House of Secrets

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Sophie tried her best to remember to breathe normally the following morning as she found her assigned seat on row twelve, then buckled and tightened down the lap belt as far as she could without cutting off her circulation.

The flight’s only an hour, she reminded herself. One hour. You can do this.

To distract herself, she reached down and pulled out a slender notebook, her iPod, a pen, and her earbuds from her backpack, then shoved the bag back under the seat in front of her.

She opened the notebook and reviewed the handful of notes she had taken during the phone interview.

Lighte Limited – based near Cundiff, Texas. Looking for a full-time permanent videographer. Position includes housing, transportation, and all meals, in addition to fifty thousand dollars per year as the starting salary.

She had tried her best not to gasp aloud like a complete rookie when the man she was speaking to told her all that, and she’d triple underlined the little tidbit of information about the pay in her notes.

Fifty thousand.

She still had trouble picturing it. That kind of money would be a huge step up. Her current situation was the odd bit of freelance work sandwiched between two waitressing jobs to make enough to cover the exorbitantly high rent for her efficiency apartment.

It’s a chance to finally be able to focus solely on what I love for a living, and not eat ramen every day, she reminded herself. Yes, for that chance, I can handle one hour on a plane.

She inserted her earbuds, queued up her favorite playlist, and settled in for the flight toward her future.

Nathan gathered his team in the conference room at seven-forty-five and relayed the ominous news from Steve.

“That’s not good,” Ben muttered under his breath. “Not good at all.”

“What’s the plan, boss? Misdirection?” Lizzie asked.

“I’m not sure yet. We don’t even know for certain that they will try anything, so, I don’t think it makes sense for any of us to abort our day-to-day lives just yet.”

He paused and looked at his team.

“But,” he continued carefully, “this group was mentioned specifically. As a result, I do think it’s an excellent idea for each of you to form an individual plan that can be activated at a moment’s notice, should the worst-case scenario start to happen.”

“A bug-out plan,” Annie said evenly.

“Yes. And until further notice, no one goes into the field alone. We’re pairing up in whatever we do for a while.”

When the meeting adjourned, Ben motioned to Annie to wait for him. He murmured a few words to Nathan, then walked over to her.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

She shrugged.

“Sure.”

They wandered down the hall until they found an empty office, and no sooner had Ben shut the door than he shocked the hell out of her by saying, “Move in with me.”

“What?”

“At least until all this blows over. It will be safer.”

Annie folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that? We’ll be safer together, and you know it.”

Unfazed, Annie jutted out her chin.

“Is that the only reason you want me to move in? Because some bad guy somewhere might come after us?”

“Well, no,” Ben said, and Annie watched his ears turning uncharacteristically pink as he looked at the floor. “I, um…. I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now.”

“Is that why you’ve been so weird lately?” Annie blurted suddenly, and Ben’s gaze jerked upward to meet hers.

“What? I have not been weird. I’ve just… got a lot on my mind lately, is all.”

They stared at each other, Annie tapping one foot, and Ben frowning.

“Yes,” Annie finally said, then marched around him to get to the door.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I will move in with you,” she announced, and left quickly so he wouldn’t see the megawatt smile beginning to form on her face.

Sophie gave a silent but heartfelt thanks when the plane’s wheels touched down safely on the runway at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Within ten minutes, the pilots had ferried them safely to their arrival gate, and the passengers disembarked rapidly, those around her bound for destinations Sophie could only guess.

She turned on her phone, then kept her promise to her big sister.

I’m here in one piece. Wish me luck!

Her phone chirped, and she grinned at Susan’s response.

Good. Now go knock ‘em dead. You got this!

Shrugging her backpack onto her shoulders, Sophie made her way to baggage claim to wait for her small black suitcase with the pink ribbon tied on its handle to appear on the conveyor.

Seven minutes later she was rewarded for her patience and hefted her bag off the carousel and down onto the floor, then extended the bag’s handle to its fullest height for easier maneuvering.

Luggage in tow, she turned to make her way toward the car rental counters and was shocked to see a man with brown hair, who looked to be in his mid-forties, scanning the crowd – and holding a small sign with her name neatly printed on it.

Wow. How cool is that?

She cleared her throat, straightened her shoulders, and walked over to him.

“Good morning, I’m Sophie Drimmel,” she said politely, and the man smiled.

“Good morning. It’s nice to meet you in person. I’m Andreas,” he answered, and stuck out his hand to firmly shake hers. “We spoke on the phone the other day. How was your flight?”

“Given that I’m not really a fan of flying, it was better than I expected,” she remarked, and his smile grew.

“Well, welcome to Dallas. Right this way, please.”

They walked side-by-side out of the terminal and into the parking garage, where Andreas loaded her suitcase into the back of a black SUV, then opened the front passenger door for her.

“Lighte Limited’s headquarters is about sixty-five miles from here, so, it will take us about an hour,” Andreas advised her. “Well, I say that. Normally it would. Rush hour traffic will add to that. But we should definitely be there by ten.”

She nodded, smiled, and buckled her seat belt, ready to get her on-the-job audition underway as soon as possible.

It was Ben’s turn to make an appearance in the gallery at the Jamesin trial on the team’s behalf. Annie opted to join him, since per Nathan’s announcement Ben could not go alone.

“Hopefully today will be easier to get through,” she said wistfully as they exited the elevator and walked to Ben’s car. “Yesterday was heartbreaking to witness.”

“The families?”

“Yeah. Especially Mark Steward. He just looked so… lost.”

He reached over and squeezed her hand in understanding.

“That’s the toughest part of what we do,” Ben said solemnly. “Interact with those who are grieving and try our best to give them some sort of closure somehow. But a lot of times, it’s just not enough.”

“Do you ever think about doing something else?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But then again, I love this job. I feel like I can make a real difference. Keeping that in mind makes the bad stuff a little easier to deal with so I can focus on the good.”

The conversation lapsed as they made the drive to the courthouse.

Andreas kept Sophie’s mind occupied during what turned out to be a seventy-three-minute drive by asking her questions about herself. By nine-fifty-two they were making a left-hand turn from the main road onto a gravel side road.

As Andreas smoothly navigated the terrain, Sophie looked out the windows and noticed that the area did not seem to be developed much at all. Mesquite trees with a few oaks and pines scattered into the mix was all she could see past the barbed wire fence that lined either side of the road.

Man, I really expected that Lighte Limited would be in the city limits... I wonder how close the nearest town is…

Andreas speaking to her disrupted her musings.

“I’m so sorry, what were you saying?”

He grinned.

“I was saying, I bet you’re wondering where on earth we’re heading right now.”

Sophie chuckled nervously.

“I was, actually. This seems very… rural. Undeveloped.”

“The current surroundings, yes. Our company’s location, no. You’ll see.”

A half-mile and a right turn later, Andreas rolled the SUV to a smooth stop outside an ornate, wrought-iron gate directly underneath a massive arch with more iron work that spelled out ‘Lighte’s Landing’ in an elegant script.

He put the vehicle’s transmission into ‘park’ then climbed out of the SUV and walked over to a little square panel mounted on a four-foot-high steel pole. He pressed some buttons, and the electronically controlled gate began to slide back to allow them to pass.

“Welcome to Lighte’s Landing,” Andreas said with a smile once he had climbed back in behind the wheel and driven through the now open gateway.

Sophie stared straight ahead through the windshield, willing her mouth to not drop wide open at the stark difference. The rough, untamed wildness outside the gate did not continue inside the property’s parameters. Now, the trees lining either side of the paved driveway were orderly and well-maintained.

“How big is this place?” she asked, awe-struck.

“Two hundred ten acres total, including some lakefront.”

“Wow,” was all she could think of to say in response.

They drove another quarter of a mile, up a slight incline then down again, and Sophie’s eyebrows raised as the main facility itself came into view – a surprisingly modest-looking, rectangular one-story structure of brick, wood, and glass in warm earth tones. The building’s very design seemed to embrace, rather than overshadow, the natural beauty of its surroundings.

“That is really, really pretty,” she blurted.

“Thanks. We wanted to honor the landscape as much as possible but still have great functionality.”

Andreas pulled up to the front doors situated halfway down the front of the structure and parked.

“We can leave your bag in the car for now, if you’d like,” he offered, but Sophie shook her head.

“It’s got some of my equipment in it. I’ll grab it.”

“As you wish. Right this way.”

Andreas retrieved her suitcase, then led the way into the building. He held the door open for her, and when she crossed the threshold, Sophie gasped as she gazed around at the lobby area.

Just off to the right, situated between two milk-chocolate-colored armchairs, was a huge wall-mounted natural stone fountain with rustic copper accents and beautifully colorful, smooth stones. The water trickling down the façade onto the stones made a soothing sound, and Sophie felt her shoulders relax in response.

In the center of the room two long, dark tan couches complemented the earth-toned color scheme and faced each other on the stacked stone flooring to allow anyone who gathered to easily engage in conversation.

Four grand windows, one on each side of the door she had just walked through and two more across the room, allowed for plenty of natural light, as did the two skylights overhead.

The decorative touches in the space were minimal, but effective – strategically placed live plants and flowers.

“This place is beautiful. So tranquil,” she murmured as she took it all in.

“That was the goal. Pastor Lighte believes it is important for our surroundings to be a source of calm and comfort, even at work.”

“Pastor Lighte?”

Andreas smiled.

“Yes. Lighte Limited is the legal setup for his ministry.”

“Oh,” Sophie said, brows knitting together, not sure what else to say for a moment.

“Are you all right? You look like you have a question.”

“Yes,” she responded quickly. “With him being a pastor and all, um… I mean… I guess you could say I’ve never been much on organized religion, so…”

“And that’s okay,” Andreas said gently. “Neither is he. You’ll understand what I mean by that once you meet him.”

He paused and glanced at his watch.

“Speaking of which, we need to get moving. You ready?”

Sophie took a deep breath, then nodded.

“I’m ready.”

Andreas held out his hand, gesturing to the open hallway to their left. Sophie followed her guide down the hallway, growing more nervous with each passing step. He paused outside a beautiful mahogany door and knocked.

“Come in,” Sophie heard a deep, rich baritone voice say, and Andreas motioned her forward.

Sophie stepped through the door that he opened for her, and her gaze was at once drawn to the man sitting behind the executive-style desk.

“Good morning,” he said warmly, then stood and came around the desk to walk over to her, his hand outstretched in greeting. “It’s so nice to meet you, Sophie. I’m Remiel Lighte.”

She hesitantly took the handshake he offered, using the proximity to study him more closely. She guessed him to be in his late forties or early fifties, and a foot taller than her, with striking green eyes and wheat-blond hair.

“Nice to meet you, too, sir… Pastor… Mr. Lighte,” Sophie stammered, and watched his green eyes sparkle with amusement.

“You can call me Pastor, or Brother Remiel, or even just Remiel – whatever is most comfortable for you, Sophie. No need for ‘mister’ – or ‘sir’ for that matter. Now, please have a seat, and let’s talk about why I’d like you to come work for me.”

Meanwhile, in the courtroom in Dallas, Ben and Annie were tucked side-by-side into a packed gallery. News of Dr. Jamesin’s exploits, plus coverage of the emotional first day’s activities, had caused a massive surge of out-of-state news agencies sending their reps to cover the trial, as well.

By ten a.m. Judge Burns, a typically genial man, had had enough. He formally paused the proceedings, had the bailiff escort the jury out, and then completely lost his temper – something unheard of in his twenty-nine years on the bench. His tirade ended with an invitation to several misbehaving members of the press to leave his courtroom and never, ever return – then he watched, glowering, as the banished offenders hastily gathered up their belongings and retreated from his sight.

That done, he issued a stern and crystal-clear warning to those media members left in attendance that he would brook no further nonsense.

“One more misstep from any of you, and I will kick every last one of you out and invoke a media blackout for the remainder of this trial,” he growled. “Do I make myself clear?”

The entire media section of the gallery nodded its understanding simultaneously, and Annie had to stifle a grin at the sight of over fifty seasoned reporters with humbled – and chastened – expressions all bobbing their heads in unison.

“Good. Now, let’s keep going. Bailiff, please escort the jurors back to their seats. Mister Prosecutor, please be ready to call your next witness the moment we get underway again.”

Ten minutes later the trial resumed, and Ben and Annie were both shocked when the next witness called to testify was Mark Steward.

“Did you expect that?” Annie murmured.

“Yes, but not this early in the proceedings,” Ben murmured back.

Once he had raised his right hand and was sworn in, Mark Steward took his seat in the witness box, and Annie swallowed hard when his heartbroken spirit was revealed in his expression for all to see.

The prosecutor gently led him through a series of questions, pausing on occasion to allow Mr. Steward to regain his composure. The gallery was dead silent, everyone in attendance riveted by the witness’s obvious devastation.

By the time they wrapped up their first conversation, Sophie realized any preconceived notions she’d had about evangelists may not have been right.

Then again, I have never met one before. I have only ever heard about the ones that get in trouble for embezzlement or cheating on their wives. But Remiel seems like he is just a normal guy. Personable. His career is about his faith, that’s all, she affirmed in her mind as they walked out of the main building and down the narrow sidewalk to the chapel on premises.

“Most of our current media platform centers around a weekly prerecorded podcast,” he explained as they strolled. “But I’m definitely open to suggestions as to how we can expand on that – and our online presence in general. Live streaming, for example. Daily devotionals. Social media, even. Unusual ways to reach those who are hurting and help them.”

He opened the door for her and ushered her inside.

“We’ve done most of the recordings in here so far,” he said with a grin. “But I don’t want to be one of those boring old preachers. Part of helping people is connecting with them in a way that speaks to them directly, and I know for a lot of people, it can be off-putting if it’s too much like attending church.”

Sophie could not help but grin back.

“Well, if nothing else, there’s always a green screen approach, and then you just populate the background however you like. But if the rest of the property here is anything like what I have seen so far, I bet we could find some beautiful outdoor locations to record, as well. Andreas said you have two hundred acres here?”

“We do. The land was gifted to the ministry by one of the congregation’s members. Brother Abel was a sweet, sweet man, God rest his soul. Loved meeting and interacting with people.”

He showed her around the small sanctuary, then asked, “So, let’s get started, shall we? I’m interested to see your work firsthand.”

Once the prosecutor finished, the defense attorney rose and approached the witness stand to question Mr. Steward.

Annie clutched Ben’s hand and waited anxiously, hoping that Jamesin’s lawyer would tread lightly. To her immense relief, he did, handling his cross-examination of a grieving widower and parent with delicate empathy.

Finally, the defense counsel ended his questioning, and a solemn, sympathetic judge murmured, “You’re free to leave the witness stand, sir.”

Mark Steward made eye contact only long enough to nod his understanding, then stood and stepped out of the witness box, oblivious to most of the jurors fighting back tears after hearing his story.

During the natural pause between witnesses, Judge Burns and both lawyers were all perusing papers in front of them and not paying any attention as Steward walked slowly back toward his seat.

As a result, all three were startled when the panicked screams started.

Annie and Ben watched, horrified, as Mark Steward suddenly charged the defendant’s table, toppled the defendant over backward in his chair, then stabbed Dr. Philip Edmund Jamesin to death in the middle of a courtroom in full view of over one-hundred-fifty people.

Two officers closest to Steward’s position wrestled him into submission and seized the composite blade that he had managed to sneak past the metal detectors. Another police officer called urgently for an ambulance while more officers quickly emptied the courtroom of jurors and all spectators.

But Ben and Annie were allowed to remain once they displayed their badges, and Ben immediately pulled out his phone and called Nathan.

“Boss,” he murmured, “you need to come to the courthouse. Now.”

“So, is this videographer position something new that’s been created, or would I be filling a vacancy?” Sophie asked after they reviewed the short clip she had put together as her audition.

“You’d be filling a vacancy,” Remiel said with a sorrowful smile. “Sister Marjorie passed on a few weeks ago.”

“Oh. I am so sorry to hear that. What happened?”

“She had a heart attack in her sleep, from what we could tell. And she had no living relatives, so we had a little ceremony for her and buried her here. Many of our members are all alone out in the world, and as a result they live here on the property. It’s convenient for them, but more importantly, here they have a family again, people they can count on.”

“So…. everyone lives in the compound?”

“On the property, yes, most everyone.”

Sophie’s eyebrows raised and it was out before she could stop herself.

“Um… is this a cult?”

Remiel stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her intently before he began to belly laugh.

“Wow,” he finally managed, wiping tears from his cheeks. “Most definitely not a cult - but that was hilarious.”

“But you said everybody lives here,” she began.

“Yes, but only if they choose to. Lighte’s Landing is more like a commune than anything else. Everybody here is free to come and go as they please, and if the spirit moves them to leave for good, that is their choice. No one is here against their will. Besides, cults usually have some guy claiming to be a messiah or some sort of prophet. I am most assuredly not either one of those – and I don’t want to be.”

He paused and grinned, and she felt the corners of her mouth turning up in response.

“I’m just a guy who went through a lot, Sophie. But when I finally found hope again, I found peace, and the idea of helping others find it too has led me to where I am now. That is the whole reason I built Lighte’s Landing. I am only a pastor who wants to help people, nothing more.”

You sure are not what I expected, I know this much, she observed to herself.

“Speaking of - would you like to see the housing?” he asked. “Our little cabins are quite pretty. Matter of fact, you’re welcome to stay the night in one, see what you think. In the meantime, let’s head to the dining room. You must be hungry. You can have lunch with us and meet everybody.”

“Sure, I’d like that.”

Nathan Thomas arrived within fifteen minutes of Ben’s call. He stood silently over the body sprawled out on the hardwood floor, looking down at the pale, still, very dead man whose face had haunted his dreams for months.

He will never hurt another living soul ever again, he thought to himself with grim satisfaction, no small amount of relief, and not one single ounce of sympathy.

He nodded curtly, once, then turned his attention to the two agents waiting for him.

“Where did they take Mark Steward?”

“County lockup, six blocks down.”

“I’m going to go see him,” Nathan announced. “You’re welcome to come with me.”