Taking a deep breath, Jenny said, “If it were me, I’d be scared.”
“I am scared. That’s the point. If I don’t fight back, I’m going to have to live scared for a long time. I did that after my divorce from Joey’s dad. I was afraid of everything. But for the most part, I was afraid of the mistakes I was going to make. Mistakes with Joey. Mistakes with finances. Mistakes with my career.” Megan shook her head. “I can’t do that. I can’t be afraid like that. Not again. Not for something I believe in.”
“Do you think maybe you could reason with the Fletchers? get them to drop the civil charges? Maybe if they did that, the provost marshal would drop his.”
“Benbow doesn’t think the Fletchers will do that. Neither do I.” Megan sipped her hot chocolate. “The bottom line is, Boyd Fletcher never cared about his son. Gerry was redheaded, something neither Boyd nor Tonya is. Boyd told Gerry on a number of occasions that he didn’t even believe Gerry was his.”
“Did he really believe that?”
“Sometimes. I think Boyd Fletcher mostly thought that when he wanted to distance himself from Gerry more.”
“That’s horrible.”
Megan nodded. “Gerry didn’t have a good life. He was a good kid, a bright kid. He should have had better.”
“But you can’t bring any of that into the trial?”
“I’m the one on trial here,” Megan said. “Not the Fletchers. Benbow has reminded me of that a lot. Even if I somehow manage to get that past history introduced into court, there’s a good chance it will work against me.”
“Because you didn’t do anything then.”
“Right.”
“That’s so stupid.”
“But that’s where it is.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Hope. Pray. Trust Benbow to do his job well.” Megan sighed. “I don’t have much control over how the court case is going to go.”
“However it goes,” Jenny said, “I just want you to know that I’ll be there for you.”
“I appreciate that.” Megan wrapped her arms around herself as the sudden chill of the night embraced her. “I just wish I could talk to Goose and let him know what’s going on. And I wish that Joey would come home. Or that I knew for certain he was all right.”
“I do too. I still feel a lot of why he isn’t here now is my fault. He was really angry with me when he left.”
“It wasn’t you. If Joey was angry with anyone, it was probably me. He’s been angry for a long time. Thinking back on it now, I see that. But I thought I was handling everything all right. I was just hoping that when Goose finished with his tour in Turkey everything would be all right.”
“He’ll be back.”
“I hope so. Until then, I’ve got to deal with what’s on my plate here.” Megan looked west, in the direction of Columbus. “I can’t go out there looking for him.”
Jenny took a deep breath. “I could.”
“Where would you start?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know any of his friends’ names?”
“No. Just the people at the Kettle O’ Fish.”
“Is that restaurant open?”
“I don’t think so. I tried to call, to let them know where I am because I’m going to need a job when I get off-post again. All I get is the answering machine telling me there are too many messages in the box.”
“I hadn’t thought of calling there. I didn’t even think about Joey trying to show up for work.”
“I did. When you’re on your own, the next paycheck is always something you’re concerned with.”
“You’d be better at tracking Joey down than I would. I don’t think like he does. But it’s safer for you here. Even if you found Joey, I know how stubborn he can be. He won’t come home until he’s ready.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I’ve been praying for God to look out for him. I’ll keep doing that, and I’ll try to be patient. As long as nothing happens to him, I believe he’ll be back. I’ve seen a lot of kids run away from home. You can’t bring them back at this age and make them stay. That’s up to them.”
“I know. I just wish I could help.”
Megan was silent for a moment, her mind racing. “There’s something else I could use your help on.”
“What?”
“That book you were reading about the end times—the Rapture and the Tribulation—I read it last night.”
“What did you think?”
“I think you were right. I think that what that book talks about is going to happen. Is happening.”
Jenny nodded. “The whole Antichrist thing is creepy. Thinking that a guy like that can just step into power and control the whole world for a while.”
“Look at what Hitler did in Germany in World War II,” Megan said. “Before the war, Germany’s economy was flattened. The people lived under horrible conditions. They wanted change, wanted someone to come along and change their lives. Hitler did that. Even before the disappearances a lot of people—here and around the world—were looking for someone like that. Someone to take responsibility for an unstable economy, to tell them job layoffs would never touch them, to tell them how to avoid losing their jobs, their homes, and their families.” She nodded toward the TV, which was muted but still broadcasting. An image of thronging crowds protesting in the streets of Los Angeles filled the screen. “People are more scared now after everything that has happened. They’re scared all around the world.”
“Nicolae Carpathia could be who we need to keep the Antichrist from power,” Jenny said. “Have you seen that guy and listened to him?”
“Yes.” Despite her own problems and worrying over her son and husband, Megan had noticed the young Romanian president in the news. Cameras and the media were kind to Carpathia,
