“I thought the church frowned on the fact that I love a woman.”
Andrew exhaled a long sigh. “Someday all believers will see love for the beauty that it is, no matter where it’s found. That day hasn’t come yet, but some of us are a little ahead of the times, no matter how many years we carry around with us.”
“And the wolves at my door?”
“Neither the church nor I has an answer for them.” The whirl of a leaf blower came through the window, and Andrew waved to the young man operating it. “However, I do know who does have an answer to that question.”
“Father Andy, if you tell me to pray on it and it’ll come to me, I may have to smack you one.”
The laugh lines around her eyes were a sign that her smile was genuine and that she was teasing.
“I see some smiting in your future, if you don’t behave,” Andrew shot back. “I was going to say that the one person who could answer that was your father. After all, he was a man of honor, but also a man with more than his share of enemies. So he had a philosophy about what the two of you liked to call wolves.”
Cain leaned forward and put her hands on her knees. “How much easier would my life be if he’d lived?”
The question didn’t seem directed at him, so Andrew stayed quiet.
“There was still so much he didn’t tell me before he left.”
“Knowing Dalton the way I did, I can tell you he didn’t choose to leave. He got his money’s worth out of each day God gave him, and if he could have, he would’ve bargained with the devil himself to stay for a while longer and watch you shine.”
The easy silence came once more, broken when Andrew said, “Hell, I miss him so much I would’ve made the bargain myself.”
“I’m sorry, Father. I didn’t mean to come here and upset you with old memories.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’m an old man who gets more sentimental every day.” He slapped his hands together. “So on to the answer to your question. Dalton Casey believed that man had dominion over the animals.”
“Is this a riddle?”
Andrew shook his head. “If man has dominion over all the animals, then you can either tame the wolves causing you trouble or give them a new scent to follow. What’s most important here is not to show fear for any reason. Accept the things you can’t control, Derby, and plan around them. But you can control some things, so start thinking about how to keep yourself and those around you safe. It wouldn’t hurt to keep them out of jail too.”
As Cain smiled and sat quietly, she brushed back some mussed hair, an old habit that made Andrew see her incredible resemblance to Dalton. “I can see why my father loved you, but why did my mother?”
“Not everyone can be shown the way by taking the same road, child. I listened to your father and didn’t judge, because that’s not my job. To Therese, I was Bishop Goodman first, a man of faith who helped her find peace by praying for her family. It took me an age, it did, but she finally also accepted me as Andy, the guy who shared a few whiskeys with her husband on Saturday afternoons.
“But your father liked coming here for another reason, especially toward the end of his life.”
“Another riddle?”
“Just an observation, but perhaps useful, and the real reason I asked you here today.” With his fingers steepled on his chest, Andrew stopped talking. “I don’t often call my parishioners so late in the evening, bothering them while they’re with their families.”
“Well?”
“He was right about you—a bit impatient.” The reprimand was a bit sterner this time, and it made Cain’s jaw click shut. “Tell me, have you ever heard the expression ‘blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth’?”
“It’s part of scripture, if I remember my religion classes in school.”
“Good. Do you think that God would bless those who help unfortunate children?”
That Andy took the long road to get to every point didn’t escape Cain, so she put her empty cup down and relaxed into the comfortable chair. If anything, their visit was helping her forget Anthony’s intrusion and its ramifications. “If life was fair, my answer would be yes, but it seldom is, so my answer is maybe.”
“Excellent. I see your brain is still capable of firing on all cylinders. In this case, the answer you’re looking for lies with you.”
He held his finger up and she stayed silent.
“Your father took an interest in our youth-development programs, sponsoring certain things so the church’s outreach programs would touch many people’s lives. He would sit in here with Anya and talk about them for hours.”
Cain laughed, but played along. “And Anya is?”
“The director of the youth sports programs. Would you like to meet her?”
She threw her hands up and laughed again. “Sure, I’ve got all day.”
After a short phone call, an athletic-looking woman with auburn hair and dark skin stepped in, introduced herself, and offered Cain her hand. The three talked about Anya’s job and how successful her programs were in the city’s most poverty- and crime-ridden neighborhoods.
Wasting time carrying on such a conversation seemed surreal to Cain, but Anya sounded so enthusiastic about her causes that Cain listened with genuine interest.
“It was nice meeting you, Ms. Casey,” Anya said as she stood up, holding an envelope Cain hadn’t noticed before. “Thank you for listening to me, and just remember, every little bit helps. I also wanted to tell you how fond I was of your father. Mr. Casey did a lot of good, and we still miss him.” She dropped the envelope into Cain’s lap and started to leave. “Would you mind throwing that away for me? I found it outside and don’t need it.”
The innocuous white envelope felt heavy, and out of curiosity Cain opened the flap. She couldn’t control her brief look of shock but quickly slid the cool veneer back into place. “Ms. Sterling?”
The woman stopped, her hand already on the doorknob. “Yes?”
“The new volleyball program you wanted to start, how much do you need?”
“We could do the whole thing for twenty-five thousand.”
“You’ll have a check today.” Cain tucked the envelope into the inside breast pocket of her jacket. “And if you ever need anything else thrown away, give me a call.”
“You don’t have any questions?” Anya asked.
Cain turned to Andy as she answered. “I have faith enough to know when to consider something as good fortune for helping those less fortunate.”
“God bless you, then,” and with that, she was gone.
“Does the church realize aiding known criminals is part of your daily job?” Cain waited until the door was closed before posing the question to Andy.
The bishop put his hand on his chest, his eyes wide. “You’re a criminal?”
“Now who’s the wiseass?”
“Guilty as charged,” Andy joked. “Anya’s a wonderful woman who’s done a lot of good. Her partner works in the FBI forensics lab here in town and in that position sees some rather interesting things.”
“I’ll just bet.”
“Last night when an agent came to her partner and asked for something without following protocol, it piqued her interest, and she said she felt like she was seeing a ghost from the past. She remembered Anya speaking of Dalton often, and someone in the pictures looked an awful lot like him. Anya called me last night, concerned, and I don’t need to tell you what a horrible position you’d put her partner in if you let anyone know about this conversation.”
“You have my word, Father Andy.”
“I don’t know what Anya wants thrown away. I just know she needed a donation to start something that’ll bring happiness to kids no one wants to think about. If you decide to make that dream of hers a reality, it’s certainly up to you. That’s why I called you to come today. One thing about her, though, bears mentioning. A fledgling program to do outreach in the housing developments, funded by your father, saved Anya’s mother, who was walking the streets selling her body and using the profits to feed a habit that spiraled out of control.”