Chapter Seven
Before the day was over, the story had gotten national attention. Matt and Sarah, who were having supper at home, were stunned to watch CNN and see Roxanne interviewed by a reporter; the cop only confirmed that a school administrator was under investigation but refused to name names to protect the identities of the victims. Simon and Cecilia, who were cohabitating in Nashville, were also shocked; and so was Mary, still in Fort Lauderdale, and who had gotten back together with Robbie Palmer. Robbie was busy working a pledge drive for the local United Appeal but heard it on the radio, and was shocked to hear the voice of Rev. Lucy Kinkirk, his onetime girlfriend, who was being interrogated for the hourly newscast.
"At the request of the Glen Oak Police Department," Lucy said, "I have no comment other than to say that all the ministers of Glen Oak Community Church will cooperate with the investigation in any way we can."
"Is it true that your sister Ruthie Camden is a material witness?" asked one of the reporters.
"I thought I told you I have no comment, and neither does she," said the minister angrily. "There is a Bill of Rights, you know; and she does have the right to remain silent. She answers to a higher authority just as I do, and that isn't you!"
"But sources close to the Camden family ." The newsreader droned on for about a minute on the item.
Robbie's meal break was coming up and he stepped out of the "boiler room." He picked up his cell phone and called Eric.
"Hey, Robbie, it's so good to hear from you!" said Eric. "How's Mary?"
"She's fine, but that's not why I called," replied Robbie. "I wanted to talk to you about what's going on in Glen Oak. Is it true what they're saying about 'Snookie'? That she ."
"I don't mean to interrupt," interrupted Eric, "but Detective Michaels and Roxanne specifically warned us not to talk to anyone about it. The investigation is at the boiling point, and I don't want to endanger it even more. It's bad enough that Lucy blew the lid off without even meaning to. Peter and Ruthie are up in the attic. They seemed calm enough after the service, but they're cooling off after yelling at my daughter at the supper table non-stop for nearly an hour and a half."
"How is Rev. Kinkirk?" asked Robbie, preferring to refer to his former housemate by her formal title.
"She's okay now," said Eric. "She just wishes it would all go away."
"I can't say I blame her. Well, say hi to her and let her know that Mary and I are thinking about all of you guys."
"All right, Robbie. God bless. And say hi to Mary."
Eric hung up the phone in his study, and went into the living room. It was vacant except for Lucy. She was still wearing what she had been wearing that morning under the minister's robe: slacks and a stuffed shirt with the Roman collar to indicate her status as a member of the First Estate. She was looking at the Bible she had received when she was confirmed.
"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Eric still thought of Lucy as his little girl even though technically they were now equals. There was a long pause. Finally, she looked up to her father.
"How do you do it, Dad?" said Lucy. "You've been a minister for nearly thirty years. You love working with people, and so do I. You like writing sermons, and so do I. You've always stuck your neck out to defend your family's honor, even to the point of taking a bullet for Simon. I know if I had been in your shoes, I would have done the same. But after fast tracking through seminary and more than a year at the pulpit, this is the first time I've begun to wonder if it's really worth it. You went through the same crisis of faith a couple of years back, but that was in the middle of your career. I'm just past the starting line."
"It's not your fault, Luce," replied Eric, hugging his daughter. "There's no way you could have known what Ruthie and Peter knew - and what Julie knew. But you've always stood up for the little person, just like me. You make that clear in today's sermon; that we have a moral duty to stand up for children, and not just a legal one. Besides, as I recall, you told me you wanted to follow in my footsteps, but you knew that entailed taking the good and the bad."
"I never said I wanted to follow in your footsteps. I'm trying, like you, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ," the woman said flatly, "and like you I've tripped more times than I care to count. I only said, the night we were celebrating your 50th birthday, that I wanted to be 'a minister just like you.' There's a big difference."
"Well, the police are handling it, and they'll nail this guy, even if it's a single charge."
"And if they don't? He'll just get a blank check to continue to do whatever he wants. I don't know if I could live with that."
"You will," said Eric. "There are a lot of times I've had to deal with things that are unfair, but I've figured out how to live and let live. Some people slip through the cracks; either through neglect, like some homeless people we never get around to helping, or through the choices they make, like Jimmy Moon. Sometimes my connections and my goodwill as a minister aren't enough, and that is that. You'll learn that too; in fact you never stop learning on this job. I still learn something new, at least every week if not every day. It's a 24/7 commitment, and you've done more than anyone could ask of you.
"You've made it through divinity school, you survived the scrutiny of the deacons, and then you were ordained despite the misgivings of some of our parishioners who thought you couldn't handle both that and being a mother to twins ."
"And one more on the way," added Lucy.
"That's right," said Eric. "You proved them wrong. You're a great mother, and a wonderful minister. You've done terrific so far in this first year, and you're getting better everyday. With three ministers at the church, we now have time to answer all the requests I was never able to when it was just me; and you're more than pulling your fair share between you, Chandler and me. You're dealing with people every day and that's more training you'll get than memorizing chapter upon chapter of the Good Book, never mind the endless repetition of ancient Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In that one respect, at least, you really are a chip off the old block."
Lucy laughed. She didn't like that aspect of seminary any more than her father did. She knew it was a compliment and her continued smile showed she accepted it.
"You counsel couples getting married as well as getting divorced," continued Eric, "work as a part-time chaplain at the local jail, and counsel anyone who walks into the church office when Chandler and I aren't there. And you continue to find time to work in soup kitchens, drive the Meals on Wheels truck making deliveries, keep in touch with Gladys Bink and some of the other elderly members of the flock, and still make a point to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. You approach all that with as much energy as Chandler and I combined, and have given both of us reason to continue in our shared calling. So, when you do succeed me full time, you'll be more than prepared."
"I appreciate that, Dad," said Lucy, who was still smiling. It was the first time since that morning, when she told the parishioners that she and Kevin were expecting again, that she had kept a happy face on that long. "But that still doesn't answer the question of those kids who were abused, or I should say allegedly abused, by Frank Henderson. They're going to think that I betrayed them via proxy through Ruthie and Peter. I take the oath of confidentiality seriously. If they can't trust me - us, who can they trust?"
"They can trust their good judgment," replied her father, "and each other. More importantly, they can trust that you're on their side. You didn't name names; you just identified an issue and make a stand. If push comes to shove, the deacons and the parishioners will stand behind you one hundred percent."
"Even those who think a woman should never become a minister?" Lucy bit her lip.
"Well, okay, ninety-five percent," said Eric impatiently. "But if you want the general support you seek, you'll get it."
"Thanks, Dad," said his daughter. The two ministers hugged each other.
"There's something else on your mind, isn't there?" said Eric.
"It's just something Ruthie, Kevin and I talked about at breakfast yesterday," replied Lucy. "It's not about this, just something she was worried about. My husband and I gave her advice, she thanked us, and that's that."
"But it's still bothering you. Want to talk about it?"
"Ruthie confided in me, and it stays with me. Remember, Dad, I'm bound by the oath even if it's another family member." She pointed to Eric, and using the same tone of voice as if she was saying, "no peeking," she added, "And don't bother asking Kevin!"
"Okay, fine. Do you want to take the service next Sunday?"
"It's your turn, Dad. Remember, it's you, me, you and Chandler."
"There've been a lot of media requests, ever since the service ended today," said Eric.
"I'm not going to turn this into a spectacle, Dad. We're talking about gross impropriety - and I do stress the word 'gross.'"
"The Sunday school teachers have also cancelled classes next week. They want you to talk to the kids about this, in a way they can understand. The networks think this could be a great educational tool, a way to educate parents about the warning signs as well as kids who might be afraid to speak out, which is why they want to broadcast it live."
"I'll have to think about it," said Lucy. "I'll let you and Chandler know what my answer is in a day or two. Talking to the children isn't a problem. Doing it in the glare of the media is something else."
"I understand, Luce. But we need to know by noon tomorrow."
"But why so soon?"
"Well, with all the satellite trucks coming in, we need to sort out alternate parking arrangements for the regulars, don't we?"
"Point taken."
The doorbell rang. Eric and Lucy answered the door. A police officer in the summons branch handed Lucy three envelopes.
Lucy looked at them. Then she yelled up the staircase for Peter and Ruthie to come downstairs.
"What is it, Reverend?" asked Peter, as he and Ruthie breathlessly hit the bottom of the staircase.
"You two and I have just been issued subpoenas," said Lucy, handing the two teenagers their respective summonses. A grand jury has been convened, and we're expected to testify before it, tomorrow at noon."
Ruthie and Peter were stunned. From what Kevin and Roxanne had told them, the investigation could go on for months. Why the sudden rush to get indictments now? The cop, who was still in the doorway, had the answer to that question.
"This is strictly off the record," she said, "but after your sermon this morning, Reverend Kinkirk, one of your parishioners - who was once a teacher at JFK before he quit two years ago because he couldn't take the pressure anymore - at any rate, he approached us with fresh evidence. He's now running a professional photography studio; in fact, I think he was one of the counselors at the camp you two young people attended this past summer.
"Well, anyway, Henderson forced this teacher to take pictures of him engaging in certain acts with numerous students under pain of dismissal; under cover, of course. I guess he wanted to have his own private collection, as some sort of keepsake of his meanness. The teacher, however, kept the negatives. He turned them over to us, and one hour ago, the District Attorney granted that teacher immunity in exchange for his testimony. As I speak right now, Henderson is being booked downtown on numerous charges; among which include official misconduct, indecent exposure, statutory rape, sexual harassment, possession of porn, and of course racketeering."
"Is he denying it?" inquired Peter.
"He invoked the Fifth, naturally," replied the cop. "But he invoked his right to have an arraignment to set a trial date in exactly sixty days - the day before Thanksgiving. That gives us less than three weeks to get indictments from the Grand Jury. But we do now know why his wife left him to have an affair. She found the dirty pictures just before school let out, and when she confronted him, he beat her up and raped her at gunpoint to ensure her silence - then destroyed nearly all the pictures, and hid the rest in his personal safe deposit box. Now that we have the smoking gun, we can also proceed with spousal assault charges, too."
"Thanks for letting us know, ma'am," said Ruthie. "You have our word we'll all be there tomorrow. We got the next couple days off anyway because of the whole thing."
The cop left. Peter said it was time for him to head home, kissed Ruthie goodnight and shook hands with the two ministers, and left the parsonage, envelope in hand. Ruthie apologized on behalf of Peter and herself to her sister for yelling earlier. Lucy said it was okay, that it was a rough day for everyone.
The next morning, Lucy, Ruthie and Peter made the drive down to the courthouse. Eric dropped off the twins, who were now in grade one, at their school. Kevin was on his day off looking after Jennifer and Charles. Annie was going around the parsonage, gathering up the garbage and recyclables for the Tuesday pickup, starting on the third floor. As she was about to leave the attic bedroom and work her way down towards the basement, she nearly tripped on something on the floor. Annie shook herself off, looked down at the floorboards and gasped in horror. It was a discarded condom.
Before the day was over, the story had gotten national attention. Matt and Sarah, who were having supper at home, were stunned to watch CNN and see Roxanne interviewed by a reporter; the cop only confirmed that a school administrator was under investigation but refused to name names to protect the identities of the victims. Simon and Cecilia, who were cohabitating in Nashville, were also shocked; and so was Mary, still in Fort Lauderdale, and who had gotten back together with Robbie Palmer. Robbie was busy working a pledge drive for the local United Appeal but heard it on the radio, and was shocked to hear the voice of Rev. Lucy Kinkirk, his onetime girlfriend, who was being interrogated for the hourly newscast.
"At the request of the Glen Oak Police Department," Lucy said, "I have no comment other than to say that all the ministers of Glen Oak Community Church will cooperate with the investigation in any way we can."
"Is it true that your sister Ruthie Camden is a material witness?" asked one of the reporters.
"I thought I told you I have no comment, and neither does she," said the minister angrily. "There is a Bill of Rights, you know; and she does have the right to remain silent. She answers to a higher authority just as I do, and that isn't you!"
"But sources close to the Camden family ." The newsreader droned on for about a minute on the item.
Robbie's meal break was coming up and he stepped out of the "boiler room." He picked up his cell phone and called Eric.
"Hey, Robbie, it's so good to hear from you!" said Eric. "How's Mary?"
"She's fine, but that's not why I called," replied Robbie. "I wanted to talk to you about what's going on in Glen Oak. Is it true what they're saying about 'Snookie'? That she ."
"I don't mean to interrupt," interrupted Eric, "but Detective Michaels and Roxanne specifically warned us not to talk to anyone about it. The investigation is at the boiling point, and I don't want to endanger it even more. It's bad enough that Lucy blew the lid off without even meaning to. Peter and Ruthie are up in the attic. They seemed calm enough after the service, but they're cooling off after yelling at my daughter at the supper table non-stop for nearly an hour and a half."
"How is Rev. Kinkirk?" asked Robbie, preferring to refer to his former housemate by her formal title.
"She's okay now," said Eric. "She just wishes it would all go away."
"I can't say I blame her. Well, say hi to her and let her know that Mary and I are thinking about all of you guys."
"All right, Robbie. God bless. And say hi to Mary."
Eric hung up the phone in his study, and went into the living room. It was vacant except for Lucy. She was still wearing what she had been wearing that morning under the minister's robe: slacks and a stuffed shirt with the Roman collar to indicate her status as a member of the First Estate. She was looking at the Bible she had received when she was confirmed.
"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Eric still thought of Lucy as his little girl even though technically they were now equals. There was a long pause. Finally, she looked up to her father.
"How do you do it, Dad?" said Lucy. "You've been a minister for nearly thirty years. You love working with people, and so do I. You like writing sermons, and so do I. You've always stuck your neck out to defend your family's honor, even to the point of taking a bullet for Simon. I know if I had been in your shoes, I would have done the same. But after fast tracking through seminary and more than a year at the pulpit, this is the first time I've begun to wonder if it's really worth it. You went through the same crisis of faith a couple of years back, but that was in the middle of your career. I'm just past the starting line."
"It's not your fault, Luce," replied Eric, hugging his daughter. "There's no way you could have known what Ruthie and Peter knew - and what Julie knew. But you've always stood up for the little person, just like me. You make that clear in today's sermon; that we have a moral duty to stand up for children, and not just a legal one. Besides, as I recall, you told me you wanted to follow in my footsteps, but you knew that entailed taking the good and the bad."
"I never said I wanted to follow in your footsteps. I'm trying, like you, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ," the woman said flatly, "and like you I've tripped more times than I care to count. I only said, the night we were celebrating your 50th birthday, that I wanted to be 'a minister just like you.' There's a big difference."
"Well, the police are handling it, and they'll nail this guy, even if it's a single charge."
"And if they don't? He'll just get a blank check to continue to do whatever he wants. I don't know if I could live with that."
"You will," said Eric. "There are a lot of times I've had to deal with things that are unfair, but I've figured out how to live and let live. Some people slip through the cracks; either through neglect, like some homeless people we never get around to helping, or through the choices they make, like Jimmy Moon. Sometimes my connections and my goodwill as a minister aren't enough, and that is that. You'll learn that too; in fact you never stop learning on this job. I still learn something new, at least every week if not every day. It's a 24/7 commitment, and you've done more than anyone could ask of you.
"You've made it through divinity school, you survived the scrutiny of the deacons, and then you were ordained despite the misgivings of some of our parishioners who thought you couldn't handle both that and being a mother to twins ."
"And one more on the way," added Lucy.
"That's right," said Eric. "You proved them wrong. You're a great mother, and a wonderful minister. You've done terrific so far in this first year, and you're getting better everyday. With three ministers at the church, we now have time to answer all the requests I was never able to when it was just me; and you're more than pulling your fair share between you, Chandler and me. You're dealing with people every day and that's more training you'll get than memorizing chapter upon chapter of the Good Book, never mind the endless repetition of ancient Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In that one respect, at least, you really are a chip off the old block."
Lucy laughed. She didn't like that aspect of seminary any more than her father did. She knew it was a compliment and her continued smile showed she accepted it.
"You counsel couples getting married as well as getting divorced," continued Eric, "work as a part-time chaplain at the local jail, and counsel anyone who walks into the church office when Chandler and I aren't there. And you continue to find time to work in soup kitchens, drive the Meals on Wheels truck making deliveries, keep in touch with Gladys Bink and some of the other elderly members of the flock, and still make a point to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. You approach all that with as much energy as Chandler and I combined, and have given both of us reason to continue in our shared calling. So, when you do succeed me full time, you'll be more than prepared."
"I appreciate that, Dad," said Lucy, who was still smiling. It was the first time since that morning, when she told the parishioners that she and Kevin were expecting again, that she had kept a happy face on that long. "But that still doesn't answer the question of those kids who were abused, or I should say allegedly abused, by Frank Henderson. They're going to think that I betrayed them via proxy through Ruthie and Peter. I take the oath of confidentiality seriously. If they can't trust me - us, who can they trust?"
"They can trust their good judgment," replied her father, "and each other. More importantly, they can trust that you're on their side. You didn't name names; you just identified an issue and make a stand. If push comes to shove, the deacons and the parishioners will stand behind you one hundred percent."
"Even those who think a woman should never become a minister?" Lucy bit her lip.
"Well, okay, ninety-five percent," said Eric impatiently. "But if you want the general support you seek, you'll get it."
"Thanks, Dad," said his daughter. The two ministers hugged each other.
"There's something else on your mind, isn't there?" said Eric.
"It's just something Ruthie, Kevin and I talked about at breakfast yesterday," replied Lucy. "It's not about this, just something she was worried about. My husband and I gave her advice, she thanked us, and that's that."
"But it's still bothering you. Want to talk about it?"
"Ruthie confided in me, and it stays with me. Remember, Dad, I'm bound by the oath even if it's another family member." She pointed to Eric, and using the same tone of voice as if she was saying, "no peeking," she added, "And don't bother asking Kevin!"
"Okay, fine. Do you want to take the service next Sunday?"
"It's your turn, Dad. Remember, it's you, me, you and Chandler."
"There've been a lot of media requests, ever since the service ended today," said Eric.
"I'm not going to turn this into a spectacle, Dad. We're talking about gross impropriety - and I do stress the word 'gross.'"
"The Sunday school teachers have also cancelled classes next week. They want you to talk to the kids about this, in a way they can understand. The networks think this could be a great educational tool, a way to educate parents about the warning signs as well as kids who might be afraid to speak out, which is why they want to broadcast it live."
"I'll have to think about it," said Lucy. "I'll let you and Chandler know what my answer is in a day or two. Talking to the children isn't a problem. Doing it in the glare of the media is something else."
"I understand, Luce. But we need to know by noon tomorrow."
"But why so soon?"
"Well, with all the satellite trucks coming in, we need to sort out alternate parking arrangements for the regulars, don't we?"
"Point taken."
The doorbell rang. Eric and Lucy answered the door. A police officer in the summons branch handed Lucy three envelopes.
Lucy looked at them. Then she yelled up the staircase for Peter and Ruthie to come downstairs.
"What is it, Reverend?" asked Peter, as he and Ruthie breathlessly hit the bottom of the staircase.
"You two and I have just been issued subpoenas," said Lucy, handing the two teenagers their respective summonses. A grand jury has been convened, and we're expected to testify before it, tomorrow at noon."
Ruthie and Peter were stunned. From what Kevin and Roxanne had told them, the investigation could go on for months. Why the sudden rush to get indictments now? The cop, who was still in the doorway, had the answer to that question.
"This is strictly off the record," she said, "but after your sermon this morning, Reverend Kinkirk, one of your parishioners - who was once a teacher at JFK before he quit two years ago because he couldn't take the pressure anymore - at any rate, he approached us with fresh evidence. He's now running a professional photography studio; in fact, I think he was one of the counselors at the camp you two young people attended this past summer.
"Well, anyway, Henderson forced this teacher to take pictures of him engaging in certain acts with numerous students under pain of dismissal; under cover, of course. I guess he wanted to have his own private collection, as some sort of keepsake of his meanness. The teacher, however, kept the negatives. He turned them over to us, and one hour ago, the District Attorney granted that teacher immunity in exchange for his testimony. As I speak right now, Henderson is being booked downtown on numerous charges; among which include official misconduct, indecent exposure, statutory rape, sexual harassment, possession of porn, and of course racketeering."
"Is he denying it?" inquired Peter.
"He invoked the Fifth, naturally," replied the cop. "But he invoked his right to have an arraignment to set a trial date in exactly sixty days - the day before Thanksgiving. That gives us less than three weeks to get indictments from the Grand Jury. But we do now know why his wife left him to have an affair. She found the dirty pictures just before school let out, and when she confronted him, he beat her up and raped her at gunpoint to ensure her silence - then destroyed nearly all the pictures, and hid the rest in his personal safe deposit box. Now that we have the smoking gun, we can also proceed with spousal assault charges, too."
"Thanks for letting us know, ma'am," said Ruthie. "You have our word we'll all be there tomorrow. We got the next couple days off anyway because of the whole thing."
The cop left. Peter said it was time for him to head home, kissed Ruthie goodnight and shook hands with the two ministers, and left the parsonage, envelope in hand. Ruthie apologized on behalf of Peter and herself to her sister for yelling earlier. Lucy said it was okay, that it was a rough day for everyone.
The next morning, Lucy, Ruthie and Peter made the drive down to the courthouse. Eric dropped off the twins, who were now in grade one, at their school. Kevin was on his day off looking after Jennifer and Charles. Annie was going around the parsonage, gathering up the garbage and recyclables for the Tuesday pickup, starting on the third floor. As she was about to leave the attic bedroom and work her way down towards the basement, she nearly tripped on something on the floor. Annie shook herself off, looked down at the floorboards and gasped in horror. It was a discarded condom.