33

Laura was tired. The restaurant had been busy all afternoon, but it was always packed on Sundays because so many people liked to eat out after church. That crowd gave the largest tips, though, and they were always the nicest people. It was rare to find a grumpy customer on Sundays. She enjoyed talking to everyone, but her feet were starting to hurt.

Amy, one of the other waitresses, nodded at her, letting her know she’d cover Laura’s table while she took her break. Laura smiled at her and headed for the kitchen. She waved at Terry, who worked the grill, and told Meghan, another one of the servers, she’d be outside for a few minutes. She walked into the small hallway connected to the kitchen and took her purse out of her locker. After grabbing her cigarettes and lighter, she put on her coat and shut her locker door before stepping outside.

The closed-off alley was usually quiet. Only once in a while did someone from the dry cleaners or the insurance company in the same strip mall come out to throw trash away or grab a smoke. The only other smoker seemed to be a part-time guy who worked for the cleaners. He’d never talked to her, just looked at his phone while he smoked. That was okay with Laura. She wasn’t looking for a boyfriend. The last one had hit her, and she’d promised herself she’d never put herself in a situation like that again. Besides, now that she was a Christian, she wanted something new. Someone new. Someone who would treat her with respect and love her even if she wasn’t perfect.

She knew smoking was bad for her. She’d told the person who prayed with her at church this morning that she was worried she couldn’t stop smoking right away. She could still see the kind smile on the woman’s face. What was her name? Shirley? Yeah, that was it. “Give it to God, honey,” she’d said. “He loves you just the way you are. He’ll give you the strength to get free when the time is right. He’s the deliverer, you know. You’re not.” She’d put her hand on top of Laura’s head and prayed that God would deliver her from smoking. As she prayed, something had flowed through Laura. It was like . . . warm, liquid love.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She wanted to believe God wasn’t disappointed in what He was getting. She’d gotten involved in drugs and drinking when she was younger. Even though she was clean now, her mistakes had caused a rift with her parents. After they divorced, Laura tried to reconcile with both of them. Her mother lived in another city, but they kept in touch by phone. Her father remarried, and Laura had to share him with a woman named Sheila. Although Sheila pretended to like her, Laura knew better. She tolerated Laura because she had to. Sheila was busy trying to add her father to her own family. Laura didn’t fit in anymore. She’d given up a couple of years ago. Her father had never tried to contact her after that.

She wiped a tear from her cheek. She’d gone to church only because Amy had invited her. She liked Amy and wanted a friend. It was fun getting dressed up and going out with someone—even if it was to church. First was what Amy called praise and worship. The music had touched her heart. She’d looked around at other people, and they seemed so happy. It was as if the music was alive. As if it seeped inside her somehow and touched all the hurt in her life.

Then came the sermon. She’d gone to church once. Before her mother and dad divorced. They went on a vacation and visited an uncle in New Mexico. They all went to church one Sunday, and the minister talked about all the rules people were supposed to follow. He’d talked for only a few minutes before Laura tuned him out. She was already having a hard time doing everything her mother told her to do. She knew she couldn’t follow all the rules the minister talked about. But the pastor on Wednesday night talked about a God who already knew everyone’s weaknesses. He wasn’t asking her to be perfect. He was just asking her to allow Jesus to love her.

Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself at the front of the church with several others. Even though she couldn’t explain it, when she walked out the front door of the church building, she knew she was different. That life was different.

Church had been a joy this morning, and she could hardly wait to go back this evening. Amy couldn’t pick her up because she would be coming straight from work. Laura was grateful she would have time to go home, wash up, and change clothes before meeting her tonight. She felt grungy.

She took another long drag on her cigarette before dropping it on the ground and stamping it out. She usually smoked down to the filter, but today she just didn’t want to. She walked back to the restaurant door and started to open it. She stopped at the last second and looked around her. She thought she’d seen something out of the corner of her eye, but no one was there.

Once inside, she entered the dining room and smiled at Amy. She could hardly wait until six o’clock. Life was changing, and she welcomed it with all her heart.

Adam hurried back to his car. She smoked. He wasn’t thrilled about that. This was a holy sacrifice. How could a smoker be holy? He’d only carried cigarettes and a lighter with him on his hunts because a lot of drifters smoked. But this sacrifice had to be different.

As he drove away he argued with himself, but in the end, he decided to go forward with his plan. His father had smoked the last few years of his life, and even though it killed him in the end, Adam was proud to be his son. If he rejected this sacrifice because she smoked, did that mean he was saying something was wrong with his own father? The man who had helped make him who he was today? No. The sacrifice would happen, and it would be perfect.

The trio had finished eating their lunch hours ago, and Harrison still hadn’t returned. Alex was poring over Walker’s work performance records yet again when she suddenly closed her file and stood. “Where’s that page from The Book that talks about the sixth sacrifice?”

Monty sorted through some pages in front of him, then pulled one out and handed it to her. “Something new strike you?” he asked.

“Not exactly.” She searched through the page until she found what she was looking for. “I just want to go back to what The Book says about the sixth victim. ‘This sacrifice will be holy, and the one who offers it will be elevated in the Master’s kingdom.’ We were talking before about how this sixth sacrifice will be holy.” She stabbed at the page with her index finger. “So what’s holy to Walker?”

“Trains?” Monty asked.

Alex leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment. “But he knows the trains are being watched closely as well as Union Station. And I know we said some form of a train can be found at zoos and amusement parks, but those wouldn’t qualify as holy.”

“He could use an out-of-state train, but I don’t think he’ll leave this area,” Logan said. “For something this important, he’ll stay within his comfort zone.”

“I agree. But I think this decision will connect to The Book more than to a train. I could be wrong.”

“So what does that mean?” Logan asked.

Alex was quiet for several seconds before looking up at Logan, her eyes locked on his. “I don’t know,” she said. “But we’d better hurry and figure it out. We’re running out of time.”