by Rick Murcer
Joel nodded, then nodded again.
Taking Joel’s arm, he walked him to the head of the now quiet room and placed him in front of the others, beside Cheryl.
The Father released tears of his own. “This man, and all of the rest of you, cause holy pride to well up within me. Your decision will meet with honor. We will make this journey together. As a family, as it should be.”
He turned back to Joel and raised his hand high with his own.
“He will be the first. Who will follow?”
The choir of ‘I do’s’ told him everyone wanted to follow to be cleansed. In his experience, when the rubber met the road, who didn’t want to be clean, free, and guiltless? The trick was finding that magical destination. He would be their guide.
“You’ve made me so happy. Very well then. We will pray for Joel, then meet back here tonight at seven. During the next few hours, you will write down all that you want to be forgiven for and then share it with your new family.”
He waved his hand to include everyone in the room.
“This family is now one and we will cleanse each another in the way that was revealed to me. After we pray, my children, you must prepare to change your lives forever. To accept a way that has been lost in this lost world. God will help you. I will help you. Bow your heads.
****
Shifting his feet, he moved away from the wall while The Father and his clueless minion bent in prayer one more time. He turned and exited to the street.
Walking some sixty feet away, he sat on the bench, wringing his hands. Always so much angst before things became clear.
Then he stopped, the angst dissipating, and positioned himself so he could see the front of the mission. As he did, The Father’s words began to fan another fire deep inside.
His words were only words. Yet, within those expressions, he’d felt a certain truth. Some of these sinners would be inspired. Some would change. All meant to be better, to live selfless and unencumbered by wants and needs of this world. But that’s not how it worked. Not with weak-minded people that played at the game. People that weren’t like him in any single way.
These spineless excuses for human beings lacked inner strength. Determination was only a word for them. But not for him. It was his mantra. He was capable of doing what he’d been called to do those years ago. More than capable. He’d proven it over and over.
The two people he’d been waiting for finally exited the building and began walking toward him. They walked slowly in his direction, talking and for the love of God, were even laughing with each other, never noticing him as he moved in the opposite direction.
They reached the bus stop, sat down, and continued their conversation. More disgusting smiles sprinkled into their exchange, including her doing one of those cute little hand-over-mouth giggle things that made her new friend smile wider and his stomach turn.
They were actually enjoying each other’s company. Pathetic.
Hank heard the bus approaching from his left and was instantly grateful. Although their interaction was curious and perhaps riveting for reasons he couldn’t comprehend, he wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take. Scum like these didn’t get to experience any fashion of joy. They had pissed away their chances.
The two addicts shook hands, their touch lingering far longer than it should have. Then the woman nodded at the man, and gave him a small wave. He returned the gesture, his boney hand almost a blur.
The noisy bus reached the stop and the creaky door wrenched opened. The young woman took a step forward and another stretching for the first step of the entrance, hesitated, looked back at her new friend, and then backed off the step. She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender, smiled a wide, toothy grin, and hurried toward the skinny one.
This was indeed an interesting development and a convenient one for him.
Twisting on the wooden bench for a better look, he watched as the two met and then hugged tightly. The man then spawned the most sickening excuse for a smile. It was as if he hadn’t done it before. The three missing teeth making the scene even more unbearable.
The fire inside of him stoked hotter.
After that, the next action was as predictable as the sunrise. The woman pointed west, he nodded, and they began walking in that direction, her arm tucked through his. Talking like long-lost lovers.
Standing, he watched the couple who had been in the center of The Father’s attention move down the street.
It was his turn to smile.
Joel and Cheryl were fine names indeed.
CHAPTER-19
“Are we accomplishing the desired effects?” the caller asked.
Shifting her phone to her left hand, Amanda touched the gold coin resting on her desk. She slid it between her fingers and rolled it over her knuckles with practiced dexterity.
It was a good question. But was it one her caller had only begun to contemplate? Had she recognized the ramifications and accompanying depth of their arrangement?
Her impatience spiked, her anger with it.
Stupid bitch. How did you ever get elected as a Councilwoman?
The end-game aspirations, for both of them, had always been the same, regardless of the means. She’d made that clear when the two of them had met in Vegas those months ago.
Play the game just a little longer. Just a little.
She answered Calista Forest’s question. “Yes. I believe so. I believe we are walking down the path we’ve discussed.”
The ensuing silence gave away her caller’s next question. One she herself would have asked sitting in the other woman’s chair.
She answered it before the uneven breathing at the end drove her crazy.
“Yes. It was necessary. Killing is not always pleasant, but nothing worthwhile is without sacrifice. Without loss. You know that. It’s impossible to get where you’re at without certain situations moving into place.”
More silence. She waited for Calista to answer. She would speak first, losers always did.
She did.
“I know. And I know he had problems. It’s just that. What if we. . .”
Her sentence trailed off as if the words had been mysteriously stolen from her throat.
“If our plans are discovered? Is that your question? With everything at stake, for both of us, do you believe I’d allow such an event to occur?”
“No,” she answered quietly. “And I realize, at least in my mind, there is so much more at stake here. But my sister’s kid? My nephew? I knew what was going to happen and I. . . .”
Was that a sob? Was she crying? Shit. Weak didn’t describe her. She was upset at the death of a nephew she hadn’t seen in years, knew was a junky, and had cost the family thousands of dollars?
The coin danced across the back of her hand again. Calista Forest cared nothing for family, only about being caught. So, which one of them was colder?
“You can’t change anything now. Tighten up.”
“I-I will. It’s just that I’ll have to go to the funeral and show my support. I’m not sure if I can pull that off.”
She rolled her eyes again wondering again how someone so pathetic had gotten to such a position of power.
“You can and you will. Deep water is hard to swim away from.”
“What does that mean?” asked Calista, a new edge in her voice.
She reached for the coin, squeezing it white-knuckle tight, fighting the urge to reach through the phone to do what had to be done.
“Nothing. It means we’re committed, that’s all. We have to finish what we started. Come now, Calista, have faith in yourself. You know how to handle those situations. And have faith in me and what we’re doing together. It’s time to change how things have always been.”
For a few moments, she heard only breathing.
Maybe she’d been wrong about this one. Maybe getting her out of the picture was better sooner than later. There was always another like her or would be. Her patience with life had taught her that much.<
br />
Her reluctant partner still was not speaking. But she would. Oh, she would.
“Okay. You’re right. No war was ever fought without casualties, as they say. I can do this. Okay, I should go. The quarterly gathering is tonight and I have to get ready.”
“That’s the spirit. I’ll be in touch a few days after the funeral. Just do what you do and I’ll handle what comes next.”
After the woman hung up, she stood and moved back to her window with the view of sparkling Lake Michigan, coin in hand. Slowly, as if it weighed ten times more than it did, she put it in her pocket.
Timing was important in everything and everywhere in life. She understood that better than most. But even she was prone to a sense of urgency. Especially after the call she’d just received. The clock stopped for no one. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Just as important was recognizing a problem when it was disguised as something else.
Turning from the window, she reached for her phone, found the number she wanted, then typed a brief text. She read it over, then sent it, her fingers nervous with anticipation. She set the phone back down on the desk. Her excitement spiking.
She’d waited a long time to send that message. A lifetime, it seemed. Now she had and it was time to go forward. She loved forward.
CHAPTER-20
The late remnants of the Chicago sunset poked around the glassy high-rises of downtown as Ellen exited her CSU van, Beaux at her heels.
As she headed up the steps of the Forensic building, she stopped and stared at the reflection of the sun’s red rays on the surrounding buildings. The effect was breathtaking.
Sometimes, even nature herself could be rivaled by what mankind had built. This moment was one of them. Funny how a few months ago, she wouldn’t have paid one ounce of attention to this scene.
She immediately felt a pang of sadness, positive that she’d missed more than one moment to appreciate beauty while Miss Pissy had dominated her life.
Thank God that life evolves, and for Brice, while she was in a thankful mood. He was helping her to heal in ways she hadn’t thought possible. The last few months with him, and getting to know Bella, and watching Big Harv recover had been potent tonic for an attitude adjustment. She might even exist as a poster child for that situation.
Someday, maybe all of that anger would disappear. She might even talk civilly to Joel the next time they saw each other.
“Wouldn’t that be something,” she whispered, still staring at the tall buildings.
Beaux’s noticeable but subtle bark drew her back into the moment and the reason she was downtown in the first place.
“Sorry, Beaux. Got a little lost there.”
She drew her finger from the back of his head up between his eyes and rubbed, something he’d loved as a pup. That hadn’t changed. He closed his eyes and sighed.
“Okay, enough screwing around here. Let’s get our butts inside. We’re already late for this meeting.” Leaning down to him, she hugged the big dog. “And, I think we’ll be putting those gifts you have to great use, if I’m right.”
He barked softly and headed toward the front door as if to say about time.
She followed him wondering what he would sound like if he could speak as a human. He was already better at communicating then half of the perps she’d run into.
Once inside the door, Ellen lead Beaux through the first tinted, secured set of doors, then into the lab foyer, where she keyed her code and entered the lab.
Instead of going left toward the lab proper, she turned right about twenty feet and walked into the Confidential Conference room.
After seeing the red case files spread around the table, she looked up and felt her eyes grew a bit wide. She expected Marcie Thorn. Aaron, of course, and Bella and Brice along with the other two detectives helping with the first two murders. But not those two.
“Hello, Ellen Harper,” said the pretty, petit, Asian woman sitting by the blond, good-looking man with those unforgettable piercing blue eyes.
Special FBI Agent Sophie Lee jumped up, swung around the table, and gave her a hug, then stepped back. “Close your mouth, Harper. It’s not ladylike,” she said, laughing. “And I’m sure you remember my hot partner, Manny Williams?”
“I do. Great to see you, both, but what are you doing here?”
Manny Williams stood, ran his hand through his blond hair, and smiled. “We’re here to help.”
CHAPTER-21
“Thanks for walking with me.”
“Thanks for letting me,” answered Joel Harper.
They were now stopped in the front of her rundown apartment building, their two-mile walk complete.
He looked up to the darkening sky, and then glanced down at Cheryl, feeling the flush crawl into his cheeks. He couldn’t remember when anyone had thanked him for anything. Especially a woman. Especially a pretty woman.
She seemed to read his mind and his face. Her bright green eyes came alive and she smiled, quickly raising her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the two missing teeth on the left side of her mouth.
He understood.
“It wa-was a pleasure. I, well, you know, haven’t spent this much time with a woman since my second ex said hasta la vista.”
Then, without a second thought, he opened his mouth to reveal three missing teeth. “Here’s mine, let’s see yours again,” he said, the words barely recognizable to even himself.
Doing her best to stifle her laughter, she then met his stare.
After another moment of eye contact, Cheryl released her hand from her mouth, embracing the full belly laugh. Accenting it by throwing back her head, laughing even harder. He wouldn’t have thought that possible.
Her auburn hair seemed to have a life of its own as it bounced in rhythm with her shaking body. He rid himself of more tension and joined her. It was impossible not to go where she was visiting.
A few moments later, after one more impromptu trip into the land of unabashed mirth, they settled into a relaxed silence.
But not for long. Cheryl reach up and kissed him on the cheek, stepped back, her handsome face, hard junkie lines and all, one of the most beautiful things he’d seen in his life. She kissed him on the mouth. Her lips were warm and inviting.
He returned it. Not so much out of want, although there was no denying that truth, but more out of gratitude and acceptance. Ideals he’d barely considered for the last year of his life.
Funny how choosing different roads led to worlds never before considered. He never believed he’d be a junkie stuck on this road, desperate for the escape. Yet here he was. Yet, somehow, he knew that road was going to be a memory. Starting today.
“I know we aren’t supposed to get involved with each other until The Father says it’s okay, but I couldn’t resist,” said Cheryl, her eyes steady.
“I get it too. But not every rule is meant to be kept. You’ve already helped me.”
She batted her eyes, grinning. “Oh. Helped you? How?”
“You already know, but lesson number one is to say good things about each other, right?”
Moving closer to her, Joel took both her hands in his shaking fingers. “After two hours, you’ve already made me want to be better. That means something to me. Something real.”
She kissed him again, eyes glistening. “Now, those are words I’ve not heard for a very long time. Thank you, Joel Harper.”
He felt his heart swell. He fought his own tears, but not very well. He reached up with a soft finger and wiped at one of them.
“I love to see a man cry,” she whispered.
“You hit the jackpot, then,” he said.
She laughed and then turned up the short stoop. “Come on in. We have a couple of hours before we have to get back to the mission. We can talk some more. I can’t wait to learn all about you.”
Looking down at his feet, his voice grew soft. “Careful what you wish for.”
“I’m usually cautious about that, but not today. I know what I’m doin
g. Come on.”
They went through the old aluminum door then headed down the dimly lit hall, the odor of musty cigarettes and cheap booze dancing in the stale air.
Stopping at 1F, she reached into her pocket, took out the key, and opened the door then ushered him in.
“I’m sorry this isn’t much of a place, but it will have to do for a while longer,” she said, putting her coat on the torn leather chair near the studio bed.
“It’s okay. I’m about to lose mine so we might be neighbors.”
She moved close to Joel, wrapping her arms around him. “I’d like that.”
Joel kissed her, then she led him to the bed and sat down. “I’m tired of being alone, Joel. Stay with me and help me the rest of this day.”
Sinking down beside her, he realized how lost he’d been. How much just human contact could mean. This wasn’t about sex, but about being needed and wanted, for both of them.
And miracle of all miracles, Cheryl actually wanted him to help her?
More tears formed in his eyes. He wondered what Ellen would think of that. Maybe he’d get to tell her someday.
He lay down beside Cheryl, curled her up in his arms, the scent of her hair gentle to his nose, then both of them closed their eyes.
CHAPTER-22
Ellen sat down at the table, Beaux stood next to her. She started to speak but Beaux walked away from her.
“Beaux. What are you doing?”
He looked back to her, his eyes bright. She immediately knew what was coming.
“Beaux? Great name,” said Sophie.
“Great dog,” said Ellen.
Beaux continued around the table.
She watched as he maneuvered the close quarters.
First, he sniffed Aaron and Marcie, accepting a hand on the back from both. He then walked right past Brice, never glancing his way.
“Ohh. A little jealously there?” said Sophie, giggling.
“Yeah. I have competition,” answered Brice.
