too much blood this week. What kinds of people are capable of such inhuman conduct? What could possibly motivate this?”
“I think you know the answer to that,” Samson replied. “You of all people should know. You encountered them at the Security Fair, College Church, and this morning at the daycare. Their hatred is beyond belief. It’s certainly not human.”
Leaving the house and finding a seemingly peaceful place among some trees in the front yard, Sally sat and cried. The impact of the past days had taken an tremendous toll on her. The killings, her friend Tom Campy’s injuries, and now Susan Stafford’s death had left her emotionally exhausted. On top of that, they were nowhere close to finding out about the larger risk of which the president had warned. She mixed her tears with prayer and was suddenly reminded of the note taken from Susan Stafford after she died. She opened the plastic bag to uncover the envelope which contained the note and began to read.
If you have found this note, then hopefully by God’s grace I am dead, and hopefully, I died better than I lived. My life was a waste. I was evil and cruel beyond human imagination; cold and uncaring until my eyes were opened to the truth of what I had become and I screamed in horror at myself.
I WAS the one you called the Williams’ shooter. I am solely responsible for all the hurt, injury and death, and am without excuse. I deserve the cruelest punishment and death ever devised for what I did, and I know what that is. It is crucifixion. I deserve to die that way.
I cannot change what I did, or I would. I am so sorry now for the pain and anguish I have caused. I am unworthy of anyone’s forgiveness, so I will not even ask.
I have one request. In the upper left drawer of my desk, you will find a journal written by two very different authors. It chronicles the horror story as a daily diary from the day my evil plans were conceived to the day before you find this note. In it, you will learn of pure evil confronted and hopefully changed forever. It is a story that those who have suffered at my hand need to hear, and those who have been evil like me need to read. I said that there were two authors; I believe the journal will make clear how that could be.
I ask that my journal be given to the Bookseller, to whom I surrender all rights so that it can someday be published. I wish for every dime made to be distributed to care for those I have injured, for the spouses of those I killed, and for their children through some kind of entity headed by Sally Johnson, who held out her hand to me in friendship. It does not in any way resolve what I have done, but it is all I can do. Again — I am so sorry.
Susan Stafford
The tears became a torrent as Sally held the note and wondered how this could be. After taking a moment to collect herself, she placed the note securely back in the plastic bag and returned to the house. “Pete, we have to leave here right now and get to Susan Stafford’s house as soon as we can. There is something there we have to get — now.”
“What are you talking about? This is a crime scene; the place where the terrorists lived. The forensic team hasn’t even gotten here yet!” Samson responded in disbelief.
“Pete, shut up and give me the keys to the car. I’ll drive, and you read this,” she said handing him the note. “Then you will understand.”
Grumbling under his breath, he threw Sally the keys and followed her into the car. Just as the forensic team arrived, they were on their way, siren blazing.
Chapter 3
A Truly Lasting Memorial
Thursday, February 14–MD minus 25 days
Oblivious to what was going on beneath the surface, Dr. Janice Girds continued with final preparations for a special posthumous presentation. They were to honor Abdul Farsi as the teacher hero of the Security Fair at Thursday night’s American Teachers Society’s opening banquet. The conference would be dedicated to his memory in honor of his sacrifice.
“What a significant opportunity we have been given to raise the public’s perception of a teacher’s love for his students. We must also see this as an opportunity to attack the president’s insane perception that we are at war with all Arabs and Muslims,” Girds declared to the executive committee gathered to review the final program. “We have a message to send to the American people, and for once we should have an audience to hear. Two of the major networks have agreed to cover the presentation. Tonight is our night.”
“Be careful not to make this overtly political,” Sandra Freeman cautioned. “Let the public draw their own conclusions. The contrast should be obvious from the program. This award, along with inviting former President Cox to be the keynote speaker, should be enough. Not every American teacher sees the issues as we do. Speaking of that, what do we do tomorrow about the president’s call for people to gather to pray and seek forgiveness? There are Christians here among our membership.”
“Look, religious fanaticism is what has generated this nightmare of terrorism,” Girds answered. “I say we simply have a moment of silence and get on with the agenda.”
“That will not be enough for some,” George Cook pointed out, “and frankly, I am one of them. I have never objected to the political direction of this organization, and I am not a Christian, but when you choose to ignore the president’s call to stand before God, I have to draw a line. Whether you like him or not, he is the leader of our country and what he asked has a historical basis. We should honor that.”
“You do what you want on your own time, but we have too full an agenda to give up an afternoon,” Girds answered. “We only meet once a year.”
Ignoring Dr. Girds, Cook went on, “I propose that we change the agenda and dedicate tomorrow afternoon as a time when those who attend have the opportunity to follow the president’s request if that is what they desire to do. Those who don’t would enjoy some free time to golf or shop, but those who want to do as the president requested should have the opportunity.”
Debates like this were occurring all across the United States as decisions were made about the president’s call. Many ended as this one did — with nothing more than a moment of silence set aside. But this was not the case for all, as some people truly understood the significance of the choice.
In the invisible, every entity, event, and person was a spiritual battlefield as people were making their choice about tomorrow.
Events Accelerate
Even as the ATS executive committee had debated their choice, a Saudi diplomatic aircraft landed at Sky Harbor Airport carrying Baqir Dawood and the envelope containing the Sheik’s instructions for Ahmad Habid. Moving quickly through the airport with no luggage other than a locked diplomatic briefcase, Dawood entered a limousine for the drive to the Westin Kierland Resort. There, Habid waited with Phygelus Aladr. Together, J-10 and J-14 waited for the arrival of this message and the other teacher coordinators from across the country.
Further South, Seth Wilson was an hour away from Carmen, Arizona. He had been sent by Homeland Security to follow up on the conversation Kayla Walker had with the kid, Juan Martinez, regarding suspicious activities at the old Craig place.
In Washington, Darrell Reed had been scrambling; working quickly with Pastor Wilson, long-distance, to set up the Together We Pray website so it could receive messages as well as send out messages. “God must be working in this,” he thought as he heard the test results. He had called the archbishop of Rwanda,
