He kept scraping.
“I am, too,” the priest added.
“Well, Maman must have told you I’m going to a different church, sir.” Eddie didn’t want to call him ‘Father,’ but it seemed rude not to address him directly.
“Yes. A Protestant church.”
Eddie shrugged and moved to the other side of the truck. He prayed in his heart to God, asking whether he should open his mouth or not. He really didn’t want to argue with a priest.
“You shouldn’t listen to them,” Father Claude said. “Your friend is wrong.”
So. His mother had been talking to the priest about Harvey. “It’s not my friend I’m listening to,” Eddie said. “It’s the Bible. I go to a church where they teach me what the Bible says.”
“Eddie, Eddie. You were in catechism as a little boy. The sisters taught you what the scripture says.”
Eddie hesitated. “When I read the Bible, things are different from what I was taught.”
Father Claude frowned. “In what way?”
Eddie gulped. “Well, you know it says that Jesus died on the cross for us.”
“Of course. The Church has taught you that.”
“But I was always told that I had to do all kinds of things, or I wouldn’t go to heaven.”
“The Bible teaches obedience, Eddie.”
“Yes, but that comes after. I’m trying to obey what God says to do, but I know I’m saved and Jesus did everything to save me.”
“That’s dangerous. To think you can be absolved without obedience. . .”
Eddie’s stomach churned. He certainly wasn’t getting across what he meant. He wished Pastor Rowland was there, or Harvey.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t obey, or we don’t have to obey. I’m saying that isn’t what makes us pure in God’s eyes. We believe. It says it in Acts, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.’ That’s all we have to do. Jesus did the rest.” It was one of the first verses he had memorized, because he was so shaky on that teaching. He hoped he’d said it right. He was sweating like he did when he wore his Kevlar vest in August.
“I should have come sooner,” Father Claude said.
Eddie flicked the ice off the blade, opened the driver’s door, and tossed the scraper in. “I’m going someplace.”
“You can come back anytime.”
Eddie thought about that. “What would happen if I did?”
“The Church would welcome you. Your family would rejoice.”
“What would God do?”
Father Claude’s eyebrows shot up. “He would accept you, of course.”
“So, what would I have to do?”
“Just come back.”
“What, I wouldn’t have to confess?”
“Well, of course. I would give you penance. But if you were truly repentant, it wouldn’t be too heavy. Prayers to the Virgin—”
Eddie shook his head. “No, sir. I won’t do that. I confess my sins to God now. The Bible says there’s one mediator, Jesus Christ. I talk to Him.” Where had that come from? Wednesday night Bible study, he guessed, but he had no idea what part of the Bible it was in.
“May God show you the error of your ways.” Father Claude turned away slowly and walked down the sidewalk. He could tell Eddie’s mother he had tried.
Eddie got in the truck and turned the key, his hand shaking. He sat there a minute before he put the transmission in gear.
Chapter 14
Saturday, January 1
Eddie got to Harvey’s house about nine o’clock. He sat down with Harvey, Leeanne, and the coffeepot and gave them a report on Mason and his mother.
“Mason checked out okay, and his father picked him up at the hospital. The mom needed surgery on her leg, and her pelvis is broken.”
“Ouch,” Harvey said.
“Yeah. She lost a lot of blood and had serious internal bruising. I keep wondering if I should have tried to pull her out of the van.”
“You did plenty,” Leeanne said. “The van could have exploded if you hadn’t put the fire out. Harvey said so.”
Abby came tearing into the kitchen carrying a laptop. “Oh, good, you’re here. It’s all over Facebook, Eddie.”
“What is?” He didn’t mess with social media much these days. He’d accepted online friend requests from all the Wainthrop sisters and their three brothers, but he didn’t spend much time on there.
“You,” Abby said. She plopped down in the chair between Eddie and Harvey and set the laptop on the table. “Look here. I think it’s the one that was on the news last night.”
The video was grainy and dark, but it was Eddie all right, with Mason hugged up tight against his cheek and his little baby arms hugging Eddie for all he was worth, with his mom’s wrecked van just behind them. Emergency lights flickered red and blue over what could have been a junkyard full of cars but was actually Congress Street on New Year’s Eve. It lasted all of eight seconds, and the camera panned to follow them. The clip ended as they passed whoever held the camera and headed toward a parked ambulance.
“That must have been taken right after you put the fire out,” Leeanne said.
Harvey smiled. “Put it to music and you’re the next Audie Murphy.”
Eddie looked over at him. “Who’s Audie Murphy?”
Harvey shook his head, and Eddie figured it was some old guy he’d never heard of.
Leeanne pulled the laptop over and started the video again. She smiled as she watched him rescue Mason again.
“And that’s not all,” Abby said.
“What, there’s more?” Eddie asked.
Abby grinned. “Yeah. Someone at the TV station put it on YouTube. You’ve gone viral.”
“Maybe I need some medication.”
“Funny, funny, French Boy.”
Eddie scowled at her. “Hey, that’s really annoying.”
“Not to mention politically incorrect,” Harvey added.
Leeanne glared at her. “Yeah, do you want him calling you Anglo Girl?”
“I don’t care. Eddie and I are buds.”
They all looked murderously at Abby.
“Okay, okay, I’ll find another nickname for you.”
“Eddie is fine,” he said.
“Or Detective Thibodeau,” Harvey murmured and sipped his coffee.
“Hey! Don’t be mean,” Abby cried.
Harvey laughed.
Her face flushed. She wrestled the laptop from Leeanne and clicked away on the keyboard. “Look at that!”
“Do I want to?” Eddie asked.
“DeLaney Marshall shared the post, and look what she wrote.”
Eddie leaned in and squinted at the print below the video box. “If you’ve cried over this guy, raise your hand. What?”
Leeanne leaned over on his shoulder and peered at it. “She’s already got twenty-one comments, and she only posted it fifteen minutes ago.”
Eddie pushed back his chair. “Okay, that’s it. I’m going upstairs and lug down a few wedding gifts. Anyone want to help me?”
“I will,” Harvey said.
They went up the stairs together.
“Where’s Jennifer, anyway?” Eddie asked.
“I told her to sleep in. Babies take a lot of extra rest to grow properly.”
“Okay.” Harvey was the baby expert now, and Eddie trusted him on things like that.
Wrapped packages were piled all over the spare room bed, dresser, and part of the floor.
“Just grab a few and carry them down to the study,” Harvey said. “When Jeff comes, we’ll put them in his truck.”
They each made five or six trips. As they piled up the last presents downstairs, Eddie said, “It feels like we should be working on the case.”
“Mike’s new budget doesn’t allow much overtime.”
“Aren’t you worried that Hawkins and Mel Tucker will get away?”
“Not really. This is their turf. But if it makes you feel better, I asked Joey to watch for flags for us.
”
Joey Bolduc was in the detective squad, and he had taken advanced computer training. He was one of the few officers outside the Priority Unit who had Jennifer’s program on his computer.
“I really should go out and clean up the driveway,” Harvey said. “The plow guy came this morning, but it’s kind of messy.”
“I’ll help you.” They rigged up and told the girls where they’d be.
“You know, more heart attacks happen when people are shoveling after the holidays,” Abby called down the hall after them. “Rich food and unaccustomed exercise.”
Harvey ignored her, and they went out to shovel for half an hour. It looked pretty good when they’d finished, and they had one giant snowbank at the corner of the yard and the driveway. Eddie wondered how Leeanne felt about digging igloos.
When they went inside, Abby and Leeanne had disappeared, but Jennifer was in the kitchen. Harvey went over and kissed her. “How you doing, gorgeous?”
“Good. The baby’s really active this morning.”
He patted her tummy, and Eddie pretended he didn’t notice.
“Eddie, want some coffee?” she asked.
“Oh, we had some before, but thanks.”
Harvey said, “I haven’t checked my stocks for days. Excuse me for a few minutes?”
“Sure,” she said, and Eddie nodded. Harvey went into the study.
Eddie went over and leaned on the counter near the sink. “Am I here too much?”
Jennifer smiled. “No, Eddie, you’re always welcome.”
“Thanks.”
She was rolling out dough, and something that smelled good was in the oven.
“Do you remember Jane Morrow, from Coastal?” she asked.
“Yeah.” How could Eddie forget her ditsy coworker? Jane had ideas about him, but he’d managed to escape unscathed.
“She sent me a link this morning to that video of you carrying the little boy. She said it’s had half a million hits on YouTube.”
Eddie stared at her. “That’s bad, right?”
She laughed. “Depends on how you look at it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some national news broadcasts picked it up.”
“Why? It was a routine thing. I mean, there were some flames, but I got it out real fast. It’s not like the car blew up or anything.”
“But you’re both so cute, you and Mason.”
“Oh.” He frowned.
“What’s the matter?”
“I’m sick of being cute. And Abby’s friend ... Did you see what she put on Facebook?”
“Yeah. So far fifty-four women have cried over you, and counting.”
Eddie let out a little moan. “I’d just like to do my job and be left alone.”
“Now you sound like my husband.” Jennifer picked up a round cutter and started cutting out biscuits. “I never know how many people I’m feeding anymore, so I just make extra.”
“Abby and Leeanne should help you.”
“Oh, they do. I’m enjoying this.”
He studied her profile as she worked. “Jennifer, does Leeanne have to leave?”
“I think she needs some time at home before school starts again. Mom will go over her clothes with her, and things like that.”
“I’m going to miss her. Couldn’t she just—” He stopped. Leeanne had said she couldn’t.
“What?” Jennifer opened the oven and took out a tray of cookies and put another in. She started taking the baked cookies off the pan with a spatula.
“Nothing. I wish she lived down here, but I know that’s not going to happen.”
She removed a couple more cookies, then looked at him. “Nowadays it’s important for women to be educated and be able to get good jobs. It’s not like it was a hundred years ago.”
“I guess not.”
“What are you talking about?” Leeanne stood in the doorway. Eddie wanted to fix the image in his mind forever, because he felt he was losing her all over again. Her hair gleamed, and her blue eyes were serious. She was dressed in black pants and a green sweatshirt with cardinals on the front. She came in and sat at the table.
“You, going back to school,” said Jennifer. She set the cookie sheet in the sink and went back to her biscuits.
Leeanne sat down. “I wish I didn’t have to, but I do.”
“Do you like it at Farmington?” Eddie asked.
“It’s okay. I kind of wish now that I’d gone to a private school, not the state university. The atmosphere is ... well, there’s a lot of drinking and stuff. And the language is awful. Even the professors ... But private colleges are expensive.”
“A lot of them aren’t much better as far as the social atmosphere goes,” Jennifer said. “Of course, there are Christian colleges, but most of them are outside New England.”
Eddie felt pangs of panic. Why did Jennifer have to get Leeanne thinking about schools that were farther away? He’d been thinking of the one across town.
“I’ve only got one year left after this,” Leeanne said. “If I transferred now, I’d probably lose some credits.”
“You don’t want to add more time to it,” Eddie said, watching her anxiously.
“No, I don’t.”
“Want some cookies?” Jennifer asked.
“Sure. I’ll get the milk.” Leeanne rose and went to the refrigerator.
Eddie would never turn down cookies, but that wasn’t what he really wanted.
Harvey came in from the study, holding a newspaper.
“Are your stocks doing okay?” Jennifer asked.
“The market’s off a little. Not bad.” He kissed her. She extended her arms to him, and he kissed her again, while Leeanne poured the milk.
“Want some, Harvey?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Can I talk to you, Harvey?” Eddie asked.
“Sure. Talk.” He picked up two cookies.
“I mean alone.”
Harvey raised his eyebrows. “Okay. Come in here.” Eddie followed him into the living room, and they sat down. “What’s up?”
“You’re not trying to get Leeanne to go to a Christian college, are you?” Eddie asked.
Harvey smiled. “Wouldn’t that be great? Is she thinking about it?”
“No, I guess not. It was just something Jennifer said.”
“That would be a wonderful opportunity for her. Think about it. She’d have the chance we never had. To study God’s word while she’s young, and to be under a Christian influence. It would be terrific.”
“Not for me,” Eddie said glumly.
“Oh, Ed, she’s young. Now is the time for her to do things, go places.”
“I was hoping she’d move down here.”
Harvey sighed. “You’re not ready to make a lifetime commitment.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, she’s not. Don’t you want her to see what’s out there before she settles down? I’d help her out if she wanted to go to a Christian school.”
Eddie scowled. “Man, this is a rotten day.”
“How rotten?”
“It’s Leeanne’s last day here, and the priest came to lecture me, and you just wrecked my life.”
“Oh, come on. I said I’d help my sister-in-law get a Christian education if she wanted it. I think it would be money well spent.” He took a bite of a cookie and chewed. “You’re not taking this well, Ed. What’s the real problem?”
Eddie looked over his shoulder to make sure nobody else was within earshot. “I love her. I was reconciled to driving two hours each way to see her. But now you want to send her off to—who knows where. And she just said if she transferred to another college, she’d probably lose some credit and have to take extra classes.”
“That’s probably true,” Harvey said. “If she transfers, she may change her major, too. She’d probably need two years after this one—”
“Two years,” Eddie almost yelled. “Stop! I can’t take this.” He put one hand to his forehead and stared at the Murillo print on the opposi
te wall. The Divine Shepherd, Jesus as a little boy, with his hand on a fat, fluffy sheep. He looked a little like Mason.
“The priest, huh?” said Harvey.
“Yup. Father Claude. He says I can come back any time I want to.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That we don’t have to do stuff. We just have to believe.” Eddie looked at him. “He thinks I’m apostate now. That’s the word, right?”
“Sounds like you did all right. Talking to Catholics about the Lord is tough.”
Eddie gave him a wry smile. “You sound like you speak from experience.”
“Yeah. Hey, I’m sorry, Eddie.”
“Are you thinking up these college things to get Leeanne away from me? You knew my feelings.”
“I didn’t think it up. And I did know how you felt. I didn’t mean to hurt you. Just try to think of what would be best for Leeanne in the long run. If I had that chance now...”
“You’re not going to quit the P.D. and go back to school, are you?” Eddie asked.
“No, I’ve got a family to feed. I don’t think God is leading me that way. But Leeanne is in the ideal time for it. God can use her in so many ways, and if she had training—”
“If she had training, she’d probably go off to Mongolia or someplace to preach to the heathen,” Eddie said. “Or she’d wind up married to some guy who’s a pastor in some little church in Idaho, and have to work to support him because his congregation couldn’t.”
Harvey just sat there, looking at him. “I wasn’t thinking that way at all,” he said at last. “Just give her some space and pray about it.”
*****
“I upset Eddie again.” Leeanne sat down on the settee and watched Jennifer arranging the Noah’s ark set on top of a bookcase.
“How’s that?” Jennifer asked.
“He freaked when you mentioned Christian colleges. I’d need an extra semester at least if I transferred now.”
“Oh, honey, he just hadn’t thought about that sort of thing.” Jennifer threw her a smile. “I’m sure if he did, he’d realize you would be in a much better atmosphere. I went to state university, too, don’t forget. I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“He did, too.”
“Yes, but Eddie’s background is a lot different from ours.”
Leeanne watched her for a moment. “You had some rough times at school, didn’t you?”
Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie's Story (Maine Justice Book 4) Page 15
