The Gift of Light: (Revised) (The Gifts Book 1) (13 page)

Chapter Nineteen

To everything there is a season, a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal, a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn

and a time to dance

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4

King James Version

     Upon hearing the news of Bradley’s death, Emily tried to call Marta. No answer.

     She went into prayer for her friend and prayed through the day and night until Marta returned her call.

     “Oh my God, Emily, how am I going to get through this? What will I do without him? I don’t even know what to do now.” Marta cried on the phone.

     “Marta, you chin up. I am on my way as quickly as I can get there. Is Amelia with you?”

     “No, she’s gone to DC She plans to meet with Bradley’s father regarding a memorial service. Em, they didn’t even have enough of his remains to send home for a burial. That’s all I know. Amelia took copies of our wedding license as proof that Bradley and I were married. She’s afraid the senator will try to go after Bradley’s trust fund. Everything is such a mess. I just feel so helpless. Mom and Dad are already on their way here to be with me.” Emily could tell by her friend’s voice that she was nearing a breakdown.

     Emily drove through the evening to reach her friend, praying the whole way. “Father, why has this happened? I trust You and lift my friend up to You. Please be with her and comfort her as You comfort and carry all of us through this.” Emily let out a long sigh. “How could we get through this without You, Lord Jesus?”

***

     Senator Steel almost refused to see Amelia, but prudence prevailed. She knew way too much about him and his past and having no other choice, he met her in his office at campaign headquarters.

     Amelia wasted no time, clearly out for her ex brother-in-law’s blood. She’d been informed that a memorial service for the senator’s son was to take place in two days at Arlington Cemetery. With that settled, she had only one thing left to say.

     “I’m not going to beat around the bush here, Brad. I know you’re going to use your son’s death to your advantage in this election, just like you did with Camille’s. I want to warn you that I’m prepared to tell everything I know about you. I’ve kept my mouth shut only for Bradley’s sake, and now that he’s gone, I have no reason to keep any of your secrets. Your days in this election are numbered. If I were you I would bow out now gracefully, while you still have a chance.” Amelia turned to walk away as she threw a copy of Bradley and Marta’s marriage certificate on his desk. “And by the way, you don’t have a chance in hell of getting your hands on Bradley’s trust fund. It’ll all go to his wife.”

     After Amelia left, the Senator made some phone calls. Just as before, he had no choice but to silence her. He knew Bradley was married, and he knew there were things about his past that needed to be kept quiet. The question was how much did Bradley’s wife know?

     If he could somehow get rid of Amelia, would he then still have a loose end out there in Bradley’s wife? He had her full name and listed address as well as the names of those who had witnessed their marriage. Marta Jessica Sims Steel. That was the name signed on the certificate. The senator wondered if she would be a problem for him.

     He wouldn’t have minded fighting Amelia for Bradley’s money, but he’d amassed his own fortune now and the money wasn’t as important as keeping his past private. He knew some people who could help him for a price. He figured he had until the memorial service. The senator had his assistant type a letter to be overnighted to his daughter-in-law.

     He wanted to personally extend his own condolences, and his regrets that they’d not met, as he considered her his only living relative. He insisted she attend the memorial service. As Bradley’s wife, she should be present to receive the flag from his coffin, which would contain some of Bradley’s personal effects, rank pins, medals and combat gear.

     He needed some time to get to know his daughter-in-law and find out what she knew. He hoped he would get that chance at the memorial service.

     Azelius knew he would be the one to take out Amelia. The senator would never make the call to kill her. If so, he would have done it years ago. The Demon Prince would bide his time for a short while, and then he would strike Amelia at the first opportunity.

     Amelia flew back to New York, knowing that she would have to watch her back. Brad was a formidable enemy. The first thing she did after she checked in with Marta, now surrounded by her parents and her friend, Emily, was to call her attorney.

     “I need you to come right away. I must give you some paper work to hold in case anything happens to me. I also want to make sure that everything that was Bradley’s is now in his wife’s name, as well as add her to my will.” She wasn’t taking any chances, knowing she could be in real danger.

     Amelia arranged for Marta, her parents, and Emily to fly with her to DC for the memorial service. They would spend the night in a hotel and attend the service the next day. When they got back to New York, Amelia planned to hold a press conference. Her time to talk had come.

     As an added precaution, she pulled a journal and some letters from her safe, placed them in a sealed folder and gave them to her attorney. She wanted him to give these things to Marta if anything should happen to her before she got to tell the true life story of Brad Steel.

     She wrote a detailed note to Marta telling her that she must make the information in the envelope public if for any reason she was not able to. Only her love for Bradley and his young wife kept her from telling that story now, before his memorial service.

     Just before dawn, the senator’s letter to Marta arrived. She looked over it and let it fall to the floor, not caring what the man had to say. Nothing mattered anymore.

     The service of full military honors included taps and a rifle volley. Marta and the senator received flags and she took Bradley’s Purple Heart medal. The media pressed as close as they could get, crowding the mourners at the burial site. Marta, dressed in black with her face covered in a sheer black veil, ignored the senator’s attempts to talk to her. She wasn’t rude; she just didn’t care.

     Bradley was gone. What did it matter? They all attended the wake at the townhouse. Emily was very uncomfortable in the senator’s home. She felt an evil presence, and when she looked at the senator, she saw a shadow behind him.

     It was familiar to her, a malevolent face she’d seen once in a dream many years ago. She prayed to Jesus to protect her and her friends in this wicked place. Emily knew she’d seen a demon.

     Not long after they arrived, Marta became so still, she asked to be taken back to the hotel. Emily, her parents and Amelia left the townhouse.

     Marta’s father gave their regrets and condolences to the senator, who asked after Marta’s welfare. He gave Mr. Sims his private number, stating if Marta required anything, all they need do was ask.

     Marta remained too sick to travel the next day, and everyone worried about her. Amelia canceled and rebooked flights back to New York. After two days of Marta not being able to hold down any food, they sent for a doctor. He examined Marta and asked her some questions. His nurse drew some blood and took urine samples.

     The doctor gave her medication for nausea and something to help her to rest. Before he left, he promised to call with test results.

     It was no surprise to anyone but Marta when the doctor called back to tell her that she was pregnant by at least three months according to his calculations.

     Emily, who never left her friend’s side during her illness, rejoiced privately for Marta. With a baby coming, a part of Bradley survived, and she would have every reason in the world to live. The baby would give her friend fresh hope and renew her faith.

     She prayed the Lord would make it so. Amelia took the prescriptions the doctor left for Marta and went to the drug store to get them filled. She’d been gone for several hours before everybody realized it. She wasn’t answering her cell phone either and when it got later, still without word, Marta’s parents went to search for her. The whole night passed without a word from her.

     Finally, Marta’s father called the police. It took a few hours, but they finally found Amelia in a morgue at one of the local hospitals, the victim of a hit and run. There were no witnesses to the actual accident and a passing motorist found her lying dead in the street.

     It took three weeks before they could make funeral plans for Amelia. Her body remained in the hands of the forensic medical examiners and then they had to arrange to transfer her body to Manhattan for burial upon release.

     Marta was in no shape to go back to the New York penthouse and instead, returned with her parents to Hook Pond. Her grief combined with her pregnancy had left her too weak to attend Amelia’s funeral. The attorneys handled the entire affair, but had no way of knowing how to contact Marta to let her know of Amelia’s final wishes.

     Liam had orders to stall the attorneys who were trying to contact Marta. It was imperative that she receive the journal and letters that Amelia left her at precisely the right time. He assigned one angel to confound and delay the attorneys assigned to find Marta.

     Emily returned to Perry House. She visited her friend at her parents’ house. Marta improved a little each day as she began to look forward to bringing Bradley’s baby into the world.

     The Lord led Emily to pray daily for her friend. She knew something big was coming, and she used all of her knowledge about prayer and spiritual warfare to prepare.

     Marta told Emily that she needed to go back to New York and wrap things up for Bradley and Amelia. She just didn’t think she was ready yet. Emily agreed with her friend and encouraged her to rest and let everything just wait until she felt prepared.

     “You know you’re not alone, Marta. I’m here for you and when you’re ready to go back to New York, I’ll go with you, OK?”

     “You, Emily Bell, are the best friend a girl ever had, you know that don’t you?”

     “Yeah, I know,” Emily said, grinning. “So, what are you going to name the baby? Got any ideas yet?”

     “Well, if it’s a boy the name will be Bradley, of course, and if it’s a girl, Amelia.”

     Emily was happy to know that her friend was healing, and looking forward to the future. It was now early October and the days before the presidential election counted down. Senator Steel was clearly in the lead. The predictions said that he would win by a landslide vote. Pictures of him at his son’s funeral were posted and reposted all around the world. It seemed he would get the sympathy vote he needed to win. All those in Senator Steel’s camp geared up for the acceptance speech.

     Liam remained at Perry House, but had no reason to return to human form. He kept his angelic post as assigned. One October afternoon, Liam watched silently as Emily left to check on her friend, and was surprised to see Michael descending from the heavens with new orders

     “Liam, it is time. We must find the young man and return him to his father, and his wife must join him. Make sure Marta has the journal and letters before she goes back to DC. Emily will soon follow her. The time to take down this demonic stronghold draws near. We must have all our forces ready to move in a moment’s notice. The Lord tells me to send all our best warriors to Washington, D.C. where the final battle will take place. Is Emily ready to face her worst nightmare?”

     “Emily is strong. She will be ready. I watch her every day putting on the armor and using prayer to strengthen herself and us. I do not believe she will be afraid to face the evil ones when the time comes. She will do whatever is necessary to protect the ones she loves.”

     Liam had full faith in Emily. He’d watched her grow from a child into the special woman she was now.

     Michael raised his wings in adoration of the Lord, fluttering the tips. “Great is the Lamb and worthy to be praised.”

     “Amen,” agreed Liam, wings raised as well.

***

     In a military hospital near Washington, D.C., a young man languished in a deep, medically induced coma, the only known survivor of the raid on the infantry outpost in Afghanistan. He suffered multiple injuries including broken bones and burns, a John Doe found amongst the dead and decimated bodies at the compound.

     He was without any identifying marks or dog tags. He’d been fingerprinted, but through a series of mishaps, it had taken a long time, weeks, to get results back on the prints. It seemed the originals had been lost, then the prints redone and somehow lost again. One doctor made the comment, “It seems as if God doesn’t want us to know who this man is.”

     Finally, the prints came back and his doctors knew he was Bradley Steel. Everyone believed this man to be dead. They’d recovered his dog tags amidst a pile of badly burned human remains near where he had been found. The only words the man uttered to any of the doctors and nurses were ‘Jesus’ and ‘Marta’.