Part 38 (1/2)
”Still working on it,” Awan said. He'd brought his wine gla.s.s with him, and was sipping from it. ”But they've skipped town, so even if it were ready, we've got to wait until they come back.”
”Something scare them off?” Deem asked.
”Don't know yet,” Awan said. ”They're not at their home, and they haven't been seen in town the last two days. So I'm in a holding pattern.”
”Well, let us know if they come back,” Winn said. He dug into his pants pocket, and pulled out the mindwall. ”I suppose we should return these to you.”
”Nah,” Awan said. ”Keep them. I have several, and my grandfather's book shows how to make more.”
”Thanks, Awan!” Winn said, replacing the beaded emblem back into his pocket. ”I find they come in very handy, in all kinds of circ.u.mstances.” He looked over at Deem, and smiled. She rolled her eyes.
”Carma told me about the excommunication,” Awan said to Deem. ”Are you going to fight it?”
”No,” Deem said. ”There's no point. The fix is in. I'll just have to help my mom through it. She's the one I'm worried about.”
”You know,” Carma said, ”you could confront Brother Dayton about it. You may have some incriminating information you could hold over him, force him to drop the proceedings.”
”Nah,” Deem said. ”I'm OK with it. I'm more worried about what else he might do, or instruct others to do.”
”If he's the one who had Claude killed,” Winn said, ”he needs to pay. Somehow.”
Deem sat in her chair, contemplating. She agreed with Winn, she just didn't know how to approach it.
”I have something for you,” Carma said, walking out of the room. She returned with a manila folder, which she handed to Deem. ”A gift from Lyman. He wanted me to use it in another manner, but after meeting you he asked me to give it to you, so you could use it.”
Deem opened the folder. It contained a single picture of a teen boy. His sleeve was rolled up, and a needle hung from the skin around the inside of his elbow. His head was leaning back, a wide smile on his face.
”This looks like Johnny Dayton,” Deem said. ”He's shooting up?”
”Taken by a friend of his while they were high,” Carma said. ”Lyman lifted the photo from the boy's iPhone when he conveniently lost it at the county rodeo.”
”Lyman can do that?” Deem asked.
”Well, I say Lyman,” Carma answered, ”but I really mean one of the people in Lyman's network. They're always looking for trash on the higher-ups. And it usually isn't too hard to find.”
Deem knew exposing Dayton's son as a drug addict wouldn't cause him to lose his position in the church. But it would cause people to talk, and Dayton would be viewed as a bad father, the same way her mother would be viewed as a failure for having an excommunicated daughter. It might make it hard for him to receive another position of power when he was released from the stake presidency. Might be fair play for the damage Dayton was about to do to Deem's mother.
Carma saw the thoughts swirling around in Deem's mind. ”You don't have to use it, my dear. Only if it comes in handy. You might have far more powerful leverage in those boxes in the other room, once you get a chance to go through them.”
”Thank you,” Deem said to Carma. ”Thanks for looking out for me. And please thank Lyman, too.”
”You can thank him yourself,” Carma said. ”He's sitting right over there. He can hear you.”
”Thanks, Lyman,” Deem said, turning to the empty chair Carma had pointed at. It felt a little weird. She dropped into the River.
Lyman was faintly visible in the chair. It gave Deem a s.h.i.+ver, just as it did whenever she realized ghosts were in the room that she hadn't been aware of. She smiled, hoping Lyman might see it.
”Sister Hinton,” Dayton said, opening the door. ”I hope this will be a cordial visit, unlike last time.”
”It will,” Deem said, taking a deep breath and walking into Dayton's home. She was determined to keep a calm composure. ”Is your wife home? The kids?”
”No one's home,” Dayton said, leading her into the living room and sitting down. ”And I see you're alone this time, too. Please, sit down. What can I do for you?”
”Did you kill Claude? Or have him killed?”
”Yes,” Dayton said.
Deem was shocked. She was expecting him to act in stake president-mode, pretending he didn't know what she was talking about. It took her by surprise to see him admit it.
”He violated his oaths,” Dayton said. ”So his life was taken.”
”It looked to me like whoever you sent to kill him was also supposed to retrieve some of Claude's things, too. Some doc.u.ments.”
”Yes. That's correct.”
”Then you know he didn't succeed at that.”
”Yes.”
”And you know who has the doc.u.ments now?”
”Who? You?”
”Yes.”
Dayton laughed. ”I don't think so.”
Deem resisted every urge in her body to argue with Dayton. It irritated her that he was so c.o.c.ky, so sure that she didn't have them. She wanted to rub it in his face, but she knew it was better to let it drop, to let him think she didn't have them.
”I see you've started excommunication proceedings on me,” Deem said.
”That wasn't me,” Dayton said. ”That was your Bishop.”
”Influenced by you,” Deem said. ”I know how these things work.”
”I don't think you do,” Dayton said.
”My father was part of your council,” Deem said calmly, keeping control of her tone. ”We both know that. You won't confirm it because members.h.i.+p is part of your secret oaths, but I know he was. I'll never be part of your council, I know that. I'm a woman, for one. Plus you're a little angry at me right now. I'm angry at you, too. Killing Claude was unnecessary.”
”The Lord works in mysterious ways, Sister Hinton.”
”I don't understand how you can say that, when you don't believe it. It's phony.”
”That's where you're wrong, Sister Hinton. It's not phony to us. Not to any of us. We're all true believers, through and through. So was your father.”