The Days of Noah: Book One: Conspiracy (16 page)

The Parkers went to see Lacy, then met the Rodgers back in the sanctuary. Kevin Starkey had arrived and looked very alert. Introductions were made, and Cassie said, “Thank you very much for the laptop.”

Kevin grinned. “Glad I could help.”

The service started, and the choir sang a few worship songs. Next, Pastor Mike began teaching.

“John Adams said, ‘Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood.’

“I’ve avoided politics from the pulpit for years. I thought I was doing the right thing by focusing on the Bible. Now, I see what has become of our nation, where thousands upon thousands of pastors, just like me, avoided politics. We’ve missed, perhaps, our greatest calling.

“Proverbs thirty-one, verses eight and nine, say, ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.’

“Who are those who can’t speak for themselves? Isn’t it our children who will be left with the world we leave them? Who are the poor and the needy that need their rights defended? Isn’t it us? Compared to a federal government with unlimited resources, aren’t we all poor?  If any one of us has his or her rights violated by the state, isn’t that person the needy?

“I’ve asked permission to share the Parkers’ story with you this morning. I think most of you are aware of their plight, but I’ll elaborate. Today, I’m going to explain what they’ve gone through in the past week. We’ll watch a video made by Cassie at the end of the service, and then we’ll have a call to action.

“In first Corinthians twelve, verses twenty-six and twenty-seven, Paul says, ‘If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.’

“As I tell you what happened to the Parkers last week, I want you to visualize that all of these things are happening to you. Because if we are all one body, as Paul said, then these violations happened to each and every one of us.”

Pastor Mike continued to describe in graphic detail everything that had happened to the Parkers. He left out no fact and pulled no punches. He described Lacy’s screaming; the bloody corpse of Buster, the family dog; and Noah’s arrest.

Afterwards, Pastor Mike played Cassie’s narrated footage of the crime scene. When the video finished, he asked, “If that had just happened to you, what would you be willing to do to make it right? What are you willing to do to make sure this doesn’t happen again? Whatever you’d be willing to do if that had been you is what you need to do tomorrow, because that just happened to each and every person in this room. I was just arrested. That was your dog that was murdered. Every one of our children was abducted when Lacy Parker was forcibly taken from her mother’s arms.

“Ephesians says, ‘be angry and sin not.’ Sitting back and letting this happen when you have the power to stop it is a sin.”

It was very uncharacteristic for Pastor Mike to raise his voice, so the congregation was caught off guard when he shouted, “Now who’s angry?”

Elliot Rodgers was the first person to stand up and start clapping. Kevin Starkey was next. Soon everyone in the sanctuary was standing and clapping.

Pastor Mike calmed everyone down. “We’re holding protests at the county courthouse starting tomorrow. We’ll be petitioning to get Sherriff Gregory to step down, and we’ll be asking for the support of our county commissioners. I want you to ask for the support of every person you know. Either people are with us or they are against us. It’s time to draw a line in the sand. Everyone who stood up and said they’re mad, I expect you to walk the walk. No excuses! The church is providing lunch after the service, so no one has any reason to leave. You’ll have plenty of time to sign up for the protests and get copies of the petition, so you can start collecting signatures.

“I don’t want to live in a country where this kind of stuff happens. You shouldn’t either.”

After Pastor Mike prayed, he said, “God bless, and I’ll see you all outside for the picnic.”

At the picnic, Noah’s time slot sign-up sheet for the protest was soon filled, and people began writing their names on the back. His stack of forty petitions soon dwindled down to only two, so Lynn Barnes took one to the church office and made more copies. Most all of the congregants of Faith Church offered their support to Noah and Cassie.

Jim and Sandy Taylor came to say hi after the crowd started to thin out. Jim took a petition sheet. “God is with you on this, Noah.”

Noah nodded. “I think you’re right, Jim.”

Jim said, “I spoke with Commissioner Laurence.  You already have support from the majority of the county commissioners. Once the protest and petition hit the news and people start calling them, it will probably be near unanimous.”

Noah was happy to have a friend like Jim who was well connected. “Good to know. I trust you’ll keep your finger on the political pulse.”

Jim smiled. “You can count on me.”

***

Noah and Cassie arrived home from church just in time to get ready for the interview. Leo Cobb pulled into the drive only minutes later.

Noah opened the door for him. “Come on in. Can I offer you some coffee or water?”

Leo removed his overcoat. “Can I have a cup of coffee for now and some water for the interview?”

“Sure thing.” Noah went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee.

Cassie entered the living room, greeted Leo, and set up the laptop. “This computer has a better camera built in than what we have connected to our desktop in the office. Besides, we can position it so we can all sit side-by-side on the couch.”

Leo said, “Sounds good to me.”

Cassie fidgeted with the computer for several minutes, trying to get a good camera angle. “Let’s put the laptop on a chair, and it will give us a wider view while we chat with George.”

Noah reappeared with coffee and water for everyone. He set the drinks on the coffee table. “Is everyone ready?”

“Ready.” Cassie directed Noah to sit on her right and Leo on her left.

George McConnell called on Skype and briefed everyone on the format of the show. He instructed Cassie to cut the video feed to save bandwidth and thereby increase the audio quality. The interview began, and the first few questions went over the events of the past week.

Next, George directed his questions to Leo Cobb. “Mr. Cobb, it was very gracious of you to represent the Parkers pro bono. Did you have to compete against the ACLU to get the case? I know that organization represented John Scopes in the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial. I know they’re for freedom of speech, no matter which side of the evolutionary argument a person happens to stand on.”

Leo laughed. “The ACLU would certainly have you believe that. Their actions tell a different story. Back in 2004, members of the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, wanted intelligent design to be offered in addition to evolution. When the material was made available, the ACLU was on the side of suppressing the county’s freedom of speech. The ACLU won the case, and intelligent design could no longer be mentioned.”

George said, “It sounds like the ACLU might have some agenda other than the civil liberties of Americans.”

George continued the interview, covering the particulars of the case. He wrapped up the interview with a call to action. “For Sevier County residents, please stop by the courthouse, show your support, and sign the petition to have Sherriff Gregory removed from office. This has to start at the local level. We have to send a message to our elected officials in our communities. If they won’t stand up for our constitutional rights, they’ll be handed a pink slip. If we won’t take action to change our communities, how can we ever hope to address the corruption in Washington?

“If you’re a listener outside of Sevier County, visit the Parkers’ website, ParkerMonkeyTrial.com, and share the videos on social media, send links to your pastor, and call your local news stations. Let’s get this message out there. Hopefully, your local elected officials will get the message that a police force can’t walk into people’s homes without a warrant and abduct their child when the child is perfectly safe, and you can’t have a policy that has no other way of dealing with family pets than shooting them. There is no reason the deputies who shot Buster couldn’t have allowed Cassie to put him in the other room if they felt threatened. We’re going to tell Sherriff Gregory that since he won’t change those policies, we’ll find someone else who will.”

Once the interview was finished, everyone said their goodbyes, and Leo left. Noah made a pot of tea to share with Cassie to help them unwind. While he had no idea of the drama to come, he did know the following day would be a big day.

CHAPTER 16

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

Mark Twain

Noah awoke to the smell of coffee and pancakes. He rolled out of bed and followed the enchanting aroma to the kitchen.

Cassie was setting the table. “You slept in this morning.”

Noah poured his coffee. “It took me a while to go to sleep last night. I was thinking about the protest. I should have gone for a run last night, but I was so tired from all the activity.”

Cassie placed the plate of pancakes on the table. “And you’ll probably be too tired to run tonight after standing up all day.”

“We’ll wrap up the protest at 5:30. The courthouse will clear out by then. I’ll come straight home and go for a run.” Noah brought the syrup to the table as he sat down. He prayed to bless the food, and they began eating.

Cassie said, “I was going to pack us a lunch to take, but Becky texted me and said she’d make sandwiches and drop them off around noon.”

“That’s nice of her. Is she coming to the protest?”

“For a little while, but she has Lynette, so she can’t stay long. What time do you want to be at the courthouse?”

Noah poured a little extra syrup on his pancakes. “No later than 8:30. That’s when everyone starts showing up for work.”

The Parkers finished breakfast and got dressed for the day ahead. Noah finished getting ready first and flipped on the financial news while he waited for Cassie.

The reporter was giving an update of the recent turmoil in the global markets.

“One week after the computer glitch that paralyzed the BRICS nation’s ability to use their independent system for international trade, the problem still has not been solved. Asian stocks took a steep decline this morning at the market open.

“India’s financial regulatory agency, SEBI, has closed all markets in the country. The DICGC, the depository insurance arm of India’s central bank, issued strict limitations on withdrawals this morning. The announcement has triggered a massive run on the banks in India. Fearing a similar response, South Africa has declared a banking holiday for the next three days. This will only intensify the rioting in the major South African cities.

“Brazil’s Ministry of Finance has pledged a fresh infusion of reals in order to keep the Brazilian economy operational, even if it is seriously wounded. Rioting in Sao Paulo turned the city into a total war zone this weekend. Police are completely outnumbered by rioters and gangs. Merchants and suppliers are no longer able to conduct business within the city. If stores are not able to reopen soon, the death toll in Sao Paulo is expected to rise dramatically in coming weeks due to starvation. International aid agencies are setting up relief camps outside of Sao Paulo. Those who are able to flee the city are taking part in a mass exodus, but many of the city’s twelve million inhabitants are too poor and have no resources even to get to the relief camps.

“Gold and silver have dropped precipitously since the metals market opened last night. Silver is now at sixty-five dollars per ounce, representing nearly a forty-five percent drop since last week’s high. Gold seems to have found a temporary support level at $2100. The yellow metal now sits just above support at $2108. It has fallen thirty-four percent since last week.”

Cassie walked into the room. “Wow! That is a huge drop in one week. We should think about buying some silver.”

Noah looked at her. “It’s in freefall. Who knows how low it could go.”

Cassie finished putting her earrings on. “That’s not normal market activity. Someone is pushing the price lower for a reason. Probably so they can load up on it at a cheap price. The world markets are in turmoil. Gold and silver always skyrocket when there’s this much fear in the markets. The precious metals are going to turn around, I promise.”

Noah remembered that he’d vowed to start trusting her instincts, but it was still an internal fight for him. “We can talk about it.”

Cassie smiled. “I’ll take that. What else did the news say?”

“Things are really breaking down in South Africa and Brazil. Riots, bank runs, market crashes, I hope it never gets that bad here.”

Cassie grabbed her jacket. “Oh, I think it will get a lot worse. The global economy is interconnected. This is probably the first domino. Remember 2008?”

Noah turned off the television and grabbed his coat. “Yeah, what about it?”

“The meltdown started in subprime mortgage debt.”

“I remember, but that’s what caused the meltdown in the first place.”

Cassie followed Noah out the door. “True, but those types of market events always start in the most volatile fringe markets and work their way into the mainstream.”

Noah stuck his key in the door to lock the dead bolt. “So you think what’s happening to the stock markets in South Africa, Brazil, and India will spread to America?”

“I do.”

Noah stopped. “Maybe we should sell the rest of our stocks.”

“Okay.”

Noah turned to go back in the house. “Are you coming?”

“You want to sell right now?”

“Don’t you think we should?”

Cassie followed Noah back to the front door. “I don’t know that the contagion is going to spread that fast. In fact, the Plunge Protection Team could very well push US markets higher before a crash comes.”

“That sounds like another one of your conspiracy organizations.” Noah walked in and walked upstairs.

Cassie started laughing as she trailed behind him. “The Plunge Protection Team is the official nickname for the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets. That’s mainstream news.”

“And they get away with manipulating markets in broad daylight?” Noah logged into their Roth IRA trading account.

“It’s the government; they get away with anything they want. Who’s going to stop them? The American people? They’re all asleep at the wheel. Most have no idea what’s going on. What do you think the Fed does when they set interest rates? That’s blatant manipulation of markets.”

Noah started entering sell orders for all of their holdings. “Yeah, I guess that is manipulation of the interest rate market.”

“And everything is tied to interest rates: housing, stocks, commodities, gold, silver, the auto industry. What market can you think of that isn’t affected by interest rates?”

Noah strained to think of something. “I don’t know.”

“Neither do I. Are you going to let all of the proceeds sit around in cash? That’s almost as risky as having it in the market.”

“We should buy some gold and silver?” Noah turned around to look at her.

“I think we should, but you’re the leader of the family.”

Noah paused for a second to wonder if he’d earned that title. “Yes, but you’re the one who’s taken the time to get educated on all of this, so as leader of the family, I delegate this area of decision-making to you.”

Cassie beamed at the compliment. She kissed him on the head. “Hop up; let me get on the computer for a minute.”

Noah gave her the chair, and Cassie went to an online gold and silver dealer that she’d obviously researched ahead of time.

Cassie quickly placed an order. “We just put $5,000 in silver and $5,000 in gold. We’ll watch the market and buy a little more later.”

“That’s it?”

“I have to write a check for the order and drop it in the mailbox on the way to the courthouse.” Cassie took out the checkbook and quickly filled in the amount and appropriate information.

Noah grabbed an envelope, placed a return address sticker and a stamp on it, and then handed it to Cassie. “Why did you split it down the middle?”

Cassie addressed the envelope. “Gold is more stable, but the silver is in smaller denominations, in case we have to use it as a currency someday. I’ll tell you all about it on the way to the courthouse. We gotta hustle; we’re running late.”

Seconds later, Noah and Cassie were on the road. Noah pulled over near the mailbox and Cassie jumped out to drop off the check.

They arrived at the courthouse at 8:25 AM. Isaiah was there with Benny Loomis and around twenty other people from church.

Noah looked on in amazement that so many people were already there. Some had homemade picket signs with various patriotic messages. One man held the Gadsden flag, which was the familiar yellow flag with a coiled serpent and the words, don’t tread on me, written across the bottom. “Thank you all for coming out. I really appreciate it.”

Isaiah said, “You two almost missed out on the donuts. Benny brought Krispy Kremes.”

Noah looked behind him.

Benny handed him a full box of donuts. “I put this to the side for you. I know Cassie likes chocolate glazed.”

Cassie was greeting some of the other protestors when Benny said the word chocolate. She made an abrupt about face. “Oh, I shouldn’t.” She opened the box and took two of the chocolate glazed donuts.

Elliot Rodgers and Kevin Starkey were next to arrive.

“Glad you could make it. Donut?” Noah handed the box to Elliot.

“I hate being stereotyped like that.” Elliot took a donut and handed the box to Starkey, who also took one.

Kevin Starkey handed the box back to Noah. “Four guys from the department are coming by in uniform.”

“To protest?” Noah asked.

“Yes.”

“Won’t they get in trouble?”

Rodgers said, “They’ll be fired. I already got them jobs at the lodge.”

Noah shook his head. “I hope I’m doing the right thing. I don’t want everyone to ruin their lives because of me.”

Starkey said, “It’s not because of you. It’s for freedom and liberty. But you have to be fully convinced that you’re doing the right thing. You can’t second-guess yourself. This might get very difficult, and if you waiver, everyone is going to see it, the patriots and the tyrants. If you give up, the tyrants will get bolder, and the patriots will lose heart. No sacrifice is too big as long as we see this thing through to the end.”

Noah understood what Kevin was saying. “Yeah, thanks.”

The crowd continued to grow and consisted of over forty people by nine o’clock. Leo Cobb showed up around 9:15. “Noah, good turnout. Is this about what you expected?”

Noah shook his head. “I expected four or five people. I was just hoping we could keep enough people around to collect signatures.”

Cobb looked around. “I’m expecting Channel 8 to be here any minute. They’re coming down to do an interview with us and run it at lunch. That should bring out some more people. I’ll make sure I plug your website and ask folks to come down to sign the petition.”

Isaiah walked over to shake hands with his friend, Leo. “Is he taking good care of you, Noah?”

“Leo is great. I really appreciate you introducing us, Isaiah.”

Cassie tugged Noah’s arm. “You gotta see this.”

Noah turned around to see a chimpanzee with a derby hat, three-piece suit, black-and-white leather shoes, and a cane. “No way!”

The lady escorting the chimp walked over and asked for Noah. She was quickly pointed in Noah’s direction. “Mr. Parker?”

Noah looked at the monkey, then back up at the lady. “Yes, hi.”

“I’m Margaret, and this is Joe. He plays Joe Mendi over in Dayton at our Scopes Monkey Trial Festival every year. I’m sure you’re familiar with the trial and the festival.”

“I’m learning about it as I go.” Noah wasn’t as well versed in the historic trial as folks assumed he was.

“Well I heard about your ordeal and started following your website. I wanted to bring Joe out and show our support. I hope that’s okay.”

Noah tried to process the effect that a monkey dressed in a suit would have on the protest. “Sure. Yes, thank you.”

Leo seemed to have run the same analysis. “Thank you very much for coming out, we’re so glad to have you. I know all about the Scopes trial. I went to the festival several years back. I’m Mr. Parker’s attorney, Leo Cobb.”

“Pleased to meet you, I’m Margaret Simmons.”

Cassie pulled Noah to the side. “This is pure gold.”

Noah whispered. “It’s not too gimmicky?”

“You’re trying to get attention, there is no such thing as too gimmicky,” she said.

Four sheriff’s deputies showed up at ten to support Noah, right around the time that Jim and Sandy Taylor arrived. Introductions were made, then Leo pulled Noah and Cassie away to do the interview with Channel 8. The interview was short, but Leo made sure the message was clear and that Joe, the monkey, was visible in the background.

By noon, the crowd had grown to over sixty people, and it was difficult to navigate the sidewalk in front of the courthouse. Leo told Noah the good news. “I spoke with Margaret, and Joe is going to hold a sign that says ParkerMonkeyTrial.com. I called the print shop, and they’re rushing the sign. It should be ready by 1:00. Every kid that walks by or sees the monkey on television is going to tell their parents to look at the monkey.”