Nobody made a whimper for a long time.
Bleu stepped closer to Roche—for his comfort, and her own. Cyrus stood at her opposite side.
“That’s spiteful.” Madge’s voice rang out, and it shocked Bleu to her toes. She looked at her cousin, standing with her chair pushed back, and wondered what else she didn’t know about her. Fury changed her face, filled it with passionate loathing.
Bleu wanted to turn toward Cyrus, to see his reaction. She stayed right where she was. And she dreaded how devastated Madge would be if he tried to soften her outburst.
“I’m goin’ to have my way,” Kate said in ringing tones. “That land’s valuable. It’ll be sold when I decide. That won’t be anytime soon. If you want some place for meetings, put it where the old school was. We don’t need another one. That school’s done enough killin’ already.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Madge said.
Bleu held her breath.
“We’re sufferin’ right with you over Jim,” Madge continued. “We’re never goin’ to be the same. He wanted the school replaced. Each of us will have to decide what we think is the right thing to do.”
Bleu let the breath out.
“Let’s get to those pledge cards,” Ozaire boomed.
The trance snapped, and talk broke out. Bleu dared to check out Cyrus’s face. He was staring straight at Madge, who continued to stand. She looked back at him. Bleu had to turn away. It hurt too much to see the yearning in her cousin’s eyes.
“Madge has some spirit,” Roche said in her ear. “It runs in the family.”
She didn’t know how to respond, but she smiled at him. He was working a miracle for her, changing just about everything about her, or helping her to change it.
And she was scared, Bleu realized, afraid to accept that the wonder of it wouldn’t all go away. People had affairs all the time, but that didn’t make them commitments.
“Don’t worry about the land issue,” Roche said. “Kate’s grieving. She’s raw. She’ll come around. If she doesn’t—we’ll figure out something else.”
We. He talked about them as a couple, a pair. She wanted to relax and believe it. She wanted to giggle all the time and go nuts with amazement that he was here and he wanted to spend time with her.
She was afraid.
Roche pulled her away from center-stage and into a spot where they had privacy. “I’m a tough guy,” he said.
Bleu blinked. “Of course you are.”
“I am. I’ve got more bad habits than you can imagine, but I’m trainable, Bleu.”
“What does that mean?” she said.
“It means I hope you’ll give us a chance to see what we can be together.” He smirked, there was no other description for his expression. “I’ll expand on that. I already know what we can be together. Exhausted and silly-happy. But you know what I mean. ‘Can I be what you need?’ is the question. And whether or not you’re even interested.”
“I’m the one who needs the work,” she told him.
Cyrus interrupted. “We don’t have enough pledge cards,” he said. “I never thought I’d have a reason to say that, about anything.”
“I don’t suppose it would be cool if I yelled, ‘whee!’” Bleu said. She and Roche exchanged a long look. Later there would be a lot more to say. “I was trying to be optimistic, so I brought a big bundle of cards. I’ll run and get them.”
“Kate’s left,” Cyrus said. “I’ll have to go and see her again.”
Telling him to save his breath wouldn’t go over so well, Bleu decided. There was something incredibly selfish about Kate Harper. Or maybe she really wasn’t herself at a time such as this.
“Be right back,” Bleu said.
She hurried to get the cards from Annie Savage’s office. Bleu had left all her things there when she arrived. Annie and Max were very different, too. Could Annie help with all the questions Bleu had about being with Roche?
Terrible idea.
She didn’t know Annie well enough for that.
“You’re a wizard,” a woman said as Bleu passed.
“No,” she responded. “This is a very special parish.”
On her way across the deserted lobby, she paused to check out the guest book the Knights of Columbus had left there. She couldn’t take the time to read all the names, but the number of them made her do a little jig.
A thump behind her was followed by a sharp current of air.
Bleu shot around and let out a squeal. The outside garbage can had fallen over and wedged the door open.
She hurried, grabbed the door open wider and bent over to right the can. A length of cloth, jammed into her open mouth, made sure she didn’t get a coherent sound out.
She and the garbage can were dragged hastily outside. The creep who had her dropped the can, but half carried Bleu straight across the upper parking lot and into the trees.
Bleu retched. The explosive bumps in her chest sapped her strength. All she could make were gurgling noises. The trees seemed to suck her in and close her off from safety.
The steel-armed person punched the middle of her back.
She threw up around the gag. Her head, shoved forward while the cloth was loosened, stopped her from choking to death.
The instant she took a clear breath, he gagged her again.
Her arms wouldn’t work. They had no strength. She couldn’t stand.
He jerked her upright and cuffed her across the side of the head.
She heard voices. People coming out of Pappy’s. Were they looking for her?
“No one out here,” someone yelled.
The voices went away.
Bleu shook, couldn’t stop shaking. She didn’t try to see who was behind her. He wouldn’t let her anyway but if she could identify him she would have no hope of getting out of this alive.
The pressure of the arm around her chest slackened.
Before she could try to move, a dark, rough bag shot down over her head and upper body. Wrapped tight, she heard the distinctive sound of tape ripping from a roll, and felt that tape whipping around the outside of the bag to trap her inside.
She was going to die.