“Yep.”
“Were you surprised by Jesse’s reaction to you?”
“He’s shaken my hand many times, and I’ve prayed for him and his family. I don’t know all that lives in a man’s heart. Sometimes, a good heart lets a bad guest come for a visit. I hope that’s the situation with Jesse.”
Mike put the car in reverse and drove away from the church. They passed the Rea homestead.
“I have a theory about what happened at the bank,” Mike said. “And Jesse is at the heart of it.”
“How?”
“It’s not complicated and eliminates the existence of proving a bank error. Jesse wrote the checks from the building fund and put them in your account to discredit you and eliminate your influence in the church. He’d be taking a tremendous risk, but it would explain the financial transactions. Finding out the number of your bank account wouldn’t be too difficult. He then simply presented the checks for deposit to your account.”
“But he said his name was forged on the checks.”
“He could have modified his normal signature so it would look like a forgery. We can have the checks examined by an expert. It might not turn up anything, but it would be worth a try. Getting Jesse to admit a criminal act would be next to impossible; however, there are three credible witnesses who will testify about Jesse’s attitude toward you this evening. It might be enough to create a reasonable doubt.”
“What would happen to Jesse?”
“Nothing, unless the DA decided to prosecute him. If the charges against you are dropped or a jury finds you not guilty, I suspect the whole matter would all go away. It’s not the kind of case Ken West, the district attorney, likes to take all the way.”
They rode in silence. Mike turned onto another road.
“But do you think Jesse wrote those two checks?” Sam asked.
“It was a stupid thing to do, but if he’s as mad at you as he showed at the church, anything is possible. Now, he’s probably scared that he’ll get caught.”
“Did you see anything about Jesse in your dream?”
Mike shook his head and smiled. “I’m not sure about my dream. All the men in my dream were white. Why didn’t you tell me it was a black church?”
“Would it have made a difference?”
“Of course not, but it makes me question my dream.”
“Does Papa see in color?” Sam asked with a grin.
“Don’t mess with me,” Mike responded.
“It doesn’t make me doubt your dream,” Sam continued. “Papa likes variety. All creation shows it.”
“Well, whatever happened at my house around 3:18 a.m. didn’t seem to have much relevance to that meeting.”
“Is that when you woke up?”
“Yes, it’s one of the few things I remember.”
“Do you have a Bible in the car?” Sam asked.
“Check the backseat.”
Sam reached behind him. While Mike drove, Sam flipped through the pages.
“What are you looking for?” Mike asked.
“A clue to understanding your dream.”
Sam turned several more pages. “Here’s something. Listen to this. ‘As I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.’ That’s Philippians 3:18. Your tears came when you looked at Jesse. The time of a dream is often important.”
Mike didn’t look at Sam. “You can believe there is a connection if you want to, but I think plugging a verse into an alarm clock and concluding it’s a message from God is speculation.”
“Just consider it. I’m trying to help you get smarter about the things you’re moving into.”
Mike turned onto McAfee Road.
“I’m not sure about the tears or the time of night,” he said. “My goal is to move you safely through the criminal justice system and out the other side without any more tears for Muriel or jail time for you.”
Fourteen
THE FOLLOWING DAY, MIKE FILED A FLURRY OF MOTIONS IN Sam’s case, including a request for scientific evaluation of the checks deposited to Sam’s bank account. Late in the afternoon, he received a call from Melissa Hall.
“I went over your motions with Ken,” the assistant DA said. “There isn’t much in the file, but we’ll let you copy what you want.”
“Is there a statement from Miller?”
“Signed after receiving his Miranda rights.”
“And the checks?”
“Yes, copies along with other bank records.”
“Okay. When will the file be available?”
“Whenever you want to review it. The secretary knows you have permission. Also, Ken wants to have an informal meeting with Judge Coberg about the letter the judge sent. Would you have any objection to meeting with the judge in chambers before bringing in an outside judge for a hearing?”