Book of Souls

Frazier knew something his man didn’t. DeCorso would be dead day after tomorrow. There was no sense in taking on a mountain of termination paperwork. “There’s no need for that.”

DeCorso thanked him and was quiet the rest of the ride to White Plains.

It was late afternoon when Nancy awoke again. She was out of ICU, in a private room. Will wasn’t at her bedside, and she got panicky. She rang her call button, and the nurse told her he was probably at the PICU with the baby. In a few minutes, he was back, swinging the door open.

Nancy was holding Kleenex, dabbing at her eyes.

“Where are they? Mom and Pop.”

“They’re at Ballard-Durand.”

She nodded. Their prechosen funeral home. Joseph was a planner.

“It’s all set for tomorrow, if you can go through with it. We can also push it a day.”

“No, I’ll be ready. I need a dress.”

She looked so sad. Those wet, oval eyes. “Laura’s got it covered. She and Greg went shopping.”

“How’s Philly?”

“They’re moving him out to the ward. He’s great. He’s eating up a storm.”

“When can I see him?”

“Sometime tonight, I’m sure.”

The next question surprised him. “How are you doing?” Did she really care?

“I’m holding it together,” he said grimly.

“I’ve been thinking about us,” she said.

He waited for it, held his breath. She wanted him out of her life. He never should have blackened her door in the first place. She and Phillip would be better off without him. He was in a bar drinking while his family was getting gassed. He had already cheated on her once. Who could say he wasn’t capable of doing it again?

“Mom and Pop loved each other.” She choked on the words, her lower lip quivering involuntarily. “They went to sleep together like they’d done every night for forty-three years. They died peacefully in their bed. They never got frail. They never got sick. It was their time. It was always going to be their time. I want that to happen to me when it’s my time. I want to go to sleep one night in your arms and never wake up.”

He lowered himself over the bed rail and held her so tightly she gasped. He loosened his python grip and kissed her forehead gratefully.

“We have to do something, Will,” she said.

“I know.”

“We need to get those bastards. I want to bring them to their knees.”

Will couldn’t use his cell phone without getting chewed out by the nurses, so he went down to the lobby. The address book of the prepaid phone had one number in its memory. He called it.

A breathy voice answered. “Hello?”

“It’s Will Piper.”

“I’m glad you called. How are you, Will?”

“The watchers tried to kill us last night. They got my wife’s parents.”

After a moment of silence, “I’m very sorry. Were you harmed?”

“My wife and son were, but they’re going to be fine.”

“I’m relieved to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help you?”

“Possibly. And I’ve made a decision. I’m going to get you the database.”

That night, Will slept in a chair in his son’s hospital room. All the arrangements for the following day had been made, and there was nothing to do but allow himself to get some restorative sleep. Not even the nurses coming and going every few hours for vital signs disturbed him.

When the morning came, he awoke to the sounds of Phillip in his crib, happily cooing and playing with his stuffed toy, and he used that optimistic beginning to psyche himself for the travails of the coming day.

He tensed at the sound of another nurse coming into the room, but instead it was Laura and Greg. They had driven up from Washington and had been a magnificent help in working through all the logistics. The Lipinskis were popular, and their funeral service would be crowded with mourners. Given the leaked reports of furnace tampering, there was media interest too, and a good contingent from the New York City press corps was expected. There were details to work out between their priest, the funeral home, and the cemetery regarding the final arrangements. Laura was slowed down by her pregnancy, but Greg took it upon himself to be the family point man with the outside world, and for that, Will was grateful.

“Did you get any sleep?” his daughter asked.

“Some. Look how good he looks.”

Greg looked down on Phillip like he was trying out the role of father. “Hey there, bud.”

Will got up, stood beside his son-in-law and put his hand on his shoulder, the first time he’d ever made physical contact with the young man beyond a handshake. “You’ve been a real help. Thank you.”

“No problem,” Greg said, mildly embarrassed.

“I’m going to find a way to repay you.”

Will took on the role security chief, and over breakfast in the cafeteria, he meticulously planned the choreography. They needed to keep themselves in public view, in the middle of crowds. Frazier could watch all he wanted, but he wouldn’t be able to do a snatch with people around. The details were important. Everything had to go perfectly, or they’d wind up at the bottom of a very deep hole.