The Trinity Game

for
AC360
swept across the screen, and Anderson Cooper’s familiar voice said, “Tonight on
AC360
: ‘Tragedy and Mystery in Louisiana.’ Our guest is Julia Rothman, senior investigative reporter at the
New Orleans Times-Picayune
…”
    Daniel’s fork clattered to the floor.
    “…and she has a shocking angle on this story that you are not going to want to miss.”
    Oh, no…
    After a commercial break that felt like a year, Anderson Cooper gave a recap of the day’s events, voiced over a video package showing the inferno in full blaze and night shots of firefighters at work. No final figures yet, but at least one hundred dead. An interview clip of an oil company spokesman established that the fire was a freak accident, the likely culprit a faulty pressure detector that had misread an open valve as closed.
    And then there was Julia, sitting right across from Cooper in the studio. She smiled, and something fluttered in Daniel’s chest.
    God, she looks good…
    Cooper thanked Julia for flying in to Atlanta for the show.
    Daniel’s heart skipped another beat.
    She’s here…
    Cooper told viewers that Reverend Tim Trinity was a local television evangelist, originally from New Orleans. He showed a short clip from the
Tim Trinity Prosperity-Power Miracle Hour
. Then Julia gave a succinct explanation of the Trinity Anomaly and how to decode Reverend Tim Trinity’s speaking-in-tongues routine.
    Cooper asked how Julia had learned of this phenomenon.
    Here it comes…
    But Julia declined to reveal her source.
    For now, anyway…
    She cut to the chase, said that Trinity predicted the refinery explosion while speaking in tongues during his most recent Sunday sermon.
    “Have we got the tape? OK, let’s roll it,” said Cooper.
    Tim Trinity came on the screen. The video ran backwards, sped up by a third, and it looked like a clip from the old
Benny Hill Show
. But Trinity’s voice was clear, and hearing the prediction again, Daniel cringed.
    “This is simply unbelievable,” said Cooper. He introduced CNN’s top video engineer, who came on by remote feed from the newsroom and authenticated the videotape. Cooper shook his head, astounded. “So, Julia, what do you make of this?”
    “Honestly, I have no idea,” she said. “I’ve only had time to go through a few of his broadcasts, but he seems to be makingpredictions about all sorts of things, from thunderstorms to horse races, and every one I’ve seen has been accurate.”
    “You’re convinced this is real.”
    “I’m not convinced of anything, Anderson. It could be the greatest hoax ever. Was Trinity tipped off to the outcomes ahead of time? Or has he somehow come into the ability to see the future? Or perhaps there’s a third explanation. We need to find out what’s going on here.”
    OK, so she’s beautiful—Cut it out, and get your head in the game…
    To the camera, Cooper said, “For the record, we invited Reverend Trinity on the show to tell his side of the story, but his office said he could not be reached.” Then, back to Julia, “You know, people are going to think God is talking through this guy. You think that’s possible?”
    “No.” Julia shifted in her chair, clearly troubled by the question.
    Of course, she would be…
    “Look, I’m a reporter, not a theologian. I’m extremely skeptical of any supernatural explanation, and I’d caution against drawing any kind of metaphysical conclusions. We don’t know anything yet. We need to scrutinize and test his predictions, follow the story and see where it leads.”
    “And apparently the story leads just north of Atlanta, to Highway 403?”
    “That’s right. In a sermon two weeks ago, Trinity predicted that a billboard on 403 would collapse tonight—exactly twenty-three minutes after midnight—blocking two northbound lanes, but with no fatalities. Now, the fascinating thing about this prediction is that we know about it ahead of time, so it’s testable. I’ve been in contact with the Georgia Department of Transportation, and they sent structural engineers to check it out.”
    “And?”
    “And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the support structure. So, barring a massive earthquake, the sign should still be standing at 12:24.” Julia slid an envelope across the desk. “They asked me not to reveal the location—they’re concerned about spectators blocking the highway—but I’ve written the exact mile marker down, and the date of Trinity’s prediction, so you can