Impression (DI Gardener 4)

“Any particular company?”

“No idea. Sally always takes care of that. Probably because I work so hard, she’s always there looking after our daughter, the home. If we do have holidays and the like, she usually organizes it for us. She’s a good wife, asks little. I did okay when I found her.”

Gardener knew otherwise. Before long it would have to come out. He needed to know whether or not Summerby had any motive – or if he could break his cool reserve and see a more honest reaction.

“Do you know anyone called Barry Morrison?”

“Only what I read in the papers. I know his name’s come up at work recently.”

“Why?”

“Because of the way he was found, in a shop doorway early one morning. Sounded pretty gruesome to me. Matthew 7:19; every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“It’s funny how you lot judge people and apply the rules to them, but not to yourselves,” said Reilly.

“You lot?” questioned Summerby.

“You born-again Christians. Seems to me that what you just said about bad fruit should apply to you, but it never does.”

“The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:1 says, ‘and you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins’. To the Romans he wrote, ‘for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’. Romans 3:23. Sinners are spiritually ‘dead’; when they receive spiritual life through faith in Christ, the Bible likens it to a rebirth. Only those who are born again have their sins forgiven and have a relationship with God.”

“So, what have you done that’s so bad?”

“I’ve done nothing wrong. You’ll find nothing on me.”

“I imagine you’re the first, then,” said Reilly. “Can’t see why you’d call yourself born again if you haven’t done something wrong and gone through the re-birth process after cleansing yourself.”

“Like I said, I have done nothing that you two should worry about.”

Interesting choice of words, thought Gardener.

“We haven’t,” he replied, “I’ll give you that. You have no criminal record. That doesn’t mean you’ve done nothing wrong. You just haven’t been caught yet.”

“As I’ve already said.”

“What about sin? Are they all equal?” Reilly asked. “How do you lot judge sin? For example, is adultery a sin?”

“In Matthew 5:21-28, Jesus talks about committing adultery with lust in your heart and committing murder with hatred in your heart. What he was trying to say is that sin is still sin, even if you only want to do the act, without actually committing it. Jesus wants them to realize that God judges a person’s thoughts as well as his actions: that our actions are the result of what is in our hearts. Matthew 12:34.

“Some sins are worse than others. In regard to both eternal consequences and salvation, all sins are the same. Every sin will lead to eternal condemnation. There is no sin too big that God cannot forgive it. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin: are all sins equal to God? Yes and no. Are all sins equal in severity? No. Are all sins equal in penalty? Yes. Will they all be forgiven? Yes.”

Gardener found his comparisons of adultery and murder very interesting. “What about you? Can you forgive a sin?”

“If the need arises. But it isn’t me that matters, is it? I’ve just said, if you commit the sin, you will have God to answer to.”

“But surely if a sin is committed against you, it’s you that will initially have to pass judgment.”

“And which direction would you choose?” asked Reilly. “Do you become the good Christian and turn a blind eye and let your Lord deal with it? Or do you take the Bible literally, and take an eye for an eye?”

For the first time since they had been speaking to Gareth Summerby, Gardener felt that his attitude was beginning to change. His eyes had narrowed, and his expression had darkened.

> “Whatever the sin was, it would not be up to me to judge. The Lord would do my bidding. I would simply pray to him for guidance.”

Gardener needed results, and he really could not make up his mind whether or not Gareth Summerby was guilty of anything. He felt the time had come to light the blue touch paper, and sit back and watch what happened. If the man was guilty of abducting Chloe and murdering Barry Morrison, he needed to know now. He opened his file and passed over the birth certificate.

Gareth Summerby read through the contents, and then glanced at Gardener and smiled. The same sickly smile he had used throughout the interview; the one that said ‘whatever you throw at me, I have the Lord on my side, and you cannot touch me’.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree, officer. I have not killed Barry Morrison. I have not abducted my daughter. I do not know where she is. I want her home safely, like my wife. And I already know about this.”