pray for you too. For your safety, because if the people you are talking about are as dangerous as you say, you will need all
the prayers
you can get
whether you want them or not
.”

“Whatever. Just remember, you know nothing if any one and I mean anyone, asks. Good night,
Honey
.”
He flushed
thinking that he said her name
as if he were using an endearment with her.
He turned
away
and when she drove out of the parking lot, he followed her until the stop light. He then went one way as she went the other.

Ragas
stayed close to
Honey
while his old friend Melos, carefully protected Jacks, for both lives
were about to become tangled with
conflict
.

                                                                          EIGHT

It was Thursday
;
a
day
which
she both looked forward to
expectantly
and dreaded.

The mansion
,
whose renowned beauty
once awed
Sheila,
now repelled her as she
descended
the winding staircase
leading to the
ball room
crowded with people
.

Some she knew from the media, some she had met since becoming Morgan’s wife, and some she
did not know at all
. But that they were all
connected somehow by
evil, she had no doubt.

There must have been
a hundred
or more, all dressed for the occasion honor
ing
the
ir newly selected
candidate for the senate seat which Jacks had turned down
.
She tried to avoid any contact with Morgan’s friends but was forced to stand by his side at
all
important functions.