The Shadow of Death (Psalm 23 Mysteries Book 9) (6 page)

“Geanie and Joseph aren’t,” Cindy said.

“Ah, but they are. They’re just finding a place to park.”

“I’ll go see if they need any help bringing in food,” Cindy volunteered as she headed out the front door.

Jeremiah followed right behind her. Out front Joseph had parked and was out of the car, Clarice was already straining at her leash, eager to see what other dogs might be there.

“The pooch party is already happening in the backyard,” Cindy told him.

“Thanks, I’ll be back in a moment to grab the fireworks.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got them,” Jeremiah said.

“They’re on the backseat and also in the trunk,” Joseph said.

“Joseph bought an absolutely obscene amount of fireworks,” Geanie said with a pleased grin.

“In my defense Mark said to bring as much as I wanted,” Joseph called over his shoulder just before disappearing into the house.

“Famous last words,” Cindy said with a grin.

“Are you sure you guys have this?” Geanie asked. “I need to go put this cake in the refrigerator but I can come right back.”

“Go, relax,” Cindy said. “We’ve got this.”

Jeremiah opened the door to the backseat, then popped the trunk and whistled. “This is quite a lot, really.”

Cindy glanced around and saw the trunk filled to bursting. She whistled low. “We’re certainly going to light up the sky,” she said. “Do you think-”

She looked up and stopped talking. Jeremiah was turned, facing down the street, his shoulders tensed, his jaw clamped, and his hands balled into fists at his side. She turned to see what he was staring at and her heart began to pound. There, just a few houses down, a man stood on the sidewalk. He was wearing a dark
trenchcoat and sunglasses. A shiver slid up her spine. There was something about him that she found instantly intimidating.

“Who is that?” she whispered.

“No one you want to know,” Jeremiah said, voice low. “Stay here.”

She nodded and Jeremiah walked down the street, his stride long, purposeful. The other man waited, unflinching. A sick feeling twisted in her stomach.

Jeremiah didn’t like anything about this situation, least of all that it was so highly public. He walked quickly and a moment later was standing in front of the man in the coat.

“What do you want?” he growled.

“Much,” the other man replied.

Jeremiah’s fears were coming true.

“I have nothing to give.”

“On the contrary, you might have more to give than any of the rest of us,
malakh ha-mavet.”

5

“That’s not who I am, not anymore,” Jeremiah said, shaking his head.

“There is no shame in being the angel of death. How many thousands, how many tens of thousands of lives have you saved through that work?”

“That number is not for us to know. Only G-d can answer that. Look, walk away and I will forget about your visit,” Jeremiah said.

“That is not for me to decide. And if something were to happen to me our masters would just send others. You are needed in Israel.”

“I’ve heard that I am not the only one.”

“I have heard this as well. I do not know. I have been sent to retrieve you. That is all I know. They have not told me why, but those they are calling back, the skills and knowledge that they possess are essential. My friend, this must be important. Perhaps the most important assignment any of us has ever had.”

Jeremiah felt sick just pondering what that might be. “When do we have to leave?”

“There is a plane tonight. You will have a couple of hours to gather some clothes, say goodbye to a few friends. Just in case.”

“I’m surprised I’m being allowed.”

“My superiors. They do not know that I will have approached you early. I felt, given who you were, that some courtesy was in order, rabbi.”

“Did you have anything to do with putting an envelope with malakh ha-mavet written on it in that woman’s car yesterday?” he said, inclining his head toward Cindy who was standing next to Joseph’s car, watching them intently.

The other man frowned. “I would not have done this. I arrived only two hours ago and have come to you from the airport. Such things should not be written, nor used to frighten our women.”

Jeremiah didn’t bother explaining that Cindy wasn’t his woman. The more he denied it the more strongly the other man would believe it.

“Where shall I meet you?”

The other man shook his head. “I am respectful, not stupid. I know you do not wish to go with me. I understand this. So, I will stay with you.”

Jeremiah glanced at Mark’s house. “My friends aren’t expecting me to bring someone else.”

“You can tell them I am your cousin, Aaron, here on business and stopped in for a surprise visit. How could they turn me away?”

Aaron hadn’t left the note in Cindy’s car. That meant that it was almost certainly one of the men who wanted him dead who had done it. He couldn’t leave her alone and without protection.

“I need to make a call.”

“By all means. Then we can see your friends.”

Jeremiah paced a few steps away. He pulled out his phone and dialed the number that Martin, the C.I.A. agent, had given him in Vegas. He had committed that number to memory in case he would ever need it.

The phone rang twice before Martin answered. “Go,” the man said, voice tense.

“It’s Rabbi Silverman. I need a favor.”

“Rabbi, I wish I could help, but this is not a good time. In five minutes I’m boarding a plane for Israel.”

“You’re being reassigned there?”

“For the moment it seems.”

“Why?”

“No one’s saying, but it can’t be good.”

“Why you?”

“I spent some time in the country a few years back. Apparently my expertise is required.”

“I’ll be heading back there myself in a few hours,” Jeremiah admitted.

“Maybe I’ll see you there. My gut is telling me that something very bad is about to go down. Gotta go.”

Martin ended the call and Jeremiah felt his own stomach twist even more. He also had a feeling something very bad was about to happen.

He turned back to Aaron. It was as good a name to call the man as any. His mind was racing as he worried about Cindy and what could happen to her here while he was in Israel. If the men after him found him suddenly gone they might take their frustrations out on her. He had to figure out something to protect her.

“Let’s go to the party, cousin.”

Jeremiah walked toward Cindy with Aaron a step behind him. Cindy was standing, arms folded over her chest, face pale but resolute. She could sense that something was wrong.

“Cindy, this is my cousin, Aaron. He’s here on business but had the day off and thought he’d surprise me.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,” Aaron said.

Cindy glared, clearly not believing it for a minute. “Who is he really?”

Jeremiah stepped closer to her so their bodies were practically touching. “Not now,” he said, dropping his voice low.

She nodded slowly, clearly not happy but willing to wait for an explanation. She looked at Aaron. “Help me carry these fireworks into the house.”

“Yes,” he said, hastening to grab an armful of boxes each stuffed with dozens of different fireworks.

Jeremiah grabbed more from the trunk and Cindy scooped up the ones on the backseat. Together the three of them trooped inside and out to the back where they deposited them on a round concrete slab that looked like it could have been used for a gazebo or above ground pool.

“I’ll get the last of them,” Cindy said. “You should introduce your cousin around.”

“Thank you,” Jeremiah said.

By the time she had returned he had introduced Aaron to everyone present. Only Mark seemed suspicious of Aaron’s sudden appearance. Captain came over and sniffed Aaron then went back to playing with the other dogs. It was proof that it hadn’t been Aaron’s scent on the envelope, which was actually bad news because it confirmed his fears about who had been behind it.

Mark had fired up the grill and was getting ready to put burgers and hot dogs on. Cindy began bringing food outside and Doug and Liam rushed to help her. Jeremiah sat down at one of the tables, trying to figure out what his options were.

Traci sat down nearby next to her sister Amber.

“So, what are you going to name the baby?” Amber asked.

“Well, we don’t know yet if it’s a boy or a girl,” Traci said.

She was lying. Jeremiah could hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes. There were little tells that wouldn’t have been noticeable to most people. He wasn’t most people, though, and he was in a state of hyperawareness at the moment.

“I understand that, but surely there’ve been some names you’ve been thinking about,” Amber pushed.

“Well, we like Crystal, Rachel, or Kylie for girl names. We’re having a bit more of a problem agreeing on boy names we both like. Although, I was actually starting to think that Jeremiah would be a nice name.” Traci flashed him a smile.

Jeremiah frowned. “I’m flattered, but in Jewish culture we don’t name babies after people who are living. So, unless you know something that I don’t know...”

He saw Mark bite his lip, clearly trying to contain a comment.

Then again, if things went south naming the baby after him might not be a problem at all.

“Oh, I know! What about Chuck? You know I saw Chuck Norris-”

“At an airport once, we know,” Mark said with a groan.

“We’re not naming the baby Chuck,” Traci said.

“But Chuck Norris is awesome,” Amber said.

“Granted, but I still am not naming my baby Chuck,” Traci said firmly.

“What about Kyle? That’s a nice name.”

“No!” Mark, Traci, Cindy and Jeremiah all said at exactly the same moment.

“Overreact much?” Amber asked as Traci broke into giggles.

“Trust us, we were not overreacting at all,” Mark said.

It was funny and Jeremiah wished he could laugh, but he was lucky to barely manage a smile. Cindy was also on edge. Fortunately no one else seemed to notice. For his part Aaron was laughing and chatting amicably with everyone as though he didn’t have a care in the world. It was easy for him. His whole life wasn’t being destroyed.

When the food was ready Jeremiah ate two hamburgers. He barely tasted them, but everyone else went out of their way to say how delicious they were. Mark beamed with pride. Jeremiah ate some of the side dishes, but couldn’t have said a word about how they tasted either.

While he had temporarily lost his sense of taste, his hearing and vision had grown quite acute, and he found himself jumping at sounds such as the sudden barking of one of the dogs.

Once he had finished eating, Jeremiah had finally come to a decision and it wasn’t an easy one. While people began clearing away the food Jeremiah approached Mark.

“Can we talk for a minute, alone?”

“Sure,” Mark said looking a bit apprehensive. “Let’s go to my office.”

They walked into the house and a moment later they were sitting down in Mark’s office with the door closed. The windows looked out onto the yard. Mercifully Aaron
hadn’t insisted on following. From where he was sitting he could easily see Jeremiah in the office so he would know that he wasn’t running.

“What’s up?” Mark asked as he leaned back in his desk chair.

“You know how yesterday you said that someday we were going to have to talk about those things that we don’t talk about?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, someday is today.”

Mark swore and leaned suddenly forward in his chair. “Something’s happened.”

“I’m afraid it has,” Jeremiah said. “I had hoped to never have to say what I’m about to say to you, but I’m fresh out of options.”

Jeremiah took a deep breath. “As you’ve guessed I was a different man before I came here. The truth is that before I was forced into retirement I worked for the Mossad.”

Mark whistled low. “I knew it had to be something like that. Does Cindy know?”

“I had to tell her a few months back, right after Geanie and Joseph’s wedding.”

“Had to tell her?”

“I had inadvertently put her in danger and she needed to understand what was happening.”

“How had you put her in danger?”

“You know the dead man at the church during the wedding, the one you found me with?”

“I remember.”

“I killed him. He wasn’t part of the plot to kill Geanie. He was after me and he was trying to kill Cindy to get to me.”

Mark passed a hand over his face. “Why are you telling me this? You’re confessing to killing the man.”

“I’m telling my friend what we’re up against.”