The Right and the Real (28 page)

“It looks so easy in the movies,” Krista said, throwing the pin away. “Maybe LaVon knows how to do it.”

Another wracking cough came from inside the room, and I thought I heard my dad mumble something, but then it got quiet again.

“We can’t ask LaVon,” I said.

“Well, we’ve only got about twenty minutes to get out of here. What else can we do?”

“Fine. Call him and see what he says.”

I pressed my ear to the door while she dialed. “LaVon?” Krista whispered. “He’s here, but he’s locked in the bedroom and we can’t get the door open.”

I could hear LaVon loud and clear, even though Krista didn’t have him on speaker phone. “Did you look for a key?” he asked.

“Ummm…no.”

“Check over the door.”

I ran my hands over the molding, but struck out. I tried all the doors in the hallway too, but there wasn’t any key.

“We need help,” Krista said.

“Goddammit,” LaVon said. “I’m up to my elbows in dishes over here, and you can’t even get a fuckin’ door open without me, and now I’m gonna go back to jail, and I’ll never see my grandbaby till she’s grown, all because some fool I don’t even know, who can’t hold on to his money, gets hisself kidnapped.…” He kept going for a while. Finally he told us to chill and he’d be over in a minute. Any other time, we would’ve laughed at his rant, but we could both feel the clock ticking. My insides were so twisted, I thought I might throw up.

About two minutes later, LaVon barreled in through the kitchen. “Move outta the way,” he said. We stepped back, and he bashed into
the door with his massive shoulder. The wood splintered; with a second shove, the door gave way and we were inside the room.

The curtains were drawn, and the only light came from the hallway. My dad lay on a pallet on the floor, his eyes large and afraid, but his body unresponsive despite the door being broken open. And then we saw why. Wide nylon straps held him down.

LaVon pulled a huge knife out of his pocket, flipped it open, and reached to cut away the bonds. My dad tried to scream, but all that came out was a raspy gasp.

“Wait!” Krista shouted. She flipped the light on. “I want pictures in case we need proof.” LaVon jumped back out of the way as she snapped them with her phone.

“I hear somethin’,” LaVon said. We froze, holding our breath, and then we heard it too, footsteps creaking up the trailer’s front steps. “You’re not here, James,” LaVon said. “You got it?”

“But—”

“I said, you’re not here!”

I nodded, and he shoved me and Krista into a minuscule closet. He was still wearing his pink rubber gloves, which reminded me that Gyp had told us to wear some too, but we’d totally forgotten. LaVon pressed the knife into my hand and slid the closet door shut, leaving us in the dark. We heard him go out of the room, and then doors banged and men started shouting.

“I SAID DON’T MOVE,” ORDERED A MAN’S VOICE IN
the hallway. It sounded like the blond guard, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Chill, dude,” LaVon said. “I thought you trusted me, man.”

“That was before God led us to look up from our prayers and see you stealing across the yard,” the guard said.

“Oh, yeah, well…I was just cleanin’.”

“You’re not supposed to be cleaning
this
trailer.”

“I got mixed up,” LaVon said. He sounded so calm. Krista and I held on to each other, barely breathing.

“Where are those girls?” asked a different voice.

“They’re in number eight,” LaVon said. “Mr. P. left a note there with our money askin’ us to do this one too. What’s your problem, man?”

“Don’t move,” the guard said. “Peter, you look around while I stay here with him.”

“There ain’t nothin’ to see,” LaVon said. “I didn’t do nothin’.”

We heard footsteps, and then from the doorway of my dad’s room, a voice said, “Samuel, he broke down this door.”

“Oh, yeah, that,” LaVon said. “I thought I was supposed to clean
that room, but there’s some dude sleeping in there. Are you sure he’s okay? He looks kinda pale.”

“Mr. Cross,” we heard a voice ask, “are you all right?”

Dad tried to say something, but all that came out was a raspy cough. Krista and I clung together and pressed ourselves into the corner of the closet, holding our breath.

LaVon said from the other room, “Can we take this discussion outside, man? I wanna smoke, and I’m gettin’ all claustrophobic and shit in here.”

“Is he all right?” we heard Samuel ask.

“Looks about the same as last time I checked on him,” Peter answered.

“Okay, brother, let’s step outside. I’m sure the Teacher will want to speak to you before we call the authorities.”

“You’re in charge, man,” LaVon said.

“This way.”

As soon as they were gone, we sent two text messages. One to Liz, and one to Josh, telling them the guards had LaVon and we were stuck in Dad’s trailer.

“Maybe after Assembly finishes they can cause a distraction or something in the parking lot so we can get out,” Krista said.

“
If
Josh will even help us. He might not want to now.”

We made ourselves wait another two minutes, listening carefully, in case someone was still skulking around.

“Do you think it’s safe yet?” I whispered.

“What choice do we have?” Krista asked. “We’ve got to get your dad out of here before Mira comes back.”

When we stepped out of the closet, Dad started wriggling around and tried to scream again.

“Shhh.”

“Who are you?” he rasped, his voice barely audible.

I handed Krista the switchblade, and she sliced through the straps.

“It’s okay, Dad.” I touched his forehead with my hand.

He flinched. “Where’s Mira?” he croaked. “What have you done with her?”

“Take your wig off, Jamie,” Krista said.

“It’s me.” I pulled at the long black hair, the pins ripping at my scalp, tears flooding my eyes. “It’s me and Krista. We’re here to help you.”

“James?” he asked. “Is it really you?”

“Yeah, it’s really me. You do want to get out of here, don’t you?”

“Please,” he said.

“Okay, Richard,” Krista said. “Time to get up.”

She held out her hands to Dad and helped him into a sitting position. He swayed, and I grabbed him by the shoulders to steady him.

“Water…,” Dad said.

“We’ll get some on the way out,” I said. “Where are your clothes?”

“I…I don’t know.”

“Here’re some slippers,” Krista said.

We shoved Dad’s feet into them. His white disciple robe would have to do for now. At least it was a mild day for early March and not raining. We tried to stand him up, and he teetered under our grip, but eventually we got him on his feet.

“Wait,” Krista said. “Before we go, I better try to see what’s happening outside.”

Dad leaned so heavily on me, I thought I might collapse.

“There’s a big group of people on the lawn,” she reported. “And the gate’s wide open, which is good. No cops yet.”

“What about guns?”

“I didn’t see any.”

“No guns,” Dad said.

That’s what Josh had told us, but it was a relief to know for sure.

“Okay. Let’s go,” I said.

We took my dad through the back, stopping in the kitchen for a glass of water. I wanted Krista to go ahead and be the lookout, but I wasn’t strong enough to hold him up by myself. Once we were outside, we stopped again to let Dad catch his breath. Men’s voices carried from the front lawn almost as clearly as if they stood with us behind the trailer. The Teacher asked LaVon if he had taken God into his heart, and he played along with it beautifully.

“I ain’t sayin’ I never thought of it,” LaVon said, laying on his street talk pretty heavy. “There was this dude in the joint who used to talk about the Head Fred, and he made some good points. Know what I mean?”

“God’s love is the only point there is,” the Teacher agreed.

“I’m hearin’ you, man,” LaVon said. “But just so you know, I ain’t admittin’ nothin’. I was just cleanin’ that house.”

“I believe you,” the Teacher said. “Or I believe that’s what you intended to do in your heart. Do you know why?”

“Must be ’cause I’m wearin’ these pink rubber gloves,” LaVon said, laughing.

The Teacher chuckled. “No, because we’re all good inside. You just need some guidance.”

“Sounds good,” LaVon said. “What you got in mind?”

Dad’s grip slackened on my arm, and he slowly slid to the ground, too tired to stand anymore. “Krista?” I said. “We need the car.”

“You stay here,” she told me. “Use the phone to make the video of your dad and send it to Trent.”

“Okay.”

Krista had only taken about three steps when she stumbled over the brick border around the flower bed and fell onto the grass, writhing in pain, but luckily not making a sound.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

“I twisted my ankle,” she said.

She tried to stand, but couldn’t put any weight on it at all and sat down hard on the ground, clenching her teeth.

“Stay here with my dad. I’ll get the car.” I handed her the phone. “Do the video while I’m gone. Trent’s waiting for it.”

Crouching low, I made a break for the blue shed and waited behind it to see if anyone had spotted me. After half a minute, I sprinted to the next one.
Everyone’s out in the street,
I kept telling myself.
Assembly’s probably over, but no one will go home because they all want to know what’s going on. You’re safe.

I finally reached Josh’s yard and stopped to catch my breath before making a dash for the station wagon. As I was about to start the engine, Josh flung himself at the passenger side and yanked the door open, jumping in and slamming the door.

“Oh, my God,” I said. “I think my heart stopped for a second. What’re you doing here?”

“There’s a whole crowd of people from Assembly in front of your dad’s trailer. When no one was looking, I walked around to the back and found your dad and Krista. She told me where you were.”

“Did anyone see you?”

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I want to go with you.”

“What about Derrick? Is he coming too?”

“I don’t know.” Josh’s face was the color of watered-down milk, and his eyes had blue shadows under them. “I thought I could only help Derrick from inside, but maybe if I leave, he’ll realize he can get out too.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“What’s your plan?” he asked.

“Not a clue.” I eased the car out of the driveway.

“I think you should call their bluff,” he said. “They’ll never bring the police in unless they absolutely have to. There’s way too much going on here that they don’t want anyone to know about.”

Like how they lock people up and brainwash them.

“Good to know,” I said.

Ahead of us, the gate was still open, but about fifty people stood in the road blocking our way. Anger welled up in me, and I wanted to plow right through them, but that would have been really stupid of me because I might actually have hurt someone. Still, I drove as fast as I dared, slamming on the brakes at the last second.

“Jeez, Jamie!” Josh said. “Are you trying to kill us?”

I jumped out of the car without answering. The members of the R&R had scattered because of my crazy driving, but they regrouped and moved toward us.

“LaVon!” I shouted. “Get in the car! We’ll be right back.”

Josh and I sprinted across the lawn, and behind us, we could hear people running. Liz and Megan were with Krista, and the three of them had helped my dad to his feet, but he stumbled as they tried to move forward.

“They’ve been starving him,” Krista explained. “He’s too weak to walk.”

Josh picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. He ran toward the car as if going for a touchdown, dodging a couple of disciples who tried to block him.

Krista half ran, half limped along, leaning on Liz and Megan, with me hurrying behind them. “Did you send the video of Dad to Trent?” I asked her.

“Yep. He texted back saying he’s already uploaded it to his website.”

Everyone’s focus was on the Teacher and LaVon, so no one noticed when Megan and Liz climbed into the backseat with Krista. There was no way she could drive with her injured ankle. Josh had already put my dad in the front and was trying to buckle him in when someone shouted the alarm.

“Hey! They’ve got Richard!” yelled one of the servants.

Josh shut Dad’s door, and I scanned the crowd, looking for LaVon. A group of men had circled him on the lawn. I’d parked so they didn’t have room to swing the gate shut, and I saw some members sprint out into the church parking lot, probably to get their cars to block our escape. I turned to ask Josh what we should do just as his dad took a swing at him and knocked him against the car.

“You’re a traitor and a sinner,” Mr. Peterson shouted, “just like your mother!”

Josh put his hands up to protect his face, and his dad slugged him again. The entire group, including the Teacher, stood by without raising a hand to help him. I knew the church’s policy was to let a father discipline his son without interference, but I didn’t submit to that doctrine.

“Stop it!” I screamed. “Just stop it!” I threw myself between them, and Mr. Peterson’s fist rammed solidly into my shoulder, knocking
me to the ground. I screamed in pain, and that was all Josh could take. He lunged at his dad, but then Derrick and some of the servants pulled them apart.

LaVon took advantage of the mayhem, and from my spot on the ground, I saw him bang two of the men’s heads together and shove the Teacher out of his way. A moment later, he was across the yard, helping me scramble to my feet.

The servants led Mr. Peterson over to the Teacher, who touched his arm and leaned in to speak to him, the wind rustling his long hair and robes. Derrick let go of his brother. Josh leaned against the car, his nose streaming red, and a cut below his left eye oozing blood.

“Josh?” Derrick asked. “You okay, man?”

I shoved him away with my good arm. “This is all your fault,” I said. “He only stayed this long because of you. Help him into the car, dammit!”

Josh groaned and tipped his head back, trying to stanch the flow of blood from his nose.