“So you saw the man in the red truck and about an hour later the church was on fire?” Noah asked again for the third time. I had the feeling he was having a hard time believing that in a few short hours, so much wickedness had found its way into our midst.
“Could the church have been struck by lightning?” I asked.
“I didn’t hear any thunder,” Lizzie said.
Noah shook his head. “One of the men from the fire department said the fire started from the inside. He found something thrown through a window in the back of the church. He called it a Molotov cocktail. Sounds like the same thing used to start the fire at our house.”
“I heard they were used to start church fires in other towns too,” I said.
We were sitting around a table in the dining room. Levi, who had been working at Noah’s, was with us. “I’m so grateful our pastor survived,” he said. “But it’s hard for me to believe our church is gone.”
Noah nodded, but no one else responded. The loss was almost overwhelming. For some reason, we were all hungry after we came back to the restaurant, so Lizzie made sandwiches and poured us each a glass of cold milk. Charity had gone back to bed, but it had taken her a while to fall asleep. The fire had frightened her, but if she’d known it had been set deliberately, she would probably have been terrified. That’s exactly how I felt.
“It had to be the guy we saw,” Lizzie said. “Although I don’t understand why he’d drive through the middle of town as if he wanted us to see him. It seems strange to me.”
“I agree. And why not set the fire and leave town right away? Why wait for an hour? Where was he all that time?”
“Maybe he drove through town and then hung around because he wanted us to know it was him,” Lizzie said. “He’s probably proud of what he did. Maybe setting our house on fire wasn’t enough for him. He wanted to see something bigger burn to the ground.”
Noah grabbed her hand. “Regardless of this man’s motives, we’ve got to remember that we’ve only lost a building. We’re the church, and we’re all still here. Like Levi said, we should just be grateful Pastor Mendenhall is still with us.”
“Thanks to Jonathon,” Lizzie said. She looked at me. “He’s a brave man, Hope. Someone to be proud of.”
Noah started to say something, but Lizzie held up her hand. “Yes, I know. We’re not supposed to be proud, but I don’t mean it that way. You know exactly what I’m saying.”
“That’s not what I was going to say,” Noah interjected, “but you’re right.” He looked at me, a funny look on his face. “How did the man in the red truck get into town in the first place, Hope? Wasn’t Jonathon supposed to be watching the road tonight?”
“No. It was Roger’s night. Jonathon said he was going to your house to work.”
Noah frowned. “He never showed up.”
“Well, maybe I misunderstood. When the fire started he was in town.”
Noah shook his head. “I can’t figure out how this guy got into downtown Kingdom without alerting someone. If Roger was stationed at the crossroad, wouldn’t he have seen him?”
I shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” I didn’t feel it was right to criticize Roger or Jonathon about the obvious failure of their plan, since they were watching the road out of the goodness of their hearts and their concern for our community. But frankly, the situation bothered me too. Where was Roger? What had gone wrong?
“We’ve got to call your father in the morning,” Lizzie said, changing the subject. “Too much has happened. He’ll be angry if we don’t.”
“I know.”
“Yes, he needs to know about the church,” Noah agreed. He reached for his sandwich and took a big bite. “And about the guy in the red truck.”
Lizzie grunted. “That’s not all of it. There’s the fact that Hope was shot by Sophie Wittenbauer.”
Noah’s mouth fell open and he almost dropped his sandwich. “What? Shot? What are you talking about?”
I frowned at Lizzie.
She shrugged. “Sorry, sweetie, but there’s just too much going on. Everything needs to come out in the open.”
Although I didn’t want to get Sophie in trouble, Lizzie was right. I took a deep breath and told Noah the whole story. “In other words,” I said when I was finished, “Papa left me alone for one night, and I got shot at, stalked by a killer, and watched our church burn down. I have a feeling he’ll never let me out of his sight again.” I sighed and took a bite of my sandwich. Lizzie’s tuna salad was delicious, but for some reason, all I could taste was smoke.
Noah shook his head slowly. “This really presents a quandary. Sophie’s actions prove the point the elders have been making. Trying to defend ourselves can lead to dangerous consequences. Someone could have been seriously injured or killed this evening. But then we’ve got someone coming into town and setting a fire that almost cost our pastor his life.” He stood to his feet, his food forgotten. “What are we going to do?”
“You know what we decided, Brother,” Levi said.
I’d almost forgotten that Levi was also an elder. He hadn’t been around much since his mother had remarried. Noah was no longer living at home, so helping to merge their family farm with their new father-in-law’s had fallen on Levi’s shoulders. I knew he missed spending time at the church. And now it was nothing but a pile of ashes.
“When I thought Charity’s life might be at risk, I went for a rifle,” Lizzie said pointedly. “And I’m not sorry for it. When push comes to shove, I’m going to look after my daughter.”
Noah’s turned his attention to his wife. “She’s our daughter, Lizzie. You’re not in this by yourself.”
Lizzie dropped her eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“You’re awfully quiet, Hope,” Noah said. “What are you thinking?”
I stared at my sandwich, wondering if I could even finish it. “I was just thinking about something Ebbie said. We should pray and trust God to defend us.” I raised my head and met his gaze. “Why aren’t we doing that?”
Noah stared back at me, not saying anything. Finally he said, “I guess I don’t know how to answer your question, Hope.” He looked at Levi. “Why aren’t we doing that?” he asked.
Levi smiled sadly. “We’ve prayed for God’s help and deliverance, but we’re not acting as if we truly believe He’ll provide it.”
Noah walked over to the front window and stared out into the street. “Our time has been spent debating how to turn the other cheek, but we haven’t talked about faith. About trusting God to be our true protector.”
Lizzie wiped away a tear. “I guess I’ve been so busy trying to take care of Charity, I’ve forgotten that God is her Father and loves her even more than I do.”
“I’m going to call a meeting with the elders and Pastor Mendenhall tomorrow,” Noah said quietly. “And we’re going to pray again. Instead of trying to figure out ways to defend ourselves, we’re going to believe that God is exactly who He says He is.” He turned around and gave me a small smile. “Thank you, Hope. I’m sorry you had to remind us that God is the Great Protector.”
“Yes, Sister Hope,” Levi said. “You’ve directed our attention back to where it should be.”
“Ebbie’s been saying it all along,” I said softly. “And no one would listen to him. Especially me.”
I caught Lizzie studying me with an odd expression, but she didn’t say anything.
“I’ll make certain he’s listened to this time,” Noah said. He turned back toward the window. “I feel ashamed of myself for not taking this stand before now.”
“People talk about faith,” Lizzie said, “but they only want to practice it when there’s not much at stake.”
No one responded to her statement. Probably because there wasn’t much to say.
“I must get home,” Levi said to Noah. “I hate telling our mother about the fire. She’ll be so upset.”
Noah walked over and put his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “If anyone can deliver this news with discretion and grace, it’s you, Brother.”
Levi stood up, a full head taller than his brother. He smiled at us. “We’ll all get through this. Kingdom is a special place, and you’re all very special people. Together we’ll come out stronger.”
Levi’s words gave me hope. He had a way of bringing encouragement to people and stirring up their faith. It was the reason Pastor Mendenhall looked to him to stand in his place when he had to be away from his pulpit.
We all said good-bye to Levi as he left to go home.
“Let’s go to bed, Lizzie,” Noah said. “I’m exhausted. The sun will be up way too soon. Why don’t you put a sign in the window and let people know we’ll be closed in the morning? That way, you can sleep in.”
Lizzie stood up slowly. “No. Everyone will come to see the church and figure out what to do. They’ll need a familiar place to sit and talk. To comfort each other and make plans. I’ll be open as usual. The town needs us to be available for them.”
Noah didn’t argue. He just smiled and walked over to her, holding out his hand. She took it and looked at me. “Are you coming to bed, Hope?”
“In a little while. I’d like to sit up by myself for just a bit. Is that okay?”
“Do you think it’s safe for her to stay down here alone?” Lizzie asked her husband.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” he said. “No one’s going to set a fire and then come right back to the scene of their crime. He has to know that we’re all on high alert, looking out for strangers.” He smiled at me. “Just turn off the light when you’re done.”
Lizzie and Noah started toward the stairs, but suddenly Lizzie stopped and turned to stare at me. “Will you check the front door, Hope? In all the commotion I can’t remember if I locked it.”
I waved my hand at her. “I’d be happy to. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thanks.”
As they climbed the stairs I got up and checked the door. Sure enough, Lizzie had forgotten to pull the bolt. I wondered if other Kingdom residents would start locking their doors. The world we’d tried so hard to keep out of our town had come in with a vengeance.
I stepped outside and looked down the street. The fire truck was just pulling away. A few residents were gathered in front of the ruins of our church, as if they still couldn’t believe what they were seeing. I walked out onto the porch and sat down on the steps. The rain had lessened to a very light sprinkle. It was only a few hours until sunrise, but today promised to be one of great sadness in Kingdom. A verse in Psalms came into my mind. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
“Give us the faith to rejoice, Lord,” I whispered. “Help us to be thankful that you saved our pastor and that no one else was hurt. Protect us, Father. Take care of us, and help us to trust in you instead of ourselves.” I started to say amen, but something else popped into my mind. I had to wrestle with my flesh for a few seconds before I could say it out loud. “I forgive these men, Lord,” I said finally. “They need you. I pray their hearts of stone will become hearts of flesh, tender toward you. Help them, Lord. Forgive them.”
Sometimes it was hard to forgive, but holding anger in my soul toward the men would only make the wound they’d caused last longer. Their hate had caused enough pain. I wouldn’t allow them to move in and build an altar in my heart.
I watched as the people gathered around the smoldering ruins began to drift away and head home. When the last one was out of sight, I got up and went back inside the restaurant, carefully locking the door before going upstairs to bed. Would Kingdom ever feel the same again?