As Shauna walked into the house, she found her mother waiting in the living room for her. “Mom. What are you doing up at this hour?”
“What on earth happened to you, Shauna?” asked her mother. “I thought you went to meet some friend at the Bombay Bistro.”
“Well, I did…” she lied, “and after we finished dinner, I wanted to do some dancing, so I went to the Capital Scene and was dancing with some other people, when this guy tapped me on the shoulder, and wanted to dance with me. He even asked me if I wanted a drink. I didn’t realize he would drug me. He seemed like a nice enough guy…I guess I really misjudged him.”
“What happened?’ asked her mother.
“After I started dancing and having my drink, I started feeling woozy, and had to lie down on a table, and then I must have passed out. I think I was raped, mom…” Tears formed in her eyes, and her voice cracked. “That guy is a real jerk. I know his name and what he looks like. Maybe they have footage of him on their security cameras.”
“I’m sure they do, honey,” her mom reassured. “We’ll get this beast, and make sure he pays for it.”
* * *
Sunday, August 17th
Abdullah Salah drove to the Western church alone; his wife, Safiya had not come out of sheer terror. “May Allah protect you, and keep us alive,” she had said. He parked his car in the parking lot five minutes after the service began. Wearing a typical Western outfit, he took one last inventory of his suit. His tie straightened just so, he approved his look. Walking quietly towards the entrance of the church, he was greeted by a man who shook his hand, and a woman who offered him coffee and doughnuts. “Thank you,” he said, sipping on the coffee and munching the doughnut in one hand, and holding the coffee and a napkin in the other.
At least these people are nice.
In the sanctuary, an usher led him to an empty seat. He quietly slipped into the seat whose neighbor was a tall Asian woman from the Far East, probably China. To his surprise, the woman turned to him, and said, “Hi. I’m Evie Chen, and this is my boyfriend, Carlo Bocelli.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he said, shaking the hands of the woman and the man.
“Have you been here before?” Evie asked.
“No. This is my first time.”
“So how did you find out about this church?”
“Well, I have been interested in learning the Jewish faith, so I am attending your service.”
“Really,” she said. “That’s wonderful. I pray that God will show you his love for you.”
“May I ask you a question?”
“Go right ahead.”
“How does one have a relationship with God?”
Evie and her boyfriend looked at each other, smiling.
“Well, I once wondered the same thing,” she answered. “It’s both very simple and very difficult.”
“That sounds very strange,” he said.
“Well, all you have to do is make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.”
“How does one do that?”
“Would you like for me to pray with you?”
“Yes, but may I listen to what your teacher has to say first?”
Her gentle smile filled him with peace. “Of course. May God give you wisdom.”
After the service ended, he thanked Evie and Carlo for their explanations of a relationship with God. “I want to make Prophet Yasū‘ my Lord and Savior, but I need to understand what I am doing,” he said to both of them. “I do not want to say a lot of empty words for the sake of sounding pious. I want to mean them.”
“That’s just fine,” Evie said. “I pray that God will reveal to you all the answers you seek.”
“Thank you. Thank you both. It was nice meeting you, Evie; you as well, Carlo. I bid you both Salaam. As we say in my home country, ‘alsalam ealaykum’ which means, ‘Peace be upon you.”
“Thank you,” said Evie. “May God bless your comings and your goings. Maybe we’ll see you next week.”
“I will return, I assure you.”
Twelve
Monday, August 18th
The call went into the law firm they had always used in her husband’s business, the law offices of Ordman, Bartholomew and Pittman.
“Law office. May I help you?” the Administrative Assistant asked.
Rose Williams replied, trying her best to keep from cursing out whomever she talked with. Her daughter had been taken advantage of, and she was going to make sure this beast payed—dearly. “Yes. May I speak with Dwight Ordman, please?”
“One moment, please…”
The phone rang on the other end of the line, and a rich, baritone voice answered, “Dwight Ordman.”
“Dwight. Rose Williams. I need your help. Our daughter’s been raped, and we strongly suspect a date rape drug expedited the situation. We need to find the pervert who did this, and have him put away. Can you help me? I’ll put you on retainer, and pay your usual fee.”
“Sure. I’ll do all I can to catch this psychological deviate, and stop his predatory practices. Don’t worry, Rose. We’ll get this guy. Does your daughter know anything about this him? How tall, his name…anything?”
“Well, he was about six feet two, medium build. He said his name was Rob, and he looks to be in his mid to late twenties.”
“Well, that’s a start at least. We’ll see if we can subpoena the clubs video footage, and hopefully find our man.”
“Thank you, Dwight.”
Dwight Ordman sat at his
