Finally, he cracked the door open. “Father?”
Leroy could see the preacher sitting at his desk staring off into space. The old man had certainly slid downhill since their last meeting. Abe seemed to be shriveling up like a maple leaf ready to fall off the tree—all crinkly and brittle around the edges.
Daniel entered the office, followed closely by Leroy. He stopped directly in front of the desk. “Father, we’ve returned,” he announced in a louder voice.
That seemed to snap Metcalf out of his trance. “What?” he barked, looking around the room half-blindly.
At close range, Leroy could tell that there was something wrong with the old man’s eyes too. They were glazed over, and the pupils were so big they looked like black train tunnels in the middle of his face.
“We’re back,” Daniel repeated. “You wanted to see both of us.”
Abe blinked several times, trying to bring his eyes back into focus. Staring down his nose at the two of them, he said, “Oh yes. That’s right.” He must have realized he’d been caught napping, so he tried to seem dignified and in charge. Standing up, he straightened his tie and commanded them both to sit.
The visitors dropped into the bucket-bottomed chairs that forced them to look upwards at the preacher—bully-pulpit style.
Metcalf didn’t take a seat himself. He leaned against his desk and eyeballed them critically. “First things first,” he began. “I trust your mission was successful.”
“Yessir, boss,” Leroy hurried to reassure him. “Got your doodad right here.” He set a metal box on the desk beside the old man.
Metcalf took a few moments to unpack and examine the artifact. “Some heathen goddess, no doubt,” he murmured, not expecting an answer. He set the statue down. Transferring his attention to Daniel, he asked, “Did you have any trouble?”
“None,” Daniel answered smoothly.
Hunt did a double-take. The kid had become a seasoned liar during the time they’d been working together. Daniel wasn’t planning to say diddly about the two thieves or the two bandits who came after. Well, maybe he was right not to. There was no sense in ruffling the old man’s feathers for no reason.
Without smiling, Metcalf said, “You are both to be congratulated.”
“We aim to please, boss.” Hunt felt even more certain that something wasn’t right.
“There have been a few developments since you left,” Metcalf continued. “I chose to wait until your return to inform you.” He shifted his position and fixed the cowboy with a baleful glare. “I’ll begin with the news that your friend Mr. Bowdeen attempted to kill me.”
“What?” Leroy stared up at him in disbelief.
Daniel looked from one to the other. “Who’s Mr. Bowdeen?”
Metcalf waved his hand dismissively. “An acquaintance of Mr. Hunt’s who has been working on several projects for me. Projects which don’t concern you.”
“When did all this go down?” Hunt was genuinely flummoxed, and Metcalf must have realized that he wasn’t faking surprise.
“Shortly after your departure. He entered my office late at night with a pistol. He would have murdered me if not for Joshua.”
“Joshua!” Daniel yelped.
“Yes, your brother had the presence of mind to follow Bowdeen and dispatch him before he could pull the trigger.”
Leroy let out a low whistle. “If that don’t tear the rag off the bush...”
“You had no idea Bowdeen was planning to assassinate me?” Metcalf challenged.
The cowboy was the picture of injured innocence. “Boss, I ain’t seen Chopper for more’n six months. Ain’t talked to him either. If a feller is too dumb to know his own luck, then he gets what he deserves. That’s all I gotta say.”
The preacher’s eyes narrowed. He studied Hunt in silence for several seconds. Apparently satisfied that the cowboy wasn’t involved, he changed the subject. “To offset that unpleasant business, we’ve had a triumph of sorts. You’ll both be pleased to know that Hannah has been safely returned to the Nephilim.”
Daniel gulped. “H... H... Hannah is back here?”
“Indeed.” The old man gave a satisfied smile. “Of course, she remains traumatized by her ordeal in the Fallen World. She won’t speak to anyone. I trust, over time, we can undo the damage. She’ll remember where she belongs—and to whom she belongs.”
Leroy was too stunned to open his mouth for several seconds. He gave a shaky smile. “How’d you manage to get her back, boss?”
Metcalf scowled at Hunt. “No thanks to you, that’s how. I had my son Joshua search your apartment while you were out of the country. I wanted to see what sort of progress you’d made in tracking her. I must say I’m very disappointed, Mr. Hunt. Joshua found photos indicating you’d been following my wife for quite some time. He took the necessary steps to recover her. Why wasn’t I kept informed of your findings?” He leaned over the cowboy. “Did somebody pay you to keep her whereabouts from me?”
Leroy felt seriously rattled by this unexpected turn of events. He had to think fast. “You got it all wrong, boss.”
The preacher folded his arms across his chest. Some of his old arrogance had returned. “Enlighten me,” he demanded.
“You settled for hookin’ a minnow when I was fixin’ to land you a whale.”
The analogy was lost on the old man. “What?”
“It was like this, Mr. Metcalf. I tracked the gal to where she was hidin’ and what do you think I found? The house she’s stayin’ at is connected to them thieves.”
“That’s impossible!” Daniel exclaimed. His complexion had gone dead pale. “How could
