CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED and THIRTEEN
(part five)
Friday morning — 9:35 a.m.
Yvonne held out her hand and Rodney took it. They walked hand and hand into the main Denver Police Station together. Coming in from the bright day, the waiting area seemed dark. Yvonne felt, more than saw, a man move toward them.
“Rodney,” the man said. “I just heard and…”
Yvonne gasped. He was the father of the girl Rodney was supposed to have hurt. The last time she’d seen that man, he’d threatened to cut out Rodney’s heart. Yvonne jumped in front of her husband.
“Stay away!” Yvonne said. “Get away from him.”
“You must be Yvonne,” the man smiled or grimaced. Yvonne was so fierce she couldn’t tell which. The big caramel colored Homeland Security Agent walked over to her.
“What’s going on here?” Agent Arthur “Raz” Rasmussen asked. “Yvonne?”
“He’s going to kill Rodney,” Yvonne said.
“Kill him?” The man looked surprised. He shook his head. “No, we came to…”
“But you said…” Yvonne looked up at Rodney. She saw a mixture of sorrow and remorse on his face.
“We have a lot to catch up on,” Rodney said. “Yvonne just got home and we haven’t had a chance to catch up on everything.”
“It’s finally over?” The man looked to the heavens. “Thank the Lord.”
The man took Yvonne’s hands into his own.
“Welcome home,” he said. “I’m Reverend White.”
“Yvie, Reverend White is the man who led the group that got me out of prison,” Rodney said. “He… and I…”
“We worked it out,” the Reverend said. “I went to see Rodney every month, just to stare at him, and then… The Lord came to me. Sounds stupid, but that’s the only explanation that makes sense. On the thirtieth visit, more than two years after I started going up to Canon City, I ask Rodney if he killed my daughter. He said no and he didn’t know who did. What concerned Rodney was that a man like that was still on the street while he was in prison. And for the first time in my life, the Lord spoke to me.”
The man looked at Rodney and Yvonne watched as a kind of love passed between the men.
“Rodney was there,” the Reverend said. “If he hadn’t been there, really been present with me when the Lord spoke and I broke down, well, I don’t know what would have happened. My whole life changed in that one moment. I haven’t been the same since.”
A younger man walked up to the Reverend. He glanced at the younger man and smiled at Yvonne.
“I have prayed every day that you would be able to make it home,” the Reverend said. “Praise be to God.”
Unwilling to move from her protective place, Yvonne gave the crazy man a mild smile. The Reverend turned his attention to Rodney.
“I heard on the radio they pulled you in,” the Reverend said. “My son is a defense lawyer now. We came down to help if we can.”
“Daniel White, sir,” the young man said. “I cleared my schedule when my father called. If I can be of any assistance, I’m here for you.”
“He may not want your help,” Samantha Hargreaves waddled over to them. “But I do.”
She smiled at the Homeland Security agent and he nodded. Yvonne smiled to herself. She knew what passed between a man and a woman when she carried his baby. Catching her smile, the Homeland Security agent raised his eyebrows in a kind of nod.
“They are going to separate you,” Samantha plowed on.
“But…” Rodney started.
“I know it’s not what you wanted, but it’s what we’re going to have to do,” Samantha said. “There’s a host of people who need to watch these interviews, your interviews. Many of them have flown in from around the country and the world.”
Yvonne shifted back until she felt Rodney’s hard body behind her. Everything seemed so overwhelming, so terrifying. When he slipped his big hands over hers, she knew she could handle it all.
Denver Cereal continues tomorrow…
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