by Donna Raider
They finished their dance, then carried their drinks into the restaurant and sat down at their table. “Carlie tells me she was forced to pull the archbishop’s security detail today.” Leah placed her hand on Mika’s thigh and began to move it slowly up and down her leg. “She’s really upset. After the murders in Iran, she begged her captain to give her another week. She got nowhere.”
Mika caught her hand and held it still. “Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” she purred.
“Then keep that hand still.” Mika smiled, holding her hand in place. “I keep hoping the Vatican will recall Pelosi. Heaven forbid we’re stuck with him in New York.
“We wrap up the conference tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll leave soon.”
“Do you want us there for your closing arguments?” she asked.
“No, but I appreciate the offer of support.”
“Did you know the bishops that were assassinated in Tehran?” Leah frowned.
“I met them while I was waiting to see the Pope.” Mika nodded. “Nasty business. Their names were on the list of clergies plotting against the Pope.”
“I remember.” Leah wrinkled her brow.
##
Mika frowned as she listened to Pelosi’s closing arguments for celibacy. She hoped today’s vote would end the conference. She desperately needed a vacation with her wife.
“Priest Mika Cross, you will now present your closing arguments against celibacy.” The leader of the procedural panel started the timer.
“In the beginning, God created a man,” Mika said slowly. “He made him master over all the Earth and all living creatures.
“Adam had everything. The Garden of Eden provided for all his needs. There was food, water, and all kinds of creatures for Adam’s entertainment, but Adam was lonely. When our God created the earth, He was striving for perfection. He made Adam in His own image. He withheld two things from him: the knowledge of good and evil and eternal life.
God wanted Adam to be innocent. He didn’t want him to be burdened with the knowledge of good and evil.” The young priest spoke as if she had personal knowledge of God’s thoughts.
“God wanted his creation to love Him. To love Him enough to obey Him, but God also wanted him to do this of his own free will, so He placed the tree of knowledge in the garden.
“Adam was lonely. God had made no creatures like man. Adam had no one to share or discuss things with. So, God made a woman. He didn’t want Adam to be lonely. He didn’t make Adam a dozen women or even two women. He made him one woman.
“From the very beginning, God intended for man to have a woman. It’s that simple.”
“After God created man and woman, He gave us the Ten Commandments to guide us to heaven. The Commandments say nothing about celibacy. The only direction they give us relating to sex is the seventh commandment, ‘Thou shall not commit adultery.’
“Ninety percent of my parishioners come to me for marital guidance. Thank God I understand what they are going through.
“My wife had an adopted son. She and I dated for two years before getting married. During that time, her teenage son came to me for guidance about sex. The information I gave him was so far off base, it was unbelievable. I couldn’t successfully counsel him because I knew nothing about the subject. After I married his mother, I had an entirely different perspective. He and I revisited our sex talk.
“Being married has given me insight into the joys and problems of marriage. I know what it is to love someone so much, they can make you happy or miserable. I understand jealousy. I understand needs and desires. I understand sharing and putting someone else above my own needs. I understand how important it is for a couple to share mutual goals.
“If you have no knowledge of love, devotion, and sexual intimacy, how can you counsel others on these subjects? Believe me, there are no books anywhere that can give you the in-depth understanding of the things needed to help couples avoid the pitfalls of marriage.
“How can you instruct someone to fly a plane, if you’ve never been in a cockpit?
“We can better serve our parishioners if we are able to counsel them from our own personal experiences.”
The beautiful priest closed her Bible. “I want to thank all of you for taking the time needed to thoroughly discuss this subject that is so crucial to the future of our church.”
Mika took her seat and silently prayed as the procedural leader oversaw the final voting. The elderly priest scribbled numbers on a slip of paper and stepped to the microphone.
“The body has voted one hundred percent to remove celibacy as a requirement for priests.”
The celebration in the hall was deafening. Throngs of men and women gathered around Mika to thank her for her dedication and insight.
##
Watcher had rejected at least four of his plans to kill the archbishop. There were cameras all over the hotel, and Detective Carlyle’s men had installed two cameras that pointed directly at Pelosi’s door and down the hall. He had considered pushing the man from the balcony. He rather liked the thought of drowning him in the oversized bathtub. Smothering him with a pillow or staging a deadly fall wouldn’t work. All required him exiting the room around the time of death and being picked up by various security cameras in the hotel.
He thought of getting him onto his boat but decided that was too risky. The monstrous size of the man would certainly attract attention at the docks.
##
“I will drive you home,” Carlie insisted as they left the meeting with Stiles. “You are far too beautiful to be walking the streets of New York alone on a Friday night.”
“I’m not a street walker,” Leah teased. “I was going to take a cab. Mika suggested I invite you and Jennifer to join us for Mommy Movie Night.”
“What exactly is Mommy Movie Night?” Carlie laughed.
“That is the night we watch all the shows from the current season and vote on our favorites.” Leah smiled the genuinely happy smile that always materialized when she spoke of her family. “The two of you can join us for dinner at the Towers and then popcorn and the movies. Pick your favorite episode and see how you compare with the Emmy Awards.”
“Well, we don’t get an offer like that very often.” Carlie grinned. “I bet Jen would love to. Let me call her.”
Jennifer loved being around the Cross family and immediately agreed. “I’ll run home and change clothes, then catch a cab.”
The elevator opened, allowing them to enter the Cross’s suite. Beautiful piano music wafted throughout the penthouse. “Listen,” Leah whispered, “that’s Mika playing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.’”
Carlie wasn’t aware the woman played the piano.
“Can’t you just feel the softness of her touch as her hands float above the piano keys?” The actress closed her eyes, envisioning her wife’s hands as they moved, feeling them on her skin. The look of pure ecstasy on Leah’s face was too beautiful to behold. Carlie looked away. “Feel the strength of her hands as she plays the more forceful parts of the song, then the lighter touches, as she caresses the keys.” Carlie was certain the woman was imaging the feeling of Mika’s hands more than listening to the music.
The music ended. Thank heaven, Carlie thought, another minute of that and I am sure Leah would have had an orgas—”
“Darling, I didn’t hear you enter.” Mika strode across the room and leaned down to kiss her wife. “Carlie, I’m so glad you and Jennifer are joining us tonight.”
“I’m going to change into something more comfortable.” Leah stood on her tiptoes to kiss her wife.
You might want to take a cold shower, Carlie thought.
Mika poured a glass of wine for the detective and herself. “Any progress?” she asked, almost out of habit.
“No.” Carlie sipped the wine. “I’m sorry the captain made me pull the security unit. They need the men and the money elsewhere.”
“I understand.” Mika nodded. “I have made arr
angements for a new driver for the archbishop.”
“My guys hated driving for him,” Carlie snickered. “He’s a real bastard.”
“I know.” Mika frowned.
After the movie night, Leah accompanied Jennifer and Carlie to the lobby and bid them goodnight. She checked on each of her children on her way back to her apartment.
Mika had been unusually quiet during the evening. She had been content simply to hold her hand. She had missed Mika’s good-natured teasing and comments on the Marked for Murder shows.
As she entered their apartment, she saw her wife on the terrace. She was on her knees, praying. Leah silently went into their bedroom.
After what seemed like hours, Mika joined her in bed. Leah quickly moved into Mika’s arms. Mika kissed her as if her life depended on it.
Leah had been afraid to ask, but finally decided to tackle the elephant in the room. “What was the final vote today?”
“They voted to end celibacy.” Mika held her tighter.
“Are you okay?” She propped herself up on her elbow so she could see Mika’s face.
“I am, now that I’m with you.” Mika smiled as she lowered her lips to Leah’s.
##
Martin knocked then stepped into the archbishop’s office. “I’m back.” He smiled.
“I never thought I would say this, but I’ve missed you,” Pelosi grumbled. “Where have you been?”
“Vacation, sir.” Martin bowed low. “I’ve missed you too.”
The archbishop had hated the driver that had taken Martin’s place. He had been surly, never giving him the respect he deserved. He absolutely refused to buy Scotch for Pelosi.
“Vacation,” Pelosi huffed, as if vacations were wasted on the likes of Martin.
“Louisiana, sir.” Martin beamed. “Ah, Your Excellency, you must visit Louisiana. We have the most delicious food in the world. Have you ever eaten gumbo, sir?”
“Gum what?” Pelosi demanded.
“Chicken gumbo, sir.” Martin laughed. “It’s a delicious combination of okra, onions, celery, chicken, and Andouille sausage in a tomato base and all kinds of wonderful seasonings, served over rice. I know how you like seasoned foods. You would love it.”
“Take me where we can get some…what did you call it?”
“Gumbo,” Martin answered. “You can’t get it in New York,” he lied. “I know! I will have my wife make you some and bring it to you tomorrow for dinner. If you don’t like it, we can always go somewhere, or you can dine in the hotel dining room.”
“I would like that,” Pelosi said. Perhaps he had misjudged the gimpy-legged man. He might be good for something, after all. “Right now, I need you to take me to the hotel then get me a couple of bottles of my favorite Scotch.”
As he had promised, Martin brought the archbishop the chicken and sausage gumbo the next evening. As he had promised, it was delicious.
It had been over a week, and the archbishop found he was craving the gumbo. He told Martin to bring him some more of his wife’s home cooking. It would be a perfect meal for a Friday night alone.
##
Carlie was beginning to relax. It had been almost two weeks and the archbishop was safe. The driver Mika had assigned to him was the original one that had driven him since his arrival in New York. The driver seemed to be genuinely concerned for the archbishop’s safety. He picked him up every morning and delivered him safely to his suite every night.
Mika and Carlie had alerted the driver—Martin, she thought—to the danger that might be lurking for the archbishop. The man had been like a little child. He was so happy to be pulled into the world of police work and religious intrigue. Carlie smiled when she thought of his genuine excitement.
She thought of his emaciated, slightly stooped frame and gimpy leg and felt a slight moment of anguish as she realized the danger he might be in. He would be no match for a ruthless killer.
“Are you ready?” Leah joined her. “Mika and Jennifer are already at Vincent’s.”
“I am always ready to escort the most gorgeous woman in the world to dinner.” Carlie laughed. Although she knew she would never have a chance with the dark-eyed beauty, she wanted her to know she would always be available.
##
Martin puréed the shrimp then poured the sauce in a Styrofoam cup and secured the lid. He placed several pieces of shrimp into a Ziploc baggie. He was certain this would be the best gumbo the archbishop would ever eat.
On his way to pick up Pelosi, Martin stopped by a restaurant that specialized in southern cooking and picked up a dinner of chicken and Andouille sausage gumbo and rice. He emphasized that it should not contain shrimp or any type of seafood. “Please write that on the ticket so the cooks won’t miss it,” Martin insisted as the waiter took his order. He paid for it with the archbishop’s credit card. He keyed in the pin number so he didn’t have to sign the receipt. I must remember to put his card back into his wallet, he thought.
##
With one hand, Martin held the elevator door as the archbishop entered the elevator. In his other hand was the gumbo Pelosi had requested for dinner. Martin helped Pelosi remove his jacket and got the archbishop settled on the sofa. Martin poured him a large glass of Scotch and went into the kitchen to prepare the man’s dinner.
Martin refilled Pelosi’s glass with Scotch. “Do you want to dine at the table or here in front of the TV?” he asked as he turned the thermostat up as high as it would go. He knew the hot room would make it almost impossible to fix the time of death.
“In front of the TV,” Pelosi slurred. “Have you seen this lunacy in Iran? Two bishops assassinated. How could the Iranians let this happen?”
“It is truly a sorry state of affairs,” Martin agreed. “Your dinner will be ready in just a few minutes, Your Excellency.”
Pelosi grunted, took a deep swig of his Scotch, and waved Martin away as if he were a troublesome fly.
Martin placed Pelosi’s credit card and the receipt in the man’s wallet and placed it back inside the breast pocket of his jacket.
Martin opened the container of gumbo he had picked up from the restaurant and poured most of it into a bowl. He then removed the lid from the container he had brought from home and poured the puréed shrimp into the bowl. He stirred the gumbo until the substance was thoroughly mixed into the stew. He cut two pieces of shrimp into small bits and placed them in the remaining restaurant gumbo. He carefully placed the container and baggie he had brought from home into his coat pocket.
“Eat it quickly, Excellency,” Martin encouraged, “before it gets cold.”
The piggish man needed no encouragement when it came to eating. He had eaten almost the entire bowl before anaphylaxis hit him. He gasped for air as his throat began to constrict. His hands clawed at his chest then at Martin for help.
“A problem, Your Excellency?” Martin smiled knowingly. “Did you and those two bishops really think you could get away with a plot to murder the Holy Father? You deserve to die. You are the epitome of the seven deadly sins. Today I send your sorry soul straight to hell. Oh, and guess what, no last rites for you, Your Excellency.”
The last sound the archbishop heard was the taunting words of Martin’s condemnation of him: wrath, greed, slothfulness, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. “You do not have one single redeeming quality. When you make a commitment to the church and don’t keep it, it is infidelity.”
Martin quickly poured the rest of the gumbo into the archbishop’s bowl, so the tiny pieces of shrimp were evident. The residue of shrimp was in both the bowl and the takeout cup. He placed the almost-empty bottle of Scotch on the coffee table by the bowl.
Martin watched as the obese man heaved his last breath. His head fell backward. His tongue was already swelling out of his mouth. His dead, staring eyes were fixed on nothing as they slowly swelled closed.
Martin put on his chauffer’s cap and slowly backed out the door. He wanted to make certain the security cameras recorded his conversatio
n. “Yes, sir, I will be here in the morning, Your Excellency.” He bowed for the security cameras then closed the door. He hung a Do Not Disturb tag on the doorknob and tipped his hat to the couple passing him in the hall.
##
“Damn it to hell,” Carlie cursed as profanely as she dared in front of the entire department. “The archbishop is dead.”
“How?” Holly was already holstering her gun. Benson was close behind.
“Don’t know yet. That was the first responder. He called me as a courtesy. He’s been following the Catholic Murders. The archbishop is dead,” she roared again, making certain her captain heard her.
She made a phone call to Dr. Ben Davis, ME, on her way out the door. She wanted her own people working the crime scene.
“Holly, you get all the security tapes, especially from our cameras over his door,” the detective barked as she walked through the lobby of the hotel.
“Benson, you start interviewing all the people on his floor. If they saw so much as a shadow, I want to know about it. Is that the archbishop’s limo parked in front of the hotel? If so, I want to speak to his driver.”
Ben Davis joined her as she stepped into the elevator. “Can you believe this?” She was furious. “The son of a bitch is dead.”
“I’ve seen him.” Dr. Davis frowned. “He’s huge. Probably natural causes like a heart attack.”
“I hope to God that’s what happened,” Carlie growled.
As she had requested, the uniforms had sealed off the room and no one had been in but the first officer who had immediately called her. “The maid found him,” he explained.
“Officer Sloan.” Carlie checked his name badge. “You worked with me on that prostitute’s murder.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He grinned like a kid, delighted that she remembered him. “I haven’t let a soul in the room. It’s just like I found it.”
“Where’s the maid?” Carlie asked.
The officer motioned for a dark-haired woman to come to them. “Mrs. Rodríguez, this is Detective Carlie Carlyle,” Sloan introduced them.