The Seed
By
Jonnelle Hayden and A. Christian
Copyright 2013 by Kathryn Jonnelle Hayden
This is a work of fiction. All names, places, events and characters are either products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously.
Table of Contents
Preface
Prologue
Part 1
Part 2
Preface
Can Matt Sinclair forgive his daughter’s killer? What difference will it make if he does? Is there any hope for the soul of someone who has murdered a fourteen-year-old girl? Will the murderer end up on death row? This is a story of crime, prison and redemption set in South Carolina. This is a Christian novella with approximately 20,000 words.
Prologue
Robin Sinclair was excited. For the first time, she was going to help with the Going Home Rescue Ministry. As she entered the building after her mother dropped her off, Mrs. Patterson directed her to the kitchen. ‘I’m really glad you could help us here today. Preparing meals takes a lot of work but if we have enough people to help, “Many hands make light work” as they say.’
“Where do you want me to start?” asked Robin.
“Do you know how to peel potatoes?”
“Yes, I often help Mom in the kitchen.”
“Okay, lets get started then.”
Robin spent several hours helping with various aspects of meal preparation. Afterwards, she helped to serve the meal. Each of the homeless people who came received a hot, home-style meal and then, before dessert was served, they listened to a 10 minute long Gospel presentation given by Brother Patterson. While the homeless people ate their desserts, Robin and the other volunteers handed out gospel tracts. Once the homeless were gone, Brother Patterson led the volunteers in a prayer for the salvation of those who had heard the Gospel.
Part 1
It was almost 70 degrees, warm for a day in February but not totally atypical for South Carolina. Red laid down his bicycle beside the dirt path that led into the woods from the corner of the parking lot and then crossed the parking lot to the only bank in Ridgeton. He passed a car that was parked beside the outside teller window and walked around to the front of the bank. He paused for a moment to check his reflection in the front door. The bandana covered most of his face and the hood made him even less recognizable. As he walked into the front door, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the people in front of him. Suddenly, he saw movement at the end of the counter and then, with no time to really think, he was firing at the man who had pulled a gun on him. He fired two shots. The second shot hit the man in the leg, knocking him to the ground. Something stung his arm about the same time that the man fell to the ground but he hardly even noticed it. He ran back out the door and around the building toward his bicycle. He jerked the bike up, leaped on it and rode down the dirt path through the woods as fast as possible. It seemed to take forever to reach the other end of the path but finally he was there. His car was parked beside the road that dead-ended there and reaching it, he opened the trunk, threw the bike in, and then got in the car and drove away. He noticed that his left arm was bleeding so, when he came to a stop sign, he took a moment to tie his bandana around his arm just tight enough to stop the bleeding. In only a few minutes he was in a maze of country roads. His preplanned route soon took him to a major highway. He had failed to get any money but at least he hadn’t gotten caught.
******
Robin Sinclair stood for a moment stunned. Blood blossomed on her chest. Her father was lying on the floor of the bank. She sat down beside him. Her father bent towards her but suddenly she slumped down onto the floor.
“Somebody call 911! My daughter’s been shot!”
Matt Sinclair’s voice rang out in the silence that followed the robbery attempt. One of the tellers came from around the counter to help them while others summoned help. The sound of a siren became audible through the glass doors. The bank was soon filled with police and medical personnel but it was too late, Robin Sinclair was gone.
******
Red still couldn’t believe that he had killed a girl. He had watched the evening news the night of the robbery attempt to see if they were making any progress in identifying him. The pictures of the girl and the knowledge that she had only been 14 years old tore up his emotions. He hadn’t really worried about shooting the girl’s father in the leg but he had never intended to kill someone, especially not a young girl. He wished he could undo his actions but of course it was impossible. She was dead. It still didn’t seem real.
He decided to go visit his sister Karen over the weekend. She lived in the Upstate, in Walhalla. It was Friday evening so he called her to be sure it would be all right to come. The next morning, he woke up at 5:30 a.m. and by 6:30 a.m. he was on the road. He arrived there late morning. His nephew Jake and niece Julie came running out as soon as he parked the car.
“Uncle Red, look at my new pocket knife. It has everything. If we go on a cookout, I can use it to cut the green stick to cook the hotdogs and s’mores and it has a can opener, a bottle opener, a screw driver and even a pair of scissors.” Ten year old Jake’s enthusiasm and energy seemed unbounded.
Nine year old Julie, not to be outdone by her older brother said, “Uncle Red, Momma let me help make the cookies that we’re having for dessert after lunch. We’re having tacos for lunch and I helped with getting ready to fix that too. Momma said that when we get everything ready ahead of time, fixing lunch is easy.”
Julie and Jake’s father had been half American Indian. Both of them took after his dark good looks. He had been a fireman back when they lived in Greenville. After his death in a fire, Karen had moved the family to his hometown of Walhalla. She was a nurse so she could find work pretty much anywhere and the change in location had helped her to deal with the grief of losing Kevin and also made it easier for the children to stay close to their paternal grandparents, Hank and Blue Bird Fogle.
Red walked around to the trunk and took out his bags. Just then, the door opened again and his sister Karen walked out, accompanied by Buddy, a pit-bull boxer mix. Unlike her children, Karen had bright red hair and though her eyes were brown, it was a rust colored brown rather than the dark brown that they had inherited from their father. Red also had reddish hair but his was more subdued, more of a reddish brown. His eyes were green with light brown flecks. Both he and Karen had an abundance of freckles. Karen hurried to help him with the bags. Buddy barked to show his enthusiasm but was too well trained to jump up on him. He handed Karen the hanging luggage, which consisted of a jacket, slacks and a dress shirt that he would wear to church in the morning and carried the heavier duffle bag himself. He didn’t normally go to church but Karen insisted that he accompany them when he visited because she felt that it would be a bad example to the children if he stayed home.
They ate lunch and then went to Stumphouse Tunnel for the afternoon. As they got out of the car, the children were pointing their flashlights at each other. The ground near the entrance was damp and there were puddles near the walls of the tunnel. When they got into the tunnel, the children stayed close to Red and Karen. Being underground made Red feel a little claustrophobic but it wasn’t too bad. When they reached the end of the tunnel it felt strangely disappointing to have to turn around and go back the way they had come. Coming back out, the bright light of the entrance was visible from a long way off, getting bigger as they drew near. As they stepped out of the tunnel, it felt good to be back in the light of day.
On the way home Jake asked, “Can we play football in the backyard while Mom makes supper?”
“Sure,” said Red.
When they had parked the car, they all went into the house for a few minutes and then Red and Jake walk
ed through the back porch to the back yard. The clothesline supported by T-shaped poles was parallel to the house about 15 yards away, past that was an open grassy area and then a line of trees about 100 yards from the house marked the beginning of woods. Red and Jake tossed the football for about thirty minutes in the grassy open area and then Karen called them to supper. After supper, everyone decided to play charades.
“Okay”, said Karen, “it will be the girls against the guys. I’ve made a list of twenty children’s books. Here’s a copy for everybody.” She quickly handed out copies to each of them. “I’ve put all the names in the list on slips of paper in this bowl. When it is your team’s turn, one person on the team will draw from the list and try to act out the name of the book and the other will have to guess what it is. The team that guesses the fastest will win the round. The guys will go first.”
Red drew Winnie the Pooh and began to act it out. Jake was a good guesser but Karen and Julie were even faster. The evening flew by quickly and soon it was time for bed.
******
Red was back in the bank. As he pointed his gun in the direction of a man holding a gun, he saw his niece Julie standing beside the man. He tried to point his gun away but his hand, moving of its own volition, pointed his gun and fired. Julie crumpled to the ground dead. “No!” He screamed. “Don’t die!”
Then he was awake. At first, he didn’t know where he was but then he realized he was in Julie’s room in bed. She was spending the night in her brother’s room. Suddenly the light flicked on and Karen walked into the room. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Just a bad dream. I’m fine. Go back to bed.” He got up to get a drink of water and then returned to bed. But he wasn’t fine. It wasn’t a bad dream. He really had killed a young girl. It hurt just thinking about it. He deserved to die. If there was a hell, he deserved to go there. Maybe soon he would have the courage to do something about it but for now, he just kept wishing it had never happened.
Karen returned back to her room but she didn’t get in bed immediately. Instead she knelt beside the bed. “Father, I don’t know what’s wrong but I know something is wrong with Red. For so long, he’s been pushing You away. He doesn’t think he needs You but Lord, show him that he does. Please use whatever is happening in his life to bring him to you. Help him to be the man that you want him to be. Please save him and let his life count for you. Amen.” Finally, Karen crawled back into bed and was soon asleep.
The next day, everyone got up around 8:00 a. m. Soon they were at the kitchen table eating breakfast. As always, Julie ate bran flakes.
“How can you eat that stuff?” Jake asked Julie. “It tastes like straw.”
“It’s good. You just have to know how to fix it”, Julie replied as she dribbled sourwood honey all over the surface of the milk soaked bran flakes.
“Well, I guess if you drown it in honey, it might be okay”, relented Jake.
“It’s gotta be sourwood honey though. The stuff they have in the grocery store just doesn’t taste the same.”
Soon breakfast was over and it was time to get ready for church. After a quick shower and a shave, Red dressed in the clothes he had brought to wear to church. They all rode together in Karen’s SUV. The church that they were going to, Cornerstone Baptist Church, was a small country church a mile or two outside of Walhalla. As they walked through the small vestibule and into the sanctuary, Matt noticed that the room was only about half full. After morning announcements, the children left to go to their Sunday school classes but Red and Karen stayed in the sanctuary where the adult Sunday school class was to be held. After Sunday school there was a break with much handshaking. Many people came up to Red to greet him. Would they be so friendly if they knew what kind of a person he really was? As the preacher stepped up to the podium to begin the morning sermon, Red began to feel uncomfortable. If the preacher had known everything that Red had done, he could not have chosen a more appropriate text. When the pastor read the text, Numbers 32:23b “and be sure your sin will find you out,” Red almost got up then and walked out but he didn’t. He sat through the message and tried not to listen to what the preacher was saying. No doubt God would judge him soon enough and he would get what he richly deserved but he didn’t want to think about it now.
Finally, the sermon was over and they returned to the house for a quick lunch of French market soup and cheese toast made with extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Red was quiet and subdued throughout the meal. Soon after lunch was over, he packed his belongings up and headed back to his apartment in Ashley. He kept the radio playing throughout the trip so he wouldn’t have too much time to think.
After he left, Karen asked Julie and Jake to sit down with her at the table. “We need to pray for your Uncle Red. I don’t believe he’s saved. He needs to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.”
“Can I pray for him now?” asked Jake.
“Yes, we’ll each take a few minutes to pray for him. Nothing is too hard for God. God can save him. We just have to keep praying”, she said and then they all bowed their heads and Jake began to pray.
******
“Why did I ever pull the gun out?” Matt asked himself yet again. If only he had stood quietly and done what the robber asked, Robin would probably still be alive. He was lying in a hospital bed with an IV running into his arm. His wife slept in the recliner beside his bed. The orthopedic surgeon had repaired the damage to his leg as best he could but it would be a while before he would be on his feet again. As he berated himself for getting his daughter killed, he was interrupted by a soft knock at the door.
“Matt, can I come in?” It was Jack Reed, a good friend of his. “We found a drop of blood on the carpet in the bank. We think it came from the bank robber. They’re going to run a DNA test on it. If it’s in the system, we may know who did this pretty soon.”
Matt and Jack were both deputies with the Sherriff’s Department of Cooper County. The main office for the Sherriff’s department was located in the county seat, Ashley. The Sherriff’s Department had jurisdiction in Ridgeton because Ridgeton had no police force of its own. Because a deputy was involved, SLED was heading up the investigation but they were keeping the Sherriff’s department well informed of the progress they were making.
“Let me know as soon as you know something.”
“Will do. In the mean time, is there anything I can do for you?”
“Not right now. I’ll let you know if I need anything.”
“Okay, then. I’ll be back later.” Jack stood there for a moment, wishing he could do something to help and then turned and walked out.
Rousing from sleep, his wife Molly asked him, “Matt, was that Jack? What did he want? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“He just came by to let us know that they found some blood to run DNA tests on. You seemed really tired after being up all night while I was in surgery so I was going to let you sleep for a while.”
“Are you feeling okay? Does your leg hurt?”
“It hurts a little but I’m okay. What really hurts is what happened to Robin. I’m just wishing that I had let the robbery happen and not tried to stop it, and also hoping that they can catch the guy who did it. I’ve dealt with this kind of thing a lot but it’s different when it happens to you.”
“I just feel so angry at the man,” said Molly. “I know I need to forgive him but right now, I just don’t want to.”
“I feel angry too. I guess you’re right that we need to forgive him but I’m not there yet. Why did God let this happen?”
******
Molly drove into the parking lot at the funeral home. The building was originally a large house but a chapel had been added to it on one end. She passed within a few feet of a tree just beginning to bud. It reminded her of Robin. Robin had been budding into a young woman when she was cut down. She pushed her emotions back down and walked into the door of the funeral home. The funeral home director welcomed her into his office, which was decorated with a patriotic moti
f. American flags, swords and several old-fashioned guns hung on one wall and on another wall hung a large portrait of a young man in a Citadel uniform. The funeral director was fiftyish, with a balding head. They spent some time discussing the details of the funeral and then he helped her to pick out a casket. Her emotions kept welling up just when she thought they were under control. She shouldn’t have come here alone. Matt would have come with her but he was still in a wheel chair. She should have asked Susan to come with her. Susan was her pastor’s wife and also a good friend. But she hadn’t thought to ask her and she was here now so she would just do the best she could.
Soon, the details were decided. After returning to the car, she used her cell phone to call Pastor McGregor and arrange for him to come to their home so they could discuss the funeral service.
******
The sun streamed in through the windows of Grace Bible Church and lit up the sanctuary. The organist was playing “Be Still My Soul” as the last few people entered the sanctuary before the service began. Matt sat in a wheel chair beside one of the pews on the front row.
The organ music faded and Pastor McGregor stepped up to the pulpit. ‘We’re here today to celebrate the life of Robin Sinclair. Robin was only fourteen years old but she was more mature in some ways than many adults. She accepted Christ when she was ten years old and for the next four years she lived for Christ to the best of her ability. We don’t know why God allowed her life to end like it did but we do know that God had a purpose for her life and that he had a purpose in allowing her to die this way. “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” We know that when her life on this earth ended, she didn’t end. She is alive right now in heaven and those who know Christ will see her again one day, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”’
Matt clung to the words of Pastor McGregor. Robin was safe in heaven. He would see her again one day. There was real comfort in that but he still felt the pain of losing her.