Bunny Elder Adventure Series: Four Complete Novels: Hollow, Vain Pursuits, Seadrift, ...and Something Blue

by J. B. Hawker

  At the church Bunny helped her niece find a choir robe that wasn’t too long.

  Ellery was only about an inch taller than her aunt, what Bunny always considered “average” height, although clothing manufacturer’s insisting on classifying it “petite”.

  Betty, the choir director, was pleasantly surprised by Ellery’s voice and familiarity with the music. Bunny tried not to preen too obviously, but she was undeniably proud.

  This was a sparkling morning for Bunny and well worth putting up with a few aches and pains. Singing with Ellery was all joy.

  As they filed out after the warm-up rehearsal Bunny saw Naidenne enter the sanctuary.

  Her friend looked a bit apprehensive, so Bunny hurried down the aisle to greet her.

  “Naidenne! I’m so happy that you are here. Let’s get a worship program and find you a seat.”

  “Thanks, Bunny. You are looking much better today. How are you feeling?”

  “Wonderful. This is just such a glorious day.”

  She settled Naidenne beside one of the young women Maureen had driven from the women’s group meeting. Fortunately, this woman did not blame the whole church for the actions of that one controlling person. After making introductions and providing the new acquaintances with a topic of conversation…Shirley’s crafts projects that Naidenne was selling…Bunny went to the choir room to wait for the service to start.

  Observing from the choir loft later, Bunny could see that the mildly-restrained melee that was the greeting time in this congregation nearly overwhelmed Naidenne. She seemed a little dazed by the profusion of warm greetings, hugs and handshakes as the members ebbed and flowed around the sanctuary.

  Bunny knew that many churches had done away with this style of greeting time in the worship service in order to be sensitive to any newcomers. This was a difficult decision for a church to make, since longtime members tended to look forward to this informal greeting time. There was always a balancing act between nurture and outreach for a church trying to plan worship services to meet the needs of seekers as well as members.

  Unusually, Bunny was just a little nervous when the choir stood for the special music presentation. She wasn’t certain if that was a result of her recent trauma or because Ellery was with her. Whatever the cause of her unease, once the group began to sing, all fears were gone and she gave herself to the music.

  The choir number was followed by a smattering of applause and a few heartfelt murmurs of “Amen” from the appreciative congregation.

  After the service Ellery and Bunny found Naidenne in the church parking lot.

  “Ready to join us for lunch? Ellery needs to get on the road soon, so we should go someplace with speedy service.”

  “I think I’ll just head on home today, Bunny. Thanks, anyway.”

  Naidenne wished Ellery a good trip back to Seattle and then drove away.

  “I wonder what that was all about. Naidenne seems preoccupied with something.”

  “Aunt Bunny, I think I may know why Naidenne was acting a bit odd. I got the impression that she has had some kind of bad experience with church in her past. Coming today may have brought up feelings she’s been trying to forget.”

  “That’s terrible! I wouldn’t have hurt her for anything. Well, we can’t let something in her past keep her from moving forward. I’ll try to get her to open up to me and see what I can do to help. Not now, though. We need to get you fed and on your way.”

  “I would like to get back early. Gilles might come by this evening,” Ellery added with a blush.

  “Now don’t you two go rushing things and get into trouble with the university. I thought you were going to wait until after the semester ends to become a couple.”

  “We’ll be careful, I promise. But, now that we both know how we feel, it will be hard to act like nothing’s changed.”

  “Lots of the good things in life are worth waiting for…no matter how difficult it may be. Sometimes the wait makes it all sweeter in the end.”

  “I’ll try to remember that. Thanks. And thanks for having me this weekend. I think I’ll just head home now and stop for lunch on the way if I get hungry, although those yummy pancakes I ate will probably see me though until dinner time. Do you mind awfully, if we skip lunch?”

  “Not at all. You go now, and drive carefully. Call when you get home, if you don’t mind, just so I’ll know you made it. Come back soon.”

  After many thanks, hugs, and admonitions for each other to take care, Ellery finally drove off.

  Bunny was standing in the parking lot looking after her when Scott approached.

  “Your niece is leaving? I thought she might stay a few days to keep an eye on you.”

  “She offered, but I don’t need looking after. My injuries were slight and even the shock is beginning to wear off. Singing with her this morning did more for me than a week of bed rest.”

  “Ellery has a beautiful voice. She sounds like you. There were lots of comments this morning about the inspiring music. You and Ellery were singled out for special praise, more than once. It’s too bad she doesn’t live closer.”

  “Yes. But I won’t complain. She’s so much closer now than while she was growing up on the underside of the world.”

  Scott seemed about to say something when he was interrupted by Rosamund calling from outside the church office, “Scott! Come on! You have visits to make this afternoon and I have a roast in the crockpot. Let’s go!”

  With an unreadable expression on his face, Scott said good-bye to Bunny and went to join his sister.

  Ellery had driven them both to the church that morning, so Bunny began walking home. On a whim, she took a detour and swung by Naidenne’s apartment. They needed to talk.

  Seeing that Naidenne’s sedan was in the carport, Bunny rang the bell.

  “Oh, hi, Bunny,” Naidenne’s greeting was subdued.

  “Hi. I was walking home and thought I’d drop by. May I come in for a minute, or is this a bad time?”

  “Well…oh, of course you can come in!” Naidenne relented. “Have you eaten?”

  “No, but I’m not hungry. I’m not interrupting your lunch, am I? I hadn’t even thought about that! I can be so insensitive, sometimes.”

  “You’re not interrupting anything, Bunny. I’m glad you stopped by, actually.”

  Naidenne led the way into her kitchen and indicated that Bunny should sit at the table. She poured them each ice tea and joined her unexpected guest.

  “Did you enjoy the service this morning? I thought the choir number went well.”

  “Oh, it did. I was very impressed, and I could see why you like to sing with Ellery. Your voices blend so beautifully…like a couple of angels,” she added wryly.

  Bunny chuckled her thanks then added, “…but the rest of the service?”

  “The rest of the service was horrible. No, don’t protest. Let me explain. I don’t mean that as a criticism of your church. The people were kind and friendly, just as Ellery promised, and the service itself was okay. It’s just that being there was horrible for me.”

  “Why?” Bunny blurted, then quickly added, “Don’t tell me if you don’t want to. I don’t mean to pry.”

  “I know that. You are a good friend, Bunny. I feel like I’ve known you forever, even though it has only been a short time. But because you weren’t around me earlier, you can’t know what my life has been like.”

  Bunny took a sip of tea and waited.

  “I was raised in a church-going family. My parents were both Pentecostal preachers. We were in church every day of the week and twice on Sundays, as the saying goes. I didn’t really mind it. I had lots of friends in the congregation and I liked the dancing and shouting at the meetings.”

  “And something changed that?” Bunny gently prodded.

  “One summer our family hosted the visiting evangelist for a series of revival meetings. He stayed in our house for three weeks. I was almost fourteen.” Naidenne paused, looking inward.

 
When she didn’t continue Bunny reached out and reassuringly patted her hand where it lay on the table. This seemed to bring her friend back to the present.

  “On the second Wednesday he was there, he had a real rousing revival meeting and he and my folks stayed up late rehashing their mountain top experience. I went on to bed…sometime before morning he snuck into my room and raped me.”

  “Oh Naidenne! I’m so sorry.”

  “He put his hand over my mouth…that’s what woke me up…then he pulled back my covers and pulled at my nightgown with his other hand. I tried to get him off me, but he was holding my face so tight that my teeth cut the inside of my lips. I fought as hard as I could, but he was a big man and I was no match for him. When he was done he slapped me, hard, and told me that I was a Jezebel for tempting him so. He made me get on my knees beside the bed with him and he prayed over me, asking God to forgive him for succumbing to my evilness. I think he asked God to cleanse the demons from me, too, but I was so hurt and frightened and disgusted that I wasn’t listening. He warned me not to tell my folks, because they would be so ashamed…of ME.”

  “And did you tell them?”

  “Yes. My mother saw my bloody sheets and nightgown and I told her all about it.”

  “What did she do?”

  “She made excuses for him and told me not to say anything to anyone else because it would hurt his ministry and God’s Kingdom would suffer.”

  Here Naidenne paused again, as though trying to steel herself before going on.

  “He came to my room every night after that until the revival was over. Every night was the same. I never mentioned it again. I figured if my own mother wouldn’t protect me, then it must be my fault.”

  “Whatever happened to that filthy, evil man?”

  “As far as I know he’s still holding revival meetings and preying on the daughters in the congregations, but what I hope is that he is dead and burning in Hell.”

  “Can you remember his name, dear? If he is still preaching, he needs to be stopped.”

  “Brother Orville P. Givens was his name. I’ll never forget anything about him. But how can you find out where he is after all these years?”

  “If he’s still holding revivals, someone will have mentioned it on the Internet. We will Google him and see what turns up.”

  “I’d just as soon not be there when you do it, Bunny. I want to know where he is…sometimes I still wake in the night and think I hear him in the room. I’m not opposed to you doing it, but just thinking about him makes me feel sick.”

  “That’s understandable. I’ll see what I can find out, and I won’t say anything about what I discover, unless you ask. How will that be?”

  “Thanks for understanding.”

  Bunny hugged her friend and started walking quickly for home. She had a mission and was itching to get to her computer.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  …the Lord is righteous; he loves justice – Psalm 11:7

  Bunny worked at her computer until quite late on Sunday night. Her quest to discover what happened to the vile Givens had turned up some interesting results and despite her promise not to talk about it unless she was asked, Bunny was eager to share the news as soon as Naidenne opened her office the next day.

  “Good morning! Naidenne, are you here?” Bunny called out as she stepped into the property management office.

  “Hi, Bunny. What brings you here so early on a Monday morning?”

  “I have the most marvelous news and I just couldn’t wait to tell you everything I’ve uncovered about the Evangelist of Evil.”

  “I thought you were going to wait until I feel ready to hear about him.”

  “Oh, you are ready to hear this, believe me. Let me get a cup of coffee while you turn on your computer, then you will see it all with your own eyes.”

  Naidenne looked skeptical as she sat down and got her computer running, but she was also obviously curious.

  “The first couple of hits I got were old revival meeting notices, as I’d expected, but then I found a series of news reports, like this one,” Bunny was sitting at Naidenne’s desk, browsing the Internet as she spoke, and turned the monitor so that Naidenne could see where she was pointing. Displayed on the screen were twenty-five-year-old news accounts of the arrest and conviction of a certain Pentecostal evangelist for child pornography and a variety of other sex crimes against young girls.

  Naidenne gasped as she read the details.

  Tears were streaming down her cheeks by the time Bunny brought up the obituary telling of the man’s death in prison after serving only five years of his sentence.

  “Thank you!” Naidenne gasped out between sobs as she was overcome by a wave of emotions.

  Bunny closed the browser, wiping Givens from the screen as she would like to erase him from her friend’s past. She wrapped her arms around Naidenne and held her until the weeping gradually became less violent and finally stopped.

  “Those were happy tears, right?” Bunny asked. “I didn’t come here to destroy you with this, you know.”

  Naidenne sniffed and wiped her face with a tissue from the box on her desk, then smiled weakly.

  “Bunny, you have changed my life! How will I ever be able to thank you? All these years I have felt guilty for not making more of an issue and stopping him.”

  “You were just a child!”

  “I know. But, I’ve been an adult for years, now, and as long as I thought he was still out there hurting young girls I felt the burden of responsibility. But from the dates on those reports I just saw, I know that he was arrested shortly after he took advantage me. I feel such relief! I can forgive myself, now, for not stopping him back then, since I know he hasn’t gone on hurting children.”

  “So, now we can move on, knowing he got his just reward in this world, as well as the next,” Bunny stated emphatically.

  The Bible tells us that those who are teachers and preachers will be held to a higher standard on Judgment Day, so she was confident that Givens would be dealt with.

  “You know, I think maybe I can put it behind me, now. Bunny, how can I thank you for dragging me to church yesterday?”

  “You already thanked me by coming. Of course, if you feel extra grateful, you could always come next week, too,” she grinned.

  “I will. I really liked what Scott said in his sermon. I think his words helped me to be able to talk to you about all this. I know you had a pretty rotten weekend, but it has been a game-changer for me…and all for the better.”

  “All’s well that ends…it looks like you have a customer, Naidenne. I’d better stop bothering you.”

  The bell jingled as a young couple entered the office. Bunny stood aside to let them through and then went out.

  On her walk home she thought about what Naidenne had said about the “pretty rotten” weekend just past. It had resulted in a new outlook for Naidenne, with a longtime burden lifted, but it had been a game-changer for Bunny, too. She had killed a man.

  While it was true he had fallen onto the blade as she was defending herself, it was her hand gripping the knife when it plunged into his body.

  She had lain trapped beneath his bulk while his life blood poured over her and out onto her kitchen floor.

  No matter what she had said to Ellery about not feeling any guilt, she still felt “something” and it was not pleasant.

  She was different today than before it happened. She would never be quite the same again…

  Walking along, she was clinging to the verse in the book of Romans that promises all things will work for good, somehow, and in God’s time.

  Bunny hoped that one good thing to come out of it all would be that she could stop looking over her shoulder and wondering when she was going to be attacked, again.

  Just as that idea entered her consciousness it was followed, all too quickly, by thoughts of the second man; was he really gone for good, too?

  Ljuto sat on a broken sofa in a dismal and dirty room, its window
s boarded over, drinking beer, eating from a bag of chips and watching the news on an oversized flat-screen TV.

  One of his roommates walked in front of the screen and Ljuto growled at him to move.

  He had just heard a name that caught his attention.

  The TV announcer went on to say, “The man killed in Saturday’s attempted home invasion robbery in Bannoch, Oregon, has been identified as internationally wanted criminal, Grgur Babić, a Croatian national in this country illegally. Authorities consider him a suspect in several recent incidents directed against the resident of the home where he died. In those incidents Babić is reported to have been working with an accomplice described as a white male, aged thirty-five to forty, approximately six feet tall, thin, with white-blond hair and tattoos covering both arms. If you see a person of this description, call the police, but do not approach, as he is considered to be armed and dangerous.”

  Ljuto was stunned to learn of Grgur’s death and even more upset to hear the anchorman giving his own description on the television.

  It was a lucky break that he had seen that report. He had been channel surfing while trying to decide which pay-per-view porn he was going to watch next. Now he knew he needed to stay out of sight until the ship arrived to take him back to Thailand.

  It was too bad about Grgur, but Ljuto had known it was a stupid idea to keep pursuing that woman. He wondered how the stubborn fellow had managed to get himself killed.

  Ljuto had been wise to come here, to the headquarters of Koslov’s Washington-based operation, to await passage back home.

  The men holed up in this remote compound, made up of a derelict two-story house and a collection of dilapidated outbuildings near the Port of Tacoma, were what Koslov referred to as his wranglers, the men who handled his “livestock”.

  This was the staging area where his shipments were processed and passed on to the buyers who would take them to their final destinations all over the Northwest.

  Most of this crew kept to themselves, being a motley collection of the dregs of humanity from around the globe. Rudimentary English or French were the only common languages among them. Beyond that, they shared a willingness to do anything for the money to feed their various appetites and a total contempt for their fellow man.