“It must be a hundred degrees,” Nora said. They were outside now, near the well.
Dex had to agree. He was already a sweaty mess from the heat under all those books, and it was almost as bad outside. This was not normal.
“We should rip that up,” Dex said.
“I guess you’re right.” Nora looked down at the brittle old diary entry in her hand. “I can barely stand to touch it,” she said. “It feels evil, even if it is worth a fortune.”
“I’ll do it,” Dex offered. “Destroying valuable texts is one of my specialties.”
Nora handed it to him, and he proceeded to shred the page, the page that would have settled the dispute over Jack the Ripper’s identity once and for all, not to mention put his retirement issues to rest. But that thought didn’t occur to him until the deed was done.
Dex dropped the shreds into the well and watched them fall.
“Uh oh,” Dex said. “I think some of them landed in the bucket.”
Nora approached and leaned over to look.
“It’s usually up,” she said. “It’s my fault. Father will be angry. Here, we’ll just haul it up and toss whatever it caught.” She started turning a crank mounted on the side of the well.
When it came up, both Dex and Nora looked in, surprised to see more than just fragments of Gull’s entry.
Along with them was the rest of the diary.
“That’s weird,” Dex said, lifting it out. “Do you think your dad tossed it because he knew it was useless without the cover?”
“I don’t think so,” Nora replied. “If he knew where the secret was, he wouldn’t have left the cover with us.”
Dex thought a moment, then said, “He didn’t really seem like he wanted to find the book to begin with.”
“I noticed that,” Nora said. “I don’t think he trusted that man. I don’t think he believed he had anything to do with the Pope, talking about assassins and killing you and Daphna. I know my dad. He wouldn’t really try to hurt you. He must have assumed the man was a Mason and didn’t want him coming back for the book. He’s told me many times that if I have to get rid of something in a hurry to use the well. That’s why I’m always to have the bucket up.”
“You’re probably right,” said Dex. “But that guy is definitely who he says he is. Though I don’t think anyone else in the Church knows what he does—even the Pope.” Dex tossed the book and fragments into the well. He watched them fall until he heard the block of pages splash.
Just then a thunderclap crashed. If Dex’s head was in a pot and someone slammed the lid on it, the effect couldn’t have been any more jarring. It caused an immediate headache.
Both Dex and Nora covered their ears and looked up to watch the lightning. It snapped, zigzagging overhead, then started to fade, a bit like the vapor trail of an airplane.
Only it didn’t fade away completely this time. The faintest white lines stayed scratched across the sky, like the crazy criss-crossing marks ice skates leave on the ice when a crowd clears off.
Something was happening up there, but it was hard to see clearly what it was. Impossible, actually, because the sky seemed to blur around the lines.
“I’m scared,” Nora said, staring up at them. “I’m scared of that thunder, but I’m even more sacred of that lightning now. What’s it doing? It looks like heat rising up off a road when it’s hot—hot like this.”
“That is heat,” Dex said.
“Do you think so? From the lightning being so hot? It’s electricity, right?”
“That’s not lightning.” Dex shook his head. It should have been obvious from the start.
“What do you mean?”
“Those lines—” he said, “They’re not electricity.”
“What are they then?”
“Cracks.”
“Cracks? In the sky? You—you don’t mean in Heaven, do you?”
“Yes,” Dexter said. “The walls of Heaven must be cracking from the heat—from the fire. Anyway, the heat is leaking out. We better get a move on.”
Dex headed down the drive leading down and around to the synagogue, but Nora remained fixed where she was, staring up at the ripples of heat coming down from above.
“Nora,” he said gently, coming back, worried that this was going to be too much for her.
Nora didn’t start praying. Instead, she looked at him, clearly all there in her eyes. Why were her eyes clear? Why were his?
“I just wanted to say thank you again,” she said, “for understanding. For not leaving me back there like maybe you should have. You’ve done so much for me in just, I guess, a few hours.”
“It’s okay, really,” Dex said. But he was pleased. So pleased.
The pair made their way back past the playground and down around to the little paved way that linked the church and synagogue parking lots. They walked through all the cars, hunching a bit to avoid being seen, but there was no one out there. When they got around behind the building where the entry courtyard was, they stopped and squatted behind a van.
“What exactly is our plan?” Nora asked. “I don’t think we can just walk right in and not get in trouble with the curfew and all.”
“Good question,” Dex said. He wished, suddenly, that Daphna were there to offer a suggestion. He hoped she was okay. He’d have to call as soon as they had a minute. Maybe he should have called already. No, he should call right now.
“Dex,” Nora said. She was pointing at something, the courtyard gate.
People were suddenly flooding out through it. At the same time, a long line of cars started moving into the lot. Horns honked.
“What’s going on?”
“They have two services,” Nora explained. The first one must have just ended. And look, there are lots of kids.”
And there were, of all ages. Most of them seemed rather agitated. Come to think of it, so did most of their parents. There was a lot of fussing going on: kids been dragged by the hands, parents shushing and hissing at them along the way.
“They must have gotten exceptions!” Dex said, getting to his feet. “For the religious event! Let’s go.”
Nora stood up and the pair walked swiftly into the crowd coming out.
“Hey!” someone shouted as they squeezed past the first few people going the opposite direction.
“Can’t you wait!” someone else demanded.
But no one stopped them.
“What should we do?” Nora asked. “Find the rabbi?” They were wedging their way into a rather peaceful courtyard made up of pavers inscribed with people’s names.
“I guess,” Dex said. “But we better hurry before the service starts. Let’s get inside.”
It was no easy task getting in through the crowds leaving the main entrance, but once they managed it, Dex and Nora found themselves in a foyer facing three sets of wooden doors. People were flowing out through all three. There appeared to be many rows of benches behind them.
They forced their way through again, irritating just about everyone they brushed by.
Dex saw a man collecting prayer books, so he approached him.
“Ah,” he said, “is the rabbi around?”
The man, a full-bellied guy wearing a green and yellow Oregon Ducks tie with a matching skullcap, looked put out by the question.
“He’s resting between services,” he said.
“We really need to see him.”
“Everyone needs him today!” the man snarled. “And it’s mostly because of kids like you! The first service was a disaster! Go home and give the guy a break!”
“Okay, okay,” Dex said, backing away. But he’d seen the man glance across the sanctuary toward the raised platform on which the ark resided. The towering glass cabinet was fronted by glass etched with colorful geometric patterns. It was topped by a little replica of the Ten Commandments. Dex knew it housed the Torah.
The rabbi was obviously not in there. Tall chairs sat on either side of it, only they were all empty. But there was a door, a little door he now saw, in what looked like a short hall next to the platform.
“Thanks, anyway,” Dex said, taking Nora by the hand.
The room was filling up now as people streamed in for the second service, so there was plenty of cover for the pair as Dex led the way to the little door. The walls of the hall it was in were covered with dark little plaques engraved with what looked like names and dates—names were everywhere, it seemed. Dex squinted at one, assuming they were commemorations for deceased congregants, but Nora nudged him.
The door was right there. Dex turned and looked at it, then scanned the crowd. He could hear angry talk about the outrageous thunder and heat and the even more outrageous children. He was waiting for the right moment.
But there was no right moment, so Dex just grabbed the knob, which, thankfully, turned. He opened the door just enough for Nora to slip inside.
After one more quick check to make sure they’d not been seen, Dex slipped in behind her.