Careless Rapture (14 page)

“Well, our other reason didn’t work. I bet
he’ll call back next week.”

Faye draped her handbag strap over her
shoulder. “I bet he won’t call at all.”

She shrugged. “Nothing lost except a business
card.”

“How can you be so optimistic?”

Sheer will. She’d learned that life had to
get better even when everything else seemed lost. She stared at the
grave site. It was getting harder and harder to keep that attitude.
Now Hamlick was really gone and the shock of Eric’s news still
lingered. She didn’t even know where her parents were buried.

“I want to stay for a minute,” Jackie said.
“I’ll meet you at the car.”

“Okay.”

Jackie stood alone, the quiet of the cemetery
offering little peace. She stared at Hamlick’s coffin. “Your
children are awful,” she said to the box. “But I’m certain you knew
that—you never spoke about them much.” She folded her arms. “I miss
you already. You could have lasted a couple more years, right? But
that’s selfish of me. I just don’t have anyone to talk to.”

Jackie looked up at the sky through passing
cumulus clouds to the invisible deity above. “Okay, when does it
end? Don’t you think I have struggled enough? Do you have to test
to see how strong I am? You took away my friend. So he was old—I
still loved him.” Jackie blinked back tears. “But you’ve taken
loved ones from me before. I can take losing the funding. I’ll,
figure that out. Brian dumping me.” She laughed bitterly. “That’s
nothing new. It’s not like you blessed me with a great love life. I
accept that. But Eric? No. I can’t accept that.” She clenched her
fists. “I won’t accept that. I won’t. Do you hear me?”

“There’s no one up there.”

She spun around and saw Nicolas. “What?”

“You’re not talking to anybody.”

She folded her arms, surprised. “You don’t
believe in God?”

“No.”

She stared at him, bewildered. “How can you
bear not having faith in anything?”

“How can you have faith in something that
doesn’t exist?”

“I have faith that it does.”

“Faith is just something people believe in to
make the world feel more bearable. Gives you all the answers and
makes you feel safe. Unfortunately, there are no real answers.
Science does its best but is as limited as the mind of man. We just
fumble through life, then die.”

“No, there’s more to life than that.”

“Some benevolent spirit who helps us? And
which one do you believe in? The ones of myths and legends? Or the
more modern, acceptable ones like Allah or Jehovah.”

“I do believe in God.” She brushed aside a
tear, then laughed at herself. “I must look foolish to you.”

“No, only sad. Life is a series of
misadventures—it’s easy to cast blame and it’s easy to be misled.”
His eyes swept her face. For a moment she felt as though he were
stripping her bare. “You’re very vulnerable. Be careful who you
trust.”

“What do you mean by that?”

He hesitated, then handed her a card. “Do you
believe in this?”

She looked at the white card with green
printing:

Careless Rapture Ministry

Peace in Surrender

Careless Rapture?
It was him? She
glanced up, a sliver of fear coursing through her. He didn’t sound
the same and he certainly didn’t look as she had expected. Had he
followed her here? What did he want from her? She took a hasty step
back.

“What do you want?”

He furrowed his brows, confused. “I only
asked a question.”

“Why did you call me? Are you trying to make
me believe in this? Why did you give it to me?”

“You’re the one who gave this to me.” He
flipped the card over.

Jackie stared at her hasty scrawl. “Oh.” She
frowned.“But I got this out of Faye’s bag.”

“Do you think she’s a believer?”

“No, she’s very traditional. It’s hard to
believe she would buy into this.”

“Like I said, be careful. There are a lot of
charlatans out there promising the perfect peace.”

“That’s okay. I’ll stick with what I know.”
She grinned. “So are you going to call her?”

He shoved a hand in his pocket. “Personally,
I’d like to call you instead.”

She blinked, surprised. “Oh. Well, um
...”

He smiled. “I know. You’re seeing someone
else.” He sighed with mock regret. “The interesting ones always
are.”

“Faye’s interesting.”

“I suppose she just hides it well.”

“She’s very devoted to her job. But give her
time and she’ll loosen up.”

“She’s lucky to have a friend like you. So
who looks out for you?”

“Besides my two brothers and their
wives?”

“Good, so you’re well taken care of,” he
said, like a pleased guardian.

Jackie raised a brow. “I’m not as innocent as
I look.”

He turned. “No, you’re much more.”

***

Jackie thought about Nicolas’s words as Faye
drove her home. “Have you ever heard of the Careless Rapture
Ministry?”

“No. Why?”

“Because you had their card in your bag.”

Faye frowned. “I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”

“I spoke to Nicolas and the card I gave him
had the Careless Rapture Ministry on it. Not much else but a symbol
and a message of peace.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t . . . oh,
no.”

Jackie turned to her, alarmed. “What?”

“I took a stack of cards off Patty’s desk and
dumped them in my bag to throw away. You know how she likes to try
and slip in religious material with our promotional flyers and
brochures. I must have forgotten to clean out my purse.”

“Can I look now?”

“Please do, and take all the cards out.”

Jackie went through Faye’s organized bag and
took out the cards. “Did she say where she got them?”

“I didn’t ask her,” she said with regret. “It
didn’t seem important at the time.”

“I know.”

Faye sighed, resigned. “So you may be on to
something about Melanie’s man.”

“Yes, I hope so.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t take you seriously
before.”

“That’s okay. It sounded pretty
fantastic.”

Faye tapped her finger against the steering
wheel. “So what are you going to do?”

“First I’m going to talk to Patty.”

“Be careful. You know how easily she gets
hurt. Do you think she mailed the card to clients?”

“No, I don’t think she’d go that far.”

“This is Patty we’re talking about.”

Jackie glanced out the window, not looking
forward to the task. “I know.”

***

That night Jackie arranged her CDs, trying to
pretend she wasn’t waiting for the phone to ring. When it finally
did, she tripped over her shoes, hit her knee on the couch, then
answered.

“Hello?” she answered, trying to sound
casual.

“Did you hurt yourself?” Clay asked.

“What?”

“Did you hurt yourself racing to the
phone?”

Jackie rubbed her knee and winced. “I didn’t
race to the phone.”

“Hmm. Sorry I couldn’t call sooner.”

“How was the stakeout?”

“Fine. The case is closed. How was the
funeral?”

“A disaster. A real circus. I’m not sure I
saw one genuine teardrop and we will probably not get any help from
the family. But on a positive note, Faye met a guy, Nicolas
something. I forgot his last name. He seems interesting. An
atheist, but I don’t think Faye is picky. Something may come of
that so the day won’t have been completely wasted.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“It was. Also, I may be getting closer to our
invisible man.”

“How so?”

“I accidentally gave Nicolas a card out of
Faye’s bag. She had taken a stack from Patty’s desk. I’m going to
ask Patty how she got them.”

“I already know how.”

Her eyes widened. “How?”

“Through the mail.”

Jackie shook her head. “No, that doesn’t
sound right.”

“That’s how it happened. She has a tendency
to attend conferences and put her name down to receive more
information. She got on his mailing list.”

“You’re just guessing?’

“No, I’m not. She told me.”

“You came by my place?”

“No, I called her over the phone. I said I
was a preacher who was organizing a church for underprivileged
individuals. She helped me with some ideas. She was very open.”

Jackie sank into the couch. “Oh.”

“I thought you’d be glad I was on the
case.”

“I am.”

He laughed at her disappointment. “But you
wanted to be a step ahead.”

“Just a little. Why didn’t you tell me
this?”

“I don’t usually give clients a play-by-play
of everything I do. I get the information they need. When I have
enough, you’ll know.”

“I’m still going to speak to Patty.”

“Fine. Ask her about receiving any
fliers.”

“So when are you coming over? Do you want me
to order now or wait until you get here?”

“Jackie—”

She closed her eyes and groaned. “Don’t tell
me. You can’t make it.”

“Right now I’m standing in an alley waiting
for a guy who thinks he’s a pigeon in a police sitcom. But he has
information for me so I have to go along with his oddities.”

“Sounds exciting!!

“It’s not. I think I just saw a rat scurry
behind a dumpster.”

“If it looks like Brian, say hello.”

“Already did.”

Jackie laughed. “Thanks.” She took down her
hair and pulled out her earrings, “So, I guess I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes. Remember? Sunday dinner at Drake and
Cassie’s?”

“Damn, I nearly forgot about that.”

“Are you coming?”

He hesitated. “Should I?”

“Yes, I want to see you. I can keep a secret
if you can.”

He was quiet, then said, “See you
Sunday.”

“Clay?”

“Yeah?”

Her voice was soft. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

Jackie hung up the phone and turned on the
TV.

A distance away, Clay stared at the phone,
then put it in his jacket.
Be careful.
They were odd words
to hear. He suddenly didn’t feel the March chill still gripping the
air. He couldn’t remember anyone ever saying that to him. He
shrugged, annoyed that he was giving the statement any importance,
then turned and walked farther into the alley.

***

That Sunday afternoon, Jackie sat at the
kitchen island chopping celery in her brother’s kitchen. A rich
scent of stew bubbling on the stove and the sweet aroma of biscuits
from the oven filled the air. Her sister-in-law, Cassie stood at
the counter, scribbling something on a napkin. She wore a pink
dress that complemented her full figure and the slight swell of her
belly. Cassie was one of those women who managed to look
comfortably pregnant—her brown hair was pulled back in a braid
while her glasses slid down the bridge of her nose. She absently
pushed them back in place.

Jackie smiled to herself, glad to have Cassie
as part of her family. She was a comforting woman, someone to
confide in and make you laugh when life seemed grim; they were
qualities that made her a successful speaker and self-help author.
Her other persona, Cassandra—who wore contacts and stylish
clothes—little resembled the woman now.

Drake entered the kitchen and checked his
stew. He looked at Jackie. “Done with the celery?”

“In a minute.”

He reached for the knife. “I can do it.”

She pointed the knife at him. “I said in a
minute.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender. She
finished chopping, then pushed the cutting board toward him.
“There.”

“At last.” He added them to the pot, then
turned to his wife. “What are you working on?”

“An idea,” Cassie said. “Shh, I’m
thinking.”

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her
neck.

“Behave yourself,” she scolded.

“I’m trying.”

Eric walked into the room with Ericka
attached to his leg. He saw Drake steal another kiss and scowled
playfully. “What are you trying to do? Give her twins?”

Drake grinned. “Jealous?”

Eric colored a bit, but said nothing. Cassie
elbowed her husband in the ribs. They all knew Eric and Adriana
were trying to conceive without success. Immediately contrite,
Drake slapped Eric on the back in goodwill. “Has Nina brought any
herbs for me today?”

Drake succeeded in smoothing the awkward
moment. Nina always put a smile on Erie’s face. “Yes, she did.
Adriana has it. She’ll be in soon. We’re growing tomatoes this
year.”

Ericka let go of her uncle’s leg and spun
around until she fell down dizzy. She laughed, then stood to start
over

“Not in the kitchen,” Cassie said.

Drake scooped her up; Ericka giggled,
thinking it was a game. “Come on, let’s see what your brother and
cousin are up to.”

Eric walked over to Cassie and leaned against
the counter. “What are you doing?”

“Writing.”

“On a napkin?”

“A really good idea just came to me. If I
don’t get it down, I’ll lose it.”

“You should try keeping pads of paper
everywhere,” he suggested, being ever practical.

“I try, but somehow I still end up writing on
napkins. I know I’m disorganized, but I find it preferable to not
having any ideas at all.”

“What are we having for dessert?”

“Strawberry cream pie,” she whispered,
knowing his fondness for sweets. She held out her hand. “You may
kiss me.”

He did so. “Could you please teach my wife
how to cook?”

Cassie laughed. “The only reason Adriana
would be in a kitchen is if she’d left a fashion magazine
there.”

“I know.”

Adriana entered the room, draped in a purple
peasant blouse, black skirt, and large gold hoop earrings. “Are you
talking about me?” she asked, pulling on a strand of curly black
hair that fell against her dark coffee skin. A vivacious woman, she
owned three lingerie stores that had a growing name, and her own
lingerie line.