Johnny (Part Four)

Breakfast was quiet the next morning. The Cramblit family sat together eating omelets and sausage and trying not to bring up the subject of last night's unpleasantness. Nanny, who usually talked up a storm at the breakfast table just nibbled at her eggs and sipped her coffee without a word. Johnny didn't like it. He knew what was on everybody's mind. It was on his mind too. Unfortunately, he couldn't offer any new information about Joshua to his family without making them suspicious, so he kept his mouth shut too.
It was a holiday week and Kelly and Steve were home from school. The only person who had to be anywhere that day was Mr. Cramblit. He was a writer for a local newspaper and had to be at work at nine that morning. Everyone else had a nice lazy day planned. Kelly and Steve were still in their pajamas and both Nanny and Mrs. Cramblit were wearing robes.
Johnny had put on some of his old clothes he found in his closet, surprised that they were a little looser. Maybe the training had done something for his gut after all. Besides his father, he was the only other person with plans that day. He was both looking forward to his lunch with Joshua and dreading it. He didn't know what he would do if he found out that his older brother was involved in any illegal activity.
His father was about to head out the front door when he called Johnny to him.
"Son," he said, "I didn't get a chance to tell you this last night, but I am very proud of you."
"Thanks, Dad," Johnny said.
"My two oldest sons in two of the most respectable occupations in the Society," Mr. Cramblit said. "I must have done right by you."
"You sure did, Dad," Johnny agreed.
"You're having lunch with Josh today, aren't you?" Mr. Cramblit asked. "Tell him I said 'hi' and would like to sit down and talk with him soon."
"I will, Dad," Johnny said.
"And if you can," Mr. Cramblit went on slowly, as if not sure what to say next, "try and find out what's been bothering him lately. Your mother and I are worried about him. He always talks to you."
"I'll do my best, Dad," Johnny said.
Mr. Cramblit went out to work and Johnny went in to help his mother load the dishes into the dishwasher. Kelly and Steve had both gone up to their rooms and Nanny had also excused herself.
Johnny had a pleasant talk with his mother, both clearly avoiding the subject of Joshua, and when the dishes were all loaded they sat down for a cup of coffee together.
"So," Mrs. Cramblit said. "You got the posting you wanted for your training?"
"Yeah," Johnny said. "Prison transport to Planet X. I've always wanted to see it."
"I don't know why?" she said. "It's so desolate and dry. We have deserts here on Earth to visit."
"But, Mom, it's the first inhabitable planet we've discovered," Johnny said. "I don't care how ugly it is, it's still exciting."
"Just be careful up there," Mrs. Cramblit told him. "All those criminals. They only ship the worst of the worst to X, Johnny. I don't want to lose my son on his first assignment."
"You won't, Mom," Johnny said. She had voiced similar concerns before he left for the academy and even though she had spent six months worrying about him, he had come home safe and sound. "They train us well. There's plenty of guards on a ship and they keep the most dangerous criminals in solitary confinement behind bars and force fields. I'll be perfectly safe."
"I know, I know. But the thought of my baby up there with all those killers and perverts and religious nuts," Mrs. Cramblit took a nervous sip of her coffee. "Why couldn't you have just requested traffic control?"
Johnny laughed. "Dad's proud that I got transport duty."
"So am I, Johnny," she said. "But I'm your mother. I'm always going to worry about you no matter how old you get!"
"Yeah, Mom," Johnny said. "And if I had gotten traffic control, you'd be scared I'd be hit by an out of control shuttle."
Just then there was a knock at the door. Johnny went to go answer it. It was Joshua. He was about half an hour early, but Johnny didn't care. He had waited six months for a man to man talk with his brother. Joshua exchanged short pleasantries with Mrs. Cramblit and then he and Johnny left.
They got into Joshua's shuttlecar and flew off towards the skyway.
"Are Mom and Dad mad at me?" Joshua asked.
"Not really," Johnny said. "Just a little worried about you."
"Worried?" Joshua asked.
"Yeah," Johnny said. "And frankly so am I. What's up with you lately?"
"Nothing," Joshua said. Johnny had been reading his brother for eighteen years and knew two things. One, there was something up with him and two, he didn't want to talk about it. Johnny let it go for a moment.
"So, where do you want to eat?" Joshua asked him after a moment.
"I don't care," Johnny said. "Some burger joint or something. I haven't had a cheeseburger since last summer."
"Sounds good." There was a good place down town and Joshua steered the shuttlecar in that direction. They made small talk during the drive, mostly about the police academy and Johnny's upcoming assignment, and five minutes later they had parked outside of the restaurant.
They sat at a booth in the corner and ordered their meal. It came less than a minute later and Johnny tore into his food. There had been some talk recently about outlawing the eating of beef for health reasons (and because some believed that an "Enlightened Society" shouldn't dine on the flesh of lower animals) and Johnny hoped that the day would never come. Joshua ate more slowly. He didn't look very hungry.
"So," Johnny said between bites, "you gonna tell me what's up or not?"
"What do you mean?" Joshua asked.
"Well, first of all, you seem happier," Johnny said. "Did you meet a woman or something?"
"No," Joshua said. "I'm still a poor lonely bachelor."
"Then what is it?" Johnny asked. "And why all this sudden sympathy for fanatics?" He asked this last question quietly, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard him.
"I am a doctor," Joshua said, "I have sympathy for all people."
"Come on, Josh," Johnny said. "There's a difference between caring about another person's well being and the stuff you were saying last night. Look, I know you're not a sympathizer or anything, but with the way you were talking to Mr. Neason, anyone who didn't know you might have thought something different."
"Peter Neason is an idiot," Joshua said. "It's not the first time I've disagreed with him."
"Yeah," Johnny said, "about taxes or schooling or the prison system. Not about the treatment of Christians! You know that nobody cares about religious deviants. You told me a few years back that they deserve what they get."
"It's easy to say that when you aren't a first hand witness to their abuse," Joshua replied. "Of all the religious offenders, they receive the harshest treatment and they offer the least resistance. I've seen people as old as Nanny beaten to death just for praying to someone other than our 'Cosmic Parent' or Joshua Lewis. When you have to treat an old woman for internal bleeding or a concussion and they tell you that instead of being angry with their attacker they are praying for them... Sorry, I'm going off on one of those rants again. I better be careful."
"Yeah, you better!" Johnny said. "You better be really careful. You're lucky I'm the only one who's heard you talk this way. Peter Neason would report you in a minute."
"I know," Joshua said. Their waitress came by to check if they needed anything else. When they told her they were fine she placed the check on the table and left. Joshua reached into his pocket for his wallet.
"Oh man," he said. "I left my wallet in the car."
"I'll pay," Johnny said.
"No, you won't," Joshua said. "I took you out to eat and I'm going to pay. Can you go get my wallet? It's in the glove department."
"Sure," Johnny said, a little grateful that there was a short break in their conversation. Joshua gave him the key card and Johnny went out to the shuttlecar. He opened the passenger side door and then the glove box. He had once seen an old twenty-first century car at a museum as was amazed that even though many advancements had been made in transportation, very little had changed about the actual vehicles themselves. There were still bucket seats and car stereos and little compartments in the dashboard to store anything that couldn't be digitally stored. Joshua's wallet was right on top of the assorted papers, discs, and other knick knacks. Johnny grabbed it and was about to close the small door when he noticed something.
The glove box had a false back. Most people would have overlooked it, and Johnny himself would have missed it six months earlier, but a good portion of his police training dealt with smuggling and hidden compartments. He noticed the slight discoloration in the back of the glove department and its diminished size, barely noticeable to any casual observer, but not his trained eye.
Johnny knew that the shuttlecar had been bought used a year earlier. It was possible that its previous owner had used the secret compartment and Joshua wasn't even aware of it. Besides, having a secret compartment wasn't illegal. Maybe Joshua used it to store important papers or a defensive weapon. Still, it bothered Johnny and he couldn't help but check it out, especially in the light of his concerns over his brother. He reached into the glove box and easily popped open the false back of the glove box.
He let out an audible gasp when he saw what was hidden there. Apart from pictures he had only seen one once before. They had shown him one during his training in order to familiarize him with religious dissidents and their paraphernalia, and they wouldn't even let him open it and look inside. It's contents were considered too dangerous for untrained cadets to deal with. Now, he saw one sitting in his brother's glove box, hidden away, and confirming suspicions that Johnny hadn't even wanted to admit he was having.
It was a small black book with a leather cover. It was old, maybe a hundred years or more, and ragged, but still intact. On its cover were printed in faded but still legible letters two words: Holy Bible.
Johnny couldn't believe it. He didn't even want to touch it. He rolled his shirt sleeve over his hand, pushed the book back into place, and closed the false backing of the secret compartment. His own brother had a Bible in his car. Did he even know about it? Maybe it had belonged to the previous owner. As much as Johnny wanted to believe that, he knew that the book was Joshua's. It made perfect sense. Joshua was defending Christians because he was one. He looked happier because he was in the beginning stages of religious delusions before the false beliefs took over the victim's life and it was too late to get out. He was being secretive and avoiding his family because he was afraid of exposing his criminal beliefs.
Johnny almost lost his lunch right there in the parking lot. He took a deep breath, grabbed Joshua's wallet, and went back to the restaurant. He would wait until they were back in the car and then he would confront his brother. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he was jumping to conclusions. Even if Joshua had become a Christian, maybe it wasn't too late for him. He could still be helped before he got himself too deep into the fanatic activities. There was therapy and treatment and reeducation that could steer him away from the destructive course. Johnny didn't want to arrest his brother. He wanted to help him.
He was afraid that Joshua would notice that he had spent a long time out at the car and become concerned, but that wasn't the case. Joshua was talking on his phone and apparently had been so distracted by his conversation that he hadn't even noticed Johnny's extended absence. Johnny sat down across from him not knowing what to say. He wanted to grab his brother, shake him and yell at him, try to bring him back to his senses. Then he saw Joshua's face. His older brother was in tears and looked up at Johnny.
Johnny had been planning on confronting Joshua on the ride home, knowing that it would be a very hard conversation and would probably turn into a horrible argument. He was afraid of what his brother would say to him and what he would be forced to do. A thousand thoughts were racing through his mind about what to do or say or how to respond, but all of those were gone in an instant when Joshua spoke.
"We have to go home," he said. "Nanny died."
TO BE CONTINUED