For the People Chapter 7
To Rick, the smile on the face of the young man who takes his credit card at the Living Creation Society's Museum seems a little too bright. Smiley thumbs a walkie-talkie and whispers a few words before turning his attention back to Rick. "Welcome, Mr. Castle. We don't get too many visitors requesting a personal tour. Your guide will be arriving in just a moment. All of us at Living Creation hope that your time here will be joyful and enlightening."
"Thank you, uh," Rick checks out the young man's nametag, "Abiel. I'm looking forward to it."
A middle-aged woman with skillfully styled hair and a fashionable sheath joins the two men. "I'm Judith Minor. I'll be your guide, Mr. Castle, is it?"
"That's correct," Rick responds. "I'm very interested in the view of creation your society holds, Ms. Minor."
"It's not a view, Mr. Castle," Judith insists, "it's the truth. And you'll soon come to realize that. God brought light into this world, and that's where we'll begin." She leads the way into a room where an orb blazes above a dark void. A voice intones, "The creator brought light into this world, and it's by that light that we all come to know him."
Judith leads Rick through chambers displaying the steps in the biblical creation, including an Eve so well concealed by Eden's vegetation that none of her womanly aspects are viewable. "Someday, we would love to build an ark like the one in Kentucky," she explains, "but our display allows you to see all the creatures God instructed Noah to save from the flood."
"They're all two by two, like the song we sang as kids," Rick observes.
"That's right," Judith agrees. "It's wonderful when children grow up singing songs like that."
"Except that I was one of those annoying kids who insisted on looking up the details of the story. According to, if I remember it was Genesis 7, the unclean animals were in single couples, but the clean ones were in seven sets of two. You're presenting all the animals as the same. Why is that?"
Judith smiles indulgently. "It's necessary to understand the whole story, Mr. Castle. In Acts 10:11, Peter had a vision of a vessel of animals being lowered from heaven. God gave his people leave to eat all that he'd created for them. So we show them as equal here."
"I see," Rick acknowledges.
"Come, let's go on so you can witness the renewal of God's creation." Judith invites Rick to follow her through several more rooms, ending with a recreation of Noah's vineyard. "As you can see, God provides us with everything we need to live bountifully, as long as we obey his rules and use his gifts wisely and with good stewardship."
"I'm all for using his gifts wisely, but I have more questions for you, Ms. Minor. "First, I noticed that Flipvol Oil is a major supporter of this institution. The common scientific explanation for the presence of oil in the earth is that it is what's left of plants and animals that lived millions of years ago. How would you explain the discrepancy in your timeline?"
"It's very simple, Mr. Castle. The so-called science ignores the truth. God gave us all his gifts to use. That includes oil. He put it there for us. To scorn it would be to deny his love for us."
"But wouldn't it be better stewardship of the gift not to fill the air with carbon dioxide by burning it and raising the global temperature? Oklahoma might get fewer tornadoes," Rick persists.
Judith's eyes harden as her smile becomes less indulgent. "I'm sorry that you missed the point, Mr. Castle. God is in control of the entire earth, including the air. He didn't give us oil to cause us harm. But when men do evil, He will send signs and punishment. Mighty winds have always been some of them. The more we stray from His word, the more of them he'll send. You should remember that."
"I will certainly remember everything you've told me, Ms. Minor. Is this the end of the tour?"
"Yes, it is, Mr. Castle. But you should stop by our gift shop. We have a book by Senator Imus that explains the relationship between God and oil and the environment in much greater detail than I did. I believe it will help you understand God's plan more clearly."
"I'll pick up a copy, Ms. Minor," Rick promises. "Thank you."
Rick sinks into a surprisingly comfortable chair in his Tulsa hotel room and opens Oral Imus's opus, "And God Said Let There Be Light." After taking in a few pages, he closes it again. If he's going to make it through the senator's tortured logic, he'll need scotch. Fortunately, the hotel has room service.
Kate's spent much of the day chasing down Kyle Stratford. The doorman at the building Collier pointed her to was unwilling to divulge if Stratford is a resident. However, the DMV lists the place as his address, and his license picture is clear enough to make a decent identification. She spots him leaving a Java Hut two doors down and confronts him on the sidewalk. "Mr. Stratford, I'm Kate Beckett, Assistant District Attorney. I need to talk to you."
"I watch ZNN, Ms. Beckett. I know who you are. But I have nothing to say to you."
Kate flashes back to the techniques she polished in the box at the 12th. "Well you can listen, or the people watching us will wonder why you're trying to push off a pretty woman. So you'll either hear what I have to say or let your neighbors think you're a thug or gay. And I can use a coffee myself. So let's go get a table at Java Hut, and I'll tell you what I have to say."
Kyle takes a gulp of his rapidly cooling latte with oat milk while Kate sips a straight Arabica brew. "I've been talking to Collier," she informs her unwilling companion. "He tells me you've taken up the reins he had to drop when he went to prison."
"I don't know any Collier, and I don't know what you're talking about," Kyle insists.
"Well that's strange," Kate observes, "because he told me exactly where you live. He even knows about your Grandpa, Baird's loyal retainer, and that you've entered the family business. He gave me enough probable cause to go after your financial records. I can trace every penny you have and where you got it. And I'm guessing there are a few things that will raise questions with the Attorney General and the IRS. My own office will also have some of its own and will scrutinize every second of your life and every penny you have, to answer them. However, you're small potatoes, Stratford. We both know that. Prosecuting you would be almost more trouble than it's worth –almost.
"But your boss Baird, now he's the prize. He's been ripping off this city for years. And worse, he's been preying on its women. I'm going to get him, with or without you. If I do it without your assistance, you'll go down with him, hard. But if you help me out I can make your life a lot easier."
"Assuming I know anything, and I'm not admitting I do, what do you want?"
Kate resists the urge to shout her triumph. "Tell me about Meredith Fallwell."
"You look like a cat that just finished licking up a bowl of cream," Rick comments as Kate's face appears on his laptop. "I've had a pretty interesting day too. Want to trade stories?"
"I would love to hear yours, and I'll tell you what I can," Kate responds, "but for the rest, you're going to have to find a place to watch ZNN."
Rick grins at Kate's image. "I'm flying back first thing in the morning. So the big screen in the loft should do nicely."
