Heartbreaker

Chapter 22

One man’s trash could become another man’s treasure. That was Laurant’s hope, anyway, as she sorted through a dozen mildew-infested boxes of old, moth-eaten linens and broken knickknacks someone had stored in the attic over fifty years ago. By the time she stopped for the day, she was covered in a layer of dust, her white slacks were gray, and she was sneezing every other second from the moldy cardboard. Unfortunately, she didn’t find a priceless van Gogh or Degas painting tucked in with the trash. In fact, she didn’t find anything she didn’t consider old junk, but she refused to lose heart. She’d only just started the job, after all, and there were over sixty boxes still sealed for her to sort through.

Nick helped her haul the trash down four flights of steps on their way to the car.

"Do we have time to stop by the seamstress to pick up my bridesmaid dress?" she asked.

"Sure, if we hurry. We’re supposed to pick up Tommy and Noah in an hour. That’s enough time to shower and change."

The minute they arrived home, she ran up the stairs, passing Joe on his way down.

"Just made the rounds and everything’s locked up tight," he assured her.

Nick carefully draped the dress over the dining room table and headed for the kitchen to grab a cool drink.

Laurant rushed to get ready. She wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and come out of the bathroom wearing an ugly, old ragged robe, and so she gathered up everything she would need including her sling-back shoes.

Twenty-five minutes later she decided she was as good as she was going to get. She was pulling out all the stops tonight, and so she wore the dress. It was short, it was black, and it had just enough spandex in the material to make it cling in all the right places. The flattering square neckline showed only a hint of cleavage. She’d worn the dress only once since moving to Holy Oaks, and that was when she had taken Michelle and Christopher out to dinner to celebrate their engagement. Michelle had nicknamed the outfit "the killer dress," said it was indecently decent, and insisted that it was the sexiest thing Laurant owned. Christopher had been emphatic in his agreement.

Laurant stood in front of the mirror primping. She even curled her hair, but because she was so out of practice, she burned her ear in the process. She stared at her reflection and let out a loud groan. Why was she going to so much trouble to look pretty? She wasn’t a teenager in the throes of her first love, but she certainly was acting like one.

My God, was she falling in love with him? The possibility sent chills down her spine. When his job was over, he would leave.

"This is nuts," she whispered as she slammed the brush down on the counter. She had a stupid crush on her big brother’s friend. That was all there was to it.

Her ego took a real beating when Nick entered the room. He barely noticed her. After giving her one quick once-over-probably making sure her shoes were on the right feet-he told her Pete was on the phone, and when Joe finished talking to him, Pete wanted to speak to her. Nick’s voice sounded strained, and she wondered why he seemed so preoccupied.

He was looking over her head. "Nothing important," he said. "He just wants to hear how you’re doing."

Nick got a whiff of her perfume as he passed her on his way to the bathroom. He pretended not to notice, just as he’d pretended not to notice how incredibly sexy she looked in that tight black dress. Until he closed the door. Then he leaned against it, bowed his head, and whispered, "Damn, am I in trouble."

They were fifteen minutes late picking up Noah and Tommy. Nick drove the car up the back driveway behind the abbey and pulled up to the steps. He and Laurant were getting out when Tommy appeared in the doorway and came running down the steps. Noah was nowhere in sight.

He hugged Laurant. "You okay?"

"I’m fine," she assured him.

"Get back in the car." He let go of her, opened the door, and tried to shove her inside, his anxiety apparent. "Nick, this is a bad idea."

"Where’s Noah?" Nick asked. He waited until Tommy had gotten into the backseat, then slid in behind the wheel again.

"He’s coming," Tommy said. "Why don’t we get carryout and go to Laurant’s house and eat. I don’t like the idea of her being out in public. It’s dangerous."

She turned in the seat so she could see his face. "Tommy, I can’t stay locked in the house."

"I don’t see why not."

"The plan is to be seen, remember?"

"I know what the plan is," he snapped. "Incite the madman to come after you."

"He’s going to come after her," Nick said quietly. "But we’d like it to happen sooner rather than later. We’ll be ready for him."

"Like I said, this is a bad plan. Things can go wrong-" Laurant interrupted him. "Did you know there are agents watching us right now?" She didn’t know if that were true or not. She was trying to calm her brother.

"Where are they?" he asked, craning his neck to look out the back window.

"You aren’t supposed to see them," she said, sounding like an authority.

Tommy seemed to relax a little then. "Yeah, okay. Ah, heck. I forgot my wallet."

"You’re not supposed to say that until the check comes," Nick joked.

"I’ll just be a minute."

Laurant watched her brother run up the steps and go back inside. "He’s more nervous than he was in Kansas City."

"It’s understandable."

Tommy came back outside a minute later and took the steps two at a time with his long stride. Noah was hot on his tail. It was then that Nick and Laurant saw what Noah was wearing. Nick started laughing first, but Laurant quickly joined in.

Noah was dressed like a priest in a black suit, black clerical shirt, and a white Roman collar.

"He’s gonna go straight to hell," Nick said.

She had to look away so she could stop laughing. "Do you think he’s wearing a gun?" she asked.

"He has to carry a gun," Nick said.

"All the time?"

"All the time," he answered.

Noah didn’t bother with a greeting. He was determined to make Tommy agree with him on a subject the two of them had obviously been arguing about.

"I’m telling you, it isn’t normal."

"Maybe not for you," Tommy answered.

Noah snorted. "Not for any man."

Nick guessed what they were quarreling about. "Celibacy, right?"

"Yeah," Noah answered. "A priest never getting to have sex… that’s just not right."

Nick laughed. Tommy shook his head and then tried to change the subject. "Where are we eating?"

Noah wouldn’t let the matter go. He couldn’t seem to get past the celibacy rule. "It’s just not healthy," he said. "You don’t even notice all those women coming on to you. Do you?"

Tommy’s patience was wearing thin. "Yes, I notice," he said. "And I ignore them."

"That’s what I mean. It’s just not-"

Tommy cut him off. "Yeah, I know. It’s just not normal. Now let it go, Noah."

Noah decided to accommodate him. "Damn, you smell good, Laurant. Or is that you, Nick?" he joked.

Before either one of them could answer, Noah said, "Have you noticed the ungodly number of vans in this town? Hell, they’re everywhere. I figure Wesson’s running the plates. He is, isn’t he?"

The question broke the carefree mood and the conversation became serious.

"I called him earlier to find out if he had any news. I figured he had run the plates on the cars of the workmen on Laurant’s block, but Wesson wouldn’t tell me anything."

"What did he say?"

"’I’m doing my job.’ That’s a quote."

Noah sighed. "So, we’re the hired guns, is that it? He’s gonna keep us out in the cold."

"It looks that way."

"The hell with that. I’m not going to work blindfolded."

Tommy began to grill Nick with questions and suggestions, and by the time they parked in the back of the Rosebriar Restaurant, Laurant had lost her appetite.

Noah grabbed Tommy’s arm when he tried to get out of the car. "Listen up, priest. You stay close. You go running off again, and I’ll shoot you myself."

"Yes, all right. It won’t happen again."

Noah smiled, his good mood restored. Tommy got out of the car and opened Laurant’s door for her. She swung her legs out and stood, self-consciously tugging on her skirt.

Noah let out a low whistle of appreciation. "You’ve got a beautiful sister, Tom."

"It’s inappropriate for priests to whistle at pretty women."

Noah glanced at Nick. "It’s been nonstop criticism since I put on this collar. I’m trying to be patient and helpful, but he’s making it tough."

Tommy walked ahead with Laurant, his head bent down toward hers as they talked, and Nick fell into step beside Noah.

"Helpful in what way?" he asked.

Noah shrugged. "I offered to hear confession for one of the other priests, but Tom got all bent out of shape and wouldn’t let me."

Tommy heard the comment and glanced back. "Of course I wouldn’t let you."

"Your friend takes this priest stuff seriously."

"All priests are supposed to take their job seriously," Nick said. "I should have warned Tommy about your warped sense of humor."

"He’s easy to rattle."

"That’s because you know what buttons to push."

"What about Laurant?"

"What about her?"

Noah winked. "Have you been pushing any of her buttons? I noticed the way you’ve been looking at her."

"She’s off-limits. Wait up, Tommy," he called out. "Let one of us go inside first."

"Off-limits for you, or for me?"

"For both of us. She’s not the kind of woman you mess around with unless you’ve made a commitment."

The cobblestone path curved around the building. Noah strode ahead of Tommy and Laurant while Nick trailed behind. Both agents were busy looking at the terrain.

Terra-cotta pots brimming with red and white geraniums lined the path to the door. The Rosebriar was an old sprawling Victorian-style house that had been converted into a restaurant. The dining room was richly appointed with crystal vases filled with spring flowers on all the white linen tablecloths. The china looked old and expensive.

The room they were shown into was in the back of the house, overlooking a duck pond and the woods. They were led to a round table in front of the window so they could enjoy the view, but Noah nodded toward a corner table and asked to be seated there instead. The room was quite full. It was noisy with laughter. Quite a few families were dining with their children. As they threaded their way to the corner, heads turned to watch Laurant. Even the children were mesmerized by her. Laurant seemed oblivious to the admiring gazes of every man in the restaurant.

The waiter pulled the table out so that Laurant could sit in the corner. Nick sat beside her. Noah and Tommy faced them, but Noah hated having his back to the room, and so he angled his chair to see the other diners. He started to take his jacket off, realized his gun would show, and pulled it back up over his shoulders.

Tommy couldn’t sit still. Every other second he turned to look around the room. His head snapped up each time he heard a burst of laughter.

"Sit still and try to relax," Noah ordered. "You’re drawing attention squirming in your chair like that. And quit staring at the other people. Don’t you know most of them?"

Tommy shook his head. "No, I don’t. That’s why I’m watching them."

"Let us watch them," Nick suggested. "Now get with the program. Okay?"

"I think you should try to smile, Tommy," Laurant whispered. "We’re supposed to be celebrating tonight."

"I’m going to order a bottle of champagne," Nick said.

"What are we celebrating?" Noah asked.

Laurant held up her hand. "Nick and I are officially engaged."

Tommy did smile then. "So that’s why you got all decked en tonight."

"I’m not all decked out."

"And you’ve got makeup on too, don’t you? You never wear makeup."

She knew her brother wasn’t deliberately trying to embarrass her but she still wanted to kick him under the table to get him to stop

"Your hair’s different too."

"I curled it. All right? Honestly, it’s no big deal. And by the way, if anyone asks, you’re thrilled that I’m going to marry your best friend."

"Okay," he said.

"Actually, I may have to marry your sister after all," Nick said with a grin.

"How’s that?"

"She ran into a friend-"

"Lorna isn’t my friend."

Nick nodded. "And Laurant will do anything to keep Lorna from saying I told you so."

Tommy laughed. "Lorna’s always rubbed Laurant the wrong way. I guess you will have to marry her."

He leaned back in his chair. His gaze bounced from Laurant to Nick, and then back again, and then he said, "You know that wouldn’t be bad at all. You’re kind of suited for each other."

"She doesn’t want to marry me. I’m not safe enough for her."

"The wedding’s at seven o’clock on the second Saturday in October, and you’re marrying us," Laurant said. "I just know Lorna’s going to talk to you, so act happy and don’t forget the date."

"Yeah, yeah, the second Saturday in October," he agreed. "I won’t forget. But when this is over, you’re going to have to tell Lorna the truth."

Laurant was vehemently shaking her head. "I’ll move first."

"I thought you were going to marry me to save face."

She shrugged. "I guess I could."

"Marriage is a holy sacrament," Tommy reminded them.

"Lighten up, Tommy," Laurant suggested. "Go with the flow."

"In other words, lie through my teeth, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

"Okay, let me ask you this. If I’m marrying you and Nick, who’s going to walk you down the aisle?"

"I hadn’t thought about that," she admitted.

"I’ve got an idea," Noah said. "How about if I marry Nick and Laurant, and Tom, you can walk your sister down the aisle."

"Now that’s a plan," Nick agreed.

Tommy looked exasperated. "Okay, Noah, let’s go over the rules one more time. You’re not really a priest. You’re just pretending to be one, and that means you can’t marry anyone, you can’t hear confessions, and you can’t date."

Noah laughed, drawing stares from the other diners. "Damn, it doesn’t take much to get you riled up. We’re pretending that Nick and Laurant are getting married, aren’t we? So I’m pretending I’m going to marry them."

Tommy looked at Nick. "Help me out here, will you? The abbot went out on a limb for Noah. Pete talked to him and convinced him to go along with this plan. He agreed to tell everyone that Wesson’s a cousin and that he’s letting him stay in the cabin. The man’s being real accommodating," he added. "But we don’t like people impersonating priests, and Noah promised he wouldn’t do anything to discredit the collar. Five minutes after we leave the abbot’s office, Noah’s winking at Suzie Johnson and calling her darling."

"I’m pretending to be a friendly priest," Noah explained. "And I still think priests ought to have one day off a week to go-"

Tommy stopped him. "Yeah, I know. A day off to have sex. That’s not the way it works."

Nick’s phone rang. He listened for half a minute, then said, "Yes, sir," and hung up.

"The sheriff just got out of a new, red Ford Explorer. He’s headed this way."

"Is he alone?" Noah asked.

"Looks that way."

"The lodge holds its weekly meetings here," Laurant explained "The others are probably upstairs in one of the smaller dining rooms."

"Is Brenner a member of the lodge?"

"I think so," she answered.

"Maybe after we eat, I’ll go up and say hello," Nick said. "I’d sure like to meet good old Steve Brenner."

A minute later the sheriff strutted into the entry. Dressed in his gray uniform and cowboy boots, he didn’t bother to remove his hat when he entered the restaurant. Nick watched the hostess pick up a menu and lead the sheriff up the stairs.

"Brenner’s the local talent, isn’t he?" Noah asked.

"It looks that way," Nick said.

"What do you mean,’the local talent’?" Tommy asked.

"The guy who tries to run the town. The bully," Noah explained. "There’s always at least one in every town this size."

"Then that’s what Brenner is," Tommy said. "He is trying to run the town, and my sister is the only person here who’s willing to stand up to him." He noticed Laurant was admiring her ring and smiled. "I wouldn’t get too attached to that ring, Laurant."

"I’m putting on a show, Tommy," she whispered. "But the ring is lovely, isn’t it? I had no idea Russell’s carried so many beautiful things." She began to wonder what it would be like to be married to Nick. To know that when she woke up every morning, he would be there? To be loved by-

"What kind of return policy does the store have?" Tommy asked, practical to the bone.

She put her hand back in her lap. "It’s usually ten days, but Mrs. Russell is making an exception for me. She’s giving me thirty days. Do you know what she said to me? ‘Because of your sorry history with men, dear, I’ll allow you a whole month to change your mind.’"

Tommy laughed. "My sister’s got quite a reputation in town for scaring men away."

"Thanks to all the lies Lorna prints in the paper about me."

"Be honest, Laurant. You do scare men, and just for the record, I think that’s just fine. It keeps the creeps from hounding you."

Tommy glanced over his shoulder once again when he heard a commotion behind him. Then he smiled.

"That’s Frank Hamilton. He’s the high school football coach, and those other two are assistants. They’ve all been dying to meet you, Nick. Come on. Let’s say hello before they head upstairs."

"How do they know Nick?" Laurant asked.

"The football tape the sports channel runs a couple of times a year."

"Ah, hell," Nick muttered. He tossed the napkin on the table and followed Tommy out of the room.

"Nick’s never going to live that game down, and he hates all the fanfare."

"What exactly happened during the game?"

"You never saw the tape?"

She shook her head. "No, and Tommy’s never mentioned it."

"Nick scored the winning touchdown."

"That’s nice."

Noah laughed. "There’s a little more to it than that. Nick caught the short pass, then zigzagged his way through the defense, which he was real good at doing. He could turn on a dime, and that’s why he got the nickname Cutter," he explained. "Anyway, his head was turned and he was looking up at the top of this cement wall. When you see the tape, you hear the announcer asking, ‘What’s number eighty-two looking at?’ That was Nick’s number," he added. "So then, while the one camera was focused on Nick, there was another camera searching the stands to see what had grabbed his interest, and after the game was over, they spliced those two tapes together."

He paused to take a drink of water before continuing. "There was this guy leaning over the cement wall. Turns out he was real drunk, and he was shouting like all the other fans, holding a beer in on hand, and a little kid in the other. He had the toddler sitting on the ledge. Can you believe how stupid that was?" he asked. "But like I said, he was drunk."

"Did he drop the baby?"

"He sure did, but Nick had been watching. He told me later that when he was running, he saw the man grab at the kid once, but he didn’t pull him back. He just kind of hung on to him and let him dangle half off the wall. Nick was running like there was no tomorrow at this point, and he didn’t have anyone on his tail. He scored the touchdown but kept on running as he was turning. He thought he’d stand under that wall until someone made the father remove the kid, but when he was about ten feet away, the guy lost his grip and the kid came flying down. The fall would have killed him. Nick caught him, and honest to God, it was a beautiful thing to see."

The story astounded her. She thought of a hundred questions to ask, but Noah turned her attention when he said, "After the game, Nick was suspended."

"What?"

"It’s true," he insisted. "After the game was over, the father came into the locker room with the cameramen. He was still drunk, of course, and some of the guys told me he was loving the attention he was getting. Anyway, he wanted to thank Nick for saving his kid, but Nick came around the corner, saw him, and hauled off and decked him. He knocked him out."

"And that’s why he was suspended."

"Yeah, but it didn’t last. The public outcry swayed the coach, who probably really didn’t want to suspend Nick anyway. I could understand where Nick was coming from. He didn’t want to hear any excuses from the drunk."

The waiter appeared and placed a basket of rolls between them. Noah grabbed one as he said, "Okay, it’s your turn. You tell me something."

"What would you like to know?"

"How come Tommy lived with Nick’s family while he was growing up?"

"My father was opening an office in Boston and had come over to set up a house, and he’d brought Tommy along so that he could get registered at school and start a new term. I was just a baby then, and I stayed with Mother. She was going to finish packing and follow Father. But then everything changed. Father was killed in a car crash, and for a while, Tommy was left in the care of the housekeeper. Mother couldn’t cope with the loss. Tommy was only supposed to stay in Boston until the school year ended, and Mother was supposed to fly over and stay with him until then, but she wasn’t stable enough to go anywhere. Grandfather told me she was drinking heavily and taking pills. Some of the pills were to help her sleep, and some were to help her wake up. She died of an overdose."

"Suicide?"

"I think so, yes. Grandfather said it was a combination of alcohol and sleeping pills. He wanted to believe it was an accident."

"That’s a deadly combination."

She nodded. "After she died, Grandfather was stuck with Tommy and me. He wanted to do the right thing, and he knew Tommy was happy in Boston. Judge Buchanan called him out of the blue and suggested that Tommy live with his family until things settled down. Nick and Tommy had become best friends, and Tommy spent most of his time with the family anyway. The judge can be very persuasive. Like Mother, Grandfather thought it would be for a little while, but then he died."

"And Tommy got to stay where he was."

"Yes."

"What about you?"

She lifted her shoulders. "I was placed in a boarding school. After I graduated from university, I went to Paris for a year to study art, then I came to the United States and took a job in Chicago. I lived there for nine months, and then I moved to Holy Oaks. Nothing razzle-dazzle about my background."

"You were left out in the cold, weren’t you? Tommy had this big family to call his own, but you didn’t have anyone."

"I was happy."

"You couldn’t have been happy."

"Here they come," she said. "I don’t want to talk about this any-more. All right?"

"Sure."

Nick was chuckling as he sat down. "What’s so funny?" Noah asked.

He looked at Laurant before he answered. "The men in town have given Laurant a nickname."

"Yeah? So what do they call her?" Noah asked.

"Ice Woman, or just plain Ice," Tommy said.

All three of them laughed, but Laurant wasn’t amused. "You’re a blabbermouth, Tommy."

"Hey, he asked."

She gave her brother a look that told him she was going to give him hell later. Then Nick drew her attention when he leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. "You sure don’t kiss like ice."

The waiter appeared to take their orders, but as soon as he left, the men took turns teasing her. Finally, when she had had enough, she took the upper hand.

"I heard Penn State is going to have a real bad football season. They lost their star quarterback."

She hadn’t heard any such thing, of course, but that didn’t matter. As soon as she said the word football, their minds clicked into sports mode. It was as easy as getting a baby to eat candy. She leaned back in her chair and smiled complacently.

Nick and Tommy had played ball for Penn State, and Noah, as it turned out, had been a running back for Michigan State, so each one of them believed he was the authority. During dinner they argued about draft choices and pretty much ignored her. She couldn’t have been happier.

On their way out of the restaurant, a family of six called Tommy over to their table. Noah stayed with him, and Nick and Laurant went on outside.

Lonnie was waiting for them. His Chevy Nova careened into the narking lot as Nick and Laurant were heading toward their car. The Chevy came to a screeching halt in the center of the lot, just a few feet from them. Nick pushed Laurant between two cars, then got in front of her, waiting to see what the driver was going to do.

Lonnie wasn’t alone. There were three others in the car with him, all from the nearby town of Nugent, and all with juvenile records. Whenever Lonnie had an important job to do for Steve Brenner, he made sure his friends were included. He gave them only a pittance of the money Steve paid, but they were too stupid to think that he might be screwing them out of their fair share. Besides, they were in it for the fun, not the cash, and Lonnie had another reason for involving them. If things went bad, they’d take the rap. His good-for-nothing father would have to let him go. How would it look if the sheriff’s son were tossed in jail? Being a big man around town meant everything to him, and Lonnie figured he could get away with murder as long as he was careful.

Steve had told Lonnie that Laurant and her boyfriend were driving an Explorer, and they were standing next to a new, red Ford Explorer. Steve hadn’t told him anything about Nick, just that he was claiming to be Laurant’s fiance. Since Steve planned to marry Laurant, Lonnie needed to put the fear of God into Nick. "Run him out of town," Steve had ordered, and Lonnie, salivating over the wad of cash Steve dangled in front of him, promised to do just that.

"That’s the sheriff’s son, Lonnie," Laurant whispered. "What’s he up to?"

"Looks like we’re going to find out real soon," he whispered back. Then he shouted, "Hey, kid, move your car."

Lonnie left the motor running as he opened the door and jumped out. He was tall and gangly, his complexion marred by acne scars. His thin lips disappeared inside his sneer, and his hair hung down in his face in long, oily strands. Nick judged him to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.

This one was already a lost cause. He could see it in his eyes.

"Let’s start with the car," Lonnie told his friends. "Trash it." He pulled his switchblade knife out of his back pocket. Snickering, he boasted to his friends, "I’m going to scare the shit out of Mr. Big City. Watch and learn." He flipped the dirty blade open as he slowly advanced. "Laura, you’re gonna be riding home with us, ‘cause your boyfriend’s car’s going to be a piece of shit by the time I get finished with it."

Nick laughed. It wasn’t the response Lonnie had anticipated. "What’s so damned funny?"

"You," Nick answered. He spotted Noah shoving Tommy behind him as he rushed down the stairs toward them. He called out to him. "Hey, Noah, the local thug wants to trash the new car."

"But that’s…’," Tommy began.

"Sure it is," Nick interrupted.

"Lonnie, what do you think you’re doing? Put that knife away," Tommy ordered.

"I got some business with Laura," Lonnie said. "You and the other priest go on inside."

"Is this guy stupid or what?" Noah asked incredulously.

"I’m thinking he must be," Nick drawled as he reached inside his jacket and flipped the snap holding his gun in place.

Furious that he was being mocked in front of his friends, Lonnie lunged forward and thrust the knife into the left front tire. Then he stabbed it again, smiling when he heard the hiss of air.

"Still think I’m stupid?"

"Thank the Lord we have a spare," Noah called out. He was busy keeping Tommy behind him and trying to watch the morons at the same time.

Lonnie reacted just the way Noah hoped. He sliced the other tire. His friends hooted with laughter, and that only encouraged him. He carved a jagged line in the grille, then did the same to the hood.

Then he stepped back to survey his handiwork. "Now how are you going to get home?" he taunted.

Nick shrugged. "I figured I’d drive my car."

"With two flat tires?"

Nick smiled. "This isn’t my car."

Lonnie blinked. Nick took a step toward him as he called out, "Noah, maybe you ought to go inside and get the sheriff. He’ll want to know his kid’s been messing with his car."

"Shit!" Lonnie shouted.

"Drop the knife. Do it now," he ordered. "Don’t make this any worse than it already is. You’ve destroyed private property, and threatening a federal-"

He was about to tell Lonnie he was an FBI agent but wasn’t given the chance.

"Nobody makes a fool out of me," Lonnie hissed.

"You did that all by yourself," Nick countered. "Now drop the knife. This is your last warning."

Lonnie lunged, shouting, "I’m going to cut you up into pieces, you asshole."

The boast was empty. "Yeah, right," Nick said as he kneed Lonnie, then snatched the knife and tossed it to the ground. He slammed him into the car, setting off the alarm.

It happened so fast, Laurant didn’t have time to blink. Lonnie was doubling over, screaming in agony. She saw the knife and stepped back so she could kick it under the car.

The second the alarm went off, Lonnie’s buddies scrambled to their car and piled in. Nick let go of Lonnie and watched him collapse.

"You asshole. I’m going to-"

"Oh, look. Here comes Daddy," Nick said cheerfully.

The sheriff was running down the stairs, his big stomach jiggling up and down. In the meantime, the three boys in the car were all frantically trying to find the keys. Noah strolled over to the driver’s side and said, "Looking for these?"

"We didn’t do nothing. It was all Lonnie’s idea."

"Shut up, Ricky," the boy in the backseat shouted.

"Get out of the car," Noah ordered. "Nice and easy, and keep your hands where I can see them." He didn’t want to blow his cover but he had his hand in his jacket on the butt of his Glock just in case one of them pulled a gun on him.

The sheriff looked like he wanted to cry. "My new car? Look at my new car. Did you do this, boy? Did you?"

Lonnie struggled to his feet. "No," he sneered. "That asshole did it," he added, pointing to Nick. "And he kicked me in my knee too."

"I was going to tell you I bought myself a new car," the sheriff continued, as though he hadn’t heard a word Lonnie had said. "I was going to tell you. I was going to let you drive it too." He trailed his hand along the deep scratches in the hood, his eyes misty. "It wasn’t even perfect for one whole day. I just picked it up."

"I’m telling you, the asshole did it," Lonnie said again.

"The kid needs some work on his vocabulary," Noah said.

"Are you going to believe me or not?" Lonnie shouted at his father. "I’m telling you for the last time, he cut your tires and scratched the paint."

Laurant was incensed. She pushed past Nick to face the sheriff. "I know he’s your son and that this is difficult for you, but you are the sheriff, and you have to do your job. Lonnie’s lying. He did the damage. He thought your new car belonged to my fiance. Like it or not, you’re going to have to arrest him."

Lloyd put his hands up. "Slow down, Laura. No reason to be hasty. It’s my car and I’ll make sure my boy pays the consequences if he did the damage, but he’s saying your boyfriend-"

Laurant cut him off. She was so angry, she was sputtering. "He’s lying," she repeated. "There are four witnesses. My brother, Father Clayborne, Nick, and me. You have to arrest him."

"Well, now, the way I see it, that’s four against four, ‘cause I’m sure Lonnie’s friends are going to back him up, and I don’t have any reason at all not to believe them."

"Lonnie threatened us with a knife."

Looking past Laurant to Nick, the sheriff demanded, "You’d best get your woman under control. I’m not going to put up with her yapping at me. Now you just back away, Laura, and hold your tongue."

Laurant couldn’t believe the sheriff was talking to her as though she were a naughty child. "Hold my tongue? I don’t think so," she said. "Do something," she demanded.

The sheriff glared at her. "I am going to do something," he announced. "You there," he muttered, pointing to Nick. "I want to see some identification, and I want to see it now."

Laurant’s temper exploded. She turned to Tommy and spoke in rapid French, telling him what an incompetent fool she thought the sheriff was. In fluent French, Nick told her to calm down.

The sheriff’s hands were balled into fists, and he kept glancing at his son. He wanted to kick some sense into the boy, and it took a good deal of discipline to control his fury. Besides, if he did give in to his temper, there was a good chance that Lonnie would strike back and beat the crap out of him. Lonnie had done it before, and Lloyd knew he would do it again.

"I said I want to see some identification."

"No problem," Nick replied as he pulled out his badge and flipped it open. "Nicholas Buchanan, Sheriff. FBI."

"Ah shit," the sheriff moaned.

"You’re going to have to lock him up. I’ll come by tomorrow and fill out the paperwork."

"What paperwork, Mr. FBI agent? It was my car that got damaged. Lonnie, stop your snickering or I swear I’ll backhand you."

Noah came up behind the sheriff. "I’m not real familiar with the law, being a priest and all," he said, "but it seems to me that a crime was committed here by your son. Lonnie threatened an FBI agent with a knife, and that’s some land of a crime, isn’t it?"

"Well now, maybe it is and maybe it isn’t," the sheriff hedged "I don’t see a knife, so what you’re claiming might just be fabrication Do you see my dilemma?"

"The knife’s under the car," Noah told him.

Trying to buy some time while he figured out what he was going to do, the sheriff muttered, "How’d it get under the car?"

"I kicked it there," Laurant said.

"What were you doing with a knife?"

"Oh, for the love of…" she began.

The sheriff took his hat off and scratched his head. "Now here’s what I’m going to do. You all go on home now and let me deal with this. You can come on by the office tomorrow, but you call me first," he told Nick. "I’ll have it all sorted out by then. Go on home now."

Laurant was so furious she was shaking. Without a word, she turned her back on the sheriff and walked to Nick’s car, her high heels clicking hard on the pavement.

Nick could hear her muttering under her breath. As he opened the passenger door for her, he took hold of her hand. "Are you all right? You’re trembling. You weren’t scared, were you? I wouldn’t have let anything happen to you. You do know that, don’t you?"

"Yes," she said. "I’m just angry, that’s all. The sheriff isn’t going to do anything about Lonnie. He certainly won’t arrest him. You just wait and see."

"You are angry."

"He had a knife," she cried out. "He could have hurt you."

Nick was taken aback. "You were worried about me?"

Tommy and Noah were getting into the backseat, and she didn’t want them to hear her. "Of course I was worried about you. Now will you stop grinning like an idiot and get in the car? I want to go home."

He wanted to kiss her, but he settled on squeezing her hand instead. It was a sorry substitute.

"Sheriff," Nick called out as he walked around to the driver’s side. "I’m going to want to talk to your son tomorrow."

Tommy was craning his neck to look out the back window when Nick drove the car out of the parking lot. He could see the sheriff arguing with Lonnie.

"You don’t think Lonnie could be the guy who’s stalking Laurant, do you?"

"We’re going to check him out," Nick answered. "But I don’t think he’s the man we’re after. Lonnie doesn’t strike me as real intelligent."

"The kid’s a moron," Noah said.

"Yeah, well, you did your part to spur him on," Nick said.

"How’d I do that?" he asked innocently.

"Thank the Lord we’ve got a spare? Isn’t that what you said to Lonnie after he cut the first tire?"

"Maybe," Noah allowed. "I wanted to keep him busy so he’d leave you and Laurant alone."

"Is that right? I figured you wanted to see how far he’d go."

Noah shrugged while he tugged on his stiff collar. It was chafing his neck. "This thing feels like a noose," he told Tommy.

"Nick, were there any agents at the restaurant? And if there were, why didn’t one of them come forward to help?" Laurant asked.

"It was under control," Nick answered.

"Wesson ordered me to let Tommy hear confession," Noah told Nick.

"Pete doesn’t want him to," Nick responded. "It’s a bad idea."

"That’s what I told him."

From Noah’s tone of voice, Laurant knew he didn’t like Wesson any more than Nick did. She turned in her seat to ask him why.

Nick pressed his thumb against the disc so Wesson couldn’t listen in.

Noah noticed what he was doing. "You don’t have to do that I want Wesson to hear me. For the record, I think he’s a glory seeker and power hungry. He doesn’t give a damn who he steps on to get to the top, including Morganstern."

Noah was on a roll and wasn’t going to stop until he’d spilled all of his pent-up frustration with the man running the operation. "He sure isn’t a team player," he added. "But then neither am I. Still I avoid publicity just as much as you do, but Wesson goes looking for it. Remember the Stark case?" he asked, and before Nick could answer, he added, "Of course you do. You have to kill someone… you don’t forget that. Not ever."

"What about the Stark case?" Nick asked, looking in the rearview mirror at Noah.

"I’ll bet you were surprised when you opened your newspaper a couple of days later and read that human interest story about you saving that kid. Didn’t you think it was damn odd that the reporter wrote all that stuff about you, your family, and your best friend, Tom?"

"You’re saying that Wesson leaked the story?" Nick asked. He was getting mad just thinking about the possibility.

"Hell, yes, I’m saying it," he replied. "You did notice Wesson’s name was splattered all over that article, didn’t you? If I could get that reporter alone in a room for a couple of minutes, I could prove it too."

"Why would Wesson do it?" Laurant asked. "What does he have to gain?"

"He’s got a grudge. Plus, he wants to run the Apostles," Noah said. "That’s always been his goal, and I think he figures the more publicity he can get for himself, the better his chances will be. I’m telling you, Nick, as soon as Morganstern retires or accepts a promotion, Wesson’s going to move in. When that day comes, you’d be smart to get out."

Nick pulled the car into the parking lot behind the abbey and stopped.

"Let’s just concentrate on our jobs for now. Get some rest, Tommy You look worn-out."

"See you tomorrow at the picnic," Tommy said. He reached over the seat and squeezed Laurant’s shoulder. "You still doing okay?"

"I’m fine. Good night, Tommy."

Noah climbed over the seat and got out on Tommy’s side. Leaning back in, he said, "Nighty-night, Icy"