Prayers for the Dead (31 page)

“Thank you. Is your husband around?”

Dana’s eyes clouded. “He’s at work.”

Decker said nothing.

“Actually, that’s a good thing,” Dana said. “Don’t you think that’s a good thing, Paul?”

“It’s an excellent thing, Dana.”

“You’re being snide.”

“Not at all, Dana.” His eyes darted back and forth. “It’s a very good thing that Luke’s at work… occupied. Where’s Mom?”

“Michael is helping her freshen up.” To Decker, Dana said, “She hasn’t gotten out of bed all day. She’s very depressed.”

Decker nodded.

Dana wrung her hands nervously, “Do you know when Bram’s supposed to show up? He seems to have a calming effect on her. Maybe I should call him.”

Paul blinked hard. “I think he’s pretty tied up right now, Dana.”

“Too busy to see his mother?”

“Maggie told me he was here this morning. He does have a parish to run.”

“I’m sure his parishioners would understand—”

“I’m sure, but—”

“I think I should call him.”

From above, a strong, low female voice said, “Dana, leave him alone. He’s busy.”

Dana became flushed. Through clenched teeth, she called out, “Of course, Mother.” She checked her watch. To Decker, she said, “I must be going.”

“Nice to have met you.”

“Same.” She turned around and scurried out the door before her mother-in-law made it down the stairs.

Dolores “Dolly” Sparks. An imperfect name for her. Because she was anything but a plaything. Tall, large-boned, stately, stern. A coif of gray hair framed a sturdy face. Her eyes, though red-rimmed, were hard and threatening. Decker saw none of the vulnerability and shock he had witnessed when Michael had first broken the news to her. She wore a black caftan, her feet were housed in mules.

She gave Decker a once-over. “That girl is something else. First, she tries to seduce Bram into marrying her. By the skin of his teeth,
he
finally manages to get rid of her. So what does Luke do? He goes ahead and marries her himself. He did it for spite. Well, good for Luke. He got his spite. He also got
her
, still mooning over his twin—”

“Why don’t you sit down, Mom,” Paul said.

“Why don’t you stop trying to shut me up.”

No one spoke.

Dolly’s lip began to tremble. “Where is Bram?”

Michael said, “Would you like me to call him for you, Mom?”

“Please.” She hid her face in the palm of her hand.

Paul took her arm. “Mom, sit down.”

This time, Dolly didn’t protest. Allowed herself to be led to the couch. Paul said, “Mom, this is Lieutenant Decker. He’s leading Dad’s investigation.”

Dolly wiped her eyes and nodded.

Decker nodded back. “I apologize for interrupting your rest.”

“What rest? With Dana keeping me awake, reading me Psalms… trying to be spiritual. She should try making it to church on time. A good start in spiritual development.”

Paul said, “She means well, Mom.”

“I suppose.” Dolly looked at Decker. “How can I help you, Mr. Decker?”

“It’s lieutenant, Mom.”

“Whatever,” Decker said. “You can help me by answering a few questions.”

“I don’t know who’d want to harm Azor,” Dolly stated. “Far as I know, he didn’t have an enemy in the world.”

“If I could start with something even more basic. What do you think your husband was doing at Tracadero’s?”

“I’m sure I don’t know.”

Decker looked at Paul, then back at the widow. “I hate to ask you this. But is it possible he could have been meeting a woman?”

Paul’s eyes twitched. But Dolly’s face remained placid. “You mean Dr. Fulton?”

Decker said, “No, I mean a paramour.”

Dolly remained unperturbed. “No, it’s
not
possible. I didn’t know much about Azor’s life outside the home. But I do know
that
much.”

“Okay. Then who might your husband have been meeting?”

“I don’t know.”

Decker nodded. “What do you know about your husband’s weekend friends?”

Paul said, “He means the bikers.”

“Them?” She grimaced. “They’re lowlifes, of course. Azor brought them here once. Came roaring down the street, looking like a bunch of hoods. I refused to let them step foot in my house. I almost kicked them out yesterday. But I didn’t… for Azor’s sake. If they wanted to honor him, so be it.”

Michael came back. “Bram said he’ll be here in an hour. Unless you need him right away.”

Dolly thought a moment. “An hour is fine. I’ll just take a nap.” She stood. “Anything else?”

“A few more questions, Mrs. Sparks. I’ll try not to tire you.”

She sat back down and waited.

Decker said, “Were you aware of the fact that your husband gave money to his riding buddies for a cause of theirs?”

Her mouth tightened. “Yes. Some freedom act. Everyone should be free. You know what, Mr. Decker? Some people shouldn’t be free. Some people should be locked up in jail the rest of their lives, instead of taking money from naive do-gooders.”

Inwardly, Decker agreed. He said, “You felt the cause was a scam.”

“Of course it was a scam,” Dolly pronounced. “But it was Azor’s money. He never left me wanting for anything. Provided well for me
and
the children. Gave to the church and to the hospital. I suppose if he wanted to squander a little excess… well, there are
worse
vices, believe you me.”

Decker smiled.

Dolly stood again, this time teetering on her feet. “I really am tired, Mr. Decker.” Her eyes suddenly watered. “Perhaps another time.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Sparks.”

“You’re welcome.” She leaned over to Paul, and he kissed her cheek. “When’s the first installment of the tuition due, Paul?”

Paul turned red. “Three weeks, Mom.”

“We should have this will thing straightened out by then. Send me the papers. Dad made you a promise, I’ll honor it.”

“Thank you very much, Mom.”

She patted his cheek. To Michael, she said, “Walk me up to my room, pumpkin.”

“Of course.” Michael shook hands with Decker. “Anything you need, we’re here to help. Right, Mom?”

“Right.” She started walking, then her knees folded. Michael grabbed her arm. “Lean on me, Mom.”

Decker followed them up the stairs until they disappeared. A moment later, he heard a door close.

Paul said, “She’s exhausted.”

“Can’t say I blame her.” Decker smoothed his mustache. “She seems to have an inner strength. Guess you’d have to have energy to raise six children, especially triplet boys.”

Paul nodded.

“You get along well with your brothers?”

Paul shrugged. “Not too bad. Being as Luke and Bram are identical, it was hard to compete with that genetic bond.”

“They were close growing up?”

“Yes.”

“Competitive?”

“Not really. Luke figured out pretty early on he couldn’t compete.”

“You were the outsider.”

Paul stared at Decker, his eyes still and calm. “Why are you interested in us?”

“Like Michael said, I’m interested in all facets of your family. I find it fascinating that Luke and Bram dated the same women.”

“You mean
woman
. As far as I know, Dana was the only girl Bram ever dated.”

“What happened between them?”

Paul’s eyes twitched. “A long story… it’s all past. They were kids… not even seventeen.”

“Your mother mentioned something about Dana seducing Bram. What happened? Did he get her pregnant?”

Paul didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “Not exactly. Luke got her pregnant. While she was Bram’s girl.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah, it was…” Paul scratched his head. “Bram took the fall, told our parents it was his. He covered, not for Dana’s sake and certainly not for Luke’s, but for his own ego. He didn’t want to look like a dupe.”

“How’d he find out it wasn’t his kid?”

Paul laughed, but it held sadness. “Only one way for a guy to know proof positive that the kid isn’t his.”

“He never had sex with her.”

Paul said, “After Dana got knocked up by Luke, she tried to seduce Bram… to nail the kid as his. You’ve met my brother. Things that work on normal guys don’t work on him. Anyway, he figured it out pretty quickly. Dana had suddenly turned from a shy, religious thing to this raving maniac who just
had
to do it. The more she pushed, the more he knew something was off. He pressed her and she broke down. Since she absolutely refused to admit who the father was, Bram figured it was one of us. Meaning, he thought it was me.”

“He confronted you?”

“No. Bram took it like a martyr. He really does belong on the cross.”

“Did he display anger toward you?”

“Not openly.”

“So how did he find out it was Luke?”

“Must have been my guiltless attitude. Both Luke and I treated him gently during that time. Because my parents absolutely…
battered
him. Mostly Dad. Bram had been his golden boy until then. The son that could do no wrong. But man, did Dad change. One mistake and Doctor came that close to kicking him out of the house.” Paul pinched off a millimeter of space between his extended thumb and forefinger. “If Bram would have given him an ounce of lip, I’m sure he would have.”

“Bram suffered in silence?”

“Yes. Then one evening at dinner… God, Dad was really slamming him. How he ruined his life and dishonored himself, and his family, and had spit at God. And he was going to go to hell and all this… this
shit
, frankly. I couldn’t take it. I told Bram, ‘How can you let him
talk
to you like that?
Say
something!’ Of course, I was ordered to leave the table at once.”

“Did you?”

“No. Instead, I got into a screaming match with my father who proceeded to ground me for
three
months. Actually, it was six months, later reduced to three. I had no car privileges, no allowance, wasn’t allowed to go on any dates or to any parties… even church activities. Except chapel of course. I was ordered to go to chapel every evening and ask God’s forgiveness for disobeying my father.”

“Pretty severe.”

“Extremely. In all fairness to my parents, they were very upset. Normally, they weren’t that rough on us.”

“Pretty nice of you to risk your freedom for your brother.”

“If I had known the consequences, I would have kept my mouth shut.” He shook his head. “I finally stalked off to our room, Bram came in a minute later, thanked me for coming to his defense. Must have been something sincere in my voice, something that told him
I
hadn’t been the one. Because as soon as Luke walked in the room, Bram hauled off and decked him.”

Paul laughed.

“I was stunned! I’d never seen Bram so enraged, much less physical. Then it all came out, though my parents never knew. I couldn’t believe it. Luke had always been a wiseass, spent half of high school stoned on weed. But deflowering your twin brother’s girlfriend… that went beyond the pale.”

“Indeed.”

“Anyway, the whole thing became moot. Three weeks before Dana and Bram were due to marry, Dana went into premature labor, gave birth to a stillborn boy. It was very sad actually. Bram was decent, visited Dana in the hospital. But man, was he
relieved
! We all were. After Dana recovered, Bram stayed away from her, from girls in general.” Paul grinned. “Big surprise that Bram became a priest.”

Decker said, “And Dana married Luke.”

“Irony of ironies. They remet at our fifth high school reunion. Bram didn’t show, but Luke and I did. Luke and Dana started talking. I guess they hit it off. They were married a few years later.”

“It didn’t bother Bram?”

“You mean did he still feel something for Dana?” Paul laughed. “The poor guy has been trying to get her off his ass for years.”

“How’d he feel toward Luke?”

“He was icy to him for a long, long time. He didn’t stand up at Luke’s wedding.”

Casually, Decker asked, “What about Bram’s relationship with your father?”

“From what I could see, Bram remained respectful… obedient… up to a point.”

“Meaning?”

“Bram wears a cross around his neck, not a stethoscope.”

“You father wanted Bram to be a doctor?”

“Not wanted —
expected
.”

“Did it create tension between the two?”

“That Bram became a priest instead of a physician?”

“Yes.”

Paul thought about the question. “I think Dad knew he’d lost Bram after the Dana affair. Certainly he knew Bram was a goner after he became Catholic.”

“How’d that happen?”

“The summer after the Dana thing, Dad sent him to Africa to cleanse his soul with missionary work. Talk about poetic justice…” Paul laughed. “The nuns got hold of him. He came back, it was all over. Nothing could dissuade him.
His
rebellion at the shit my dad shoveled at him.”

He thought a moment.

“Actually, that’s probably oversimplification. Bram took to Catholicism… the rituals… customs. The formality and beauty that’s absent from my church. And the intellectuality. He loves poring over dusty tomes. Archaic stuff that would bore most people to death.”

“How’d your mother react to Bram’s conversion?”

“She wasn’t happy. Personally, I think she was
real
pissed at my dad, though she never expressed it out loud. But you could tell by her coldness. She used to mention to him that one teaches not by harshness but by love, just as Jesus did. You notice that Michael
is
in medical school. Nothing to rebel against. Because after the whole Dana mess, Dad pretty much butted out of our lives. He was still… Dad. But he kept a lower profile… left family things up to Mom.”

“Did Bram ever forgive Luke?”

“About a year after Bram became ordained, a real peace came over him. He not only forgave Luke, he’s been looking after him for the last six years. It took Luke a long time to get his act in gear. His kids helped. Luke’s a great father, I’ll say that much for him.”

He paused.

“I think I’m a great father, too. Funny, because neither one of us got any role modeling. Dad was never home when we grew up. Bram took over Dad’s role with my younger siblings. But Luke and I were left to our own devices.”