For His Name's Sake (Psalm 23 Mysteries) (17 page)

Dave greeted the car as it pulled up. He was carrying a couple of packages of Caspar hot dogs out toward the barbeque area.

“You’re just in time,” he said cheerfully. “We decided to get this party started sooner rather than later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Cindy said.

“Got to warn you, though. In my family I’ve won the Annual Fourth of July Croquet Match of Ultimate Glory four years in a row.”

Cindy found herself shaking her head. “You must have a really interesting family.”

“Are you kidding? My parents are both crazier than I am,” he said with a grin.

Mark shook his head as he got out of the car. “I want to check on Traci and then I should get back to the station.”

He headed into the house while Cindy followed Dave out to the barbeque pit adjacent to where the croquet lawn had already been set up. Jeremiah was busy studying one of the mallets.

“Checking for perfect weight and balance?” she teased.

“Thinking that it would make a good weapon,” he said absently.

“How hard would you have to swing one of these to kill someone?”

“Not as hard as you would think.” He turned suddenly toward her, looking slightly flustered. “If it came to that,” he added.

“Well, let’s hope we can keep this a friendly game,” she said with a smile.

“I think that would be best for all concerned, yes,” he said, smiling back.

“Did I miss anything?”

“No. How did things go for you guys?”

“Joseph managed to get her on the phone. They pinpointed her location but missed her.”

“Shame.”

“You don’t sound surprised.”

“I’m not. When are our lives ever that easy?”

She sighed. “A girl can hope, can’t she?”

“We’re about to have company,” he said.

She turned and looked back at the house. People were beginning to pour out of it and they each seemed to be carrying some kind of bowl or platter. “That’s going to be a lot of food.”

“Dorothy and Charlotte were in the kitchen for a couple of hours. I think it’s safe to say that no one’s going to go hungry this afternoon,” he said.

There was a long table set up near the grill and people began to pile the food on there. Finished, they turned right back around.

“More food?” Cindy marveled.

She had guessed wrong. A minute later everyone trooped out carrying folding chairs.

“I really should go help,” she said.

“It’s okay. They all need to feel like they’re doing something, being helpful. You’re more than doing your part.”

“Doesn’t feel like it. It’s weird. There’s nothing to look up, nothing to research. We know who the bad guys are. There’s just nothing I can do to help find them.”

“It’s okay,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“No, it’s not. I feel useless, like all I can do is sit and wait on other people for stuff. I’m waiting for the Pine Springs police to catch the killers. I’m waiting for the New Orleans police to figure out what happened to Gerald. I’m waiting for Gerald to figure out what he was going to tell me about Matthew and Paul.”

“Most of human life is spent waiting,” Jeremiah said. “Waiting at the store, for the weekend, waiting for that next big life event, waiting for the holidays, or waiting for that perfect person.”

“Or waiting for that perfect moment,” she muttered.

“Yes,” he said softly.

She watched as Joseph approached the barbeque with a look of joy on his face. The others were gathering around the food table, laughing and chatting. They were living in the moment, enjoying it as best they could despite everything that had been happening, still might happen.

While she was just...waiting.

She looked up at Jeremiah and he looked down at her with an expression she couldn’t read. Sometimes she could tell exactly what he was thinking. Other times it was as though he was wearing a mask and she couldn’t even get the slightest hint of his emotions, his thoughts. She hated that. It was like there were times when he was shutting her out, though there were less and less of those moments the longer they knew each other. Sometimes she felt like she knew him so well and other times she worried that she didn’t know him at all.

Something had happened to him in his past. That much she was certain of. One of these days she hoped he might actually share with her what it was. Until then, though, there was the mask. Maybe one day he’d finally take it off.

“Uh oh, something’s wrong,” Jeremiah said.

She turned and followed his line of sight.

Mark was heading toward them at a jog and even she could tell that he wasn’t happy about something.

She braced herself for whatever bad news he was about to deliver. She expected him to head over to Joseph but instead he came straight to them.

“What is it, what’s happened?” Cindy asked, heart in her throat.

“I just talked to an officer from the New Orleans Police Department.”

Her chest constricted. Gerald. The call had to have been about him. She felt Jeremiah squeeze her shoulder and she reached up and grabbed his hand.

“What’s happened to Gerald?” she asked.

“He was admitted to a hospital there early this morning with stab wounds to both the throat and abdomen.”

“Oh no!”

“Apparently they’ve got their best doctors working on him, but it’s touch and go right now. They’ve got a police guard on him, and they’ll let us know the moment anything changes.”

“Did he say anything?” Jeremiah asked.

“No, he was found and brought in unconscious.” Mark hesitated and then reached out and touched Cindy’s arm. “He’s not expected to make it.”

Jeremiah felt terrible for Cindy, even worse than he felt for Geanie and Joseph. Geanie and Joseph had each other to cling to. To make things even worse, Cindy felt responsible for what had happened to Gerald. He wished there was some way he could comfort her, but just like her, just like everyone else in the mansion, he was stuck waiting.

“It’s like some old Agatha Christie novel,” Veronica commented Tuesday evening.

“If it was, one of us would be the killer,” Traci said.

They were all in the dining room playing board games. They had made it through the rest of Sunday and all of Monday without any incidents. Instead of making everyone relax, though, it seemed to just be building the sense of anticipation. It reminded Jeremiah of the paranoia that could sometimes settle over those with dangerous jobs as they were nearing retirement. There was a sense that there might not be any getting out of this alive and so the more time passed, the greater the odds something was going to happen.

Lyle, the final member of the wedding party, was scheduled to arrive that evening, and at least that would be a welcome distraction. Joseph had called him a couple of days before and explained the situation, telling him he was free to back out with no hard feelings. Lyle had insisted on coming anyway. Given Jeremiah’s mood he vacillated between thinking Lyle was loyal and Lyle was stupid.

“The only killer here is Jeremiah,” Joseph said.

Jeremiah looked up sharply.

“No matter what game we play he slaughters the rest of us.”

Jeremiah mentally chided himself. He shouldn’t be playing so competitively. It was not smart.

“You say that, but watch, I’m sure I’ll lose now for the rest of the night,” he said with a smile.

“You honestly think your winning streak is over?” Jordan asked. Jordan was the ministry leader for the singles ministry at First Shepherd. Apparently he and Joseph had been friends since they were kids. “Just like that?” Jordan said with a snap.

Jeremiah shrugged.

He knew it was over. He would be throwing every game the rest of the night, but subtly so no one would realize that’s what he was doing.

It had been difficult, living with people for so many days. He lived alone and at home he could relax, let his guard down, and be himself. Here, though, he had to be constantly on alert. He couldn’t even relax when he was alone in his room. And with no ability to retreat, to go somewhere else,
anywhere
else for even just an hour or two it was getting really difficult.

What made it even harder was the fact that some of these people knew him fairly well. At least, they thought they did, and he was used to being slightly more relaxed around them. The same was not true for everyone, though, so he found himself caught between levels of familiarity.

There was a face he showed to the world. Then there was the face he reserved for people who were more like friends like Geanie and Joseph. Then there was the face that he had shown Mark, allowing the detective to see more than most. Finally there was the face that he let Cindy see. It was the best of him, and, occasionally, also parts of the worst of him. But only parts.

He knew he was confusing Cindy, Geanie, and Joseph because he had the walls firmly up. He couldn’t help it, though. There were too many strangers and casual acquaintances around. They hadn’t earned his trust, nor the right to see anything but the carefully cultivated persona he had crafted for himself when he came to Pine Springs.

He knew that while other people would say that they had friends they could let their hair down and be themselves around, that their social role-playing was as nothing compared to his. Regular people were who they were. They might be more uninhibited at some times than others, but usually what you saw was what you got. His outer image and his inner self hadn’t matched in a long, long time.

“Jeremiah, it’s your turn,” Traci prodded.

“Sorry,” he said, studying the game board.

Around him people were laughing, trying to make the best of a bad situation. The forced intimacy of all having to be together all the time had broken down barriers for the rest of them. Teasing and fake insults were flying around the table.

“I’m still sorry we couldn’t all go to The Zone yesterday,” Joseph said.

“It’s not your fault,” Traci said.

“I know, but I still wanted to see Wildman barf after going on The Atomic Coaster.”

“Oh no, there’s no way I’ll ever go on that thing again,” Dave said, rolling his eyes.

“How many kids was it that you threw up on during that one church trip?” Cindy asked.

“None,” Dave said, trying his best to have a poker face.

“I heard it was ten,” Geanie said.

“It was only four,” Dave said, turning red in the face.

“Only four?” Dorothy said with a laugh.

“You threw up on four kids at the same time?” Veronica asked.

“It was epic,” Jordan said. “I was there. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

Jeremiah played his turn and sat back. He did have to admit that the thought of Dave throwing up on the kids was hilarious. Usually it was kids who managed to throw up on adults. “I would have paid to see that,” he said, forcing a smile.

Smile, joke. That’s what a normal person would do. Why was it the longer he was stuck in this cage the harder it was to act normal?

“I need to get some fresh air,” Mark said at the conclusion of the game. “I’ll be back in a couple.”

“I think I’ll go with you,” Jeremiah said, hastily getting to his feet.

“Alright, fifteen minute break to take care of...whatever,” Dave said. “Be back here then. We’re teaming up for Trivial Pursuit.”

Once outside they walked away from the house, past the first officer on guard.

“Is it just me or is the tension ratcheted up so high I think there’s going to be some kind of explosion?” Mark asked.

“It’s not just you.”

“Oh good. I thought I was going crazy by myself. Nice to see I have company.”

“I think all of us could probably use some downtime. Certainly some alone time.”

“I hear you, but I can’t make that happen.”

Jeremiah refrained from pointing out that Mark could, in fact, make it happen, he just didn’t want to.

“So, what do you know about this Lyle guy who should be here soon?” Mark asked.

“Not much. He and Joseph were friends in college. I know they hang out every time they’re in the same city.”

“Friendship,” Mark grunted. “It’s a weird thing. See, by that description I would never guess Lyle would be willing to risk his neck to be here during all this madness.”

“I know.”

“You never can tell, though. Sometimes you think you have a best friend and they turn their back on you when you need them. Other times the person you just thought of as a casual friend goes through hell for you without you even asking.”

“Who are we talking about now?” Jeremiah asked.

Mark threw back his head and stared up at the moon. “You know, I never had a lot of friends. Not naturally the trusting type I guess.”

“It comes with the badge I’d guess.”

“I was this way even as a kid. Then again, even when I was a kid I knew I wanted to be a cop when I grew up. I was always interrogating everyone I could get my hands on. If there was a mystery to solve I was right in the middle of it.”

“Must have been fun for your parents.”

Mark shook his head. “What I’m trying to say is that two years ago if someone had told me my best friends were going to be a rabbi and a church secretary, I would have laughed in their face.”

“Because we’re religious or we’re not cops?”

“Because I never thought I’d really have best friends.”

Jeremiah didn’t know what to say.

“You know what the craziest part about it is?” Mark asked.

“What?”

“You’re my best friends and yet the thought of hanging out with you socially makes me twitch.”

Jeremiah chuckled. “Whenever you do spend time with us it’s always been because bad things are happening, and if not they will shortly. Subconsciously you equate seeing us with-”

“Death and destruction?” Mark interrupted.

“Something like that,” Jeremiah said.

“Well, that makes sense I guess. So, the solution would be, what? Squeeze in friend time with everything else.”

“I don’t have the answers.”

“Maybe. Maybe not. I do have one question, though.”

Jeremiah tensed. “What is it?” The contents of the note Mark had received flashed through his mind.
Ask him what his name is.

“Why are you religious?”

“What?” Jeremiah asked, taken completely off guard.

“A man finds out he’s going to be a father, he starts to ask himself the big questions.”

“Ah, like ‘Is there a G-d’.”

“Exactly. So, I want to know why you believe what you do.”

“I was raised in a religious home. My family believed very strongly. It made sense to me, it helped explain so much of the world around me, especially given all the uncertainty and strife. I always believed and I studied the Torah as much as I could.”

“Just like I knew I wanted to be a cop you knew you wanted to be a rabbi.”

Jeremiah smiled. “Perhaps, but, being a rabbi did not enter my mind when I was young. I was thirsty for knowledge, of G-d and his creation. Then, when I grew up, and joined the army for my requisite service, I found I needed G-d more than ever.”

Mark nodded. “My parents didn’t believe in anything they couldn’t see or touch. Religion was right out for them. My dad always drilled into me that everything is logical; that everything has a rational explanation.”

“And you believed him.”

“I did for a long time.”

“What changed that?” Jeremiah asked.

“One day I was called out to a murder scene. Sixteen-year-old boy had been killed, run over. I thought it was a hit-and-run or possibly something gang related. Then I caught the kid who did it. He ran him over on purpose, but he didn’t even know him. I asked him why he did it. I mean, all the murders I worked there was always a reason, money, jealousy, something. This kid just laughed and said he did it because he could. That was the day I stopped believing that everything had a logical explanation, that the world made sense.”

“I can see why. Pure evil for evil’s sake is a hard thing for most people to grasp.”

“Yeah, well, what can you do,” Mark said.

Jeremiah could tell that the conversation was over. He didn’t know if Mark had been satisfied with the answer he’d given him, but it was the only one he had.

Mark’s phone rang and he answered it. “You got him? Good. Okay. Thanks.”

“An officer is driving Lyle here. So, shall we get back inside and see who’s going to clean the floor with who during Trivial Pursuit?”

“You’ve got it,” Jeremiah said with a smile.

Cindy was relieved when Thursday rolled around. It felt like they were finally in the home stretch and soon everything would be over. It also meant she and the other bridesmaids got to decorate the formal living room and dining room for the bachelorette party while Geanie spent some time with her parents.

The only other person Cindy had originally invited to the bachelorette party was Sylvia from work who fortunately already understood the nature of what they were all going through. It was agreed that just to be on the safe side she wouldn’t come. However, Mark was nice enough to swing by the church and pick up the present she had been planning on bringing.

When it was finally time Cindy went and got Geanie. She led the other woman over to the other wing of the house and then slowly pushed open the door to the formal living room.

“Welcome,” Cindy said, “to the point of no return.”

Geanie squealed with delight and clapped her hands.

Phantom of the Opera music was playing and Cindy and the others had decorated the room with white and black streamers and balloons. Red roses were scattered throughout the area. They’d even managed to scare up a fog machine so that they had to walk through the fog into the room just as if they were descending into the Phantom’s lair.