“Well, hopefully we can go soon,” Jeremiah said.
As it was, both Mark and the paramedic insisted that Cindy go to the emergency room just to be checked out. Several hours later they were driving back to the church. Whatever the reaction had been to, the medication she had been given had taken care of things. She also had an appointment with her doctor later in the week to do the allergy tests to find out what it might have been that set her off. It wasn’t ideal, but at least they would be getting some answers.
It was after six when they got back to the church parking lot. It was empty except for Cindy’s car which was parked next to the building. Jeremiah pulled up next to it and she got out of the car, every line of her body telegraphing just how tired she was. He didn’t blame her. It had been a traumatic day.
He got out as well and moved toward her car. She turned to look at the gate that led into the church courtyard and stopped, keys in her hand.
“What is it?” he asked.
“The gate’s ajar. It should be locked. Last person to leave always locks up.”
Normally he would have assumed that one of the pastors was working late, but there were no cars in the parking lot other than hers so he was instantly on guard.
He moved toward the gate, waving at Cindy to stay put. He could feel her moving closer, though. He pushed the gate open wide enough for them to pass through. He looked for any lights on in the buildings, but the only illumination was coming from the exterior lights.
They were nearing one of the corners of the building closest to the parking lot when he heard a soft step coming toward them. He froze, tensing his muscles. Someone was there. It wouldn’t be the first time criminals had trespassed on church property. He waited, holding his breath as he listened to the footsteps approaching.
A form flashed into sight. Jeremiah lunged out, reaching for the man in front of him.
3
Jeremiah was reaching for the man’s throat when he recognized him. He pulled back at the last second as Dave Wyman shouted in terror. The youth pastor, who everyone called Wildman, scrambled backward several feet and then stood, staring at him as though he had just seen a ghost.
“I’m sorry, you startled us,” Jeremiah said with a grimace. “We thought you were an intruder.”
“I startled you?” Wildman asked, voice cracking slightly.
Cindy moved to join them. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“No, I’m not,” Wildman said. “You nearly scared me to death.”
Before Jeremiah could respond Wildman stepped forward and grabbed his shoulders. Jeremiah struggled not to shrink back at the contact or respond in some other inappropriate way. He’d barely managed not to knock the man out already once today.
“Do you know what this means?” Wildman asked, his eyes getting even wider.
Jeremiah didn’t and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He forced himself to shake his head.
“This is fantastic! I’ve been having problems explaining to the kids who are going to be running the haunted house here at the church how to scare people. You could show them!”
“What do you mean?”
“We could run a workshop, either after school or on the weekend and you could teach them how to scare people as badly as you scared me.”
“That was an accident,” Jeremiah said quickly. “I don’t know the first thing about scaring people.”
It was a lie, but the ways in which he frightened people were most certainly not the kind of thing that the pastor was looking for and certainly wouldn’t work for a haunted house type attraction.
“Come on. The kids look up to you, they respect you. They still talk about the hero rabbi who saved them all at Green Pastures.”
Jeremiah forced himself not to react outwardly to that news. He didn’t like that he was notorious for that. No matter what he did it seemed he was having an increasingly hard time keeping a low profile, and keeping his skills a secret, in this community.
“I just did what you or any of the other adults would have done,” Jeremiah said evenly.
“Um, sure, keep telling yourself that,” the pastor said with a dusting of sarcasm in his voice.
“Just do it,” Cindy said quietly.
Jeremiah glanced at her. “You want me to teach a bunch of kids how to better scare people?”
She nodded.
“Fine,” he said with a sigh. He could show up, try to show them one or two scare tactics and then Wildman would stop talking about it.
“This is going to be epic,” the pastor said with a grin of insane joy.
His phone chimed and he pulled it out of his pocket. He glanced at it and then grimaced. “Well, at least there was some good news today.”
“What’s wrong?” Cindy asked.
“My car’s been in the shop all day and it won’t be ready until tomorrow. I’ll have to call a taxi.”
“I can drop you home,” Cindy volunteered.
Jeremiah thought she was going crazy. She already looked completely exhausted and he figured she’d be eager to get home as quickly as possible. The noble thing to do would be to offer to drive Wildman instead, but Jeremiah was not eager to continue the Green Pastures line of conversation.
“Are you sure?” Wildman asked, perking back up.
She nodded. “You’re not that far from my house.”
“Fantastic! I’ve got some more Halloween plans I’d like to run by you,” he said.
“Okay. Jeremiah, I’ll see you later,” she said, giving him a wan smile.
He stepped forward to hug her, but then checked himself. They weren’t being demonstrative in that way in front of other people. He thought he caught a look of disappointment in her eyes when he stopped short.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.
Together they walked out to the parking lot and the pastor locked the gate after they had exited. Jeremiah felt a little unsettled as he watched Dave get into Cindy’s car. He felt a pang of jealousy which was completely absurd. Even as he tried to dismiss it he couldn’t help but try to remember if he’d ever heard anything about the pastor being married.
“I could swear Jeremiah looks angry with me,” Dave said as Cindy started the car.
She glanced out her window but Jeremiah was getting into his own car and she couldn’t see his face. “He’s probably just still on edge,” she said. She didn’t mention that she was sure he wasn’t happy about teaching the kids how to better scare people. She knew Wildman wasn’t about to let that one go, though, so she’d urged him to do it. In the end it would be easier than trying to explain why he didn’t want to. Persistence was one trait that many youth pastors shared in common and Dave had an overabundance of it. Sometimes he was worse than a little kid in that regard. He just would not let things go.
“No, I don’t think that’s it,” he said thoughtfully. “I think he’s upset that you’re giving me a ride.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Cindy replied. “Why on earth would that upset him?”
“If I had to guess I’d say because he likes you and he doesn’t want other guys around.”
“I don’t think Jeremiah is jealous,” Cindy said, struggling to control an eye roll. The very idea was preposterous. There was no need for him to be jealous of anyone, let alone Dave.
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” the pastor said. “And speaking of Jeremiah, what is the deal with you two anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t play coy. You know what I mean. You like him. He likes you. What’s going on with that?”
Cindy was on the verge of saying “nothing”, but at the last moment changed her mind. “I don’t know,” she admitted.
“You might want to figure it out before one of you explodes,” he said.
“It’s…complicated.”
“I get that, but still, the way you’re dancing around each other must be crazy making. Like, date already.”
“Why are you pushing this?”
“Becau
se I like you both and I think you’re good for each other even though there are some issues clearly in your way.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and if someone tells you it’s because I said you’d be a couple by Halloween in the unofficial office betting pool, don’t believe them.”
“There’s a bet going on about when Jeremiah and I are going to get together?”
Cindy asked, aghast.
“Yes, but don’t tell anyone I told you. Strictly speaking that’s against the rules.”
“That’s horrible! I can’t believe you guys are betting on that!” She couldn’t help but feel offended and even a tiny bit like her privacy was being violated.
“Don’t be mad,” Wildman said gently. “Instead take it as a sign that what’s between you and Jeremiah is real and so obvious that it seems like you’re meant to be together. Everyone thinks so.”
“Sure, everyone thinks so now,” she grumbled. “But what will it be like if I actually said I was dating him? How many people would give me the unevenly yoked lecture?”
“Probably a lot. I do believe, though, that God has pulled the two of you together for a reason. He works in mysterious ways and sometimes has to do extraordinary things to get our attention. You guys worked next door to each other for how long and never once interacted?”
“You’re saying God wanted me to trip over that dead body in the sanctuary so that Jeremiah and I could meet and then what?”
“I don’t know. Only He does. Well, and maybe Jeremiah does, too.”
“I think he might be more lost than I am on that issue,” Cindy said before she could stop herself.
“You might just need to be patient with him. Sometimes guys can be stupid and slow, but we usually get there in the end.”
“I actually don’t know what to do,” Cindy confessed. It was odd. She hadn’t been planning on discussing Jeremiah with Dave. If anything she should be talking to Geanie or Joseph. Then again Dave knew them both but wasn’t necessarily in their inner circle. Maybe he could be more objective and offer a little perspective the others couldn’t.
“I know he has feelings for me. He’s said so. But he’s just been acting so distant.”
“I don’t know what happened when you guys were overseas visiting his family, but whatever it was it seems to have really shaken him up. Maybe he’s just trying to get a little stability and sense of normalcy back in his life before stirring everything up again. Maybe he needs that to feel safe and to take on other challenges. You think you’re worried about what people are going to say to you? Put yourself in his shoes. He’s a rabbi, the spiritual head of his synagogue. You don’t think people are going to have some words for him about dating outside his religion?”
“I know Marie will be thrilled,” Cindy said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
Dave made a good point. As much as she wasn’t looking forward to the criticism, it would likely be ten times harder on Jeremiah. With everything he’d been through in Israel, she knew that he was still having trouble fitting back into his old life and acting like the rabbi everyone thought they knew. Maybe he was concerned that if someone actually confronted him about dating her that he’d say or do something that he shouldn’t and cause worse problems for all of them.
“Why does life have to be so hard?” she sighed.
“I don’t know, but it could be a lot worse. At least you have someone that you know cares for you. A great many people would give a lot for that.”
“Dave, I’m sorry, I didn’t think.”
“I’m not talking about me. I was thinking about some of my kids. They have parents who don’t care or can’t be bothered to show it. Some of them don’t even know where one or both of their parents are. They’d kill to have someone tell them they were special and loved. Heck, sometimes it feels like that’s all I do week in and week out is tell them that they’re special to God and that He loves them. I just keep hoping that they’ll believe it, feel it, accept it, you know. And they want to, desperately, but some of them have been so burned. And these are the kids that are making it to church somehow, think of all those who aren’t.”
“There must be a lot of lost and hurting kids out there,” Cindy said, feeling sorrow for them.
“There are. I see it every day and it breaks my heart. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been so desperate for years to do this Halloween event.”
“I don’t follow.”
“I know, I’m a Halloween junkie. I love the holiday almost as much as Geanie does. But I didn’t want to do this maze for me. I didn’t even want to do it for the kids who are already in the church. I wanted to do it for their friends and classmates who are so lost with no one to turn to. For many of them it will be their first time stepping foot on church ground, and I want the experience to be a fun, exciting one for them filled with laughter and fellowship and a sense of belonging. It’s hard to be unchurched and try to change that. It’s scary. You don’t know the people, the culture, the rituals, anything. It’s easier not to go even if you’re curious, even if you’re searching. This way they’ll have been to a church even if it was only for an event. They’ll have met kids who go here so they know that if they want to come back there will be familiar faces who will accept them. Perhaps in the end that human need to belong somewhere is one of the greatest needs that drives us.”
“When I stop this car remind me to hug you,” Cindy said, struggling not to start crying. As he had been talking her thoughts had actually gone to the young woman whose body she’d seen earlier. Had a desire to belong led to her falling in with the wrong people and getting killed? The thought was devastating.
“Okay, but just one hug, and don’t tell Jeremiah,” Dave teased, his voice suddenly lighthearted again.
Cindy shook her head. His ability to switch moods was something she could never hope to understand let alone match. She cleared her throat. “So, how can I help make this Halloween event one that will be legendary?”
She glanced at Dave and saw him grinning from ear to ear. “Oh believe me, I have a few ideas.”
“I thought you might,” she said, finding herself smiling back.
Mark had managed not to go back inside the creepy house once Cindy and Jeremiah left. He was still freaked out by it and even more so by what had happened to Cindy in the basement. The oddest thing was that just before she fell off the stairs he could swear he’d heard someone whispering at them to get out. Worse than that, though, he’d turned to watch her climb the stairs and from where he’d been standing he could have sworn that it looked like she didn’t fall but that she was pushed.
Which was impossible. No one had been down there but the three of them. The stairs were empty except for her. There was no way someone could have pushed her. Not unless they were invisible.
Or dead.
A chill danced up his spine as he tried to shove the thought aside. He didn’t believe in stuff like that. He was the logical one, the practical one. Superstitions and ghost stories were just that, a bunch of made up stuff people used to scare each other with.
Still, he wouldn’t have gone back down in that basement today for anything. Finally they wrapped the entire place in police tape, and he was able to head home, more tired than he’d been in quite a while. It had been a desperately long day and all he wanted was to get home, kiss his family, have some dinner, and collapse.
Family. The word was still strange and new to him even though the twins were now three months old. He caught himself smiling just thinking about them. He was enjoying being a father more than he’d ever imagined. He also found himself worrying now more than he’d ever imagined, but he figured it was the cost of all the fun parts.
He finally turned onto his street and a few seconds later was parked in the driveway. He walked inside, hung his keys on the hook, and started to take off his coat. He froze in mid-movement as he caught sight of Traci standing in the kitchen facing him, arms folded over her chest. She looked upset and warning b
ells went off in his head. The worst of it was he couldn’t figure out what she might be upset over. He quickly ran down a mental list of all the things he’d been expected to do in the last couple of days and couldn’t think of anything he might have done or forgotten to have done to inspire that look.
“What is it?” he asked.
Traci continued to glare at him. “We need to talk.”
4
Mark had often thought that we need to talk had to be the four scariest words in the English language. He finished taking his coat off as he felt himself beginning to panic.
“Okay, what’s going on?” he asked, dragging the words out as though he were somehow trying to delay her pending answer. Truth be told he’d be happy never hearing the answer to his question.
“You have been avoiding the topic for seven days. Every night I try and talk about it and every night you ignore me completely. That’s not going to happen again. Tonight you’re going to talk and you’re going to listen and we’ll keep at it until we have a solution.”
Now he was really scrambling as he tried to figure out what on earth she might be talking about. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. As much as it pained him to say it he finally admitted, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, suddenly you don’t know,” she said.
He could tell that had only pushed her buttons more. He had to admit some of the hormonal changes she’d undergone in the aftermath of pregnancy had made his usually even-tempered wife more than a little unpredictable and occasionally hotheaded. Unfortunately, this seemed to be one of those times, and he was pretty sure there was nothing he could say that was going to make this any better.
“I’m sorry, Hon, I just don’t understand,” he said, wincing inwardly as he waited for her to lose it completely.
“No, clearly you don’t. If you understood then you’d know that this is important to me. I don’t want to make the wrong decision here and screw up one of the most important things in our children’s lives.”
I Will Fear No Evil Page 3