A stained glass image of Jesus nailed to a cross cast a sparkling display of colors over the altar of Christ the Light Church. Pastor Mike Darling flipped through the pages of his dog-eared Bible as Bonnie stood next to him and guided him through Leviticus. She periodically stopped him and directed his attention to a passage which led him to jot notes down in his book of sermons.
Step stood behind the back row of pews and watched the scene with a fierce curiosity. Step knew Bonnie had a Jesus fetish, but this seemed more than strange. She appeared to be outright telling the pastor what to include in his next sermon.
Bonnie caught a glimpse of Step standing in the back of the church and smiled. She quickly dismissed Pastor Mike, moved behind the podium, and invited Step to come to the front of the altar. “You come to confess your sins, boy?”
Step clasped his hands in front of him and stood before the portly woman. “Boss said you wanted to see me.”
She smiled. “Harley’s got a special job for you.” She leaned against the podium, testing its strength. “You attend church, Step?”
“No, ma’am.”
“You don’t believe in God?”
Step hesitated. “I believe in him, I’m just of the mind he’s an asshole.”
She huffed out a laugh. “You got balls saying such a thing in my house of worship.”
“Your house?” Step asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I own the land, paid for the construction, sign the paychecks. Got twenty churches peppered here and there up and down the mountains.”
Step’s face revealed his bewilderment.
“You find that strange, do you?”
The skinny closeout king shook his head. “Interesting is more like it.”
She nodded. “That’s ’cause you and me ain’t never took the occasion to talk. There’s a lot about me you might find interesting.”
Step didn’t reply because he didn’t want to engage her at all. He simply wanted to find out why’d he’d been summoned to the church and then leave.
“Ima give you a for instance that might knock you over dead,” Bonnie continued.
“Oh, yeah?”
“I used to do what you do.”
Step’s bewildered expression turned more severe.
“Closeouts. I was good at it, too. Enjoyed it, if you wanna know the truth. Had an inclination for it. My daddy was in charge back then. Took the business over from my granddaddy.”
“So, what? You found God and that was it? Gave up your wicked ways?”
“Not exactly like that, no. I found a godly man. I did do that. A beautiful man. You remind me a lot of him. Same eyes.”
Feeling uneasy, Step looked away.
Ignoring his growing restlessness, Bonnie carried on undeterred. “Eddie, my beautiful preacher man, he liked his ladies on the large side, so I had an in from the moment we met. I was his temptation. That don’t mean we didn’t have hiccups we had to overcome. We had our struggles. Not the least of which was that I’d been sent to help Eddie meet up with his maker. That’s how we met.”
She’d regained Step’s interest.
“You know the story: He borrowed money. Got behind on payments. Had no leverage. Daddy didn’t count being a man of God as indemnity on a debt. I got called in. When the Pikes can’t collect money, they collect heads. That’s unfortunate but just sound business. God only helps those who help themselves.”
Step was not horrified by much, but seeing Bonnie bathed in the light from the stained glass, talking about her love for a preacher man she’d been sent to kill troubled the skinny closeout king more than he would have expected.
“But, when I saw those eyes.” She paused as she drifted back in time. “I found God in those eyes.” She chuckled. “And Daddy was none too happy about that. No, sir, because killers who find God tend to lose their taste for their work, which I did.” She smiled. “I was marching toward marriage, kiddies, all the things that were bad for my line of work back then.” She held Step’s stare for a beat before saying, “I only made one more closeout after meeting my Eddie.”
Step tried to shake her gaze, but couldn’t bring himself to look away.
“My daddy. Killed him dead. But you probably already knew about that. I know how folks gossip.”
He shook his head. “Never caught wind of that tidbit.”
“Surprising.” She peered up at the rafters of the church. “I did it for love, so God smiled on me for it. Daddy had finished the job I couldn’t do. Slit Eddie’s throat. In front of me. I reckon he thought it’d get me off God and back on closeouts.” She let out a strained laugh. “It led to his own closeout, is what it did. I took that knife he used on my preacher, and I jammed it in Daddy’s ear before Eddie’s heart beat its last.”
The word “last” echoed throughout the empty chamber, and Step watched as Bonnie closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, and loudly blew out a stream of air.
“Confession is good for the soul, Step Crawford. It surely is.” She smiled. “I’ve been wanting to tell you that for some time. It’s those damn eyes of yours. Brings Eddie back.”
“That why you wanted to see me?”
She shook her head. “ ’Fraid not. Got Pike business. Harley’s off on one of his trips. Things are left to me to pass along to you while he’s gone. My other brothers don’t even amount to a good idiot between them, so, as God has decreed, I have to serve the interest of the wicked in order to finance the work of the virtuous. I don’t take much joy in these dealings. I truly don’t. But I am a Pike. It’s the flock I’m called on to tend.”
“If you say so,” Step said.
“The Lord says so, not me,” Bonnie said as she wobbled toward him. “That closeout we scheduled for yesterday?”
“We got a text from Boss—”
She waved him off. “Things sprung up on us that we didn’t expect. We’ve made a little alteration to our plans.” She sat down in the first row of pews and invited Step to do the same.
He complied.
Looking up at the stained glass, she said, “Beautiful, ain’t it?”
Step didn’t respond.
“Here’s a tip for you if you ever decide to start up a church, the more stained glass you got, the more devoted the parishioners. Goddamn thing hypnotizes them or something.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“I spoke with Harley about this business. Your closeout? It’s turned critical. Well, the long and short of it is we need you to close out a couple of lawmen.”
“Lawmen?”
“It ain’t our usual practice, but things have progressed that way, I’m afraid. It’s a tricky thing. We can’t go through our regular channels to keep the heat off. You understand? You’re gonna have to be extra careful on this closeout. We can’t have a repeat of what took place the other day.”
Step nodded.
“These ain’t my words. They belong to Harley. If it was up to me, we’d devote our talents to doing the Lord’s loving work. It’s just that some of us are called on to do the Lord’s ugly work.”
Step didn’t bother responding.
“Baptist Flats has been a thorn in the Pikes’ side for some time now.”
“Baptist Flats?”
“Goddamn sheriff can’t be corrupted. The family’s made overtures through associates here and there, but he always shoos us away.”
Step sat silently.
“Didn’t really make a damn until now. We—that is to say, Harley—has worked around him, but now the sheriff’s getting a tad nosy. Can’t have that.” She reached under the pew, pulled out a folder, and handed it to Step. “You’ll close him out and some lady deputy he’s got. His niece, I think.” Bonnie fanned herself with her hand. “This business troubles me. I don’t like it, and I’ll pray their souls to His glory. You can rest easy on that. Their mortal pain will give way to His loving touch.”
Step’s lips went dry. He opened the folder and saw pictures of Otis and Dani.
“They shouldn’t be too hard to get to. You’ll close them out and then vanish for six months or so.”
“Vanish?”
“Perry will have everything arranged. You swing by his garage once it’s done, and he’ll take care of the particulars.”
“But what about Kenny?”
“We don’t want him anywhere near this. That boy’s got a mental defect. Bless his heart. This is way too high level for him. Now, if you want my professional advice, you know, from someone who knows your business, I’d close out the sheriff first. Do it at his home. He’s got a wife, but I’ve got some pull with her church. The pastor there has agreed to call on her for some special duties Wednesday next week. The sheriff will be home alone. Old man like that will probably be asleep in his recliner by eight.” She handed him a key. “This is for a locker over at the bus station in Rock Hollow. It’ll have a scratch gat and enough ammo to do the job three times over. I suggest you make this thing a pop and walk. Multiple shots will just make it harder for you to get away unseen and unheard.” She struggled to stand. “The lady deputy lives by herself in a motel. She should be easy enough to close out. You’ll give the gun and remaining ammo to Boss. He’ll make sure they’ll never be found.” She started to walk away.
“Why me?” Step asked.
She stopped and looked at him. “Because you’ve earned it, boy. Harley had some other fella picked out for this, but I fought for you. I did. I believe in you. You got those eyes. Those are God’s eyes. I know it. You finish this right, and you’ll move up in the organization, right behind Boss. You and me’ll spend a whole lot more time together once this business is done.”
Step tried hard not to look horrified by the thought of spending more time with Bonnie. “Why’s that?”
“I usually get my pick of the litter.” She grinned. “You should know, Step, I am ‘the Lord is exalted.’ ”
Bonnie started to walk away, but Step stopped her. “I ain’t clear on what that’s supposed to mean.”
She smiled and plucked a Bible out from behind the pew. “Someday I’ll educate you on the truth of things.”
Step watched her move down the aisle, climb the altar, and exit the chapel through a side door. He peered up at the stained-glass Jesus and sorted through the last few minutes in his head. Clutching the file folder, he stood, still staring down the image of Christ and said, “Your old man really is an asshole.”