by Lynne Hinton
“Sister Divine …”
“It’s Diveen. It’s pronounced Diveen, not Divine. And just call me Sister Eve or Sister Evangeline; you don’t call us by our last names.”
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry.” The novice had been at the monastery only a couple of weeks and was still learning the names of the sisters and the proper ways to address them. She was thin and nervous, and she stood just inside the chapel entrance, her voice so low Evangeline could hardly hear her.
Evangeline blew out a long breath. “It’s fine.”
There was a long pause as Evangeline waited. Finally she raised her hands, a clear question being asked.
“Oh, right …” The young woman cleared her throat, remembering her reason for interrupting her elder. “There’s someone here to see you.” She didn’t move any closer.
Likely a guest wanting to talk about the meal schedule or the linens in the room. In her role as manager of Guest Services at the monastery, she handled all the special requests and complaints from those who used the facilities for private retreats or group meetings. Talking over her shoulder, she said, “Take down their name and room number, and I will be with them in an hour.” Eve turned and bowed her head once again.
The young nun stood at the door, shifting her weight from side to side, trying to decide what to do. She was breathing fairly loudly.
Sister Evangeline could tell the novice had not left. “Is there anything else?” she asked, without looking up and trying not to sound impatient.
Margaret kept her head down. “It’s a policeman, Sister. He said it was an emergency.”
“Well, why didn’t you say so to begin with?” She stood up, leaving the helmet, and walked to the end of the pew, genuflected, crossed herself, and headed toward the door. “Margaret, you have got to learn to be more assertive about these kinds of things.”
“Yes, Sister,” she said as the older nun hurried past her.
The police officer stood on the porch outside the main entrance of the monastery. He was tall and wore a dark suit with a badge clipped onto his right front pocket. An investigator, perhaps? He was watching a group of nuns walking down to the river. She opened the door and stepped out, allowing the door to slam hard behind her. The officer, startled, placed his hands securely on the weapons attached to his belt. Sister Eve stood at the door, the hem of her long, gray habit caught in the top of her cowboy boots.
She studied the man, folded her arms across her chest, and said, “I will not talk to you without an attorney present.”
TWO
“Well, if you aren’t going to talk, then I guess I’ll just have to arrest you and take you downtown,” the officer replied, maintaining his stance.
There was a pause and then big smiles from them both.
“Daniel,” Eve responded, hurrying in his direction and giving him a big hug. “It is so good to see you!” She pulled away and looked up at her father’s oldest friend and former partner.
“Did you finally see the error of your ways and come to make your confession?” She punched the man in the arm. “I hope you packed to stay overnight.”
He was still grinning. “Ah, little Sister, maybe I’m here because of all those speeding tickets you seem to forget to pay.”
She rolled her eyes. “There has only been one speeding ticket in this calendar year, and I know for a fact the monastery paid it.”
“Oh, so now who has to spend all day in confession?” He grinned. “And it’s still early in the year.”
She laughed.
“You still got your pets?” he asked, looking around.
“Not so many,” she answered. “They told me I could only keep four.” She signaled to the building behind her, inferring the powers that be at the convent. “They claim I’m trying to turn the monastery into an animal shelter.”
“Well, are you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Maybe.”
“They still going to make you move?” The news had been in the local papers. Everyone knew about the changes being called for at the monastery. Eve had been quoted in the stories and had gotten into trouble for speaking to the press.
She only nodded.
“You go out riding?”
She smiled.
“You wear your helmet?” He looked in the direction of where her bike was parked.
She cleared her throat and turned away, remembering that she had left her helmet on the pew in the chapel. “The sisters bought me a new one,” she answered. “They gave it to me at Christmas.”
An old dog walked up and she bent down to greet it.
“That’s not what I asked.”
She could feel his stare. She stood up and the dog sat at her feet. “Last I heard, New Mexico doesn’t require helmets.” She dusted off her hands on the front of her habit.
“Just because there’s no law against riding without a helmet doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use common sense. God don’t honor foolishness.”
Eve laughed. “You’re starting to sound like him,” she said.
“He’s right about some things.” He glanced around the monastery. “They get the new building started?”
She looked over at the planned building site for the new living quarters. The fact that the women were being kicked out and not able to have a say in where they went was only part of the reason she was angry about the changes. She thought separating the monks from the nuns and building new housing was ridiculous. She also thought it made more sense to build a kennel for the stray animals than a new housing area for the nuns. It wasn’t like they said—she didn’t want to change the monastery into an animal shelter, but she had been pushing for a facility for stray animals for years. With the new changes pushing the nuns out, she had finally been told to leave the matter of a kennel alone. She shook away the thoughts.
“Still working on it,” she answered. She turned back to the officer. “Where are my manners? Won’t you come in for a cup of tea?” She took him by the arm, leading him to the steps.
He stopped her. “Actually, this isn’t exactly a social call, Evangeline. I came because I need to talk to you about something.”
She dropped his arm and turned to him.
He looked back to the car he was driving. There was someone sitting in the backseat.
“It’s the Captain,” he responded. “Your dad,” he added, even though he was sure Eve knew who the Captain was.
Evangeline looked back at the officer, forgetting about his passenger.
“He’s at the hospital. He has to have surgery.”
“What kind of surgery?” Eve asked. She slid a piece of hair underneath the white veil she wore covering her head.
“It’s his leg,” Daniel replied. “They have to amputate it.”
“Amputate it? I just talked to him last week, and he said the toe was getting better.”
Captain Jackson Divine had been a brittle diabetic for a long time, but in the last year he had battled infections in his lower extremities, including the most recent one involving his big toe.
Daniel shook his head. “After four rounds of antibiotics, it didn’t go away. The infection was spreading faster than they could manage. The doctors told him there was no other choice. It has to come off.” He waited. “The foot and part of the leg.”
Eve made the sign of the cross and closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I never thought it would progress this quickly,” she noted and paused. “Wait, how long have you known the infection was this bad?”
Daniel cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the question. He had been friends with Captain Divine for more than thirty years. He had watched Eve and her sister, Dorisanne, grow up. He was aware that the man had ongoing issues of privacy and pride. He shook his head. This was not easy news for him to report.
Eve could see his discomfort and waved off the question. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. It’s not your fault that he doesn’t tell me anything. This is just like him, waiting until the last
minute and then making you drive out here to break the news.”
A car pulled up and parked in the lot next to the front entrance. The two of them turned and watched as a couple got out and headed in the direction of the chapel. Eve assumed they had an appointment with one of the monks. She had heard about a couple who were planning to have their wedding held in the chapel later in the spring.
“I came to take you to the hospital,” Daniel explained. “The surgery is this afternoon.”
“This afternoon? Today?” Eve sighed. “Did you call Dorisanne?”
He shook his head. “I don’t have her new number.”
Eve nodded. She wasn’t even sure she had a correct number to reach her little sister. Dorisanne was known to change residences and contact information on a fairly regular basis.
“She’s still in Vegas. I’ll try the number I have before we leave.” She looked again over at her bike parked near the main building. She reached out, squeezing the man on the arm. “Daniel, it was really nice of you to come and tell me the news, but I need to take care of a few things before I go. I’d rather drive myself to St. Vincent’s,” she said, knowing that she needed to talk to her superiors about her situation.
“I’d feel better if I drove you,” Daniel responded. “I have some phone calls to make, so don’t hurry. I’ll just wait in the car until you’re ready.”
And that’s when Evangeline finally remembered the person she had seen in the backseat of Daniel’s car. She peered over in that direction.
“You stop on the way and make an arrest?” she asked, trying to get a better view.
It appeared to be a woman, but Eve wasn’t sure. All she could see was a large, dark hat. Either the person was small or was sitting slumped in the seat. Her face was down, and the hat kept Eve from getting a good look.
Daniel glanced at the car. “Oh, no, she’s not a perp. She’s your father’s client.”
Eve was confused. “His client? Well, who is it?”
Daniel fidgeted, shifting his weight from side to side.
“Are you blushing?” Eve asked. “You are! But why? Who is it?” she asked again and strained to get a better look.
Daniel cleared his throat. “The Captain was working on a missing person’s case when the doctor gave him the news.” He motioned in the direction of the car. “She was with him in the emergency room when he called me. When I got there, she asked to come with me to tell you.”
Eve shielded her eyes from the late-morning sun. Suddenly, as if the unknown passenger had been beckoned, the door opened and out stepped a pair of slender, tan legs, bearing the weight of the most glamorous young woman the nun had ever seen. There was a perfect smile radiating from the perfect face beneath the large, fashionable hat.
“You must be Sister Evangeline,” the woman said as she walked up to Eve and stuck out her small, well-manicured hand. Eve looked over at Daniel, who dropped his eyes and backed away.
“I have heard everything about you. I am Megan Flint. Your father is—how shall I put this?” She glanced at Daniel. “He’s very dear to me.”
THREE
“I’m sorry,” Eve responded, not offering her hand. “Do we know each other?” She looked at the young woman and then at Daniel, who was not answering.
“I’m Megan Flint,” she repeated, saying the name as if she thought the nun should recognize it.
Eve gave no response.
The lack of recognition seemed to come as a surprise. She shook her head as if to say never mind. “Your father was trying to find my fiancé,” she noted, stepping back a bit, giving Eve a little more room. “He’s been missing a week, and I’m sick with worry.”
Eve watched the young woman. “Are you from Santa Fe?”
“Los Angeles,” she answered. “And my fiancé has been in Madrid. That’s how I met your father.”
Eve nodded. “And you were with him in the emergency room at the hospital because … ?”
“Oh, I had my driver take Captain Divine to the hospital once the nurse at the clinic in Cerrillos informed us he needed to go right away.”
Eve still didn’t respond. She was trying to put the facts together.
Daniel moved forward to help fill in the blanks. “Megan hired the Captain when her boyfriend didn’t show up in Los Angeles last week. His name is Charles Cheston.” He waited as if Eve would recognize that name. When she didn’t, he continued, “He’s a famous movie director.” He paused. “The Sound of a Trombone? Saved from Drowning?”
Eve thought these were the names of movies but she wasn’t sure, so she shrugged.
“You never saw The Sound of a Trombone?” Daniel sounded very surprised.
“I’m a nun, Daniel. We don’t have a lot of time for the cinema.”
“Yeah, but you used to love movies,” he noted. He looked at the entrance of the monastery. “You can’t go to a movie?” he asked.
Eve rolled her eyes. “Why were you with him at the clinic?” she asked the young woman again.
Megan seemed confused. “Chaz wasn’t at the clinic.” She stopped. “He’s not sick.”
Eve turned to Daniel, hoping he could help out his passenger.
“Oh, you mean your father!” The young woman finally seemed to catch on.
“I had an appointment with him at his office this morning. We were to go over his recent findings. There’s a man in Madrid who apparently knows Chaz. Your father thought he might have some answers about his whereabouts. Anyway, when I arrived, Jack was coming out the door and said he needed to go to the clinic. He seemed a little unsteady so I told him that Matthew, that’s my driver, would take him and that we could just have our meeting on the drive over and back.” She glanced at Daniel, explaining, “I thought it was just a checkup or something.”
Eve nodded.
“But after the nurse examined him, she informed him that he had to go to the hospital. She wanted to call an ambulance, but I told her I would drive him to Santa Fe.” She shrugged. “So that’s what I did.”
“Matthew did,” Eve responded.
“What?”
“Matthew drove him to Santa Fe,” Eve corrected her.
“Yes, right. I don’t drive, so yes, Matthew drove us to the hospital.”
“And then the Captain called you?” Eve asked Daniel.
Daniel nodded.
“I don’t know what I would do without your father,” the young woman said with a note of sadness in her voice. Her face reddened. “Not that I think anything is going to happen to him,” she added, backpedaling. “Oh my, I didn’t mean to sound like I think he’s going to die or something. Please forgive me, Sister.” She appeared flustered. “I’m not saying anything right.” She shook her head, the big hat nearly hitting Eve in the face.
“It’s fine,” Eve said. “Let me just get some things taken care of, and I’ll be ready to go.” She turned to Daniel. “You want to bring Ms. Flint in to wait?”
“Oh, I would love to come into your convent.” Megan moved past Eve and the dog at her feet and headed for the front steps. “I auditioned last year for a role as a nun in an HBO special.” She was already at the front door. “Turns out they went with an actress they said looked more like a nun, you know, one whose looks were a little less …” She stopped and smiled at Eve. “They went with another actress,” she restated. “I was really disappointed because I’ve always been fascinated with nuns. I thought if I got the part I could meet Mother Teresa and learn about nuns from her. Do you pray all the time?” She waited only a second and continued, “Anyway, instead, I ended up getting the role in Chaz’s gangster movie. I played a prostitute. I never really did much research for that part.” She laughed at her own joke, then stood smiling at the door.
“Mother Teresa is dead,” Eve pointed out.
“Oh, how sad,” Megan replied sincerely. She paused. “I guess it was good I didn’t get the part then.”
And before Evangeline and Daniel could even respond, the young woman had walked in th
rough the front doors. Eve turned to the officer.
“She’s an actress,” he explained.
“She’s something,” Eve replied. And she left him standing at his car and followed the young woman inside.
FOUR
Aaron Valdez was not a native of Madrid, New Mexico, but he knew the terrain as if he had lived there all his life. He was actually from Las Cruces, southern territory, but when he was just a boy, he was shipped off to live with an aunt and uncle after his parents divorced and neither one of them wanted him. He was a shy young man who had more to do with the horses at the Silver Cross Corral than he did with the tourists who came for trail rides or the locals who loved to gossip and share tales.
John Ewing was the owner of the ranch and trail-ride establishment. He came up from Abilene, Texas, in the early sixties, made a killing in the silver mines, and bought up as much of the land near Cerrillos and the old Turquoise Trail as he could afford and that wasn’t already owned by the state of New Mexico. Later he brought in a bunch of horses and set up the stables. He opened up the Silver Cross for trail rides in the late eighties on the property bordering the Cerrillos Hills State Park. He didn’t make a lot of money taking tourists out in the wilderness, but everyone who knew John understood he didn’t do it to make money; he had all that he needed. He did it because he loved the land, and he wanted anyone who would make the drive from Santa Fe or Albuquerque over to the little towns of Madrid and Cerrillos to love it too.
Aaron was his only full-time employee. The rancher hired one or two others during the business high seasons, late spring, summer, and early fall, but they were usually just a couple of kids who would saddle and feed the horses while he and Aaron handled the rides. The two men had been together for ten years, and both of them considered themselves quite lucky to have the arrangement they had made. The folks in Madrid laughed that John Ewing and Aaron Valdez were closer than any married couple in town. The only difference, they would tease the rancher and the cowboy, was that the two men never fussed or kissed. John and Aaron secretly understood, however, that only half of that statement was true.