On Every Side (20 page)

They walked in silence and arrived at their cars, parked side by side at the back of the lot. Jordan leaned back on his and faced his friend. “What's up, T J.?”

Jordan had known T. J. for years. They were hired at the same time and had spent at least one Saturday a month fishing the rivers and lakes outside the city They'd double-dated on occasion. In all of New York, T J. was Jordan's best friend.

So why wouldn't his best friend make eye contact?

“Nothing's up. I mean, why hurry back to the office?”

T. J.'s voice lacked conviction, and Jordan felt a fluttering in his gut. What
was
this?

Jordan slid his hands in his pocket, leaned harder against his car, and crossed his ankles. “Level with me, buddy. I'm serious.” He positioned his head so he could see T. J.'s eyes.

Even above the occasional gusts of wind in the maple trees that lined the parking lot, Jordan could hear the heaviness in T. J.'s sigh. “Hawkins asked me to stay”

Jordan felt the ground beneath him give way. “What do you mean? Why would he do that?”

T. J. shrugged. “I'm not sure anymore, Jordan.” He looked up, his gaze level. “Maybe you should ask him.” T. J. turned his head and stared across the parking lot, as though watching invisible monsters closing in. “Sometimes…I think we're losing our focus.”

“What d'ya mean, buddy?” Jordan's voice was softer than before, and he searched his friend's face. What wasn't T. J. telling him?

T. J. gave a few quick shakes of his head and looked at Jordan again. “Nothing.” He forced a laugh. “It's been a long couple days.” He glanced at his watch. “Tell you what, you stay here and take care of business and I'll head home.” The corners of his mouth lifted and he winked once at Jordan. “She misses me when I'm gone more than one night.”

Without saying another word, T. J. fished his keys from his pocket and climbed into his car. Jordan was torn between relief that he had some time to himself and concern about whatever it was T. J. wasn't saying. “Wait a minute—” he grabbed hold of his friend's open car door and stooped down— “what aren't you telling me?”

T. J. looked at him, then pursed his lips and angled his
head. “It's all for a good cause, isn't it, Riley? Isn't that what they tell us?”

A ripple of panic shot through Jordan.
“What's
for a good cause? You're losing me here, Teej.”

“The whole thing.” He motioned toward the courtroom. “The fight for human rights. Battling the little guys. It's all for a good cause.” He put his hand on the steering wheel. “Look, I gotta get going or 111 never make it home for dinner.”

Jordan got the message. He let his hand fall from T. J.'s car door and stepped back. He nodded at his friend as he turned the key and backed out of the spot. Maybe Jordan had been looking too deeply into things. Maybe Hawkins merely wanted to make sure they won the case. But something about that thought felt as comfortable as bad seafood in his gut. Jordan blinked, trying to see the bigger picture. Whatever it was, he knew he could count on T. J. If something was eating at him, Jordan would find out sooner or later. “Drive safe.”

Not until T. J.'s car turned out of the parking lot and disap-peared down a narrow side street toward the freeway did Jordan release the air that had been building up in him since the old lawyer's revelation. Faith Evans had purchased the park prop-erty? How was that possible?

He stared at the scant leaves still clinging to the branches above him. Why would Faith make so bold a move now, when she held a prestigious position with WKZN and sat poised on what could be a move to national television? He remembered something Faith had said back when they were kids, back when Jordan had spent every evening praying at Jericho Park:
“That statue isn't Jesus, you know that, nght? It's just a picture of Him…
“

Surely she felt the same way today. So why the fight? What did it matter if the statue came down? He thought about all she could lose, the way she would likely be mocked and held up for
ridicule before the public eye after today's hearing.

“Ah, Faith…” Her whispered name took to the wind like one more dead leaf. He'd spent sixteen years searching for some sign of his past, some remnant that would help him connect those early days with the life he was living now His mother was gone; Heidi too. And until that fall, Faith had been little more than a distant memory, a symbol from a time when everything was as it should have been.

Before God had pulled the rug out from underneath him.

And now that he'd found Faith, there was more distance between them than ever before.

Jordan squinted and tried to see through the barren branches to the sky beyond. Was He there, that mighty God, the one Faith clung to so blindly? Did He know that the lovely Faith Moses was about to take a fall, about to be the sacrificial lamb in a media event that was far from played out?

Another breath eased its way through Jordan's clenched teeth, and he slid into his car. He was an attorney at the top of his game, a man who after tonight's news would be credited with single-handedly foiling the plans of an entire city. A human rights advocate to be reckoned with and admired in legal circles around the country But for all that, as Jordan drove out of the parking lot he had to fight an urge that made no sense whatsoever. An urge he could barely acknowledge and would certainly never voice. The urge to call the judge and drop the case. Then to find Faith, gather her in his arms, and love her the way he'd wanted to do since that magi-cal, long-ago fall. Back when his mother was well, and Heidi was there, and everything good in life seemed to center around one very special girl.

Faith was at the station all of two minutes when she realized there was a problem. Cameramen and stage hands omitted their usual greeting and scurried out of the way when she entered the building. Before she even had time to hang her coat in the dressing room, there was a knock at the door.

“Yes…” She had no reason to be fearful. After all, she'd sur-vived two newscasts since buying the property and still no one had said a word about it at the station. By now she'd decided that maybe they wouldn't find out; maybe she had the right to buy property like any other citizen. So what if she was an anchor for the nightly news?.

Her certainty fell away like a poorly built house of cards when she saw Dick Baker's secretary at the door. “Mr. Baker wants a word with you.” Normally the older woman was friendly but this time her tone was curt and after delivering the message, she left quickly Faith made her way down the hallway and found the door marked Station Manager. The moment she knocked, Mr. Baker's voice boomed from behind the door. “Come in!”

Faith's stomach felt like it was being trampled by a herd of cattle. She crossed her arms tightly, gripping her sides with the tips of her fingers. “You wanted to see me?”

She expected him to be mad, but his face lacked any expression whatsoever.
Someone's told him. Dear God, give me strength. You promised You'd get me through this…
Faith froze, unblinking, waiting for her boss to speak.

Mr. Baker leveled his gaze at her, and Faith saw that his features were hard and cold as steel in wintertime. “It came to my attention a few days ago that you'd done something incredibly stupid, something I hoped wasn't true.” He paused, and she saw
another emotion filter across his eyes. Disgust… even disdain. “As I told you before, the network has talked of bringing you up, giving you a reporter position on a national level. A move like that would have looked good for us, given the network moguls a rea-son to keep their eyes on the Philadelphia station.”

Faith's knees felt weak and she shifted her weight. Help me
be calm, Lord…I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength… I can do all things through Christ who
—

‘Today, however, I learned from several reporters—including ours—that the information I'd heard the other day was true.” The man made
true
sound like profanity Faith could see he was working to remain calm and though she was tempted to join the conversation to defend herself, she kept silent. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd found out about the Jesus statue. She kept her chin up, her eyes on his, and waited for him to con-tinue. I
can do all things through
—

Mr. Baker suddenly stood and began pacing near his desk, rubbing the back of his head as he spoke. “When I hired you, Faith, I warned you that being an anchor would require your unbiased attention. That there was no room here for your reli-gious views. You signed the contract promising as much.” He stopped and pointed at her. “You're a public figure as long as your face is on television every night. I made that clear to you from the beginning.”

He resumed his pacing, staring at his feet as he walked. “Our reporters must be intelligent, law-abiding citizens who, though they cover the news, must steer clear of ever
being
the news.” He glanced up at her. “You understood that when I hired you, am I right?”

“Yes.” Faith could feel God's peace working its way through her being, could feel God's promise for strength being fulfilled.

I
can do all things through Christ who gives me strength…

The verse she'd relied on since her breakup with Mike had never felt more real than at this moment. Certainly this was not the worst situation a believer ever faced… How had John the Baptist felt when he was called in and asked to lay his neck across King Herod's dinner plate? And how about the martyr, Stephen, who refused to answer even one complaint lodged against him, not even when the rocks started to fly?

Of course, the greatest example of all was Jesus…called in and questioned about His identity, knowing full well the deadly fate that awaited Him before the weekend was through.

No, whatever Dick Baker might say or do, it couldn't compare to any of that. Faith steadied herself and waited for what was coming.

Her boss spun around and faced her. “The story I hear is that you bought the land where that Jesus statue stands. You con-tacted Bethany officials and paid ten thousand dollars for it so the city could avoid following the judge's order.” His chuckle was bit-ter and filled with sarcasm. “Believe me, I'd like to look each of those reporters in the face and tell them they were wrong. Tell them there's no way any anchor of mine would do a foolhardy thing like that. Especially when I'd already told her not to do anything of the sort.” He raised his voice. “But in this case, I had nothing to tell them.”

The man walked four slow steps toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. “Did you do it, Faith? Is it true?” He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms, his glare boring into her like a drill bit.

“Yes…it's true.” Her voice was kind but firm as she felt the Scripture continue to work its way through her heart and soul. “I am an anchorwoman, and yes, I promised to be unbiased. But I'm a Christian first, and a citizen second. I have a right to pur-chase property like anyone else.”

Anger burned in Baker's eyes, but he neither shouted nor
stormed about the office as Faith had seen him do on other occasions. Instead he jerked his head up, sucked in a deep breath through his nose, and studied the ceiling. When he looked back at her, his words were matter-of-fact. “Very well. And now I have the right to fire you.”

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength… I can do all things through…
She forced herself to exhale so she wouldn't pass out.
Help
me,
God. See me through.
Faith knew there was no debating him on the issue. Instead, she endured the five minutes of paperwork in silence. Dick Baker gave her a final paycheck, then shook his head. “You could have been something special, Faith. The stars were all lined up in your favor.”

She could feel tears in her eyes, but it didn't matter. Because in a part of her mind so close she could almost touch it, she could see her father's face, hear him telling her, “Well done, honey. Well done.”

She gathered her dismissaL documents and shook Mr. Baker's hand. Meeting his gaze, she let a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. “My life isn't guided by the stars, sir. It's guided by the One who made them. And whatever happens from here, He's got it perfectly in control.” She hesitated for a moment. “I'm sorry about all this.”

Her boss didn't seem to know how to take that, and Faith wondered what he'd expected. He scratched the back of his head and shrugged. “I have someone else filling in for you tonight. We'll hire a new anchor within the week.” He seemed to be searching for the right words. “Good luck, Faith.”

Fifteen minutes later she was on the doorstep of Joshua Nunn's office, the same office he had shared with her father. Joshua appeared in his suit jacket, and Faith guessed he'd been on his way home. It was after six, after all, so she was surprised to catch him there at all.

“Faith, what is it?” There was a pained look in his eyes, and almost immediately realization settled over his face. “The station found out?”

It was a moment her father would have understood perfectly, but in his absence, Faith felt as though she had nowhere else to turn. Joshua held out his arms, and she took a single step for-ward, collapsing against him and giving way to the sobs that had been building since she'd first gotten to work.