Three to one, p.24
Three To One, page 24
“I recorded the call.”
“See, you live right, good things happen for you. We can work with this. Put the recording on a thumb drive and leave it at the dead drop.”
“Okay, Sir.”
“Now, you need to work your magic on him, get him riled up over this. We need him to make a move against the professor that is doing his daughter. Do you think you can do that?”
“I can get him fired up. I don’t know if I can influence what he does.”
“Don’t worry about that. The groundwork is already in place. He gets mad enough, he’ll call the right person.”
October 10
“Deuce, you’re killing me. You’ve got to give me something to work with. You’re paying me 10K a day in consulting fees, but you’re not giving me anything to go on. You’re out there free lancing, running interference on the leads I do have. Do you want my help or not?”
“I’m not running interference, D.M. What are you talking about?”
“I brought you the kid at the diner. You insisted on interviewing him yourself but didn’t get any useful intel. Now you meet him twice in one day, and you don’t even invite me to the meetings. You don’t even have his name. I ran his picture through facial recognition, know what comes back? Peregrine’s name. How am I supposed to manage an investigation without any intel?”
“I asked his name repeatedly. He refused to give it. And as far as the two meetings this week, I didn’t set those up. The kid just showed up out of the blue and started demanding answers from me. I can’t tackle him and hold him till you get there.”
“You could have called me after the morning meeting and had me join you and Peregrine for the lunch discussion. If you had done that, I would have been there the second time he showed up.”
“I thought of it, but I didn’t want to alarm Peregrine. I didn’t want to make this thing seem bigger than it is. One thing I did learn, is that the homeless kid definitely has an interest in Peregrine, not just me.”
“And how big or small do you think this thing is? What is your working theory on who is behind this? If you don’t share information, I can’t help you.”
“Okay, I get why you’re upset. But I honestly don’t know anything.”
“I asked you for a list of potential enemies, and I don’t have that yet.”
“Because I don’t know of any potential enemies. Well…”
“Well, what?”
“There was a guy. In Charleston. Wanted me to run a bunch of undocumented flights back and forth to the Caribbean, leave from and return to small airports to avoid customs. It didn’t smell right, so I told him to go pound sand.”
“You told a potential client to go pound sand?”
“Not in exactly those words, but yeah. He was being a jerk. Hinted that it might not be a good idea to refuse his offer.”
“And you’re just mentioning this to me now?”
“I just remembered.”
“I need to know exactly what he said.”
“He said he had done research. Had my tail numbers, pilot info, destinations and routes. Then he started talking about Peregrine, his office number, his car tag, his faculty ID badge number.”
“What?”
“I know. Like I said, it didn’t feel right. He said he would hate it if turning him down was my last mistake.”
“Deuce. What the hell, man? You get a death threat, a guy basically tells you he’ll go after your kid if you say no, and you don’t think to mention it to me?”
“It didn’t seem connected to Mac’s accident, because the homeless kid started following us a while before I ever met this guy. I think it’s two different issues.”
“You gotta stop calling Mac’s wreck an accident. That was an attempted hit. You don’t think it’s connected? If they aren’t, that means you have two different groups coming after you, and both have demonstrated a willingness to go after Peregrine.”
“I guess. I hate the sound of that.”
“And you don’t want to alarm him?”
“I don’t want to panic.”
“Ok, then don’t. But you’ve gotta be smart. This is some serious trouble you’re involved in. I need a list of every interaction you’ve had in the last two years that didn’t go well. Any disgruntled client, employee, neighbor, valet parking attendant, anything.”
“You’re right. We’ve got to go on offense. Get out in front of this.”
“Get in front of it? The best we can do is play catch up. They’ve got us completely back on our heels. They already drew first blood. Hell, we’re one left hook away from being knocked out, and you haven’t decided yet if you want to fight. I gotta know, Deuce. Are you in this to win, or what?”
“Yes, of course I am.”
“Well start with the guy in Charleston. What’s his name?”
“It might not matter anymore.”
“What? Why not?”
“He’s dead.”
“Dead?”
“His private plane went down mysteriously.”
“Ah, crap.”
“Hey there!”
“Dove, Honey?” Chris asked.
“Don’t you hate it when people record annoying answering messages that make you think you caught them on the first try? Leave your number and we can talk about it.”
“Hi, Honey, it’s Dad. Yes, you punked me with the answering message. Very funny. I just wanted to say hey. Call me, ok? Love you Missy.”
Looking at Lindy’s pretty face, Chris remembered gazing across the glitter of the Swiss Alps on a sunny day. Poised at the top of pristine slopes, the beauty was breathtaking. It was a privilege to be here. An honor which was singularly his. And yet, he knew that one wrong turn could trigger an avalanche of razor-edged ice so swift and heavy it would crush the life out of you. She was in her non-communicative mode. She wasn’t eating, she was picking. She kept her eyes down, studying her fork as it disturbed the chef salad. He knew that when her eyes came up, there could be danger.
“I have to wonder,” she said, “if this isn’t partially our fault.” Here it comes, he thought. The “we” that would quickly turn on him and become a “you.”
He loved his wife. He had loved her from the moment they met in college. Now, just on the other side of their twenty-fifth anniversary, he felt that they were miles and miles apart, a lot more than this little table separating them.
“If we had just been more stable, provided our daughter a better example…”
“Oh, come on,” he said. “Are you really going to make this be about that?”
“Well, young adults imitate what they have seen the grownups around them doing. And if they see grownups violating rules…”
“Lindy, I’m Sorry. I’ve told you a thousand times, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do.”
“There is nothing more you can do,.” She said. “That’s just the problem. You can’t un-ring a bell.”
He inhaled deeply, let it out, trying to stay calm. What a mess. It might be hopeless.
There was a long silence, while she flipped individual pieces of lettuce with her fork. He hated this game. It was one he could not win.
“Are you ever going to be able to forgive me?” he asked.
“I told you, I already have forgiven you. Many times.”
“But you haven’t. You bring it up constantly.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? Every time we encounter any level of stress, on any topic, this is the first thing that comes up. And I have no idea how to get beyond it.”
“How do you think I feel?”
He felt a heavy silence settling in upon them. Neither of them knew what to say, neither wanted to go around that exhausting loop again. He was terrified, deep down, that someday the silence would settle in upon them and remain there for the rest of their lives.
“Lindy,” he started, as gently as he could, “I love you. I have always loved you more than anything.”
She looked up at him. No danger in her eyes, just pain. He would have preferred the danger.
“Honey, I screwed up. I’ve admitted it. The thing was already over before you even knew about it. I already had ended it, on my own.”
She didn’t look up, but she did kind of nod. A little.
“I am completely, fully devoted to this family, and to making our relationship work. Can’t you please forgive me, and let this fall away into the past?”
“You mean like the trips to Disney World are in the past? Like the trip to the Bahamas, and the trip to Cancun? The way they are in the past?”
She had a point. Major life events never did really go away. They became memories, and the bigger the event was, the more indelible the memory tended to be. This one was turning into a monster.
“Lindy, could we please just focus on our little girl, and how we can work together to help her? If she is really involved in something serious, the best thing we can do for her is be united, be stable.”
“I agree.” She paused a minute. “That has always been the best thing we could do for her.”
“Lindy, Please.” He felt a slight shift.
She looked up at him, with a dangerous fury.
“It is so typical of you to want to compartmentalize this. To act like this has nothing to do with you.”
“Well, as I see it, the two problems are completely separate.”
“Oh, really? Let’s just look at that, shall we?” He felt the whole mountain tremble.
“Our daughter is being sexually promiscuous, breaking every rule in the book, with a man she has no business being involved with.”
Chris flipped a piece of lettuce, to see what was on the other side.
“And you, her father, have recently provided a stellar example of exactly that same behavior. How can those two facts seem unrelated to you?”
“So, you’re saying this is my fault.”
“I’m saying, that as a parent, you haven’t got a leg to stand on.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“I wanted you to be faithful to me, and to her, by staying true to your marriage vows.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Yes, and to Him too now that you brought it up.”
“Christ.”
“Stop swearing. You know I hate it.”
“I’m not swearing. I’m praying. I am completely at a loss here.”
The silence was rumbling down upon them, even heavier this time. He was almost buried, to the point that he couldn’t move. The weight of it was compressing his chest so that he couldn’t breathe. Cold was seeping into his bones. He felt weak, ineffective, and vulnerable.
“What are you going to say to her?” putting him on the spot now.
“I don’t know.” Man, he just wanted to go lie down and go to sleep. “What would you like me to say?”
Silence. And more silence. And more.
“Whatever you say,” she said softly, “You better be careful. And humble. You screw this up, we may not hear from her again for weeks. Or years.”
He felt a twist in his guts.
“Chris,” she said, and her voice broke. “I’m afraid this could damage our relationship with her for the rest of our lives.”
October 11
The mysterious Professor Faulk was seated in Father John’s office again. John felt surprisingly relaxed, considering.
“Father, is there anything in Church teaching suggesting God may have created more than one universe?”
“The multiverse? What has sparked your interest in that theory?
“Oh… I don’t know. I recently read a book on the topic by a professor friend of mine.”
“Ah. I see. Most of the discussion I have heard about the theory of multiple universes has come from the scientific community. But the Church has touched on it. Many people believe this to be a relatively new question. But the core question dates back to antiquity.”
“Really?”
“If you undertake a serious study of Church teaching, you will find that many of the ‘new’ ideas being discussed today in science were already being considered by philosophers and theologians centuries ago. One of the sources I would encourage you to study is the Suma Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas. In the first part of that book, he explores and comments upon the question of whether or not there might be multiple worlds created by God. The Suma was completed in 1273 A.D.”
“1273? Seriously? I thought this was cutting edge thought, a relatively new theory. So what does…sorry, what’s his name?”
“Saint Thomas Aquinas. The work is often referred to as the Suma.”
“Okay, what does the Suma have to say about it?”
“As I recall, Aquinas felt that the existence of multiple worlds was unlikely. But he gives the topic a serious consideration. If I remember correctly, he said God created many things, because no one thing would be adequate to reflect the full glory of God. But in the end, Aquinas said God is all about unity, so it is unlikely that he scattered worlds to infinity.”
“But doesn’t it follow that an even greater multitude of created things would display and reflect the glory of God that much more clearly? With a simple turn, It sounds like the same argument could be applied to suggest that multiple universes are likely.”
“I’m not one to assume I can correct the thinking of Aquinas. He was one of the greatest minds of all time. Having said that, we have the benefit of a wider context, and a different understanding of the concept of unity. One of the reasons Aquinas rejected the premise is that if other worlds existed, because of God’s ordering of things toward unity, it stands to reason that all the other worlds would coalesce.”
“So, Aquinas was saying that if other universes did exist, God’s ordering toward unity would eventually cause them to be drawn together and collide?”
“I think that is what he was saying, generally. But we think of unity differently. We know that a single human body is made up of hundreds of trillions of cells, and yet it is a single thing. We understand that the star scape of the night sky, as infinite as it seems, is actually an infinitesimal portion of the one universe. By extension, I think you could posit that our one universe may only be one small part of some larger whole, which in God’s eyes still retains the unity of a single thing.”
“But what if Aquinas was right? What if multiple universes did collide? The implications of that are staggering.”
Father John smiled. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Professor. There is no evidence that other worlds exist. Plus, I don’t think Aquinas claimed to have the last word on the topic.”
“But if he was right?”
“Aquinas was addressing the question of whether there might be more inhabited worlds in this universe. The question of parallel universes is similar, but different. Aquinas’ comments are valuable, and worth consideration, but I wouldn’t let it upset me. Since we only know of one universe, it is merely an academic discussion.”
“But I just can’t stop thinking that if he is right about that…”
“This is a glimpse of what I alluded to before, the depth of Church teaching, and how our theology is firmly grounded in logic. This might be a good jumping off point for you, as you consider delving into a more serious study of Church teaching.”
“But what do you think about it, Father?”
“About many worlds? It isn’t something I think about. Sitting here now, if you put me on the spot, I would say God can reveal his glory anyway he wants. He could do it using an infinite number of universes if he wanted to. But to me, nothing more is needed than a single atom.”
“Really?”
“The elegance and complexity of the interplay between sub-atomic particles is all the evidence I need to know that the Creator is an intelligence beyond human comprehension. Once I’ve realized that, I require no other evidence. But go ahead and look into Aquinas. I think you’ll find his logic to be interesting.”
“I am definitely going to look that up and read what he had to say.”
“It isn’t likely the Church will make any pronouncement about multiverse theory in our lifetimes. Not unless something happens that proves multiple universes exist. In the meantime, I think the main thing to remember, is that God is reaching out to us here, where we are, through the normal events of our lives. And He wishes us to feel close to Him.”
Maggie Blumstein was buffing her nails, while a client was droning on and on during a telephone counseling session. A knock on the door broke the monotony. She muted the phone, crossed the room, and opened the door to find a courier there.
“Dr. Blumstein?” He asked.
“Yes, I’m Dr. Blumstein.” The courier handed her a business-sized manila envelope, asked her to sign a receipt, and walked away. The envelope was labeled with her name and office number. She closed the door and opened the envelope and gasped. She held in her hand an eight by ten glossy color photo, clearly showing a priest opening a door, and greeting Professor Faulk. The time stamp at the bottom of the photo showed 4PM, October 6.
She looked behind the photo and found another image of the same priest and Professor Faulk, shaking hands. From the photo, it was clear that the professor was leaving. The Time stamp said 4:45PM, October 6.
Behind the second photo was a full-sized sheet of printer paper, with two neatly typed lines. It said simply,
“Fr. John Bianchi, Pastor, St. Leo’s Catholic Church.” Below that, was the street address and telephone number of the church office.
“Dr. Blumstein, did you hear me? Hello?” Her client’s electronic voice interrupted her thoughts. She unmuted the phone and said, “I’m sorry, I am afraid we will have to reschedule the remainder of this session. I have just received word of an urgent matter I must attend to.”
“What? I just shared one of my deepest secrets. Your response is to hang up on me?”
“I’m sorry.”
“But this is my scheduled time. I still have thirty minutes.”
“I will refund you the full price of the session. I really must go now. I will be in touch to re-schedule.”
