Midnight Sun (21 page)

“
All
of
it
stolen
from
Jews
and
Christians,
no
doubt,
”
he
said
as
he
drove
down
Skyline
Drive
toward
the
retreat
center.
“
Well,
I
’
m
just
going
to
take
back
what
belongs
to
my
people
anyway,
right?
Like
Jimmy
said,
it
’
s
like
being
Robin
Hood.
”

Sammy
smiled
in
the
mirror
as
he
imagined
being
the
famous
English
bandit
stealing
back
what
belonged
to
the
rightful
owners
of
the
land.
But u
nlike
Robin
Hood,
Sammy
had
no
intention
of
sharing
the
stolen
booty
with
anyone
else.
He
needed
to
pay
a
couple
of
debts,
and
maybe
he
could
get
himself
a
better
set
of
wheels
with
the
imagined
piles
of
gold
and
other
untold
treasures
within
the
mosque.

With
single-minded
determination
fueled
by
utter
greed,
Sammy
pulled
his
truck
to
the
side
of
the
road
near
the
entrance
to
the
mosque.
The
gate
at
the
end
of
the
long
driveway
stood
open.
He
looked
up
into
the
dusty
dirt
parking
lot
and
saw
no
cars.
He
rolled
down
the
window,
cranking
the
stiff
handle
and
swearing
his
next
vehicle
would
have
power
windows
and
locks.

B
irds
chirped
in
the
trees
outside
his
truck
window.
A bee flew into the cab and buzzed around Deano's head. The dog watched it, ears raised, alert and ready to snap at the tiny creature. The bee seemed to sense the animal's intention and zipped away, leaving a heavier silence in its absence. A squirrel chattered in a tree a few yards away, and a blue jay landed on a perch across the shallow ditch alongside the road.
Sammy
felt
the
peaceful
sights and
sounds
were
a
message
from
God.
He
thought
about
a
show
he
had
seen
on
CNN
about
the
Taliban
and
how
they
made
little
girls
wear
sacks
over
their
bodies
to
hide
themselves
from
dirty
old
men
who
married
twelve-year-olds.

“
These
dirty
bastards
deserve
what
they
got
coming
to
them,
”
he
muttered
as
his
truck
rolled
up
the
long
drive
into
the
parking
lot.
A
low
cloud
of
yellow
dust
settled
back
to
the
ground
behind
him
as
Sammy
shut
off
the
engine
and
opened
the
door
to
get
out.
The
dog
glanced
over
at
him
with
pleading
eyes.

“
All right
boy,
you
can
go,
but
come
right
back
and
wait
here.
We
may
have
to
leave
fast.
”

The
dog
hopped
out
and
trotted
in
to
the
woods
while
Sammy
approached
the
building.
A
recent
rain
shower
had
washed
the
air.
Even
though
the
bright
twenty-four-hour
sun
had
instantly
dried
the ground to a fine dust, the air itself still
smelled
fresh
and
clean.
He
moved
with
caution,
ears
straining
to
detect
the
tell-tale
sound
of
people.
On the off chance that
someone
was
there,
and
if
they
caught
him
snooping,
he
would
say
that
he
owned
a
landscape
and
building
maintenance
company
and
was
just
checking
to
see
if
they
'd like to hire
his
services.
He
even
had
business
cards
and
a
pad
of
invoices
complete
with
a
logo,
address,
phone
numbers,
and
website
to
verify
the
claim.
Those,
of
course,
along
with
a
laptop
computer
and
a
nice,
new
metal
coffee
thermos,
had
been
stolen
from
a
legitimate
contractor
who
had
been
so
kind
as
to
leave
his
truck
unlocked.