Lori Waithe. After all, there had to be something wrong with her character in order for a serial killer to mark her for death.
Andrew thought he was destroying Sandra until an hour into the meeting. That was when Wayne Johnson showed up, apologizing for being late.
'My wife, Vera, still isn't feeling too well after finding that body.'
'Wayne, what are you doing here?'
'Didn't Ms. Thomas tell you? Our CPA firm has been retained by both the teacher's union and the State of Minnesota to run a complete audit of the school's finances. Would you believe it, Jack? The Attorney General himself called to make sure we started the audit right away!'
When Andrews looked again at Sandra, he expected to see a smile. Instead, all he saw was a grim face.
'Mr. Andrews, I think you will be busy for some time with Mr. Johnson. Why don't you call me tomorrow? And this time, you and the school board had better be a little more reasonable. After all, I'm just getting started working on this case. I would hate to be forced to stay up here away from my husband and kids for too long. I get a little cranky being away from my family for too extensive a period of time.' She then leaned closer whispering, 'Don't tell anyone, but my husband says I get down right bitchy if I'm gone for more than two weeks.' In even a softer voice she continued, 'Tomorrow it will be thirteen days since I've seen my family. Are you at all superstitious?'
This time she smiled and in a louder voice said, 'I've got to leave now and call my husband. I usually try to call twice a day. Mr. Johnson, I'll be expecting a preliminary report before the end of the month. When I talked to the Attorney General yesterday, we both thought that would be a reasonable time frame.
'Good day.'
* * * *
The two men from the district office pulled in at midmorning. They helped Mrs. Peterson load the back of the van with the family's personal belongings. At noon they were ready to leave for the Arizona retreat. Tom Peterson was still shut up in his back office. Mrs. Peterson knocked on the door.
'Honey? You remember I told you about the church retreat I wanted to go to? Well it is time to leave. The van is out front waiting. We are going to have a great time driving down. Two men from the district fellowship are also going to the retreat. It's going to be like a revival trip. Remember that crusade we went on when you were still in Bible College? Honey? Honey?'
They entered the dark room. One of the men questioned, 'Tom? Tom? Your wife said you would lead a few choruses during the drive down. Tom?'
A mumble came from the back of the room. As they came closer they heard, 'This little light of mine I'm going to make it shine. This little light of mine I'm going to make it shine... ' They gently led him from the room as he continued to sing. They nearly made it to the van before he suddenly screamed, 'God will defend the righteous! His damnation will fall on all sinners!' As suddenly as the screaming started he started to softly sing again, 'This little light of mine I'm going to make it shine, shine, shine. This little light of mine... '
After they put him in the van, the men consoled Mrs. Peterson, 'He'll be all right. We've made arrangements with the local churches along the way. He'll have a nice quiet room on every stop we make on the drive down.'
They drove away. Somebody forgot to close the front door on the parsonage. It swung open a crack, an empty house hoping to be filled.
* * * *
It was late but it was also the far north. The sun hangs low over the horizon for hours after it has set for the rest of the lower forty-eight states. The extra daylight gives many northern dwellers a summer insomnia that lasts from late May to early July. Lori and Jim had just finished a supper meeting with their lawyer, Sandra. It was an hour later when Jim started his walk. There would be a couple more hours of bright sunlight followed by an extended period of twilight. Jim had been unable to stay confined indoors and had left Lori at her father's and had gone for a walk alone to think.
He felt cheated. The stories in the movies and books all ended with everything being all right after the bad guys were gone. From their talk with Sandra, Jim realized that both Lori's and his problems had, in many ways, just started. The mechanical action of his legs pumping up and down somehow gave his frustration a temporarily outlet. Sweat dripped into his eyes. He tried to wipe the burning sweat away but only succeeded in smearing his glasses, disrupting his vision further.
Jim pulled his shirt and glasses off. He used the wad of material to mop the sweat from his body. He found the only dry corner of his shirt, spat on his glasses, and patted them half way clean on the cotton material. As he wrapped the shirt around his head to keep the sweat from flowing into his eyes, he saw the truck. He knew immediately it was that pushy woman reporter. He laughed. Finally, something to do. Something he could actually do. There was a small public wooded area just a short ways down the road. He started walking to it.
Every so often he would glance behind. The driver of the truck followed. They would turn down a side road or driveway until the truck was partially hidden by an obstruction. They would wait until he was nearly out of sight and then follow down the road to the next side road.
Like lemmings, they followed him into the mass of roads and trails of the wooded area. He led them to a hiking/ski trail that had been blocked by rocks to keep ATV's out. He watched from the bushes as Debbi tried to talk Carl into following him down the trail with the camera. She did get him to follow the trail for a few hundred feet. Jim used the time to let the air out of the truck's two back tires.
He left them with the mosquitoes. The gloom settled over him even thicker than the insects as he walked back into town. What was left for Lori and him? What about the money he still owed his father? What kind of work could he get and where?
Jim walked back to his car. He wanted to go and see Lori but his depression was still too deep. He went home instead. He called Lori. She laughed about the trick he played on the reporter. The joy her laughter gave disappeared after he hung up the phone. He drifted to sleep sometime after midnight with the thought, 'Tomorrow is Saturday.' Somehow things always seemed a little better when he visited his parents for the Saturday night sauna.
* * * *
*Click.* _The hands rest on the cards as if in prayer. The card is turned over.
An angel appears hovering between the clouds and the sun. His arms are outstretched in a blessing. Under his right arm is an apple tree with a snake. Standing before the tree is a naked woman looking up, her arms apart. Under his left arm is a tree with leaves of flame. A naked man stands in front, his arms apart. The angel with his flaming hair looks down upon the two.
_The hands rest on the cards before reaching for the light switch. A full minute of darkness passes before the steps leading to the door are heard.
CHAPTER 22: The Lovers
Jim sat at the table in his parent's kitchen nursing a cup of coffee. His father was talking about something that had happened at his church, but he didn't hear. He examined the swirls the creamer had made when he stirred it into his cup. He heard a knock at the door. His mother left the table to answer it.
When she came back, she had Lori with her. 'Jim, why didn't you tell us you knew Lori?'
Before Jim could answer or even look up, she continued, 'Now, you sit right there, dear. How long have you known Jim?'
To Jim's relief, his father interrupted. 'Mother! The sauna is hot. Why don't we let these two talk?'
Jim's mother was startled. She looked at the two younger folk, then the stern expression on her husband's face. 'Dears, why don't you two talk while we go into the sauna?'
Jim heard his mother giggle as from a great distance as they left the kitchen. He was trying to watch his coffee's steam swirl into the air instead of Lori's face. She reached across the table for his hand. 'We need to talk,' she whispered.
'Lori, we can't be together ... Have to stay apart. They fired you.
They claimed it was because of Jones' trying to kill you, but it was because you got involved in my court case against the school. And Jones went after you because he wanted to hurt me.'
