by Rachel Dylan
“Come on in, my friend. Welcome to my home.”
“Layton, I’m left speechless by your home.” He stepped into the foyer and had to make sure his jaw didn’t drop. Huge chandeliers hung overhead and fine art adorned the walls.
“Thank you. I take a lot of pride in this place. Come with me and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
He wanted to make the best first impression possible, so he followed Layton down the hall and into a big room where people were sitting on the large couch or other chairs. Many of them had drinks in their hands. The mood seemed jovial as laughter filled the air.
“Everyone,” Layton said. “I’d like to introduce you to Deputy Assistant District Attorney Tony Sampson—our newest Board member.”
Tony didn’t recognize anyone else in the room except Judge Louise Martinique. He greeted each person and tried to commit their names and faces to memory.
When he came to Louise, he smiled. “So nice to see you again, Judge Martinique.”
“The feeling is likewise, and, please, call me Louise. We’re not in court here. I’m going to love having another lawyer on the board with me.”
He met a couple other men, including a doctor and a marketing executive.
Then he turned his attention to the final person. A gorgeous blonde with long curly hair.
“I’m Morena Isley.” Her bright blue eyes locked onto his.
“Very nice to meet you, Morena. What a unique name.”
“Thank you. I work on the business side at Optimism and also at the Indigo bookstore. Are you familiar with it?”
“I’ve seen it, but I don’t think I’ve ever visited it.”
“You should come in sometime and see what we have to offer.”
“I’ll have to do that.” If it meant seeing Morena again, then he’d certainly be making a trip to the bookstore.
“Since we’re all here, why don’t we move into the den and get started with the business on our agenda,” Layton said. “Then we can enjoy dinner afterwards.”
Tony followed the group down the hall and into another room that had a large circular oak table. He also noticed the high-tech audiovisual equipment. It was like Layton’s house had everything you could ever need. Maybe one day he’d be able to afford something like this, but that would require a lot of moving pieces falling into place.
There were documents placed out at each seat around the table. He took a seat in between Louise and the marketing exec. Even though he wanted to sit by Morena, he needed to play it cool. This wasn’t about a romantic entanglement. He had a job to do here and planned to take this position seriously.
“Okay, everyone,” Layton said. “The first item of business. The final preparation for our annual charity ball.”
Tony listened carefully and took copious notes as they worked their way through the agenda. After watching the meeting unfold, it was clear to him who the power players were. Layton was at the top of the food chain and no one else was close, but Layton did seem to rely on Morena a lot for most of the details and logistics.
“There’s one final item that isn’t on the agenda, but I did want to discuss,” Layton said. “We’re currently seeing an upswing, a renewed interest in our organization, and what we’re finding is when we ask these new members about why they sought us out, there is a common theme. A high dissatisfaction rate with their current place of worship.”
Uh, oh. That got his attention.
“There’s even more to it than that,” Morena said. “We seem to be getting a chunk of new members from Windy Ridge Community Church. We need to make sure these people are especially made to feel welcome after all they’ve been through lately.”
“I may need to excuse myself from this part of the conversation,” Tony said. The fact a sitting judge was watching his every move made him even more cautious. He didn’t want to give the appearance of any sort of conflict of interest.
Layton held up his hand. “Tony’s right. We don’t want to put him in any awkward position given he is the prosecutor on the Dan Light case. So why don’t we just stop this direction of the conversation and simply point out that we are getting new members, and we want to form a welcoming committee to introduce them into our organization.” Layton looked over at him. “And Tony, I hope that you’ll also consider joining our organization. Being on the board is one thing, but we’d also like to invite you into the group. That’s probably a discussion for another time, but I’d love for you to learn more about our spiritual side. I’m sure Morena would be happy to talk to you one-on-one about that.”
Now that was an idea he could get behind. “That would be great, and I appreciate your sensitivity to my current position.”
“On that note, why don’t we adjourn and go enjoy dinner? It’s going to be out of this world.”
Tony got up out of his chair, and Morena headed his way. She pulled out her card and gave it to him.
“Call me and we can set up a time to meet and talk about the organization some more.”
“Perfect.” He still wasn’t sold on this whole New Age thing, but if it meant spending more time with the beautiful blonde, he was all in.
**
Nina Marie had changed clothes about five times. Since when was she so nervous about going on a date? Ever since she had met Abe Smith she couldn’t stop thinking about him. And when he’d called and asked her to dinner she tried to act nonchalant but, on the inside, her stomach was doing cartwheels.
She needed to keep herself in check, though. She could go out with this man and enjoy his company, but what she absolutely couldn’t do is actually develop any sort of true feelings for him.
As she threw off the dress and pulled on another one, she finally was settled on her outfit. Now all she needed was some jewelry to finish off the look.
Abe had suggested dinner at a nice restaurant called Vine. She’d done her research after they’d met at the mall. He’d been a little modest in his description of his work. He’d made it seem like he was a construction worker, when really it appeared like he had his own construction company. But all of that was a bonus in her book. It was refreshing that he wasn’t full of himself. She’d dealt with enough egotistical men in her life.
Abe seemed pretty traditional and had asked if he could pick her up from her house. She’d been a bit unsure about that, but in the end, she’d decided to say yes. She looked down at her favorite watch and saw that he should be arriving any minute.
Taking one more look at herself in the mirror, she was satisfied with her decision—the simple, yet elegant, black dress seemed like the perfect choice. She smoothed down her hair and adjusted her glasses. Then she applied some coral lipstick she knew went well with her hair and skin tone.
The doorbell rang, and she was impressed that he was right on time. That was already a point in his favor.
She opened the door, and her breath caught when she saw him on the other side. He wore khakis and a navy blue dress shirt. He still sported the stubble on his chin, which fit him perfectly.
“You look amazing,” he said. Then he handed her over a bouquet of colorful pink, purple, and yellow tulips and carnations. “These are for you.”
“Thank you so much.” This man was a real gentleman, and she loved that he didn’t bring roses. The mixed bouquet was much more to her liking.
“You have a nice place here.”
“Thanks. I did all the interior design myself. Let me put these in some water, and then we can get going.”
“No rush.”
“Feel free to look around. I’ll be right back.” She walked toward the kitchen to get a vase and some water.
She pulled out her favorite pink crystal vase from the cabinet and arranged the flowers. As she looked at them, she realized that she was smiling widely. The night was off to a wonderful start.
“Abe, I’m ready.” She walked out of the kitchen and found him in her living room staring at one of her paintings.
“Do you like it?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s so unusual.”
“You’re looking at the painter.”
“You did this?” he asked.
“I did.”
“You really have a special talent. I can’t ever imagine being able to create something so beautiful.”
“You build things though. It’s a different type of beauty, and speaking of that, why didn’t you tell me you actually owned your own construction company?”
He grinned. “I see you’ve been checking up on me.”
“Well, I did just randomly meet you in the mall. I don’t normally take people at face value.”
“That’s actually good. There are a lot of psychos out there.”
She nodded. “I know it.”
By the time they were having dessert two hours later, Nina Marie couldn’t remember laughing so much in one night. Abe was not only incredibly handsome, but he had a killer sense of humor.
“So tell me more about this whole New Age thing.”
“You really want to know more? Or are you just being polite?” She thought that maybe he was trying to act interested because he could tell how much of a big part of her life it was.
“I’m being serious. I did some research on the Internet after we talked.”
“You did?” She was impressed he would take the time to do that.
“Yeah. But there was so much out there, I couldn’t really make heads or tails of it, and then I started to wonder what distinguishes your company from your competitor.”
“That’s a good question. We’re definitely more on the cutting edge on the tech side. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but the man who runs Optimism is pure evil.”
“Evil?”
“Yes. He actively seeks out the dark side.”
“Are you talking about the devil and demons?”
“Exactly.”
He leaned in. “Do you believe in all of that?”
She thought about how honest she should be. She liked him. It would be easier to tell him she didn’t believe. But she didn’t plan on having a one-night stand with this guy. She wanted something a bit more, so she decided to put her cards on the table and see how he reacted. “I actually do believe in the entire spiritual realm. The realm of the unseen.”
His eyes widened. “I see.”
“Have I completely scared you off now?”
He shook his head. “Not even close. But I’d like to understand your role in all of this. I already know how you feel about Christianity, but I also can’t imagine that you’re into the dark side either. You’re much too nice for that.”
If only he knew. “I guess that’s a compliment.”
“Of course. You don’t seem to have an evil bone in your body.”
She sucked in a breath and tried to compose herself. How was this man seeing a completely different person than who she thought she was? “I’m a lot more complicated than you might think.” If only you knew the truth.
“I’m used to dealing with complicated. I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
“You have no reason to apologize. I’ve had a wonderful time tonight.” Maybe it was best to try to short circuit this before things got too strange.
“A nice enough time to do it again sometime?”
“Yes. I’d like that.” Before she had a chance to overthink it, she decided to ask him. “Also, I have this charity event. It’s actually an event hosted by the CEO of Optimism. It’s a black tie type thing—you’d probably hate it, but…”
“I’d love to go with you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. When is it?”
“This weekend.”
“Sounds perfect.”
As he smiled back at her, she hoped that she wouldn’t regret inviting him to the charity gala—and into her life.
Chapter Nine
“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me, Beverly,” Olivia said. She sat on the small beige couch in Beverly Jenkins’s living room with a cup of tea in her hand.
The church bookkeeper had a small but cozy home that was only minutes from the church. Beverly didn’t have to meet with her, especially since Beverly knew she was defending Dan. But the fact she’d agreed to the meeting made Olivia feel a little better.
“Of course, of course. Anything I can do to help, I’ll do it. I already feel so upset about this whole thing. It’s been really difficult for me, as I’m assuming you could imagine.”
Olivia looked at the fifty-plus-year-old woman. She knew that Beverly used to be a CPA but retired early to work at the church. Besides that, she didn’t know much else about her.
“You’ve probably figured out by now that you’re going to have to be a witness in Dan’s trial.”
She watched as Beverly clenched her fist around the floral coffee cup. “I have figured it, but that doesn’t mean I like it. I don’t think anyone wants to be put on the witness stand and questioned, and certainly not given the situation here. If there was another way, I’d love to know about it.”
“Unfortunately, I think you’re stuck as far as being a witness. As Dan’s defense attorney it’s my job to figure out whether you’ll be part of our defense—or alternatively whether you’re actually going to be someone the prosecution will rely on. So having this discussion will help me make that decision. All I ask that is that you’re honest. I can take the truth, but I need to know what you believe happened.”
Beverly nodded. “That makes sense.”
Olivia had decided to have this informal and hopefully friendly meeting before things got much more contentious at trial. She wanted to get a read on Beverly and what all it is she would say.
“I knew you’d want to talk. It’s just a difficult thing to discuss, but I guess that it has to happen.” She set down her cup.
“Let’s take it slow. Why don’t you start out by telling me why you went to the police instead of going to Dan first?”
“I’m so sorry, Olivia. This is all my fault.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I found some discrepancies in the accounting. Once I noticed something was off, I started digging. Then I kept digging deeper and deeper. Until…” A big tear fell down her cheek.
Olivia couldn’t help herself and reached out to pat Beverly’s hand. This woman seemed to be really hurting over all of this. “What is it, Beverly? You can tell me. Remember, honesty is all I’m asking for. I’m not going to judge you or your actions. I’m just trying to get to down to the bottom of all of this.”
“There was an account money was being funneled into, and when I found that out, I was going to go to Pastor Dan. But once I was able to get details on the account, then I realized that he was somehow involved. I had to go to the police.”
As the last words came out of her mouth, the single tear turned into full out bawling.
“Beverly, just take a deep breath. A few of them actually.”
Beverly did as instructed. Olivia was patient with her and even pulled out some tissues from her purse and offered them to Beverly, who dried her eyes, trying to compose herself.
“Okay, Beverly. How’re you feeling? Can we go on?”
“Yes. I’m sorry about that. It just comes flooding back to me when I talk about it like this.”
“No problem. It’s a tough situation we’re all in right now, but I have to ask you this. Is there any way you could’ve been mistaken? Could the money have accidentally been transferred to one of Dan’s accounts?”
She shook her head. “Maybe if it was a one-time error, but I am very careful. Olivia, this paper trail is over a year long. You can’t replicate mistakes like that, and I gave the information I had to the police. I’m not privy to the details of their investigation.”
“So you didn’t go to Dan because you thought he was guilty?” She needed to hear Beverly’s answer to this.
Her eyes welled up again. “I was so afraid that he was. With his wife’s awful illness, I thought maybe he just broke down and
thought he needed the money to pay the bills. I didn’t think he was out buying sports cars or anything like that, but sometimes in desperate times, people do bad things—even if they’re God-fearing people. That’s what I believe happened here. If you want my honest answer, that’s what it is. So, yes, I do think Dan is guilty, but I still think the man deserves a fair trial. If I’m on the stand though, and I raise my hand and swear on the Bible to tell the truth, then I’ll tell it just like I’m telling you now. As his defense attorney, I’d imagine you’d not want me to speak like that, but I hope you understand that I have to do what’s right. I know you can appreciate the predicament I’m in right now.”
“I do appreciate it, and I am glad that we got to have this talk. I can’t imagine how hard it was for you to go through all of this, but I have to tell you that I’m going to do everything in my power to try to prove that Dan is innocent.”
“Olivia, if you can do that, then God really would’ve worked a miracle.”
As she looked into Beverly’s eyes, she wondered if there was any way that this woman was lying. That she was actually guilty. But even if she thought that before, it would be really difficult to make a jury think this woman was somehow involved. Olivia’s job had just gotten a lot harder.
**
Dan looked forward to his meeting with Olivia. He had so much to tell her about the work he’d been doing in prison. Yes, he still dealt with a couple of inmates who gave him a hard time, but he’d been able to lead a few others to Christ just by talking and sharing his testimony.
The guard led him to the small holding room where Olivia was. Dan smiled when he saw her.
“It’s good to see you again,” he said.
“How’re you doing?”
“Better than I ever expected I would be. My ministry is spreading throughout this prison. I have guys coming up to me during rec time. I never in my wildest thoughts could have imagined that God would use this experience in this way.”
“I’m so glad.”
“And how are you doing?” he asked. She seemed tense, and he had to think that something more was going on.
“I’m all right, but I do have some additional questions for you.”