Part 37 (1/2)
”Good Lord,” Barbara said. ”Alex, he'll wrap you up and take you home with him.”
”That's why I want Will along,” Alex said. ”Let's beat it.”
She looked at Will. He shrugged. ”With any luck, he'll let me go home with him, too,” he said. ”Ready, gang? Let's do it.”
39.
At one-fifteen Bailey pulled to a stop at the back entrance to the Hilton Hotel, but this time Alex and Will were not waiting.
”Two minutes, and I'll go get him,” Barbara said grimly. She was ready to open the door and march in when they appeared, not quite running but coming fast.
They got in and Bailey started to drive.
”Well?” Barbara said, turning to look at Alex and Will in the backseat.
”Mr. Feldman can throw some serious business my way,” Will said gravely.
”And Innes is willing to handle my appeal,” Alex said. ”He said you're doing very well for a small-town lawyer.”
”Mrs. Feldman is quite upset that you drew attention to Alex's appearance,” Will said, more gravely than before.
”If you hadn't made a point of drawing attention to me, no one would have noticed anything,” Alex said.
She turned to look straight ahead, and in the front seat Frank's shoulders were shaking with laughter, although he was not making a sound. After a moment she faced Alex again. ”Are you okay?”
”Real cool, Barbara. Don't worry about me. I think she's fallen in love with Courtney Innes. You'll have to get in line.”
Will said, ”I think Mr. Feldman fell in love with him, too. One more exposure, and I'll nudge you aside for a place in line, by the way.”
Barbara threw up her hands. ”You had a ball. Great!”
When court was back in session, Novak called the Reverend Matthew Koenig. He looked well fed, thick through the middle, with a genial, fat-cheeked face, like a freshly shaved Santa.
He had been the minister at the Opal Creek Baptist Church for twenty-one years, he said, and Gus and Leona Marchand had been members of his congregation for most of those years. He had married them and baptized their two children.
”How would you describe Mr. Marchand, Reverend?” Novak asked.
”He was a very religious man, and the most honest man I ever knew. A loving husband and father, and a faithful friend. I don't believe he ever make a promise he didn't keep.”
”Did he ever fib a little, embellish the truth in any way?”
”Never. He considered lying to be a grievous sin.”
”Do you counsel your congregation members in matters other than spiritual?”
”Yes. Much of my work as a minister is to counsel members in various ways. Family problems. Problems with children. Mediate disputes of various sorts.”
”And did you ever counsel Mr. Marchand in a matter that was not strictly speaking spiritual?”
”Yes.”
Novak nodded. ”Did you have occasion to have a private conference with Mr. Marchand a short time before his death on June ninth?”
”Yes. On June seventh we had a conference.”
”Will you please tell the court the gist of that meeting?”
Barbara objected. ”Whatever was said at such a meeting is hear-say, since it can't be verified.”
”Your Honor, Mr. Koenig was acting in his professional capacity as a minister, and his testimony is equivalent to that of a police officer or a doctor, not subject to hearsay objections.”
Judge Mac overruled the objection. ”You may answer the question,” he said.
”Well, Gus was very disturbed that night,” Koenig said. ”He was disturbed to the point of agitation. I never had seen him like that, and I took him to my study in order to talk. He said the devil had marked his daughter, had set his sights on her, and he feared the devil would claim her and d.a.m.n her to h.e.l.l.” His pink cheeks grew pinker as he talked, and he looked as disturbed as Gus might have looked that night.
”I told him to calm down and tell me about it, and he did. Rachel was being spied on by the devil, he said; the devil was following her, watching her. I said that if there was a predator, a child molester, it was his duty to inform the authorities and let them investigate. He was reluctant to take that step. He didn't believe in psychological counseling; he thought it was brainwas.h.i.+ng and would be harmful to Rachel. He said they might not believe her, and I a.s.sured him that the word of a child in such cases was always considered truthful unless proved otherwise. I promised that I would go with him, testify, advocate for her; that since I had known her all her life, I could attest to her truthfulness and her honor. I told him we would have her questioned by a Christian psychologist who would do her no harm. I told him he would do evil if he didn't report this to the authorities, file an official complaint, because a predator would not stop unless he was jailed.”
Novak looked very earnest as he followed this, and now he asked in a low voice, ”What was his reaction to your discussion?”
”He didn't commit himself to making an official complaint. We prayed together, and then he said he would have to think it over, that Rachel's well-being came first, but he would do whatever was necessary to save her soul. I believe he was committed even if he didn't come to that realization yet. He was a G.o.d-fearing man who would not s.h.i.+rk his duty, especially where his child was concerned. We left it at that, and agreed to talk again on Sunday after services.”
”But his death came first. Is that right?”
”Yes. I never talked with him again,” he said sorrowfully.
”Reverend Koenig, did he say the name of the man he called the devil?”
”Yes. He said it was his neighbor, Alexander Feldman.”
Well, Barbara thought, Santa just delivered a load of coal. Novak had a few more questions, then turned to her and inclined his head fractionally.
”Your witness.”
She stood up, nodded to him, and smiled slightly at the preacher, who smiled benignly back at her. ”I just want to clear up a few points,” she said. ”This meeting you've told the court about happened on June seventh, a Wednesday. Can you be more specific? Was it in the afternoon, or that night; before your regular prayer meeting, or after?”
His eyes narrowed a little. ”That night,” he said. ”It took place after our regular prayer meeting.”
”You also said that Mr. Marchand was disturbed, agitated even. Was he disruptive during the prayer meeting?”
”No, he wouldn't have been disrespectful that way.”
”Did he do anything unusual to draw attention to himself?”
”No.”
”Was the entire Marchand family present that night?”