Achan's Disciple: The Story of a Very Focused Liar

By Ardis Burke

How far will a person persist in a lie? Is self-interest the only, over-riding issue in life? How pervasive are lies in our ordinary, daily lives? Achan's Disciple grapples with these questions and more as it follows the lives of two men bent on self-destruction, intent on gratifying their greed, and determined to cover it all with lies. Achan is a character in the Bible who lied about his theft and the reader is faced with the knowledge that one or both of them is his disciple. A pastor who is embezzling from his church and a cafe owner who is gambling away his future are on a collision course to ruin their lives. Will these two men resolve the messes they have created? Will they admit to the truth? Will they find redemption? Or will they lie to the bitter end?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gatekeeper Press
• Release date: Apr 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662922343

Book preview

Prologue

Pastor Augustus Iverson expected to be arrested. Waiting was the hard part. He’d had plenty of time to think, to ponder how it had come to this. But he tried not to think about anything at all. Instead, he sat in his comfortable chair, enjoying the creak of the leather as he shifted his weight from time to time. He didn’t smoke; he didn’t drink alcohol, so the only relief he would permit himself was some chocolate-covered peanuts in a bowl on a side table. The large cross on the wall across from his desk kept its prominent place in the office, giving it a chapel-like feel.

How many prayers had been said in here? How many sermons written? How many church members comforted and advised? He gazed at the cross, thinking of the longtime member who had made it by hand in his garage, of his gnarled hands as he gave it to the pastor.

And Pastor Augie assured himself that he was a beloved pastor. Not just by this faithful soul who had gifted him with the cross, but practically by all the members of his congregation. They all loved him. He clasped his hands across his hefty stomach as he reclined in his chair and felt a surge of love for all of them. But a few seconds later his euphoria was replaced with resentment so strong, he lurched forward in his chair and placed both hands palm down on his desk blotter.

There was one person he had to blame for his downfall. One person. And she was such an insignificant snoop! She pretended to be an accountant, but she was just a know-nothing beginner. Annie Sidwell! He sneered as he thought of her. Because of her, he was facing the end of his shining career.

Not as though she was so smart—not at all! She had bumbled and stumbled into his carefully crafted accounts, and now…In a few minutes, someone would walk through the door to his office, and his pastoral life would be over. Of course, he might only be fired, but arrest seemed more likely.

Chapter One

The Offer

Annie had three cents left. She was used to living on the edge. This was not new. But she sighed. I’m so tired of this. She didn’t have any savings left. If I can just make it for the next two weeks, that will be the first paycheck, and then things will get better, she thought. And that was the mindset she clung to, thinking as positively as possible.

The call had come in just yesterday that the job was hers if she still wanted it. Oh wow! Did she! Annie had moved with her mother to Sanborn Bay to be closer to her grandfather and was living with her mother in a rented house. So, she figured she would be all right for a while, but still wanted her own place.

Well, I’m not going to worry about it. Time enough to find a place of my own once I’m working. Annie saw herself as an optimist and decided today was a good day to put that attitude to work.

So, she ignored thoughts of her own apartment and rode her bike over the Main Street bridge and found her way to the café. The café was situated between two other small businesses on a side street in the downtown area. A narrow walkway separated the shops from each other. Annie saw shoppers who had parked in the nearby parking lot walking from shop to shop. There was a feeling of belonging among all those strangers. I like this small town, she thought.

Annie was tall, five eight, with freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her hair was auburn and her eyes were hazel, changing color from green to brown depending on what she was wearing. She was thin and had beautiful hands. In her opinion, the only thing about her that was beautiful.

She hadn’t lived in Sanborn Bay for long. In fact, she and her mother had moved to this little town on the shores of Lake Michigan two months earlier in August.

Her mother, Lanie, was still reeling from the death of her father a year and a half ago, and now her grandfather’s health was getting worse. Her mother was so distraught, and Annie was trying to be strong for them both. This was the latest step to improving their situation. If I am standing on my own, Mom will be relieved.Her mother, a registered nurse, had some money left from her father’s life insurance policy, so she had not tried to find a nursing position since they got there. Instead, she spent most of every day with her father, who lived in a Cape Cod–style house a mile away. Apart from her father and daughter, Lanie did not see many people. Annie worried that she was becoming too isolated.

They both liked living in a small town near water, so when they arrived at quiet, friendly Sanborn Bay, they felt it was the right move. Annie had said, "Mom, I just feel it, you know?" Lanie had put her arm around her and kissed her cheek.

When she dismounted from her bike and leaned it against the building, Annie looked around at the neighborhood. All the shops were built with a variation of red-colored brick. The café was dark red. The architecture was late-nineteenth century, with ornate eaves and doorways. Little islands of trees studded the downtown area, and the changing colors of the leaves made the scene warm and golden.

The café had a large window next to the entrance, which stood open invitingly. The window looked into the dining area, beautifully arranged with tables covered with white tablecloths and napkins, ornate silverware, and little porcelain vases for centerpieces.

How nice, she thought. I’m going to love working here.Annie found the side door and walked in with a smile.

One of the waitresses was already getting the burners lit to heat the large metal warming pans that were set up along the wall.

Good morning!

The waitress turned and smiled and said, Good morning, in a sunny voice. You must be Annie—welcome to Marston’s. Your apron and cap are in the back room. I think Marston is waiting for you.

Oh okay. Annie hurried to the door the girl indicated and turned. What is your name?

It’s Sheila. Nice to have you aboard.

Hi, Sheila. Annie smiled, waved, and went into the back room.

A lean, muscular man was sitting at a wooden table with a ledger open in front of him. He had a mustache and heavy dark brows. He was of medium height, five eleven, with wavy brown hair, and his bushy eyebrows jutted forward when he frowned. And he frowned often.

He had a tattoo on his left forearm of a fish on a hook. His lips were full, and his nose was long with a slight bony hump on top. His chin was round, and he had a crease in his right cheek that deepened when he spoke.

He looked somber even when he was smiling. The smile never seemed to make it all the way to his eyes. This was the smile he had when he saw her.

Hello, Annie. Welcome.

Good morning, Mr. Marston.

Drop the Mr. It’s just Marston.

Oh, all right, she said softly. Sheila said I could find my things back here?

Right on that chair, and he pointed to the back of the room. This was a break room that had two round tables, a counter, a microwave, and a sink. There was a coat rack next to the rear door. A short hallway led to the kitchen and storage areas.

He saw her looking around, stood, and said, Come on, let’s go for a tour. I hope you are a fast learner like your résumé said. He looked pointedly at her. Annie blushed and was furious with herself for doing so.

He continued, When the breakfast-slash-lunch crowd comes in, there won’t be time to talk. It’s nonstop busy. He was evidently proud of his business. So far, Annie was happily impressed.

He led the way through the door into the kitchen and introduced her to Lucy, who was busy stirring muffin batter. Lucy was a short girl with a round face and blonde hair pulled back in a bun covered with a net.

Marston said, Here’s your hairnet.

Annie made a face but put it on. I don’t look good with my hair pulled back, she thought.

The stoves had pots on every burner, and scones were already baking in the ovens, making the kitchen very warm but smelling wonderful. Lucy was standing in front of the floor fan, and little plumes of flour puffed up from the table surface where she had been rolling out dough.

Let’s go back here, Marston said. He held the door open, and they went back to a storage area that also had an enormous industrial-sized sink. Next to the sink was a very wide counter piled with various greens—iceberg, romaine, endive, leaf lettuce, and cobb. On the other side were cabbages, potatoes, and carrots.

This is where you will start. You know how to wash lettuce, don’t you?

Oh sure. I do it at home all the time.

"Good. All these lettuces have to be washed and ready fast." Then he left to inspect the tables in the front room.

Annie turned on the faucet and started washing the iceberg lettuce. I can just see my mom now, showing me how to do this when I was little. I love to cook. I just never thought this was where I would end up, but I’ll impress this boss with my thorough work ethic. And then…Annie’s dream of future success was taking shape.

What are you doing? Marston yelled.

Annie looked up, startled, and saw that an hour had gone by, and Marston was red-faced in the doorway. She was only halfway through the pile of lettuce.

You can’t wash lettuce like that! We’ll never get done. And he pushed her aside and started running the whole head of iceberg lettuce under the water, shook out the excess water, and put the lettuce in the basket.

That’s how you do it! No more wasting time washing one leaf at a time. Unbelievable!

Annie was shocked that she had messed up so soon, but really, how could he possibly think that lettuce was clean? She finished the rest of the greens very quickly and went out to the kitchen area with the basket piled high. One head of lettuce rolled off from the top and landed on the floor.

Oh, for heaven’s sake! Here, put it down and go back and start scraping the carrots, Lucy ordered.

Annie did a little better with the rest of the vegetables that morning, but by the end of her shift, she was exhausted. The muscles in her back were stiff, and her hands were red and cold from being under running water for hours. I don’t care, she thought. I need this job. But I wish I didn’t have to work in food prep. Who knew it was this hard? It’s only the first day, and I already want a change. I wish Marston would need help with something else tomorrow. Marston was an observant boss and came to the same conclusion. Annie was slow and careful, and those qualities could be used elsewhere.

Can you count? The next morning, Marston was emptying the till from yesterday’s sales. He nodded to her as he placed all the currency and credit card slips in a pouch and zipped it shut. Then he put all the coins in a bag with a drawstring and pulled it tight. He looked at her, waiting for her answer, his heavy brows looming forward over his eyes.

What? Annie didn’t think she heard him right.

Can you add numbers and write neatly?

She nodded.

Yes? Good, I have a job that I think—maybe—you can do.

She reddened and felt the heat rise to her scalp. Oh wow. He must think I’m an idiot! She was apprehensive, but said, Sounds great. She sat down at the break table and waited as he opened a laptop and pointed to a stack of slips labeled Customer Checks.

I want you to enter all the sales in this spreadsheet, he said as he pointed to an icon labeled Sales on the desktop. The amounts go in the second column, the dates in the first column. In the third column, put the initials of the server who waited on them. Subtotal after each day.

He glowered at her and walked into the kitchen, leaving her to click on the spreadsheet and begin to work.

The customer checks were three-by-five-inch slips of paper with the amount that the customer paid, the date of service, and the server’s initials.

Annie could see that Marston had started working on the slips, but he was eight months behind. The fact that he was using an Excel file instead of entering the day’s receipts in an accounting software package seemed to double up the work. But she was not going to say anything at this point.

She was just so glad for the job, and there was the possibility that she could do this type of work the next day too. She was hoping.

The round table in the break room gave her plenty of space to organize the slips. Pleasantly surprised to find that this data entry work had a satisfying rhythm to it, she moved through the slips with ease. She liked the process of looking up the information and keying it into the spreadsheet.

She finished Tuesday and started in on Wednesday. She noticed that he did not start a new file for each day. He just skipped a line and wrote the new day and date and underlined them. She liked working in the spreadsheet. This is fun, she thought. Wednesday done.

Marston came in and out of the kitchen, directing Lucy and the waitresses as they filled the warming pans with fresh food. The noise and commotion coming from the kitchen didn’t bother Annie at all. She was able to shut it out and focus on the numbers. She was on Sunday when Marston leaned over her shoulder and asked, How’s it going?

She jumped a little and turned to look up at him, finding his face within a couple inches of hers. His nearness felt intimidating.

I didn’t know you were there, Annie gasped.

He laughed and walked away, but not before noticing the progress she was making. When he smiled, his face opened up, as though light had entered a dark room. He saw her progress, and his smile lasted longer than usual.

Keep up the good work, he called over his shoulder.

By the end of the shift, Annie called, I’ve finished the first month, sir.

It’s Marston, I told you.

Marston, I finished the first month.

How can you have finished it already? He turned the laptop toward himself and ran his eyes over the neat columns, and with the slightest smile, closed the laptop and faced her.

I don’t think food preparation—or serving or cooking—is for you. He placed the computer in a filing cabinet and locked it.

Annie looked down and tried not to let the rush of hope show in her face.

You will be my bookkeeper. Sheila doesn’t have time to do it and serve in the dining room too. She has been with me in the café from the beginning and knows everything about the business. But I need her in the front with me, dazzling the customers.

Annie thought the sight of Marston dazzling customers with his glowering eyebrows rather interesting.

You, on the other hand, he continued, weren’t terrible with the books.

Annie didn’t know if she should feel glad to still have a job or upset that the compliment was so weak. She decided to take it positively. Gratefully, she breathed, Thank you. I’ll do a good job—you won’t be sorry.

He raised his eyebrows in a we’ll see look and went to the till in the dining room, withdrew some cash, called to Sheila that she was in charge and she should be sure to lock up, and left the café. Sheila came into the kitchen from the dining room and as the door swung shut, Annie could see that only a few customers were still eating.

The sunny look Sheila kept on her face when she was in the dining room was gone.

Annie, I’m so tired. I need you to clean the warming pans and sweep the floors out there and in here. Start in here, and when the last of the customers leave, you can do the dining room. Just don’t bother Lucy with the broom at her feet.

Okay, sure… She hesitated, then said, But Marston said he wanted me to be the bookkeeper from now on. Is there some more paperwork I can do today instead? Annie looked so hopeful that Sheila laughed.

Well, maybe tomorrow. This is news to me. Just do what I tell you, and we’ll be able to get out of here on time.

Sheila sat at a break table, kicked off her shoes, and sighed.

Lucy was busy washing up the last of the pots and pans. She only had the stove to do, and then she would be able to leave. She walked to the doorway to the break room, caught Sheila’s eye, and Sheila shook her head. Lucy turned back and said nothing. But her face, shiny with sweat, now had a worried look.

Annie started wiping down the warming pans. She hoped this was just an exception and she wouldn’t have to do clean-up duty on top of the bookkeeping work. It hadn’t taken long for her to think of herself as the bookkeeper. Just one day, and the job was hers in her mind, and she didn’t want to give the impression that she was okay about being pulled from job to job like a servant. She needed to speak up. But this didn’t seem like the right time.

Lucy and Sheila and the one waitress Annie didn’t know yet were finished and Annie was too. As Sheila turned the key in the lock, she said, You did a good job so far, Annie. Not counting the lettuce from yesterday, she said with a wink.

Annie said, Wow! I have a lot to live down! See you tomorrow.

Sheila’s expression tightened, and she watched Annie ride off on her bike. If we still have jobs tomorrow, she said to herself.

What are we supposed to do now? Huh, Marston? What? You’ve got Annie sitting around all day, and we still don’t have anyone to help Lucy. How is she supposed to do all the food prep and the cooking and the kitchen clean-up by herself? I thought we had an understanding. That’s why you put the ad out in the first place!

During the whole of Sheila’s tirade, Marston did not look up, but when she paused for a breath, he mumbled, I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry about it.

Well, I do worry! Someone has to worry around here! Sheila left his office, tempted to slam the door behind her, but thought better of it and left it partially open.

Marston rose from his desk and stood in the doorway for a moment, then quietly closed the door and went back to his chair. He leaned back, folding his hands over his forehead. Then he leaned forward to read the report in front of him. But he could not concentrate. Sheila was right. She had a good point. What was he thinking? There wasn’t enough money to hire another person besides Annie, but he needed both a bookkeeper and a food prepper.

I need to get more money. He thought he knew the perfect way to solve this.

Chapter Two

The Issue

After work, two and a half weeks later, it was prayer meeting night, and Annie stopped to get a hamburger, so she could arrive at the church by six thirty. Her mom had let her use her car, and she had money in her purse from her first paycheck, and she felt on top of the world. Riding her bike meant there was never time on prayer meeting nights to go home, shower, eat supper, look in on her grandfather, and get to the church on time. But now she could actually afford to buy supper from a fast-food place after helping Grandpa. Things were definitely turning up.

The pastor was there already, as well as the regulars. Old timers mostly, but there were two young men also present who looked to be in their early twenties.

Hmmm, I wonder who they are? she thought, and then she felt immediately silly. The tall one was more interesting as he continually swung his head to shift a shock of blond hair that kept covering his left eye. She scolded herself, Don’t be ridiculous. She found a pew and sat down.

After the Bible study and prayer time, everyone took a few minutes to greet each other and ask how their week was going. Pastor Augie came up to Annie, and she was happy he did—she was bursting to tell him about her new job.

I can’t tell if my boss is happy with my work, but I haven’t been fired yet, she chuckled. She told him about the lucky way she got the bookkeeper position and that she was already caught up and looking for more challenges.

He patted her on the shoulder and told her he was proud of her and that he was sure she would kill it.

Pastor Augie is so cool—not stuffy at all, she thought. It wasn’t his appearance so much—even though he was tall—but his demeanor that impressed her.

It didn’t matter that he had once been in very good shape, but his stomach now bulged over his belt, and his graying hair was thinning on the top of his head.

The pastor walked over to the two young men, and she looked around, ready to leave, when a large, overweight woman approached her.

Oh, aren’t you the sweetest thing? Darlin’, come back again next week; you’re so adorable. What’s your name?

Annie.

Oooh, how sweet; you haaave such a lot of freckles! Ha, ha, ha!

She introduced herself as Sister Betty. She spoke in a silky-smooth, almost Southern way of drawling, but she was from New York. It was an affectation that she thought added to her glamour. Annie shifted her purse strap to her other shoulder and stared at her, angry with herself that her hand involuntarily covered her freckled nose.

Sister Betty continued to chatter. "Ain’t Pastor Augie the best? Everyone loves him. Are you goin’ to join our church? You should, you know. Everyone is so friendly, heh, heh, heh! Do you have a boyfriend? Ah, for one, am looking—never too late to look for Mr. Right. But… and she pursed her lips in a little pout, Ah am so skinny—I hope I’m not too skinny to attract Mr. Right," and she giggled again.

Annie’s eyes widened in unbelief. What did you say to a person who was so obviously delusional? Sister Betty was a heavyset, broad-shouldered woman with thinning hair curled around her pink face. Annie thought her to be decidedly unattractive. Her eyes were small, and her nose was short and wide. Her teeth were yellowed, and there was a white, gummy something between her front two teeth.

I wish you luck. I have to get home now, so have a good night… And she quickly walked away, with Sister Betty’s giggle in her ears.

As Annie was leaving the narthex, she saw Pastor Augie giving the shorter young man a small white envelope. She waved at them, but they didn’t notice her.The pastor was whispering to them, Don’t come to the front door again. Just don’t come to prayer meeting, period. You are attracting too much notice. There’s a bell by the side door. Next week, ring it, and I’ll hear it—it rings in my office.

The following Wednesday, the same young men were already waiting outside the church a half hour before the start of the prayer meeting. Pastor Augie heard the bell and opened the side door set in a recessed area and called to them. As they sauntered toward him, he said impatiently, Hurry up! Prayer meeting is starting soon.

What’s your hurry? Matter of fact, this is getting old, you know? said the taller one, swinging his head to move his hair off his face. We don’t want to come to a church in the first place.

I’m not surprised! Augie exclaimed. Afraid the Lord will get in your way? He smiled. Don’t worry about it. As it turns out, this is the last time. I’m paid up.

They walked into the small vestibule that opened onto a dim hallway. Each of them flanked the pastor.

Okay, where is it? The shorter man stepped closer to the pastor as they entered, intending to intimidate him with a steely stare.

But Pastor Augie Iversen was not intimidated. He said, I’ll bring it to you. Wait here.

But they kept moving, so he turned around, looked at them both, and they stopped. He looked at them directly, not taking his eyes off them, and they lowered their heads and leaned against the wall, one with his hands in his pockets, the other with arms crossed.

He did not show them the same sweet spirituality he bestowed on his congregation. No, they felt the force of his personality. He had a way of looking at people that made them lower their eyes. This night he used the full force of this look and got the response he wanted.

He didn’t keep them waiting long—just enough to make his point. He handed them the envelope. "Like I said, this is the last payment. Nice doing business with