He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I would love to talk more. I’ll stay here a few minutes. If they let you—”

I watched as Abby opened her eyes. She looked disturbed. Ben walked over and reached to remove her helmet. “How was your meeting?”

“I need to go back.”

Ben nodded. “Tomorrow it’ll be time to—”

“No!” Abby reached up and grasped her helmet, holding it in place. “I need to go back now.”

Ben frowned. I could tell things were about to blow up.

“Abby,” I interjected, “we agreed that ten minutes was the most we could safely afford to do.”

“Three minutes.” She looked from me to Ben. “Just three more minutes.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Abby. I can’t let you risk that.”

Her eyes flashed. “And who put you in charge of how much time I can spend with my grandfather?”

I could see the anger well up inside him. “I would have thought that my thirty-two years as an FBI agent might have put me in that position. But if you don’t want my expertise…” He turned and started toward the door.

“Agent Steele…” I held up my hand.

He looked back at me. We all stared at one another in silence. “Where is Ray now?” I asked Abby.

“He was going to wait for me in VR.”

My eyes met Ben’s. “I agree with you, but could we send Abby back for three minutes? We’re spending more time than that arguing, and every minute we delay, Ray is endangered.”

He sighed resignedly. “All right. Three more minutes. That’s all.”

Abby nodded at him and looked at me. Thank you, she mouthed. Ben programmed the helmet, and she reentered VR.

Ray was sitting at the picnic table once again. Abby sat down, and he extended his hands across the table. She took them in hers and opened her mouth to speak, but he started first.

“I wonder if I’m making things more confusing for you every time we get together. Let me back up for a moment and see if I can make this clearer.”

Abby felt her body relax. That’s what she desperately needed—some clarification.

“For two thousand years,” he continued, “most of the church has missed what Jesus said about this. Consequently, it always falls back on teaching rules and principles for successful living. But those aren’t the good news of Jesus. The good news is that Jesus comes to give life—his life.”

He looked across the park, then back at her. “You said people didn’t seem to be interested in the message of forgiveness through Christ.”

She nodded. “Not that I can tell.”

“I found that out long ago. That’s because they no longer sense their need to be forgiven. People don’t believe in absolutes anymore, in right and wrong. So what is there to be forgiven for?”