When morning broke, the family met on the tarmac of the private airport. Sam and David kissed their wives - both seven months pregnant - goodbye and boarded the plane first. Meanwhile, Ruthie and Hope were turning over Rita to the temporary care of Peter and Felicity.
"They'll be good to you as they always are," said Ruthie to her daughter, "but remember that while Hope and I are gone, you have to treat them as if they are your parents. Don't misbehave, and always do what you would do in our house. We'll be back in a few days, we promise."
"No problem, Ruthie," said Rita. "Have a safe trip. I love you guys." She kissed Ruthie, then Hope.
Ruthie and Hope boarded the plane, which then took off. During the flight to the small airport at Glenoak, Sam and David said how surprised they were the plane flew so smoothly. David asked Hope how she could give up such a nice plane.
"Needless extravagance," said Hope flatly. "Our church could use the money."
"Well," said David, "Sam and I were talking, and we thought there might be a way to keep the plane without you ministers actually using it for private business."
"How so?" asked Ruthie.
"There are charities that run medical mercy flights. They'd love the use of a plane like this - give a patient comfort while being flown to another city for treatment."
"That's not such a bad idea, bro. Darling, what do you think?"
Hope paused to think about it.
"I'll have to run it past Patrick when we get back," she said, "but I think it would be sticking to our principles. For myself, I think it's a great idea. Thanks for bringing it up, David. You and Sam are really good guys."
Sam and David smiled. They were the first to be served breakfast, followed by Ruthie and Hope. During the flight, all four had copious amounts of coffee.
The plane landed without incident after a four hour flight that had put them on a path well above the paths normally used by commercial airliners. The foursome were greeted by Lucy and her children.
"Where's Kevin?" asked Ruthie.
"We're divorced," said Lucy. "He's on his honeymoon with Billie. It'll be Roxanne driving us into town. She just divorced Chandler ... we're getting married next week."
It took a minute for this to sink in. Finally, Sam said, "Wait, sis ... you're a lesbian, like Ruthie?"
"Yes, Sam," Lucy said. "Plus, Mom and Dad are getting a divorce on top of all of that ... and that was before all this trouble came out. Man, you four seem to be the stable ones among us here. I'll tell you everything when we get back to the house."
"Dad's being held at the jail, I presume?" asked Hope. After disowning her parents and marrying Ruthie, she considered Eric and Annie to be her "true" mother and father.
"Yeah. I know you have a big checkbook, Hope, but two million dollars is a lot of money, considering the charges. It's rape we're talking about, not murder!"
"I agree. I'm going to see if I can meet with the DA on Monday. Try to talk the amount down. He should be with you guys, not behind bars where his life could be in danger."
Lucy dropped off Hope and Ruthie at their hotel, then drove Sam and David to the Camden home. Annie, who had unceremoniously kicked out the twins just a few weeks before, welcomed them back with open arms. She asked how their wives and unborn babies were doing, then cooked up dinner.
At the hotel, Ruthie flatly told her wife she was in no mood to have sex.
"I totally understand," said Hope. "But last night, you said you thought your father might be guilty. Why?"
"He's been sleeping around for the last four years," said Ruthie. "For that matter, so has Mom. But he's cheated with a lot more women, than her with men, including a few at the local bordello and even a handful of streetwalkers - um, sex trade workers."
"He can't be that stupid."
"Oh yeah, he is. And stuff may have finally caught up to him."
"But you don't think he'd rape someone? Have sex without their consent?"
"I don't know," said Ruthie. "I don't want to believe it, but he's gone younger and younger, to women young enough to be his granddaughters. So on this one ... Hope, you've got to help my siblings and me. All seven of us. We need to get Dad off the hook. I don't mean on a technicality. We have to prove he is totally innocent! Will you help us? Please?"
"I can't make any guarantees ..." said Hope.
"You have to! Dad is a pillar of Glenoak. I can't bear to see him ruined by this!"
"Short of a smoking gun ... okay, I'll try. I'll try. But that's all I can do."
"Thank you, sweetheart."
The wives kissed.
The regular church service at the Glenoak Community Church was held the next day. Lucy, at the advice of the public defender who was protecting Eric's interests until a lawyer could be hired, made no mention of the charges or allegations. This disturbed the congregation, who pelted the minister with dozens of questions after the services. Finally, Lou Dalton, chair of the board of deacons, intervened.
"Ladies and gentlemen," said Lou, waving his hands for silence, "Lucy would like to talk about this, but because it's before the courts and she is a potential witness, she simply can't. She is simply asking for the process to take its course. I am sure this is all a big misunderstanding and Eric will continue to be the Minister Emeritus as he is now."
The crowd quickly dispersed.
"Thanks, Lou," said Lucy, giving her friend a hug. "And man, I hope you're right."
Monday arrived. The bail hearing was set for two in the afternoon, so just before ten Ruthie and Hope made their way to the courthouse and the office of the district attorney, Janice Carter - the DA who had assisted Ruthie and Peter, Lucy, Rod and Shelby, and so many others during the trial of a pedophile principal many years before. Janice said she would only talk with one of them. Since Ruthie agreed Hope had better negotiating skills, the latter elected to be the spokesperson for Eric. Ruthie quietly waited outside on a hardwood chair that seemed to be at least seventy years old.
"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me on short notice, ma'am," said Hope.
"No problem, and it's Janice, please," said Janice.
"Thank you, Janice. Now, I think you know why we're here - my wife and I?"
"Yes I do, Hope - if I may call you that - and you need to understand that these charges haven't been laid lightly. It's been a process that's taken the better part of a few years. It's only in the last two months that we were finally able to get enough evidence to press charges against your father-in-law."
"Can you enlighten me?" asked Hope.
"During the course of a period of months, four years ago, four teenagers called the Glenoak Police Department to report they had been raped," said Janice. "They refused to say who their attacker was, just that a rape had happened. Since it was a mere number of hours after the attacks and they fortunately hadn't showered, rape kits were taken and put into storage. They were just sitting there. We hoped the women would come forward later to identify their attacker, but none did. Then, about two months ago, the four women met in a local, 'private' Facebook group made up entirely of local sex trade workers - both on the streets as well as employees and ex-employees of the bordello. Seems the four women had turned to prostitution to make ends meet. The group, among other things, has a 'Bad Date List.' You know what that is, I presume."
"Sure I do. Several parishioners at my church - actually, about three dozen - are sex trade workers, and they share a list, which we maintain on a private page, accessible only to them and us ministers. Those on the list are not welcome to worship at Saint Louis Community Church - period."
"That's good. You're on top of things. Well, these four women started exchanging messages and they discovered that all four had had contact with the Reverend Eric Camden. Their stories almost matched - but all agreed on how they were lured into 'counseling' only to be raped right in the church office - Eric making sure Lucy was on other duties in the community. They all decided to come forward, together, and name Eric as their common attacker. That was two months ago. Only one problem. We couldn't get Eric to agree to come into the PD to do a DNA swab. So we put out a warrant to the local blood lab, asking them to give us a vial in case he went in for routine blood work. Sure enough, he did so two weeks later. Keep in mind, this was before he was hospitalized for his third heart attack. On a whim, we got a blood sample from the hospital as well. A week ago today, the results came back. All were a match to Eric."
"Why did it take you four days to arrest Eric, if you knew you had your man?"
Janice looked at Hope, and sighed.
"We wiretapped both the house phone and Eric's cell, to see if he would say anything incriminating that would close the deal," the prosecutor said. "But to our shock, one of the conversations was with your sister-in-law, Dr. Sarah Glass. He said he has ALS and doesn't want to go through the agony of a long, protracted death. Of course, we don't think he's lying, but when he said he wanted an assisted suicide -"
"Wait right there," interrupted Hope angrily. "Eric is not a coward. He wouldn't commit suicide if he knew he was facing criminal charges."
"But it turns out someone in the PD tipped him off that charges might be coming," rejoined Janice. "When he found out, I think he was looking for a way out. Once your friend Tammy talked him out of it - her not knowing about the investigation, of course - that's when we decided to bring the evidence to a judge to get an arrest warrant. Hence the delay."
"All right, then, why are you asking for two million dollars? That is way out of proportion considering the charges. This isn't murder one we're talking about! Do you remember the Eighth Amendment - no excessive bail?"
Janice looked at her opponent. "All right, hot shot! Yeah, I know you're one of the good televangelists, but you still earn a ton of money and that gives you a sense of entitlement. You have the money to bail out your father-in-law."
"First off, everything I have, I have earned on my own, Janice!" shouted Hope. "What fortune my brother and I have gotten from my parents, we're giving away or putting back into our new church."
"What about the jet?"
"We have plans for it. And it's not what you think. Look, let's forget about me. We're talking about Eric. Can you be more reasonable on bail?"
"What would you suggest?
"Ideally, he should be released on his own recognizance, with reasonable conditions."
"No way," said Janice. "The community will never stand for ROR. If an adult was raped, maybe. Not teenagers."
"Can you come down on the amount, at least?" asked Hope.
"I can get it down to a million dollars."
"One hundred thousand."
"Five hundred thousand."
"Okay," said Hope, waving her hand. "I'll meet you halfway. Three hundred thousand."
Janice leaned back in her chair, thinking about Hope's counteroffer for about fifteen seconds.
"Okay, Hope ... three hundred," she agreed. "But I do have some conditions."
"As long as they're reasonable," repeated Hope.
"One," said Janice: "Eric has to stay at least one hundred feet from all persons under the age of eighteen. This includes his grandchildren, which means, unfortunately, he'll have to move out of the parsonage until this matter is settled.
"Two: Eric surrenders his passport.
"Three: Eric agrees he will remain within the boundaries of Glenoak County until the trial is over.
"Four: He will wear a tracking bracelet on his ankle, so his movements can be checked at all times.
"Five: He will refrain from using any alcoholic beverages.
"Six, and finally ... you will be his surety - and guardian."
"Excuse me, ma'am?" asked Hope.
"If you want to put up the bail money, fine. I have no problem with that. But I can't have him running around, risking that he might blow his conditions, even by accident. Someone needs to keep an eye on him. It can't be Lucy, because she's due to go on her honeymoon. It can't be Annie, because they're getting divorced. Kevin and Roxanne work for the police, so they have a conflict of interest. Unless you can find a responsible person to look after him ... it will have to be you. When I mean being his surety, I mean being his babysitter - literally."
"Um ... can I talk to my wife about this?"
"Two minutes, or the offer is off the table."
Hope stepped outside.
"Well?" asked Ruthie.
"He can get bailed out, but I have to be his surety," replied Hope.
"How long?"
"As long as the trial takes."
"Who will take care of Rita? I can't do it alone."
"Roxanne. We can get her and Lucy to delay their honeymoon. They can get married - I'll marry them today, if they want - but I'll cover any cancel penalties if any. Roxanne is a wonderful mother to Cathy, the other Rita and her son. I'm sure she'll agree to take care of our Rita. Our daughter'll love to have Roxanne as a nanny."
"You know I'll miss you."
"Me too. But this is the only way we can bail out your father."
The women kissed. Hope returned to the office.
"Deal," she said. "I'll wire the bail money within an hour. I expect Eric to be back on the streets by five today."
"I'm fine with that," said Janice. She shook Hope's hand. "Good luck."
By that afternoon, all the Camden children had come to town and gathered in the courtroom. Eric stoutly declared he was "not guilty" and agreed to the bail conditions. He also demanded a trial within sixty days, a right he had under California law, which meant the prosecution had until March to disclose everything they had and prepare for the trial.
For the first few nights out, he crashed at the same hotel room where Hope and Ruthie were staying. But eventually, Ruthie, Sam and David needed to fly back to Saint Louis. Joining them was Roxanne, who was sporting a wedding band after she and Lucy were married by Hope. Lucy and Roxanne shared a long kiss, and they promised each other a long honeymoon when the mess with Eric was over. Ruthie and Hope also shared a long kiss of their own.
Finally, two days later, Hope managed to rent a furnished house. After she and Eric had picked out their bedrooms, Hope ordered Chinese takeout. As they were sharing their dinner, Hope said she needed Eric's help.
"I want you, Eric," she said, handing over a yellow legal pad, "to list every woman you've had sex with. Names, ages, addresses, phone numbers and the number of times you were with each woman. You also frequented the bordello and dragged up the red light district, according to Ruthie, so I need as much information you can give me there, too. I need to establish a pattern that you were in strictly consenting relationships. The more women that testify on your behalf, the more we can discredit these young women who have pressed charges."
"What else do you want?" asked Eric.
"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone going shopping or doing other stuff for the both of us! Take a walk if you need to, even a short drive, but don't go places where kids could be - the mall, the bowling alley, etc. I can't and won't keep an eye on you twenty-four seven, but I am responsible for you. I could lose bail, even go to jail, if you act up. And I don't want a bounty hunter looking for you, either. So be the nice person that Ruthie told me you used to be. It will help all of us."
"Okay, fine. Please pass me the chicken balls, will you, Hope?"
The bowl was passed over. Eric tried picking one up with his chopsticks but the ball kept falling. Groaning, he grabbed a fork and stabbed into it.