Eight

Dimly, Lily heard Marnie asking her if she was okay. She probably responded, but what she said, she had no idea at all.

The envelope’s return address was the state licensing agency for child cares, and the letter itself was short and to the point, like a dagger.

Regarding your employment at the Chicago organization the Nanny Group, certain irregularities have come to our attention.

We will be looking into them, and we will keep you informed of our progress.

Your location’s petition for an emergency-licensing override to allow more children at your facility will not be processed until this issue has been resolved. Recognizing the disaster Wildwood has experienced, however, we are allowing your day care to stay open at its current capacity.

Your status as a nonprofit child-care operator has been changed back to provisional, pending the outcome of our examination of pertinent documents and records.

We will be contacting you to discuss this matter. We would appreciate your total cooperation.

Lily was too devastated to even cry. The pain welled up inside her like an erupting volcano.

How dare he? How dare he? Douglas Newton had successfully pulled her into his web of deceit and fraud, and now she was put in the awful position of having to defend herself against a barrage of untruths, half-truths, and out-and-out lies.

Beside the anger grew the urge to run. More than anything, she wanted to run to the day care, grab Todd, and leave Wildwood—to run away from all of this.

But she knew she couldn’t run. No matter where she went, she would be pursued by the evil deeds of Douglas Newton. And now, more than ever, she had to resist the urge to flee. Too many other people were dependent on her, on this day care.

Her stomach twisted and knotted itself.

“Excuse me,” she mumbled to Marnie. Blindly she pushed her way out of the office and into the ladies’ room where she threw up.

She rocked back and let her head rest against the cool metal of the stall.

How could she ever have thought he would have set it up so the wrongdoing would follow him instead of her? He was sleazy, despicable, low, contemptible.

But calling him names, while it vented her immediate anger, did nothing more than focus her energy on him when she needed to bring it back to focus on herself.

She cleaned up as best she could and flew into the sanctuary.

She went right to the altar and knelt before it, not even bothering to wipe away the tears that ran freely down her cheeks.

“Lord, tell me why You are doing this to me. How can this be in Your service? Am I fighting the great battle here alone?”

The silence was overwhelming. She waited for the relief she’d come to expect from the cross, but she was too tight with anger and fear to let it seep into her heart and into her soul.

She knew it, but she couldn’t let go of the hostility that surfaced and demanded to be dealt with, and with great sadness, she put her head on the altar railing and wept before her Lord.

It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t done anything—except flee. Was God punishing her for that? What had He expected her to do? How could she have fought a snake like Newton?

Even as she asked the question, she knew the answer. God was not punishing her. God’s ways were mysterious, and there were some things she just had to take on faith. She knew that.

But why was He putting her—and Todd—through this? Why didn’t He let her be done with what had happened in Chicago? Didn’t He realize that having this surface here in Wildwood was going to jeopardize Resurrection’s child-care facility?

Even as she asked the question of herself, she knew it was foolish. God realized everything. She was the one who was confused.

At last her tears abated. But she continued to stay in the cool of the sanctuary, where life was calm and there was only the cross and her. A relative peace descended upon her, and she finally stood up. She’d have to talk to Ric about this and show him the letter.

He was standing in the office with Marnie, and both of them broke off their conversation when she entered. “Are you all right?” Ric asked. “Marnie said something upset you.”

She had intended to talk it over with Ric in private, but Marnie’s kind and concerned face changed her mind. “I need to talk to you about the Nanny Group. And this letter.”

❧

Ric read the letter, read it again, and read it a third time. With each reading, the words did not become any clearer. He knew what they said, but what did they mean? The letter might as well have been in Greek. He passed it to Marnie, whose immediate reaction was one of denial.

“It’s all a mistake. It has to be. What could be wrong? A good Christian woman like Lily? What irregularities? Of all the nerve—” She sputtered until she ran out of words to say.

Ric didn’t speak but studied Lily’s face. Then he said quietly, “Let’s sit down. Do you know what this letter’s about?”

“Yes,” she said as they sat at the small round table. She fidgeted with the centerpiece, a basket of fresh daisies.

“Start whenever you’re ready.” He tried to keep his voice gentle and kind. She looked terrified.

Slowly at first, and then with increasing intensity, she let the story pour out. As she told of finding the altered vouchers, Marnie nearly rose out of her chair with indignation, but Ric silenced her before she could go further than a single, “That scalawag!”

“And so I ran,” she finished. “Ran to Shiloh, and then when you offered me this temporary job, Ric, it seemed like an answer to my prayers. But now, I can’t think this is good for the day care, so maybe I should leave.”

The thought of her leaving shot through him like an arrow. He shook his head firmly. “No way are you leaving. We need you here.”

The phone rang, and Marnie answered it. As she listened, her forehead wrinkled, and she motioned at last for Ric. “It’s for you. I’ll transfer it into your office.”

Ric took a seat in his office and, with a quick prayer for clarity, took the call.

The caller was Carl Palmer from the state licensing agency. With straightforward sentences, he explained the situation. Rick pulled a notepad over and began to scribble furiously as he listened, his heart growing heavier as he understood what was being said.

At last the call ended, and Ric leaned back in his chair, covering his forehead with his hands.

How could this all unravel so quickly—and so badly?

He had trusted Lily—he still did—but the evidence was mountainous. Nevertheless, he’d heard in the investigator’s voice something he couldn’t quite identify. Perhaps it was some sign that he wasn’t accepting the story he was telling Ric?

Or maybe, Ric reminded himself, he was clutching at straws. Might as well, he thought. At least then I have something to hang onto.

That wasn’t true. There was much more to hang onto.

Matthew 10:16 was a verse he’d turned to again and again when life had sent him trouble. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

He’d always called it the menagerie verse. Sheep, wolves, serpents, and doves. The Bible counseled that it was a dangerous world and Christians were to be wary.

No matter what his feelings for Lily were growing to be, he had to remember the families of Resurrection. He had to be cautious. They, especially the children, were the “sheep in the midst of wolves.”

But the Bible also exhorted him to be harmless. It wasn’t modified: He had to be careful not to hurt anyone.

The sound of the coffeemaker and the ticktock of the porcelain clock were the only sounds Ric heard when he emerged from his office. His stomach wrenched when he saw Lily clutching Marnie’s hand.

Wise and harmless. That was his duty.

She stood up. “What is it, Ric?”

“You’d better sit down. Both of you.”

When the three of them were seated again, he began to speak. “That was Carl Palmer from the licensing agency. Yes, he’s the man who signed your letter, and he’s been assigned to investigate the situation.”

“What did he say?” Marnie burst out. “He said it was all a mistake, right?”

Ric shook his head and turned to Lily. “Lily, it gets worse. I’m sorry. Marnie, did you just make coffee? Maybe we should have some—”

“No,” Lily whispered. “Just tell me.”

“It’s about those vouchers. The way you saw them was not the way they ended up.”

“That horrible man tore them up, didn’t he?” Marnie asked.

“No, he didn’t, Marnie. He changed them. There is a paper trail, but now it leads to you, Lily.”

The blood drained from Lily’s face. “What do you mean, Ric?”

“I mean the vouchers look as if you used the system to care for Todd.”

She began to protest, and he nodded. “I know, Lily. It’s got to be untrue. We’ll piece together your time in Chicago and see if we can’t prove those vouchers are faked.”

“How,” she asked, “can I prove I haven’t done something? How does a person have evidence of something they didn’t do?” She sagged back into her chair.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I truly don’t know.”

“There’s more, isn’t there?” she asked with the dead voice of certainty.

He nodded. “There is. I wish there were some way I could soften the blow, but I guess I’ll have to come out and say it. Now it looks as if the reimbursements were made to you.”

“Oh, now that’s the limit!” Lily exploded, slamming her hand down on the table so hard that a daisy fell out of the vase. “I did not use the service, and I certainly never paid myself !”

Marnie reached out a hand to soothe her, but Lily shook it off. “This time I am not going to run. I’m going to stay and fight it, and if I have to hang Douglas Newton from the steeple here, I’ll do it!”

“Lily!” Marnie’s voice was shocked, and Lily realized she’d gone too far.

“I’m sorry, Marnie. That was my anger speaking. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m truly, truly sorry. But I will fight him with every breath in my body!”

Ric forced a smile he did not feel. “I’m glad to hear that you’re not going to take this lying down, and I want you to know that you have all the support in the world from us. We know this is a pack of lies—”

“Indeed!” interjected Marnie.

“And we’ll do whatever we can to clear your name. One thing I did learn from the discussion with Mr. Palmer is that Newton knows how to manipulate the system. He knows how things work, and it sounds to me like he’s cagey enough to use it to his advantage.”

“Mr. Palmer said that?” Lily asked. “Then he must suspect something isn’t on the up-and-up with the Nanny Group, right?”

“I don’t know if he suspects that or not. But from what he said about Newton and his position at the Nanny Group, I could figure it out. Newton is not a stupid man, and we can’t underestimate him.”

Marnie was staring at the bowl of daisies, and at last she returned the stray one to the others. “But how,” she asked slowly, “did the irregularities come to light? Did Newton say something?”

Ric rubbed his chin. “That’s interesting, Marnie. I didn’t think about that. I don’t know.”

Lily leaned forward. “But isn’t that crucial? If Douglas is sabotaging me, why? That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

Ric nodded as the stream of hope returned to his soul.

“He wouldn’t say anything,” Lily continued, “because then I’d be put in the position of having to defend myself and I’d have no choice except to lay the whole thing out in public to clear my name. So he’d be better off keeping quiet and not drawing suspicion to himself. But if there were an audit or something, well, that’s when the whole issue would come to light.”

“And—?” Ric prompted.

“So the question is why the audit, and, yeah, now that I think about it, it had to be an audit. It wouldn’t get this far if it were limited to the board of directors at the Nanny Group looking into it—at least I don’t think so. Anyway, even if they suspected something, they’d hire an independent auditor.” Her smile was shaky. “Sorry if I’m less than coherent. I’m thinking out loud.”

“Go ahead. I think we’re getting somewhere,” Ric encouraged.

“So, something has made somebody suspicious, or maybe it’s come about as part of an IRS audit, or a random audit? I don’t know. But I’m becoming more and more sure that it’s not a matter of Douglas Newton coming after me.”

“On the other hand,” Ric reminded her, “he’s the one who laid the trail that led to you. He’s a pretty nasty character. We can’t let that out of our sights. If Lily’s right and the Nanny Group was audited, and the audit highlighted some irregularities, he’s going to be very edgy. Especially if it’s an IRS audit.”

“And,” Lily added, “if the vouchers are looked at closely enough to prove they’re faked.”

Ric thought about that for a moment. “True, but I don’t think we can pin our hopes on that too much. Newton sounds like he knows the ins and outs of deception too well.”

“A handwriting analyst!” Marnie said excitedly. “We could get one and prove that Lily didn’t write those vouchers.”

“It’s a good idea,” Lily said slowly. “I don’t know if it would stand up in court, but—”

Ric sighed. “He got smarter. Apparently the questionable vouchers that are in the files now were typed on Lily’s typewriter.”

“I don’t have a typewriter!” she objected.

“Mr. Palmer said the type matches that of the typewriter in the Nanny Group office.”

Lily sighed. “Oh, that old thing. It hopped and skipped around, and the ribbon would stick and then jump. I hated it so much that I hardly ever used it. I used the laptop instead.”

“We could get the typewriter checked for fingerprints,” Marnie suggested.

Lily shook her head. “That wouldn’t work. I did use it once or twice for preprinted forms. So my fingerprints are on there anyway.”

“He’s clever,” Ric said. “Very clever. He’s made sure that he covered his tracks as completely as possible. So far we haven’t uncovered a single hole in his method. That’s scary.”

“What can we do?” Marnie asked.

“One thing I’m not going to do is give in.” Lily sat straight up. “I will fight this until the whole shebang is taken care of and my name is cleared. I refuse to live like this any longer!”

Marnie applauded. “You go, girl! Todd will be so proud of his mother.”

Lily clapped her hand over her mouth. “Todd! He can’t be here now. I can’t expose him to this.”

“Can your mother take him for a while?” Ric asked.

“Sure. Mom would love to see him. But what about the day care? It’s all well and good for us to think about how I’m going to take on Goliath, but what about those little children down the hall? What’s going to happen to them? We’re not going to have to close down the day care, are we?”

“Mr. Palmer said it was all right for us to continue operation. He said under usual circumstances he would probably suggest that you be put on a paid leave of absence, but in the current situation, he realizes that’s not a viable option, so he said it would be all right for you to stay here.” Ric’s fingers twisted together. “But you’re not to handle any money transactions. All of that will have to be done through this office.”

The phone rang again, and Marnie struggled to her feet. “Dumb arthritis. Worst part of rainy days. That and the worms on the sidewalks. Hello?”

She handed the phone to Lily. “It’s for you.”

Lily took the receiver with trepidation. What would this call bring?

“Hello?” she asked tentatively.

Ric held his breath as she listened, and then he released it with a sigh when she raised her chin and nodded.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Tuesday at seven thirty would be fine. Yes, I’m still interested in the house.”

She hung up the phone and smiled at Marnie’s and Ric’s astonished faces.

“It’s called an act of faith, my friends. Faith that good will overcome bad. Good will rule.”

And with those words, she left the room.

Marnie cleared her thoat as Ric poured himself another cup of coffee. “You know that if you drink much more of that, you’ll never sleep,” she said.

Ric stared at the cup. “This is my second cup of the day.”

She snorted. “Second pot of the day, maybe.”

She walked across the room and took the cup from him and set it on the file cabinet. “Sit down, shut your eyes, and breathe in and out for a while.”

“I don’t have time for a nap.”

“As if.” Marnie pointed to the cup of now-cooling coffee she’d taken from him. “I don’t know how long the half-life of the caffeine molecule is, but you’ve got so many of them rolling around in your bloodstream that it’ll be days before you get to dreamland.”

“It doesn’t bother me,” he protested.

“Sure. That’s why your leg hasn’t stopped jiggling all morning. You’re going to drive yourself nuts, Ric.”

“I have things to do.” He knew he sounded petulant, but he couldn’t help himself. She was right. He hadn’t slept at all the night before and only sporadically for the past three evenings.

Worry was not something a Christian should do, he knew that. But it was easier said than done, at least when the night’s darkness stole over the day’s hours and shadowed clarity with doubt. Things that were minor in the daytime took on monstrous proportions after midnight.

Life was filled with uncertainty—as a pastor he saw his share of its surprises—but the flood had put a whole new layer of it into everyone’s lives. The life of the congregation itself and the situation at the day care gave him extra areas of concern. Plus he couldn’t ignore the fact that a young woman and a little boy had moved into his heart completely, and he wanted their complete happiness.

So he hadn’t slept, and the longer he went without sleep, the harder it was to sleep. He was exhausted, even more than in the initial days after the flood had come, but the crazy paradox was that he was too tired to sleep.

“No more coffee,” Marnie said. “Let your brain stop working overtime. Give God some time to work.”

“It’s just so—” He stopped. He didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

“It is.” Marnie’s voice was warm with sympathy.

He put his hands over his eyes. “She’s planning to buy the house, you know.”

“So?”

“What if—I mean, she could—they could—” He broke off.

“Well, she could and they could,” Marnie said. “But we won’t.”

He dropped his fingers from his eyelids and gaped at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I have no idea,” Marnie said cheerfully. “And neither do you.”