become so anxious that he was no longer able to work. He left his office and walked-limped-to his car. He was becoming more adept at using the crutches, but they were a damned nuisance, and he would be glad to be rid of them.
He decided to drive to Shahla’s house and deal with her face to face. On the way there, he thought about Carol and last night. What an ending to that romance. Had she spoiled him for other women? If all their evenings had been like that one, they would still be together. He was going to have a hard time getting over her.
Tony pulled Josh’s SUV to the curb in front of Shahla’s house and was carefully negotiating his way out of the vehicle when Rasa drove into the driveway. She was undoubtedly coming home from her work at the hospital. Uh oh. He wasn’t sure whether she would be happy to see him. After all, he had driven her daughter to Las Vegas and not returned for over twenty-four hours.
Better to face the situation head-on. He limped up the driveway and greeted Rasa as she got out of her car. He was struck again by how much she looked like a short-haired and darker version of Shahla. She looked at him and said, “Tony, what happened to you?”
He was certain that Shahla hadn’t told her everything about their trip, so he said, “I had a fall, but I’ll be all right. I just have to be on crutches for a week or so.”
“Did you see doctor?”
“Yes. In fact, I went to the emergency room at your hospital.”
“Good. They have good doctors there. Are you here to see Shahla? She has cross-country practice in afternoon, but she should be home soon.”
“All right, but I’d like to talk to you for a minute, if I could.”
“Sure. Come into house.”
Rasa collected the mail from the curbside mailbox, and Tony followed her carefully up the driveway and then up several steps to the front door. Once inside, she waved him into the living room and excused herself. He sat on the couch and thought about what he should say. Five minutes later she returned, having shed her work clothes and donned a dark blue sweat suit that made her look even younger than she already did.
She sat in the chair she had sat in when he had been here before and said, “Shahla told me nothing happened on Las Vegas trip. Since you were gone so long that is hard to believe.”
“It is a bit of an exaggeration,” Tony agreed. “We talked to this guy, Paul, who is the poet. We went into one of the hotels so Shahla could see what it looked like. And then we…well, we followed Paul and a girl. But we did it carefully and were never in any danger.” Then how come he was on crutches?
“Shahla said you fell asleep on drive home.”
“Well, fortunately, I stopped before I fell asleep, and I took a nap. But that’s why we didn’t get home until Sunday morning.”
“Thank you for keeping Shahla safe.”
“You’re welcome.” He wasn’t sure he deserved her thanks. “Let me tell you the reason I’m here. When Shahla and I were on the Hotline Monday evening, another listener was there who talked about a church he belongs to. They have a service on Thursday evening, and he invited Shahla to attend the service.”
“What church is this?”
“It’s called the Church of the Risen Lord. It’s a sort of Christian Church, but it has kind of a funny idea.”
“We do not go to church. I have not had faith since my husband was murdered. Did Shahla tell you about that?”
“Yes.”
Rasa paused, as if contemplating whether to say more about her husband. She apparently decided against it.
“I have not raised Shahla in religious environment. Sometimes I feel little guilty about this. If she wants to attend church, it is all right with me.”
“Well, this church is at least ten miles from here and not in a great part of town. I don’t think Shahla should be driving there alone-especially at night.”
“I see.” Rasa frowned. “Thank you for telling me. I think I hear Shahla now. We will talk to her together.”
Shahla had apparently received a ride home from a classmate, because Tony heard the sound of a car driving away at the same time as the front door opened.
“Shahla,” Rasa called. “We are in living room.”
Shahla appeared a few seconds later, her hair in a ponytail, wearing running shoes, shorts, and a white athletic bra. Tony knew that the cross-country team had uniform shirts, but on warm days, the girls often took off their shirts and ran in just their bras, at least in practice.
“Tony,” she said startled. “What are you doing here?”
“Tony has come because he is concerned about your safety,” Rasa said.
“Where’s your car? And what are you doing with crutches? You didn’t have crutches on Monday.”
“Long story,” Tony said. “But it can wait. Right now, we want to know whether you were planning to go to Nathan’s church service tonight.”
Shahla looked from one of them to the other, as if they were conspiring against her. For a moment, Tony thought she would explode, and then as he watched in admiration, she deliberately got herself under control. When she spoke, she was completely collected.
“You two look like parents, sitting there in judgment.”
“One of us is your parent,” Rasa said. “But we are both concerned about you.”
“Let me tell you the reason I want to go,” Shahla said. She paused, perhaps for effect. “The police have not solved Joy’s murder yet. I think everything should be done to solve it. Nathan is a queer duck. Being a queer duck is not enough to go to the police with. I want to see if I can get enough information about him to make it worthwhile to go to the police.”
“Tony says church is far from here and in dangerous part of town.”
“How do you know?”
Tony said, “Because…I’ve been there.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I haven’t told you everything.” Tony held up his hand, as if to ward off her anger. “I talked to the minister. I didn’t get all the answers I wanted. I agree with you, there is something strange about it. And about Nathan, for being a part of it. Which is all the more reason you shouldn’t go. I’ll tell you what I’ll do; I’ll go to the service tonight.”
“I’m going with you.”
“There is no need for that. I can handle it.”
Shahla took a visible breath, again appearing to calm herself down. Then she said, “There is a good reason. You are on crutches. You have helped me. Now I can help you. It isn’t safe for you to go alone on crutches.”
Rasa nodded. “Shahla has good point. But if church is in dangerous part of town, neither one of you should go.”
“It isn’t that dangerous,” Tony said. “Nathan goes there. I would be all right.”
Rasa turned to Shahla. “What is your homework situation?”
“I worked for two hours after class and before cross-country practice. I only have a little more to do.”
“You do rest of homework while I make dinner for all of us. Then you may go to service. But I want you back by ten.”
“Agreed,” Tony said, before Shahla could say anything.
This was the second night in a row that Tony had been invited out for dinner. He could get used to this. He helped Rasa in the kitchen while Shahla showered, changed her clothes, and finished her homework. He and Rasa chatted about her job as a nurse, and he told her about Bodyalternatives. net. She was intrigued with the concept, especially for weight loss, and said that she had several patients she would refer to his company. Tony gave her a bunch of his cards.
When dinner was about to be served, a boy of ten or eleven materialized from a stairway that led to the basement. Tony hadn’t even known he was in the house. Rasa introduced him as Kirk. He had Shahla’s coloring and a slight build. Tony shook hands with him and said, “Hey, Kirk, glad to meet you. What do you do in the basement, plot the overthrow of the world?”
