Angel Fire - Lisa Unger [41]
“You don’t know me,” she said weakly.
“That’s true … in a way. But then why have you come here?” he asked calmly, unflappable.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know,” she answered. She honestly didn’t know. She had planned to avoid the church, yet she had carried quarters to light the votive candles. Instead of turning away from the church, she ran right to it. Was it something outside herself or inside her that had led her back here?
She rose to leave. “I’m sorry,” she said again.
“Please don’t be sorry, Lydia. I understand you.” They were simple words, easy to say. But he meant them and they touched her, even if she wasn’t sure they were true.
“When you’re ready, you’ll be back,” he said. He rose also, and finished putting his guitar away as if their conversation had never interrupted him.
She paused and looked at him. He looked so normal, so earthly now. He no longer seemed angelic to her, as he had while he was playing his guitar during mass. He was flesh and blood, like she was. How could he exert so much power over her emotions?
“When I’m ready for what?”
“To come home to God, of course.”
“But why you?” she asked. “Why were you in my dream?”
She knew what he was going to say before he said it and was disappointed at the cliché in advance.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways, Lydia.”
She walked up the aisle, more confused than she had been when she entered. But something that had been like a stone in her heart had shifted.
chapter thirteen
Before Jeffrey headed to the station house, he called the New York office to check in and to let his partners know that he was unofficially looking into something with Lydia. As Jeff walked the perimeter of Lydia’s house, making a security check, he spoke to Jacob Hanley on his cellular phone.
“You want us to send some guys down?” asked Hanley.
“I don’t think so. Not yet, anyway. I’m not convinced there’s anything going on here.”
“Well, it does sound a little weird. And have you ever known her to be wrong?”
“That’s the only reason I’m here at all.”
“Yeah, right.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I wish you two would just get it over with.”
“Mind your own business, Hanley.”
“I mean, you need to just take control of the situation. Force her to realize that she loves you, man. Give her an ultimatum.”
“I think you’ve been watching too much daytime television. Fuck off, Hanley.”
“Don’t get your panties in a twist. Meanwhile, why don’t I run a few checks up here for you.… What were those names again?”
“Do that. Make yourself useful, for once.” He gave Hanley the names and hung up. Believe me, he thought, no one would like to get it over with more than I would.
As far as the security of Lydia’s home went, he was happy except for the fact that the breaker box was outside the house. It was in a locked, weatherproof yellow case, but if the power for the alarm system was located in there, it wasn’t ideal. He wasn’t overly concerned, though, because the system, he knew, was designed to default to alarm. In other words, if the power went out, a signal still went to the local police. But he would need to check with Lydia about the setup later.
He got into Lydia’s Kompressor and headed to the station. He thought about calling ahead to let Morrow know he was coming but decided to keep the element of surprise on his side. One could never be sure how local law enforcement would react to private investigators, particularly ones without actual clients. Jeffrey wanted the facts as they existed, not narrated or colored by someone else’s agenda—whatever that may be. He expected Morrow to be wary of him after their last meeting in St. Louis. Jeffrey had been sure that was the end of Morrow’s career, whether he deserved it or not. Jeffrey wondered if Morrow was still drinking.
He walked into the small precinct house and was greeted by a burly, redheaded desk sergeant who eyed him suspiciously.
“I’m Jeffrey Mark,” he said, flashing his private investigator’s identification out of habit. “I’m here to see Chief Simon Morrow.”
The desk sergeant never