God's Tape Recorder

           The silence of the rustic log cabin made Darnell think of a graveyard. He wondered why. The seclusion meant a night alone with his mistress, Lyssa. Dressed in a business suit with graying hair, he turned to Lyssa to ask, “Do you like it?”

           The young woman ran her slender fingers up and down his Armani coat without telling him she would rather have been in her city apartment. “I love it,” she purred.

           Lyssa slid her hand up to his face, which he then leaned into. Holding his hand behind her neck, the pair embraced in a long kiss.

           “Would you like a glass of wine?” asked Darnell. She nodded as he headed to the kitchen.

           Lyssa sat on the couch and examined the room without a smile. She saw no cameras. The windows did not have bars. She looked up at the exposed beam above her that had been distressed for style. Over the fireplace mantle, she glared at the picture of a man kneeling at a rock, hands clasped while looking up.

           When Darnell came in and he saw her looking at the picture. “I have to keep it because it is a gift from my sister. Supposed to be Jesus right before the crucifixion. I don’t like it either.”

           Darnell handed her the wine and sat down beside her on the couch.

           “I feel like I am being watched,” said the mistress. Her voice had a tone of hardness as she looked around.

           “There’s nothing to be scared of,” Darnell said. Putting his arm around her, he scooted closer. “I put three of my savings accounts into this cabin. I don’t know why I added hidden security cameras and window alarms. It is so secluded here, no one can find it.”

           Back to a soft voice, Lyssa said, “You must be a wealthy man to have so many savings accounts. How did you earn it?”

           “I started with a few false reviews on my competitors’ websites. Then I reported to the Wall Street Journal that one was being investigated by the IRS.”

           She opened his coat to put her arm around to snuggle her breasts on his chest. He removed his coat and slung it on the other side.

           “It was pretty clever of me. The company went downhill in a hurry.” He smelled the petite young woman’s floral scented hair.

           “That was all it took?” asked Lyssa.

           “Well, no. When their stock price broke, I bought the controlling share. After that it was just a matter of firing employees, taking pensions funds, and selling the equipment.”

“Weren’t you afraid of lawsuits by the people you hurt?”

Darnell swept his hand in the air. “They can’t afford to sue me. If they did, I would squash them like a noisy cricket.”

He leaned closer for a better look at her low-cut blouse and sent his hand to feel it.

Abruptly, Lyssa stood and smiled at Darnell. “Can I have another glass of wine?”

“Of course.” Another glass will soften her up. He stood to walk toward the kitchen.

Lyssa quickly searched the pockets of his coat for a key fob.

He returned with two glasses of wine, offered her one, and sat down.

The mistress gathered up her legs under her, then ran her hand along his arm perched on the back of the couch. “You are so wise. I’d like to hear more. No problems at all?”

Darnell leaned back and stared at the fireplace, then back at her. “There was an accountant who threatened to report my bribes for government contracts.” Slower while looking at her, he said, “It was cheaper to make the pipsqueak disappear than pay lawyer and court costs.”

“You paid him off?”

           “No. I hired a hit man.”

           Lyssa’s heart skipped a beat, but Darnell never caught it because her expression never changed. “You never got caught. How clever is that?”

           Then she saw it. The key fob to Darnell’s Lexus LX. It lay in the open on the corner of a

small table by the door. She tapped her fingers on her leg.

           The electronic sounds of the door code released the front door. Darnell’s wife strode in as if she owned the cabin instead of him.

           “Amanda!” said Darnell, rising to a defensive stance. “You aren’t supposed to know this cabin even exists!”

           “Your wife? You told me you were divorced!” said Lyssa, also standing.

           Amanda glared at Lyssa. “I filed papers yesterday.” Turning back to Darnell she said, “Needed to be alone for business reasons, huh?”

           “Lyssa is my . . . secretary.”

           “Don’t lie to me. I’ve known about her for a while. I wanted to see your reaction when I tell you what all I am asking for.”

           Lyssa eased out of the war zone and sidled toward the door. She grabbed the key fob from the table and rushed out.

           Darnell shoved his wife aside as he saw his mistress take the key fob. “That’s my car! You come back here! That’s a new four-wheel drive Lexus!” He swung his fist as if to give Lyssa a blow as he watched his SUV leave.

           His wife pushed past her husband. “I’ll let my lawyers talk to you from now on.” She seated herself in her car and started it.

           Darnell looked at her through the car’s window. “You’ll have to take me to town. I don’t have a ride.”

           With a head swagger, she said, “I don’t have to do anything you say.” She revved the engine and headed down the mountain.

           Darnell pulled out his smartphone. “No bars!” He pounded the keys. “Wouldn’t you know it. I’m out of range.” He sighed. He did not feel like walking today and went in the cabin.

*****

           The businessman awakened to the sound of traffic. A lot of it. Outside, old trucks with rusted fenders and faded hoods, carried too many angry, yelling people to count. Leading the pack, Lyssa drove up in Darnell’s Lexus. She knew the path to his hideaway. She had betrayed him! She used him!

           Back door! Darnell breathed hard as his fingers fumbled at the control panel. When he opened the door, two football players grabbed each arm and painfully held them behind his back.

Arriving at the front door, one pulled Darnell’s hair back and said, “Open the front door, or you’re dead now.” The middle-aged man did so.

“We got him! Come in and take what you want!” Charging through the door, members of the mob shoved and squeezed to enter and grab anything they thought valuable.

Darnell felt every sharp rock on the road when the college players pitched him on the ground. The men sat on Darnell until the mob was ready to take revenge.

Lyssa looked down on him. She lifted her leg to kick him in the groin. “That’s for dumping Kelly,” she said speaking through her teeth, “when you found out she carried your baby.”

Someone kicked him, and he felt his ribs move. Another kick and he heard yelling about stealing a father’s pension.

“You ruined my life,” came an aged man’s voice. By the time the next kick bruised his inner organs, all voices faded as Darnell drifted into nether land.

*****

Silence, deeper than at the cabin, left Darnell without any working senses. No sight, no touch, no nothing. All he had were his thoughts and emotions.

“Am I dead?” Darnell thought.

“No,” came an answer. The voice neither threatened nor soothed.

“Am I talking to myself?”

“No,” said the voice.

           Darnell was relieved to have someone nearby. “Who are you?

           “I am Jesus the Son of God who created you and gave you life. You are here to give an account of yourself.”

           “I thought you weren’t real. Why don’t you show yourself if you are real?”

           “I did to Paul. He was blinded and fell to his knees.”

           Darnell felt uncomfortable at that thought. “Why are you talking to me?”

           “Your family has been praying for your soul.”

           “What were they praying?” He tried to sneer. “My salvation again?”

           “Yes.”

           Old thoughts and emotions surfaced. “Does it matter? Just make me dust without thoughts or feelings. I haven’t sinned. I am just as good as you are.”

           Darnell felt a covering of someone else’s anger, then the empty silence of desolation.

           “Are you there?” He wanted someone nearby.

           “Yes I am. Your sister, Lauren and your parents are now praying with tears. I interceded for their prayers to God the Father, and the Holy Spirit added his groanings. Make an account of yourself. You sinned with Lyssa.”

           “I never had sex with her.”

           “I said 'if you lust in your heart after a woman, it is the same as committing adultery.' Do you want me to name the other women you lusted after?”

           If Darnell had a body, he would be breathing fast.

           “Those were just thoughts. It’s not like I did a serious sin, like breaking the Ten Commandments.”

           The cold, empty desolation covered him again. He was thankful to hear the voice again… he thought.

“It has been decided to let you hear witnesses you cannot argue against,” said Jesus.

Darnell regained his sight enough to watch the cabin room appear, but he still had no body.

           “Fireplace Stone,” Jesus said, “report what you heard.”

Fireplace Stone spoke in a heavy, slow, groaning voice. Darnell recognized it as his voice. An eerie echo went with the voice. “I started with a few false reviews on my competitors’ websites. Then I reported to the Wall Street Journal that one was being investigated by the IRS. It was pretty clever of me. The company went downhill in a hurry.”

“That was the sin of lying,” said Jesus. “Are you going to deny that?”

           Darnell could not think of an answer.

           “Continue Fireplace Stone.”

           “When the company’s stock price broke,” it said, “I bought the controlling share. After that it was just a matter of firing employees, taking pension funds, and selling the equipment.”

           “That was the sin of stealing,” said Jesus. “Do you have an answer?”

           Darnell strove to run away, but he could not move.

           “Fine,” said Jesus. “Beam, tell me what you heard.”

Beam’s splinters opened like lips. It too used Darnell’s voice. “They can’t afford to sue me. If they do, I’ll squash them like a noisy cricket.”

           “I said 'if you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.’”

           Darnell froze in shock at the words from the cabin and from Jesus. How can they talk? How should I answer someone who can eavesdrop like that? What else knew of his deals?

           “You are right, Darnell”, said Jesus. “I have heard everything you have said since you were born. Now, give me an account of yourself.”

           Darnell’s voice rose in alarm. “You know my name?”

           “Yes. And I know the names of those you hurt.”

           If he could make stones and wood talk, what else could he do?” Darnell frantically searched for an answer and could only tell the truth. “I’m scared of you. I can’t change the past.”

           Jesus' voice softened. “You would not be here if I did not love you.”

           Stunned by the answer, Darnell could not speak. At last, he whispered, “You love me despite hiring a hit man for the accountant and leaving Kelly and the baby to fend for themselves?”

           “Yes. It is why I was crucified. To forgive sins. So you could be with me and we could enjoy heaven together.”

*****

Darnell felt his tears running down his face as he opened his eyes. Nothing but embers remained of the cabin the mob had burned. He heard birds singing in the trees nearby. The ground was solid, and the morning sun peeked over the treetops. I am alive!

           Lauren drove up in her seven-year-old Chevy and whispered prayers when she saw Darnell. Running to him, she kneeled next to him with tears running down her face.

 “Your prayers are answered,” said Darnell to Lauren. “I want to confess my sins and believe on Jesus Christ.”

Loosely based on Habakkuk 2:10-11.