Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"Actually," Henry said, "there isn't really time for a game if we're going to
have tea at Dad's coffee shop. Remember we have to make two trips to get
us all there!"
The twins were disappointed, but were easily placated when Henry gave
them each a biscuit. He told Mandy he could drop her off at her home on the
way to taking George and the children to Joel's. Then he would come back to
get Carl and Emma.
"I'll clear up the afternoon tea things," Emma offered, "so you people can
get going." She turned to Carl. "It'll only take me a few minutes, then I'll join
you in the truck."
Henry, George, Mandy, and the twins left, and Carl went out to the
camper. Emma tidied up the lounge and kitchen, then locked up Henry's
house and also went out to the camper. "What were you planning to do
tomorrow?" she asked Carl, "Or haven't you any plans yet?"
"I thought tomorrow morning we could take the children over to
Goldridge Park, where I first met Henry. There's a playground there that I
think they'd enjoy very much. It's a good, quiet spot, too, and I could do a
bit of study and preparation for Sunday. What do you think?"
He put his arm around her waist, and bent down and kissed her lightly.
Emma smiled up at him. "I think it's a lovely idea," she replied, and kissed
him back. "Shall we take George along, too?"
"Yes, if he wants to come. He may have other plans—we'll ask him."
"We'd better get moving and tidy this up so we're ready when Henry gets
back to pick us up, now," Emma said.
They finished in a few minutes, and locked up the camper. Then they sat
on Henry's front step, talking, until he came to fetch them.

166
 CHAPTER 21

The next morning the Slades set off for Goldridge Park in Henry's car
soon after breakfast. George had been invited to have morning tea at the
Hastings', so they had dropped him off there on their way out.
"There's a big playground here, children," Carl said to the twins as they
drove into the parking area of Goldridge Park, "You can play there for a
while—until morning tea time."
They climbed out of the car and walked through the park gates towards
the playground. The twins skipped ahead happily while their parents
followed behind them hand in hand.
"Do you remember the first time you held my hand, Carl?" Emma asked
suddenly.
"Yes, why are you asking?" he replied, looking at her curiously.
"Oh, I was just thinking about those first weeks in Kawanyama," she
answered, "and all the things that happened back then, and that came to
mind."
"That must have been one of the saddest days of my life, that day when I
heard that Andrew Parker had been shot," Carl mused, "and the only bright
spot in it was you." He stopped, called to the twins to wait, and gazed
quizzically at his wife. "You knew, somehow, that I would need a friend to
lean on, and you knew just what to say and do. I hadn't wanted anyone to
come outside with me, you know, but I couldn't bring myself to say 'no'
when you asked if you could come with me. And what a comfort it was to
have you there! Actually, you know, that day wasn't the first time I'd wanted
to hold your hand, but it was the first time I knew it wouldn't frighten you if
I did."
"It was such a surprise to me, to realise that we'd actually become close
friends. It felt a bit strange at first when you took my hand, but not for long.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world, when we walked back to the
house holding hands."
"Did you know that I'd never held hands with a woman before that day,
Em?"
"No, I didn't know, but I'm not surprised to hear it. You weren't exactly a
model Protectioner in every way, were you?"
"Hardly. The more I think about it, the more amazed I am that I lasted as
long as I did and even made it to Head Police Counsellor! If you consider my
life outside work, it was in many ways what the Protectioners said it
shouldn't be, and yet they did nothing about it."
"Even before you knew Him, God had His plans for you, and I guess part
of those plans included your being a Counsellor. The Protectioners couldn't
touch you until He allowed it."
"That's the only explanation I can think of, too."
Emma noticed that the children were fidgeting impatiently, so they
resumed walking and soon reached the playground. The twins were about to

167
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

run off to play when Carl called them to him. "Helen, Andrew," he said,
crouching down to their level and eyeing them gravely, "Remember what
happened yesterday, when the man took you to that other park?"
"Yes, Daddy," they answered together, nodding.
"Well," Carl continued, "we don't want anything like that to happen again,
so make sure you are near Mummy or Daddy all the time, and that you can
see us. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Daddy," they answered again.
"All right, you can go and play, now," Carl said as he stood up again.
"Daddy, can you push me on the swing, please?" Helen asked.
"And me?" Andrew said.
"Mummy can push one of you and I'll push the other," Carl replied.
They helped the twins onto the swings and pushed them along. After a
few moments, Emma noticed a familiar person approaching. She pointed
him out to Carl. "Look, there's Rick," she said, "and I think he's seen us."
She waved to the boy, who waved back and came sauntering through the
playground to the swings. "Hello, Rick, how are you?" she greeted him.
"Hi, Mrs. Slade, Mr. Slade," Rick replied, "I'm okay, I guess. I was just
walking through the park when I spotted you."
"Why aren't you at school?" Carl asked him.
"Our school's shut today—there's some sort of course on for the
teachers," he explained, and waved to the children. "Hi, twins. Having fun?"
"Yeah!" Helen answered enthusiastically, "You coming to swing too?"
"No, not this time," Rick answered, smiling. He turned to Carl, and said
somewhat anxiously, "Actually, I was going to go past Pastor Henry's place.
I'd like to talk with you, Mr. Slade, if I could. There's something bothering
me and I can't talk to my Dad about it."
"Yes, Pastor Henry mentioned that you wanted to see me," Carl said, "I'd
be happy to talk with you, Rick." He turned to Emma. "Em," he said, "would
it be all right with you if I go sit down with Rick for a little while and leave
you looking after the twins?"
"Sure. Go ahead, now's a good time," she replied, "Rick's here, we've got
nothing pressing. I'll be all right with the children."
"Thanks, Mrs. Slade," Rick said, looking relieved.
"Okay, let's go see if there's a bench under those trees over there," Carl
suggested, "See you shortly, Em."
He walked off with Rick towards a group of trees a short distance from
the playground. They found a bench there and sat down, and Carl suggested
they pray before starting. They bowed their heads, and he prayed for
wisdom, and for a light heart for Rick. "So, what's on your mind, mate?" he
asked the boy.
"It-It's hard t-to talk about," Rick stammered, "I want to talk about
Mandy..."
"I don't know Amanda very well," Carl said, "I think you might be asking
the wrong person."
"Oh, no, Mr. Slade, I don't think so," Rick said vehemently, "I think you
can help me."

168
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

Carl raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'll try," he said, "What's the problem?"
"Mr. Slade," Rick asked timidly, in a very soft voice, "do you think that
Mandy did all those-those things because she wanted to?"
Carl looked at him thoughtfully before answering. "How much do you
know about what Amanda did, Rick?" he asked presently.
"What she told me—and what was in the paper," the boy answered,
"What she told me sounded pretty awful..."
"When did she tell you?" Carl asked.
"When she was still in hospital. When I went to sit with her—we all took
turns so she wouldn't be on her own. She said she was afraid I wouldn't love
her anymore because of what she'd done. I said I knew Mr. Lancaster had
made her pregnant and then made her have an abortion and I didn't really
know how I felt about it. But I said I liked her better now she was back to
her normal self than the way she'd been for so long, so angry and sassy all
the time. And then she started crying and she told me after a bit that she
didn't know who it was that'd made her pregnant, that she couldn't say for
sure that it was Mr. Lancaster..." Rick paused, and swallowed hard. He was
leaning over, his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his hands, and
looking at the ground. "I didn't know what to say, and then she said that
those blokes had forced her do other things, awful things, she didn't say
what, just that they were awful. And then she didn't say any more."
"Don't you believe her, Rick?" Carl asked, "Don't you believe that they
forced her to do those things?"
"I-I don't know," Rick said miserably.
"Then let me reassure you," Carl said, "I'm quite sure that Amanda was
telling the truth. I know what those people are capable of. They care nothing
for those they use. You saw what they did to her when they'd finished with
her. The only thing she did of her own free will in all that mess was to allow
herself to be flattered by them when they invited her to lunch that first time.
From then on they had her under their control."
"But how?" Rick exclaimed.
"I'm pretty sure they must have used Personality Pills," Carl said, "and
they must've started doing it at that first meal. You see, Rick, they wanted to
have something to use against Amanda's father in case he stopped playing
their game—they didn't trust him. They got it, all right, and it's dreadful.
Pastor Henry saw it, and it made him sick. Then they obviously decided they
might as well use Amanda against me while they had her. And on top of that
they had some use out of her for their own perverse pleasures. She's going
to need a lot of love and understanding, Rick, to get over it."
"Oh, Mr. Slade," Rick cried out as if in pain, "Mandy was my girlfriend!
We were going to get married one day, when we were older!" Tears filled his
eyes, and then he broke down and wept frankly. Carl put an arm around his
shoulders, hugging him, wishing he could spare him from such pain. He
didn't say anything, but just let the boy cry, and prayed for wisdom.
After a while Rick stopped crying, and brushed the tears from his eyes
and face with his sleeve. "Sorry," he sniffed, "I-I couldn't help it..."

169
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"You needn't apologize," Carl said quietly, "A good cry helps at times like
this..."
The two of them sat without speaking for some moments, then Rick,
feeling somewhat sheepish, apologized again for crying.
"Tell me—if you know, yourself," Carl asked him, "Why were you crying?"
"B-Because I don't know what to do about Mandy and me, and because
her life is ruined and she's not even eighteen yet!" Rick blurted out.
Carl took the boy firmly by both shoulders and made him turn to face
him. Rick stared at him apprehensively. "Rick," he said sternly, "Don't ever
say that again! Don't ever think it again! Amanda's life is not ruined, no
matter what's happened to her, no matter what she's done. She belongs to
Jesus Christ, as you do. She's asked God's forgiveness, and wants to do as
much as she can to repair the damage she's helped cause. As far as God's
concerned she's going on from now with a clean slate. And God is the only
one who can judge whether her life is a success or a failure—and because of
Jesus' Blood He's judged it a success, hasn't He?"
"I-I guess so," Rick answered uncertainly, startled by Carl's grave tone
and manner.
Carl released him, and pulled out his pocket Bible. "Let me read
something to you from God's Word, Rick," he said, more gently, "Here it is.
John's first letter, chapter one, verse nine: 'If we confess our sins, He'—that
is, God—'will forgive them all and purify us from all evil because He is
faithful and He is just.' 'Purify' means 'cleanse thoroughly'. Amanda
confessed her sins—she had a long talk with her mother and my wife about
what she'd done—and she asked God to forgive her. What do you think? Has
he?"
"Yeah, I guess He has," Rick said quietly.
"Here's something else. Romans—Paul the Apostle's letter to the
Christians in Rome—chapter five, verse ten: 'For if God reconciled us to
Himself because of His Son's death when we were His enemies, how much
more will He save us by His Son's life in us.' Jesus died, He shed His blood,
to change us from enemies of God to friends of God—actually even better
than that, He made us children of God—but He doesn't stop there. He's put
His own life in us—His Holy Spirit. He works in us to make us more and
more pleasing to God, despite all the mistakes we make and the sins we
commit."
He closed the book and put it back in his pocket. He gazed into the
distance and thought about what he had done before he had come to Christ,
and how wonderfully God had forgiven him, to the extent that Emma had
been willing to marry him. He didn't know whether Rick was the man that
God intended Amanda to marry, only God knew that. But he did know that
Rick had an important step to take. "Rick," he asked gently, "have you
forgiven Amanda?"
"I don't know, Mr. Slade," Rick replied.
"You do know that you have to, don't you?" Carl continued, "apart from
whatever else you do about her?"
"Yes, I know," Rick said softly.

170
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"Are you willing to forgive her?"

"What do you mean?"
"When you forgive someone, it means that whenever you remember the
thing you've forgiven, you remind yourself that it's forgiven and therefore it
doesn't stand between you. It is possible to make yourself forget things, to
some extent, but even those have a way of popping back into your mind
without warning, so you can't promise to forget. For example, I'd forgotten
that I'd counselled Pastor Smith, until he mentioned it."
"Pastor Henry was your counsellee?" Rick exclaimed incredulously, "But
he's your friend!"
"That's right—and there you are, there's a good example of forgiveness.
He knew who I was when we first met here two weeks ago—in this park,
actually—but he didn't let on, because he'd forgiven me."
"But you said he'd mentioned it..."
"Only after I'd been here a week. By the time he reminded me, we were
friends, so that when he told me, I knew he'd forgiven me because it didn't
come between us, either before or after he told me. Just as Emma forgave
me—and as I'm sure you're aware, that's fair dinkum too."
Rick stared at Carl in amazed disbelief as he realised what he was saying.
"Was Mrs. Slade also a counsellee?" he asked softy, "Your counsellee?"
"That's right. And, you know, she forgave me even before I was sorry. And
I knew that she'd really forgiven me, because from the time I asked for her
forgiveness she trusted me completely, despite all I'd done to her. And then
she was even willing to be my wife. Our marriage is a very, very special gift
from the Lord, Rick."
"Yeah..." Rick said slowly, looking at Carl wonderingly, "That's the most
incredible thing I've ever heard."
Carl smiled, and patted his knee. "Well, Rick," he said, "to go back to our
topic—do you want to forgive Amanda?"
"Yes, I do, Mr. Slade," the boy said softly. He sighed deeply. "But I don't
know if I can."
"Then tell God about it," Carl said, "Tell Him, and ask Him to enable you
to do it. If you are willing to obey God—and He commands us to forgive one
another as He's forgiven us—then He enables you to obey." He gave Rick a
quick hug. "How about I leave you here to have a chat with God, and when
you feel at peace about this, you come over and join us and we'll go get some
morning tea together?" He stood up and looked at Rick, waiting for his
answer.
"Okay, Mr. Slade, I'll do that," Rick said, "I guess God knows how I feel
about it." He smiled bashfully. "Thanks."
"See you shortly," Carl said, and strode off towards the playground.
"Where's Rick?" Emma asked him as he came back alone.
"Still over there," he replied, waving towards the trees, "having a little talk
with the Lord."
"Poor lad. This business with Amanda must have hit him hard."
"Yes, it's rotten. As if he didn't have enough on his plate with bitterly
divorced parents. But God knows what He's doing, and His ways are often

171
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

not what we'd choose, but they're the best." He turned to the twins, who
were playing on the climbing frame. "Are you two tired yet?"
"No!" they yelled together.
"Are you ready for some morning tea, then? When Rick comes back, we'll
go and see if we can find somewhere to have it."
"Yes! Yes!" the twins shouted.
Andrew climbed down from the frame and looked up at his father.
"Daddy, can I have a piggy-back ride?" he asked.
"Me too! Me too!" Helen shouted, clambering down and skipping over to
her parents.
Carl grinned at his children, and turned to Emma. "Mrs. Slade," he said
mischievously, "are you feeling piggly enough today to oblige one of these
little jockeys? You can have the lighter one..."
"Are you?" she laughed.
"I think I can just manage it! Come on, Helen," he said, crouching down
so she could climb onto his back. "Andrew, you get to ride that piggy!" he
added, pointing to Emma.
"Get down, Mummy," Andrew asked, and Emma squatted down so he
could get on her back.
"D'you reckon we can hold hands while we give them their rides?" Carl
grinned as they got up.
"I reckon so," Emma replied, taking his hand.
Together they sauntered around the playground area with their burdens
for a few minutes. The children urged them to "Go faster!" but Emma told
them they were too tired and their jockeys were getting heavier every day.
"They'll just have to stop eating!" Carl teased in a loud voice, "Perhaps
they shouldn't have any morning tea after all!"
There were loud protests from the twins and Emma laughed. "I guess
we'd better feed these hungry chil—" she started to say. She stopped
suddenly, and touched Carl's arm. "Carl," she said quietly.
"What's the matter?" he asked, turning to her.
"That man over by the trees," she said anxiously, "He seems to be talking
to Rick. Who is he? It looks like Mr. Hillman."
Carl looked where she pointed, and his heart skipped a beat. The man
had blond hair and was wearing a black suit. Yes, Geoff Hillman. Only,
seeing him like this from a distance, the way he stood, the way he gestured
as he talked, Carl suddenly, and with his skin crawling, recognized him.
Geoff Hillman was Dr. Gerard Dillmon, the former Director of the
Protectorate's Experimental Farm. All that was missing was his white lab
coat.
Carl shuddered, and squeezed his wife's hand. "No!" he exclaimed under
his breath, "Not him!"
"Why did you stop, Daddy?" Helen asked, "Can you go again?"
"Shhh, Helen," Carl said, "In a minute."
"Isn't it Mr. Hillman, then?" Emma asked in surprise, "I could have
sworn—"

172
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"Oh, yes, it's Hillman," Carl said, quietly but fiercely, "Only Hillman is
someone else."
"Someone else? Who?"
Carl turned to her and his face was white. "Did you ever hear of Gerard
Dillmon, Em?" he asked, "Back in Denson's time?"
"Gerard Dillmon?" Emma said, frowning, "Yes, the name rings a bell.
Wasn't he a doctor or something like that?" She suddenly gripped his arm.
"Oh.... Carl! Not the head of the Experimental Farm? It can't be!"
"It is," Carl said grimly, "'The man with a heart of ice...'"
At that moment Hillman must have said something to Rick which
angered the boy. They saw Rick leap up from the bench, which was just out
of sight behind the trees, and lash out at Hillman, who grabbed hold of his
arm. Rick kicked him in the shin and wrenched his arm free, and came
running towards Carl and Emma as Hillman bent over to rub his leg.
"Daddy!" Helen yelled in Carl's ear, making him jump, "That's the man
from the park! Over there!" She pointed over his shoulder.
Andrew, from his safe perch on his mother's back, his chin on her
shoulder, stared fearfully at Hillman. "He's the man with yellow hair,
Mummy" he said quietly, "I don't like him. He scared me, Mummy."
Rick stopped next to Carl, trying to catch his breath, and Carl put a hand
on his shoulder. "What happened?" he asked when the boy had stopped
panting. He saw Hillman stare at them a moment then stalk off towards the
park entrance.
"He-He c-came over to m-me," Rick stammered, "and-and asked how
m-my g-girlf-friend—"
"Calm down a bit, mate," Carl said, patting his shoulder, "It's hard to
understand what you're saying."
Rick took a deep breath. "He said— Oh, Mr. Slade, I could have kicked
him a hundred times more!" he exclaimed, "He said I-I ought to take Mandy
to bed, find out what she's like, and he started to tell me—" Rick was fuming
and his voice was shaking. "He started to tell me what he'd done with her,"
he cried, "and I told him to shut up and he wouldn't, and I tried to hit him
but he grabbed my arm, so I kicked him and ran!" His face was white and he
was trembling, and once again his tears started flowing.
Carl put Helen down and put his arms around the boy. Rick hid his face
on Carl's shoulder and wept disconsolately.
Emma took the twins to the seesaw and helped them onto it, glancing
now and then at Carl and Rick. Her heart went out to the boy, and she
prayed silently that all the pain in his heart might be healed.
The twins looked bemused. Andrew tugged on his mother's shirtsleeve,
looking up at her. She crouched down and put her arms around his waist.
"What is it, Andrew?" she whispered.
"Why is Blue crying, Mummy?" he asked softly.
"Because he's hurting a lot on the inside," Emma replied, "He's very, very
sad."
"Does he have a tummyache?" Helen asked from her perch at the high
end of the seesaw.

173
 Concerto for Flute and Orchestra

"No, I don't think so," her mother answered, "It's just that he's terribly
sad."
The twins seemed satisfied with this explanation, and Emma stood up
again and helped them ride the seesaw.
At last Rick pulled away from Carl and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Carl
patted him on the shoulder and waited. Emma helped the twins down and,
taking each of them by the hand, came over to where the two men were
standing.
After a few deep breaths Rick spoke up. "Mr. Slade," he said slowly, "I
think I've forgiven Mandy, with God's help. When Mr. Hillman said... uh...
all those awful things, it made me so mad to hear him talk like that about
her. She's my girlfriend, Mr. Slade, and he hates her." He stared at the
ground for a moment and shuffled one foot to and fro in the gravel. Then he
looked up at Carl and Emma. "Mandy must hurt terribly... Knowing she did
all that..."
"She is hurting, Rick," Emma confirmed, "but she also knows that God
loves her and that He's forgiven her, and she's trusting Him to deal with the
hurt. And her parents are being very good to her."
"I'm glad to hear you've forgiven her, Rick," Carl said, "Now the Lord can
deal with your hurt, too."
"Thanks for your help, Mr. Slade," Rick said softly, "I really appreciate it."
"I'm glad we were here today, Rick," Carl replied, "You can thank God for
arranging that. I'm sure it was His doing. Now let's all go and find a quiet
place for morning tea."
"Speaking of quiet places, Carl," Emma said, grinning, "I seem to recall
your saying that this was a good, quiet place for you to work on preparing
your sermon. You haven't done much sermon preparation yet!"
"I've done a lot more than you think, Em," Carl smiled as he led his
family and Rick towards the carpark, "You'd be amazed..."

174
 CHAPTER 22

Ron Velasquez's men arrived in Goldridge that Friday afternoon, and they
rang Henry with a pre-arranged message to let him and Carl know they had
arrived. After what Carl had told him, Ron had felt it would be better if the
Federal detectives were not seen with any of the Good Shepherd people. They
would carry out as much of their investigation as they could before he
himself arrived on the following Monday.
Shortly after the call, Henry had gone out to visit some of his
congregation and Carl had sat down at the dining table to do some work on
his sermon. Emma had put the twins to bed for their nap and she stayed in
the camper to mind the children and do some Bible study so that Carl could
have some time by himself. She prayed for him, asking God to give him
wisdom and discernment, and just the right words to say.
Even though she was his wife, Emma had not often heard Carl
preaching, for he usually asked her to stay at home and pray for him and
the people who would be listening when he went out to preach. He needed to
know that she, at least, would be praying specifically in that way at the time
when he would be speaking. She was happy to do that, and she had trained
the twins to be quiet with her at those times. On the other hand, he had
asked her to go with him a few times when he had felt especially nervous,
because at such times her presence in the audience encouraged him. On
those occasions she had found herself almost forgetting that it was Carl who
was speaking, so challenged and so moved was she by his message. It
wasn't that he was particularly eloquent or emotional in his preaching, but
just that he was speaking from his heart, and his heart was full of love for
God. She thanked God for giving her the privilege of being married to such a
man.
Before starting on his writing, Carl knelt by his chair and prayed, not
only about what he should say, but also for Joel and Alice, Rick, Mandy,
Mandy's parents, her friends, and all those who were brought to his mind as
he knelt there. He prayed for Ron Velasquez's men and their investigations.
He started to worship God, and as had been happening more and more often
when he praised God, he began to sing, softly at first, then out loud.
The window was open, and out in the camper Emma could hear Carl
singing. Smiling to herself, she joined in very softly so as not to wake the
children.
Carl had been singing a few minutes when he was startled to hear
another male voice singing along with him. He turned around and smiled as
he saw George standing by the door. He had come in very quietly, having
heard Carl's voice as he approached the house. He motioned for Carl to keep
singing, and the two men made music to the Lord together, George's tenor
harmonizing with Carl's baritone. When they stopped singing, they prayed
together for a little while.

175