“There was a ledge on the cliff. All the older kids would jump off it into the water. Lisa went off it a dozen times. It was late in the day and she had climbed up one last time. She had teased and taunted and even tried to drag me with her, but I was too scared. Kyle begged to do it and mom finally relented.”
Cindy took a deep breath. “She told me to take him up the path on the cliff and make sure he didn’t slip.”
Her voice was shaking now and there was nothing she could do about it. Memories that she had kept tightly locked up for so long were flooding through her. They were so sharp and clear. It was as though she could feel the sun on her skin again, smell the pine trees, hear the sound of the river where it entered the swimming hole.
“I walked up there with Kyle. It seemed so dumb since he was more sure-footed than I was. I didn’t know if mom babied him because he was the youngest or the only boy or because he was so much smaller than we were at that point. Every step closer to the ledge he got more excited while I got more terrified. We finally got there and Lisa rolled her eyes and told us were slow. She was smiling, though.
“We looked down and it seemed such a long way. I turned to walk down the path and Kyle got scared all of a sudden. He decided to walk back down with me instead of jump. Lisa got frustrated. She told him he was being a baby and there was nothing to be afraid of. She kept telling us how fun it was, better than a roller coaster and that we’d feel so free while we were falling.
“And Kyle wanted to go so bad, but he was scared. And Lisa kept telling him there was nothing to be afraid of. She grabbed both our hands and pulled us back to the edge. She was standing in the middle. I told her if she knocked me off I wouldn’t forgive her. She was so sure I’d like it as much as she did that she finally promised that if I hated it that she’d never badger or bully me into doing anything else I didn’t want to.
“And that’s when I said yes. Right before we jumped she switched positions, telling Kyle that I needed to be in the middle since I was the middle child and I was the chicken. She told us to let go of each other’s hands and we did. She counted to three. We jumped.”
Cindy closed her eyes, the memories overwhelming her. “We fell and it was terrible, it was so scary, but it was like flying in some ways. I hit the water and went under. When I came up there was this rush of adrenalin. I had done it. And I was determined never to let her nag me about anything again. I turned and saw Kyle and he laughed and cheered and said how great it was. He high-fived me. And then…” she stammered, not wanting to keep going, but knowing she had to. “Then we realized we couldn’t see Lisa. At first we thought she was showing off, holding her breath longer than us or something. Then, we started screaming. We put our faces in the water, but it was murky and we couldn’t see well.
“Dad came racing into the water, shouting. He dove down next to us and when he came back up he had Lisa. She… she was dead. She’d hit a submerged rock and broken her neck. I looked at her face and she wasn’t there anymore. Lisa was gone. I knew she was dead in that moment.
“Dad got her to the shore and mom just kept screaming. All these people came running. There was a doctor on vacation with his family… and there was nothing to be done.”
Anger welled up in her, nearly blindsiding her. “She kept telling us it was safe, and it was a lie. She kept saying that nothing bad would happen. Well, it did, and we were the ones who had to deal with it. I became terrified of my own shadow. Kyle became totally reckless. Mom went crazy. And Dad just got real quiet and tried to keep us all together.”
She started sobbing. She felt Traci wrap her arms around her. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered. Cindy nodded.
“And it wasn’t fair what she put you through,” Traci said. “And it’s terrible that your mom would ever put any of that on you, no matter how crazy she is.”
“Thank you,” Cindy managed to choke out.
“She was the bad sister, not you.”
Her words penetrated Cindy’s haze of pain and she looked at Traci. “You’re a great sister, you know that, right? Not just to Amber and Lizzie but to Geanie and me, too.”
“Thank you,” Traci said, tears sliding down her own cheeks.
“And Amber might have seen Chuck Norris in the airport, but you beat up Kyle Preston.”
“I think I need that on a T-shirt. I beat up Kyle Preston.”
They both started to giggle.
“You might start a trend,” Cindy said.
“We could sell the T-shirts. Probably make a small fortune.”
“Lots of people probably want to take a swing at my brother.”
“You have, as I recall.”
“It was the PTSD.”
“That’s bull. You’d been wanting to hit him for years.”
“You’re right. Get me a T-shirt.”
“I think the whole bridal party should have them,” Traci said. “I’m sure Geanie and Mark would like their shot at him. I don’t know about Joseph, he seems like he’d just punch him in the shoulder.”
“See, the whole bridal party can’t have one because then Jeremiah would have to have one,” Cindy said.
“I’d pay money to see Jeremiah beat the crap out of him,” Traci said.
“Traci!”
“What?”
“That’s not good for Jeremiah!”
There was a pause and then they both started laughing harder.
“Forget Kyle! We can’t put Jeremiah through the stress of having to whoop him,” Traci said, grabbing her sides.
“You are insane!” Cindy said.
“I have to be. I’m married to Mark!”
Cindy was crying again, only this time from laughter. “That explains so much!”
“You’re one to judge, you’re marrying a man who probably thinks a set of throwing knives is a perfectly acceptable wedding present.”
“How do you even know they come in sets?” Cindy asked.
“Are you kidding? That’s what we bought you guys!” Traci roared. “Surprise!”
Cindy’s sides ached and she felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. “Stop! You’re killing me!”
Traci started snort laughing and waving her hands in the air uncontrollably.
“What?”
“Before you go on the honeymoon, remind him that either of you saying that is a bad thing!”
“Traci!” Cindy exclaimed, turning bright red even as she continued laughing.
“Oh, I’m going to get you some fun presents for the bridal shower,” Traci threatened.
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Don’t bet on it.”
“But, there will be other people there.”
“Maybe if you’re lucky I’ll save those for the bachelorette party.”
“Oh, dear heavens,” Cindy said. “You are not planning that.”
“No, but Geanie and I have been talking.”
“What?”
“It’s going to be epic. Because if anyone deserves epic, it’s you.”
“Fine, just no skydiving or rock climbing or crazy crap like that.”
Traci instantly stopped laughing. “I would never do that to you,” she said fiercely. “Given what you told me, I’d never even joke about it.”
Cindy blinked, trying to keep up with the switch in tone. “Thank you,” she said.
“Always. I will never do anything to hurt you,” Traci said. “You are like a sister to me.”
“You are, and you’re better than the one I lost,” Cindy said. The fact that she could say that and not feel guilt was like a burden lifting from her. For the first time since that terrible day she actually felt free. “Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Traci said.
Cindy smiled. “Now, what is it I can do to help you?”
Traci nodded resolutely, and Cindy could tell that whatever she was about to say was hard for her.
Traci took a deep br
eath and blurted out, “I want you to help me be a Christian.”
5
“Wait! What did you just say?” Cindy asked.
“You heard me,” Traci said.
“You want to be a Christian?”
“I don’t know what to call it. I just want what you and Geanie have. When I pray with you guys I feel something and I know that God is real and that somehow there’s this whole big universe that I’ve closed my mind to and I’ve been missing out.”
“Wow, okay, yes, absolutely,” Cindy said, still stunned and doing her best to recover. “It’s just about having a relationship with God and accepting that Christ died for your sins.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy,” Cindy said.
“I just don’t understand it all. I wasn’t raised in a church and my understanding of all that pretty much came from the Charlie Brown Christmas special. I don’t know what to do or how I’ll be able to measure up.”
Cindy grabbed Traci’s hands. “It’s not about measuring up. In fact, it’s actually the exact opposite. It’s admitting that you need help. God’s help.”
“A cop husband, rambunctious twins, and friends who keep getting into danger? I need all the help I can get,” Traci said fervently.
“Yes, yes you do,” Cindy said, unable to contain a slight smirk.
Traci hit her playfully in the arm. “It’s not funny!”
“It actually is,” Cindy said.
Traci giggled. “Okay, maybe a little bit.”
They both laughed for a few seconds.
“Okay, what do I do?” Traci asked.
“You just pray and ask God to forgive you and say that you accept Christ as your Savior.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah. It can take fifteen seconds or fifteen minutes. Whatever you need to feel like you’ve said what you needed to say.”
“It seems too simple. It doesn’t make sense.”
Cindy knew that some people had difficulties with the simplicity of it. She herself had been a child when she accepted Jesus and she thought it was easier for children to accept it on faith. She thought for a moment about how she could help Traci. A sudden idea came to her and she went and got a cute little bejeweled notebook from her purse. She’d found it at a store a couple of days before and hadn’t made up her mind yet who she was going to give it to as a present. The word Believe was written on it in sparkly jewels.
She sat back down and handed the notebook to Traci. “I’m giving this to you as a present.”
Traci’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, it’s so pretty! Thank you!” she said, as she reached to take it.
Cindy held on and didn’t let go when Traci grabbed it. “Do you accept this gift from me?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
Cindy nodded and relinquished the notebook.
Traci ran her finger over the letters of Believe.
“You can accept a present from me and it’s a simple thing. Accepting Jesus’ present to you is just as simple and straightforward.”
Tears sprang to Traci’s eyes. “Oh.”
“It’s not about what you do. It’s about what He did. You just have to accept the gift.”
“But what does He want in return?” Traci asked.
“What do you think I want in return for the book?”
“Nothing, because you care about me.”
“Exactly.”
“But I want to give you something, and God,” Traci said.
“Friendship is the best gift there is,” Cindy countered. “You’ve already given me that. And I expect us to still be friends, to talk, hang out, help each other.”
“So, you’re saying what I can do for God is to spend time with Him?”
“Yes, but because you want to, not because He’s making you.”
Traci sucked in her breath. “I get it,” she said, her voice filling with awe.
“I’m so glad,” Cindy said, grabbing Traci’s free hand and squeezing it.
Traci lowered her head. “God, hi, it’s Traci. I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done, including ignoring you. Please forgive me. Jesus, I accept your gift of salvation. Thank you.”
“Amen,” Cindy said after a few seconds.
“Amen,” Traci whispered.
Cindy opened her eyes and saw that Traci was shaking. She reached out and hugged her and soon they were both crying and laughing.
~
Mark walked into Jeremiah’s office and shut the door behind him. Jeremiah sighed as he leaned back in his chair and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly seven. He and Marie were both working late to help figure out how they were going to accommodate the guest synagogue and make sure that everyone had their own space for the holiday. He had even toyed with the idea of their own people using some of First Shepherd’s spaces since the visitors refused to step foot on the church campus. Marie, apparently, had thought of that before he did and discovered that the church was already playing host to a different synagogue. From Mark’s appearance, it looked like the day was just going to get crazier.
“I take it this isn’t a social visit?” Jeremiah asked.
“No, it isn’t,” Mark said tersely.
“You’re not here to tell me I’m in trouble again, are you?”
“Not with the department.”
“Well, at least that’s something.”
Something was clearly under the detective’s skin. He paced the floor for several seconds before finally sitting down in the chair across from Jeremiah. Mark loosened his tie after sitting.
“I heard you and Cindy had some excitement earlier.”
“Yeah, I’m sure she told Traci the rabbi was pretty tough on us. The guy rubbed me the wrong way, but it doesn’t mean he didn’t make some valid points.”
Mark stared at him like he was crazy. “I’m talking about the fire.”
“Oh, that,” Jeremiah said with a frown.
“‘Oh, that,’ he says like it’s no big deal.”
“It wasn’t. There was a fire in a dumpster.”
“Which necessitated you and Cindy getting half naked in the parking lot.”
Jeremiah scowled. “We were not half naked.”
“That’s not the point. The point is that there was a fire.”
Jeremiah was surprised that Mark was dropping it. Usually the detective enjoyed teasing him about that sort of thing, particularly so the last few months.
“What’s going on?” Jeremiah asked, eyes narrowing.
Mark sighed. “I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure that it wasn’t just random accident. But, a pattern has begun to emerge of unexplained fires at synagogues.”
“Like the one at Rabbi Yaakov’s synagogue last spring?”
“Yes. There were a couple in Los Angeles before that and now there have been two more since then around here. Three, actually, counting what happened today.”
“And you were going to tell me when exactly?”
Mark huffed. “Like I said, I wanted to be sure that it wasn’t just coincidence.”
“And you’re sure now?”
“Pretty sure.”
There was a knock on the door. Marie opened it before Jeremiah could say anything and poked her head in. “I’m heading out,” she said. “Are you okay to lock the office and the gate to the parking lot when you’re done?”
“Yes, I can do that, thank you.”
She nodded and shut the door.
“Did she really just ask you if you were capable of working a key?” Mark asked.
Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t like leaving things for other people to do.”
“So, she has trust issues.”
“More like control issues, but can we get back to the topic at hand?”
“Sure.”
“You’re telling me that six synagogues have been set on fire?”
�
�Yes. Four of them burned down completely. Rabbi Yaakov’s only partially burned and then the one you were at with Cindy escaped with only damage to a dumpster.”
“An arsonist is going after synagogues. Any possible connection between those six?”
“Not as far as we can tell. They’re not even the same type. Two were orthodox, three were reformed, and today’s is, what do they call it?”
“Messianic,” Jeremiah said.
“Yeah, that. I don’t pretend to understand the differences, but there you have it.”
Jeremiah could feel a headache coming on and he rubbed his temples. “Have any churches or mosques been targeted?”
“No, just synagogues.”
Jeremiah cursed under his breath in Hebrew.
~
“I don’t know what you said, but I agree with you,” Mark told Jeremiah
“What’s being done?”
“I know there’s talk of sending out some kind of official warning, but no one is really wanting to bring undue attention to this.”
“Sure, because it’s only Jews being affected, so why cause a fuss?” Jeremiah snapped.
Mark was taken aback. “No, no one’s saying that.”
“They don’t have to. It goes unsaid. As long as the bad guys focus on the Jews and not everyone else nobody speaks up.”
“This is not 1930s Germany,” Mark said.
“What would you know? We have been fighting all our lives, you know that? There’s not a child in Israel that doesn’t know that he’s hated because of his religion, his race. You know that every month there are rockets fired at Israel? In one day in May alone there were 250 rockets fired into my country.”
Mark had clearly struck a nerve and now Jeremiah was scaring him. At the same time his brain was scrambling to understand the scope of the horror the rabbi was describing. 250 rockets in a single day. It was staggering. “I didn’t know that,” Mark said, trying to keep his voice steady.
“Of course not. You know why? No one cares. Oh, the Palestinians and the Israelis are squabbling again. That’s how much weight everyone gives it, like we’re just two cantankerous old relatives who harp on each other during a holiday feast.”
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