business at hand.” He maneuvered behind the desk and opened a drawer, took out a thick manila envelope, and unsealed it. “We ask our applicants to write an essay about why they want to join the Temple of Brighter Light. What I would like you to do is review a few of these essays and tell me whether you believe they’re telling the truth or not. I’ll have more for you later.”
Claudia took the sheaf of papers he handed her. “I’ll do what I can, Mr. Stedman, but I want to make sure you understand something: if the person didn’t experience guilt over what he or she wrote, it might not show up in their handwriting as a lie.”
“I do understand.” The piercing blue eyes met her gaze. “But if you find anything, anything at all, you will let me know, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“I have reason to believe there is some murmuring going on—dissent among some of the members, which is bad for the entire body. There are certain ones whose loyalty concerns me and I need to know whether I can trust them.”
“Murmuring? I suppose you mean someone making negative comments about TBL teachings.”
“We must be a unified body, and that means rooting out those who disrupt the peace of the organization.”
“What will happen to them if you find out that you’re right?”
“They’ll be excommunicated.”
“Meaning?”
Stedman slapped the envelope against his hand and his expression grew stern. “The first step is for the judicial commission to offer loving counsel. If they are found to be unrepentant evildoers who, by their actions or behavior, discredit the good that the Temple is doing, they will be cast out. No longer will we welcome them in our midst, nor will we say a greeting to them. If we see them on the street, we will cross to the other side. If they attempt to approach one of us, we will turn away.”
“But if they’ve given up everything to live at the Ark, or to be a TBL member . . .”
“It is sad, sister, but the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Betrayal of the Lord God is deserving of spiritual death.”
Laying the envelope on the desk, he edged his way around Claudia, apologizing as he brushed against her, and opened the door. “I’ll be working upstairs in my office all this afternoon. Sister Rita can show you where I am if you need me for anything. I’d like you to return the handwriting samples to me before dinner this afternoon, whether you are finished with the work or not. If you aren’t finished, you can get them back from me tomorrow morning.”
After he left, closing the door behind him, Claudia contemplated what he’d said about excommunicating recalcitrant members. She imagined that for someone who had been thoroughly indoctrinated in TBL teachings, it might be a living hell to be cast out of the Ark. She already had an inkling that members were cut off from their former friends and family upon joining, which made their only support system the one within the confines of the Temple of Brighter Light. It seemed to her a cruel punishment.
She turned to the handwriting samples with even more mixed feelings than before. It had become clear to her that her reports could potentially assist in causing harm to their authors. Claudia was accustomed to testifying in trials, both civil and criminal. Sometimes she worked for the defendant, sometimes for the person suing them. In every case she recognized the burden imposed upon her. It was the nature of trial testimony that someone invariably got hurt. But somehow, this was different. She faced the task before her with the responsibility weighing heavier than usual.
Then it came to her that since she had the stunning good fortune to be working right in Rodney Powers’s office, there would be no better time to check out his files and look for clues to his whereabouts.
Chapter 8
Seating herself behind Rodney’s desk in the stifling office, Claudia got out her notepad and pen and prepared to make
Claudia took the sheaf of papers he handed her. “I’ll do what I can, Mr. Stedman, but I want to make sure you understand something: if the person didn’t experience guilt over what he or she wrote, it might not show up in their handwriting as a lie.”
“I do understand.” The piercing blue eyes met her gaze. “But if you find anything, anything at all, you will let me know, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“I have reason to believe there is some murmuring going on—dissent among some of the members, which is bad for the entire body. There are certain ones whose loyalty concerns me and I need to know whether I can trust them.”
“Murmuring? I suppose you mean someone making negative comments about TBL teachings.”
“We must be a unified body, and that means rooting out those who disrupt the peace of the organization.”
“What will happen to them if you find out that you’re right?”
“They’ll be excommunicated.”
“Meaning?”
Stedman slapped the envelope against his hand and his expression grew stern. “The first step is for the judicial commission to offer loving counsel. If they are found to be unrepentant evildoers who, by their actions or behavior, discredit the good that the Temple is doing, they will be cast out. No longer will we welcome them in our midst, nor will we say a greeting to them. If we see them on the street, we will cross to the other side. If they attempt to approach one of us, we will turn away.”
“But if they’ve given up everything to live at the Ark, or to be a TBL member . . .”
“It is sad, sister, but the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. Betrayal of the Lord God is deserving of spiritual death.”
Laying the envelope on the desk, he edged his way around Claudia, apologizing as he brushed against her, and opened the door. “I’ll be working upstairs in my office all this afternoon. Sister Rita can show you where I am if you need me for anything. I’d like you to return the handwriting samples to me before dinner this afternoon, whether you are finished with the work or not. If you aren’t finished, you can get them back from me tomorrow morning.”
After he left, closing the door behind him, Claudia contemplated what he’d said about excommunicating recalcitrant members. She imagined that for someone who had been thoroughly indoctrinated in TBL teachings, it might be a living hell to be cast out of the Ark. She already had an inkling that members were cut off from their former friends and family upon joining, which made their only support system the one within the confines of the Temple of Brighter Light. It seemed to her a cruel punishment.
She turned to the handwriting samples with even more mixed feelings than before. It had become clear to her that her reports could potentially assist in causing harm to their authors. Claudia was accustomed to testifying in trials, both civil and criminal. Sometimes she worked for the defendant, sometimes for the person suing them. In every case she recognized the burden imposed upon her. It was the nature of trial testimony that someone invariably got hurt. But somehow, this was different. She faced the task before her with the responsibility weighing heavier than usual.
Then it came to her that since she had the stunning good fortune to be working right in Rodney Powers’s office, there would be no better time to check out his files and look for clues to his whereabouts.
Chapter 8
Seating herself behind Rodney’s desk in the stifling office, Claudia got out her notepad and pen and prepared to make
Similar Books
