She nodded. "Yes, okay."

"When’s the article going to run?" Nick asked. He was trying to figure out if there was time to stop it.

"It isn’t going to be in the paper. Lorna and I had a little talk."

Noah grinned. "Did you threaten her with the fires of hell?"

Tommy wasn’t amused. "No, I didn’t, but I did talk to her about being jealous of Laurant. She didn’t want to hear my opinions, but she agreed not to run the article. She’s afraid other people will think she’s jealous because she’s gone after Laurant so many times."

"I need a glass of milk," Laurant said. Her stomach was upset, thanks to Lorna, and she hoped the milk would settle it.

"I’ll get it. You go sit down," Tommy offered.

Noah pushed her plate in front of her. "Eat," he suggested.

"Isn’t there anything you can do about those lawyers?" Nick asked her.

"I am doing something."

Tommy poked his head out of the pantry. "What?" he asked.

"I’m suing them."

Her brother grabbed a glass and hurried back into the kitchen.

"You’re suing?"

"Yes," she said. "The day after I found out, I started searching. It took a year to find an attorney who was willing to take on the giants."

"David against Goliath, huh?" Noah said.

"You know, Noah, you’re starting to think like a priest. Maybe you ought to consider joining up," Nick teased.

Noah grimaced. "That isn’t going to happen."

Tommy got the gallon of milk out of the refrigerator and poured some into Laurant’s glass. "But about the suit? What’s happening?"

She took a drink before she answered. "I won the first round and then I won again. They’ve been dragging it out with motions to delay, but my attorney told me that this next round is the last appeal. I should hear something soon. Win or lose, it will be final."

"So, there’s a good possibility you could get the money back."

"It could go either way," she said. "I’m prepared for either outcome."

"No wonder you drive that junky old car," Nick said. "You’ve been living on a shoestring."

He was smiling at her, as though he thought she had done something remarkable.

"I budget like most people do," she said. "And I happen to like my car."

The conversation came to an abrupt end when the sheriff came storming into the kitchen.

"Where the hell is my boy?" he demanded in a snarl. He had his gun half drawn as he shouted, "What have you done with him?"

Nick’s back was to the door, but Noah sat facing the stampeding sheriff. In a heartbeat, his hand reached inside his black robe and pointed the gun under the table at Lloyd. "You pull that weapon out, and you’re a dead man."

Lloyd stopped, frozen in his tracks. He was stunned by this priest who dared to threaten him.

Laurant hadn’t even had time to turn in her chair before Nick had whirled around and drawn his weapon. He was standing now, shielding her, and the barrel of his gun was pressed against Lloyd’s temple.

Tommy came up behind the sheriff and took the gun away from him. Then he calmly suggested that Lloyd sit down and discuss the problem in a reasonable manner.

"I’m the authority here," he bellowed.

"No, you’re not," Nick informed him. He put his gun back in the holster and told the sheriff to do as Tommy had said and sit down. Lloyd chose the chair at the far end of the table. "Give me my gun back."

Tommy handed Nick the weapon, and he quickly unloaded the magazine before he slid the gun toward the sheriff.

"What seems to be the problem?" Tommy asked.

"My boy," Lloyd muttered. "He’s gone missing. That’s what the problem is."

"He’s hiding," Nick told him. "He started that fire, and now he’s hiding."

Lloyd shook his head. "I ain’t gonna get into all that fire business ‘cause you and I see it different from each other. My boy knows he’s got me for his alibi. He wouldn’t think he had to hide. He was in bed, sleeping sound, when I got home from Nugent. I was dead tired," he added. "Up most of the night, and I was just getting myself in bed when the low-life sheriff from Nugent knocked on my door. He said he was gonna take Lonnie and book him on arson. We argued a bit, but then I decided to let the lawyers handle it, and I let him on in. Lonnie weren’t in his bed though, and his window waswide open."

Nick glanced at Noah, who promptly shook his head to let him know he hadn’t done anything with Lonnie.

Nick said then, "Maybe Wesson decided to pick him up."

"That ain’t what happened." The sheriff was whining now. "He’s still with the others cooped up with Brenner in a two-by-four room, questioning him. They wouldn’t let me listen in, didn’t want me to know nothing that was going on. I finally gave up and was heading out the door when I heard they were accusing him of murder. One of the sheriff’s deputies told me they had the goods on him." He took his hat off and rubbed his brow. "It’s all going in the toilet."

"Do you really care what happens to Lonnie?" Noah asked bluntly.

The question flustered the sheriff. Seeing the turmoil in Lloyd’s face, Tommy took over. He dragged a chair to the end of the table and sat down next to Lloyd.

"Your son’s given you a lot of heartache over the years, hasn’t he Lloyd?"

The sheriff’s voice dropped to a whisper. "He ain’t never been right in the head. Never. He’s got a real mean temper."

Tommy coaxed Lloyd to talk, urging him to let go of all the anger and disappointment he’d kept inside for so long, and within minutes the sheriff was spilling his guts, telling him all the problems he’d had to clean up for his son. The list was appallingly lengthy.

"He’s done some terrible things. I know he has, but he’s my son, and I had to protect him. I’m so sick of it. I know I’m supposed to care about the boy, but I can’t, not anymore. I’ve still got to find him because if I don’t and he comes home, he’ll be… upset with me, and I don’t want that to happen. He can forget himself and get violent." He wiped at his eyes as he confessed, "I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m afraid of my own boy. He’s going to kill me one of these days. He’s come damn close a couple of times already."

"Maybe it’s time Lonnie learned the consequences of his actions," Noah suggested.

"He’ll come after me. I know he will."

"You need time to think about your options," Tommy said. "Why don’t you get in your car and leave Holy Oaks for a week or two, just until things calm down and Lonnie’s behind bars."

The sheriff leapt at the idea. "What will folks say? I don’t want them thinking I’m running away."

"They won’t think that," Tommy said. "You’re entitled to take some time off, aren’t you?"

"Sure, I am," he agreed. "And maybe… just maybe, I won’t never come back. I’ll leave it all here, won’t pack a thing, so my boy won’t think I’m gone for good. Then he won’t come looking for me."

"They’ll catch him and put him behind bars," Noah said. "You be sure to let Father Tom know where you are."

The sheriff was suddenly in a hurry to get out of town. He was walking out the door when he stopped and turned to Laurant. "He’s been skimming money from the very beginning," he said.

"Who?" Laurant asked. "Brenner?"

Lloyd nodded. "He’d tell his backers at Griffen it was gonna cost a hundred grand to buy a store, then offer half that amount to the owner and pocket the difference. He’s got himself an account, but I don’t know where it is. You might want to look into that before the town meeting."

"Yes, I will," she said.

The sheriff turned to leave again, but Nick stopped him. "How deep are you in all of this, Lloyd?"

Lloyd turned away. "I helped him some. I’ll testify against him. Maybe if I help make this right, I won’t have to serve time." He gave Nick a hopeful glance, and then spoke to Tommy. "I’ll let you know where I am. I’ll come back when you call me." He shuffled back like a broken-down old man and placed his gun and badge on the table, then walked out the door. They watched him leave.