The Secret of the Stones by Ernest Dempsey (reading fiction .TXT) 📕

“What does it mean? How do you know where to begin?” Tommy asked.

A curious look came on the wrinkled face. “I’m not sure what you’re so frantic about. It’s just a Bible verse. It begins on that window, over there,” he pointed to a window in the top of the front right corner of the sanctuary, “and reads all the way around, down to the next level, then finishes over there in the back.”

Ulrich looked as if he’d just won the lottery. “The Bible verse, what does it say?” he demanded.

“It’s just a text from Genesis. Many people around here know about it. Not like it’s a secret.”

More impatient now, Ulrich insisted, “Yes, but what does it say?”

The man appeared thrown off by the sudden change in temperament, but he replied anyway. “It’s from Genesis 8, all taken from verses 7, 8, and 20.”

“Show me.”

The sexton raised his arm and pointed at a large Bible sitting on a stand directly below a raised baptismal pool. “Here, take a look.” He shuffled over to the gargantuan book and flipped a few chunks of pages then, one by one until he found the right spot.

“See, have a look.”

Ulrich and Tommy stepped up to the podium that held the huge book.

Verse 7: And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. Verse 8: Also, he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. Verse 20: Then Noah built an altar to the Lord.

“What is this? The raven and dove? What is that supposed to mean?”

Confused, the elderly man replied matter-of-factly, “Well, um, it is a kind of motto for this church, sir.”

Ulrich was incredulous. “What do you mean a motto? What kind of motto is this for anything?”

“Well,” he was stuttering at this point, unsure about why it mattered so much to this foreign visitor. “Our church is called the Beacon Tabernacle. A beacon is a type of guide, in a manner of speaking. So, the designers of the building thought it appropriate to use this verse because the raven and the dove were used to guide Noah to dry land.”

“That’s it?” Ulrich stepped over to the old sexton and grabbed him by the shirt and tie and lifted him with both arms, pressing him against the wall beneath the baptism. “Answer me, old man. Is that all you know?”

A look of innocent fear swept across the sexton’s face, replacing the confusion that had been there. His voice scratched as a result of the fists cutting off his breath just below the neck. “I…don’t…know what you…want me to tell…you. The church represents the altar that Noah built. What else do you want to know?”

Strong hands clenched tighter around the man’s thin neck, and the pale, wrinkled skin began turning a slight reddish-purple color.

“What are you doing? You’re hurting him!” Tommy yelled but was restrained by the strong grips of the guards.

Ulrich turned as if to say, “I don’t care,” when suddenly, another familiar voice filled the sanctuary.

“Put him down!”

Both of the guards looked instinctively over to an open doorway where a man with hair that almost matched his dark-khaki pants stood holding a pistol in the direction of their boss.

Turning his head toward where the voice had come from, Ulrich glared at the new threat that dared interrupt his interrogation. At first, his eyes went immediately to the drawn weapon in the man’s hands, aimed squarely at him. After a moment, though, he focused on the person holding the gun.

Sean Wyatt had caught up to them. Again.

48

Southeastern Tennessee

For a long moment, everyone stood frozen in a stalemate. Ulrich and Wyatt glared at each other as if waiting to see who would make the first move. Even though it must have only been half a minute, it felt like an eternity.

Sean wasn’t willing to risk a shot, afraid the old man might get hurt.

The two guards stood at the ready, each holding Tommy tightly, also making them difficult targets.

“So, Mr. Wyatt,” Ulrich broke the silence.  “You just won’t seem to go away.” Then in one quick, fluid motion, he grabbed the sexton and jerked him around like a rag doll, clenching the old man around the neck with his arm.

“Most people think of it as an endearing trait.” Sean kept the gun trained on the blond assailant.

Ulrich snickered, “Hardly the time for joking.” With another swift movement, he pulled his own pistol out and pressed it hard against the side of the old man’s head.

Though Sean had surprised the group, he was at a major disadvantage. He could see Joe and Allyson crawling behind the cover of one of the church pews on the other side of the sanctuary. That evened the numbers a little, but now the bad guys had two hostages, and the risk of hitting one of them was too high at the moment.

“So tell me, Sean. How did you find us here?” Ulrich was talking again.

“It was dumb luck really.” Sean edged slowly behind the nearest church pew. He didn’t want to be a completely exposed target. “That park ranger you killed left a message on his cell phone that said, Beacon. After leaving the museum, I did a quick search on the navigation system in the car. The only thing within twenty miles with the word beacon in it was this church. I figured it was worth a shot.”

“How fortuitous.”

Ulrich leveled the pistol with a quick snap of his wrist and fired off two quick volleys that erupted into splinters in the pew right in front of Wyatt. The quick action by the blond man