A Prayer for the Devil (19 page)

“What do you think?”

Without hesitating, he said, “You look beautiful.” Catching himself, he quickly added, “You both look great.”

Deb fluffed her hair and said, “You know what they say—blondes have more fun.”

They all laughed. Deborah explained that Lori had bought the wig for herself after her husband suggested that she dye her hair blonde; she wanted to see what it would look like before she agreed. Lori suggested that if Deborah wore the wig and sunglasses, she could go shopping or out to lunch without being hounded by the press. Understanding
that she had been confined to the house more than anyone, he replied, “That’s great!” Deborah quickly added, “Would you like to join us?”

“No, thank you. John fixed my truck, so I was going to ask you for the key to Aaron’s office so we could stop by and take a look.”

“So he didn’t steal the Mercedes?”

Luke laughed. “Not yet.”

“The key should be on the same keychain as the car key.” Excited, she added, “Did you tell him yet?”

“No, I was going to surprise him after we looked at the office building.”

“Margaret is still working there, answering the phones and all, so you might run into her.”

Luke said, “Have a great time,” before he turned and walked out the door.

JOHN DROVE THE TRUCK
along the congested roads toward downtown Boston, and Luke was gratified to see the look of satisfaction on his face as the motor hummed. Although Luke was trying to enjoy the moment, he was preoccupied with how to determine the name of the mysterious construction company. Obviously, something was not right. When all the nonconnected events relayed by Blade were linked, it created a picture that was hard to ignore. Adding in the crescent logo and its color, Luke knew it was too much to be a coincidence.

He knew that the color green had a special meaning in the Islamic faith. Some people claimed that green was the favorite color of Muhammad because he wore a green cloak and turban. Even the Qur’an said that the inhabitants of paradise wear green garments of fine silk. And during the Crusades, green was the color worn by the Islamic soldiers. Based on everything pointing back at Islam, Luke made a mental note to visit Jami and see if she could provide any insight.

They turned onto State Street in the financial district, then Luke pointed to a small side street and said, “Turn here.” The impressive three-story brick building they faced was more than two hundred
years old and contained ten offices. Aaron had purchased the building when the property was undervalued, so the rents from the building’s inhabitants more than paid the mortgage.

“You can park in the lot in the back,” said Luke.

John asked, “What are we doing here?”

Luke smiled. “John, how would you like to work for Deborah?”

John was excited and confused at the same time. “Doing what?”

“This was my brother’s office building. There are nine tenants, and Aaron’s office is on the third floor. When Aaron worked here, he managed the building. If a toilet broke or the air-conditioning wasn’t working properly, he would call a plumber or whoever he needed to fix the problem. Now that he’s gone, there’s no one to take these calls. Also, Deb needs someone she can trust to pack up his office and get it ready to lease.”

John was overwhelmed. “Really?”

“Hey, I figure that if you can fix this old truck, you can do anything!”

John laughed nervously. As they entered the building, he handed the truck keys to Luke. Thinking for a second, Luke handed them back, saying, “John, I want you to keep the truck.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Luke put his hands on John’s shoulders as they faced each other. “No, I’m not. Now look who’s laughing at that old truck.”

John smiled, not fully believing what he was hearing, and replied, “I’ll pay you for it.”

Still standing in front of him, Luke looked directly in his eyes and said, “No, I want you to have it. It’s a gift to start your new life.”

They took the elevator to the third floor and stepped out into an impressive hallway. Luke knew this building well, having visited Aaron here often. As he approached the glass doors to the law offices, he noticed Margaret sitting behind the cherry desk, talking on the phone.
When he opened the door, she looked up and began to cry. Flustered, she hung up the phone and tried to regain her composure as she stood to welcome Luke. He smiled and walked behind the desk, where they embraced. “Luke, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe he’s gone. I sit here every day expecting him to walk through that door. When I saw you, for a few seconds I thought you were Aaron.”

Luke smiled. “I understand and I miss him also, but you know that he wouldn’t want us to be sad. The best way to honor his memory is to live the way he did.” She smiled and wiped the tears from her face. “He was always happy.”

He apprised her of Deborah’s plan to have John work in the office for the next several weeks, telling her that any tenants with problems should call John. She immediately replied, “The doctor on the first floor just called a few minutes ago and said that one of his sinks is leaking.” Before Luke could speak, John said, “I’ll go take a look.”

Margaret asked, “Do you know where to go?”

John smiled. “Is there more than one doctor on the first floor?”

She shook her head. “No.”

The phone rang and Margaret hurried to answer it as John headed out the door. Luke walked into Aaron’s office. Sitting down behind the desk, he saw a picture that made him smile. He remembered the day but didn’t think he’d ever seen the photo. It was a black-and-white shot of Aaron and Luke blowing out candles on their seventh birthday.

After looking through everything in Aaron’s desk and file cabinets, Luke walked around the office. He noticed that a small room next to the bathroom contained a cot. As he sat back down in Aaron’s chair, his hand inadvertently nudged the mouse attached to the computer. A second later, the screen illuminated, displaying a document that Aaron must have been working on before the bombing. Examining it closely, he saw what looked like an organizational chart. It displayed names,
titles, and comments about each person that would be involved in his run for the Senate. The first name under Aaron’s was Lori Simpson, with the title: Chief of Staff. The comments next to her name read, “A great person, great organizer, and outstanding leader.” As he continued reading, he recognized many of the names from Aaron’s phone contacts. Seeing Ablaa Raboud, Jami’s sister’s name, he stopped scanning and read the title: Special Adviser. The comments that followed were heartwarming: “The kindest and most loving person I’ve ever met, she’s an inspiration to me.”

Luke gazed toward the window, lost in thought. If Blade’s theory was correct, Ablaa couldn’t have been involved in the bombing because the explosives were put in the ground years ago. If she had any idea that the stage was going to blow up, she wouldn’t have been there. Picking up his cell phone, he called Jami and arranged to meet with her in the morning.

JOHN DROVE HIS NEW
truck through the mansion gates and Luke got out. As the motor idled, he walked to the driver’s side and told John, “You’re welcome to stay here tonight.”

John smiled. “Thank you so much, but I think I’m going to take a ride by my mother-in-law’s house to check on my wife and kids.”

Luke nodded and handed him the key to Aaron’s building. “There’s a cot and a bathroom in the office if you need a place to stay.”

“I can’t thank you enough.”

Before he could drive away, Luke reached into his pocket and handed him a hundred-dollar bill. John protested. Determined to give him the money, Luke said, “I would have had to pay someone more than that to fix the truck.”

John laughed. “But you gave me the truck.”

“That was after you fixed it.”

Both men were laughing now. John finally gave in and took the money after Luke conceded that it could be a loan.

As Luke entered the house, he noticed that it was very quiet, with no sign of anyone. With his parents now living back at home, the huge house felt empty. He went to the kitchen and saw Abel and
Alessa playing outside with one of the maids. Thinking about John, he opened his phone and called Jim Hathaway, Aaron’s financial adviser. Jim agreed to meet with John and get him on the payroll. While discussing the details, he asked Luke, “How much do you want to pay him?” Not knowing what would be fair, Luke explained the job responsibilities and asked Jim’s opinion. “I would say about forty thousand a year.”

Luke thought for a few minutes and said, “Let’s make it sixty.” Before hanging up, Luke asked Jim to do him a favor.

“You name it, you got it.”

Luke grinned. “When you meet with John, can you try to figure out if there’s any way he can get his house back? The bank foreclosed on it.”

Jim agreed.

Luke headed into the library and logged on to the computer again to do more research, but he came up with no leads. Distracted by voices in the distance, he looked out the window and saw the two blondes, Deborah and Lori, laughing as they walked from the car with their arms full of shopping bags. He smiled and went to open the front door for them. Each one hugged him as they entered the foyer. Hearing the commotion, the children rushed in. But rather than running to greet their mom, they ran over to hug Luke.

Luke returned to the library, but he didn’t know what to do next. He thought about calling Detective Romo, but he didn’t have enough reliable information to involve him at this point. He figured that the detective would think he was crazy to believe an old drunk guy who lived in the park. As he was dialing the number for Sal Bruno, he questioned if he should really make the call. But Sal answered on the first ring. “Father Luke, so nice to hear from you.” Before Luke could say
a word, he continued. “I want to let you know that Anthony and Billy told the cops that you had nothing to do with the beating incident.”

Luke thanked him. “I called to ask for another favor.” He couldn’t believe what he was saying, as he spoke.

“Just name it.”

“I just need some information, but I also need your word that no one will get hurt.”