The Scarlet Plan

by Rick W. Warren

  “Well, who is it?”

  “Just come down here and we’ll talk.”

  A pang of fear shot through Emma’s body. She knew who it was before he said anything. She knew it last night and she didn’t want to believe it. Her body began to shake as she slowly asked: “Henry, who’s the victim?”

  Henry sighed again. He didn’t want to tell her this over the phone. “It was Jack McKenzie.”

  Tears started to flood Emma’s eyes and stream down her cheeks. “I’ll be down there as soon as I can.”

  “Emma, I’m really sorry. I didn’t want to tell you this over the phone.”

  “I know. I made you. I’ll be there soon.”

  “Do you need a ride or anything else?”

  “No. I’ll be fine. See you in a little bit.”

  Emma ended her phone call and looked over at her cat, Bosco. He was still asleep with no idea about the world around him. Emma placed her phone down and buried her face in her pillow sobbing. She was going to be a little late to the office.

  3

  Convert woke up at around 8:05 in the morning and was surprised he had slept in so late. His normal wake up schedule was around 6:00 in the morning, even on weekends. He quickly got out of bed and put his clothes on because he was excited to be able to tell Jack and Marie all about what had happened last night. Usually in the morning, as he would walk upstairs from the basement, he would have smelled the familiar smells of breakfast. Coffee, eggs, and sometimes bacon were always there to greet his nose as he made his way to the kitchen. This morning, however, there was no one in the kitchen and breakfast had not yet been made. While that did seem odd to Convert, he didn’t think much of it because everyone sleeps in every once in a while. If he had slept in, then maybe Jack and Marie did too. Convert made his way through the kitchen, dining room, and then entered the living room. As he looked towards the front door, he understood why breakfast wasn’t made. Standing in the doorway was Marie still in her robe and she was talking to two policemen. Convert also saw that she was sobbing.

  Anxiously, Convert ran up to Marie and said, “Marie, what’s wrong? What happened? Are you ok? Where’s Jack?”

  Marie turned towards him and collapsed in his arms crying into his shoulder. Convert didn’t know what to do. He had only seen Marie like this one other time in his life. That was when Ralph died…

  “Where’s Jack?” Convert shouted in a panic to the police officers. “Did something happen to him? What’s going on?”

  The officer with the nametag of “Nelson” spoke very calmly. This was news that no one wanted to give. “Jack was the victim of a murder last night at Lake Storey and his body was found early this morning. We are very sorry to bring you this news.”

  Convert went numb. This had to be a dream. He must still be asleep.

  “We are here because we need to escort you to the hospital and ask some questions. We also need you to make a positive identification of his body.”

  “How can this be?” Convert asked. “How did Jack end up in Lake Storey? He was here last night. His car is still here. Marie, what’s going on? Did he come to bed last night?”

  Marie looked up at him. “I went to bed before him and I fell asleep. When I woke up, he wasn’t here.”

  Tears began to cloud Convert’s eyes. He felt a flurry of emotion. He was in shock over what he heard, but as reality crept in he was swiftly becoming overwhelmed with sorrow. And anger. This was not the way today was supposed to be. He was supposed to be sitting at the table with Jack and Marie eating breakfast and telling them about all that happened last night. They were supposed to be laughing and watching college football this afternoon. For the second time in Convert’s life, the world had crashed down upon him.

  Slowly, as Convert stood in a fog, Marie went upstairs, changed her clothes, and went with the police officers. As they walked down the stairs out of the screened in front porch, Convert looked behind him and remembered back to when he had first arrived here. He remembered the three of them hugging and laughing. He had never felt such joy. He had never been so happy. It all seemed like a ghost to him now. He didn’t think he would ever laugh again.

  4

  Aaron woke up around 9:00 and knew something was wrong. He hadn’t looked at his phone, turned on the radio, or watched TV, but he knew something was off. Even though he had such a great night, he did not sleep well. Something was different. Something was haunting his mind and it would not go away.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about the idea that Jack was dead and it was driving him crazy. He had to settle this once and for all. The only way he knew he could clear everything up was to give Jack a call. It was time to put an end to this silliness.

  He grabbed his phone off of his nightstand. No messages. That was good news. He figured if something had happened, Convert definitely would have let him know. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Jack’s cell number. He figured he would try that first in case Jack had gone out this Saturday morning to get something.

  Aaron pressed the button to call him and immediately got Jack’s voicemail. “His phone must be turned off,” Aaron said out loud trying to keep the creeping panic from setting in. He pressed “end” and scrolled to Jack’s home number. The phone rang and rang, but no one was picking up. After the sixth ring, the answering machine turned on. Aaron decided to hang up and not leave a message. Jack and Marie probably went out to breakfast. As a matter of fact, they probably took Convert out to talk all about last night. Jack was fine and it was time to stop thinking these thoughts.

  Aaron got out of bed, poured himself a bowl of cereal, and sat down on the couch in his living room. He didn’t realize that he left his phone on his bed and he didn’t hear his phone vibrating due to the fact that at that moment Convert was calling him. He grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Immediately, his fears were realized. On channel 8 there was a special news alert. Someone had been murdered in Galesburg and was found floating in Lake Storey. The victim died as a result of a stab wound straight to the heart. Other than that there were no other signs of struggle or harm. The identity of the victim was known, but was being withheld until family was notified. More details would come as the day unfolded.

  Aaron shot up from the couch. He left his cereal on the coffee table untouched. He had lost his appetite. He quickly got dressed and put his shoes on. It was then that he realized that he didn’t have his phone. He ran into his bedroom to get it and when he grabbed it he saw that he had missed a call. Convert had also left him a text message: “CALL ME ASAP.” Aaron already knew what it was about. Jack was dead. Grabbing his keys and wallet off of the kitchen counter, Aaron ran out the door.

  5

  As with any guys’ overnight, they woke up at about 10:00 a.m. This morning was met with some excitement, however, because they were on a mission. They would see the McKenzie barn. Galesburg legend had it that this was a haunted barn used by a secret society of witches, and as far as they knew, no one in their school had ever been there. After hearing Convert speak about it last night, they were even more excited to go. Convert had confirmed for them that the barn wasn’t haunted. He had put a face on the real story of what happened there. Of course it was sad and heartbreaking to think about, but they knew now that witches didn’t own it.

  “Can you believe how epic we will be to have our picture taken in front of the barn?” Mark said with bright eyes. “We may not have girlfriends yet, but think of what the ladies will think when they see that we did something even the big, bad football players wouldn’t do.”

  The other three stared at him.

  “Are you serious?” Trent replied.

  “What do you mean?” Mark asked.

  “What girl do you know is waiting patiently for the one guy who would only be brave enough to take on the wrath of the abandoned barn?”

  Mark stared blankly. “I thought it would
show that we were cool. Don’t girls want guys who are cool?”

  “I don’t think I would want to be with a girl who was only with me because I was ‘cool’,” Jordan said. “I would want her to like me for who I am.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Mark replied, “but it would still make an awesome profile pic on my Facebook page!”

  “I can agree with you on that!” Jordan said while slapping him a high five.

  “Well the truth is that you’re both in luck,” Trent interjected grinning. “You guys won’t ever have to worry about a girl liking you because she thinks you’re cool.”

  That comment earned Trent a pillow to the face.

  “Hey guys! Check this out!” Josh exclaimed while looking at his iPhone.

  “What is it?” Jordan asked as he walked over to him.

  “I found the barn while looking at the satellite view on the maps app.”

  Josh turned it around for the others to see. There it was just as Convert had described it. From the sky you could see the structure, which had to be the barn. Trees on three sides surrounded it with only the east left open. Like Convert had said, it must have had a beautiful view of the sunrise. From this vantage point, they could only see the barn. They couldn’t see the remains of the house that had burned down, but that had happened forty years ago. The current owners of the land must have buried it when they bought it. The barn, however, had remained.

  “So it does truly exist,” Trent said smiling. “I thought this thing would have been torn down by now.”

  “I’m willing to believe it’s merely a shell that’s left. A big enough bird could probably bring it down,” Josh said.

  “Either way a picture won’t damage it!” Mark said excited. “We need to go!”

  Jordan felt a bit uneasy. While there was an excitement about seeing the barn first hand, he also felt a bit of apprehension. Was it really abandoned? Was there any truth to the legend? Who owns it now? “Guys, do you really think we should go there?”

  “What’s wrong?” Trent replied.

  “I just don’t know if we should go onto someone else’s property. Can’t we get in big trouble?”

  “We don’t even know who owns it and it’s only a barn,” justified Trent. “Nobody even lives there so how do we know we can’t go there? Anyway, even if someone was there and they told us to leave we would.”

  That made sense. If told to leave, they would. But…

  “What if we go all the way there and there is a “No Trespassing” sign? I wouldn’t feel comfortable going in. I just don’t want to get in trouble.”

  Trent sighed, “If there is no trespassing, then we won’t go in.”

  “What do you mean?” Mark said alarmed. He already saw his one-day dream of getting his picture in front of the barn threatened. “We can’t go all the way there just to turn around!”

  “Sure we can,” Trent replied. “You could use the exercise anyway. That would give you more of a chance with the ladies than your beloved picture of braveness.”

  “I know you’re jealous that you didn’t think of the picture idea first”

  “True,” Trent said sarcastically. “Just make sure you bring your umbrella for the picture too. It would be a nice touch. Oh, wait? I forgot that the wind already blew it halfway across town. Ha! Ha! Ha!”

  In addition to Trent, Jordan and Josh joined in on the laughter. The umbrella incident would probably provide laughs for years to come. Mark, of course, proceeded to tackle Trent for his comment.

  “How long do you think it will take us to get there?” Jordan asked Josh as Trent and Mark wrestled in the background.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe forty-five minutes to an hour.”

  “Really? Well at least it’s a nice day for a bike ride.”

  “If it’s going to take an hour, we need to go now.” Trent said as he was trying to escape a headlock.

  “What about lunch?” Jordan asked

  The question of lunch made Mark release his headlock. “We got cold pizza with us. Let’s go!”

  6

  Their expedition took them north on highway 150. It was almost a straight shot all the way there. This wasn’t exactly the kind of highway you wanted to ride your bike on, however. There wasn’t much of a shoulder and it forced them to ride single file. It also didn’t help that every once in a while drivers passing by shouted at them. As they drew closer to their destination they came to a point where they had to ride down a deep valley. The trip down was fun, but they had to get off and push their bikes uphill.

  “I feel like we’re the Goonies riding our bikes to follow the treasure map!” Mark said.

  “I wonder how different the Goonies would have been if cell phones had been around?” Josh replied.

  “What do you mean?” Mark asked.

  “Well, think about it. They went into the tunnel they found in the fireplace because they were hiding from the bad guys. Chunk comes up to them after he gets out of the freezer and he wants to go with them, but Mikey and Brand tell him to get the police.”

  “I always felt bad for Chunk that he didn’t get to go with them,” Jordan added.

  “Yeah, me too. Anyway, if they had had a cell phone they could have called the police right there and they could have turned on their GPS so that they could be tracked. Also, think of the damage that could have been saved. They wouldn’t have destroyed the plumbing of the country club and they probably could have used a piano app so that they never played a wrong note on the skeleton organ thus keeping the floor intact.”

  Trent stopped pushing his bike to stare at Josh for a second. “How long have you been thinking about all of this?”

  “Actually, it just popped into my head right now,” Josh answered.

  Mark’s eyes brightened. “Hey! You know what? We’re kind of like the Goonies right now! Think about it. Josh, you’re like Data because you love technology and gadgets, Jordan, you’re like Mikey because you are usually the one that leads us in whatever we do, and Trent, you’re definitely Mouth because your usually always talking and getting into trouble…”

  “And what does that make you?” Trent said interjecting himself. “Chunk?”

  “I was thinking more like, Brand, because he’s the tough one,” Mark said smiling.

  “You’re the tough one?” Trent said amused. It was then that he caught the look of Jordan behind Mark. With a serious and sympathetic look, Jordan slowly shook his head. This was a usual indication to Trent to stop whatever he was doing.

  Trent looked back at Mark and simply said, “Then lead the way, tough guy.”

  Mark replied, “Thanks, man.” Then moving in front of everyone as they reached the top of the hill, Mark proclaimed in a loud voice that sounded like a medieval knight, “Let’s ride!”

  7

  The guys were very close now. They had made it to the intersection of 150 and the Henderson blacktop, which was highlighted by its characteristic flashing yellow light, and they turned right. Josh’s map application on his phone said they were merely five minutes away. As they continued east, they finally came upon the lane that would lead them to the woods that hid the barn from the road. They couldn’t help but notice how nice the multi-colored trees looked. Leaves in the different colors of yellow, brown, orange, and even bright red were everywhere. “I bet we could make the biggest leaf pile ever here!” Mark commented.

  Down this lane, which turned north off of the blacktop, there were a few houses. Straight ahead, though, they saw what they had been looking for. There was a small path, just big enough for a vehicle, heading into the woods. This was the path to the old McKenzie place. This is where they would find the barn.

  All four of them stood at the opening of the woods and saw that they would initially have to go downhill. Although they were all excited, Jordan was a bit nervous as well. He hated getting in trou
ble and he definitely did not want to get in trouble for trespassing. “Remember your promise, Trent,” Jordan said. “If there is a ‘No Trespassing’ sign, we aren’t going to go any farther.”

  Trent looked around. “Well I don’t see one anywhere. Do you?”

  Jordan looked as well and couldn’t find one.

  “Are you guys serious?” Mark asked. “Would we really turn around after going all this way?”

  “I guess we won’t have to find out now,” Jordan replied. “I don’t see anything.”

  “Let’s go then!” Mark said as he began to go down the path.

  “Just chill for a minute. We’ll go, but we go together. We have no idea what’s ahead of us here.” Jordan said.

  Slowly they made their way down the path. The day was very mild and the temperature hovered around sixty-seven degrees. The soft breeze made the leaves rustle everywhere both on the ground and on the trees. The woods felt like it was alive and there was a strong sense of peace here. The guys continued on for about thirty yards when they came upon a gate that was swung open. They looked for any signs of warning or no trespassing and found nothing.

  “Are you satisfied?” Trent asked while looking at Jordan.

  “I guess so. Let’s keep moving.” Jordan replied.

  Josh looked at his map. This path would extend for a little bit before coming completely out of the woods. Once they left the woods they would turn left and once they passed all the trees they would turn left again straight to the barn.

  As they were pedaling their bikes, Mark said, “Guys! Look! There it is! Can you see it! Through the trees!”

  Enough leaves had fallen off of the trees so that they could see through the woods to the field. There it was. The reason they came out all this way and they were almost there.

  “Do you guys realize that we are the only ones brave enough to do this?” Mark said excited. “This is the most awesome thing we’ve done yet!”