by Suzi Weinert
His words stunned her. “But that’s impossible. She and I talked about this just a few weeks ago. Neither of us wanted cremation. How could he not know that about his own wife? You know exactly what I want.”
“True, because we talked about this when my parents died, but maybe they didn’t.”
Kirsten’s voice echoed in Jennifer’s ears: “Burial is definitely my choice. I shudder at the idea of cremation. If you have a preference, Jen, tell Jason now so he’ll know what you want. Tony knows exactly how I feel about it.”
Surely Tony wouldn’t ignore Kirsten’s wish unless…unless he had a reason? But what? A crime needed motive, method and opportunity. Sure, spouses had opportunity because they lived together. But absent motive and method, scratch opportunity. Why in the world would Tony want Kirsten dead? Could their behind-the-scenes life differ that much from the façade they presented?
Without a body, Jennifer realized, nobody could investigate external evidence like bruising or internal evidence like poison. EMS techs might not see signs of trauma because they saw Kirsten clothed except for her chest, but ER crews had a full-body view.
Then she chastised herself. What kind of disloyal tangent was this? Both Donnegans were long-time, trusted neighbors and friends.
Jason tapped her on the arm. “Jen, you have that thinking-look, a look that makes me uneasy.”
“Jay, he’s making a terrible mistake.” She picked up the phone. “I need to set him straight.”
Jason gently eased the phone from her hand and put an arm around her shoulder. “Honey, it’s too late. The funeral home cremated her thirty minutes ago.”
A tear spilled onto her cheek. “How could he? Why would he? Something’s wrong. She told me they discussed this. He wanted cremation but she didn’t. What’s going on here, Jay?”
“Look, I don’t know the answer. Maybe she thought they discussed it but they didn’t? Or she said it but he didn’t hear it. Or he’s so upset and confused with her sudden death he forgot that conversation? Or he accidentally checked the wrong box on the form at the funeral home? Whatever the explanation, it’s over, Jen. There’s no undoing it. Should you torture him with recrimination by telling him he made a terrible mistake or should you let it go?”
“Oh, Kirsten, I’m so sorry this happened to you,” Jennifer whispered to her departed friend.
“Jen, Kirsten’s problems are over. She’s gone. Does it matter now what happens to her remains?”
“It’s not right. When we make our funeral plans in advance the way you suggested, let’s write it all down. Please promise me you’ll respect my wishes.”
“Honey, you know I will. We trust each other. We love each other. You’ll follow my choices and I absolutely promise to follow yours. Now, let’s dry those tears and think good thoughts.”
She sniffled but changed the subject. “I guess you’re right.” She busied herself in the kitchen. “By the way, I rushed off early to the estate sale and only scanned the classified ads. Any big news in the morning newspaper?”
“Mainly more terrorism attacks around the world, mostly the Middle-East and Europe this week. At least the powder keg hasn’t exploded in the U.S. again since 9/11. McLean’s probably one of the safest places around, with the CIA and Homeland Security right here.”
He thought a moment before adding silently to himself, or the most dangerous....
11
Thursday, 4:16 pm
Still uneasy about Kirsten’s cremation, Jennifer tried to shift focus. She scanned The Washington Post Jason handed her and picked up on his comment about terrorists attacks. “Why don’t Muslims follow their religion and just let others do the same?”
“Some do, but it seems to me every religion’s fundamentalists concentrate on the word rather than the spirit. In poor, desperate and illiterate populations, the masses are easily guided by whoever interprets holy writings for them. Islam has no corner on that. Fundamentalists tend to be fanatics or extremists, convinced that if they’re right, everyone else is wrong. They see a them/us power struggle ending in a mandate to convert or dispose of them. Without separation of church and state, religious brain-washing starting with toddlers is reinforced by their churches or mosques, schools, government and social culture. They know nothing else.”
He paused, noted his wife was still listening intently—a behavior he counted on—then finished offering his perspective. “For Muslim fundamentalists, even questioning Islam is severely punishable blasphemy. Without exposure to other ideas, their way seems the only way. You’re a believer or a non-believer, no in-between categories. And this isn’t even original. Remember the Salem witch hunts? Remember the Inquisition?”
“But Jay, you said yourself, Islam isn’t all radicals. When radicals come to this country, aren’t they exposed at last to new ideas? How can they miss other ways of thinking and acting?”
“Don’t oversimplify, Jen. Even in the U.S., where citizens can read anything they like, attend any church they wish and question all religions, many stick with their original religious exposure from the cradle to the grave. Their parents’ religious values influence them even if they question them later. Imagine growing up where church and state are combined. To draw a group even closer together it’s handy to invent a scapegoat to hate, some guilty person or group who deserve loathing. You see that at work even in sports where the other team’s athletes are the ‘bad guys.’ Right now the Jews, Americans and British fill this need for radical Muslims. Even if we understand how radicals get that way, we can’t allow them to murder the opposition to further their cause.”
“You’re right, Jay. I love how you always think these things through.” She changed the subject. “By the way, please tell Tony I’m bringing dinner tonight. I feel so sad for them. When his children go back to their own worlds after the funeral, he’ll live all alone in a big empty house. How will he do it? Jay, I can’t imagine life without you.”
Jason walked over and pulled her into his arms. “Jen,” he soothed, “Kirsten would appreciate what a true friend of hers you are to help Tony. You got him through the emergency room ordeal, and you’ll watch out for him in the weeks ahead. Of course, you’re affected by what’s happened; you’ve been an integral part of it. We both have.” He kissed the top of her head. “We have lots of wonderful years ahead of us.” He sang a few bars of “Be happy, don’t worry,” accompanying the lyrics with uncoordinated, off-beat body sways.
His antics made her smile. She hugged him close. “Thanks, Jay, for understanding.”
“Hey, isn’t that what we do for each other?”
“Do you want me to come along to help plan the church service?”
“No, I think we can handle it. His kids arrive this afternoon, and they want to be together as a family tonight. Speaking of family, what did Hannah want at lunch today?”
“She and Adam are moving into the old Yates house while they subdivide his property.” Jennifer explained her concerns and her home-inspection advice.
“Well, they’re young and eager…” he said with a far-away look.
“…and idealistic, imagining nothing could change their happiness.”
“We can relate to that, can’t we?” he chuckled. “Well, maybe not the young part any more…”
She nodded, thinking of Kirsten: warm and lively one minute, cold and dead the next. “We better value each moment and people precious to us. Like you, dear Jay.”
He chuckled. “I love you too, Jen. Nobody gets more out of the moments we’re on earth than you. You hit the floor running every day.”
“Are you up for dinner at Kazan tonight?”
“I’ll be more than ready for a pleasant evening by then. Turkish food sounds just right. I hope Zaynel is there with my favorite doner kebab tonight.” He looked at his watch. “Well, gotta go get Tony.” She waved as he closed the front door behind him.
Jennifer sat still, thinking about their conversation. Her mind wandered back to the Donnegans. Was Tony�
��s decision to cremate Kirsten accidental, as Jason suggested, or deliberate? If deliberate, what could he possibly need to hide?
12
Thursday, 4:39 PM
A few minutes later Jennifer stepped onto her front porch, waving as Jason and Tony pulled away in her husband’s car. She inhaled the warmth of this rare summery November day. Looking across at Donnegans’ house, she wondered which of Kirsten’s children owned the unfamiliar car parked in his driveway. From years as neighbors, she knew the children. Should she sympathize now or let them marshal energy for the ordeals ahead? She’d wait until she took dinner over later.
Not a thoroughfare, their cul-de-sac drew few cars other than residents’, but nice days like this invited foot traffic. A man walked a dog around the circle, saying “hello” as he passed. A child whizzed by on a skateboard. A jogger raised a hand of greeting as he huffed around the sidewalk.
Along the front yard’s wrought-iron fence, she spotted several dead, scruffy plants, an eyesore in an otherwise tidy yard. Why not take a few minutes to cut them back? She got garden gloves and plant scissors from the garage and knelt, snipping the spent stalks. Focused on clipping, she jumped when a deep male voice said, “Hello, Jennifer. You seem busy.”
She looked up to see a neighbor who lived a few blocks away. He regularly walked this route, and they often chatted over-the-fence when she was outside as he strolled past. They’d exchanged names, as casually-meeting neighbors do. She stood to greet him. “Why, hello, Larry. Thank goodness you happened by. My old bones don’t kneel very long any more.”
He laughed, “With old bones myself, I sympathize. What a perfect fall day for a walk; so warm, so beautiful. And how are you. Jennifer?”
“I’m well, but do you know the Donnegans across the street?” He did, explaining Tony was their cat’s vet. Jennifer told him about Kirsten and he spoke of his own experience with families at his temple who had lost loved ones.
“So you’re Jewish?” He nodded. On impulse she said, “Good. Then maybe you could help me better understand this old hatred between Arabs and Jews. Jason and I were talking about it earlier, and I have to admit more ignorance about all this than makes me comfortable.”
“I’ll help if I can.”
Jennifer put down her gloves and shears and leaned against the fence. “The media describe terrorism escalating in the Middle-East, and ‘Arab Spring’ hasn’t turned out the way our country hoped it might. Iran’s involved through Hezbollah and they’re Persian. If any of them plays a nuclear card, the world’s at risk. Do you know how this ancient Arab/Jew feud began?”
“A very weighty subject, but I can tell you what I know.”
“Thank you. Shall we sit on the front porch to talk? May I offer cookies, coffee, soda or wine?”
Larry chuckled. “You’ve made an offer I can’t refuse. And I’m not even Italian.”
They laughed as he settled himself on a porch chair. “What would you like?”
“A glass of water would be fine,” he said.
She returned with water and brownies for them both.
Jennifer told him what went through her mind as she’d pruned bushes. “To outsiders, Arabs and Jews appear more alike than different. They share the same genetic origins in the same part of the world with similar traditions and culture. Both Muslims and Orthodox Jews separate men and women at social or religious gatherings, and the women cover their hair with scarves. Both groups practice circumcision. Neither group eats pork. They share many holy places. Why not brotherly comrades instead of arch enemies?”
Larry gave a wry laugh. “Well, don’t forget real brothers often fight. Remember Cain and Abel? But some biblical history might help answer your question. Judaism was well established for several thousand years before Jesus came onto the scene. After that, Muhammad gave birth to Islam in 610 CE in Saudi Arabia. He wrote down religious wisdom he said he received from Allah, the one God. He drew heavily upon Jewish tradition, which he interpreted and modified from Torah stories for use in his Quran. The one-god idea was already a pivotal Jewish concept, though ours wasn’t named Allah. One important biblical story Muhammad changed concerns Abraham, a patriarch acknowledged by both Jews and Muslims, who called him ‘Ibrihim.’
“The Holy Scripture describes Abraham as an obedient man of great faith who talked often with God. God told Abraham he would be the father of many nations. This seemed unlikely since he and his wife, Sarah, who Muslims call Sarai, were old, well beyond child-bearing years. But with this prophecy in mind, his barren wife Sarah offered Abraham her Egyptian serving girl, Hagar—Muslims call her Hajar—saying ‘Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son through her.’ We might view this now as an ancient surrogate pregnancy.”
“Isn’t the Abraham story from the Book of Genesis?” Jen asked.
Larry nodded. “Yes. It’s the first book of the Torah as well as what Christians call the Old Testament. Hagar, so the story goes, had no choice in this and when she conceived she despised Sarah. Jealous of Hagar even though this was her own idea, Sarah got Abraham’s permission to punish her maidservant. When she did, Hagar ran away from her mistress into the wilderness. An angel found her by a stream and asked why she was there. Hagar explained. The angel told her to return to her mistress and submit to punishment, for she would bear eighty-six-year-old Abraham a son and name him Ishmael. The angel said this son’s descendants would multiply until there were too many to count. So Hagar returned, took the punishment and bore a son. When Ishmael was thirteen years old, God told Abraham to circumcise all males in his household to show their covenant with God. So, ninety-nine-year-old Abraham followed this instruction, which included himself and his son Ishmael.”
“Ouch!” Jennifer cringed. “This must have seemed an extraordinary demand.”
“Yes, but Abraham obeyed, as always. Then God told Abraham his wife would bear a son to be named Isaac, so when Ishmael was fourteen years old, Abraham 100 and Sarah ninety, she had her first baby and named him Isaac. They circumcised him at eight-days old, per the covenant with God. When Isaac was weaned, Abraham threw a celebration feast. At this event Sarah noticed Hagar scoffing at this favoring of Isaac over Ishmael. You see, no such party happened for her son although born first. Jealous again, Sarah asked Abraham to ‘cast out this bondswoman and her son; for the son of this bondswoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac.’ Upset about this, Abraham consulted God, who said to go along with Sarah’s wishes, for God would make nations from both these sons. So next morning, Abraham gave Hagar food and a skin of water and sent her with Ishmael into the wilderness.”
“Not too different from today’s soap opera tales, is it?”
“No, but this story isn’t over. Hagar wandered the desert of Beersheba until her food and water ran out. Resigned to death, she shaded her dying son under a shrub. She walked away—to avoid seeing him perish—and wept. But God heard her son’s cries and sent an angel to Hagar saying God would make a well of water to save and protect the boy for his future. They lived in the wilderness until the boy grew up and eventually married an Egyptian wife Hagar found for him.”
“A happy ending, then?”
“Not yet. Before Hagar and Ishmael were kicked out, God tested Abraham’s faith with another startling order: to sacrifice his son as a burnt offering to God. Muslims and Jews agree about this event but not about which son he tied down on the sacrificial rock. As Abraham raised his knife to obey God by killing his son before lighting the sacrificial fire, a ram caught his horns in a nearby bush. God said to sacrifice the ram instead of the son. Abraham had again proved his faith. God promised to multiply this son’s descendants ‘as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore.’ He added other special blessings. But was this nearly-sacrificed son Isaac, as the Jews record in the Torah, or Ishmael, as Muslims claim in Muhammad’s Quran modification?”
“I see the problem. Were these Abraham’s only sons?” Jennifer asked.
“He fathered more ch
ildren, but these two ‘first’ sons create the schism between Judaism and Islam. Biblical scholars disagree about some ancient writings and what they really mean. Some think them more legend than gospel. Sumerian rules of succession at the time apparently upheld the rank of a son born to a first wife as greater for inheritance than a son born to a second wife or concubine. Sumerians also upheld that a child born to a relative of the man ranked higher than to a non-relative. Some scholars think Sarah was Abraham’s half-sister, which would give Isaac the birthright no matter if Ishmael was born first. Others think ‘sister’ is a generic term in that culture for any female relatives. Then Muslims point out God said elsewhere that marrying a sister was an abomination, making Ishmael the rightful heir, so even more confusion.”
Jennifer nodded. “I see. Three great monotheistic religious nations sprang from Abraham just as prophesied. Judiasm through Isaac in Torah, Christianity through the Jewish prophet named Jesus in the New Testament, and Islam via the Prophet Muhammad’s Quran version of Ishmael’s Arab branch.”
“Yes. Once Muhammad reinterpreted Abraham’s story, Muslims hated Jews for their cruel treatment of Hagar and her son Ishmael. Both were significant figures in their religion. But don’t forget that geo-political reasons also play strategic roles, compounded by ethnic and religious differences. Consider, as part of the picture, that current uprisings in the Arab world are not about scriptures but about land, politics and economics plus Islamic opposition to Westernization. Similarly, the nation of Israel isn’t biblically driven at this point but fighting for survival. It no longer boils down to just a theological debate.”
Jennifer shifted in her chair. “Taking-what-you-have-that-I-want is as old as the caveman who found death a quick, permanent solution for anyone disagreeing with him. And he could steal his victim’s property afterward as further incentive.”
“Religious zeal and a God’s presumed blessing to take-what-you-want, destroy-all-who-disagree, avenge-past-injustice—real or imagined—and blame scapegoats… All this nourishes a recipe for terrorism. Rewards with virgins in paradise and awed respect for martyrs on earth further this madness. Islam is not only a religion but an entire social, political, cultural, legal and military ideology.”
