The Scarlet Plan

by Rick W. Warren

  “Hello, Aaron,” Charles said in his deep voice. “Please come in.”

  Aaron walked in and immediately felt dread come over him. He could tell where this was going to go. “Hello, Carl,” Aaron said as he sat down across from him.

  Carl looked at him with an expression of stone and then shifted his eyes over to Charles as he sat back down behind his desk.

  “Aaron,” Charles said. “I’ll just cut to the chase here. I got a call from Carl last night telling me that you didn’t let Clayton into youth group last night.”

  “That’s correct,” Aaron replied. “I was actually going to call Carl today and talk about it but now that he’s here I’d be glad to talk about it now.”

  “Since when did we stop people from attending church here,” Carl said clearly in anger.

  “When someone has physically assaulted someone here and the victims are afraid of something else happening, it is my job to make sure they are safe in this building,” Aaron replied trying to contain the anger within him.

  “So some kids get in an after school scuffle and all of the sudden this church is on lockdown?”

  “It wasn’t some little scuffle,” Aaron said in disbelief of how Carl was acting. “Clayton beat up these kids. Jordan Bennett’s face is completely bruised and the others were in pain as well. Clayton jumped them for no reason and he is responsible for all of this.”

  Carl’s face began to turn red. “Is that what you think? Do you really believe the word of those kids over Clayton? Who are they? Where are they going in their lives? Clayton literally has everything going for him right now. Why would he waste his time with them? They are jealous of him. They are mad that he doesn’t hang out with them anymore because they were going nowhere. Clayton’s story is far different. Clayton says that he was the one jumped by them and he had to fight them off.”

  “Are you serious?” Aaron said in shock. “Those guys would never do anything like that. If that is what Clayton is saying to you, then he is flat out lying. I talked to him. He said that he beat them up because they disrespected him. He was angry at Jordan for sticking up for Mark at lunchtime. You honestly can’t believe his story!”

  Carl looked at him with a dark look that Aaron found very disturbing especially coming from a church elder. “Clayton told me that he tried to tell you what happened and all you did was scream at him. His friends were there and vouched for his story. You were out of line!”

  Aaron sat back in shock. Clayton lied about what had happened and he should have known he was going to. He also should have known that his friends would lie for him too. Finally, he should have had another leader there with him as a witness, but he had so much going on in his mind that he had overlooked it. “Your son and his friends are lying to you. I was not out of line in anything I did. I had to protect my students and Clayton is a threat. He even threatened me before he left. He said that I would ‘get mine.’”

  “Do you have any witnesses to back up your story?” Charles interjected.

  “If you mean another leader, then no, but we talked in public in the parking lot and there were other people coming in. Any of them could tell you that I was not yelling. As a matter of fact, I walked away and he was the one who started yelling.”

  “Clayton has people vouching for him,” Carl said. “No one is vouching for you.”

  “I’m telling the truth,” Aaron replied. “And I have shown to everyone in the church what kind of person I am. Believe it or not, I want the best for Clayton too and what he said to me shows me that his relationship with God is nonexistent. He’s gotten too big for his britches and his arrogance is destroying him.”

  “Don’t you talk about what my boy thinks!” Carl screamed. “Who do you think you are taking about where he stands with God?”

  Staying calm, Aaron replied, “I heard it from Clayton himself and I can’t believe how blind you are to it.”

  “That’s enough, Aaron!” Charles said this time in anger. “Carl is an elder in this church and you will have some respect.”

  “Am I not an elder as well? Don’t I deserve the same respect? I was simply stating the truth about Clayton and yet I’m the one on trial here?” Aaron said in exasperation.

  “Your story doesn’t match up, Aaron,” Charles said. “It’s not enough to just go off of your word.”

  “You think I’m lying? I can get the Bennetts in here if you want me to. You should hear their side anyway.”

  “We will,” Charles said. “But until then you will be on administrative leave.”

  Aaron felt like he was slapped in the face. Did he really hear what he just heard? “What? You are placing me on leave? What did I do wrong?”

  “If what Clayton has said is true, your actions are unbecoming of the position you hold. This will be a paid leave until we have a congregational meeting on the Sunday after this one.”

  “What will the meeting be for?” Aaron said as numbness fell upon him.

  “It will be to decide whether you will retain your employment here.”

  Aaron looked over in shock as he saw the grin on Carl’s face. It was exactly what Clayton wanted. Of all that he might have expected today, this was not it. Tears began to form in his eyes at the injustice of it all. It was one thing for Carl to act this way, but for his pastor and co-worker to treat him like this was like a dagger to his heart. “I did the right thing and I’m not ashamed of it. I’ve told you the truth and I stand by every word.”

  “You should be ashamed of yourself,” Carl said in a sneer.

  “No. I’m ashamed of you.”

  “Aaron, you’re dismissed for now,” Charles said. “We will notify you of the time we will meet on November 1st. Until then, I am informing you to stay off of church grounds until then. If you come here anytime before it will be considered trespassing.”

  “How can you treat me like this?”

  Charles walked to his door and held it open. “That is all.”

  Aaron stood up and felt like he was floating instead of walking. Could this really be happening? He walked into the hallway and Charles followed him. As he walked past the secretaries, Aaron could tell that they had already known what was going to happen. He had never felt so empty. He walked out the office and walked to the glass doors of the church. As he pushed it open he looked back at Charles who had silently followed him. “This isn’t right, Charles,” Aaron said in tears.

  With a face like stone, Charles replied, “It’s Pastor Charles, Aaron, and there are lines you don’t cross.”

  “What line was that?”

  With no reply, Charles turned and headed back to his office.

  The cold wind blasted against Aaron as he made his way back to his car. His heart was broken. The chill he felt from the wind was nothing compared to the coldness he had felt in that office.

  13

  Convert’s phone began to ring waking him up from the nap he was taking on the couch after lunch. He could see it was Emma calling so he tried to get his bearings before he answered it.

  “Hello?” He said.

  “Convert! It’s Emma!” She said with excitement.

  Convert’s adrenaline began to pump. She had to have found something. “Yeah. What’s up?”

  The cops found a kid at the high school that matched the description you and the Hamill’s gave. He’s in custody now and they would like you guys to come down and identify him. Can you get here soon?

  “Absolutely,” Convert said standing up. “I can be there in ten minutes. Do I need to call the Hamill’s too?”

  “No. The police have contacted them and they are on their way too. We finally got a big break!”

  “Yes, we did. I’ll be there right away.”

  Convert hung up the phone and grabbed his coat off the hook. In his excitement, he ran out the front door and practically leapt down the steps on the way to
his truck. He could see the grin on that kid’s face as he drove and he imagined that the grin was no longer there now. That made him grin himself.

  He pulled up to the public safety building in about seven minutes. He drove a little fast in his excitement and was thankful he didn’t get pulled over. In the same parking lot, he saw that the Hamill’s had just pulled up too. He walked over to them as Chuck and Ellie were getting out of their car. “Very good news!” Convert said as he shook Chuck’s hand. “We were hoping for this break!”

  “Yes, it is!” Chuck said.

  They walked together into the front lobby of the police station. Emma was there waiting for them and they could see the excitement on her face. “Thank you for coming!” She said. “They’ll take us back in just a minute.”

  As Chuck and Ellie took a seat in the lobby, Chuck felt his phone begin to vibrate in his pants pocket as it began to ring. He quickly scrambled to take it out and noticed that it said it was ‘unknown’ on the caller ID. Convert and Emma were at the counter talking to a police officer and Ellie was looking at a magazine, so he got up and moved toward the front of the building were it was quieter.

  “Hello?” He said.

  “Chuck,” a voice he didn’t know said on the other line. “I will tell you this one time and you will listen.”

  “Who is this?”

  “You have never seen that kid. You do not recognize him at all. He is not the suspect.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You will instruct your wife to say the same. She has never seen him. She does not recognize him. He is not the suspect.”

  “Who do you think you are?”

  “I’m the one watching you and I am warning you one time. Nothing will happen to you again if you are obedient. However, if you disobey, if you speak of this to anyone but your wife, you will not see Saturday. We know where you are staying and we know where you will be when you leave. Don’t test us. This is your only chance to be free from us.”

  Chuck couldn’t speak. He knew this was real.

  “Do you understand? You will look at him and you will not recognize him. You and your wife. Am I clear?”

  “Y..Yes,” Chuck said.

  The phone went dead as the caller hung up. Ellie looked up to see Chuck visibly shaken from his call. “Honey? What happened?”

  “Listen carefully,” he said as he sat back down and whispered to her urgently. “We never saw this kid. I just got a call and they threatened our lives if we identified him. If we don’t, however, nothing will happen to us again.”

  “You can’t be serious!” Ellie said.

  “I am! And you have to agree with me! We don’t know that kid!”

  Ellie saw a fear in his eyes that she never saw before and knew this was no joke. Understanding crept in as she looked at him. “This isn’t the kid.”

  “Exactly!” Chuck said trying to stop himself from shaking.

  Convert looked over and saw Chuck and Ellie huddled together whispering. He could clearly tell that Chuck was upset about something. His eyes said everything. Convert quickly walked over to them and asked, “Is everything ok, Chuck? Did something just happen?”

  Chuck startled like the chair he was sitting on gave him an electric shock. He quickly looked up and tried to smile. “No..no everything is fine,” he said as his voice shook. “I’m just a little nervous about seeing the suspect.”

  Convert could tell that something was up, but he didn’t want to judge Chuck’s emotions yet. Maybe he was nervous and this was how he reacted. “Ok,” Convert said. “I’m here for you guys if you need anything. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Thank you,” Ellie said cutting him off abruptly.

  Convert could tell he was not wanted there at that moment and he walked back over to Emma. “Something’s up,” he said.

  “What do you mean?” Emma asked.

  “Chuck and Ellie look like they’ve seen a ghost. They say they are just nervous, but I can tell it’s far beyond that. Have you had any new insight lately?”

  “Nothing,” Emma said as she looked over at the Hamill’s. She could see what he was saying and it began to concern her too.

  At that moment, an officer by the name of John Hudson came in from the back and escorted all of them through. Chuck and Ellie moved very cautiously. Convert noticed how Chuck’s eyes were darting everywhere as if he was looking for someone. They eventually entered a room, which had a large piece of one-way glass. Through the glass they saw a teenage boy sitting at a table. He was dressed all in black and was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. Convert looked at him and recognized him immediately. It was the same grinning kid that he met in his driveway and he had the same grin on his face right now.

  Convert looked over at Chuck and Ellie to see if they had the same kind of recognition but instead saw both of them standing there stiff.

  Officer Hudson pressed a button on a speaker and asked that someone would come into the suspect’s room and make him stand up and face the mirror. Another officer came in and as soon as Eric saw him he shot up out of his chair and stood at the mirror in front of him grinning and waving.

  “That’s the kid who approached me in my driveway a week ago,” Convert said. “That’s definitely him.”

  Officer Hudson looked at Convert confused. “What does that have to do with the bombing? Just because a kid walks in your driveway doesn’t mean that he planted a bomb. Let’s let the Hamill’s take care of this.”

  Convert was taken aback by the attitude of the officer as was Emma. “I was merely pointing it out because the kid who came to the Hamill’s said he worked for me and he fit the description of who they saw.”

  “Once again, let the Hamill’s do the ID. Quite frankly you weren’t there.”

  Convert looked over at Emma. They were both bewildered by what was happening.

  “Mr. Hamill is this suspect the same person who knocked on your door and asked to get something out of your yard?”

  “I’ve never seen this person before,” Chuck replied.

  “What?” Convert said in complete surprise.

  “I don’t recognize him,” Chuck said almost robotically.

  “Mrs. Hamill?” the officer asked.

  “I’ve never seen him before,” she replied.

  “Are you serious?” Convert asked standing in front of them and the glass. “Do you genuinely not recognize him? Chuck you said he was grinning and dressed like this?”

  “Any kid can dress like this and smile,” Chuck said. “And it wasn’t this one.”

  Chuck looked over at the officer. “I’m sorry but that’s all I’ve got That isn’t the kid.”

  Convert stood there dumfounded. Emma quickly walked over to Ellie. “Mrs. Hamill, is someone intimidating you?”

  “Absolutely not!” She said indignantly. “It’s not the kid and we would like to go now. We’ve seen enough!”

  The Hamill’s both left the room while Convert and Emma stood there dumbfounded. Officer Hudson stood there staring at them while Eric, on the other side of the glass, started doing jumping jacks. Convert knew he was mocking them.

  “I think someone has threatened the Hamill’s,” Convert said to Hudson. “This kid fits who they saw exactly. You have to listen to me. He is dangerous!”

  Officer Hudson looked at him smugly. “Just because you don’t like a kid doesn’t mean he’s a criminal. You should leave this one alone.”

  “Leave it alone? He tried to kill me!”

  “What evidence do you have showing it was him?”

  Convert paused. Even though he knew with every fiber of his being that this kid was the one responsible, without the Hamill’s corroboration he had nothing.

  “That’s what I thought,” Hudson said. “It’s time to go.”

  Convert and Emma walk
ed back out into the lobby to see that the Hamill’s were already gone. Emma was as visibly frustrated as Convert was. This was supposed to be the big break and they were still nowhere further. “What’s our next step?” Convert asked. “My mind is at a blank right now.”

  They walked outside to the parking lot. Wind blew a flurry of leaves by them. “We know it’s him,” Emma said. “Someone got to the Hamill’s. I’ve never seen them act like this. Someone had to have threatened them if they identified him.”

  “How does a kid have that power?” Convert asked.

  “It’s whose behind the kid. In the shadows, you could say. I don’t think he murdered Jack, but I am absolutely certain that he is connected to the ones who did. I’m going to head back to the office and see what I can drudge up. I’m sorry things went this direction. I never would have guessed that with the Hamill’s.”

  “Nothing is predictable anymore,” Convert said. “Things are going to continue to surprise us until we figure out the endgame here.”

  “Endgame?”

  “Everything is building up to some purpose. It like a plan being carried out and we need to know what it is before it’s too late.”

  14

  The rest of Thursday blew by like the wind that had been present all day. Aaron kept to himself as the unbelief of the morning continued to soak in. He had never been this upset in his life. The mixture of injustice, betrayal, anger, and sadness overcame him. He had always been a very positive person and was passionate in following God. He had always figured that he would be safe standing up for what was right within the church, but even that illusion went away. He had been so excited when he was hired as the youth pastor for Truth Community. He had huge plans for Galesburg and what he could do to further God’s kingdom in his hometown. Many people were overjoyed to have him there. Charles Stratton had always been a little different, but Aaron didn’t think he would ever do what he did. Clayton Stoneking had become a cancer in the church and leadership was allowing it. The thought of it just gnawed at him.