Song of Praise Page 7

  “What kind favor?” Marson asked.

  “I’d like you to invite Marvel to the revival. I truly believe that God wants him to be there.”

  “Will he be able to sit in the pulpit with us?”

  The man hadn’t repent for using God’s pulpit for an ungodly purpose yet. RaShawn strongly believed any man or woman seated behind a pulpit is a representative of God. And at the very least, he or she should believe the words written in the Bible. “No, not yet. I just wanted you to ask him to come and support your new calling.”

  After a brief silence Marson said, “I can do that.”

  After hanging up with Marson, RaShawn remembered that he needed to tell Britney something. He called her cell, but didn’t get an answer… left her a message to call and then headed back into the family room to talk with his family. They were spending the night so they could attend the revival with him.

  “Why the long face?” Raven asked as RaShawn sat down with them.

  “I was just thinking about Marvel Williams. I don’t think I handled the situation in love, the way I believe God would have wanted it handled.”

  “Are you having second thoughts about firing him?” Carmella asked, putting her book on the coffee table.

  “What are you reading?” RaShawn asked, picking up the book.

  “A book about the difference between today’s Christians and the Christians in Roman times. The author makes some good points.”

  RaShawn was intrigued. “Do you mind if I take a look at it?”

  “Have at it,” Carmella told him.

  “Thanks, and no, I don’t regret letting him go. But I do regret how harshly I spoke to him. I think I missed something that might determine whether he totally walks away from God or rediscovers his place.”

  “You’re being too hard on yourself, son. Remember, you were not even in your new position a day when you’d been asked to clean up all the mess those pastors had left behind,” Ramsey reminded him.

  “That is true,” RaShawn acknowledged. “But I can’t help feeling that I missed something where Marvel was concerned. The man had once been on fire for the Lord. I just don’t know what happened to him.”

  “There’s no sense beating yourself up about it,” Carmella said as she stood up and held out her hands. “Let’s go to God and ask Him to reveal everything He needs you to know about Marvel.”

  RaShawn thought about the dream he had, where Marvel had reached out to him for help, but RaShawn had been lost… he hadn’t known what kind of help he could give a man like Marvel, someone who had tried to turn the truth of God into a lie. “Sounds like a plan to me.” RaShawn grabbed hold of Carmella’s hand as his dad, Raven and Marcus joined them.

  Chapter Eleven

  Britney ignored RaShawn’s call as she drove back into town. Her heart was bleeding from the inside out and she didn’t think she would be able to talk to him without bursting into tears. RaShawn had enough going on. He didn’t need her burdening him with her problems.

  For a brief moment Britney thought about calling some of the friends she used to hang out with when she’d needed to numb her mind to the pain her mother had caused during her childhood. But the thought of that terrified her, so she started praying like the devil himself was chasing her, trying to get her to turn back. There was no way she would ever go back to what she had been… not as long as there was still breath in her body and she could call out for help from her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

  After praying, Britney felt as if she had reined her emotions in enough to talk to RaShawn, so she picked up her cell and called him. He answered on the second ring.

  “Hey, you. Where’ve you been all day?”

  “I was visiting with Carla.”

  “I’m sure she appreciated the company,” RaShawn said.

  His voice sounded so soothing, so comforting that Britney almost told him right then and there about Tony being her father. But she held back, the wound was too fresh, she needed distance from the pain before she could talk about this with RaShawn. “She was happy to see me,” was all she said in response.

  “I hope that you’ll be at the revival tomorrow. I’d love to look out and see that beautiful smile of yours.”

  He was always saying such nice things to her… treating her as if he knew nothing of her past. RaShawn was truly something special; she thanked God every day for sending him her way. He showed her what true Christianity looked like. After growing up with her mother’s brand of Christianity, Britney had wanted nothing to do with the faith. But she no longer blamed God for the fakes who pretended to bow down before Him, while in truth they only served themselves and did what was right in their own eyes. “Of course I will be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll talk to you later; I just pulled up at my mom’s house.”

  “Before you hang up, I called you for a reason.”

  “Oh yeah, right.” She got so distracted when talking to this man. Hopefully, God could reveal something about that to her. Either move this thing to the next level, or help her to move on.

  “I just realized why Marson was skipped over and Linden was killed instead.”

  “Huh?”

  “Remember? You had thought that the killer was taking each preacher out based on when I had asked them to step down. But when Linden was killed before Marson, we basically ditched that theory.”

  “Gotcha. So what do you think happened? Maybe the killer had his timeline wrong?”

  “Not at all. I think the killer knows exactly what he’s doing. And if my theory is correct, then Marson has never been a target.”

  “And why is that?”

  “Because Marson wasn’t fired because he was caught doing some ungodly act. I let him go because he was totally disorganized and disinterested in being in the office of a pastor. Marson is an evangelist and he’s happy to take on that role.”

  “And the killer knew that… so our other assumption has to be correct as well. Whoever is killing these pastors has to be a member of the board.”

  “I’m going to call Senior Bishop Brown and Detective Harris and tell them what we’ve figured out. Hopefully, the two of them can work together to figure out who has taken it upon themselves to be judge, jury and sentencer.”

  “You do that. I need to take care of something over here. But I’ll see you tomorrow.” They hung up then Britney took a deep breath as she prepared herself to deal with the enemy within.

  The queen bee was waiting for her. Apparently Carla had called. Britney didn’t know who she was angrier at, her mother the deceiver or Carla the peacemaker. She folded her arms as she stood in front of the massive desk her mother seemed to spend a lifetime behind.

  “I know you’re upset, Britney, but I hope that you are laying blame where it’s deserved.”

  “You’re not even going to deny any of this?”

  She lifted her hands. “Why should I? I held up my end of the bargain. I pretended that another man was your father all these years. But when I wanted my secret protected, he didn’t care about that. And neither did your precious little Aunt Carla.”

  “You leave her out of this. Carla has been better to me than you ever were on your best day. So, don’t disparage her.”

  Rising from her seat like a pit bull spotting its prey, Judge Hartman said, “You better hope disparaging her is all I do. I’m of a mind to go over there and break her neck.”

  Backing up as fear crept up her spine at the hate she saw in her mother’s eyes, she asked, “Why are you so evil? All these years you’ve pretended to be a Christian to the outside world. But at home, I never witnessed anything Christ-like about you.”

  “Now who’s disparaging whom?” Stepping around her desk and coming towards her daughter, Lisa said, “I did everything a mother could do for you. I made sure you were clothed, fed, I put you in the right schools but you didn’t appreciate any of it. All you ever did was throw your Uncle Tony and his precious wife in my face. Do you know how many times I wanted to tel
l you to your face that Tony didn’t love you? He never even wanted you.”

  “He loved me. He was going to tell me the truth. He called and asked me to come see him. If he hadn’t died, he would have tried to make this right… I know he would have.”

  Lisa laughed in her daughter’s face. “Are you really that dumb? How could he make anything right after ignoring the truth for this long?”

  “Why do you hate him so much?” Britney asked. She wondered for so long, but never had the guts to demand an answer. But now, in light of everything that she now knew to be true, the least her mother could do was fill in the blanks.

  “For the same reason that you should hate him. After his brother died in that car accident, Tony being the wonderful man he was, couldn’t bear that I should have to raise you alone. So, he provided another husband for me.”

  Britney’s eyes grew wide.

  “That’s right,” Lisa continued. “Your stepfather had been a member of Tony’s church. Back in those days I was so green, I didn’t know how to do anything but trust. And Tony knew I would marry him on the spot, because he was a judge and had connections that got me my first seat behind the bench.”

  Looking far off, as if seeing some distant memory, Lisa continued, “I still remember the day Tony discovered that he’d married me off to a pedophile. He begged me to divorce him, but I refused. By that time I hated my husband, but I hated Tony more.”

  Britney felt as if she was going to be sick again. But she refused to give her mother the satisfaction. “You obviously hated me too. Or you would have put a stop to what your husband was doing long before Uncle Tony stopped him.”

  Sounding as if she was the victim, Lisa said, “You have no idea what it was like for me back then.”

  “I think it’s time to stop all the secrecy. I’m tired of it. And I have decided that I am going to meet with that reporter and unload on him. I hope to God that what I have to say destroys your career. Since that’s the only thing you seem to care about.”

  “Careful, Britney, Tony didn’t fare too well after attempting to expose me. I would hate for the same thing to happen to you.”

  “Are you threatening me?” Then Britney did a rewind as she realized the implications of what her mother had just said. “Did you have something to do with Uncle Tony’s death?”

  “Don’t be absurd. Look, sit down and let’s talk this out before you do something you’ll regret.” Lisa reached out a hand and wrapped it around Britney’s arm.

  As her mom extended her hand, Britney noticed something in between her fingers. She tried to move out of her reach, but wasn’t quick enough. She felt a prick as if a needle had penetrated her flesh and then turned an accusing eye toward her mother.

  “Oh, don’t look at me as if I betrayed you. Things will be better this way, you’ll see.”

  “What did you do to me?” Realizing that she needed to get away, Britney didn’t wait for an answer. She unraveled her mother’s fingers from her arm and bolted for the door… only, it didn’t feel as if she was running very fast. Felt more like slogging through quicksand. She grabbed hold of the doorknob and was about to open it when her whole body went limp and she fell face first on the floor.

  ***

  Meanwhile, Rita was in her prayer closet communing with the Lord. He had brought her a long way. These days when she looked in the mirror she still saw the beauty queen that was able to catch the eye of just about any man she desired. But that no longer mattered to her. She was no longer ready and willing to sell her soul to the highest bidder. She paid her own rent and took care of her child. Life was good.

  The only problem she had was Britney’s thrill-seeking behavior. She worried about that girl and now it seemed as if she was getting another premonition about something bad happening to her friend. “Lord, please tell me what’s going on; I feel as if Britney needs me. But I don’t know what to do.”

  Find her.

  Rita heard the response and didn’t waste time asking again. She finished her prayer and then ran to the telephone. Britney wasn’t answering the phone so she left two messages. She sat down and waited twenty minutes for her friend to call back.

  Britney thought she worried too much. But Rita trusted the Lord, and if He was nudging her too, then there must be a reason for that. “Right?” she said to Tyler as she pulled her out of her baby bed, put her shoes on and headed out the door.

  Chapter Twelve

  “No… no! Stay away from me!” Seven-year-old Britney ran to the other side of her bedroom and huddled in the corner. Her mommy was out of town, and Britney had begged her not to leave because she knew what would happen the moment the lights went out in this horrible house.

  He smelled of booze as he approached her, slurring his words. “Don’t make me chase after you.”

  “Leave me alone,” she shouted.

  But he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her out towards the door. “You’ve been bad today. You have to learn how to be a good little girl.”

  “I’ll be good. I promise. Just leave me alone,” Britney begged as tears ran down her face.

  “I told you before, if you do right, I won’t do wrong. Now get in here and let me teach you how to be a good little girl.”

  Panting as if her heart was about to pound its way out of her chest, Britney bolted upright. Terror stricken, she searched her surroundings. Realizing that she wasn’t seven years old anymore and that she was having a nightmare, her breathing slowly normalized. “Where am I?” The room was pitch black.

  Charles had said those words to her… but Charles was dead.

  Standing up, she searched around for a light switch, but couldn’t find one. Then she felt her eyes drooping as her knees buckled and she was once again stretched out on the floor. She was sinking back to a place she didn’t want to be. She wasn’t seven years old anymore. She was now fourteen and things had changed in the house. Her mother had just won her first elected post as a judge and thanks to her Uncle Tony, her stepfather hadn’t abused her in the last two years.

  Her mother walked the halls, carrying a silver tray containing red wine, crackers and two wine glasses. She took the tray into her bedroom and left the door open as she set it down on the nightstand.

  Britney prayed that her mother wasn’t about to give that wine to her stepfather. She knew firsthand what he was like when he was drunk. Tiptoeing into the hallway, Britney made her way to her mother’s bedroom door. She stood watching. Her mother had told her that her stepfather had some kind of flu bug which had caused him to be bedridden for the past week.

  Britney had been thrilled when he’d taken to his bed and hadn’t been able to roam the halls. But she feared that alcohol might make him better and then he’d once again be in her face, telling her to ‘do right, so he wouldn’t have to do wrong.’

  Lisa said, “Wake up, Charles. You and I need to talk.”

  “Wha… where am I?” he asked, as if he didn’t even know that he was in his own bed.

  “It’s me, Charles… Lisa. Now wake up. You don’t have much time left.”

  “Why do I feel so terrible?” he asked, barely able to lift himself up.

  She didn’t answer that, but said, “You’ve outlived your usefulness to me, Charles. You won’t survive much longer. I know you feel your body weakening.”

  “What have you done to me?”

  “Let me help you sit up.” She adjusted the pillows behind him and then lifted him to an upright position. Lisa then put the communion tray on the bed next to him as she asked, “Don’t you think you should repent before it’s too late?”

  Struggling to breathe, Charles asked, “Am I dying?”

  She nodded. “Yes, Charles, you are.”

  His head fell back against his pillow, as he cried out to God. “Please forgive me for my sins… for my weakness.”

  “That’s good, Charles. You don’t have to say anymore. Hold your strength so you can take communion. Remember how you told me that communion cleanses all
of our sins?”

  He nodded, tears running down his face.

  “Take the cracker.” She handed him the cracker and said, “This is the body of Jesus, which was broken for you… even for a vile sinner like you.”

  Charles quickly ate the cracker.

  She ate hers and then poured wine in both their glasses. Before handing Charles his glass, Britney saw her mom open a small vile and pour something into his wine.

  Her stepfather drank the wine, laid down the glass, said, “I’m sorry” to Lisa and then laid his head back against the pillow.

  Britney kept staring at him, waiting for him to move again, but he never did. Her mother got off the bed and looked directly at her. “Oh Britney, dear, I didn’t know you were there. I’m afraid your stepfather has passed away. I need to call the undertaker so he can be cremated as he always wanted.”

  ***

  RaShawn was ready. After staying up all night studying Roman history, he had finally managed to prepare his sermon. The first two days of the revival would be televised. RaShawn only prayed that God’s people tuned in and that they opened their ears as well as their hearts. But once again, he had Carmella Marshall-Thomas to thank. Because if she hadn’t come to town and brought her book on Roman times with her, RaShawn wouldn’t have made the connection as far as what God wanted from him.

  When he walked into the kitchen, all he was thinking about was grabbing a quick breakfast before leaving for the revival. But Rita and her little girl were seated at the table. She had a disturbed look on her face as she talk with Raven and Marcus.

  “I didn’t know that you were coming to town for the revival,” RaShawn said as he took Tyler out of her arms.

  “I hadn’t plan to be here. But I have to find Britney,” Rita told him.

  Bouncing the baby in his arms, RaShawn said, “She’ll be at the revival, so you’ll see her there if you come with us.”