Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kate had just finished straightening the kitchen when Renee called. She sounded just as subdued as the last time they spoke—on their drive home from Brother John’s.

“I wanted to tell you the latest about the Bees,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically weary. “I’ve been getting calls again.”

“Oh dear,” Kate said, knowing what had resulted last time. “During Law and Order?”

“A few, yes, which is disturbing enough. But they’re calling about such petty things—who said what about whom. You know, the old rumor mill, details about other people that I just don’t care about hearing. Not after what Brother John told us.”

“What do you mean?”

“The secret. The really big secret. Think about it, Kate. Mama and Brother John never told a soul what they knew about Davis Carr. I don’t think I could keep a secret like that for even a week, even if my life depended on it.”

“Have you asked her how she did it, and why?” Kate leaned back against the counter.

“She just says because of love. That’s it. One word. I tried to get her to tell me more about what she meant. I said, ‘You mean because of God’s love, or your love for Davis Carr, or your loving friendship with Brother John?’”

Kate felt the sting of tears at the back of her throat. “What did she say then?”

“She just shrugged and went into the kitchen to make tea. I followed along behind her and asked again. She looked at me rather exasperated-like, and then said, ‘Someday I’ll tell you. Knowing that the secret’s been let out after all this time is rather disorienting. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to think it through myself before giving you an answer off the top of my head.’

“So then I said, ‘Mama, how about speaking to the Bees about it? This is much more than not saying anything gossipy about the size of your neighbor’s underwear that’s been hanging on the line for a week. Or snapping rubber bands on our wrists. This is life and death and really important stuff. I think we could all learn something from you.’

“Her eyes lit up then, and she said, ‘Learn something from me?’ I could tell it was something she’d never thought about before.

“‘Yes, you, Mama,’ I said.

“So what I have in mind, Kate, is that we’ll have a tea at your place once all this excitement settles down. It will be for the Bee Attitudes and anyone else from the community who wants to join us.”

Kate gulped. “How many do you think we’re talking about?”

“Dozens, I hope. Your living room is the only one large enough to accommodate such a group. We’ll set up tables with cloths. I figured we could use your good china and your collection of teapots. I’ll be in charge of decorating, of course. I have a knack for making sure everything is perfect, as you know.”

“Yes, I know.” Kate sighed.

“Best of all, Mama’s agreed to be our speaker. She’s going to tell how she did it and why and help us all understand the importance of keeping those things to ourselves that we’ve been charged to keep.”

“That’s wonderful, Renee. We’ll arrange a time as soon as everything settles down again.” Kate was too nervous about the evening’s meeting at the museum to focus on anything else.

“You can count on it.” In the background, Kisses was yipping frantically. “Someone’s at the door,” she said. “I’ve got to go—”

In her hurry, she forgot to hang up the phone, and Kate heard her say, “Mama, can you get that? I think I see the deputy’s SUV...Oh dear, what if he wants to question me? I don’t have on my makeup.”

Renee had probably heard about Brother John’s arrest. And she’d kept it to herself. Kate had to smile.

JUST BEFORE NOON, Kate drove Nehemiah to the doctor to get him to sign off and let him go home. Both Kate and Paul knew he was anxious to go.

“Not that I don’t love staying with you and Paul,” he said as Kate pulled into a parking space next to the hospital. “But as Benjamin Franklin once said, both company and fish begin to smell after three days.” He grinned as Kate helped him from the car. “It’s been much longer than three days. I don’t want to get smelly.”

Kate chuckled. “You? Never. We enjoy having you here. This time it’s been quite an adventure, but I’ve loved having you help me get to the bottom of this mystery.”

They walked into the waiting room, and just before he checked in with the receptionist, he turned to Kate, the lines on his face more pronounced. “It’s not over yet.” His voice was solemn.

She nodded. “Tonight will tell the tale.”

He chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.” The receptionist was busy on the phone, so he continued. “Are you nervous?”

Kate patted his arm. “I’ve got a good plan. I’ll run it by you on the way home.”

After he’d been called into the exam room, Kate sat down on a couch near the reception desk and took out a pencil and notepad. She’d been awake during the night, making mental notes of the details to make sure every base was covered. She jotted down the details, who was left to call, who would be where and when, who would be ready to call the sheriff, if necessary.

She leaned back and sighed, something nagging at the back of her mind. She’d forgotten something important, but she couldn’t think what it was. It was the same feeling she got when walking into a room to get something, then three seconds later not being able to remember what it was.

Nehemiah came out grinning ear to ear, still using his cane. “Doc says I’m free to go home. I shouldn’t have any trouble getting around my apartment by myself.”

Kate went out to the lot for the car, then picked Nehemiah up at the entrance. When he was settled in and his seat belt fastened, he looked across at her.

“I can see the worry in your face. Do you want to go over your plan?”

“I think that will help ease my anxiety. Just to know I’ve got a workable plan.”

“Shoot,” he said.

“I need to have everyone in place before I leave for the museum. I’m assuming the whole motley crew will be there—Davis, Garfield, the exterminators, and Celine—though I haven’t seen much of her since we discovered the paintings were fakes. I called the college about that class she was teaching, and the administrative assistant in the dean’s office said Celine missed her last class, didn’t even call to have them post a note on the door that class was canceled.”

“Probably because she painted the fakes,” Nehemiah said.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking,” Kate said, “though it might be difficult to prove. I also think it wasn’t London she returned to.” Kate glanced over at him. “When I heard her slip and almost say, ‘Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle,’ her drawl seemed as deeply Southern as I’d ever heard.”

Nehemiah nodded thoughtfully. “Okay, once you’re in place tonight, where’s everyone else situated?”

Kate rounded a curve, and when they were on a straightaway again, she said, “I need to call James and give him a heads-up to man the Webcam feed at the Safe Keeping office. You and Paul should stay with him just in case there’s any funny business on his end.” She stared at the road ahead for a moment. “But if I’m reading these guys right, every last one of them will be at my ‘meeting.’”

“It’s the greed thing again,” Nehemiah said. “They all want in on that cache of diamonds. I agree. I bet they’ll all be there to fight over who gets what.”

Kate smiled. “Only to find that there’s only one bag.”

“They knew there were more. What will you do when they demand to see the others?”

“I’m not sure,” she said. They drove in silence for a few minutes, then Kate continued. “And as soon as I hear from someone we trust that Brother John’s charges have been dropped, Renee will pick him up, then phone me to tell me once he’s safe with her. We’ll go from there.”

Nehemiah cleared his throat. “Things may get dangerous tonight. Maybe I should stay to help.”

“I’ll be fine,” Kate said, shooting him a smile. “You’ll have me on the Web feed. If anything goes wrong with the cams, James will be there to fix them. I’ll be in your line of sight the whole time.”

“What if they want you to show them where the cache is hidden?”

“I’ve thought that through too. I’ll refuse to tell them unless they go upstairs to look underneath the tub themselves.”

Nehemiah took in a deep breath and let it out noisily. “Okay, that’s covered. What else?”

“If it looks like a physical threat is being made—or if they force me out of camera range, have the sheriff’s number handy. Might be best to call Skip Spencer, since he can get to the museum faster.”

“Got it,” Nehemiah said.

Kate glanced at him again. At some point during the conversation, he’d pulled out a notepad and was making notes.

“Now, can I call James and Renee to make sure everything is set up?”

“That would be great,” Kate said. “That’s a load off my mind.”

They arrived at the parsonage, and Nehemiah slid from the seat with no help. He stuck his head back in the car. “I take it you’ve got another stop to make?”

She nodded.

“I think I know where. You go, and I’ll get started on setting up our sting operation.”

Kate laughed. “You’re beginning to sound like Renee. It’s not really a sting. We’ve got a plan, but we have yet to see if it works.”

“You’re a wise woman, Kate Hanlon,” Nehemiah said softly as he closed the car door. “I think it will, I pray that it will work.” He looked heavenward. “And better than we can hope.”

“We’ll see,” Kate said. “We’ll see.”

KATE DROVE TO THE COURTHOUSE and pulled into a parking space. She bowed her head, sending up a quick prayer for God’s intervention, should anyone try to stop her from visiting Brother John.

Minutes later she entered the deputy’s office to request permission to see Brother John. She’d never met the deputy who sat behind the desk.

“I’m here to see Brother John, please.”

The deputy frowned, so Kate explained. “Brother John. I believe he was brought in this morning because of theft charges made against him.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes brightened. “Oh, you mean the oil-painting caper.”

Caper? Kate had to wonder if the man watched the same TV shows Renee did. “Brother John isn’t his real name,” she added.

The deputy punched something into his computer. “Ah yes. John Francesco, alias Brother John.”

“Yes, he’s the one,” Kate said. “I’d like to visit him.”

“You’ll have to stand outside the cell. I’m not allowed to let anyone in.”

“That’s fine.”

He retrieved the keys and motioned for Kate to follow him across the hall, where he unlocked the heavy metal double doors.

As soon as Kate stepped into the small holding facility, the doors clanged shut behind her. At the end of the hallway, she heard singing, and even before she could see him, she knew it was Brother John.

He looked radiant when she arrived at his cell, his voice raised in song. “Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come . . . ,” he sang, his eyes closed, his face lifted upward.

He reached the chorus, and Kate’s heart lifted with his “I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free...His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Kate blinked back her tears, thinking about how Brother John made nests for the sparrows each spring and cared for all the animals around his property. He was free to roam and do as he willed, no one to stop him...until now. Locked behind bars.

Yet, still he could sing because he was happy, because he was free...

Kate watched him for a moment, slipped the letter she’d prepared earlier between the bars near the floor, address side up with his name written on the front, and then tiptoed away, not wanting to disturb this precious moment between Brother John and his Lord. As she went back down the hall, she was strangely comforted. God’s eyes were on the sparrows...and he had Brother John and all of them in his care. What greater comfort could there be than that?