Levi released her hand. He’d been pinching the skin between the thumb and index finger on her right hand.
“Are you still light-headed?”
“No. Honestly, I’m okay. Just sweaty and thirsty. My senses are coming back again. Whatever you did, it worked. What was that anyway? Acupressure?”
He nodded. “Something like that. It wasn’t magic, though, if that’s what you’re thinking. A lot of what I do—a lot of powwow in general—has no basis in magical theory and discipline. It’s just herbs and prayer.”
“But you’re not just practicing powwow. You admitted as much yourself.”
“No,” Levi admitted. “I’m not. Some of the places the Lord has led me over the years—well, let’s just say that powwow wouldn’t have been effective. I’ve had to use other methods.”
“But doesn’t that fly in the face of God?”
“Not if I’m using those methods to further His will.”
They were sitting in Levi’s buggy, which was still positioned at the rear of the parking lot. He’d led Maria there after she regained consciousness, so that she could lay down. Her car didn’t have enough space for that, and despite the time of year, it had been hot and stifling inside the vehicle. The buggy sat beneath several trees, and it was better for her to be in the shade rather than the sun. Maria laid down on the long, wide bench at the front of the buggy. Once he’d gotten her situated, Levi crossed the street to the local gas station, bought her a bottle of water, and then hurried back. While Maria sipped the water, he’d applied slight pressure to her hand until her dizziness and nausea passed.
“Do you…” he hesitated. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“I don’t know,” Maria admitted. “I mean, it’s not every day that you hear…whatever that was.”
“Oh, God—or Allah, as you think of Him—speaks to us every day. We just don’t listen.”
“But not like this.”
“No,” Levi agreed. “Not like this. Not in a long time. These days, there are no burning bushes or voices from the mountaintop.”
Maria breathed a heavy sigh. “Part of me still thinks it was a trick. Maybe you got to my recorder earlier or something—except I know that’s not true.”
“I promise you that I did nothing of the sort.”
“And part of me believes it really happened. That G…” She paused. “That whoever…somebody left a message.”
“I can’t sway your belief one way or the other, Maria. All I ask is that you believe what I’ve told you. For anything other than that, you’ll have to look to your own heart.”
“Listen, I’m sorry about my behavior earlier. I don’t think you’re some psycho killer or Amish rapist or anything like that. At least, not anymore. And yes, some things have happened that I can’t explain. But I just don’t know what to think yet. I’m overwhelmed and exhausted. I got no sleep last night. I was already in a bad mood and then all this…this weirdness started up. I just need to chill for a bit. I need to take a step back and think about things. I can’t just totally, one hundred percent accept on blind faith that Allah spoke to me through my voice recorder. I want to. I really do. But I need to think about it more. Call it my journalistic side.”
“Fair enough.”
“But I do want to help you. I just don’t know what you need from me.”
“Simply having you involved is enough. Certain numbers have power. Six and seven. Nine. Twelve and thirteen. Twenty-two. Six hundred and sixty-seven, the number of the Beast.”
“I thought it was six-six-six?”
“No, that was another thing scholars got wrong.”
“Lost in translation, huh?”
“Something like that. But there is power in numbers. Twelve disciples, for example. Jesus picked twelve for a reason. Or consider the universal belief in the unluckiness associated with the number thirteen, regardless of the culture. Three is considered a very lucky number. Not as powerful as seven, but still very good.”
“How is three a lucky number? There weren’t three disciples.”
“No, but there were three Stooges. No cosmic evil could stand against Moe, Larry and the original Curly.”
It took Maria a moment to realize that he was joking. They both chuckled.
“You, me, and Adam Senft make three,” Levi said. “Those are good odds.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” He took her hand and squeezed it gently. “Thank you for helping me, Maria.”
She returned the gesture and then he released her hand.
“But let’s be honest,” Maria said. “Helping you is helping myself. We both want to talk to Adam Senft and neither of us has time to go through the official channels. So my reason for helping you make that happen isn’t exactly charitable.”
“Nevertheless, it is still appreciated.”
At the front of the buggy, Dee whinnied.
Levi smiled. “And Dee appreciates it, too.”
“She’s a beautiful horse. Have you had her long?”
“Since she was a foal. She comes from an old line. Her family has aided my family for a very long time. She’s my best friend. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”
Dee snorted and then looked away. Her tail flicked back and forth in agitation.
“And she never lets me forget it,” Levi said.
“I always wanted a horse when I was a little girl.”
“Your parents wouldn’t buy you one?”
“We lived in the Jersey suburbs. There was nowhere to keep one.”
“I can’t imagine growing up like that, with no livestock or wide-open fields to play in.”
“Yeah. It’s definitely two different worlds. Do you have any other animals?”
He nodded. “An old hound dog named Crowley.”
“Crowley and Dee—odd names. How did you come up with them?”
He hesitated before answering. “I named them after Aleister Crowley and John Dee.”
“Oh.” Maria nodded in affirmation, but privately, she wondered who they were. She vaguely recognized the names, but that was all. She didn’t want to appear stupid, so she tried to change the subject. She held out her water bottle. “You want a sip?”
“No thank you,” he declined, waving his hand. “As I said, I’m fasting. I can drink water, but only at specific times. So I’ll have to wait.”
“Must be tough.”
“It is.”
They sat in silence for a moment. While Maria finished her water, Levi bowed his head, folded his hands in his lap, and closed his eyes. His breathing grew shallow. She wasn’t sure if he was praying or just resting, but decided not to disturb him in either case. Instead, to occupy herself, she looked around the buggy’s floor. It was messy. Levi had road maps, emergency flares, a flashlight, assorted wrenches and screwdrivers, a pack of tissues, and even an empty soda cup from a fast-food restaurant. The buggy contained everything a regular vehicle would have. She considered this. Levi had said he was no longer Amish, so it shouldn’t be that surprising, and yet, Maria couldn’t help but be amazed. She was surrounded by hints of normalcy from someone who was anything but normal. She was no longer wary of him. She’d been honest with him about that. He wasn’t crazy, at least, not in a violent, harmful way. She liked to think she had a pretty good sense for such things. Eccentric, certainly, but not crazy. The buggy’s interior seemed to reinforce that.
A car pulled into the parking lot and drove slowly past them. The driver glanced their way. His gaze lingered on them for a moment. Then he drove on, finding an empty space several rows away. She saw brake lights flash. A moment later, the driver got out of the car and pointed his key ring at it. The car’s alarm system chirped. The man looked at the buggy one more time and then walked toward the building.