The Moroni Code by Jack M. Lyon

Author:Jack M. Lyon [Lyon, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2007-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 28

The sunlight streaming through the window woke David up. He was in bed, but certainly not his own—this one was far too uncomfortable—and he had an IV in his right arm and an oxygen tube under his nose. Several bouquets of flowers were sitting on the windowsill. Hadn’t he just had a dream about flowers?

A heavy-set woman in a blue smock came through the door. “Well,” she said, “you’re awake. That’s good!”

David still felt a little groggy. “Hi,” he said sleepily, raising an index finger in greeting.

“My name’s Marie,” the nurse said. “I’ll be going home in just a minute, as soon as Bob gets here to look after you.”

“Bob?”

“He’s the nurse on the day shift. He’s good, but he’s not nearly as gentle as I am.” She laughed.

“What hospital is this?”

“LDS.”

“Am I going to be all right?”

“Absolutely. We’re taking good care of you.”

“Thanks,” David said. Then he remembered. “What day is it?”

“Friday. You slept all day yesterday. Of course, we gave you some help with that.” The nurse smiled.

“Friday!” David groaned. He’d missed the deadline. He’d missed everything. He tried to roll over, but he couldn’t—he’d been restrained. The effort brought a rush of pain.

“Don’t try to move,” the nurse said. “Your shoulder’s pretty messed up.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. He wasn’t about to try that again. “Can I watch TV?”

“Sure. The remote is right there on the table.”

David reached for the control with his left hand—his right one was bandaged across his chest. He turned on the television, then flipped through the channels, finally settling on an old Perry Mason episode, which he watched until the news came on. After a story about a hurricane, the scene shifted to some announcers with a picture of the Salt Lake Temple behind the newsdesk. “In local news,” one of the announcers said, “leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints revealed yesterday that the Church has been the victim of a blackmail attempt. The attempt involved a coded letter purportedly from Joseph Smith—one that may prove extremely damaging for the Church and its history. The blackmailers threatened to release the letter to the media unless the Church paid a ransom of ten million dollars—which the Church has refused to do. Church spokesman Wayne Underwood addressed members of the press yesterday afternoon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building across from Temple Square.”

The scene changed to the lobby of the Memorial Building, where Brother Underwood was standing at a podium, speaking into a microphone. “We do not yet know the meaning of this letter,” he was saying, “but the Church will never capitulate to the demands of blackmailers. We have been working with the FBI to decipher the coded portion, so far without success. But whatever the full message might say, we are unafraid. This is the Lord’s church, and his work will go forward.

“Many of us remember the forgeries perpetrated upon the Church during the 1980s, and it may be that this letter, too, is a forgery. We won’t know until the blackmailers release the original document and it has been examined by experts.

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