A Prayer for the Devil (41 page)

Swiger spoke first. “Father Luke, thank God you’re safe.”

Luke smiled. The bishop added, “I am truly blessed to finally meet you.”

Luke was mystified. Why all the fuss? Sensing this, Deborah walked over to the bed and handed him a folder from her tote bag. As he opened it, she said, “These pictures were taken from a medical helicopter that had passed over you after dropping two accident victims at the hospital.”

Luke stared in disbelief. The first picture showed Luke running across the ice with Fatih following. The second photo was of Luke’s bloody footprints on the snow-covered ice. The next one showed Luke looking at his blood-soaked hand, with Fatih directly behind him. Flipping to the next picture, Luke was stunned. Fatih had fallen through the ice, and Luke was standing over him, praying with his arms outstretched to his sides. The combination of the dark red blood in the pure white snow, along with the full moon, gave the photo an unnerving appearance. But what he saw next was even more shocking.

With his arms outstretched and the moon to his back, a dark shadow in the shape of a cross was cast on the bright snow-covered ice. The way Fatih was positioned made it appear that he was clutching the cross in an attempt to be saved. The blood, the moonlight, the cross, and the gun at Luke’s feet created a scene that was unearthly. Hollywood couldn’t have done a better job.

Bishop Dunne spoke up. “Luke, these pictures have been in every newspaper. Many people believe that they show the triumph of Christianity over Islam, since the Muslim man is grasping the cross in an attempt to be saved. Of course, the Muslim community denounces this. This is the biggest religious event in the world.”

Confused again, Luke said, “But, it’s just a few pictures.”

Both priests looked at Deborah.

She grabbed his hand and took a deep breath. “There’s more to it, Luke. The crime scene investigators have determined that the only explanation is that as you ran on the ice away from the boat, the water changed from a mixture of fresh and salt to all salt. Because of this, the farther you ran, the thinner the ice became.” Luke remembered what Vincent had told him. “In the spot where you were standing, the ice was less than half an inch thick. Fatih is much shorter than you and weighs at least twenty-five pounds less.” Stating the obvious, she continued, “Don’t you see? He fell through the ice and you didn’t. When the police helicopter rescued you, they said that every piece of ice they touched was so thin that it shattered, and yet you inexplicably lay on top of it. People around the world are calling it a miracle.”

She reached into her bag and handed Luke a newspaper. The front page showed the picture of Luke praying over Fatih and the headline read: “Miracle on Ice!” The bishop interjected. “Luke, even when you passed out, the force of your fall didn’t break the ice.” Deborah handed him another newspaper. This time the headline read, “He Walks on Water!” The subheading read, “Second Coming?”

Luke scoffed. “This is crazy. It was just luck.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Deborah. She reached over and pushed the call button. When Tasha opened the door, Deborah said, “Can you please ask the doctor to come in?” A few minutes later the door opened, and a gray-haired man entered and came to Luke’s bedside. Deborah took charge. “Doctor Friedman, can you please explain to Luke what you found when you operated on his leg?”

He smiled. “Father, you’re a very lucky man. Most people don’t understand that getting shot in the leg can be very serious and is often fatal. The femoral artery in the leg is one of the largest arteries in the entire body, second only to the aorta that leads directly to the heart. The pressure in the femoral artery is enormous. There have been reports of blood shooting over six feet when that artery is severed, and in most cases the victim dies in a matter of seconds.”

Wanting him to get to the point, Luke asked, “Was my artery hit?”

“Yes, but the bullet actually lodged in it and stopped you from bleeding to death. Because Fatih was so close to you when you were shot, the bullet was still extremely hot when it entered your body. The hot slug actually cauterized your artery. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this happening before. Only a few strands of artery tissue held it together. If they had snapped, the artery would have contracted and retracted into your body. Once that had happened, you would have died seconds later. If Fatih was farther away when he pulled the
trigger, the bullet probably wouldn’t have been hot enough to cauterize the wound.”

Now stunned, Luke was convinced that God had been with him on the ice.

Deborah nodded to the doctor, who continued, “When I gave the police the bullet I had extracted from your leg during surgery, they explained that it was a hollow point; it’s meant to splinter upon impact. You, Vincent Russo, and the taxi driver were shot with bullets from the same gun. The slugs that killed them splintered, but yours didn’t. If it had, you would be dead.” He added, “I’m a Jew, Father Luke, but I must say that when I think about everything that’s happened to you, there’s no rational explanation for you still being alive. It truly is a miracle.”

TWO DAYS LATER, WHEN
the staff wheeled Luke out of the hospital, there was pandemonium. Crowds lined the streets trying to get a glimpse of him. The Vatican had even sent a special investigation team to Boston. People all over the world were celebrating, with one exception: the followers of Islam.

Many pro-Muslim groups were saying that the police rescued Luke first, even though he wasn’t in imminent danger, and by doing this, Fatih stayed in the freezing water longer than he should have. He developed severe frostbite and as a result had to have both of his feet and several fingers amputated. It was insinuated that Detective Romo was the person responsible for making that decision. When Luke found out about the amputations, he reflected on the irony, considering what Fatih had done to his own mother.

Although Dr. Friedman wanted him to rest, Luke insisted that he say the funeral mass for Vincent at Saint Leonard’s. On his way to the church, he was amazed to see people lining the streets and cheering as his limousine passed. They held signs, threw flowers at the car, and blessed themselves. When his motorcade pulled onto Hanover Street, it was so crowded that they couldn’t move. Ignoring police orders,
people surrounded his car and tried to get a glimpse of him through the tinted windows.

It took more than forty-five minutes for Luke to get to the church. Once inside, he sat in his wheelchair in the sacristy. Every prominent church leader was attending the service. Luke asked one of his fellow priests, “Can you please get Vincent’s sister, Trinity? I want to see her before the service.” A few minutes later, the door opened, and Trinity stepped into the room. She knelt down in front of him and cried while he bent over to embrace her.

“Thank you so much,” she said.

Confused, he replied, “For what?”

“For putting Vincent on the phone the other day. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have had a chance to talk to him before he died.”

She looked at Luke and wiped tears from her eyes. “Do you know the last thing I said to him?”

Luke shook his head.

“I told him that I loved him.”

When it was time for the Mass to start, Trinity asked if she could wheel Luke to the altar. Followed by a large procession of priests and altar boys holding candles, they made their way down the crowded aisle. People stood and struggled to get a glimpse of Luke as Trinity pushed the now even more famous priest to the front of the church, with her daughter by her side.

Once on the altar, Luke looked out at the jam-packed church. He thought about the last time he had stood there, for Brad Thompson’s funeral. So much had happened since that day. Then, against the doctor’s orders and to everyone’s amazement, Luke stood, extended his hands out to his sides, and began the service. The image of Luke standing and praying in this position overwhelmed many people in the audience, and they began weeping. Standing for the entire mass,
he recounted his last days with Vincent, explaining to everyone that without his help, Luke would have never found Fatih. Luke reiterated that Vincent had helped solve one of the biggest crime mysteries in the history of Boston, and in doing so, had renewed the faith of millions. Luke ended by saying, “Because of this, I’m sure that Vincent was prepared and smiling when God welcomed him home.”

After an extremely moving and emotional service, Luke wanted to have a few minutes alone in the church. For security reasons, he couldn’t attend the burial service at the cemetery. Once the church had emptied, he slowly wheeled himself to the statue of Mary holding the crucified Christ. Finally having a minute to reflect on the events of the past few days, he started to weep. There was no denying the fact that he had put into motion the events that ultimately caused Blade’s and Vincent’s deaths. Was finding Aaron’s killers worth two innocent lives in return? And what about Fatih? Would his incarceration prevent future attacks and inevitably save the lives of many other innocent people? Knowing what he knew now, would he have made the same choices if he had to do it all over again? Looking at the statue while wiping the tears from his face, Luke knew that he would have to bear the burden of these questions for the rest of his life. After several minutes, he finally composed himself and once again thanked God for his protection and guidance in finding Aaron’s killers. Before leaving, he asked for the answer to the one thing that he still hadn’t figured out: Who was the target of the bombing and why?

Once he finished praying, Luke turned and began wheeling himself toward the back of the church. Standing near the exit were two men in dark suits. Luke recognized Mike Dempsey, the FBI agent who had questioned him at Aaron’s house, but he didn’t recognize the man standing next to him. Dempsey flashed an artificial smile and said, “Nice to see you again, Father.” Luke stared suspiciously but
didn’t respond. Looking at the other man, Luke extended his hand and said, “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Shaking hands, the man replied, “Joe Tanner.”

“Are you also with the FBI?”

Taken aback with Luke’s direct question, the man looked at Dempsey and stammered, “No, I’m with the Justice Department.”

Distrusting Dempsey and wanting to get to the point, Luke asked, “How can I help you?”

Dempsey took charge. “Do you know anything about the deaths of Ismail and Kamilah Abu?”

Luke’s heart raced. “What? They’re dead?”

“Yes. They were found in their compound in Riyadh when it was being searched for evidence.”

“How did they die?”

“They were assassinated. Each one had a single shot fired into the back of the head.”

Luke looked down and said a silent prayer for Fatih’s mother. Dempsey asked, “Do you know where Jamilah Raboud is?”

Ignoring his question, Luke replied, “What does she have to do with this?”

“We want to talk with her.”

Luke answered vaguely but honestly, “I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

Dismissing his answer, Dempsey asked sharply, “Did Fatih say anything to you when he was on the ice?”

Annoyed with his tone and rudeness, Luke sternly replied, “You seem to be fishing for something. What exactly are you looking for?”

“We’re trying to figure out why Fatih planted the bombs.”

Luke sensed that he was holding back information and sarcastically replied, “That’s funny; me too.”

Dempsey stared at Luke and shot back, “You don’t know what you’re getting into. You’d better stay out of this.” Composing himself, he toned down his voice and said, “Leave this investigation to us.”

Luke fired back, “If I would have done that with the bombing, Fatih would still be having fun in Saudi Arabia.”

The door of the church opened, and Detective Romo entered. Seeing Luke with the two feds, he hurried over. When Dempsey extended his hand, the detective ignored it and said, “I know who you are. My men called to tell me that you flashed your badge and ignored their orders to leave the church grounds. In case you didn’t get the memo, Father Miller’s protection is under my jurisdiction. I would suggest you leave unless you want Luke to contact his lawyer.”