After Sin left, Nedra turned in for the evening. It was the ringing of the telephone that aroused her from a sound sleep.
“Hello,” she answered drowsily
“Good evening, Reverend Davis. I can hear that I may have awakened you. I must say I’m surprised that you’re in bed this early.”
It was Esther Costello. Nedra rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up.
“What is it, Esther? Has something happened?” The clock on her nightstand read ten.
“That’s what I want to know, Reverend Davis, what is happening?”
Nedra could hear the censure in the woman’s voice.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about telling a lie, Reverend Davis. I’m talking about a minister telling her congregation that she was going on a quiet vacation alone, and instead, is seen running around Monterey with some man. No wonder you didn’t return my calls. I shouldn’t be surprised. However, as a deaconess in Mount Peter church, I believe, Reverend, that an explanation, is in order.”
CHAPTER 17
Nedra had never been a cursing woman, but if she had been she would have cursed Esther Costello out that very evening. Instead, she coolly informed her that whatever she did with her private life was her own affair, and then she disconnected.
She made the decision not to share the incident with Sin. She could handle Esther and anyone else who meddled in her business.
Wednesday morning and afternoon at the church office went smoothly. No one she spoke to mentioned Esther’s accusations. Bible Study that evening was another story. There was everything from teasing references to the possibility of Nedra having a man in her life, to Esther’s bold demand that she reveal the name of the mystery lover. Nedra didn’t bother to dignify that ultimatum with a response.
Esther had been wise enough to address her out of earshot of the others in attendance, but as Nedra walked to her car in the parking lot, she followed her. Confrontation was in her every step.
“You know, Reverend Davis, you are supposed to be a moral example to the members of this church. I’m appalled that you should take your responsibility so lightly.”
Nedra bit her tongue and kept walking. She had said what she had to say. That didn’t stop Esther.
“I feel personally responsible that you, as a woman minister, fail to provide the guidance that is so badly needed these days. After all, do I have to remind you that it was I who persuaded the others to give you the privilege of leading our flock here at Mount Peter.”
Without a word, Nedra unlocked the car door, and got in. Esther held the door firmly, preventing her from shutting it completely. The woman’s controlled demeanor suddenly transformed in front of Nedra’s eyes. She stared in fascination as Esther’s face contorted with hate.
“I knew that you weren’t all you pretended to be. Everybody has been fooled by that pretty face of yours, but I had your number from the beginning. You’ve got all of the men in church panting after you, thinking you‘re something special. You’re always getting the credit for everything that happens around here. I knew there was another side. You run around like you’re better than everybody else. You won’t listen to anybody. You know it all. Now, look at....”
Weary of her tirade, Nedra used the door as a lever to push the woman away from her car. Slamming the door, she drove away while Esther was in mid-sentence.
****
Something was wrong. When Sin last spoke to Nedra on Wednesday evening he could tell that she was bothered. For a scary second he thought that she might have changed her mind about them, but that thought was quickly dismissed. He had never been as happy in his life with any woman and she seemed happy with him. Still, he was concerned.
He had questioned her. Had she been threatened in some way? She said no. He hadn’t pressed the issue. He didn’t want to bring up old memories about when her life had been in danger. Still, he was uneasy. What about the brakes failing on her car? He hadn’t forgotten that. She said the brake fluid had drained. Wasn’t such an occurrence unusual? He’d have to check on that.
Although she was supposed to be safe now, he felt it best to remain cautious. When he went to visit her, his radar had been on automatic. He had been careful to observe the surroundings, looking for people and cars that might seem suspicious. Nothing odd had been spotted, but could he have been wrong?
As he went about his duties at the office, the disturbing thought that something was amiss was with him all day. His secretary reminded him that the Carter funeral was that afternoon, and informed him that she had sent the flowers. Sin thanked her for the follow-up, but answered in the negative about attending the service. All ties with the Carters were over. However, Lynn Trellis seemed to have other ideas. She called the office just as he was leaving.
Her voice was choked with tears. “He’s gone, Sin! He’s really gone! And you didn’t even come to the funeral.”
He felt sorry for her, but there was nothing he could do. “We at Bayland sent our condolences.”
“Yeah, I saw the flowers— Condolences from Bayland Imports. How cold can you get? I thought you were Eddie’s friend?”
“No, Lynn, we were business acquaintances, nothing more.”
“Then why can’t we be friends?” She sniffed. “I need somebody, Sin. I need you. I buried my brother today!”
This was going nowhere. Even sympathy only went so far.
“Like I said, I’m sorry about Eddie. I’m sorry about any young life that’s uselessly wasted, but there is nothing I can do to help but wish you well. I have to go. Good luck to you in the future.” He hung up before she could say another word.
****
Lynn Trellis was angry. The whole world was against her. Eddie was dead. Sinclair was treating her like dirt. Even Richard Ryan wasn’t giving her the respect that she deserved. She’d given him an ultimatum with a deadline that he missed days ago. She had been so preoccupied with Eddie’s death that she hadn’t followed up on that. It was unfinished business that had to be taken care of.
She had to pull herself together and get a hold of things. If she let Richard get away without paying his debt, she’d lose control of the business that Eddie had worked so hard to build. She had to earn respect within the organization fast. She needed to be viewed as more than her brother’s pampered little sister
Few people were aware of how much she knew about her brother’s operation, or of her plan to control it. It had been her business expertise that had helped transform Eddie’s street trade into a proficient operation worth millions. She had been the one to talk him into wasting the preacher. It was about economics, nothing personal.
Richard Ryan was aware of the scope of her involvement in the drug trade. The two of them had been sleeping together when she recruited him to use his contacts in the advertising world to expand her brother’s business. Richard was hooked on coke, anyway. It hadn’t been hard to get him to sell his soul.
Now he was just a nuisance. He couldn’t pay his bill. He couldn’t even kill a preacher! What good was he?
She knew he was on the run because he knew that his days were numbered. Even if he did kill Nedra Davis, he was a dead man. But, there were priorities. Her brother’s murderers were the first on her list. After that, she would return her attention to the Reverend. Meanwhile, there was still Sinclair. Despite his reluctance, she wanted him, and she would do whatever it took to get him.
****
By the end of the week Sharon’s physical scars had healed, but the emotional ones remained. For her own peace of mind, she extended her leave of absence from her job and flew to Seattle to be with her father.
Nedra and Carla took her to the airport. Before departing, Sharon finally revealed that Richard was hooked on crack.
“His secretary called me and said he hasn’t been at work all week,” she told them. “She’s running out of ways to cover for him. He’s already on probation for having altercations with fellow employees. This disappeari
ng act should get him a pink slip.”
Neither Carla nor Nedra was surprised by the revelation that Richard was an addict, or by his erratic behavior. Nothing he did surprised them anymore.
The drive from the airport was a solemn one. Carla hit the steering wheel in frustration.
“I don’t understand why everyone covers for him. Sharon, his secretary, our parents—all the other women he’s screwed over the years! When will people demand that this man grow up?”
Nedra wondered too. Unfortunately, she didn’t see that happening any time soon.
****
On the patio of a five star hotel located in the tourist hamlet of Sausalito, Richard gazed at the scenery outside his room. In the distance, beyond Alcatraz and Angel Island, the city of San Francisco rose majestically amid a shroud of fog. The scene was postcard perfect, but he saw none of it as he sat in a drug-laden stupor, unwashed, and unkempt,.
Since Sunday, he had scoured the Bay Area newspapers looking for information about Nedra’s automobile accident. He could find nothing. Desperate, he had called her church and asked whether she would be delivering the sermon this Sunday. He was told that she would be present. What in the world had happened?
He had missed the deadline and he knew that without Nedra’s dead or injured body, Lynn had a bullet with his name on it for sure. The bitch was crazy! Look what she had driven him to!
He was not used to living like this. He had two hundred dollars in his pocket and no money left in the bank. Because he had messed up with Sharon, he had nobody reliable to borrow money from. If Carla was any kind of sister, he could count on a quick loan from her, but that wasn’t happening. She was probably turning Sharon against him this very minute.
To add insult to injury, he had probably been fired! He had been so stoned that he forgot to call his office. There was nowhere to turn. If it wasn’t for the two credit cards Sharon had gotten for him, more likely than not he would have been forced to stay in some two-bit motel these past few days. There had to be a way out of this!
Moving inside to the king-size bed, Richard lay down and folded his arms over his bloodshot eyes. He had to think!
The only solution he could come up with to redeem himself in Lynn’s eyes was to follow through with the contract and take Nedra’s life. Even the thought of that pained him. Yes, she had disappointed him with that little stunt of hers in Tahoe, but he forgave that. If he could get to Nedra and let her know that she was in danger, maybe he could get her to go away with him, even if he had to take her by force. Eventually, she’d forgive him, just like he forgave her, especially after he explained the situation.
Yes, that was it! This was a better plan than the last one.
Having settled that, he snorted a line of coke off the night stand, plumped up the pillows supporting his back, and waited for his high to take him to nirvana.
Life was beginning to look good again. He would let things calm down, sneak back into Oakland, and get Nedra. That would get her out of Lynn’s reach and the two of them would finally be together.
CHAPTER 18
It had been one week exactly, that Nedra and Sin first greeted the morning in each other’s arms. Since that time, a lot had happened, and each could sense the force of the whirlwind that threatened their relationship, but they held on.
Nedra looked across the room at the man she loved. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that fit his well-toned form splendidly, he was conducting a scavenger hunt to find the TV remote. She smiled. This was the man who had changed her world. Even Esther’s veiled threats didn’t bother her. She had a right to a life outside of Mount Peter. She had a right to this bit of happiness, and Sin did make her happy. The result was an entirely new attitude.
She had always been careful about her appearance. Her profession did not dictate that she had to look dowdy, but this evening special care had been taken. She’d spent the morning at the hair dresser and the afternoon shopping. The result was the V-neck sweater and the form fitting pants she was wearing. The look was different and daring for her. She felt very chic and stylish. The looks Sin was giving her told her he appreciated the effort. The heat emanating between them had been smoldering all evening.
“All right!” Sin’s triumphant shout raced across the room as he held the remote unit high in the air like a trophy. He pushed the power button. Light from the television screen flooded the dimly lit room.
Sin joined Nedra on the sofa, and shifted her lithe body to fit snugly against his own. They were ready to enjoy the movie he had rented for their evening together. His eyes briefly swept the shapely contours of her body.
“Did I tell you that you really look good tonight? I like that outfit, especially those pants.”
“Thank you.” Nedra grinned, pleased by the compliment and stirred by the fire in his eyes. Further evidence of his admiration was pressed firmly against her back.
“So what is this mystery movie that’s supposed to be ‘right up my alley’?” Nedra wanted to know.
Sin winked mischievously. “You’ll see.”
The words, “The Preacher’s Wife”, flashed across the screen.
Nedra scoffed. “You have got to be kidding! No violence? No gratuitous sex?”
Amused by the look of disappointment on her face, he planted a kiss on her cheek. “I’m afraid not, preacher lady, but it does have Denzel.”
She grinned her approval. “Then I guess I can muddle through.”
Between munching on popcorn, tickling each other until breathless with laughter, and stealing quick kisses that left promises of things to come, they managed to see the entire movie. At its end, they lay cuddled on the sofa, contentment covering them like a blanket.
Nedra sighed. The time was right to ease the conversation around to the subject she wanted to discuss.
“I spoke to the boys’ caseworker yesterday. She told me that you visited them in the Children’s Center. She said that she talked to you and suggested that you take foster parenting classes so you could take them into your home.”
Sin tensed. “Then she also told you that I said no.”
Nedra shifted in his arms so that she could see his face. “Well, I can understand the reasons for that. Two little boys would be a lot of responsibility, but I was thinking, considering your own experiences with foster homes—”
“Yes, I’m quite acquainted with those.” Setting her aside, Sin rose to his feet and went to the entertainment center to retrieve the movie. “Nedra could hear the bitterness in his voice. He kept his back to her. “I thought you were going to find another foster home for them with some of your parishioners?”
“I’m going to try.”
He turned at the uncertainty in her voice. “What do you mean by ‘try’? I was positive that you could find a family for them.”
Nedra chose her next words carefully. There was such hope in his voice, more hope than she could offer. “I can’t guarantee that I can find another two-parent family for the boys. All I can do is make an effort.”
“But it doesn’t have to be a two-parent home. You’ve got a thousand people in your church, and you’re telling me not one of them wants to take in two orphan boys? So much for Christianity!” He spat.
“Don’t blame Christianity, Sin. Life is responsible for this situation. Just like you, people know that it takes a lot to care for two growing boys. I’ve seen people in our church with much less than you take strangers, old and young, into their homes.”
“Oh, I see, so you’re trying to make me feel guilty about not taking the boys?” Sin’s stance became defensive. “I can tell you right now, you’re a little late. It was hell leaving those boys in that so called Children’s Home. It looked more like a prison, and the kids were putting on this big front saying it was no big deal, they could take it. All the while I could see the fear in their eyes. And they’ve got the right to be afraid. I know what they’ll be up against if they put them in the foster care system. Even if they’re lucky enough to
stay together it’ll be hell. If they’re separated it will be doubly so!”
The pain in his voice was wrenching. Instantly, Nedra regretted her contribution to what had to be one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make.
“Sin, I didn’t come here to make you feel guilty. I would never do that.” She went to him, burying her face in the curve of his neck. “I love you.”
Sin’s stance changed from defensive to defenseless. He tightened his arms around her, absorbing her strength. “Oh, baby, leaving those kids there was so hard.”
“I know.” She ran her fingers through his hair in an attempt to ease his pain. “You don’t have anything to feel guilty about.”
“I don’t know what else I can do for them.”
“Baby, nobody could have done more than you have.”
His face hovered above hers. “I need you Nedra. You’ll never know how much.” His lips hungrily devoured her. The smoldering flame was ignited.
Nedra’s body pulsated, responding willingly to each delicious demand. Rapture replaced reasoning as his hands, his lips and his hungry tongue worked pure magic. Every lick, every nibble, every audacious stroke and caress was maddeningly potent. The fire between them was lethal.
Sin stripped them both of their clothing. Trembling, doddering on delirium, he covered his shaft before lifting Nedra to meet him.
“Hold onto me,” he whispered. And she did.
Their lovemaking was frantic and frenzied, as if parting was impossible. Sin chanted her name like a mantra. She responded wildly to each powerful stroke.
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