Mercy, Mercy Me

by Ronn Elmore

  “Yes, Dr. Grandison. And if Ms. Boudreaux calls …”

  “Tell her to call me on my cell.”

  A moment later, Dwayne noticed heads dropping—and no one making eye contact—as he walked past the other cubicles to the elevator. This was all a lie. Surely, the truth would come out and this would be no big deal in a few days. But as the elevator doors opened and he stepped in, he knew this was little more than a pipe dream.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Beverlyn searched the papers for at least the fortieth time, scanning the documented record of meetings, affidavits, and pictures. She carefully examined specific dates, wondering how many times she’d imagined Dwayne had been with Nina when he’d really been with Sean. She stopped midstream in thought. What was she thinking? Dwayne couldn’t be gay. Neither, she thought, was Sean.

  Turning to her uncle, she said, “Uncle Linson, are you sure?”

  His face was solemn. “It appears so.”

  “I don’t believe it.” She threw the papers across the car seat. “This doesn’t make sense. Where did Reverend Powell get this information?”

  L.W. shrugged. “I don’t know. When I confronted him, he handed me the folder and said he would pray for us.”

  “You know, right before the show,” Beverlyn said, thinking back in her search for answers,“Dwayne asked me about this man. There was no fact sheet on him. How do you know him?”

  “He’s been a friend for many years.”

  “I’ve never heard you mention him.”

  L.W. coughed. “Well, maybe friend is too strong a word. Over the years, we’ve bumped into each other at various conferences and conventions. While I don’t know him that well, I do know that he’s a man of God who can be trusted.”

  “I don’t know, Uncle Linson. This just doesn’t add up.”

  L.W. looked at Beverlyn with sad eyes. “You have to face it, sweetheart,” he said, taking her hand. “It’s hard for me too. I don’t know what effect all this will have on the show or the Jubilee Network, but for your sake, I’m glad the truth is out.”

  She crossed her arms. “I need to speak with Dwayne. I just can’t believe this is happening. It can’t be true.” She reached for her cell phone.

  “No.” L.W. snatched the phone before she could finish dialing the number. He clicked the phone off and put it in his suit pocket. “Before we do anything, we have to carefully think this through,” he said, his voice softening with each word as if he were considering her feelings.

  “There’s nothing to think about.” She pushed the privacy button, and as the window opened, she called out, “Joseph, please take me back to the office.”

  “Never mind, Joseph.” L.W. spoke over her words. “Just keep driving until I tell you otherwise.”

  “We should talk to Dwayne,” Beverlyn suggested.

  “After keeping so much secret from you, do you really think he will tell you the truth now?”

  “You don’t know Dwayne. Besides, I love him and I owe it to him to at least get his side of the story.”

  L.W. cringed at her words, but remained composed. “Beverlyn …” He stopped as if he didn’t know how to break what he was about to say to her. “I never wanted to tell you this …” He stopped again.

  “What?”

  He looked down.

  “Uncle Linson, you’re scaring me. If there’s something I should know, please tell me.”

  Finally, he turned to her, clasping her hands inside his. “I know for a fact that all of this is true.” He looked away, his face twisted with pain.

  Distress covered her face and L.W. hesitated, not sure he could say the final words. The sting had worked better than even he had planned, but how could he continue to hurt his niece? He had hoped the reverend’s words would have been good enough. But if not, he’d been prepared with this story. It was the look on her face now that he wasn’t prepared for. The words he was about to say would destroy her, but that couldn’t deter him.

  “Uncle Linson, what is it?” she asked, her voice almost trembling.

  This was the perfect opening L.W. was hoping for.

  “I never wanted to tell you this, but”—he took another breath as if he needed air—“I saw Dwayne and Sean together once at a restaurant.”

  “So they’re friends. I’ve been out with them,” Beverlyn protested, though L.W. didn’t detect any real conviction in her voice.

  “They were huddled together in a corner, hand in hand. It was… intimate.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Beverlyn said to herself, covering her mouth with her hand.

  “I prayed that I misread the situation, so I confronted him,” L.W. continued. “Of course, at first he denied it, but when I told him I’d seen the two of them together, he started stuttering like he did tonight and became very protective of Sean. That’s why I acted the way I did at your house that night, and that’s—if you remember clearly—why he left without a fight.”

  Beverlyn gasped as the words began to sink in, like pieces of a puzzle beginning to fit together.

  “How could you not tell me?”

  “I assumed wrongly that knowing I would speak to you, he would back off. That’s what I was coming to tell you that night, but you were so upset with me, I was sure that you wouldn’t believe me, so instead I went to him later and told him to back off.”

  Beverlyn turned away, staring out of the car’s tinted window.

  “Beverlyn, I need to ask you something. I know this is personal, but I need to know for your protection.” He paused, but she didn’t turn back to him. “Were you two ever intimate?”

  None of your business, she wanted to yell, as L.W. hammered the final nail in her chest. But she simply shook her head, thinking of how close they’d come.

  “Thank goodness.” He slammed back into his seat. “At least, I don’t have to be concerned about you coming down with AIDS.”

  “Uncle Linson,” she moaned.

  “I’m sorry, honey, but you’re my first priority—you and the ministry. And we’ve got to think about the ministry. I know this is probably the most difficult thing you have had to face, but you need to think this thing through clearly.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s important to say. The ministry has to come first. We can’t let the way we handle what just happened undermine the trust we’ve built in the loyal followers of the ministry and the Jubilee Network. We can’t allow people to doubt who we are. We have to make it clear that we are not people who preach one thing and practice another.

  “Besides, Beverlyn, think about it. Severing ties with Mr. Grandison and Sean Wiley is the only way to spare them further shame and embarrassment and end this nightmare. I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to think clearly,” he repeated himself. “As it stands, we’ll have to do a huge PR effort. And, Beverlyn, you’re going to have to trust me on this one and let me do the fighting for you.”

  I have no fight left, she thought, continuing to stare out of the window. “I want to go home,” she said, suddenly feeling sick. When she turned to address him, her eyes were glassy with tears. He took her in his arms and held her as he’d done so many times before.

  “I’m sorry, Beverlyn, but we are going to make it through. But we’ll have to work quickly. There is so much on the line.”

  That, Beverlyn did understand. The ministry was the fulfillment of all her childhood dreams. It was where she was at her best. People counted on her and she thrived on the interaction, not just for what it brought her but for what it gave them in the view she shared of herself as a vessel of God. She reveled in the role and validation it brought her.

  Their business side gave them a lifestyle they could never have imagined—the cars, private planes… the money. But at that very moment, none of that seemed important. She closed her eyes, dissolving into tears.

  Beverlyn kicked her shoes off at the door as L.W. continued to talk about the best way to handle the situation. For a time, she’d tuned him out, replaying t
he moments she’d shared with Dwayne.

  L.W. rambled on. There would be an announcement to the press distancing the network from Dwayne. A statement proclaiming that they had been unaware of Dwayne Grandison’s sexuality and that his behavior and lifestyle were not in line with the spiritual and/or moral fiber of Beverlyn Boudreaux Ministries.

  Beverlyn stood and walked to the bar, scanning the beverages that lined the shelf until her eyes rested on the bottle of cognac L.W. had brought her from a trip he’d taken to France.

  L.W. looked at her and celebrated inside. But his veneer remained sober. “We should call a press conference ASAP. I’ll work with Daisy in marketing and we’ll have a statement prepared for you in the morning.”

  She took a sip and grimaced as the cognac scorched her throat. Maybe it would burn her vocal cords away and she’d never have to speak again.

  “When you speak tomorrow, you have to be calm, unemotional, and unattached. Dwayne Grandison was just an employee who fooled you and everyone else; the Jubilee Network will continue in spite of him, and Beverlyn Boudreaux Ministries will move forward in the spirit of what we’ve set out to do for God.”

  Beverlyn let L.W. ramble on, talking about security to keep Dwayne away, meetings with lawyers to review contracts and offset any impending lawsuits that could rise from the fallout.

  Finally, L.W. said, “The most important thing, Beverlyn, is that you stay away from Dwayne. We don’t know who’s watching, and this thing is bigger than you, and bigger than what you thought you had with Dwayne. We employ hundreds who will lose their jobs if this isn’t handled correctly. Then there are the children you’re committed to helping with the success of this venture.”

  He watched her through intense eyes. “You’ll also have to steer clear of Sean Wiley.”

  Almost oblivious to what he was saying, Beverlyn looked at the clock. It was almost six. Hard to believe so many hours had passed since this nightmare had begun.

  “Beverlyn, did you hear me?”

  “Uncle Linson, I need some time alone.”

  He was startled by her words. He couldn’t leave now. He wanted to make sure she was all right. To keep check on her actions and ensure that nothing interfered with his smoothly executed scheme.

  “Honey, you don’t need to be alone.”

  “Please, L.W.,” she said, leading the way to the front door.

  After a brief pause, he gathered up his jacket and his papers and reluctantly moved toward the front door. He leaned forward to kiss her, but she stopped him.

  “Good night, Uncle Linson.”

  He backed up, hurt that she was pushing him away, even if temporarily.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” he said, quickly recovering. “There’s no need for you to use your car for the next few days. I want to be with you in case any reporters try to contact or harass you.”

  “Okay.”

  She opened the front door, and without another word, he walked out. Beverlyn closed the door the moment his foot hit the porch, and she rushed to the bathroom, the place that since childhood had always been where she’d go to think, and to keep anyone from seeing her cry. The day’s events passed through her mind like a video in fast-forward. She recalled the look on Dwayne’s face when Reverend Powell mentioned Sean’s name. It was a look of recognition, mixed with surprise, as if he were relieved the truth had been uncovered. She leaned against the sink and began to sob uncontrollably.

  Her insides cringed as she thought of the many kisses they’d shared. What could it have meant? Was he bisexual? Or was he simply using her, like so many other men had, to try to get his name in lights? By the time the ache rose to her throat, she had already turned to the toilet.

  L.W. pulled out his cell phone the moment he opened the guesthouse door. He dialed Kim’s private cell, which was picked up on the first ring.

  “Kim, did you disconnect the phones in the main house as I directed?”

  “Yes,” she said reluctantly.

  “Turn them back on tomorrow while we’re at the press conference. I’ll call you with the time.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Has Andrew Powell left the city?” L.W. asked.

  “Done,” Kim reported. “In fact, everything’s done. You pulled it off,” she said in a tone that reflected her distaste.

  “Kim, do we have a problem here?” L.W. had become annoyed with her tone.

  “No, we don’t. Everything has been done as you instructed.”

  L.W. pressed the “end” button and leaned back in the recliner. It took months to plan, and now that he was in the middle of Dwayne’s fall, it didn’t feel as good as he had thought it would. It was Beverlyn’s face that stole his joy. He hated that she was so hurt, but in a few weeks, she’d be fine. And Dwayne Grandison would be gone from their lives.

  He pulled Beverlyn’s cell from his pocket. It would be a while before his niece noticed her missing phone. He clicked it on and grimaced. Just as he thought, Dwayne’s number appeared as the last missed call.

  He returned the phone to his pocket. There was still a lot of work to do.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The moment Dwayne walked through the front door, his phone was ringing. He closed his eyes and said a quick prayer that it was Beverlyn. Instead, it was a reporter from the Los Angeles Herald wanting a statement regarding his relationship with Sean. The thought alone seemed so foreign to him that he angrily slammed the phone down without saying a word.

  As he tried to unwind, the phone rang again. He answered after recognizing the number on his Caller ID display.

  “Hey, Laf,” Dwayne said, trying to sound more up than he had in their earlier conversation.

  “It’s me, Dwayne,” Robbie said. “Are you all right?”

  “Hey. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

  “Lafayette and I were talking. We want you to stay with us for a few days.”

  “I’m not sure that’s necessary. I’m hoping this will blow over.”

  “I don’t think you understand the impact, Dwayne,” Lafayette interjected from the extension. “I believe this is part of a major effort to ruin you.”

  “But who and why …”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Listen, let me get back to you. I’ve got to sort some things out.”

  The phone rang as soon as he set down the receiver. He was about to let it roll over to voice mail when he recognized the number as Nina’s. He was hoping that she hadn’t seen the show but was glad she was calling to check on him.

  “Nina.”

  “Dwayne, are you okay?”

  “Dazed would be the operative word,” Dwayne said, relieved that he could finally share this nightmare with someone who knew that the revelations contained little truth. “I can’t believe what’s happened.” He paused. “I haven’t been able to catch up with Beverlyn, and Lafayette seems to think this is part of some grand scheme. Did you see the show?”

  “No, but I’ve been getting call after call—from some of the women and the people at church.”

  “Oh, no …”

  “Don’t worry, all the calls have been from people on your side. None of them believe a word of this.”

  He doubted that and said nothing, contemplating the notion of always having to address the question of whether or not he was gay. Always wondering who had believed this trumped-up story.

  “Please assure everyone that none of what they saw on TV was true and that I am grateful for their concern.”

  “I will.”

  “What gets me is that this only happened this morning. How could so many people know already?”

  “Bad news travels fast,” Nina said with the authority of one who’d gone through it.

  “Yeah, but it’s not like I’m some big celebrity …”

  “Maybe you’re bigger than you think. Besides, it happened on live TV and cameras were able to capture the shock on your face. And the lies—well, they make for great sound bites, which is w
hat drives the ratings way up for the network news. I’ve seen it replayed on at least three news stations. These people have no shame. It’s just a story to them.” She paused. “Do you want to get together and talk?”

  “Thanks, Nina. I’d like that, but let me get back to you. I need to handle some things first.”

  “Remember, Dwayne, I’m just a phone call away—any hour of the day or night. And Dwayne, the truth will come out.”

  Though still restless—the adrenaline running rampant throughout him—Dwayne was somewhat hopeful as he hung up the phone from Nina. He sat on the bed and took a deep breath. There was another call he had to make. He didn’t know what he would say, but he dialed the number anyway. He tried every number, but like Beverlyn, Sean was missing. Dwayne couldn’t even reach his assistant.

  Leaning back against the headboard, Dwayne closed his eyes. “Why is this happening?” he said aloud. He covered his face with his hands, but the ringing phone took him from his meditation. Wanting to keep the line open for Beverlyn—and Sean—he’d resisted the temptation to snatch the cords from the wall.

  Two more hours passed before Dwayne could take no more. The phone had not stopped ringing, and neither Beverlyn nor Sean had called. He threw on his jacket and marched out, driving around aimlessly before finally ending up at Lafayette’s.

  “Lafayette, it’s your brother,” Robbie said, opening the front door. “Come on in.” She welcomed him with arms stretched wide. “We’ve been so worried about you.”

  “Hey, man.” Lafayette extended a hearty embrace.

  “I needed to get out. The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I was trying to keep the line open for Beverlyn and Sean, but I haven’t heard from either of them.”

  “Let’s go in here,” Lafayette suggested, and the two retreated into the den to talk.

  For the next two hours, they alternated between going over what had happened, praying, reflecting, and sitting in silence. By the time Dwayne returned home at midnight, he was exhausted both mentally and physically.

  Still, there was no call from either Beverlyn or Sean. He sifted through the mess he’d created earlier, undressed, and then reflected on the scripture that Lafayette had left him with: “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”