The doorbell rang as I was frantically digging through the junk drawer looking for the card that I knew Mom had stashed in there somewhere, and a second later there were voices coming from the foyer.
“Won’t you come in?” I heard Mom say. “Let me go get Dennis, my husband. He’ll be so pleased to meet you. It’s wonderful of you to come introduce yourself to us.”
Mom stuck her head in as she passed the kitchen, and said, “Abbey, would you please come meet Deacon Dwayne from Saint Paul’s Pentecostal Church? He’s new in town.”
“Yeah, in a minute, Mom. I’m looking for something. Do you know where Sophie and Kame’s business card is? I thought it was in the junk drawer.”
She crossed over to the fridge. “I moved it up here. Let’s see …” She scanned rows of pizza coupons and Chinese take-out menus. “I don’t see it. Must have fallen. Or maybe I put it in my purse.”
Dad’s voice echoed out to us as he greeted the deacon, and Mom got distracted. “Oh, good. Your father’s in the living room. Come with me for just a minute, and then I’ll find your card.”
She grabbed my hand, and I reluctantly followed. I hoped that the deacon wasn’t expecting fancy church clothes or anything, because I wasn’t changing on his behalf. “Don’t forget. I need that card!” I whispered. She nodded absently and kept pulling me behind her.
Dad was sitting on one end of the couch, with the deacon on the other end, and Mom hurried forward to fill the space in between. I ground to a halt, and my feet froze to the floor when I came face to face with him.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Deacon Dwayne,” Mom gushed. “I’d like you to meet my daughter, Abbey.” The deacon nodded benignly at me, his stiff black and white outfit barely allowing his head to move.
But he was no man of God. He was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Deacon “Dwayne,” indeed. I see what you did there, Vincent Drake. I narrowed my eyes at him and refused to sit.
“Don’t be rude, Abbey,” Mom prodded. “Come say hello.”
“Do not be shy, my child,” Vincent intoned in a gentle voice. “Come and sit with us.”
A million thoughts ran through my head, but I couldn’t pin any of them down. Caspian was here, but he couldn’t help. I didn’t have Sophie and Kame’s card, and I didn’t even know how to get a hold of Uri or Cacey.
“Come and sit,” Vincent instructed again. “Fellowship with us.”
“No, thanks,” I said coolly. “I can fellowship from here.”
“Have you not heard of the great scripture that says thou shalt honor thy father and mother?” he replied.
Mom nodded her head vigorously.
“Honor. Them.” Vincent said, a hard edge in his voice. He moved one hand just a tad bit closer to Mom. Ever so slightly.
I don’t think Mom or Dad even noticed it, but I did. It was a menacing move. There was definitely a threat there.
I walked over to the easy chair opposite Vincent and sat down. The seat seemed to rush up to catch me, and it surprised me.
“Now we are all one happy family,” Vincent said, a pleasant smile on his face. “The Lord is pleased.”
How long was he going to keep up this act? And why was he even bothering to put on such a charade?
“So, are you enjoying Saint Paul’s?” Mom asked. “It’s such a beautiful church.”
“Oh, yes, it is. And they have wonderful youth services. I find myself very much drawn to ministries that help the children,” Vincent replied, with an evil smile at me. “Young, wayward innocents are pressed upon my heart.”
I gave him a dirty look.
“Yup, they have good kids’ programs there,” Dad offered. “Some of the best around.”
“But it’s not like they have them because they need them,” Mom interjected. “Our kids are very well behaved here in Sleepy Hollow.”
Vincent steepled his fingers and adopted a concerned expression. “Are they? I must say, I have heard … concerning things. About drug use, and teens becoming sexually active at such a young age.”
Evil. He is pure evil.
Mom looked shocked, and Dad wouldn’t meet my eyes. I guess the term “sexually active” was more than he wanted to think about.
“No,” Mom said. “Our kids don’t get involved in such things.”
“Wonderful, wonderful.” He looked concerned again. “What about other issues? Mental illness? Suicide?” Now Mom wouldn’t look at me, and Dad cleared his throat loudly.
“Do you know anyone who has been personally affected by such a thing, Abbey?” Vincent directed the question to me.
What I wouldn’t give to punch you in your lying smarmy face right now … “Nope. Like Mom said, we’re all healthy, well-adjusted kids. Say, how are things going with the Catholics? They seem to be having problems right now, right? Maybe you could go help them out.”
Mom gasped, and Dad finally looked at me long enough to frown. One side of Vincent’s mouth pulled up in a smirk. And then it was gone.
“I must confess, I do not know how things are handled by the Catholic churches. I’m kept very busy looking after my own flock. I consider myself a shepherd in training, and I find that many of my sheep need … a certain kind of hands-on attention.”
He cracked his knuckles, and the sound made my skin crawl.
Staring at him hard, I made a silent vow. I am not going to let you get away with this. “How long have you been with the church, Deacon Drake?” I said sweetly. “In general. I know Mom said that you were new in town.”
“I fear that I have lost count how many years it has been. Or how many lives I’ve touched.” His smile widened, and he licked the corner of his lips. “And it’s Deacon Dwayne.”
“Oh, did I get it wrong? I could have sworn that you said Drake.”
Mom looked back and forth between the two of us with a slightly bewildered expression on her face. “Would you like some coffee? Tea?” she said to Vincent. “I’d be more than happy to make some.”
“Actually, I have another appointment that I’m going to be late for if I don’t leave now. So I will bid my farewells and say that I hope to meet again soon.”
He stood up and shook Dad’s hand, then turned to Mom. Being sure to angle himself so that I could get a full view, he leaned in to give her a hug with both arms. His hands lined up directly with her throat and he cast me another glance.
Mom! I wanted to scream. Get away from him! He’s the one who attacked me! But I couldn’t tell her. Who knows what he might have done then.
“It was very nice to meet you, Abigail,” he said, pulling away from her. I noticed the use of my proper name. “You have lovely parents here. I would give thanks to God every day for such wonderful people in my life. Our time on this earth is so fleeting. You never know when their time could be up. Even this day might be their last.”
And with that subtle death threat, he walked out the front door.
I flew up to my room as soon as Mom found Sophie’s card, and I dialed the number as fast as I could. Caspian was still asleep on the bed. I was starting to worry about him even more. All those times he’d described being pulled down into the dark place of sleep to make time pass faster didn’t sound like a good thing.
What if he couldn’t find his way back?
I paced beside him, silently willing Sophie or Kame to pick up their phone. It rang and rang and rang, and I was just about to leave an urgent voice mail, when Sophie picked up.