Redeemed

by Patricia Haley

  Garrett crossed his ankles as he leaned against the wall, dictating more details to Colita. “Once you get there, show an interest in the church and compliment him on the building.” A quick hard knock at the door pushed Garrett to an upright position, with both feet planted solidly on the floor. He rushed to Colita and whispered, “Ask who it is, but don’t open the door.”

  She followed his instructions. “Who is it?”

  “The maid, ma’am. You dropped your room key here, outside the door.”

  Garrett looked up toward the ceiling, then back at Colita. He hustled to the other side of the room. Once he was out of view from the doorway, Garrett motioned for her to open the door.

  Colita thanked the maid as she accepted the room key and shut the door.

  Garrett moved from his hiding place and stepped closer to Colita. “Okay, so the objective is for you to seduce Pastor Harris. Make the offer subtle and smooth. Flatter him, and you can figure out the rest, since I was told you do this for a living.”

  “Actually, I don’t seduce men for a living. I get paid for a service. That’s not seduction. That’s supply and demand.”

  He ignored her jazzy response. “Whatever you call it, remember that I’m paying you for results.”

  “I bet you’d be surprised if I told you most of my clients are rich women who pay me to get their husbands in compromising situations. I guess it’s the easiest way to get more in their divorce settlements. Rich men don’t want such choices in their personal life to be made public.” Colita winked at Garrett. “And you said this pastor is a friend, huh?”

  Garrett’s gaze dashed away from hers and returned. “You can say that.” He reviewed the final details of the plan and removed an envelope from his inside jacket pocket. He shoved it at her. “There’s enough money to take care of any incidentals you might need. You can order room service or have food delivered. Eat or don’t eat, so long as you stay in the room.”

  “Stay here?” she questioned, with pinched eyebrows and a tilted head.

  “Yes. One of the requirements for you to be paid is that you stay out of sight. The practical joke won’t work if you’re seen around town.”

  Colita shook her head and peeked inside the envelope. “How much is in here?”

  “Count it.” Garrett crossed his arms across his body.

  “I see that you’re concerned. Would you like for me to give you a sneak preview of my skills?” She stepped within inches of him, licked her full red lips, and squeezed the thick bicep muscle that bulged through Garrett’s jacket.

  He flicked her hand from his arm. “I’m not the target.” He then handed her several pictures of Pastor Harris, his wife, his church, and his automobile. “The pastor’s contact information is there also.” Garret’s phone buzzed. A quick check told him Maxwell wanted an update. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll talk with you in the morning, and you will need to contact the pastor by early afternoon. Call me if you need anything.” He slipped her a piece of paper with the number of his throwaway phone and made a dash for the door.

  “What I need is walking out the door,” she teased.

  He ignored her and let the door closing behind him act as his response. The elevator ride back down to the lobby was much too slow. Colita was a piece of work, and that whole situation was too close to the line he drew. Garrett wanted to make a quick call to Maxwell and get home. He needed a shower to wash off traces of the pile of crap surrounding him.

  Chapter 50

  The traffic was thick, and the morning had already slipped away. Bright rays of sun broke through the windshield and impeded Garrett’s vision. He shielded his eyes with his hand and then remembered his shades in the console. Enough with the piercing sunlight, Garrett thought, realizing he had twenty minutes to get to his meeting on time. The problem was that he hadn’t heard back from Colita. She should have been up and working. He was annoyed that she hadn’t given him an update by now. Several days had already passed, and she was still working on arranging a meeting with Pastor Harris. He needed her to pick up the pace. The sooner she did the deed, the sooner she could get out of town and let him breathe easier.

  A wide yawn overtook Garrett. More sleep was a necessity, but it wasn’t in sight. Restless nights had haunted him since the day he agreed to Maxwell’s crazy scheme to set up Pastor Harris. This entire idea had stunk from the beginning. Against his better judgment, he’d agreed to go through with it. Doubts were creeping. This had to end quickly. He’d call again. Colita had better answer before he arrived at his destination.

  Garrett pressed the SEND button on his phone. Five rings later, there was still no answer. What was she doing? He didn’t have time to race over and babysit her. Determined, he ended the call and tried again. Still no answer. Dang. Where was she? His fingers tapped rapidly against the steering wheel. He tried the number once more out of sheer desperation. Colita answered on the second ring.

  “Where have you been?” he barked, lashing out, unable to harness his fear about the scheme backfiring. I’ve been calling you all morning.”

  “I was in the shower.”

  “For an hour?” To avoid getting peeved, Garrett kept his focus. “Never mind about the shower. Do you have an appointment with Pastor Harris yet?” His fingers stopped moving, and he clutched the steering wheel with a clawlike grip.

  “I’m meeting him at the church in an hour.”

  “Good.” He gulped. “Be sure to use cash for meals and your travel. Also, remember not to keep receipts. I will contact you this evening. Oh, and there might be a nice bonus in this for you, depending on how well you do.” He hung up. The call was over, but Garrett’s fretting was not, and probably wouldn’t be until Colita was on a plane destined for Belize. That flight couldn’t come soon enough.

  In the meantime, he’d look into Maxwell’s stalker problem. The amount of controversy his client had stirred in the past year created a long list of candidates. He’d start with the biggest cases and the angriest defendants. He had work to do, but Garrett was confident in his abilities when it came to finding a real culprit.

  Colita painted her lips with the ruby-red lipstick, smacked them together tightly, and then smiled at her reflection. Her bright white teeth sparkled. She approved of her appearance. He’d have to be dead not to respond to her and not to be enticed by what she had planned for the pastor. She scooped up her purse and the room key, left the room, then sashayed to the elevator. During the taxi ride to the church, she examined the pictures of Pastor Harris and his wife. Nice looking guy with strange friends, she thought. She didn’t know any friends who would pull such a prank. But as long as she got paid with a shot at an extra bonus, too, the underlying reason for them pulling the prank didn’t matter to her.

  The taxi stopped in front of Faith Temple. Colita paid the driver. “There’s a fifty-dollar tip if you’ll wait for me,” she said, putting extra effort into masking her accent. “I need to leave quickly when I’m finished here. This shouldn’t take very long.”

  “Fifty bucks? You bet I’ll wait,” the taxi driver responded.

  Colita slung her long legs out of the taxi and planted her pointed heels on the pavement. She climbed the steps to the wooden double doors of Faith Temple. She tugged at her jacket and the bust line of her dress as she strutted by the large cross that hung over the archway. Wow. She hadn’t seen the inside of a church since she was eight years old and living with her mother in Trinidad.

  When her mother died, Colita had picked up with a cruise line, which landed her in Central America. It hadn’t taken long for her to find a way to make much more money than she could from serving people on a ship for tiny tips. Admittedly, her innocence was gone once she embraced the new profession, and so was the need to attend church.

  The sign over the door she entered said MAIN OFFICE.

  “Good morning,” greeted Martha with a kind voice as she peered over her glasses. “How may I help you?”

  “I’m here to see Pastor Harris. He�
��s expecting me. I’m Colita.”

  “Your last name please.”

  “It’s not necessary,” Colita informed her.

  The lady stared at Colita and hesitated, like she wasn’t accepting such an answer.

  There is no reason to cause a problem, Colita thought, being that she was this close to meeting Pastor Harris. She quickly changed her tune. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Colita Smith.” She didn’t feel bad about telling a fib in the church. This was, after all, some strange hoax, and dishonesty was acceptable, or so she preferred to believe.

  Just as Colita had figured, the receptionist resumed beaming and speaking in her kind voice. “I will let him know you’re here. Have a seat.” Martha sealed her statement with a quick glance over the top of her glasses to take in Colita’s tall frame.

  Colita couldn’t figure out why the receptionist kept looking at her. She took the seat near the wall, the one farthest from the lady. Ten minutes meandered by as Colita counted the pictures, certificates, and awards that adorned the walls. The uneasiness she felt wasn’t expected. Perhaps the pastor would pass her test quickly, figure out this was a prank, and send her packing. She could then report that the unsuspecting pastor hadn’t fallen for the prank. She didn’t quite know what that meant to his friends, but her pay wouldn’t be impacted one way or the other.

  Pastor Harris entered the outer office, and Martha made the introductions. “Glad you could make it,” Pastor Harris said as he shook Colita’s hand vigorously.

  He led her into his office. She sat down in a chair in front of Pastor Harris’s desk. Colita swung her right leg over her left and allowed her red toenails to sparkle in the sunlight that streamed through the window. She made sure Pastor Harris got an eyeful of her golden-toned thighs.

  The pastor didn’t seem to react. “How long have you been in Philadelphia?” he asked.

  “Not long at all,” she offered in a soft, sultry tone after delicately rolling her tongue around her lips.

  “I understand that you were in a battered women’s shelter and recently relocated here.”

  “Oh, uh, yes, that’s me,” she said, suddenly feeling awkward. Nathan had suggested she use the shelter story, although she wondered if that was really his name. He’d said that a vulnerable, needy woman had a much better chance of capturing the pastor’s attention. Since she wanted to please her employer, Colita had gladly agreed with the strategy. She’d confidently recited this story to the lady over the phone. But sitting this close to a minister and telling a fib wasn’t the same. Prank or not, she wasn’t comfortable.

  “Do you have any family in town?”

  “No. I’m all alone,” she muttered.

  “Okay . . . well, let me tell you a little bit about the church.” He spent the next ten minutes talking about Faith Temple, then followed this up with a tour of the building. They talked as she trailed behind him. The tour started in the sanctuary and concluded in the social hall.

  “You have a beautiful church,” Colita said while she rubbed her hand across the top of her bosom at the end of the tour. The tour had allowed her to push her awkwardness to the side and get back to work. This was her business, and she did it well. “May I have some water, please?”

  “Certainly. There should be some bottles of water in the kitchen.” He darted into the nearby kitchen and came back with a cold bottle of water and held it out to her.

  Colita stroked his hand with hers when she reached for the water. She batted her thick eyelashes and pitched him a subtle smile, barely turning up the corners of her mouth. Pastor Harris’s hand opened wide, and he released the bottle. Colita struggled to prevent the bottle from hitting the floor.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that,” the pastor stated.

  She winked and untwisted the cap on the bottle. She wrapped her lips around it, toying with him. Her stare held his until he shifted his eyes away.

  “If you’re interested in learning more about our church or becoming a member, I’ll put you in touch with one of the ladies on our membership board.”

  “Really? Can’t you help me with a membership?” she said, batting her eyelids.

  “No. They’re much better at the new member intake process than I am. Normally, you would have met with them today, but I was told you insisted on meeting with me first. So, I wanted to accommodate your request.”

  “I’d prefer to talk with you,” the temptress insisted and moved closer to him. The toes of their shoes were inches away from touching. “You smell delicious.” She inhaled his cologne and released a whisper of air between her lips. Suddenly, Colita reached up and traced his jawline with her finger.

  Pastor Harris seized Colita’s hand and pulled it away from his face. “Look, young lady, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I’m married.” He stretched his left hand out so that it came close to her face and tapped the gold band that embraced his finger.

  “I know. That doesn’t mean anything. Besides, she doesn’t have to know.” She tugged at the tip of his tie.

  “I would know, and God would know. That’s more than enough.” The pastor shook his head at her with squinted eyes.

  “You might want to take the time to listen to my proposition. I’m offering more than it appears. I have a way that your ministry could make a lot of money tax free,” she said and rubbed her fingertips together. “What ministry couldn’t use some extra money, right?”

  “Miss . . . ,” he said, trying to recall her name.

  “Colita,” she stated.

  “Right. Miss Colita, I appreciate your interest in Faith Temple, but your actions are inappropriate.”

  Colita tried unsuccessfully to dissuade him of that notion.

  “No, now wait. I’m not judging you, but I am convicting you. I’m the senior pastor of this church. I’m here to help you strengthen your walk with the Lord, not to tear you down and contribute to your sinning.”

  Colita didn’t say anything, actually feeling convicted, until she remembered this was all a prank. Thank goodness.

  A young man entered the social hall. “Excuse me, Pastor. The youth group meeting will be starting in here in about fifteen minutes. Do you need me to move my meeting to another area of the church?”

  “No, not at all. I’m finished here. Can you please see Miss Colita to her car?” Pastor Harris exited the room swiftly without speaking another word to her.

  Colita followed the young man to the reception area, not sure what to think. That was a first. No man had ever turned her down. Two facts were true: Pastor Harris didn’t fall for the hoax, and she wasn’t getting the bonus. Hopefully, the prank had turned out the way the pastor’s friends expected. Regardless, she was getting paid. Money should come so easily every day, she thought.

  Chapter 51

  The gray sky and the dark clouds concerned Maxwell, since he’d had his car detailed the day before. Maybe he could make it to the courthouse parking garage before the downpour started. His hands-free device signaled a call coming in just as Maxwell’s foot pressed the gas pedal harder. The display on his dashboard read Christine. What did she want? He didn’t have time to bicker with her about anything. She’d have to call him another day. Within a few minutes, she’d called two more times. He began worrying. It was always bad news when she called him repeatedly. When he decided to answer, it was too late. Maxwell gave a voice command and dialed her right back. There was only one ring, and then he heard sobbing and words laced with whimpers that he couldn’t understand.

  “Christine, what is it? What’s wrong?”

  Her voice cracked, and she managed to reply, “My baby got hit by a car while riding his bike.”

  Maxwell whipped his Porsche to the side of the road and slammed his foot down hard on the brake. The sound of screeching tires accompanied his abrupt stop. “What? No, no, don’t tell me that. Where is he? Where is Tyree?”

  More sobbing and muffled whimpers saturated the phone line before an understandable word broke thro
ugh. “We’re at Wilmington Hospital. He’s being prepared for surgery right now. I haven’t been able to reach Mom and Dad yet.”

  “I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Maxwell checked his rearview mirror and saw the line of cars barreling down on him. He ignored the NO U-TURN sign, and his tires spat out a trail of dust and gravel as he peeled off. He punched the gas pedal and jerked the steering wheel as he sped across two lanes of traffic, dodging the cars that were in his way. His high-performance engine sucked up the miles as he zoomed down the highway. This couldn’t be happening. He had bought Tyree that bike for his birthday. He’d purchased knee pads and a helmet too. He intended for Tyree to be safe, but he hadn’t been.

  Maxwell was dying inside. He aggressively fought off doubts and fears. He couldn’t lose that little boy. He hadn’t spent enough time with him. Maxwell had missed birthdays, Christmas, and basically every holiday since Tyree was born. He had always showered him with gifts. Regrettably, Maxwell hadn’t rewarded his nephew with the time he’d constantly begged for with his uncle Max. Maxwell drove faster, wishing remorse and mistakes would move to the backseat or get out of the car completely.

  His tires squealed as he charged into the hospital parking lot and slid into a stall. He climbed out of the car, slammed the door shut, and ran across the parking lot, toward the emergency room doors. He stormed inside, dashed to the counter, and demanded an answer.

  “Where is Tyree—” He couldn’t finish his question before Christine’s frazzled voice grabbed him. He turned toward her.

  “Thank God, you came,” she exclaimed as she eliminated the distance between them and flung her body into his. “What am I going to do? What if he doesn’t make it?”