Right at the appointed time the doorbell rang, and Richard could feel a knot in his stomach. The adrenaline was pumping through him as Janet walked to open the front door.
“Hi, Janet. I'm Kristen Holloway.” His smiling former mistress introduced herself to his wife, as Richard came into the entrance foyer. “Hello, Richard. I'd like you both to meet Dennis and Patricia Hawkins and their three boys—Eric, Matt, and William.”
There were greetings all around, including Susan and Tommy. Eric would be a senior in high school in the fall, and the two other boys were a year older and younger than Tommy.
As they all walked into the den, Richard suggested, “Since it's still light outside, why don't you kids walk down to the park? You can show the Hawkins’ boys the tennis courts and the pool.”
Susan, whose instant reaction was that Eric appeared to be interesting, immediately concurred, and all five of them were soon out the door.
The adults sat in the den, and Janet offered coffee all around. Richard took his usual armchair, and the three guests sat on the long sofa, leaving Janet and Kristen, Richard noticed, right next to each other, when Janet returned to her chair.
Kristen took the lead. “Dennis and Patti are moving in from Seattle; he'll be working at First National Bank. It's a tough move with boys their age, and so they want to find a neighborhood where there will be a lot for them to do and many potential friends to meet quickly. I immediately thought of the McEver house, and I obviously think this is one of the best neighborhoods in the city. We really appreciate your taking the time to meet with us.” She smiled, turning to Janet. “I know the Hawkinses have some questions they want to ask you.”
Returning the smiles and addressing Kristen first and then the Hawkinses, Janet said, “It's our pleasure to have you. We really like Northpark High School and the neighborhood. We hope you can join us here. Please, ask us any questions you like.”
Forty-five pleasant and productive minutes of discussion followed, led by the two wives, about all aspects of the school, the neighborhood, and the city. The Hawkinses learned a lot, and the Sullivans soon felt that these would be welcome new neighbors. After an initial nervous period, Richard's tension subsided; and it soon seemed almost normal for Kristen and Janet to be chatting together. Richard noticed that he didn't talk much, and he wondered if it was because he feared he might accidentally say the wrong thing.
The kids came home; Susan and Eric joined the adults in the den while the three younger boys went upstairs to Tommy's room.
“If we move forward on this house and then have some more questions, will you be here all summer?” Dennis asked.
“Except for two weeks in early August when Janet and the kids go to Vermont and I join them for the last few days,” Richard replied.
“I know we've got to go,” Patti said, “but we've asked everything else. Do you attend a church nearby?”
“Yes,” Richard and Janet answered together, then smiled. Richard nodded, and Janet told the Hawkinses about Morningside Church and about how much all of its ministries had meant to them. “We hope to be official members before we leave for Vermont.”
“And they've got a really good youth group, Eric,” Susan volunteered. “I think you'd really like it. You can meet lots of kids there, from different schools. Will you be here this Sunday?”
“Yes, we're here for two weeks before we go back to pack up. What time do you meet?”
While the two older teenagers continued talking about plans for Sunday, Richard added his invitation to the parents to join them at church as well. Dennis replied, “We'll probably take you up on it. Can we give you a call tomorrow?”
Patti called upstairs for her boys, and the two families began saying goodnight, the process spilling out onto the Sullivans’ front yard in the warm July evening.
“Thank you for your help, Richard and Janet,” Kristen concluded, shaking hands with each. “I hope we'll have some new neighbors for you.”
“We hope so too,” Janet replied, smiling. “And please let us know whenever we can help you.”
Looking at Richard, Kristen returned the smile and said, “Oh, I certainly will.”
SATURDAY, JULY 22 – Tommy was delighted to be invited to join all three of the Hawkins boys on Saturday night to show them the nearest mall to their potential new home and to see a science fiction war movie. With their approval, he invited Brent, and Tommy was pleased that his best friend joined them.
When Eric called to invite Tommy, he talked first to Susan, and he had asked her to join him to see a different movie. “I'd really like to,” she replied, “but I'm already busy this Saturday.” Realizing that her next words might put her in hot water with Drew, she nevertheless added, “Please ask me again. I work a couple of different nights every week at a frozen yogurt shop, but otherwise I try to be free.” He had agreed to call her again, much to her delight.
Finally Susan and I have a date to ourselves, Drew thought, as he pulled up in front of the Sullivans home that Saturday night. In the weeks since Susan and Bobbie had quietly told him about Amy's situation, the two girls had made a point of including Amy in much of what they did, given that Amy's social life, at least among Billy's college friends, had dried up instantly. That had been fine with Drew to a point; he certainly liked Amy and wanted to be helpful. But four-and five-person dates did get old after a while! When he called Susan on Monday to make plans for this night, including a romantic movie, he put his foot down and insisted that Bobbie and Thomas look out for Amy. Susan agreed.
To avoid the lines they went to the early show and then to a casual dinner at Austin's. As she seemed to do every weekend now, Susan again invited Drew to come to the youth group she thought so much of. “I work so hard during the week,” he told her in his standard reply. “Sunday is one day I can sleep late, so I just don't think your youth group is for me.”
“Well, I think you'd really like it, and it won't hurt you.” She smiled. He knew from the number of times she had asked him that she was quite serious.
After dinner, as they started towards Susan's home in his car, Drew was still thinking about the three incredible love scenes in the movie two hours before. He couldn't help being aroused; and frankly Susan was moved, too, though the nudity on the screen was more of a shock to her than a turn-on.
Four blocks from her home, Drew turned into a new cul-de-sac which was not quite finished and which had no streetlights. Parking the car, he slid over to Susan's side of the front seat, put his arm around her, and kissed her, which he had done many times before.
She smiled at him, and they talked about the events of the last week; Susan even told him generally about the visit by the Hawkinses. He leaned down and kissed her again, then whispered, “Susan, I love you so much.” She could hear and feel his quickened breathing, and she tried to do what she had been doing for six weeks now in this situation, which was to remember Glenn Jamison's words about real love meaning that you want the best for someone. And this can't be the best for me, so does Drew really love me? she thought.
“Please, Susan. I love you and need you,” Drew almost moaned.
Susan could feel her own emotions kicking in, and she knew she had to say something, or she might not be able to stop him or herself. “Drew, no. I'm not ready for that.”
He kept his arm around her and whispered, “Oh come on, Susan. We're seniors in high school and we love each other. Why not? You mean more to me than anyone ever has. I'm not talking about making love; I just want to feel close to you…”
“Drew, I believe you when you tell me you love me. I think you mean it. But I don't know that either of us knows exactly what love is. Maybe it means different things to each of us. Whatever it means, I feel just as attracted to you as you do to me. You're wonderful to me. But I think it's wrong for us to have sex, and I can't get past that. So I hope you can understand it. It's very difficult for me, too; but I think we have to do what's right.”
“Susan, you're so beautifu
l. You drive me crazy. Please, let's just make each other feel good and share our love.…”
Finally he had gone too far, and she smiled. “Oh come on, Drew. I know this sounds old-fashioned, but if you really love me, please don't push me any further.” More sternly she added, “I want to just as much as you do, but I think it's wrong. So please just stop. OK?”
“OK, OK,” he said, moving back, obviously frustrated, “but if you ever change your mind, let me know!”
“You'll be the first I'll call,” she smiled in the glow from the radio, “but don't count on it any time soon.”
Drew was very frustrated, but he was also very impressed with her strength. She definitely had something he had not seen in other girls!
SUNDAY, JULY 23 – Sunday morning, as Richard Sullivan and Dennis Hawkins had agreed on Friday, the Hawkinses met the Sullivans at the entrance to Morningside Church. As they were shaking hands, Amy walked up with her parents, who were on their first visit to the church as well. There were greetings all around, and then the six teenagers were off to youth group. The four adult visitors accompanied Richard and Janet to Sunday school and then to the service.
Just before the opening hymn, Janet whispered to Richard, who was sitting on the aisle, “Isn't that Kristen Holloway up front on the other aisle?” She nodded toward the front of the sanctuary. To Richard's surprise, Janet was right.
“You should go invite her to sit with us, especially with the Hawkinses here,” Janet continued.
“But the service is about to start.”
“You can walk over during the hymn. Richard, it's rude not to ask her.”
Reluctantly Richard agreed, and soon he was sitting in church with Janet on one side of him and Kristen on the other. As Michael Andrews began the congregational prayers, it occurred to Richard that there must be some reason for Kristen to be there. He simply was not sure whether the reason was from God or from Satan. Rather than try to reason or to fight on his own, he knew he had to have God's help, either to reveal His plan or to protect Richard's family from Satan's plan.
So during the entire service Richard never ceased praying, silently to himself, for God's revelation and/or protection. He hoped that by bathing his family in prayer, he could either understand God's will or avoid Satan's attack.
Paula Lindsay was particularly moving in her offertory song that morning, and the entire congregation rose to its feet and sang “I Surrender All” with her. Then Michael preached on the necessity for Christians to forgive all those who may have sinned against them, in the same way that God forgives sinners when they repent and turn to Him. “Unless we truly forgive others,” he said, “we carry around bitterness inside. This bitterness does not hurt the one who has wronged us at all; but it tears us apart. And, worst of all, it poisons our relationships with everyone else, particularly God.” The congregation was clearly moved by the force of his words.
“That was quite a service,” Patti Hawkins told Janet as they walked towards their cars. “I can see why you were drawn to this church. I hope we can come back after we pack up in Seattle and get settled in here.”
“Then are you buying Betty's house?” Janet asked.
“We've made an offer, and Kristen tells us we have a good chance.”
“I hope to know something tomorrow morning,” Kristen responded, smiling at the other women.
Everyone said goodbye, and Richard drove his family home. Susan announced in the car that Eric had invited her to see a movie on Monday night, which obviously pleased her. And twice more that Sunday afternoon, Richard prayed for guidance and protection concerning Kristen and their family.
Late that Sunday night, after Diane and the four children were in bed, Bruce McKinney was still sitting in the same armchair in which only a few months before he had looked enviously through a new European car catalog. Their den was almost completely dark, both physically and spiritually. Nepravel and Zoldar, who had been working steadily on Bruce, both for his own destruction and as part of their plan for Richard, could not have been more pleased. Tonight they had Doubt and Failure with them, and the four demons had fertile ground in which to plant their destructive voices. And with the tapering off of the prayer cover after the prayer breakfast, they had more and more time in which to work, with less and less fear of interfering angels.
“I'm going to lose everything,” Bruce heard his own inner voice telling him. “The business, home, cars, boat, everything. And when they send me to jail, I'll probably lose Diane. And won't the kids be proud to watch their daddy go off to prison?
“We came so close. A few months. The cash investment. If the accountants and attorneys had only done their jobs. Or if we could only have gotten the short-term loan. Thanks, Richard Sullivan—another attorney! Blast him to hell! No one had to know! We could have paid it all back and no one would ever have known. With Tomlinson's investment—thanks, Tomlinson!—we would never have had to use those ‘borrowed’ stocks again. No more need to use Far West Securities to fool the regulators. So close!
“Now I'm finished. Not just the things. Diane will be so disappointed. My parents and brothers. Our kids. What will they go through? What will jail be like? How long will the process take? How will we pay for it all? Wouldn't I be better off dead?”
Bruce thought about the chrome .38 special revolver he kept by his bed and the loaded cylinder in his top bureau drawer. And he thought about his $2 million insurance policy.
I don't think there's an exclusion for suicide after the first two years. I better check the policy tomorrow.” And he realized with a little surprise that he was calmly considering the details of his own death.
The demons loved it, knowing how great it would be to escort him to hell, and urged him on with more voices of Despair. It was after two in the morning when he lay down next to Diane, and it was after three when he finally dozed off for a few hours of fitful sleep.
30
MONDAY, JULY 24 – Richard had to wake up early Monday morning to catch a flight to Minneapolis to visit Dr. Samuel Morris at the Foundation for the Family. The offices were located in a large campus-like setting in a suburb of the city not too far from the airport. The taxi let Richard off at a four-story central building, modern in its exterior architecture, and he took the elevator to the top floor.
“Hello, Mr. Sullivan, I'm Dee Thompson, Dr. Morris’ assistant,” a gracious woman greeted him as he exited the elevator. “Please come with me to his office. Can I get you some coffee?”
Dr. Morris’ office was actually a combination office, conference room, and library, sprawling through space large enough for four or five normal offices. There were windows on three sides, separated in most cases by book shelves, and, in some cases, by photographs, banners, or other memorabilia of ten years of service in promoting the value of the family to society.
Dr. Morris and another man rose from the conference table next to one window wall, and the founder of the foundation greeted Richard warmly with outstretched hand.
“Thank you for coming so far, Mr. Sullivan. We're delighted to meet you. Let me introduce you to Tom Morgan, who is our ace in-house legal counsel. Given that you're an attorney and that what you mentioned on the phone could apparently have some legal overtones, I asked Tom to join us.”
“Please call me Richard, and I'm very glad to be here with both of you,” he greeted his hosts. “What a wonderful view you have from this office.”
“Yes, we are blessed in many, many ways. Please sit down. Dee will also be joining us. We've been together since just after the Flood, and I unfortunately travel so much that I like for her to be in on these meetings, so she can provide continuity, plus her own good ideas. But do you need some coffee?”
“No, thank you. I'm fine.”
The four of them sat at one end of the conference table. Dr. Morris insisted that Richard take an inside seat so he could enjoy the view. Dr. Morris opened their meeting with prayer, asking for God's guidance in all of their deliberations that morni
ng. “Now, how can we help?” he asked.
Richard took several minutes to describe for them the history of “911 Live” and how his city had been chosen not only for input to the national show but also for a test run of the concept.
Tom Morgan interrupted him. “We've heard something about this show already, but we frankly didn't believe it. You mean the network actually proposes to broadcast live shots of whatever crimes and disasters are happening, without editing? At 7:30 on Friday nights?”
“That was the original plan. After what happened during the test—which I'll tell you about in a minute—they've decided to insert a thirty-second delay, with the ability to black out all or a part of the screen. And they've ‘promised’ to cut away from a story if they suspect it's an event staged for the camera.”
“That won't be easy to tell in the heat of the moment,” Dr. Morris said in disgust. “Since it will be live, what will they do? Say, ‘We're sorry. We didn't mean to show you that violence; we now feel it was staged.’ No way that will happen.”
Richard went on to tell them about the test run, and he produced a VHS cassette from his briefcase. Dee inserted it into the VCR set up for their meeting. Richard fast scanned through many of the segments, pausing enough to give them a sense of the show. Then they watched the sequence with the police officers and the white sedan in its entirety, through to the end, when Mark Pugh panned the minicamera mounted on the police car around the area after the white car had sped off, finding the bodies of the two officers on the ground, clearly drenched in their own blood.
“And this is what they propose to put on national TV in less than two months?” Dr. Morris asked, as the tape ended.
“That's right, with only the caveats I just mentioned,” Richard replied.
“I say this every few years, but I'm always proven wrong later: Surely this can't be broadcast on our nation's licensed television stations!?!”
On the Edge Page 52