The Truth Is the Light

by Vanessa Davie Griggs

  “What happened to her, Zachary? What happened to Xenia?”

  He sat back against the couch and the muscles on his face stood out as he clenched his teeth. “Her boyfriend killed her. He was an abusive jerk. They had been dating for about two years. He was a jealous, controlling freak. She was twenty-three, working as a nurse, doing what she loved to do best. Something happened where she had to stay at work longer than she was originally scheduled. When she got home, he was waiting for her. He thought she was with another man and trying to cover by using her job as an excuse.” Zachary wiped at both of his eyes before any threatening tears had time to fully emerge.

  Gabrielle placed a hand on one of his and squeezed it. She could feel the tenseness in his hand. “Zachary, I’m so sorry.”

  “That animal went into her apartment with her. Beat her up. While she was attending to her wounds, he left and came back, burst down the door, and threw gasoline on her. He lit . . . a . . . match and threw . . . the match on her while telling her if he couldn’t have her, he would make sure no one else would ever want her.”

  “Oh, Zachary,” Gabrielle said as she flinched at the thought. And before she could stop herself, she began to cry.

  “My sister became a ball of fire right there as that monster first looked on at her, engulfed in flames. Then he claims he came back to his senses and helped put her out with the bedspread he took off her bed. He called for help. Of course, we only heard this version of the story after the first lie he’d told that he’d found her like that. I suppose he had to amend his story since Xenia didn’t die, and she was able to tell what happened. He confessed to what he’d done but would be pleading temporary insanity. A few weeks later, Xenia succumbed to her painful injuries, and she died. With a plea deal, they were going to give him a year in prison with ten years’ probation and mandatory psychiatric counseling. That’s it. He killed my sister, and he was going to get to walk away without really paying for what he’d done. They were talking about suspending the year in prison.”

  “So, is that why Miss Crowe went to Chicago like she did? Because of what was going on with your sister?” Gabrielle asked, still holding on, now with both hands, to Zachary’s hand.

  “No. My daddy found out the plan I’d made with two of my friends. I was in college at the time, but I was determined to avenge my sister’s death using the Old Testament law of an eye for an eye. Vengeance—that’s what was going on that caused my aunt to jump in her car and drive frantically to Chicago. My father discovered my plans of vengeance. I believe one of my friends who had agreed to help me told him what I was plotting. My father had immediately tried to talk some sense into me. But I was so blinded with rage, hurt, and anger, I wasn’t hearing any of what he had to say.

  “My father told Aunt Esther, thinking she could talk me down. Aunt Esther was my heart. She was always the one person able to reason with me. She tried talking to me about it over the phone. When she could tell I wasn’t listening, no matter what she or anyone else had to say, she instinctively got in her car and headed to Chicago, despite the icy conditions my father had warned her about.” Zachary loudly blew out a heavy sigh and began shaking one of his legs.

  “Aunt Esther was trying to stop me from ruining my life. She was trying to save me from myself,” Zachary said. “She was on that road that night because she knew I was planning to make my sister’s killer pay. That I was planning on taking someone else’s life.” His jaw tightened.

  Gabrielle released his hand. “Zachary,” she whispered. “You wouldn’t have gone through with it, would you? You were just upset. That’s how people talk when they’re upset. They want people to pay. They claim they want to hurt that person. But they don’t really mean it.”

  “My plan was already in motion. Two friends and I were going to kill him. It was all planned out. It would have looked like an accident, but we were going to take him out. And honestly, if my aunt hadn’t been in that accident that night, I’m pretty sure I would have gone through with it. I was just that mad and hurt. God forgive me,” Zachary began to cry, “but I was going to do it.”

  He looked in Gabrielle’s eyes. “But God has changed me. I don’t feel that way anymore. But I did have hate in my heart then. And I was angry enough to want to do someone else bodily harm. How much better was I than him? Nevertheless, I felt justified in what I was going to do to him. But in truth, I was just as wrong as he had been. They say anger is one letter short of danger. And anger really can be dangerous. It took my aunt almost losing her life, trying to save me from me, before I was able to see that and just how wrong I’d been.”

  Gabrielle held him as he released what she believed had to have been years of pent-up feelings and words locked away inside of him. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Jesus is a healer. He’s forgiven you, and look at you now. Look what you’re doing with your life now, Zachary. You’re saving others’ lives. Look at how God has turned things around in your life. It’s okay, Zachary. It’s okay.” She gently rocked him, and just allowed him to let it all out.

  Chapter 19

  But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.

  —Job 32:8

  “I heard back from Lena,” Johnnie Mae said to her husband as she chopped up cabbage for supper. “She’s spoken with everyone. They’ll all be in Birmingham tomorrow.”

  “Everybody?” Pastor Landris said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her on the cheek. He picked up a piece of raw cabbage and put it in his mouth.

  “Yeah. Lena said they were waiting for Memory to fly in to Atlanta. Theresa and Maurice have rented a van. That way they can all come together,” Johnnie Mae said, referring to Lena’s daughter and son-in-law.

  “Is Bishop Jordan coming as well?” Pastor Landris asked, inquiring about Lena’s husband, Richard.

  “Lena said it would be her and Bishop Jordan, Theresa, Maurice, and their two children, and Memory. I suppose they can all fit in a seven-passenger van.”

  “Did they say how long they would be staying? Are they just coming down to meet with Ransom and then going right back?”

  “She didn’t say,” Johnnie Mae said. “But it will be good to see them again after all this time. They’ve been through a lot.” She primped her mouth. “And just when it looks like things are normal, something like this pops up. Life is truly hidden with surprises.”

  “I’m just starting to wonder about you,” Pastor Landris said. “How is it that you seem to manage to end up in the middle of people finding each other?”

  “It is becoming a pattern. Maybe I need to seek the Lord out about this. Ask Him what’s going on.” Johnnie Mae was slightly teasing about asking God about it. She shook her head as she rinsed the cabbage in the stainless-steel colander. She dumped the washed cabbage into a heated boiler. “This discovery really could be attributed more to my mother than to me. I just happened to pursue what she’d said about that box. And here we are again. I’m starting to think there’s something to those Wings of Grace boxes.”

  “Do you think this Ransom Perdue is really legit?”

  Johnnie Mae shrugged. She turned the eye on the stove down and placed a top on the boiler. Everything else was ready. The cabbage was the last thing she was cooking, that and rolls already in the toaster oven. They were having Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, candied yams, cabbage, and buttered rolls for supper.

  Johnnie Mae sat down at the kitchen table. “Honestly, he appears very credible to me. But Lena is not convinced this isn’t some cooked-up scam. I mean, what if this really was a well-planned setup like Lena and Theresa think it could be?”

  “Well, I can see why both Lena and Theresa would feel that way.” Pastor Landris sat with Johnnie Mae. “Montgomery Powell the Second was not exactly pleased about losing everything after Sarah returned to her rightful position and regained power. Kicking him out of that mansion like she did was hard on him. Then Sarah leaving the house to Memory, especially a
fter Montgomery, and his father before him, went to such great lengths to make sure Sarah would never get anything, ever.”

  Johnnie Mae sat forward. Pastor Landris took his hand and moved a strand of hair from her face and pushed it behind her ear. He smiled as he looked in her eyes. Johnnie Mae took his hand and kissed it.

  “I think Sarah actually left the house in a trust for Theresa’s children. When I talked to Memory a little after Sarah died, she told me how Montgomery had tricked her into signing for him to purchase the house after Sarah’s death. But the women were smart enough to tell each other what was going on, and Sarah was able to outwit Montgomery on that. Memory lives in the house, but it’s set to be there for Theresa’s children.”

  “So, do you think Montgomery hired this guy to pretend to be Ransom Perdue? Told him what to say to convince folks he was the real deal? Even planted him here with plans for you or someone to find out so he could have access to Memory.”

  Johnnie Mae shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. If Montgomery was going to do something like that, then why not plant him to run into Memory in Asheville, North Carolina, or Lena or Theresa in Atlanta. Besides, my mother just went into that nursing home. I believe Ransom was already there when she got there.” She shook her head fast. “No. In spite of Lena and Theresa’s skepticism, I believe this really is Memory’s father, Ransom Perdue. After they get here tomorrow and get settled in, I’m going to their hotel and take them to the nursing home to meet him.”

  Pastor Landris took one of Johnnie Mae’s hands and began to caress it. “So, you’ve already told Ransom all about of them coming tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. He knows. After I discovered who he was and told him about Memory, he couldn’t wait to meet her. He wants to hurry, almost as though he’s afraid after all this time he’ll not live to see her. It should be something to see them all meet for the first time. Ransom says he’s planning to have his whole family there, at least the ones that live here in Birmingham.”

  The phone rang. Pastor Landris got up and picked it up to see the caller ID. “It’s a Z. Walker,” he said. Johnnie Mae gestured with a shrug, puzzled as to who it might be. Pastor Landris pressed the talk button. After the initial hello, he gave the phone to Johnnie Mae.

  “Hello,” Johnnie Mae said, trying to read her husband’s face as he gave no further clue as to who it was.

  “Mrs. Landris, my name is Zenobia Walker. I think you met my father, Ransom Perdue, the other day at the nursing home where your mother also resides.”

  “Yes. Everybody except my mother calls him Gramps. She calls him Ranny.”

  Zenobia gave a slight and short laugh. “Yes. Gramps. Mrs. Landris, I have my father here with me. He told me about your mother and the wooden box. He just finished telling us about Sarah Fleming and her daughter, Memory. And if we’re to believe all of this, then that would make Memory my sister. Honestly, I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around all of this.”

  “I’m sure it’s a shock and is something that would be hard for anyone to grasp.”

  “Are you sure this isn’t some scam or something? I mean, my father doesn’t have anything for anyone to be trying to get their hands on. Nothing except maybe some land in North Carolina that he shares with a few other relatives. Daddy’s not interested in claiming any of it, and none of us are, either. But other than that, my father doesn’t have that much of anything.”

  “Ms. Walker—”

  “Please, call me Zenobia.”

  “Okay, Zenobia. Ironically, I’ve been in this story from a long way back. And believe it or not, the other side of the family is just as skeptical about this as you are. They’re not sure your daddy is the real Ransom Perdue or at least their Ransom Perdue.”

  “When Daddy gave me the note with your name and phone number after he told us everything . . . Whew!” She made a blowing sound. “I still can’t believe all of what he told us. I never suspected any of this. My daddy was just my daddy: a rather boring father, who lived in Detroit, went to work every day to provide us with our needs and some of our wants, and a man who grew to be a boring old man who equally loves his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren alike. Now I learn about a whole other life I never knew existed. A woman he almost married named Sarah Fleming: a rich white woman back during a time when they hanged a black man for just looking as if he wanted to look at a white woman. And then to learn she was pregnant with his child. That he was tricked away, to never return, because of a setup to lynch him. But he ended up imprisoned instead just so they could keep him from his family.”

  “So, that’s what happened to him,” Johnnie Mae said. “I’m sorry. You see, I know most of the story, but that part about your father almost being lynched and being in prison I didn’t know. I just knew he left and no one ever heard from him again.”

  “Except his friend Pearl Black. She saw him after he came back to Asheville looking for Sarah and his child ten years later.”

  “Yes, I met Pearl. She was the person who gave me the Wings of Grace box. Sarah had given it to her, then gave me the special key needed to open it and told me where I could find Pearl. That’s how I happen to know her. But you say your father came back to Asheville after all of this and he saw Pearl?”

  “That’s what Daddy said. He said it was around April of 1943.”

  “Hmmm,” Johnnie Mae said, mostly to herself. “I didn’t know that. Pearl never mentioned that. But then again, I don’t suppose she would have a reason to mention something like that to me.”

  “Daddy said you told his other family about him.”

  “I did, and I’ve talked with Lena; that’s Memory’s only child. They’re coming here tomorrow. I got one of the nurses to let me talk to him and I told him.”

  “That’s when he called me and said it was an emergency. He summoned all of us, me and my two sons, to the nursing home. He nearly scared me to death. I thought something awful had happened. Then he didn’t want to talk about it there, so naturally I assumed maybe someone had done something to him at the home. You can never feel too comfortable and let down your guard. He’s still here at my house. Memory is planning on visiting him at the nursing home, and he thought you were going to come with them.”

  “Yes. I’ve agreed to bring them, unless that’s a problem with you.”

  “Well, I’d prefer we do it at my house instead of the nursing home. I’ll give you my address, and you can bring them over here—that’s if you don’t mind.”

  “Zenobia, I have a thought. And you can tell me if you don’t like it or don’t want to do it. But why don’t all of you come here to my home. That way it would be in a bigger, more private place than the nursing home but a more neutral ground for all.”

  Zenobia paused a second. “I think that’s a great idea. But I wouldn’t want to put you out or cause you to go to any trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble. Look, Zenobia, I told you earlier: I’ve been in this from the beginning. With this new development, I would be honored to do whatever I can to help. It’s the least I can do . . . for Sarah. I helped in bringing her back together with her daughter. It’s only fitting that I would do the same with Memory’s father.”

  “I don’t know what God is up to, but I must admit: He never ceases to amaze me.”

  Johnnie Mae laughed. “For sure, there’s definitely never a dull moment with the Lord. Like you said, we never know what He’s up to. We just need to be obedient. And I really don’t mind everyone meeting over here. I really don’t.”

  “Then, yes. Give me your address, tell me what time, and we’ll be there.”

  “Let me check with the others to make sure this works for them as well. I’m sure they’re going to agree. I’ll see what time they’re looking at, especially since they’re the ones driving in.”

  “That’s fine. I understand. We’ll just keep our evening free. I just want to be sure my sons are able to be there. My oldest son doesn’t usually get off work until four-thirty, plus he ha
s four children. Though if he needs to, I’m sure he can work it all out.”

  “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we set a time of six PM? And if we need to change it, we can.”

  “Six is fine with me. Just let me know for sure.” Zenobia gave her both her home and cell phone numbers, then wrote down Johnnie Mae’s home address.

  Chapter 20

  Abstain from all appearance of evil.

  —1 Thessalonians 5:22

  Pastor Landris opened the certified letter he’d received from the IRS. He couldn’t believe what he was reading. It was a formal accusation of him not reporting income and assets and of possibly abusing his powers in his ministerial position. The letter had been delivered to the church. He was officially being asked to come into the IRS office and address several issues he was being accused of. The listed items almost floored him, as there was no way he was guilty of any of the things included.

  He had called his personal accountant as well as the church’s accountant. They assured him what had been filed was fine and that it was likely just some routine audit. But after he faxed the letter to both accountants, his personal accountant, Stanley, called him back and told him this was more than a random audit.

  “Pastor, I hate to tell you this, but this doesn’t look good. It’s saying that you didn’t report certain income as income. This is one of those whistle-blowing-type letters. I reported everything that you gave me. Is it possible you forgot to give me something?”

  “No, Stanley. I don’t play about things like this. You know how you were saying I was including things as income that were considered love offerings and not necessarily reportable, and I told you that I didn’t even want the appearance of evil. If someone gave me a love gift, I kept a record and gave that record to you. I don’t play when it comes to the Lord’s business.”