The List (61 page)

For the past three days Jo had been sleeping twenty hours a day due to fatigue and fever. During the brief spells of wakefulness, she continued to be disoriented and delirious. Dr. Levy had been unable to locate a suitable bone marrow donor and was fighting desperately to keep Jo alive until a possible match could be found. Exhausted and emotionally spent, Carol had gone home for a few hours' rest.

When Renny uttered his proclamation breaking the power of the List over the lives of those it had touched, Jo rolled over in bed and opened her eyes. She was hungry. Moving her arms, she felt stronger than she had at any time since entering the hospital. Her legs felt better, too. She wanted to get out of bed. Fully awake, she sat up. She pushed the call button and a very tired Anne responded in a few seconds.

“What's wrong?”

“It's not what's wrong. Something is right. My arms and legs feel much better, and I don't have a trace of fever. Take my temperature, and let's do a blood test.”

Anne felt Jo's cool forehead. “Praise the Lord. I'll get someone from the lab to draw blood.”

Jo's temperature was 98.6, but she stayed under the isolation tent until the lab completed the blood work. Her red cell, white cell, and platelet counts were all within normal limits.

Anne came running in with tears streaming down her face and told Jo the results. “I called your mom. She's on her way over. Dr. Levy is assisting with a surgery, but I left word for him to come as soon as he can.”

“It's a miracle,” Jo said.

“Yes.” Anne smiled through her tears. “That's what you needed. A miracle.”

36

And I will restore to you . . . And ye shall eat in plenty,
and be satisfied, and praise the name of the L
ORD
your God,
that hath dealt wondrously with you.

J
OEL 2:25–26, KJV

L
aRochette returned to the dining room and faced the still-shaken remnant of the Covenant List of South Carolina, Limited.

“I talked with the police department. A magistrate is going to issue a warrant for Jacobson's arrest for violating the terms of his probation in coming here tonight. They are also going to charge him with terrorist threats based on my summary of what he told us. Once he's in jail, he will have plenty of time to rue the error of his ways.”

“I may send him a postcard from the Virgin Islands. ‘Wish you were here,'” Weiss said in an effort to sound gleeful.

There was a loud knock at the door, and it flew open. “Nobody move!”

Five men, two in dark business suits and three wearing black shirts emblazoned with DEA, burst into the room. The DEA officers quickly blocked the two exits from the room. One of the men dressed in a suit spoke, “I'm Special Agent Max Logan with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is Agent Jackson, and these other officers are with the Drug Enforcement Agency. We have warrants for the arrest of the following persons…”

LaRochette tried to register a protest, but Agent Jackson interrupted him and ordered him to face the wall and put his hands on top of his head. In ten minutes, LaRochette aged ten years. True to Renny's words, a group of confused and defeated men was frisked, handcuffed, and led out single file to waiting government sedans. They were separated from one another and transported to an FBI detention center in Charleston.

Renny was driving back to Charleston when the Georgetown police called A. L.'s house and informed him of the warrant for Renny's arrest.

“I don't know where he is, but I will advise him to turn himself in as soon as I can contact him.”

A. L. hung up the receiver with a heavy heart. The phone rang again. It was Greg Barnwell. “Did you hear the big news yet?”

“Unfortunately. The police just called and said there was a warrant for Jacobson's arrest.”

“What? They oughta give the boy a medal, not throw him back in the lockup.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The big news is the bust the FBI and DEA made an hour ago on those rich guys your client put us onto. This is not for public dissemination, but you have a right to know. The old fellows were congregating at an old inn in Georgetown like fat cats around a dinner dish. The agents scooped 'em up without a meow or a scratch. They were all there except the one named Eicholtz.”

“Tell me more.”

“You're not going to represent them, are you?”

“You're kidding. I think I have a conflict of interest.”

“No doubt you do. Well, the DEA took the information you supplied and used it to squeeze that Parmero character in Miami. He saw the handwriting on the wall and agreed to turn state's evidence. He gave us more than enough information to get multicount indictments this morning in Miami from a special grand jury investigating the Colombian drug trade. The federal district judge also issued seizure orders on all the accounts in Switzerland. It may take a while, but I think the national debt could be substantially reduced.”

“Wow.”

“The details will probably never come out, but in terms of money subject to seizure, it may be the biggest drug bust in history.”

“Incredible. Thanks for letting me know.”

“The thanks go to you and your client.”

“Hey, since we're such heroes, can you get someone to help with Jacobson's situation here in Georgetown? Apparently he confronted the group before your men arrived, violating his parole agreement not to have contact with LaRochette, the leader of the organization.”

“Sure. I'll pass it on and ask someone to call the local authorities as soon as possible.”

“Great. You should get a promotion, Greg.”

“Who knows? At the least I'll get an afternoon off to go fishin'.”

Oblivious to the furor foaming in his wake, Renny was as lighthearted and free as he had been since—well, forever.

Mama A was still awake when he knocked on her door.

“A. L. called an hour ago and said he had some bad news and some better news. He wanted you to call him if you came by here.”

Renny went into the kitchen and dialed A. L.'s number. “Do I want to know the bad news?” he asked.

“Don't worry,” the big lawyer said. “LaRochette orchestrated a warrant for your arrest. However, I can guarantee that as we speak he is not thinking about pressing charges against you. Within the hour he should be arriving in Charleston, courtesy of the FBI and DEA. The federal authorities are going to contact the law enforcement officials here about the warrant for your arrest, and I will try to see Judge Kincaid about the matter on Monday morning.”

“What happened?”

“The Feds were on your heels. They must have arrived at the inn within minutes after you left.”

“Was everybody arrested?”

“All except Eicholtz were picked up on multicount indictments. The Colombian contact is cooperating with the government.”

“It happened,” Renny said deliberately.

“What do you mean?”

“The message I had for the group. They could not resist the presence of God's power within me. I can't describe what happened; it was the Lord's judgment against evil, just like King Josiah in the Bible.”

“You broke the power of evil in the spiritual realm. Now the Lord is using the sword of the government to execute judgment on the earth.” “Yeah.”

“Well done, Renny.”

Renny paused. “So, did I make it to the Wall of Faith?”

A. L. laughed. “Without a doubt. You're my new favorite case.”

Both Renny and Mama A went to bed and slept like rocks. Renny caught an early flight to Detroit and arrived in Lansing before noon. He drove straight to the hospital and took the elevator to the fifth floor. The middle-aged nurse responded to the buzzer.

“I want to see Jo Johnston, please.”

“She's been moved to another room. You need to check at the patient information desk downstairs in the lobby.”

Renny retraced his steps and saw Carol Edwards walking across the lobby. Waving, he ran over to her. “How's Jo?”

“She's fine.”

“No more fever or infection?”

“More than that. No more anything. She's completely healed.”

Renny's mouth dropped open. “When? How?”

“Last night. I'd gone home to rest for a few hours, not sure if she'd still be with us when I returned to the hospital. But she woke up and felt better. They performed blood tests, and everything was completely normal. They repeated the tests this morning and got the same results. So Dr. Levy moved her to a regular room.”

“Did you say seven-thirty?”

“Yes.”

Renny shook his head. “Incredible.”

“Yes, it is,” Carol responded, not realizing what Renny was referring to. “She may be released tomorrow.”

“Can I see her?”

“I'm on my way up to her room now.”

Carol knocked on the door. “You have a visitor. I'll be back in a minute.”

Renny wasn't prepared for his reaction when he saw Jo sitting up in bed with the full bloom of health on her cheeks and a bright smile on her face. That would have been enough. But when their eyes met, her joy at seeing him and the pure love that flowed out of her heart and into his overcame him. He sat down by the bed, put his face into the sheet beside her, and wept. Her own eyes moist, Jo didn't speak. She simply stroked his head with her hand. The tension generated by the overwhelming pressures of the previous few days flowed out of Renny. His internal spring had been wound to the breaking point, and in her presence he was finally able to let everything go.

“Feel better?” she asked when he raised his tear-streaked face.

He nodded.

“Me, too.”

He held her hand to his cheek and kissed it.

“That's nice. Tell me, what have you been doing while I was in never-never land?”

Renny wiped his eyes and sat up in the chair. “I have a story only you can fully appreciate.”

“I'm all ears.”

“I don't know how to begin.”