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that one.”
    They sat for a moment in silence. Then Brownie leaned over and hugged his dad. When he pulled away, his tears had dried, and
     he was trying to smile. “Probably had fleas, anyway,” he said.
    *   *   *
    Brownie fought back a tear and looked up at the pulpit.
    “Friends,” Reverend Boyd continued, “a prominent member of our community is here today to join this celebration. He has asked
     to say a few words, and I’d like him to come up now, if he would….” He pointed to the back of the church, and Reverend Taylor
     hustled down the aisle and ascended the steps. Preened and resplendent in black, he was ready to preach.
    “Thank you, Reverend Boyd.” His smooth voice poured into the pews and flowed from the speakers. “I knew Joseph Brown, as we
     all did, and I agree with most that’s been said so far. Joseph was a good man, a kind man, a peaceful man. He was a
man
in every sense of the word… but I must respectfully disagree with one thing Brother Boyd told you here today….”
    The congregation hushed.
    “Maybe God did not
call
Brother Brown to him just yet.”
    Several mourners looked around, and Taylor paused for effect, his heavy breath rumbling over the PA system.
    “Maybe Brother Brown was
sent
to the Almighty before his time.”
    Gardner stared up at the altar. This didn’t sound like a eulogy.
    “This life may not compare to the one God’s got waiting for us in the hereafter,” Taylor continued, “but it’s a life.”
    “Un-huh,” someone said.
    “God gives us life, and life is precious.”
    “Amen!”
    “God doesn’t
want
us to come to him until our job here is done!”
    “That’s true!”
    Taylor stopped suddenly and looked out across the room. “We honor Joseph Brown here today, but we don’t accept the fact that
     his
time
had
come
!”
    “That’s right!”
    “We don’t let any
man
tell us that our
time
has
come
!”
    “Amen!”
    Gardner stirred in his seat. Taylor was inciting the crowd, and the implication was clear: someone had killed Joseph Brown.
     In truth, it was just conjecture, Brownie’s hunch. But Taylor’s words were making it fact.
    “What’s happening?” Jennifer whispered.
    “I don’t know,” Gardner replied over the din.
    “God can
call
us,” Taylor yelled, “but no
man
on this earth can tell us it’s time to go!”
    “Hallelujah!”
    “Death comes when God decrees it!”
    “Amen!”
    “Death waits on
His
commandment!”
    “Yes, sir!”
    “But in the case of Brother Joseph, dear friends, God did not issue the call!”
    The crowd went quiet again.
    “No, dear friends, God was not yet ready to take our Joseph.”
    Gardner squeezed Jennifer’s hand.
    “
Someone
among us decided to do God’s work
for
him!”
    Gardner looked at Brownie and his brother. They were no longer immobile. Each time Taylor uttered a word, their heads moved.
    “No
man
has a right to take a life!” Taylor yelled.
    The heads moved again.
    “No
man
can wield God’s sword!”
    “Amen!”
    “We may have to accept the fact that he is
gone
, but we don’t have to accept the reason
why
!”
    Another hush.
    “No
man
can do this evil deed and walk away!”
    “Amen!” Brownie yelled.
    “No
man
can escape God’s wrath!”
    “That’s right!” the brother called.
    “
No man
!” Taylor signaled for a reply.
    “No
man
!” the mourners roared. “No
man
!” And the voices of the brothers Brown were the loudest of all.
    Sallie Allen was nervous. Thomas Ruth had put the compound on alert because a police officer was coming for a visit. “Stay
     in the dining hall while I deal with him,” he’d ordered. And the flock had obeyed. Without question or hesitation, they’d
     all marched to the oblong building and disappeared inside, Sallie included. It was like a nuclear attack drill: a room full
     of silent people, their heads down, their hands clasped, waiting for the fatal flash.
    Finally, the all-clear sounded, and things returned to normal. They