Angels & Imperfections
Chapter 33
In discussing the situation with the Murphy family, we decided that for Lori’s safety, she would move back into Christine’s apartment. She had her own car and she could commute to her new school, without Orlando ever knowing where she was.
“She’ll be quite safe at school; the private campus is hidden away back in the woods, behind security gates. To err on the side of caution, we’ll alert the staff and they’ll take extra security measures for her protection. They’ll make sure she has an escort to and from the parking lot. The school has very good security; no one comes on or off the campus without being observed. Visitors need passes, so there is little chance he could get to her, even if he knew she was there.”
“I can’t believe we’re going through all this again. You promised us Orlando wouldn’t ever be a problem again. Walter may be right; you people are starting to look like amateurs. Walter could probably do a better job of protecting her. He owns a professional security company; he and his staff are experts at protecting people. He even has armored cars to transport people. If Lori wasn’t insisting she’ll be safe with you, we’d send her with him.” Mrs. Murphy said.
I took a deep breath.
Was this his game? We had beaten him to the punch, just barely. If Walter had contacted the Murphys with the news about Orlando, before we did…
God is good.
“Mr. Murphy, I think taking advantage of Walter’s security service is a great idea. You don’t want to be worrying about Orlando showing up at your house again. You tell Walter you want him to provide constant protection for you and your wife, while we protect Lori.”
Christine looked at me like she thought I was crazy.
My idea was to protect Lori’s parents. I figured Walter would have to make absolutely certain they stayed safe, in order to make himself look and feel powerful, competent, successful and important.
It’s always nice to kill two birds with one stone.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do. I’m glad to see you extending some professional respect and courtesy. We’ll call Walter right away.”
As we were leaving the Murphy house, I rode with Lori in her car, she was driving. Christine was following behind us in her car.
“Lori, I know you and Walter have become friends. I have to ask, why did you want to come with us, instead of going with Walter?”
She thought about it for a moment.
“I don’t know exactly. It just felt like it was the right thing to do…”
“His sheep know His voice.” I thought.
“...Besides, it was you who got me back from Orlando in the first place. Somehow, I can’t see Walter being able to handle something like that. I mean he talks big, and he boasts about things, but…I don’t know. Somehow you seem more solid. You don’t brag, you just get stuff done. I feel like I can trust you.”
“Yes, you can.”
She looked over at me and smiled. “I know.”
I smiled back.
“It was you who told me I could make it. You’re the one who convinced me God still loved me, even after…” She trailed off.
I nodded. “I haven’t ever lied to you.”
“No, you were right. Even when I didn’t believe you, or when I didn’t like what you said, you’ve never lied to me.”
“Has Walter lied to you?”
“I don’t know, maybe. He’s said some things that were…that seemed…wrong, somehow. Especially the things he said about you, and he was confusing when he talked about God.”
I was surprised.
“I wouldn’t have imagined Walter had much to say about God.”
“Walter said, God is in everything and everything is God. Because of that, there is no right or wrong. No good or evil, because everything is good. If it seems right to us, then it is right for us. I don’t know… Does that make sense?”
“Well, yes and no. It’s partly true and mostly wrong. It is true God is in everything, it is not true everything is God. Let me give you an example. A great artist puts something of themselves into their work. They even sign their name to the work. When you see their work you see some part of them, there is a little bit of the artist in all of their work. But, you wouldn’t look at the art work and say the art is the artist, would you?”
“No, of course not.”
“God is the Creator of all things, but the things He created are not Him. By looking at His creation, we learn some things about God, but we are not actually seeing God.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“So then right and wrong, good and evil, are not based on our personal opinions. They are part of the work of God. He has determined what is right and good, He has also determined what is wrong or evil. If you want to know what God has determined about those things, it’s all there in the Bible.”
We drove along in silence for a few minutes, each thinking our own thoughts.
Suddenly, Lori had something to say.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing “Tummy Tum-Tum!” She beamed.
When we got to Christine’s apartment, I caught her eye and she smiled with a little shake of her head. It told me we hadn’t been followed.
“Mr Tumescence,” Christine’s cat, met us at the door. “Tummy” rubbed all over Lori’s leg and flopped down on his side to be petted. Lori’s room was exactly as she had left it. It had become her home, away from home.
“Ladies, it’s late in the day. I’m going to go by the office and check my messages. Tomorrow is Saturday, what will y’all do over the weekend?”
“Well, the pool is still open. This is the last weekend. We’ll probably take advantage of the pleasant weather and hang out at the pool, or in the clubhouse. How does that sound, Lori?”
“Super, I have some homework and a report that’s due on Monday, so I’ll work on it and catch a tan, out by the pool.”
“Alright, unless our plans change, Lori, next week, Christine will take you to school. After school, one of us will meet you in the parking lot, and you’ll come straight to the office for the rest of the day. You can do your homework there.”
“OK, Boss man, whatever you say.”
“I don’t know at this point, how long we’ll have to keep up this routine. I’ll find out for sure when Orlando is scheduled to stand trial. We’ll work it out.”
At the office, I found most of the phone messages to be requests for interviews or obvious ploys to get attention, especially the last one.
“Well played, Mr. Tucker. I’ll be in touch.”
I recognized the voice.
It was Walter’s.