A Prayer for the Devil (18 page)

Luke was excited. “That’s great.”

As he got up to leave, Deborah said, “I’ll pay his salary; let’s ensure he makes enough money to find a place where he and his family can stay.” Reluctantly, she added, “I know they are good people, but I would feel better if they didn’t stay here anymore.”

Luke understood her concern, especially after what had happened with Blade. But he had to get the information he needed, so he asked, “If necessary, can they stay one more night?”

“Are you talking about John?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, the other man scares me and the children.”

“I understand.”

FOR THE NEXT FEW
hours, Luke and John watched Blade continue to get better after throwing up several times. Not wanting to involve any of the maids, Luke carefully cleaned up after him and put his clothes in the washing machine. In the late afternoon, Blade finally was in a condition to sit up and talk.

Luke struggled with his conscience as he opened his wallet and retrieved the bank envelope. He worried that Blade would use this money to drink himself to death. If someone died because of his attempts to find his brother’s killers, how would he feel? It was such a long shot anyway. Should he take the chance?

As he handed the cash to Blade, he warned, “Please don’t hurt yourself with this.” Blade grabbed the envelope and counted the money several times. Looking up at Luke, he put the envelope in his pocket and began talking. “OK, here’s what I know. I’ve been sleeping in the park for over ten years. During that time, I’ve moved the spot where I sleep many times. Several years ago, when I was sleeping on a bench near the bomb site, I saw construction crews working late at night.”

Uncharacteristically, Luke interrupted. “Did you say several years ago?”

Blade sighed. “Yes, it was several years ago.”

John and Luke looked at each other in disbelief. Noticing this, Blade said in an agitated tone, “Why don’t you let me finish before you judge what I’m saying?”

“I’m sorry, please continue,” Luke answered.

“I’d been sleeping in that spot for a few weeks when I noticed the trucks. They arrived at about eight each night and would leave around ten.”

“Ten in the morning?” asked John.

“No, ten at night.”

Hearing this, Luke began to doubt the legitimacy of his story, but he waited and listened politely.

Feeling bad that he was responsible for setting up this meeting, John questioned in disbelief, “They only stayed for two hours a night?”

Undeterred, Blade continued. “That’s what made me curious. Another guy named Shorty, who slept not far from me, also thought something was weird. One night when we were both awake, he began talking to me about the reason that they were working at night and why such strange hours. When he said he was going to ask them a few questions, I told him not to go. He was determined and ignored my warning. When he returned, he told me that they showed him a work permit and that one of the workers handed him a fifty. He was so excited to get the money that he didn’t tell me any other details. When one of the workers looked and saw me, something didn’t feel right, so I moved my sleeping spot to the other end of the park that night. That was the last night that anyone ever remembers seeing Shorty. He disappeared.”

Luke found the story interesting but doubted its relevance to his brother’s death. He thought to himself that Shorty probably took the fifty, got drunk, and moved to another area, and that maybe there were electrical restrictions that required the construction crews to work at that time of night. When Blade couldn’t tell him Shorty’s real name, he knew that he had no way of verifying the information. Aggravated,
he stood and headed toward the door until Blade said something that made him stop.

“Father Luke, do you know what year it was?”

Luke turned. “No.”

“It was 2004. October of 2004, to be exact.” Luke’s heart was pounding, but he didn’t respond, so Blade asked, “Do you know what happened in October of 2004?” Luke knew very well the biggest event that happened in Boston in October of 2004. He stared at the man and said nothing until John asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Luke spoke up. “The Red Sox beat the Yankees in seven games.”

Not understanding the big picture, John said, “So?”

Luke continued as he stared at Blade. “The Sox were down three games to none and went on to win the series four games to three. Then, after an eighty-six-year drought, they finally won the World Series.”

John replied, “So what?”

“All of the games at Fenway were played at night,” Luke continued. “The first home game set a record for the longest nine-inning game ever, and the next two games both went into extra innings, ending late at night.” Still not understanding, John shrugged, and Luke explained, “I bet Blade is going to tell us that the construction crews only worked during home games.”

Blade smiled, exposing his rotten teeth. “Very good, Father. They must have known that the local police who normally patrolled the Common would be assigned to Fenway Park for extra security. We could hear the games from their truck radios, and as soon as they ended, the workers quickly packed up their equipment and left.”

Intrigued, Luke walked back, sat down, and began documenting everything that Blade had told them. When he finished writing, he asked, “What was the name of the construction firm?”

Blade thought for a few minutes. “Sorry, but I don’t know.”

“Please, try to remember. It’s very important.”

“I’ve been trying to remember for the past few days, but I can’t.”

Feeling defeated again, Luke asked, “Please think. Is there anything else you can tell me?”

“I don’t know if this means anything, but I remember that the trucks had a moon painted on the side.”

“A moon?” John asked

“Yes.”

Luke passed a piece of paper to Blade and said, “Can you draw it for me?”

The old man scribbled on the paper for several seconds and handed it back to Luke.

Looking at it, Luke declared, “That’s not a moon; it’s a crescent.” Standing up, he asked a critical question. “Was there a star next to it?”

“There might have been. I’m just not sure.”

“Do you remember what color it was?”

“I think it was green.”

Luke spent the next twenty minutes going back over everything that Blade said, while reviewing his detailed notes. No new information was uncovered, but John and Blade promised to ask some of the elderly park residents if they knew Shorty’s full name. Before taking Blade back to the Common, Luke pleaded with him not to use the money for alcohol.

WHEN LUKE PULLED UP
to the house, returning from dropping off Blade, he was anxious to log on to the computer and try to find the name of the construction company that had done the work in the park. Wanting to be alone, he asked John, “Do you know anything about cars?”

“What do you mean?”

“My truck won’t start, and I was wondering if you could figure out what’s wrong with it.”

John laughed and pointed at it. “That’s your truck?”

Luke smiled. “Yeah. What’s so funny?”

“Sorry, Father, it’s just that when I saw you driving the Mercedes, I figured that the truck belonged to the gardener.”

“Well, do you think you can fix it?”

“I don’t know, but I can try. I used to work on old cars.” Looking at the truck, he added, “That thing is so old I’m sure it’s not computerized.”

Luke handed him both the car and truck keys. Reaching into his pocket for money, he gave him two hundred dollars, adding, “There’s a toolbox in the garage. See what you can do, and if you need anything, just go get it. I’ll tell the guards to open the gates for you.”
John smiled and hurried over to the truck. As Luke opened the front door to the house, the other man called out, “Thanks, Father!”

Luke walked into the library and logged on to the computer. Deep in thought, he heard something and looked up to see Deborah standing in the doorway. She asked excitedly, “Did you tell him?”

Confused, Luke asked, “Tell who, what?”

“About the job?”

He smiled. “Not yet. I have one more test for him. He’s going to try to fix my truck. I gave him the keys to the Mercedes and two hundred dollars.”

“Do you think that was a good idea?”

Still smiling, he replied, “I guess we’re going to find out.”

She looked out the window. “Lori’s here.”

Luke looked and saw Lori’s white Caddy pulling through the open gates. He was happy that the two women who knew Aaron best were becoming such close friends; they needed each other. After greeting Lori and receiving an earnest hug, he excused himself and continued his investigation. He did Internet searches on everything from homeless people killed in the park to construction company permits. Looking out the window every now and then, he saw John working on the truck.

The last time he looked, the Mercedes was gone. He wondered what John was doing. Did he take the car to his mother-in-law’s house to show his family? Or was he on his way to Florida? Luke really didn’t care, as long as the other man was safe. Luke had never really valued material things, and he could happily return to his room at the rectory without missing the opulent lifestyle he’d been living.

After more searching without success, Luke stood up and stretched. Seeing that the Mercedes was back in the driveway, he smiled. He walked out the front door and heard his truck running.
John was revving the engine from under the hood and didn’t notice Luke until he was standing right next to him.

Slapping him on the back, Luke yelled over the roar of the engine, “Great job!” John stood up and smiled, with grease covering his face and hands. Taking a rag off the truck’s fender, he wiped his hands and hurried over to the Mercedes. Carefully reaching inside, he handed Luke receipts for everything he had bought, along with the change. Luke said, “Thanks! Give me a second and we can go for a ride.”

Luke ran back into the house to grab a jacket and find Deborah. Not seeing her, he walked to the hallway and called her name. “We’re in here, in my room,” he heard her say. Luke walked into her bedroom but still didn’t see anyone. Noticing a light coming from the bathroom, he walked cautiously toward the open door, asking, “Are you dressed?” Deborah and Lori laughed, while Lori added, “Do you want us to be?” Deborah giggled and said, “Yes, you can come in.” Peering into the doorway, Luke was confused. One of them was sitting in front of the expansive makeup mirror, with the other standing behind doing her hair. The confusing part was that they both had blonde hair. As Deborah stood and smiled, Luke was struck not only by her beauty but also by the fact that she and Lori now looked so much alike.