on his chest, Andrew stopped talking. “I don’t often call my parishioners so late in the evening, bothering them while they’re with their families.”
“Well?”
“He was right about you—a bit impatient.” The reprimand was a bit sterner this time, and it made Cain’s jaw click shut. “Tell me, have you ever heard the expression ‘blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’?”
“It’s part of scripture, if I remember my religion classes in school.”
“Good. Do you think that God would bless those who help unfortunate children?”
That Andy took the long road to get to every point didn’t escape Cain, so she put her empty cup down and relaxed into the comfortable chair. If anything, their visit was helping her forget Anthony’s intrusion and its ramifications. “If life was fair, my answer would be yes, but it seldom is, so my answer is maybe.”
“Excellent. I see your brain is still capable of firing on all cylinders. In this case, the answer you’re looking for lies with you.”
He held his finger up and she stayed silent.
“Your father took an interest in our youth-development programs, sponsoring certain things so the church’s outreach programs would touch many people’s lives. He would sit in here with Anya and talk about them for hours.”
Cain laughed, but played along. “And Anya is?”
“The director of the youth sports programs. Would you like to meet her?”
She threw her hands up and laughed again. “Sure, I’ve got all day.”
After a short phone call, an athletic-looking woman with auburn hair and dark skin stepped in, introduced herself, and offered Cain her hand. The three talked about Anya’s job and how successful her programs were in the city’s most poverty- and crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Wasting time carrying on such a conversation seemed surreal to Cain, but Anya sounded so enthusiastic about her causes that Cain listened with genuine interest.
“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Casey,” Anya said as she stood up, holding an envelope Cain hadn’t noticed before. “Thank you for listening to me, and just remember, every little bit helps. I also wanted to tell you how fond I was of your father. Mr. Casey did a lot of good, and we still miss him.” She dropped the envelope into Cain’s lap and started to leave. “Would you mind throwing that away for me? I found it outside and don’t need it.”
The innocuous white envelope felt heavy, and out of curiosity Cain opened the flap. She couldn’t control her brief look of shock but quickly slid the cool veneer back into place. “Ms. Sterling?”
The woman stopped, her hand already on the doorknob. “Yes?”
“The new volleyball program you wanted to start, how much do you need?”
“We could do the whole thing for twenty-five thousand.”
“You’ll have a check today.” Cain tucked the envelope into the inside breast pocket of her jacket. “And if you ever need anything else thrown away, give me a call.”
“You don’t have any questions?” Anya asked.
Cain turned to Andy as she answered. “I have faith enough to know when to consider something as good fortune for helping those less fortunate.”
“God bless you, then,” and with that, she was gone.
“Does the church realize aiding known criminals is part of your daily job?” Cain waited until the door was closed before posing the question to Andy.
The bishop put his hand on his chest, his eyes wide. “You’re a criminal?”
“Now who’s the wiseass?”
“Guilty as charged,” Andy joked. “Anya’s a wonderful woman who’s done a lot of good. Her partner works in the FBI forensics lab here in town and in that position sees some rather interesting things.”
“I’ll just bet.”
“Last night when an agent came to her partner and asked for something without following protocol, it piqued her interest, and she said she felt like she was seeing a ghost from the past. She remembered Anya speaking of Dalton often, and someone in the pictures looked an awful lot like him. Anya called me last night, concerned, and I don’t need to tell you what a horrible position you’d put her partner in if you let anyone know about this conversation.”
“You have my word, Father Andy.”
“I don’t know what Anya wants thrown away. I just know she needed a donation to start something that’ll bring happiness to kids no one wants to think about. If you decide to make that dream of hers a reality, it’s certainly up to you. That’s why I called you to come today. One thing about her, though, bears mentioning. A fledgling program to do outreach in the housing developments, funded by your father, saved Anya’s mother, who was walking the streets selling her body and using the profits to feed a habit that spiraled out of control.”
Cain nodded. “I guess to her it didn’t matter that it was bootlegger money.”
“It didn’t matter to anyone who benefited from Dalton’s generosity, but he learned an important lesson from the act. Her fortune came back to bless him more than once, but don’t think she’ll always be there to help. When Anya sees an injustice she can do something about, she acts. Lucky for all of us that she’s found someone to share her life who feels the same way. To her it’s just that simple. Do you understand? What happened today may never happen again, so don’t help her if that’s what you think you’ll be getting in the bargain.”
“Perfectly, and your call couldn’t have come on a better day.”
