Like General Pearson, he stressed the need for quiet and suggested only David’s parents and Cat could spend any length of time in the room. Before I could protest, David’s mother took me by the hand. “Debbie may join us. Cat told me all about her.” She brushed me by General Pearson on the way into the room. He looked as confused as I was. I wished Grammy was here to tell me how all this stuff works.
After we had cried for a while over David, the rest of the group was invited in to pray. David must have known his cousin Cat was Cat the Prayer Warrior. Why did he hide her from me?
Nita
We all gathered around David’s bed, and Cat began to pray. “Abba! Dear Abba…”
George Aldridge whispered loud enough to be heard by all. “Abba? Who’s that? I thought that’s the Muslim guy…”
Marion quickly spoke over him, I supposed in an effort to shut him up. “I don’t know, George, isn’t that Allah?”
I leaned over. “Abba is a term of endearment and familiarity with our Christian God the Father.”
As George opened his mouth again, Cat turned in our direction, and she looked at George and Marion, not with disgust or resentment, or even the impatience I was feeling. She looked at them as though she was seeing Jesus. It shut them both right up. You could hear a pin drop in the room. Cat began her prayer again, those amazing eyes focused on the Aldridges. She listed every name for God I’d ever heard and more. Cat used any opportunity as a teaching moment.
“Abba, Dear Abba, our Father, who art in heaven, holy is Your name. Elohim, The Creator God, Yahweh, The Loving Redeemer, Adonai, The Lord God, we surrender to You. El Shaddai, The God Almighty, You are the God Who provides, Jehovah Shalom, The God Who is Our Peace, Adonai Rapheca, The Healing God …”
I heard Eduardo let out a snore – his idea of being funny – but I let him have it with my elbow.
“Owww!”
Cat turned her gaze toward him, with a vague smile reminiscent of David’s sarcastic smirk. “Lord God have mercy on us.”
“Amen!” Eduardo was obviously feeling back to his old self. Nothing could erase his sarcastic humor. His mother, Camellia, shot him a look I hadn’t seen since he’d left. No one, especially her son, would even remotely joke about or with God in her pious presence. He’d be needing mercy. Cat was always on point.
Then Cat turned her attention back to David, and laid her hands on him. “Abba, Dear Abba, you are love itself. We enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise. We praise You and we thank You for Your child David. We know You love him with a love that is beyond all our comprehension. He is fearfully and wonderfully made. Let him know Your love in his inmost being. By Your grace and by the Precious Blood of Jesus, heal him of all his injuries, all illness and disease, all iniquity. Lord, You are the One who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. You are the One who raises the dead. We give thanks to You who is good; Your love endures forever. We cry out to You, Lord in our distress, and You deliver us, You save us. Bring David out of his distress. Save him and deliver him from evil. You are faithful through all generations, Father. You forgive all our sins, and heal our diseases. You redeem our lives from the pit. You are faithful; You are compassionate; You are the God who heals us. Heal your child, David. In Jesus’ name we pray.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead.
By the time Cat finished her prayer, everyone was in tears. The entire family filed by David’s bed and said their own silent prayer, kissing him on the cheek and forehead. When the procession was complete, David’s face and shoulders were wet. He never moved a muscle. Dr. Earle, General Pearson, and the chaplain had watched us, and I could see their relief as Cat and I finally escorted Debbie from the room.
To avoid the inevitable barrage of questions from my parents, I told them I needed to freshen up and ran back to my room. Eduardo was right on my heels, having extricated himself from General Pearson’s grip.
I took a washcloth and ran some cold water. He appeared in the bathroom door as I applied it to my face.
“Well that went well. Pearson’s got his knickers in a twist over how Cat knew about Debbie,” he said.
I didn’t need to see his face – Eduardo’s default communication style was always sarcastic humor. At least he was back to his old self.
“What did you say?”
“What could I say? Just said that Cat’s the Prayer Warrior in the family. Then I bolted. That’s not gonna fly.” He came up behind me and put his arms around me.
“Eduardo, this is not the time to cause more trouble when your father or mine comes in here looking for us.”
He backed off. “Yeah, this isn’t gonna be fun. Everyone packed in here, with all this stress – and did you see that candy striper staring at Paulo? When did he grow up anyway?”
I giggled. “He’s sixteen now, and girls are throwing themselves at him every chance they get. Camellia keeps a tight rein on him. But she’s so upset today, I’m sure she didn’t notice that girl ogling her baby.”
“Well, her baby is now six feet tall,” Eduardo said.
“With those big blue eyes and the guitar over his shoulder, you’re right. You do have trouble on your hands with the candy striper. But I’m sure that’s the least of your problems right now. I think as Cat has time here with David – and everyone else—Pearson is bound to be intrigued.”
“Yeah – intrigued. And what’s the deal with that rock on her left hand?”
I’d wondered how long it would take for him to notice the ring. “Cat and Cisco are engaged.”
“No kidding! He finally got the nerve.” Eduardo’s smile broadened. He was as big a gossip as any woman. “Wait’ll David hears that one.”
“What do you mean? David will be as thrilled as the rest of us. Cisco was always Cat’s hero, especially when David left. And Cisco’s loved her forever.”
“Yeah, he loved her forever and dated half the women in England,” he quipped.
“And you and David had one-night stands with the other half.”
His jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe I said that – not today. And I couldn’t believe he thought I was that naïve.
My voice rose. “I’m not a fool, Eduardo. At least David never pretended to be a knight in shining armor. Women knew what they were getting from him—and no commitment!”
He grabbed me by my shoulders. “Nita!”
I pulled away and composed myself. “I know the life you lead. Maybe not the details, but I know what’s important. I love you despite everything that’s happened. And I always will. Right now, we need to take life one day at a time. That’s what I’m doing.”
It was rare that Eduardo was silent. I took the time to brush out my hair and catch my breath. He stood like a rock in the middle of the doorway, until I went to leave.
“Nita.” He took me in his arms. “I – I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I love you. I’m sorry. I need to start over.”
I could see the pain in his eyes. “I know, Eduardo. I know you’ve been through hell. And so have I, and so has everyone in the entire family. So, yes, let’s start over. But right now, you can start by spending some time with your brothers. Paulo has pretty much grown up without you. And Cisco has lots to tell you, I’m sure.”
It didn’t take Eduardo long to resume his usual demeanor. “Damn! He must’ve spent a year’s salary on that ring.”
I led him out of the cramped bathroom, turned to face him squarely in the eye, and rested both hands on his shoulders. “Eduardo, your big brother Cisco made over fifty million dollars last year.”
“What?”
I thought he’d fall over.
“Apparently you’ve never checked your account. You could retire very comfortably right now. And David, too. As a matter of fact, everyone in the family has done well by supporting Cisco at the start. Our investments have paid off more than handsomely.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not. Now why don’t we go find Cat and Cisco? Then
we can get the latest update on David.” I tugged him toward the door.
“I hope Cat’s got something better up her sleeve. I don’t think that ‘white-haired angel’ is gonna cut it.”
“Well, maybe Debbie is like the angel in It’s a Wonderful Life.”
He looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Yeah. Honey, that was a movie.”
I couldn’t resist. “Let’s see if she gets her wings.”
***
Within hours of arriving, Cat had arranged with the chaplain to hold a service for us in the chapel. After the readings and prayers, Paulo took his guitar and Cat seated herself at the keyboard at the front of the room. I tapped Eduardo’s hand to wake him as I rose to go to the podium and lead family and friends in “It is Well with My Soul.”
I noticed we made an impression on him—it looked like he’d fall off the bench. In the years he’d been gone, Cat and Paulo insisted I join them in their voice training. I enjoyed it, and the three of us were often called upon to perform locally. Eduardo was now obviously impressed with our talent.
Paulo was indeed a musical genius. There was no instrument he couldn’t just pick up and play like a virtuoso. On top of that, his voice was a distinctive tenor that touched a person’s soul. And on top of that, he composed incredible music. Cat had a talent for lyrics, and together they made a wonderful team. On occasion we’d get silly, and I’d help them come up with some funny lyrics. Sometimes the entire family would come up with the words to a song. That was one of my favorite Sunday afternoon activities.
Because of Eduardo and David’s careers, and Paulo was still only sixteen, his work was not promoted online, or anywhere else really. He was often asked to perform in Salzburg, and from time to time his parents would let him go to Vienna, and Cat and I would join in. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but Paulo’s parents were reluctant to let him go. His mother used his hemophilia as an excuse, but it was reasonably well controlled. In any case, I’m sure they knew they wouldn’t be able to keep him from the world for long.
By the time we were done, we had everyone singing along with us, even Debbie. Our spirits were lighter, despite our exhaustion. General Pearson shook our hands before he left, and George Aldridge asked if we needed a record producer.
Eduardo
Later that day Eduardo was back in General Pearson’s office. He was joined by his friend and colleague, Jimmy Hollinger. Eduardo was grateful to have him here today. Jimmy hadn’t been involved in Eduardo and David’s recent mission, but he knew many of the particulars—and he was moral support, for sure.
Colonel Jerry Lee Johnson ambled in with a six pack of beer in his hand. The beer landed on Pearson’s desk, and Johnson turned his attention to Eduardo and Jimmy, slapping both of them on the back and offering congratulations on surviving their latest exploits. Then he turned to Pearson. “John, the fun just never ends, huh? Thirty years we’ve been at this game together. Thirty years of blood and guts.”
Pearson gripped the Colonel’s arm in a sympathetic gesture. They’d been good friends almost from the start of their careers. Now the two of them would undoubtedly gang up on Eduardo to get to the bottom of this latest disaster—the ambush and slaughter of fourteen men in the jungle of South America.
The General sunk into his chair and rubbed his face. That was the signal for his men to be seated.
“I know we’ve been over this before, Clemente. But I’ve got to get this figured out. I lost fourteen men out there, and from the looks of things, it may soon be fifteen. I owe those men something. The least I can do is find out why they had to give their lives.”
Colonel Johnson reached for the six pack and offered everyone a beer. After his colleagues refused, he opened a bottle for himself and took a gulp. “Tell me what in hell Lambrecht was doin’ on that boat for two days.”
Eduardo exhaled. “Sir, I’ve been over all of this in my mind a thousand times. As far as Lambrecht and Senator Everett go—all I can say is Lambrecht always knows what he’s doing, and he gets the job done as efficiently as possible. He must have had his reasons, but I don’t know what they were. We weren’t in that close communication at that point. I was in New York, and I had my hands full there.”
“What about Santoro? I heard he had some guy in New York after you.” Johnson always leered at people. Eduardo wondered how the guy got so far in the organization.
“Yeah, he always had a guy after me. That wasn’t news. And Santoro was always a pain in Lambrecht’s ass. Has he been apprehended, Sir?”
Johnson cast a sidelong look at Pearson.
Pearson shook his head. “We’ve got everyone else, including the dogcatcher. You and Lambrecht were very thorough. But Santoro’s managed to evade the authorities so far. He did routinely pay off Everett, so he may very well know more than we think.”
Johnson made a face. “Seems like just a two-bit scumbag to me – trying to look important. Wasn’t Payne the real boss?”
“No, JL, you’d be wrong. Santoro had a host of those doctors under his thumb. Payne was crying tears of joy to be locked away from him.” Pearson rubbed his chin. “Yeah, Payne was white as a sheet. Santoro had told him Lambrecht ‘offed’ a U.S. senator and his bodyguards. Called him a ‘Nazi gunslinger’ and said he’d have him take care of Payne too. Of course all the gory details were all over the six o’clock news. So Payne was living in terror, and I’d say Santoro was pretty much in the loop.”
“How’d Santoro hear it was Lambrecht?”
“I believe Lambrecht told him what he did to keep him in line. I’d told Lambrecht we might not be taking in Santoro right away. Now it looks like we don’t have a choice. We’ve lost track of him.” Pearson leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the desk. He sat silently for a few minutes as Johnson leisurely polished off his beer.
The Colonel tossed the bottle in the waste basket and opened another. “I have a feeling there was something goin’ on with Lambrecht. He’s crossed that fine line a number of times.”
Eduardo felt his blood start to boil. Yeah, now they pick on the one that can’t do anything about it. He noticed Jimmy shifting in his seat, turning red. Pearson took his feet off the desk and leaned forward to hear what Johnson had to say.
“Well, he was on a bloody boat for two days. What was that all about? Then he hooks up with a teenage girl in a hospital bed and gives her an expensive ring after knowing her a matter of hours. We all know he’s got a history of post traumatic stress, and he’s probably screwing a dozen women at any given time. He had a recent deposit of two million dollars U.S. in his personal account, which totals five million U.S., by the way. Doesn’t any of this sound a bit strange?”
“Ya know…” Eduardo shut up, but his superiors had already taken note of his sarcastic tone. They weren’t pleased, but this was just plain wrong. David deserved better than that.
“All right, Clemente, what would you like to say?” Pearson nodded at him.
Eduardo knew Pearson would listen to reason. He’d always trusted him—and David.
“Yes, Sir, thank you.” He swallowed hard. “We all know he has a history of post traumatic stress, and he’s impulsive in a lot of ways. And that’s part of what makes him suitable for this job. He’s willing to take risks and put his life on the line. He doesn’t seem to care if he lives or dies. You knew that already. Don’t condemn him now because he’s not the average guy. Let’s face it – you need to be crazy to do his job. And he’s never – ever—given you any reason to think he’s been disloyal.”
Pearson chuckled. “You’re right, Eduardo. You’re right.”
“What about the money?” Johnson wasn’t going to give up.
Eduardo put his head in his hands. “I don’t know. He didn’t update me on his personal finances. But look in my account and you’ll probably find the same thing. Jimmy and Alain, too. My brother does asset management, and he does these complicated deals – arbitrage. I’m told he’s been really successful lately. I don’t have time t
o pay attention to personal money and neither does David, or Jimmy, or Alain. So we put our salary with Cisco and trust him to have some money there for our retirement. That’s all I know.”
Johnson sniffed. “Looks like I should open a new account.” Pearson joined him in a laugh.
Pearson offered around a pitcher of his favorite lemonade, then poured a glass for himself. “Well then, let’s take a trip back to South America—”
“Your biggest mistake was Pizzaro,” Johnson interrupted. “Who else would’ve known?”
Eduardo grimaced. “I have no idea who could’ve known we were there. There was no one left – just Pizzaro’s wife and four little kids. The three maids were old peasant women. They were grateful to escape with their lives. They couldn’t have done anything.”
Pearson shook his head. “And why did you leave the wife alive?”
Eduardo’s gut began to ache. “Well, Sir, we didn’t think she was a risk. I mean she didn’t seem like –”
The General snapped. “That’s just the kind of talk to get yourself killed.” He rose from the seat and strode to the window. “I’m surprised Lambrecht didn’t take care of that.”
Eduardo sighed. “Well Sir, he didn’t want to shoot her any more than any of the rest of us did. The last time he shot a woman, he wasn’t himself for days.”
Jimmy almost let out a laugh. It triggered a howl from Johnson. General Pearson’s aggravation turned to rumbling laughter.
Eduardo’s face got hot as he appreciated how he sounded. “Ya know.…” Realizing he was using this sarcastic tone again, he stopped himself. His superior’s quizzical face prompted him to continue. “Well I – I mean, Sir, Lambrecht is dedicated to the job, and I know you always think of him first when you need these things done. But he really doesn’t – I mean, I know it makes him feel better that the guy has some kind of chance against him.”
Killer Cupid (The Redemption Series: Book 1) Page 7
