Shadow in Serenity

thirty-eight


Carny awoke early the next morning and spent an hour praying about Logan’s confession before the church. When Jason came in from his night of camping, she got him ready for Sunday school.

“Honey, I want to talk to you,” she said as he ate his cereal. “This morning, Logan is going to talk to the church. What he says will surprise you and a lot of others, and it might hurt.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“I’d rather let him tell it. But after church, we’ll talk about it, okay?”

Worry twisted Jason’s face. “He’s not gonna build the park?”

“It’s not that,” she said.

“Oh, good. You scared me for a minute.”

He finished and ran off to brush his teeth. As she rinsed out his bowl and put it in the dishwasher, Carny wondered if he’d even understand what Logan was going to tell the congregation. It would be an opportunity for explaining God’s goodness and his power of redemption. But the confession could be a blow and a disappointment to all those who believed in Logan.

As she walked into the church building a little while later, her heart raced with anticipation. She saw Brother Tommy coming toward her in the hallway, smiling and speaking to everyone he passed. “ ‘Morning, Carny,” he said.

“ ‘Morning,” she said, surprised that he hadn’t mentioned anything about Logan. “Brother Tommy? Logan Brisco was coming to talk to you today. Has he been here yet?”

“Nope, haven’t seen him,” he said.

Disappointed, she took Jason to his class. Logan was probably just running late. He would probably show up any minute. But an hour later, when Sunday School was over, there was still no sign of him.

As she waited for Jason outside his Sunday School class, Doc Carraway ambled by. “Hey Carny. I figured you’d be flying Logan.”

She frowned. “What do you mean? Flying him where?”

“Said he was going to Dallas when he checked out this morning.”

Her heart plummeted, and for a moment she couldn’t find her voice. “Checked out? What do you mean he checked out?”

“He said he was going to be gone several days and that when he comes back he’s getting an apartment, so there was no point in keeping the room.”

She reached for the wall to steady herself. “Why was he going to Dallas?”

“To meet with his investors.”

On Sunday? Without a word?

She put her hands to her face and tried to catch her breath, but the air seemed too thin and her lungs too tight. “Which ones?” she asked. “Which investors? The banks are closed on Sunday.”

“I’m just telling you what he said, Carny. He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it.”

The door opened and the eight-year-olds burst out. She stared into space, letting the reality sink in, and tried to face what she knew to be true.

He wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t mean it. Wouldn’t he? Wasn’t saying things without meaning them a way of life for him? What had made her think he’d meant any of what he’d said last night? I have to say that I’ve fallen in love with you, Carny Sullivan. And what had she said in response? I’m falling for you too, Brisco. He’d made her believe. That had been his final con in Serenity — getting into her heart. The challenge was over. He’d won.

And then, to top it all off, he’d made that big, intimate confession, feigned a real coming-to-Jesus experience. It was a final kick in the teeth, just to make sure that all the soft, sweet memories were turned into a mockery.

He probably laughed all the way out of town, his pockets filled with the money he’d extorted from the trusting people of Serenity.

She didn’t know which she felt in greater portion — despair or rage. She wanted to scream, to cry, to tear something. She wanted to hurt him, to hate him, to stop him.

“Mom?”

She looked down at Jason, who stood in front of her, holding a glittery drawing still wet with glue. Vacantly, she took it.

“Mom, are you all right?”

She looked at the church members smiling and milling around in the hallway. For a moment, she thought of telling them all that if they hurried, they might still catch him. She’d told them over and over. But no one would be any more likely to believe her now than they had before.

No one except Joey.

She took Jason into the church and set him down with his grandparents. Then she went out to her car, locked herself in. Trembling, she punched in Joey’s cell number. On the fourth ring, he answered.

“Hello?”

“Joey, I was right,” she blurted. “He’s gone, and he took all the money!”

“Carny?”

“Joey, listen to me. He left this morning in his car. You might be able to stop him.”

“Carny, who are you talking about?”

“Logan Brisco!” she shouted.

She heard the noise of the police station behind Joey’s voice. “Where did he go?”

Tears assaulted her with brutal force, cracking her voice. “He took off, Joey. Just like I predicted.”

“Are you all right?”

“No!” she screamed. “I’m not. I’ve been had, just like everybody in this town! Joey, please do something!”

“I’ll be right over,” he said.

“No,” she cried. “I’m at church. You’re not listening. Don’t come here. Go after him!”

After she cut off the phone, sobs took hold of her. How could she have been so stupid? How could she have allowed herself to get caught in his con? How had she managed to fall in love with someone she had known all along was a liar?

The phone rang, and she caught her breath as a fragile hope sprang inside her. Maybe it was Logan, and maybe he had an explanation …

Without even looking at the caller ID, she clicked it on. “Hello?”

“Carny, it’s Joey.”

Her heart sank like a lead weight, and she hated herself for hoping — even for a moment — that Logan would call.

“Carny, I just texted Doc, and he felt pretty sure that Logan’s coming back.”

“Then why did he steal out of town early on a Sunday morning, without telling a soul? He told me he’d be at church, that he was going to come clean to the congregation.”

“Come clean? He admitted to you that he’s a con artist?”

“Yes. He claimed to have had this God experience … Oh, it doesn’t matter now. Just stop him, Joey!”

“Did you get his picture?”

“I got it. I’ll email it to you. Joey, he told me he had been to prison. That he really was a fraud, but that he’s changed. That he really intends to build the park.”

“Did he say what name he served time under? What state?”

“No.” Why hadn’t she asked? “Joey, please go after him. You might still catch him.”

“Carny, you can’t arrest a man for checking out of a motel.”

“Fine, Joey,” she said through her teeth. “Do nothing. But don’t forget I tried to warn you. I tried to warn everybody.”

She tossed the phone onto her passenger seat and got out of the car. She paced the row of vehicles, struggling to decide what to do now.

The irony of it happening to her — when she had known better than anyone else — overwhelmed her. How could she live with herself after being so stupid?

She was no smarter than any of the others, and she supposed that was what Logan’s bitter lesson had taught her. He had defeated her in the most personal way — by pretending to share her faith in God. And he’d pulled off the ultimate con. He’d made her admit to falling in love.

She sat out in her car until church was over, then flagged Jason down when he came out. Back home, as he ate lunch, she pulled her suitcase out of her closet and began to pack as fast as she could.

She had to get out of here. She had to go where people wouldn’t be constantly telling her that she was overreacting, that Logan would never do anything like that, that their money and hearts and souls were safe with him.

After throwing several days’ worth of clothes into a bag, she ran back into the kitchen. “Honey, come on,” she said. “We’ve got to pack.”

Jason blinked up at her over his sandwich. “For what?”

She led him to his room, yanked open his drawers, and began pulling out clothes. “We’re going on a surprise trip.”

“A trip where?”

“New Mexico,” she said. “We’re going to the carnival to see Grandma and Grandpa.”

His eyes lit up. “All right!” he shouted. “I haven’t seen them in a long time! Can I ride the roller coaster, Mom? I’m big enough this time!”

“We’ll talk about it on the plane,” she said. “Just hurry.”

She wouldn’t be able to breathe freely until she was out of this town, where no one could see the disappointment and failure on her face. She wrote a quick note to her in-laws, telling them where she was going, and ran it by their house on the way to the airport, knowing they were at the Kountry Kitchen eating lunch as they did every Sunday.

She would be out of town before they got home.