Both Ways

by Edward Goble

  The Boyles were able to stay for one additional week, so Madison planned to keep regular office hours and informed Paula that things were finally going to get back to normal. There was note on his desk when he sat down early Wednesday morning.

  “Dear Pastor, I’ve cancelled the staff meeting and have scheduled time for the executive team to meet with Mr. Steve Franz from the Chronicle. I won’t be in until the meeting at 9:30 a.m.” The note was from Paula, and it seemed very official. Like a summons. Madison sat back in his chair. He didn’t want an ambush but knew that Franz didn’t have anything. It sounded like Franz may have scared Paula somehow, but that would be easy enough to talk through. This was good, actually, he could talk through the issue about Dawn, help them understand that she had been hired after consulting his wife and was doing a superb job. The issue of parking in her complex was purely coincidental. He had no idea she even lived there. He rehearsed his story all morning. Mrs. Thompson came in at 8:30 am, and the rest of the staff trickled in, all relieved to find the staff meeting cancelled. Dan juggled meeting titles in his calendar and walked down to ask Paula what was up. She wasn’t there.

  Steve Franz arrived at the office with his briefcase at 9:25 a.m. and sat in the reception area. The volunteer receptionist on duty brought him coffee and said the meeting would be starting in a few minutes. Paula Stone arrived right at 9:30 am, accompanied by Jill Enright, whom she picked up on her way in. Paula arranged for Jill to attend, thinking that it was best to cut straight to the heart of an issue like this. Steve wasn’t sure about inviting Jill but understood what Paula was trying to do. The worst thing that could happen would be for Madison to deny the allegations and lie to his wife about it, pushing Paula away and forcing Steve to take further steps toward publishing an article. This tactic could, potentially, avoid that scenario if Madison confessed and repented.

  Paula said good morning to Steve and led both him and Jill to the conference room where Madison and Dan were waiting. Dan instantly stood to his feet to welcome Jill, and Madison sat stunned into silence. Before even greeting his wife, whom he had left this morning while she was still asleep, and before he could catch himself, he said to Paula,

  “I thought this was an Executive Committee meeting?”

  Jill felt a silent slap on the face and whispered, “Good morning to you, too, honey,” as she stepped behind her husband. He still didn’t acknowledge her.

  Paula pulled out a chair for Jill to the right of Madison.

  “The issues Mr. Franz has to discuss concern both the Executive Committee and Mrs. Enright.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand what’s going on here. Honey, do you know what this is all about?” Madison said, for the first time speaking to his wife.

  Jill could see he was nervous and upset, she reached over and covered Madison’s hand with her own. “No. But we trust Paula. Let’s listen, okay, Mad?”

  Madison took a deep breath and tried to think of ways he could fire Paula Stone before the end of the day. “Some loyalty,” he thought to himself. “She’s probably falling for this Franz character.”

  Paula called the meeting to order. “This is an official meeting of the Executive Committee of Community Chapel, Almond Grove, California. In attendance, we have the Executive Committee: Senior Pastor, Madison Enright; Pastor, Dan Williams; Office Manager, Paula Stone; and guests, Steve Franz of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Mrs. Jill Enright. Let’s begin the meeting with prayer. Dear Gracious God, as always, we ask that you attend this meeting and guide your servants. Let our thoughts and words reflect your goodness and truth. Amen.”

  “Thank you all for coming,” Paula continued, “this meeting is an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Mr. Franz last Saturday evening, the night after Jill had given birth to beautiful Dawna Jane.” She smiled, trying to relieve the tension. “I’m going to pass the ball to Mr. Franz who will provide the substance for the meeting, and we’ll see where we go from there. Mr. Franz.”

  “Thank you, Paula. First, let me just say that I have been attending Community Chapel on and off for the past couple of months, and I like what I’ve seen. You are doing some good work here. And part of the reason I’m sitting here is to try and preserve that good work. My nature and what I’m paid to do is write articles for a major newspaper, and there is one sitting on my hard drive that is 90% complete that contains the information I am about to share with you. It is my honest and heartfelt desire to be able to leave here and go to my office and delete that article from my computer. I cannot stress enough how much I want to do that. But the decision is not entirely in my hands. The decision of whether or not the article ever sees the light of day falls primarily on the shoulders of Pastor Enright.”

  You could cut the tension with a knife. Jill and Dan had no idea what was going on, although they had both been given clues - Dan at the housewarming party and Jill at tea with Dawn Neilson. But that wasn’t the half of it, which they would soon learn. Madison had no idea how deep Steve had dug, but he was certain that it would prove nothing, so he broke the ice.

  “Well, my friend, if it is my decision, I would say that if it’s a good article, complimentary and positive, print it. And, if it’s not, if it’s something else that is based on conjecture and tabloid journalism, then by all means, delete it. There, that was easy. Are we done?” He looked around the room. The faces he saw suggested that he had added to rather than detracted from the tension.

  “Why don’t we just listen to what Steve has to say?” Paula said.

  Steve looked around the room, not especially enjoying the prospect of what he was about to do. He was much more comfortable communicating through the pages of the Chronicle than speaking with people face-to-face, but this was how this needed to play out. He put on his reading glasses in order to refer to his notes and began. “I’ll get right to the issues, and there are two. Number one: Pastor Enright has developed an unhealthy attraction to Ms. Dawn Neilson.”

  “Wait a minute!” Madison demanded. “This isn’t appropriate. You come to me if you have an issue with my personal life.”

  “Sir, we met in Dallas and had this very conversation. So this isn’t news to you. May I continue?”

  Paula looked at Jill whose lips were tucked in behind her teeth and clinched. Jill nodded.

  “I began trailing Pastor Enright after our initial interview for the series I wrote on the Chapel and found that he drove to Miss Neilson’s apartment complex at least two times per week - always in early morning hours - and would leave again, usually within an hour. On some of these occasions, Miss Neilson exited her apartment to take out trash, take laundry to the apartment laundry facility, or leave for work. To my knowledge, she never spoke to or acknowledged his presence in the parking lot. This pattern changed on a Wednesday when he visited the apartment later in the morning, exited his vehicle and approached the apartment. Mrs. Enright and Miss Neilson met him outside on his way to the door.”

  “I was looking for my wife. She’ll tell you that,” Madison said.

  “After that, your pattern changed. You no longer parked in the lot, but across the street, around the corner, sometimes at the parking lot of her place of employment.”

  “I did no such thing,” Madison said, looking at his wife who was studying his face. “I did no such thing, honey,” he assured her.

  Franz reached into his bag and pulled out the manila envelope. He didn’t open it or describe its contents - he simply continued, “In my estimation, this attraction led to the hiring of Miss Neilson.”

  “That is ridiculous. Jill and I spoke at length about bringing Dawn on staff. I think I got the idea from her, didn’t I, honey?” Madison said.

  Jill scrunched her mouth to the left and thought about that. Then turned back to Steve Franz.

  “I may be the one bringing this into the open, but I would suggest that I am not the only person who has noticed this attraction. Dawn Neilson, who Paula talked to, was completely unaware of the Pastor’s attract
ion to her, except, she did say, and she would confirm this, that there have been a few times when she felt very self-conscious in his presence.”

  “By the way,” Paula interjected, “when I spoke to Dawn she was clearly brokenhearted about all this. I didn’t go into any detail, but she values her friendship with Jill more than anything in her life right now. She said something to the effect that ‘This is what always happens,’ it was really sad.”

  “Are we done here?” Madison started to get up, “This is nonsense. There are perfectly good reasons and explanations for all this, and I resent being placed on trial in front of my staff and my wife, who, by the way, has not fully recovered.”

  “There were two things,” Jill said softly.

  “What? Come on, honey, let’s get out of here. This is a witch hunt.”

  “Madison, Mr. Franz said there were two issues,” she said.

  “What does it matter, Jill. He’s obviously got an agenda here. He’s trying to smear me. He’s jealous or something. I think it’s Steve Franz who has the problem. He is probably jealous that Miss Neilson is working here. Probably got turned down by her, and now he’s exacting a little payback. Whatever it is, it is small and petty, and I won’t stand for it in my church,” he announced. Madison felt like he had effectively turned the tables and could now bring the meeting to an abrupt halt. “I think we’re done here,” he said, standing.

  “Madison. Sit down,” Jill spoke firmly. “Mr. Franz has two items, and he has previously spoken with you about both of them, so in my mind, he is doing this in the biblical order.” She held a shaking hand and damp tissue to her eyes and nose. Pastor Dan passed her the whole box.

  “But, Jill,” Madison said.

  “Dan?” Jill said, looking across the table.

  “It would seem that this does meet the biblical standard. I don’t want to be here any more than any of the rest of us, but the man has asked for the audience. And it’s just us here, we all know and trust each other. I think we’re on safe ground here, Pastor.”

  “Safe for whom?” Madison said rhetorically as he sat back down.

  “Issue number two?” Jill said through tear-filled eyes, looking at Steve Franz. Steve glanced at Paula for support but knew he was out on his own limb on this one. If he had misjudged the situation with Judy Turnbull, his chances of a future with Paula Stone were over.

  “Number two. Let me preface this by saying that this is by far the more serious of the charges, and I wish more than you know that I didn’t have to share this with you. Pastor Enright has been engaged in an extramarital relationship with a woman from Texas for an extended period of time, at the very least since the weekend of the special series at the church in September when he met her late Sunday night at the Marriott Hotel in Almond Grove.”

  Jill’s eyes widened, and she looked at Madison, jerking her hand out of his grasp. Madison just shook his head as if waiting for his turn. He whispered, “Jill, honey, he has nothing, he’s wrong.”

  Franz continued, “He met her again at the Hyatt Hotel in Dallas during the conference at which he was the keynote speaker and was in her room on at least two occasions, the second time, last Friday night, extended for at least four hours, between midnight and 4:00 a.m. Central Standard time.”

  “That’s ridiculous, I...” Madison said.

  “Mad. That’s when I was... in trouble,” Jill said.

  “Honey, a person at the conference was trying to help me find a flight, that’s all, I just stayed in the room for a while. I don’t know what this guy is getting at, but it’s getting a little old.”

  Steve Franz took off his reading glasses and looked across at Pastor Enright. “Pastor Enright, at this point I would like to stop and give you an opportunity to respond and say anything you would like to, or need to say, both to your staff and to your wife. My part can end right here, depending on how forthcoming you decide to be.”

  All eyes turned to Madison, who was already weighing his options. “First of all, I have no addiction, or attraction, or anything else, to Dawn Neilson. She is a wonderful young woman who has come a long way since we met her last year. And that is as far as it goes. I had been driving out to Madras in the mornings to enjoy some quiet time long before I learned that she happened to live there. The thing with Dawn is a nonissue. If anyone thinks that I have been inappropriate with her in any way, I am sorry, and I will say that to her face if you would like to invite her in here right now. Now, as far as this alleged affair, or whatever you are calling it. You are just crazy. You’ve taken unrelated events and woven them together to meet some tabloid criteria, and you’re trying to tie me up with it. But, Jill, Dan, there is nothing to this. I didn’t go to the Marriott the night he suggested, I was at home with my family. And, in Dallas, I didn’t meet with anyone besides Dr. Cross and Dr. Culbert. The room he alleges that I was in for four hours was the room of a colleague, yes, a female colleague, someone I have known for a long time. She was on the Internet trying to help me get home to my family! So, Mr. Franz, what I am saying is that I believe, with all due respect, that you are barking up the wrong tree. There is no wrongdoing here, no underlying sexual liaison. So unless you have some pretty strong evidence, which I am certain does not exist, then my wife and I need to get home to our children.” He reached for Jill’s hand, which she did not offer. Instead, she pivoted in her chair to get a better view of Paula and Steve.

  “Mr. Franz, obviously, these are very serious allegations, and to be honest, I want to believe that you are a liar and sensationalist.” She paused and glanced at Madison, “I trust my husband, I always have. I stand by him. We’ve been together through some pretty hard times, and this is, uh, might be one of them. But we’ll make it. I believe in him. Now,” she cleared her throat and raised her chin, her nostrils flared a bit as she inhaled a lung full of air, “Is that all you have?”

  “Jill,” Madison pleaded. But she wasn’t listening. She had turned her full attention to Steve Franz who had repositioned his glasses on his face and was looking around the room, waiting for attention to turn fully his way. He pulled the series of photos out of the manila envelope and handed a numbered stack to Jill.

  “The photos in the stack are numbered and correspond with a time/date stamp imprint. The first images are of Pastor Enright entering the Marriott on the night previously mentioned, followed by an image of his car in the parking lot of the Marriott, and an image of him leaving the hotel - the times stamp demonstrating how much time he was inside. The next series is the back parking lot of the Community Chapel, where Mr. Enright stopped next. He was inside for approximately ten minutes and exited wearing different clothes and carrying the white bag you see in the next image. He then drove to a McDonalds parking lot and went in, carrying the same bag, and exited a few minutes later with a soft drink, but without the bag. The next image is of the white bag, a plastic grocery bag, which I retrieved from the men’s room of the McDonalds. The next image is a shot of the contents of the bag, a gray polo shirt, and an Oakland A’s baseball cap.”

  Jill recognized the shirt, but the ball cap could have belonged to anyone. “The shirt is an extra long XL by the way.” Jill looked over at Madison, the extent of his deception still outside her grasp. She was overwhelmed, but remained unbelieving. This was simply outside the realm of possibility.

  Steve lowered his glasses for a moment. “The shirt has approximately fifteen red smudges that appear to be lipstick. I should mention that I have the contents of this bag in my possession and that they have not been professionally examined.

  “The next morning, Monday morning, I witnessed a miss Judy Turnbull from Galveston, Texas exit the hotel. The helpful clerk at the desk informed me that she had been a guest of the Marriottt for three nights.

  “That name sounds familiar,” Jill said.

  “Through some very simple inquiries, I was able to ascertain that Miss Turnbull then made travel plans to be in Dallas during the Family Conference at which Mr. Enright was spe
aking. I was fortunate to be able to secure the room across from hers, and, through the magic of modern technology, snapped the next series of photos, which are also time-stamped, over the course twenty-four hours at the conference.”

  Jill turned to the first image, which showed Judy standing at an open door in a red gown, and Madison, who was easy to recognize, standing with his back turned to the camera. “That’s the woman Dr. Cross introduced us to. She was at our church. Madison?” She started to cry. This time the sobbing continued as she thumbed through the rest of the photos. “I was in the hospital having our child and you were. What? You were what! With her - the whole time?” She threw the photos on the table, scattering them across the slick surface. She stood and left the room without excusing herself, and Paula glanced around then stood to run after her. The ladies sat in Paula’s car for a long time, both crying, Paula trying to console her Pastor’s wife. Back in the conference room, the men were quiet.

  “What do you want from me, Mr. Franz? You have obviously upset my wife; you have slandered me in front of my staff. Do you want me to say you are right, you outfoxed me? Well I won’t, because I didn’t do anything wrong. You don’t know what went on behind that door. For all you know I was leading a prayer meeting, you weren’t in there,” Madison said, fuming, looking at Dan for support. “Dan?”

  “Pastor, I think these charges are thorough enough that they should be brought before the Church Council. This is now a matter for their involvement.”

  “Dan? No. Getting the Council involved will only create leaks into the congregation. Can’t we just settle this here? What do I need to do?”

  Chapter 95

  The Church Council met the following night and heard from Mr. Franz and Pastor Enright, then excused them both. They made the preliminary decision to suspend Madison Enright from his duties as Pastor of Community Chapel, and then phoned him to inform him that the suspension was to commence immediately. Denominational leaders were then brought into the conversation through a follow-up meeting scheduled for the next night. The divisional supervisor and his assistant, along with Dr. Raymond Culbert, a district elder, and Madison Enright, attended this meeting.