Principal Barnes was working in the backseat of Reverend Little’s black 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III. He was in charge of the church’s finances and he’d just finished counting three briefcases full of cash that had been contributed after the Reverend’s pleas for financial support. Up to that point the church had been on shaky financial ground, never taking in more than a few thousand dollars during its Sunday and Wednesday night services. He closed the last briefcase, got out and put it in the trunk with the others just as the Reverend and his entourage arrived.
“Excellent speech, Reverend,” he said holding the door to the backseat open for him.
Reverend Little smiled, ducked down and took a seat. Barnes walked around the car and got in on the opposite side. The reverend’s secretary, Lizzy Arnold, got in the passenger side and his driver, Bruce Tolbert, took the wheel. As they drove off the reverend asked for an update.
“Twenty-thousand and change,” Barnes advised.
Reverend Little stifled his exhilaration. “Really? That’s excellent.”
“It was the healings,” Lizzy said. “They were wonderful.”
“Yes, I hadn’t expected that,” Reverend Little lied. “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
“So, now we’ll be able to catch up on our mortgage payments,” Barnes said.
“Don’t spend all the money on mortgage payments,” Reverend Little said. “The bank wouldn’t dare foreclose on the guardians of God’s Desert Cathedral. Give them half of what’s owed, pay Lizzy her back pay plus a bonus for working so long without a paycheck, and take a few bucks for yourself. You’ve been putting in a lot of hours lately.”
“Well, I’m not doing it for the money,” Barnes said. “But thank you.”
“Oh, and I’ll need five grand in cash too. I’ve got some personal expenses that I’ve let slide as of late.”
“Well, that will just about clean us out,” Barnes said worriedly.
“Don’t give it a second thought, Paul. There’s going to be a lot more days like today. If our Lord’s new cathedral has been bestowed with the power to heal there won’t be an army large enough to keep people away.”
Barnes sighed. “I guess you’re right. It was really amazing today.”
When they got back to the church Barnes divided up the money, giving Lizzy and Little their shares, took a thousand dollars for himself, and bundled up the rest to take to the bank. After Barns left, Reverend Little went into his office, took off his coat and sat down at his desk. A few moments later Lizzy came in, poured him a shot of bourbon and began messaging his back. After he’d downed the bourbon he grabbed Lizzy’s arm and pulled her into his lap. They began kissing and caressing each other but were interrupted by a knock at the door. Lizzy jumped up, her face pink with passion. She straightened herself, went to the door and opened it.
The woman who had been healed at the Cathedral earlier that day walked in with her daughter in tow. “Hi, Reverend. How’d we do?”
“Excellent, very convincing.”
Lizzy frowned. “The healing wasn’t real?”
“Emma’s wasn’t but the others were. She’s an actress I met in Hollywood when my father was taping some sermons for the networks. We just had to prime the pump.”
“Huh?” Lizzy said.
“Healing is the result of belief, so sometimes you have to fake a few healings just to get people to believe. Once they believe, they can actually be healed through faith. Jesus didn’t heal anyone, he just gave them faith in the Lord, so that He would heal them.”
Lizzy didn’t say anything.
“So, you have some cash for me?” Emma asked.
“Yes, I do,” Little said and pulled out an envelope full of cash. “Two thousand dollars. Not bad for ten minutes work.”
“I spent a lot of time learning how to act,” she reminded him. “Plus we blew the whole day coming out here.”
“Yes, thank you for that. Can I buy you dinner?”
“No. We’ve got to get back to Hollywood. Good luck with your ministry.”
Emma and her daughter left and Lizzy gave the Reverend a disapproving look. “And here I was in tears over that miraculous healing.”
“Sorry, love,” Little said. “But I couldn’t tell anyone. It had to take everybody by surprise to look authentic. . . . Come here, I think we were about to get naked when we were so rudely interrupted.”
Emma feigned a pout and then walked slowly around his desk and back onto his lap. “You know. We should do this somewhere more comfortable,” he said pushing her up and then sweeping her off her feet. She giggled as he carried her across the room and into his adjoining quarters.