Fatal Convictions

52

Alex waited in the foyer as the church members deliberated. Anyone who was not on the current membership roll-including all members of the press-suffered the same fate. When Alex declined to answer questions from the reporters and told them the meeting could last an hour, they decided to leave. Alex promised to call them when he found out the results of the vote.

Despite receiving many accolades about the sermon from the regular church members, Alex was pessimistic about the vote. Harry Dent and his cohorts had invited people to church who hadn’t darkened the doors for two years. They were undoubtedly planning to vote Alex out.

Alex thanked Nara for coming and was surprised when she told him that she was going to wait it out with him. After most of the visitors left, Alex and Nara found a seat on the steps at one end of the foyer.

“You want anything to drink?” Nara asked. “I can run to the store. This meeting might take a while.”

“Democracy at work,” Alex said.

“Only in America do you determine God’s will by majority vote.”

“Good point,” Alex said. He was too emotionally drained to argue. Preaching wasn’t easy when your job was on the line.

“That was a good message,” Nara said. She hesitated, clearly wanting to say something more. “I’ve been pretty pushy-especially in court on Friday.” She turned to him, then added, “I think I might have judged you too swiftly.”

The admission surprised Alex. His mind was still on the proceedings in the sanctuary, but when he looked at Nara, he was struck by the sincerity in her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “If I was in your shoes and it was my grandmother’s preliminary hearing, I probably would have fired my lawyer on the spot.”

“I can do that?” Nara asked.

Alex smiled. He liked that about Nara-the smart-aleck attitude. “Fortunately for me, you most certainly cannot.”

“I’ll try to behave myself from now on.”

“Promises, promises.”

“No, really.”

Alex turned serious. “For what it’s worth, Nara, you’ve already done a lot to help your father’s case.”

Nara thought about this for a moment, as if weighing how much she should share. She glanced around the foyer to make sure nobody was within earshot. “I know you’re focused on the vote right now, and you should be. But when this is over, we need to sit down with my father and have a very frank discussion. You need to ask him about the Islamic Brotherhood in the United States and who provides their funding.”

Alex looked at her, measuring the earnestness in her eyes.

“It will all go back to Hezbollah, Alex. Beheading women. Terrorizing Americans. These honor killings have Hezbollah fingerprints all over them. I think they’re using the Islamic Brotherhood as a conduit.”***

When Harry Dent came to fetch Alex, the look on his face said the news was glum. Whether it was glum for Alex or glum for Harry, Alex couldn’t tell. Harry led Alex to the front of the church and launched into a little speech about how much everyone in the church appreciated Alex’s ministry. Alex felt like he was listening to his own ministerial eulogy.

“Not one person in this church has anything against you personally,” Harry said, oozing with hypocrisy. “We all think-including anybody who voted against you-that you’ve done an excellent job.”

When Harry looked out over the congregation, Ramona was circling her hand- move it along. Harry took the hint.

“By a vote of seventy-eight to seventy-six, South Norfolk Community Church has voted to keep you as our pastor.”

There was a smattering of applause, and it surprised Alex when he felt his knees buckle a little. He had expected the worst. Instead, Ramona was beaming.

Alex felt himself choking up. He had made a decision earlier in the week about what to do next, though he was suddenly having second thoughts about it. But he didn’t trust himself to think clearly under these circumstances, so he decided to stick with the original plan.

“That means more to me than I can ever say,” Alex began. “It really does.” He swallowed, and his voice became a little hoarse. “I never meant to hurt this church or have my law practice become a distraction. But I thought it was critical that I allow this vote to proceed so that all of you could define the type of church you want this to be. And I’ve never been more proud of you than I am right now.”

A few folks started clapping, but Alex held up his hand. As he looked around the sanctuary, memories flooded him. The members he had visited in the hospital. The ones he hugged every Sunday morning. Ramona and her friends. His deacons.

“Having said that, I must also say that I believe it’s in the best interest of South Norfolk Community Church for me to step down, at least until this case is over.” He paused, and the gasps were audible. Somebody in the back shouted, “No!”

“If I win this case and prove the innocence of Khalid Mobassar, I hope that you might consider taking me back. The church has already proven that it values grace and forgiveness over legalism, and that may be the most important verdict to come out of this whole mess.”

He thanked the members profusely and walked down the aisle to vigorous applause.