The funeral lasted about thirty minutes. Megan Johnson, one of Robin’s closest friends, spoke about her happy memories of Robin. Robin’s Sunday school teacher talked of how Robin had helped to make newcomers to the class feel welcome. Matt would have liked to have said something but he didn’t think he could speak of Robin without breaking down into tears so he had declined the Pastor’s suggestion that he speak at the funeral. Soon the service was over and it was time to go to the cemetery.
******
Three weeks later, Red was driving down the road near his house when he heard a siren and saw a flashing light in his rear view mirror. He pulled over to the side of the road and stopped his car. Two policemen opened the doors of the police car and stepped out. They stood behind the doors of their car, pulled out guns and pointed the guns at Red.
“Driver, put your hands on the ceiling. Use your left hand to open the door. Stick your hands out.” Red followed each instruction to the letter.
“Get out of the car NOW, facing forward!” Red immediately stepped out of the car facing the front of the car while continuing to hold his hands up.
“Walk back slowly, hands up…keep coming.” Red backed up until he reached the back of his car.
“Now stop and get on your knees!” Red obeyed the officer’s command. The pavement felt hard under his knees.
“Lay flat on your stomach, arms spread wide with your palms up and ankles crossed.” Red did exactly as he was told.
Then the other officer spoke for the first time, “You cover him and I’ll cuff him.”
The first officer, the one who had been telling him what to do said, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot.” Red wasn’t about to move. He had no interest in getting in a fight with two police officers with guns.
One of the officers holstered his gun and moved toward Red. He put his knee on Red’s upper back and neck and the weight felt like it was going to crush him. He cuffed his left hand first then pulled his right hand up and cuffed that wrist also. Then the officers stood him up had him lean against his car. About this time Red heard sirens and two other police cars pulled up behind the first one. Policemen got out from each car and hurried over to where they were preparing to search him.
“Do you have anything on you? Any weapons or needles or anything that’s going to hurt me when I search you? Any drugs?”
“I’ve got a small pocketknife in my front left pocket.” Red answered. The officer removed the knife from his pocket and then patted him down. There was nothing else in his pockets but his wallet.
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Robin Sinclair. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say…” The officer read him his rights and then put him into the back of the police car none too gently.
******
When the police car pulled in at the station, they took him to the booking area and told him to sit down. After a while, they took his photograph and fingerprinted him using electronic fingerprinting equipment then he was called over to talk with another officer who asked him about his medications, allergies and other medical conditions. The questions seemed endless. Finally, he was sent into another room and told to strip. They told him to bend over and cough, looked in his mouth and every other possible hiding place thoroughly and then gave him an orange jump suit and told him to put it on.
Once they had processed him, they put him in a holding cell for the night. The next day he was transferred to a regular cellblock. Because he was charged with murder, only a circuit judge would be able to assign him a bond and probably, it would be too high for him to pay if they even gave him one.
******
Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” played from Matt’s cell phone. He picked it up and pushed send. “Matt Sinclair.”
“Hello, this is Jack. They’ve just arrested the man that killed Robin.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Theodore Jones but he goes by the nickname “Red.” He has previous convictions for robbing two convenience stores but he’s never killed anybody before. They’ve got him over in the county detention center.”
“Are they sure he’s the one?”
“His DNA was a match for the blood left at the scene. He’s the one. And once he realized how much evidence they had, he actually confessed. It will be on the news tonight.”
“Well, thank God they got him.”
For the last three weeks, Matt had been hoping and praying that they would catch the guy. Now that they actually had him, it seemed like a let down. Nothing that they could do to him would make up for losing Robin. Also, he was feeling the pricking of conviction about forgiving the man. He knew that it was what God wanted him to do but it was just so hard, he still felt so angry.
“God,” he prayed, “I know that you want me to forgive this man. But you know I can’t do it. It’s not in me to forgive him. But, Lord, I want to please you. Help me to forgive him. Work a miracle in my heart because that’s what it’s going to take.”
He pulled out his smart phone and tapped on the Bible Concordance app to open it. He quickly did a search on “love your enemies” and it brought up Matthew 5:44. He clicked the passage open and started reading, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…”
“God, you know how I feel about this man but help me to forgive him.” He had read somewhere that if you were struggling to forgive someone, it might help to pray for him so he prayed, “Lord, work in his heart, help him to realize that you died for him, that you still love him and want to save him. Send someone to give him the gospel and please save him.” It helped some, but he still felt angry.
******
Karen and her children were eating supper when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hello? This is the South Carolina Post. May I speak with Karen Fogle?”
“This is she.”
“Is Theodore Jones your brother?”
“Yes. What is this about?”
“Are you aware that he was arrested for murdering a fourteen year old girl?”
“What? No! That can’t be right. I’m sorry but I can’t talk to you right now.”
She hung up the phone. The children were looking at her. She excused herself to go to the bathroom. There, she pulled the back of the toilet down over the seat and sat down. She felt lightheaded. Could this be true? She couldn’t stay in here all day so she finally was able to pull herself together and go back to the table. Just then the phone rang again. Julie got up to answer it but she told her not to. She turned off the ringer so they wouldn’t be able to hear it any more. It was Friday night so she put a DVD into the player for the children to watch and then, once they were occupied, she went into her bedroom, closed the door and used her cell phone to call her mother-in-law.
“Mom, I just got some terrible news.”
“You mean about Red? It was on the news about an hour ago. Did you see it? I tried to call you after I saw it but no one answered.”
“A reporter called me and told me. He wanted to interview me but I hung up and I haven’t answered the phone since. I just can’t understand how Red could do something so terrible. I knew something was wrong when he was here, he even woke up screaming from a nightmare, but I never dreamed it could be something like this. What should I do?”
“You need to spend a lot of time praying and not decide anything quickly. I know you’re hurting right now but don’t make any decisions based on how you feel. Pray and God will show you what to do.”
“Okay. Thanks Mom.”
******
As Red walked into the cell, there was a guy standing at the basin. He had just finished brushing his teeth. “Hi, I’m Sketch Parker.”
“Red Jones.”
“You can have that bed there”, Sketch said as he pointed to one of the lower bunks.
“Okay, thanks.”
Red made up his bed and put his meager belongings away. For the first few days, he talked very little with anyone. Then after about three days, Sketch started a conversation with him.
“Where are you from?”
“Ashley.”
“Did you work anywhere before you got arrested?”
“Yeah. I was a machine operator at a packaging tape factory. We would get in shipments of tape on giant rolls and I ran one of the machines that slit it down to two or three inches and then rerolled it onto small rolls.”
“Have you ever done time before?”
“Yeah, I did ten years for a robbery a while back.”
“Do you play chess?”
“Sure.”
“How about we try playing each other. I’m always looking for someone new to try my hand against. Most of the guys here aren’t any good.”
“I can’t promise I’ll be any better than they are but I’ll give it a try.”
Soon, Red and Sketch were sitting at a table with a homemade chessboard between them. They heard a sound at the cellblock door. An officer on the other side of the door called through the tray flap, “Mail Call!” He read out several names but “Jones” was not among them. Hopefully, Karen would write him sometime but she was probably pretty upset so it might take her a while. He hoped she wouldn’t stay mad forever.
******
It was Sunday morning. Molly was busy in the kitchen preparing the food for the potluck dinner they were having at church after the service. The Scottish shortbread squares were already baked from the previous evening but she had to prepare the green bean casserole. She stirred the French green beans and cream of mushroom soup together in the rectangular glass baking dish and then sprinkled the French fried onions on top and sealed it with a plastic lid. It would bake in the oven at church during the service. She placed the food in the car and then returned to the house for last minute preparations.
While Molly was preparing food for the potluck dinner, Matt called Jack to be sure that he and his fiancée Sharon were still planning to attend church. He’d been trying to get Jack to come for some time and he’d finally agreed.
Finally, she and Matt were both ready. She checked the iron to be sure that it was unplugged then she walked through the kitchen and out the door into the garage. Matt was already getting into the car. As they waited for the garage door to open she climbed into the driver’s seat and fastened her seatbelt.
Ten minutes later they arrived at the church. Before parking, she drove to the fellowship hall and carried the food in while Matt waited in the car. Some of the ladies would go down to the kitchen during the worship service to get everything ready for the meal but now the kitchen was quiet except for a few others bringing in food. Once she had put the green beans in the refrigerator and the short bread on the dessert table, she drove back to the parking lot and parked. Matt’s crutches were in the back seat so Molly walked around to the passenger side and got them out for him. Once standing, Matt was able to slowly make his way into the church building. Normally, they would be going to their Sunday school class at this time but this morning they went straight into the sanctuary because a missionary was going to give a presentation about the country that God had called him to during Sunday school and then preach a message during the regular service.
******
“Too often, we think life is about the here and now, how much money we can make, what kind of job we have. A hundred years from now, those things won’t matter. The only thing that we can take with us to heaven is people. If you lead someone to Christ, that person will live in heaven for eternity. We need to invest our money our time, our very lives in things that will last for eternity. And when I say we should invest our lives I mean just that. The majority of the people in this world don’t live in America. They don’t live in places that have first class living accommodations and the best medical care. To reach these people someone has to be willing to go where they are. Many of these people live in dangerous places and so that might mean risking your life or even giving your life. God doesn’t call everyone to the foreign mission field but He might be calling you there. Are you willing to go anywhere that God sends you and do anything He tells you to do? Right now, surrender to God. Tell Him that you are willing to go anywhere He sends you.”
Matt’s heart was moved by the missionaries presentation. As many people left their pews and walked towards the front of the church to pray at the altar, Matt told God he would go wherever God sent him. Where might God send him?
******
Karen had prayed for a long time about what to do. She knew that she had to forgive Red. God had helped her to do so. Knowing that they would otherwise almost certainly hear the news from someone else, Karen had told the children what had happened the next morning in simple terms. The children were angry, bewildered and hurt. At first they were just in shock but then Julie started crying and soon they both were crying. That lasted for quite a while. Thankfully, it was Saturday so they didn’t have school. By Monday, they were over the shock and crying spells but Karen knew that they were both deeply hurt. As she prayed for the ability to forgive Red herself, she also started praying for God to help them to forgive him. During their devotions, she read verses about forgiveness and talked with them. Finally, after a few weeks, they all were able to forgive Red. Karen called the county detention center where Red was being held. Once she knew the visitation schedule, she wrote Red and told him that she was coming to visit him. She thought that it would be better to wait for a second visit to bring the children.
The next week, she made the drive to the detention center to visit him. When she got there, she found a line of people waiting to visit loved ones who were in jail. She had to stand in line for about twenty five minutes. Finally, when she made it to the front of the line, she told the lady behind the window who she wanted to see. She was told which window to go to and then was told to wait there while they brought him. When he came to the window, they both picked up the phones that allowed them to talk through the glass.
“Red, it’s good to see you.”
“Thank you for coming. I don’t know why you came. I don’t deserve to have you for a sister anymore.”
“Red, I love you. No matter what, I will always love you. Nothing can change that. It doesn’t matter whether you deserve it or not.”
“How are the children? I’m so sorry! I know it must have really hurt them to find out what I did.”
“They were pretty upset but I’ve been talking to them about forgiveness. They’ve forgiven you and want to see you but I thought it would be better to wait for the next visit for that.”
“Okay.”
They talked for a while longer and then the visit was over. Red was glad that his sister had come but he felt so guilty about what he had put her and the children through.
******
Two weeks after hearing the missionary at his church speak, Matt was sitting on the couch in his living room. His crutches were propped up beside him. It was early morning and Matt had just finished reading his Bible. He set his Bible down on the end table beside him and bowed his head to pray. “God, fill me with your Holy Spirit today. If there’s anything hindering you from filling me, show me and help me to get it right.” As he prayed, the Holy Spirit impressed on his heart that he should go visit Red in jail. He had been praying for someone to give Red the gospel but now he realized that God wanted him to do that.
Matt called the detention center and asked about visiting Theodore Jones. Although he had worked as a deputy, he was now on medical leave. He was also a victim of Theodore Jones’ crime. Because of these factors, it was decided that he could only visit him if he went through the regular visitation process. He would be able to talk to him on a phone and see him through a glass but there would be no physical contact. That was okay with Matt. The next visitation period was in two days time. He would be there.
******
Two da
ys later Matt drove himself to the detention center. Yesterday was the first day he had driven the car since the robbery. It felt good to be driving again and he had also graduated from crutches to a cane. He got out of the car and started walking slowly toward the detention center. He had to wait twenty minutes before he got up to the window and gave Theodore Jones’ name. They directed him to go to one of the empty visitation windows. He picked up the phone through which they would communicate and waited for Theodore Jones to appear.
Red was in his cell when they called him for visitation. They had told him earlier that the man whose daughter he had killed wanted to speak with him. Probably, he wanted to tell him how much he hated him and how much he deserved to get the death penalty. That was okay. He deserved to be yelled at. He walked into the visitation area and went to the window that he was directed to. The man standing on the other side of the glass was an inch or two taller than he was, maybe 5’10”. He had light brown wavy hair and blue eyes. Red picked up the phone.
Matt watched as the man came and picked up the phone. He had reddish brown hair cut short and eyes that were somewhere between green and brown. The man’s face seemed almost expressionless.
“Hello, Mr. Jones? My name is Matt Sinclair. How are you doing today?”
“I guess I’m okay. You don’t have to call me mister. Most folks just call me Red.”
‘You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here. I guess you know that the girl that you killed was my daughter. I want you to know that I forgive you for what you did to her but that’s not my main reason for being here. I’m here to tell you that God loves you. God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross, to pay for what you did and for all the other sins that you’ve ever done. God wants to save you. The Bible says “The wages (or payment) of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” That means that because of our sin, we deserve death. We deserve to go to hell, which the Bible calls the “second death.” But God loves you and doesn’t want you to go to hell. If you will repent of your sin and turn to Christ and put your faith in Him, God will save you and give you eternal life.’
“I ought to go to hell. I killed a fourteen-year-old girl. Her life was just beginning and now, because of me, it’s over. You’re wasting your time here. It’s too late for me.”