Beth grabbed Knox’s hand and fired back at Malik as they walked away, “Suit yourself, Inspector.”
Malik raised his eyebrows as he watched them walk away, shrugged his shoulders, and flagged down a taxi.
He spoke to himself, “Who knew?” and he climbed into the cab.
Knox stepped down off the step of the pay-per-view binoculars and helped Beth step up to take a peek through the viewfinder. Knox had brought Agent White on a date to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. As she leaned forward to peer through the lenses, she gasped in surprise at the view that suddenly opened up to her that zoomed in on the horizon and other parts of the grand city.
She asked her still-new love, “John – how can God give us the ability to build such wondrous sites as New York City, but also give us the capacity for such evil acts like assassination and murder?”
She pulled away from the binoculars and let Knox help her back down to the observation deck.
Knox’s smiled turned into a confused look, “What brought that on?”
Beth continued, “Well, it’s just right when I started studying more of the Bible verses you told me about, and I started wanting to know God – this so-called Christian man starts picking people off; one or two at a time. How does a loving God let that happen?”
John walked with Beth over to another part of the high fence that surrounded the observation deck. They both gazed out over the city and listened to some of the city noises far below.
John started again, “Wow – you sure start off with the hard questions, don’t you? Leave it to the analyst,” he chuckled, but continued.
“Honey, I don’t think you’ll find any verses in the Bible that say God made us with the capacity for evil. What He gave us was free will. He gave us the freedom to choose Him…or choose evil. Unfortunately, we tend to make the wrong choice pretty often.”
Beth wrinkled her eye brows and still looked puzzled. “But if He is an all-knowing God, didn’t he know all along that we would screw it up?” she asked.
Knox nodded, “Sure He did, but doesn’t a parent always know that if they give their teen-aged kid the keys to the car and keys to the house, that their son or daughter is eventually going to make a mistake? Of course they do. But the parent has to give the child some freedom so they can eventually learn from those mistakes. If God didn’t give us a choice, we would be enslaved; not free to choose. He gives us the chance to either choose wisely, or choose poorly. And when we make bad choices, we can learn from those mistakes.”
Beth seemed to understand. “Hmm, I guess I never thought of it that way.”
The two agents held hands and took in their surroundings. Agent Knox wanted to ask Beth if she had thought anymore about their discussions about salvation, but he decided not to push the issue. He was enjoying the company, and he didn’t want to take a chance at spoiling the mood. He didn’t know exactly where she was spiritually, but he knew she had not truly given her heart to God – not yet. What he did know was that he was falling in love. Beth White had everything he’d ever wanted in a girl. He loved the fact that she was intelligent, beautiful, strong, and athletic. He also loved getting to work with her. At first he thought it might complicate things at work, but so far nothing had happened at work to cause any awkwardness. Another thing he didn’t know was that Beth felt exactly the same about him. He didn’t know that she saw him as the ideal man to have as a husband and start a family. He also didn’t know that Beth was wrestling with her beliefs. For the past few months, Beth White had come to a point in her life where she had this overwhelming urge to know more about God. She wanted to know more, because she was fascinated, but she still wasn’t quite ready to take the plunge. It was as if she wanted God to give her as much evidence as possible that He was who He said He was – and then she would decide whether to become a true believer or not.
When they took their eyes off the breath-taking view and looked at each other, none of that mattered. The two investigators were not law enforcement agents at that moment. They both glanced around the observation deck and noticed that there were not that many tourists around. Knox gave Beth a knowing smile. She returned the smile with a slight blush in her cheeks, and then she surprised him as she pulled him down to her. Their lips were drawn together, and Knox embraced her with a hug that would have protected her from anything. For a fleeting moment, things like assassins, the military, outside agencies, crime scenes, and religion didn’t matter to them. For that moment they had each other – and that was enough.
The three agents had checked into a condo in a high-rise hotel right in the heart of downtown New York. It had three small bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room that opened out onto a small balcony. Malik was leaning against the railing as Knox poured a glass of wine for him and Beth. Once he poured the two glasses of wine, he broke out a large plastic cup with ice and filled it with Coca-Cola.
Malik was curious and asked, “Agent Knox – you don’t drink wine?” Knox smiled and said, “No sir – can’t stand the stuff. You and Beth go right ahead; I know she likes it.”
Malik nodded and held up his wine glass; “Fine by me, but let’s have a toast just the same – Here’s to finding our assassin.” Knox and Beth held their glasses up and tapped the rims with Malik’s glass. Then they all turned their drinks back.
Knox asked, “So gang – what’s our next step. You said yourself, Malik, that we needed the assassin to kill again. Well, he helped us out. I know we definitely need to keep following the CIA angle. But how?”
Beth answered, “Well I say we try to run down as much information as we can on Robert Brady. He may be dead, but it might lead us to someone else. Does anybody have any other suggestions?”
Knox and Malik both shook their heads, and Knox spoke up, “Okay – Malik, see if you can find out what Brady looked like…maybe our guy will be a big fan and look similar. Beth, see if you can find out who he spent his time with besides his family. I already know what I will be doing – brainstorming with McCoy tomorrow about how to handle the coming media storm.”
He chugged the rest of his coke, then he made a great yawn that sounded like a bear roaring as he reached his arms to the ceiling. “You guys stay up as long as you like, but I am beat. We probably have a long day ahead of us, so I’m turning in.”
Malik looked surprised, and asked, “Really Knox? You just downed about 16 ounces of coke. You’re gonna try to sleep now?”
He just watched the back of Knox’s head as he nodded and walked away to his bedroom. “Yep; not gonna try though. I told you – I’m tired. Good night.” He stopped next to Beth, gave her a small peck on the lips, and headed to bed.
Malik looked at Beth as she joined him at the railing. She leaned on it, and he asked her, “You’re not going to join him?” Beth just chuckled, then shook her head and shrugged.
“Trust me – I’ve been trying to get in that man’s bed for a month now. But he always just says ‘not yet’. Man’s chastity belt is tighter than Maid Miriam’s!”
Malik about spit out his wine as he was taking another swig.
She laughed again, and said, “What? I’m serious – that man is so set in his ways, and so stuck on his rules…but I think that is what I love about him.”
Malik turned to face the city lights and horns beeping down below.
“Knox is a man of strong convictions, isn’t he?” he asked.
“He’s the most moral law man I’ve ever met. I guess he reminds me of my dad, except my dad is Catholic and was in the military,” said Beth.
Malik replied, “So there’s a difference between Catholics and what Knox believes?”
Beth nodded, but answered him, “Yes, that’s what John would say – but you’ll have to get him to explain it to you. He’s the son of a preacher man; not me.”
Malik stood there in silence for a bit.
Beth broke the quiet moment.
“So tell me, Inspector…what makes Musl
im terrorists do what they do?”
Malik put his back to the rail and faced Beth.
“Please, just call me Malik. I think we’re definitely past formality.”
Beth shook her head and said, “Not being formal; think of it as my pet name for you; I just like saying the word – Inspector.”
Malik just grinned and shook his head.
He started to answer her question.
“Beth, the terrorists are a lot like the assassin, or even Agent Knox. They are driven by strong convictions. They think they are doing what is right; according to their beliefs. They take the word jihad literally and turn it into something that Muhammad did not intend. The Prophet meant an inward spiritual struggle when he said in the Quran that all Muslims must fight a jihad at some point in their life. It translates to Holy War. But Muhammad meant the inward struggle with choosing to follow Allah, or choosing one’s own path.”
Beth pondered over what Malik said. She could see that he was a good man. She knew that John and the Inspector had their differences, but they were both good men with strong convictions. She wondered if they could capture this killer. She wondered if John and Malik could use their similarities to their advantage. They were both smart men, and they were definitely after the same thing – a closed case. But Beth had other thoughts pulling at her heart strings. She was thinking about what Knox had told her at the Empire State Building. She thought about the words she had read in the Bible at the last hotel.
She was lost in thought when Malik waved a hand in front of her; “Hello – Beth?” he said.
She shook her head back to the present and told Malik, “Well, Inspector – I am practically falling asleep standing up. I think I will call it a night as well.”
She put her empty wine glass down and pat Malik on the shoulder, then went to her bedroom. She didn’t even wait to hear him tell her to have a good night sleep; she was guided by a strange yearning to know more about what Knox had said. She went in the bedroom and shut her door. She stripped down to nothing but panties and a t-shirt. She pulled back the covers, but turned on the lamp on the nightstand. She opened the drawer and there was another Gideon’s Bible – identical to the one she read in Virginia. She got partially under the covers, but stacked the pillows on the bed behind her so she could sit up and read. She opened up to the back of the book and looked in its concordance. She found a good place to start, and she turned several pages and found her page. She began reading, and read well into the night. Perhaps Malik was right; everyone needs to fight their own personal jihad once in their life.
PART TWO
21
New York Times
Who is the Jesus Assassin?
Christians are supposed to be nice, right? Well someone out there was not very nice yesterday morning when they decided to sneak into the set of the Today Show, go back to a dressing room, and assassinate Imam Kareem Hassad and his bodyguard. Through an indeterminate number of leaks to the internet, photos of the two dead men surfaced through Facebook for hours yesterday before finally being taken down by the site. But those images were up long enough to burn the atrocity into the minds of viewers. The killer left two golden crosses at the scene. One was so violently placed into the forehead of the bodyguard, one has to wonder what the killer was trying to say. Kareem Hassad was the most peaceful Muslim in this city, and he was taken out of this world with extreme prejudice. Authorities have not commented on the exact cause of death, but one can guess by the position of the Imam’s head in the Facebook photo that his neck was probably broken. What kind of person breaks a holy man’s neck? An evil person – that’s who.
The Christians like to consider themselves righteous. Well where was the righteousness in these murders? A peaceful man who was looked upon as a spiritual leader for many, and the man charged with his safety, were slain senselessly – conveniently before a guest appearance on a show on which the Imam was going to speak to the unfairness of the display of – yes – none other than a Christian cross at the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Christians like to say that the Muslims support a violent religion. They like to point out all the radical Muslims over in the Middle East. I for one am sick of the Christians and their Holier than Thou attitudes. It’s that attitude that has led to this violent criminal. The Christians will want to deny this killer as one of their own; they will call him radical, and say that he is not what Christ is all about. They might be right; but what’s the point of allowing one symbol of Christianity to remain standing to memorialize the death and honor of those lost on 9/11 – when that same symbol was used to mark two innocent people for death? Who does this killer think they are? What gives them the right to take life at will, and then leave their own holy symbol to justify their actions? Was it someone that follows Jesus? If the symbol is any clue, than yes. Who are you, oh killer of holy men? Who are you, oh carrier of the cross? Authorities are not being real clear as to any evidence you may have or have not left at the scene, but they don’t have a name for you yet. Well I do…and until you are caught and we can put a face with a name – I dub thee…the Jesus Assassin.
This editorial was written by local editor and chief politics and religion correspondent, Jim Marshall. Jim is the author of Atheism Weekly, and has a weekly column in the Times. If you have any comments or questions, please contact Jim at [email protected].
“Un-freaking-believable!” Knox yelled as he slammed the newspaper on the small kitchen table and then kept his index finger pointed at the headline for Malik and Agent White to see.
“Who puts an editorial on the front page of the newspaper, anyway?” Knox continued in frustration.
Beth had scanned the article quickly and got the gist of it before picking up the paper and passing it to Malik to read. All three of them stood there as Malik held the paper up and read the article.
When he finished, he put the paper back down on the table and added, “Well, Knox my friend – controversy sells. That right there is about as controversial as it gets.” Knox agreed.
“Well we can definitely agree on that point. But come on – even the Muslims accept Jesus as a holy man. No Muslim would ever put those two words together…Jesus Assassin – Please!”
Malik said, “Actually we Muslims see Jesus as the second greatest prophet, second only to Muhammad.”
“My point is – you know he was never a killer. This article does nothing but mock Christians; all on account of one crazy man,” Knox finished.
Beth chimed in, “Keep in mind, the author writes a weekly column for atheists. He isn’t trying to win Christian friends over, Honey – I mean John.”
She blushed a little as Malik just smiled, and Knox rolled his eyes. “I don’t care if he writes for Satan, Beth. This news article was totally unnecessary, and the assassin will either go into hiding because of it, or accelerate his behavior. In the meantime, I am going to have to work with McCoy on making sure the rest of the case doesn’t break open to public knowledge.”
Malik replied, “Well, we can’t lose either way…except for the chance of not being able to catch up to him. But if he stops killing, no more Imams die. If he accelerates the killing, we’ll at least be on his trail soon.” Knox grimaced, and said, “That’s not helping, Malik.”
They were all eating breakfast that they ordered from room service. Knox had a plate of three fried eggs, bacon, and two waffles. Malik ordered two poached eggs and some sausage and toast. Beth just had a bagel with some cream cheese and a banana. Malik sat down next to Knox and poured himself some orange juice. He took another look at the news article. He thought about how readers would be reading it like it was going out of style because of the cord it would strike with so many non-Christians. He thought of just how much attention the so-called Jesus Assassin was going to get from such an article. He figured this assassin would keep tabs on the public’s reaction to his latest accomplishment. Then a light bulb came on in his head.
“What if we could use the newspaper to our advant
age? What if we could bring a couple of things to light in some separate, anonymous letters to the editor? I think we could tempt the assassin to somehow get careless in his next act.”
Beth and Knox looked at each other, and Knox said, “You know – you might be on to something. You gonna write this editorial?”
Malik shook his head. “No, I don’t think I have the right background. I was thinking of someone a little more…Christian.”
____________ ____________ _____________ ____________ ___________
The three agents had gone their separate ways; Knox had stayed in the condo to have a video conference with Special Agent in Charge, Agent McCoy; Agent White had gone to a local café to use the Wi-Fi to research the structure of the Navy SEALS and how to determine who was in the SEALs with Brady; and Malik went to the library to surf the internet for anything remotely close to a photograph of a Chief Petty Officer Robert C. Brady. Knox was sitting on the couch in the living room at the hotel, with his laptop opened up and his boss calling in on a video chat through a secure site.
SAC Jones McCoy’s face filled the screen on Knox’s monitor. “Knox, my lad – seems like you’ve had an eventful visit to the Big Apple.”
Knox just nodded. “Sir – I am not sure what steps you want to take, but I thought you might need me since I am heading this investigation,” Agent Knox began.
The SAC listened, then replied, “Knox, this thing has already gone viral. Every country with internet access is going to know about the New York City murder. If we can keep the other two killings out of the press - that would be key.”
Misguided: The Jesus Assassin Page 11