Another Chat

Sue paused to digest this. She went to another topic.

"You said there were protesters outside? Can you tell me what they said?"

"A lot of them called me a ... slut, a ... whore. I'm pretty sure I heard baby killer in there too. There was some shouting. One guy shushed them and walked to the curb and lined up a bunch of pamphlets. I'd have had to step over them to get on the sidewalk. When I saw them, I just broke out crying, turned around and ran right back to the car."

"How old were you then?"

"Fourteen. Fifteen now. Her and my birthdays are a week apart."

Sue nodded. "The age doesn't really matter, but you were still a little girl in a lot of ways. So am I. I wouldn't have gone into that clinic either."

Rachel looked down at the sleeping baby. "I could give her up for adoption."

Sue nodded. "It might be very good for her ... not every family is good, but there are a lot of really loving moms and dads just here in Jackson County. One question, though. Would it help you any?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've told me about your mom and dad, and I know kids at school. I don't think they'll treat you any better if you don't have Megan around. Some people will still talk behind your back, some people will ... assume things about you, and some people will just plain say you are bad."

Pause. Sue mulled it over and spoke.

"The boy who told me about you was Mikie Gibson. He talked like a teenage boy talks. But somewhere in there, he honestly felt something for you. It sounded like you were his friend. It sounded like you could be again."

Confusion reigned over Rachel's face. She didn't know what to say.

And then Linda came out into the foyer, walking briskly and frowning.

"Did you know how long you were gone? It's five to twelve. Rachel, your mom and dad are getting really antsy. I think you'd better go back inside and get ready to go with them."

Rachel nodded. She gathered up Megan and walked to the sanctuary door. Before going inside, though, she gestured Linda over and they exchanged a few words. Linda looked puzzled, then mulled it over and said something back. Rachel went on inside and Linda came over to Sue, taking her arm and leading her toward the exit door. Sue spoke.

"Thanks for helping out." Sue wasn't being sarcastic; she was glad Rachel's parents hadn't come looking for their daughter themselves.

"A word of warning," Linda said. "Rachel's dad figured out the nature of our relationship and muttered the word dyke loud enough for me to hear it."

"Sounds like a hard man is bad to find," Sue mumbled. Then, audibly: "What did you and she talk about in that last minute? Can I ask?"

"Absolutely. She wanted to come to tonight's service and listen to Erin. She said there's a rumor going around that Erin might be named youth minister. And she said something about could Mikie Gibson come tonight too?"

Mikie Gibson was Catholic, so Sue gave a "What do you think?" look to Linda. Linda gave a "Do you think it's a good idea?" look in response. Sue nodded.

"I'll call Mike and Pat and see if Mikie's got a lot of homework – you know how they are about that. As for going to a Protestant church, I get the feeling they wouldn't mind – might even drop by themselves to hear Erin." Linda got out her cell phone as they walked out onto the church sidewalk.

"LINDA! LOOK!"

Sue pointed in the distance to a column of black smoke, building like a thunderhead. Linda ran to her sport utility vehicle, waved Sue over, opened the door and got in. Linda activated her police radio and hit the talk button.

"Dispatch, this is Inspector Shannon, do you copy?"

"Go ahead, Inspector."

"I have a visual on a smoke cloud that appears to be a petroleum-based fire, located somewhere in the medical district. Do you have any information?"

"Affirmative. A three-alarm fire at" -- the dispatcher gave the address. "Firefighter units are there now. Hold, please." Linda waited while the dispatcher took another call and returned to her.

"Firefighter squad reports the fire is suspected arson. Witnesses saw three suspects throwing what are believed to be Molotov cocktails at the building. Arson investigators have been notified."

"Please give me the address again." Linda started the car and activated the police lights. She turned to Sue. "It's the Sanger Clinic."

"Oh, dear God," Sue moaned in prayer. "Rachel nearly had an abortion there, but protesters scared her off."

Linda seemed to have three hands: for the gearshift, for the wheel and one for her mike. "Please give me the names of the ranking firefighter and ranking police officer on scene. Sergeant Adams and I are en route to take information. E.T.A. seven minutes."

Sue prayed silently as the startled Davis family watched the SUV make a hairpin turn and take off.

*

By the time Linda arrived on the scene, the firefighters had set up a perimeter around the blazing clinic and had brought out chemical flame retardants to attack the fire. Sheriff's Lieutenant Will Connors towered over his car, taking notes from a fire captain. He greeted Linda and Sue in a booming voice, and asked what they were doing there.

"We both go to this clinic," Linda replied, "and we had just interviewed a patron who talked about an anti-abortion demonstration this past spring. When I checked in, the report strongly suggested arson."

"The report was right," Connors replied. "At least two witnesses so far have said they saw three males, probably juveniles, walk up to clinic windows with liquor bottles in their hands, count down, light wicks on the bottles and throw them through. What's more, they did it again and again, nine bottles in all."

"Skinheads?" Linda wondered. As Jackson County grew, gang violence became increasingly serious.

"Don't rule it out, Inspector. I'd appreciate you calling on the detective divisions to cooperate on this." Connors turned back to the fire captain, who watched as a team cautiously entered the building.

Sue, standing at Linda's vehicle, was the first to sense something was wrong. She couldn't articulate it later, but either she saw something up on the roof or she heard a creaking sound. She ran toward the fire captain, screaming for him to get his men out of there.

A section of the roof caved in. Inside, a ceiling beam gave way under heat stress and became a deadly pendulum. Even from outside, the captain, Linda and Connors heard a sickeningthud.

Connors grabbed each woman with one hand and half carried them well away from the scene. A rescue unit and two paramedics bolted into action. After a minute or two, one of the advance team came out of the building leaning against a rescue worker's shoulder. He was in shock, but not badly injured.

A few minutes later, the rescue squad brought out the second man. He was strapped in and braced, but bleeding horribly from ears, nose and mouth.

Sue turned away and nearly ruined her beautiful dress. Linda left her for the moment and got as close to the young man as she could. She saw that he could see her. She said, "Don't worry. Everything's going to be all right."

The man smiled, but it was the last conscious thing he did in his life. The paramedics sprang into action as Linda backed away.

Connors had gone over to Sue, who was on her hands and knees, and bent down next to her. Linda joined them.

"It doesn't look good," Linda said. She hugged Sue in a motherly fashion, absorbing the younger woman's shock and horror as best she could. With Connors' help, Sue and Linda rose to their feet.

"Do we know if anyone else might have been in that building?" Linda asked.

"Not yet," Connors replied. "It may take some time. My guess is no, because the 'perps' pulled it off in broad daylight on a Sunday morning without being challenged. When we catch them, I will talk to them."

"Don't step out of line, Lieutenant. I'll get Captain Gibson [Patricia, the detective captain] to assign interrogators to the suspects. If this is a terrorist attack, our using terroristic methods will make things a whole lot worse. And don't think, 'Whatever you say, boss.' I just finished talking to a frightened young woman at a crossroads, and she's going to find out about this, and I don't want her trust in the police broken."

Connors got his temper under control. "All right, Inspector." He looked at Sue. "Sergeant Adams, right? Is this your first time to witness a homicide?"

"I've seen lots of victims after the fact, but to see a man die in front of me ... no. I was with Inspector Shannon when a juvenile shot her and I shot him. He fled and hid out, and turned the gun on himself. That was horrifying, but at least other officers found him and then Inspector Shannon recovered."

Connors nodded. "It never gets any easier. Inspector, why don't you and the Sergeant go home and I'll contact you first thing tomorrow morning with the info for Detective Squad?"

"Request granted," Linda replied. "But don't hesitate to call me, and expect a call from me. I can't tell you why just yet, but our info paths might cross."

"Translation: you may have a lead already?" Connors asked.

"More like a tenth-hand rumor at this point. Still, if the citizens trust the police, it may lead to something concrete."

Linda hugged Sue again as Connors said goodbye and went back to the fire captain. He realized the victim had been clinically dead since that last smile.

*

Five hours later, now dressed in moderately nice pants outfits, Linda and Sue climbed back into the SUV and headed for the Gibson household. When they got there, all five Gibsons still living at home greeted them and decided to come along. Mikie and his younger twin brothers had lots of questions about the church music, while Mike Senior asked questions about prayer and the message and what rituals were involved. Pat, a former Protestant who had converted while courting Mike, mostly just smiled.

"Baptists and Catholics have a lot of the same core values," Linda explained to the boys. "You take Communion and it's the body and blood of Christ; they take the Lord's Supper and it's purely symbolic, grape juice and crackers. They baptize by immersion and the believer asks to be baptized. There are lots of things you can believe if you want to. Baptists reach out and try to be friendly to people. Ithink they'll really welcome you."

"Rachel's house is on the corner over there," Mikie pointed out. "Why don't you check in and make sure she's coming?"

As it turned out, there was no need to call. Rachel, her mom and her dad stood on the front porch in the gathering gloom. They didn't hear the vehicle pull up and park, because Rachel's dad was talking. Rather heatedly.

"I don't really care if they are sheriff's deputies. I don't want two lesbians taking my daughter anywhere."

Mr. Davis went on in this vein for several more sentences. In the interim, Mike Gibson Senior quietly opened his door and walked up behind Mr. Davis.

"Would you mind repeating that? I heard it but I'd like to confirm it."

The two men belonged to the same Kiwanis Club chapter, and Mike had a distinctive voice. Davis turned around and looked at Mike.

"What I said was that I don't want her associating with lesbians. They might give her ideas, or ..."

"Let me finish your thought," Mike said. He took his time to look Davis in the eye and launched into a speech he had thought out long before.

"I have a wife, two daughters, three sons, one grandchild so far, and an ex-girlfriend who helped me raise my daughters.She's one of those gay women. I've known her longer than I've known my wife, and my wife became her best friend through work and got me to befriend her again. On my honor and theirs, ifany person in that van committed a sex crime, or tried to 'convert' a straight person to gayness, that person would be imprisoned and disowned by every other person in there. You ask them."

Davis didn't like what he heard, but he also didn't want to openly disagree with a Sheriff's Department Deputy Inspector. He stalled.

"How come you're with them?"

"They invited me and my family to join that lady's son and daughter-in-law in worship and fellowship. The specifics may not fit my style, but it's an honor to be considered part of the family and to go on an outing with them. They'd like to extend Rachel the same courtesy."

"So who's with you?" Davis asked.

"My wife and our three sons. I understand my oldest boy wants to apologize to Rachel for several things he's said or done, and I would appreciate his getting the chance."

Davis decided to let the sleeping dog lie. He turned to Rachel. "All right, but you be back by –"

"Nine," Mike said for him. "The whole family is going to eat at Pizza Deluxe, and I'm picking up the tab."

Rachel turned pleading eyes to Mike, looking for whatever reassurance he could give. Mike looked at Davis.

"All right, Mr. Gibson, as long as you and your family watch out for her," Davis finally said. Then, to Rachel: "Is your homework complete?"

"Yes, Dad. Promise. You can look at it if you like."

"Could we take the baby too?" Mike asked. "My daughter lent us the infant seat she used for our granddaughter."

Davis frowned, but agreed. Mike shook his hand, and then formally shook Rachel's hand. "It's nice to meet you, Rachel. Mike Junior has said nice things about you."

Rachel didn't know what to say.

*

It didn't take long to get to church, so Mikie and Rachel hadn't talked much. Mikie and his brothers were fascinated by baby Megan. Mikie talked about his niece, Tricialeigh Wilson, who had been born when Mikie was nine and his brothers were four. Bobby and Danny made faces – not scary ones, or at least not too scary – at Megan.

The kids and teenagers were in the back; the adults further front. Pat, Mike, Linda and Sue had talked about splitting after church, so Linda could ride with her son and daughter-in-law in their car and Sue would drive the SUV. They had agreed to get a huge booth at the restaurant and let people talk among themselves, letting the twins go off and play in the arcade.

At the church, the three oldest adults sat with Bobby and Danny; Sue sat in the next pew between Mikie and Rachel, with Megan within easy reach.

In the set-up phone conversation earlier that afternoon, Sue had quizzed Mikie about the school schedule. The thirty-six weeks of school were broken up into three quarters, each quarter broken up into two six-week patterns. This was the tenth week of the first quarter. Anyone who flunked a class during a six-week period was ineligible for extra-curricular activities during the next six weeks, but could continue in the class and hope to raise the overall average high enough to get a passing grade for the quarter. (Very helpful for football jocks, since the first quarter ended shortly before the playoffs.) Sue asked if students could add or drop classes, not counting essentials such as English, math, the sciences, and history, between quarters. The answer was yes.

Sue had a plan. After hearing Rachel sing, Linda had agreed to go along with it. Mikie knew the high-school choir director through a friend, who had heard him sing and had encouraged him to audition. Mikie had declined, but liked concerts and had heard Rachel sing many times in junior high. Some of his friends sang in choir and some of them were planning to drop out. After hearing the plan, he had agreed to at least give it a shot if Rachel did. Mikie's parents, who loved music, were situated directly behind Rachel so they could hear her during the hymns and the praise songs.

As usual with Baptist churches, the service started out with baptism by immersion ("if you ain't been dunked, you is sunk"). An old associate pastor performed the ceremony high up behind the choir. Mike Gibson Senior looked amused when one of the new believers coughed and spluttered, but Linda silenced him with a look.

The church passed out the Lord's Supper. The Gibsons looked at the crackers and grape juice, looked at each other, and partook. Linda smiled.

Erin delivered the "message" and did a great job, in her mother-in-law's estimation. Linda's son Joe, who arrived late and squeezed in next to his mom, looked even happier. Linda looked over at her guests, wanting to make sure they weren't bored to tears by the long service. Mike and Pat were smiling and holding hands. The two youngest boys got a little fidgety, but Erin had incorporated some humor into her message with some stories about kids she had worked with, and the twins relaxed.

Finally, after an hour and a half, the recessional music played. Linda and Joe signaled the others to come behind them as they made their way to the pulpit. Linda gave Erin a hug to remember and then turned her over to Joe. They conferred among themselves, and then Linda gave her keys to Sue and said she'd meet them.

Half an hour later, with an hour remaining on Rachel's time frame, the group made its way into the family restaurant. They went through the buffet line, with the twins getting stuff they could eat quickly so they could go to the arcade. They went into the big family room and took up a large booth.

Linda, Joe and Erin arrived late. Linda looked more than a little dazed. When Mike went pick up her check, he saw her putting a copy of a medical report into her purse. Mike looked quizzical until he saw Erin beaming. Linda didn't say anything; she just turned to her long-ago boyfriend and hugged him until even he couldn't take any more. Mike didn't say anything either, but as a grandfather himself he had a really good idea what the medical report said. He decided to keep his mouth shut for a while.

Sue and Mikie flanked Rachel, who was bottle-feeding Megan before eating her own pizza. Mikie spoke first.

"I'm really glad you had her."

Rachel looked worried. "We were thinking about giving her up for adoption. My mom talked to some possible parents. But when she was born so early and had to spend a month in the hospital, they backed out."

Sue spoke gently: "Could you still give her up?"

Rachel's eyes were wet. "I know I should, but ... I really feel like a mom. You don't know how much I love her and care for her."

By this time Linda came over and heard Rachel's end of the conversation. "Don't always say we don't know. When I went through my divorce, I lost Joe and his sister Miriam. I didn't see them for more than twenty years. My ex-husband was convinced I was married to my job and that I was in too much danger, so he put out a restraining order keeping me from any contact at all with them. Their dad ... their dad didn't teach them to hate me. Miriam was the older one; she decided to hate me on her own.

"After they were grown, I still didn't see them until Sue, and Pat and Mike and their daughter Carol got the restraining order vacated and found out how to contact them. And even then it took a long time to convince Miriam that I wasn't a nasty, neglectful, abandoning mother."

Sue stared Linda in the eye. "Do you have to tell her all that?"

Linda puddled up, but didn't back down. "Yes. It was right at the time to give them up. That didn't stop the hurt. Mike helped with that, and later Pat, and later you and Carol. Rachel, I believe you need what I found. People to be your friends, to help you go on with life with or without her."

Mikie had stayed silent, looking at his friend and the baby. But he spoke.

"Rachel ... you and I used to be buddies."

Rachel replied. "Not a lot."

Mikie countered. "No, not a lot. But I always thought you were nice. Not that kind of 'nice,' just someone I liked talking with and someone who liked me. I don't like the way it is now."

Sue looked Rachel in the eye and spoke before Rachel could. "He's trying to say he's sorry for anything he said and did. He told me about that. I don't want to repeat it and I know he doesn't."