Elena headed into Seattle the next morning to pick up the costumes that would be needed for the scenes to be shot with Rollie.   After she left, the Aussie decided that it was time for a break from work.

“How about if we call and see if Dylan can join us for a bike ride?” he suggested.

“That sounds like fun,” Angie said.

Rollie called the Widow’s Walk.  “Hey, Alex.  Is Dylan around?”

“Yes, he’s up in his room.”

“Angie and I are going for a bike ride, and we thought he’d like to join us.”

“That would be great, Daniel.  Hold on.  I’ll get him.”

A couple of minutes later, he could hear the sound of running feet, then Dylan picked up the phone.

“Hey, buddy.  So, how would you like to go bike riding with Angie and me?” Daniel asked.

“That would be cool!”

“Okay then.  We’ll be in town in half an hour.  See you then.”

A half-hour later, they walked into the Widow’s Walk to find Dylan perched on the front step of the staircase going up to the second floor.  He jumped to his feet when he saw them.

“Let’s get Boris to make us some sandwiches, then we don’t have to worry about getting back for lunch,” Daniel suggested.

A while later, they were all on bicycles riding down the roads and trails of Hope Island.  Eventually, they got to a long, straight stretch.  Angie looked over at the boy.

“Hey, Dylan.  Wanna race?”

The boy’s eyes lit up.  “Yeah!”

“Can I get in on this, too?” Daniel asked.

“Um, I don’t know.  Shall we let him race, too?” the blonde asked Dylan.

The boy grinned.  “Sure.”

Angie turned to Rollie.  “Okay, you’re in.  But don’t think that you’re going to win.  I’ll be leaving you in the dust.”

“Oh, is that so?  Well, we’ll see about that,” the minister said.

They all lined their bikes up.

“Okay, see that fallen tree that’s hanging across the road up ahead?  That’s the finish line,” Angie said.  “Ready . . . set . . . go!”

They took off, flying across the ground at breakneck speed, pedaling as fast as they could.  Dylan, getting the fastest start, was ahead, then Angie drew up to him, her front wheel inching ahead of his slightly, then falling behind.  As the finish line approached, Daniel suddenly drew up on the other side of Angie.  They passed under the tree, the minister winning by about a foot.  Laughing, they all skidded to a stop.

“Now what was that about me not winning?” Daniel gasped.

“Well, I think you have an unfair advantage,” Angie said.  “Your legs are longer.  Isn’t that right, Dylan?”

Grinning, the boy agreed.

“Longer legs make no difference on a bike, Angela, so don’t go using that excuse.”  The minister’s eyes were sparkling.  “Whew!  That was fun.  But now I think we’ll take it easy for a little while.”

“You’re not tired are you?  Why, I feel like I could race again.”  There was mischief in Angie’s eyes.

“Be my guest, Ange.  Hey, there’s another fallen tree about a mile up the road.  You and Dylan could race to that.  I’ll just wait here until you stagger back.”

“A mile?  Well, maybe a quiet ride for a while wouldn’t be a bad idea after all.”

Both Daniel and Dylan laughed.  They all resumed riding.  At noon, they stopped to have their lunch.  As they sat cross-legged on the ground, Dylan looked at the two adults.  They were sitting close together, and they both looked very happy.

“Are you still going back to New York, Angie?” he asked.

“Yes, I have to, at least for a while.  There are things that need to be taken care of.”

“But then you’ll be coming back, right?”

Angie’s and Daniel’s eyes met.  “That’s the plan,” the blonde said.

“And then you’ll get married.”

“Well, not immediately,” the minister said.  “There are things that need to be done before we can have the wedding.”

“Are you going to have kids?” Dylan asked.

“Uh . . . we haven’t really talked about that,” Daniel said.  “Why all the questions?”

Dylan shrugged.  “I was just curious.  So, when you guys get married, you’ll be spending a lot of time doing stuff that married people do, huh.”

“Stuff that married people do?  Um, yeah, I suppose we will.  It will be kind of a big adjustment for both of us.”

“You’ll probably be really busy doing that stuff and won’t have time for other things.”  Dylan was staring at the ground, scratching in the dirt with a stick.

The puzzlement cleared from Daniel’s face as he realized what was at the root of all the questions.  “Dylan, just because my life is going to change doesn’t mean that I won’t have time for you anymore.  We’ll always be buddies, no matter what.”  He ruffled the boy’s hair.

A bright smile lit Dylan’s face.

The minister stood.  “Well, we’d better get going.  Angie and I have things we need to get done.”

They returned to town.  Alex smiled when she saw the happy grin on her son’s face.  He ran up to her and told her about the race and the rest of the fun they’d had while riding.  After he went up to his room, the redhead turned to the minister.

“Thanks, Daniel, and thank you, Angie.  That was really nice of you to take him along on your ride.”

“We had fun,” Daniel told her.  “Dylan is a great kid.  I enjoy spending time with him.”  He glanced back toward the staircase.  “He apparently had this idea that I wouldn’t be spending time with him after I got married.”

Alex gave a sigh.  “I’m afraid that’s my fault.  I told him that more of your time would be taken up with Angie and other things after you got married and that you might not be able to spend quite as much time with him as you did before.   I wanted to prepare him for that.  As soon as I said it, I had a feeling I’d made a mistake, that he would think you wouldn’t have time for him at all.”

“Because of his father.”

The redhead nodded.

Daniel looked straight into her eyes.  “Alex, you need to know something.  No matter how busy I am, no matter how my life changes, I will always have time for my friends.  Nothing is more important to me than God and the people I care about.”

Alex smiled, thinking how very unlike Steve he was.  “Thank you, Daniel.”

The minister and Angie returned to the house to find Elena back from the mainland and on Angie’s computer downloading some information.

“The body of a man whom we confirmed was part of the organization was found yesterday,” she told them.  “He was shot execution-style in the back of the head.  Word on the street is that they suspected he was a fed.”

“Was he?” Angie asked.

“No.  Like it said in that info I sent you, we’ve been unable to get anyone inside.  They won’t hire anybody who can’t be vouched for by somebody already in the organization, and even then they run extensive background checks.  From what we’ve heard, things got even tighter after the arrests.  O’Brien even did a thorough check on his poolman.”

Rollie nodded.  All this had been in the report Elena sent.  “So, this guy was just unlucky enough to have done something that made O’Brien suspicious?”

“Actually, we think he was killed because his little brother joined the police force,” Elena told him.

“You’re kidding,” Angie said.  “O’Brien thought this guy was a fed just because his kid brother became a cop?  Wow, talk about paranoid.”

“Which is what we already suspected,” Rollie said, “and what we’re counting on.”

“Well, if he’s that paranoid, then your plan should definitely work,” Angie commented.

“It should.  Between his paranoia and his religious upbringing, it would seem to be a sure thing.”  A flicker of sadness came and went in his eyes.  “But there are no certainties, not when it comes to things like this.  I learned that all too well.”

Angie gave his hand a squeeze.  “What about Robert Dales?”

“That’s more iffy, I’m afraid.”

“Will the rest of the plan work if he doesn’t fold?”

The Aussie turned to the FBI agent.  “Elena, you have no rock-solid evidence that O’Brien is the new head of the organization, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So there is a possibility that there’s somebody else above him, that O’Brien is just another lackey following a bigger boss’s orders.”

“Yes, that is possible.  We’ve been wrong before about who the head of a criminal organization was.”

“If he isn’t the big boss, then what we plan to do would probably be useless.  We have to know for sure.  And that’s where Dales comes in.  If we can get him to talk, then he should be able to confirm or deny that O’Brien is the top man. Without that confirmation, all our efforts could be for nothing.”

“So Dales is the weak link in the plan,” Elena said.

“Yeah.  I wish there was some way to be more certain with him.”

“Well, there is one good thing,” Angie commented.

“What’s that?” Rollie asked.

“If we fail to get Dales to talk, we have two others that we could go after.”

“You mean the two other politicians?  The problem is that neither of them are dying.  Getting them to talk would be a whole lot harder.”

“Okay, let’s say that Dales doesn’t break.  What then?” Elena asked.

“Then things remain as they are.  As long as we’re careful, and as long as Dales remains silent about what we make him see, which I think he will, no one in the organization will have any idea of what went on.  They won’t know about me.”

“And if Dales does say something to them?”

“Would you?  Think about what we’re going to do.  Would you tell anyone you saw those things?”

“No, I probably wouldn’t.”  Her gaze hardened.  “But I’m not going to take the chance that he might.”

“What do you mean?” Angie asked.

“If you can’t get him to talk, then I’m going to bring him in.  Once he’s in custody, maybe I’ll get him to talk.”

“You’d be condemning him to death, Elena,” Rollie told her.  “He wouldn’t live long, perhaps not even long enough for you to have the interrogation.  They’d probably arrange to have him killed right in the holding cell.”

“Better that than have him remain free and be a threat to yours and Angie’s lives.  He’s dying anyway.  The doctor’s say he doesn’t have more than six months.  I won’t trade your safety for the life of a corrupt congressman who will be dead inside half a year.”

Rollie stared at the FBI agent.  Looked at logically, it made sense, but he still despised the idea of condemning Dales to be murdered in order to make certain that he didn’t say anything to the organization that would lead them to suspect that Rollie was alive and had something to do with what went on.

“Elena--”

“I know what you’re going to say, Rollie, so don’t bother.  Besides, you need to understand that I was going to bring him in anyway.  That was the plan before you called.  So, in a way, nothing has changed.”

Rollie said nothing, knowing it would do no good to object.  He just hoped that the plan worked, then Dales and, hopefully, everyone else associated with the organization would live out the remainder of their lives in a jail cell.

A few minutes later, Rollie and Angie were both sitting at her computer in the bedroom.

“Okay, so I guess it’s time to set up our new identities,” Angie said.  “What would you like your first name to be?”

“I don’t know.  What do you like?”

“Um . . . David, Matthew, Joshua, Michael, Christopher, Gregory.  I like lots of names.”

“Matthew’s good.”

“Okay, Matthew it is.”

“What about yours?” Rollie asked.

“Well, what do you like?”

“I like Angie.”  The Aussie gave her a quick kiss.  “Hmm.  Kimberly, Danielle, Ni--”

“Danielle?” Angie interrupted, her eyebrow lifting.

“Yeah.  And it has nothing to do with Dani either, Ange.  I just like the name, that’s all.”

“Well, regardless, I won’t be picking that one.”

Rollie grinned.  “Are we jealous of an old girlfriend, Angela?”

“No, we are not jealous.  I just have no desire to be reminded of her every time you speak my name.”

The Aussie chuckled.  “Okay, scratch Danielle.  Now, where was I?  Oh yeah.  Nicole, Sarah, Lindsey, Michelle . . . and the list goes on and on.”

“Hmm.  I really like Sarah, but I don’t think it fits me.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.  It means ‘princess’, you know.”

Angie smiled and kissed him.  “I think I’ll go with Lindsey.”

“That works for me.”

“All right, now last names.”

“Well, we have to pick one that we both like because it would belong to both of us as soon as we’re married,” Rollie told her.

Angie nodded her head in agreement.  “You know, this is pretty cool.  Not many women get to pick and choose what their married name is going to be.  They’re usually stuck with the one the guy they marry has.”

“Unless they decide to keep their maiden name.  A lot of women are doing that.”

“Well, I’m not one of them.  I’m looking forward to being Angela Tyler.  Although, I may go with Angela Ramirez Tyler.”

“Angela Ramirez Tyler.  I really like the sound of that.”  Rollie pulled her close and began kissing her face.

“Me too.”  Angie pulled his lips down to hers, and they both forgot about choosing names for the next five minutes.  At last, they drew apart and returned to the task at hand.  They suggested names to each other until agreeing on Blake.  Angie’s maiden name would be Chamberlain.

“Matthew and Lindsey Blake,” Rollie murmured.  “I really hope we’ll never have to use those names.”

“So do I,” Angie agreed.

Next, they decided on what their new careers would be and worked out some general background information.

“So, are you going to go ahead and set everything up?” Rollie asked.

“Uh huh.  That way, we’ll be able to assume those identities right away.  I can always undo everything if we end up not needing them.”

The Aussie nodded.  “While you’re doing that, I’m going to link Blue into that new PDA I got and get the programming set up.”

“That reminds me.  Why didn’t you just have Elena bring one of the PDA’s from the loft?”

“Because I wanted a new one anyway.  This one has more RAM, the digital camera has a higher resolution, and it has some new bells and whistles.  Of course, I have added even more bells and whistles to it.”  The PDA’s they’d used in the past were virtually designed from scratch by the F/X artist since many of the features they needed were not something the average PDA was equipped with.

“Since when do you keep current with all the new stuff coming out?” Angie asked.  Rollie had never been one for keeping current with the latest releases in computer hardware and software.

“Since I became Daniel Cooper and couldn’t do more than look and drool over things like this.”

“Ah.”

They each got to work on their respective tasks.  Callie stopped by to visit for a while, then headed off to track down stories for the next edition of The Lookout.  The rest of the day passed quietly.  Once it was late enough in the evening that they were pretty sure no one would be stopping by, Rollie dressed in the first costume that Elena had gotten.  Using his skills at makeup, he created the desired appearance for his face.  Once he was done, he turned around and faced the two women.

“So, how do I look?”

“Gross,” Angie told him.

“I agree,” Elena said.

“Well, that’s the whole idea.”  The Aussie smiled, making his appearance even more gruesome.

Angie filmed the necessary shots of him, then the Aussie moved onto the next costume.  By the time they were finished, it was getting late.  Rollie walked with Angie down to Callie’s.

“Only three more days, Ange,” the Aussie said quietly.

Angie remained silent for several seconds.  “You’re going to have to set aside part of Saturday to write your sermon, aren’t you?”

Rollie sighed.  “Yeah, the sermon.  It’s going to be really hard to stand before the congregation and pretend that it’s just another Sunday when I know there’s a chance this might be the last sermon I’ll ever give.”

“Does that bother you?  The thought of never giving another sermon?”

The Aussie thought about it for a moment before answering.  “Yeah, it does.  Though they’ve never been easy for me to write, it makes me feel good when I stand before my congregation and give a sermon.  Again, I think a lot of it is the fact that I’m helping others, giving them what they need and want.  And, also, that I’m sharing my thoughts and beliefs about God.”

They walked in silence for a while.

“Angie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For understanding.  I know that I’ve changed a lot from the person I used to be, and it’s probably taken some getting used to.”

“Well, I do admit that some things have taken a bit of getting used to, but you’re still the same man I’ve known all these years.  That part of you that wants to help people hasn’t changed.  You’re still the most brilliant man I know.”  This comment earned a blush from the Aussie.  Angie grinned.  “You still have that wicked sense of humor, much to the consternation of Callie.  And you still have more courage than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“Do you miss the old Rollie?”  He had posed the question lightly, but she could tell that her answer was very important to him.

Angie didn’t respond right away, trying to find the right words.  “I miss some things.  The old Rollie was more . . . exuberant, though I did see that part of you again when we were at the Seattle Center.  I miss your hamming.  You were always such a goofball.  I never told you this, but you used to crack me up inside.  I hope that it’s still in there somewhere waiting to get out.  I miss. . . .”

“What?” Rollie prompted.

The blonde shook her head.  She wasn’t going to tell him that she missed the complete, unswerving confidence he used to have in himself and his abilities.  That would hurt him.  “Shall I tell you what I like about the new Rollie?” she asked instead.

The Aussie nodded.

“I like the . . . gentler things you’ve brought into your life: the music, the long, quiet walks we take, just sitting and watching the sunsets,” she smiled, “even the poetry.  You know, it’s funny.  I never really had much interest in a lot of those things before, but this time here with you has made me appreciate them.  I like that you’ve brought religion into your life, and that surprises me, too.  It hasn’t played a part in my life for a long time, but watching you, seeing how it’s affected you, and listening to you talk about God has made me see that it’s something I need.  It feels good to have it back again.”  She stopped walking and looked into his eyes.  “But the thing I love the most is how you’ve dedicated your life to helping people and the way that you do it.  You don’t just save lives, you save hearts.  You help heal them when they’re hurting inside.  You give them hope when they need it.  You comfort them when they’re sad or lonely.  And that’s a wonderful thing, Rollie.”  She pulled his head down to hers, kissing him tenderly.  A smile came to her lips.  “Of course, I have to say that I also kinda like this thing that I’ve got going on with the new Rollie.”

A matching smile curved the Aussie’s lips.  “Well, I’m glad to hear it,” he said before lowering his mouth back down to hers, making the kiss slow and deep.

“Mmm.  Yes, I most definitely like this addition,” Angie murmured once they’d separated.

They walked the rest of the way to Callie’s in silence.

“It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow, so I guess I’d better get there early,” Angie said.  “How’s 7:30?  We can eat breakfast there.”

“Works for me.  I think we’re just about out of eggs, though, and we need more bread.”

“I’ll pick some up on the way over and some juice too.”

“We’ll see you at 7:30, then.”  Rollie kissed her again, then wished her goodnight.  On the way back up the hill, he began to wonder what it was that Angie had stopped herself from saying.  He had a feeling he knew what it was.  If he was right, it was something he wasn’t sure he would ever get back.  Too many things had happened, too many mistakes had been made to ever feel that way about himself again.

Sighing, the Aussie continued his lone journey toward home.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

After breakfast, Angie got started meshing the footage of Rollie with some of the CGI’s she’d done.  While she was doing that, Rollie took care of some ministerial duties, visiting a couple of families that were going through a tough time.  Elena was on her cell phone with one of the other agents on the case when he returned.

“What?!” the couple heard her exclaim, then, “Give me the details.”  There were a couple of minutes of silence as she listened to the voice on the other end.  “All right.  Keep me informed.  I’ll be back in New York late Sunday night.”  She hung up.

“What’s wrong?” the Aussie asked.

“Loubar’s back in New York.”

Rollie’s heart skipped a beat.  “Are they sure?”

“A scientist working on a classified project was found murdered in his apartment this morning.  According to the coroner, he’d been dead for at least thirty hours, but the man was seen at the place where he worked just yesterday afternoon.  Now, the company has discovered that the blueprints for the project are missing.”

The Aussie sat down, his eyes staring into space.  It was Loubar, all right.  There was no doubt about it.  This was almost exactly like the case in which the arms dealer had impersonated Rollie as part of his plans to steal the smart grenade.

“Rollie, what are we going to do?” Angie asked.  “If Loubar’s in New York, he’s bound to check up on me when I return.  I won’t be able to move without there being a chance that he’s watching me.”

“We always knew that we’d have to assume you and the loft were being watched.  That’s why we’re taking all those precautions,” Rollie said.  “But knowing that Loubar is back means that we have to be even more careful.  We’d better move back the timetable a day, give you one more day of just being at the loft like it’s any other day.”

Elena nodded.  “Good idea.  What are you going to do about the chance that he may bug the loft?”

“After what happened with Loubar kidnapping Rollie and impersonating him, we beefed up the security on the loft,” Angie told her.  “It would be virtually impossible for anyone to get in there without authorization.  And if they did, I’d know about it the second I got to the loft, even before I walked in the door.  On top of that, I was sweeping the place for bugs regularly twice a week.  Rollie was doing that before he disappeared, and I kept on doing it.  During the first few months after the disappearance, I was worried about Loubar or somebody else listening in if Rollie called.  I also checked the home movies whenever I went to the loft.”

“Home movies?”

“Virtually everything that goes on in the loft is recorded on video,” Rollie explained.

“After the car was found and we had the memorial service, I stopped caring if the place was bugged or if someone had been there, so I didn’t check anymore,” Angie said.  “But I’ll sweep the place when I get home.”

“He could set up a listening device across from the loft,” Elena reminded them.

Angie shook her head.  “The building across the way is full now.  He’d have to set up something on the roof.  I could easily check on that.”

“He could kill one of the tenants, then set up in their place,” the FBI agent pointed out.

“I don’t think he’d do that,” Rollie said.  “The chances that someone would drop by for a visit or come to see why the person hadn’t been showing up for work would be too great a risk just to listen in on Angie.  However, as a precaution, there are things that can be done.  What worries me the most is if Loubar knows about the secret entrance.  Fortunately, the alley on that side is narrow, and there are no windows looking down on the entrance, but Angie is going to have to sweep the alley for any kind of electronic monitoring device just to be safe.”

The Aussie looked at his fiancée and saw an expression of worry on her face.  “It’ll be okay, Ange,” he assured her.  “We’ll make certain he doesn’t follow you or listen in when we don’t want him to.”

“That isn’t what I’m worried about, Rol.  I’m worried if I’ll be able to put on an act convincing enough to fool him.  I was a real mess after the memorial service.  If he was watching me at all during that time, he couldn’t have failed to see it.  I just don’t know if I’ll be able to pretend that I’m still grieving for you, not convincingly enough for Loubar to believe it.”

“Well, Mira thinks you’re getting counseling from a minister.  You could always say that it helped you come to terms with my death,” Rollie suggested.  “You probably would have had to do that anyway for the benefit of Mira, Francis, and my dad.”

“Yeah, I guess, but I’m still worried.”

The Aussie took her hand in his, holding it comfortingly.  Loubar’s presence in New York was worrying him too, but he wasn’t going to add his fears to those Angie already had.

Trying to push the worry out of their minds, the couple focused single-mindedly on work.  Toward the latter part of the afternoon their nerves began to fray, and they decided they needed another break.  Rollie took Angie and Elena for a ride in Emily.  They’d been out for around an hour when he decided to show Angie what he’d found on McKinley’s Beach.

As they approached the place where Rollie had found the burned timber, a frown came to his face.  He could no longer see it.  They reached the spot, and he just stared down at the unbroken stretch of sand.

“I don’t understand.  It was right here.”

“Are you sure?” Angie asked.

“I’m positive.”  He got down on his knees and began digging around.  It soon became clear that there was no piece of timber there.

“Could the tide have washed it away?” Elena asked.

“It doesn’t come up this far.”  Rollie sat on his haunches, staring at the sand.  A little shiver passed through him.  When he’d seen that phrase engraved on the wood, he had been shocked and a little spooked, but, now, he was more than a little spooked.  The timber was gone, as if it had never been there to begin with.  Maybe it hadn’t been.  Or maybe . . . maybe it had been there only to leave him a message.

“I’m getting goose bumps,” Angie said.

“You’re not the only one,” the Aussie responded.  He got up.  They left the beach rather quickly and headed back.  They joined Callie for an early dinner at the Widow’s Walk, then all four of them went to the parish house.  The journalist watched the images on Angie’s computer.

“Ugh!  Is that Rollie?” she asked upon seeing some of the footage with him.

“Uh huh.  Pretty disgusting, huh.  You should have been here last night when we took this footage.  Actually, I’m surprised he didn’t call and have you come over so that he could scare the daylights out of you.”

“Well, if he had, I’d have dropped dead from a heart attack right on the spot.  And you used to do stuff like that for a living?”

“Sure did.  We did some pretty gory stuff.”

“And now he’s a minister.”  Callie shook his head.  “Quite a change in vocation.”

“You got that right.”

Callie stayed until ten, then she and Angie left.  Feeling the need for the tranquility of God’s creation, Rollie went out onto the deck.  He gazed up at the stars and out across the moonlit waters of the bay.

“You can still call it off,” Elena said quietly as she came up behind him.  “You can just leave things as they are.”

“No, Elena, I can’t.  I can’t turn my back on the only chance we may have to end this thing and allow Angie and me to be together.”

“You must love her a great deal to risk everything for her.”

“She’s my life.  When we met again and then realized that we loved each other, I thought that I would have no choice but to see her only a week or so every few months.  It was agonizing knowing that we couldn’t be together.  But now. . . .  I love her more every day.  I’d sacrifice anything to be with her.”  He looked over at Elena and thought he caught an expression of sadness on her face.  “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”  She looked up at him.  “I’m glad you’ve found someone to love, Rollie.  We all need that.”

“Do you have someone?” he asked gently.

“No.  There was . . . someone that I very much wanted to have a relationship with, but he was in love with somebody else.”

Rollie looked into her eyes, seeing something there that he’d never noticed before.  That’s when it hit him--like a two-by-four over the head.  His own eyes widened.  Seeing his sudden reaction, Elena quickly turned away.

“Elena, I-I am so sorry.  I didn’t know,” he stammered, suddenly feeling discomfort and guilt.

The FBI agent’s gaze fell to the railing before her, and she sighed.  “I know you didn’t.  Sometimes, I thought I was being so obvious that you couldn’t help but see, but then I realized that you’re the kind of man who would never think that a woman could fall in love with you.  You probably don’t even realize how incredibly attractive you are to members of the opposite sex.”

Feeling even more uncomfortable, Rollie stared out into the darkness beyond the deck.  “I . . . I don’t know what to say.  If I had known, I would have . . . have done things differently.  I wouldn’t have asked you to come.  For you to be here with Angie and me. . . .”  He started thinking about the way Angie and he had kissed and snuggled with Elena there to see it and began to feel even more guilty.  “I’m sorry.  I don’t want to hurt--”

Elena laid her hand on the Aussie’s, halting his voice.  “It’s all right, Rollie.  I’ll be fine.  I’ve come to see that there could never have been anything lasting between us.  Your heart already belonged to someone else.”  She forced a smile.  “Elena Serrano is not the kind of woman to let something like this keep her down.  I’m going to be all right.”  Her hand tightened on his.  “I am still your friend, Rollie.  That hasn’t changed.”

Rollie finally met her gaze.  He scanned her face for a long time, then a gentle and rather sad sort of smile touched his lips.  But then a thought came to him.  “Elena, this thing with Robert Dales.  You aren’t planning to do that because of the way you feel about me, are you?  If you are, please don’t.  I don’t want him to be thrown to the wolves because of this.  I don’t want you to do something you otherwise wouldn’t because of the way you feel.”

“Rollie, I’ve been on this case for nine months now.  I’ve refused to let go.  My superior has threatened to take me off it several times because he thought that I was getting obsessed.  I’m going to tell you the truth.  I’ve stuck with it like this because I do care about you.  I wanted to end the threat to your life and make it so that you could go home to New York.  But it was more because I cared about you as a friend and as a good person who deserved to have your life back than as someone I was in love with.  I admit that I might have done some things I normally wouldn’t have, but that often happens when you become personally involved in a case.  That’s one of the reasons why they continually discourage us at the bureau from becoming emotionally involved in the cases we work on.  But, Rollie, you have to understand that, even if I didn’t feel this way about you, we would have eventually brought Dales in.  He’s an important key to bringing down this organization.  We couldn’t throw that away.  Sometimes, we have to do things, ugly things, to get rid of a greater evil.  It wouldn’t be just because of you.”

The Aussie searched her eyes, then sighed and nodded.  He was glad that he wasn’t a cop or a federal agent.  He could never do some of the things that they had to do.

Elena looked at her watch.  “It’s getting late.  I should go to bed.”  She gave Rollie another smile, this time one that wasn’t forced.  “Goodnight, Rollie.”

“Goodnight, Elena.”  He watched her leave, then returned his gaze to the stars above.  He’d never seen this.  He’d had no idea that Elena felt that way about him.  “It looks like I’ve been blind in more than one way,” he murmured.  The Aussie wondered if it was because of how she felt about him that she had been so . . . adamant about not letting him contact Angie and put his life at risk.  Would she have done those things with someone else who was being kept at a safe house?  He could ask her, but maybe it was best left unasked.  It wouldn’t make either one of them feel any better.

Rollie continued watching the stars for a while longer, then went to the bedroom.  They’d cleared off the bed so that he could sleep in it.  His lengthy frame just didn’t fit well on the couch.  He got dressed for bed, then slipped under the covers.  Two more days.  Just two more days before Angie would be getting on that plane.  Just thinking about it made him miss her.

Closing his eyes, he pushed his troubled thoughts aside and let sleep claim him.

The wall rose before him, high and impenetrable.  Angie was behind that wall, trapped with Loubar.  Rollie clawed and beat at the wall, his hands bruised and bloodied.

“Angie!  Angie, I’m coming!  I’ll save you.  I’ll save you,” the Aussie cried, almost weeping.

Suddenly, a doorway opened before him.  He stumbled beyond it into utter blackness.

“Angie, where are you?”

“Rollie, I’m here!  Help me!” echoed Angie’s voice, a voice full of pain and fear.

The Aussie groped through the darkness.  “Angie, I can’t see you.  I can’t find you.”

“Rollie, help me, please!”

A light sprung up from nowhere, and Rollie blanched at the sight before him.  Angie was tied spreadeagle across a bed, the bed in which Loubar had raped her.  All that remained of her clothing were tattered bits, and there were horrible wounds all over her body.  She was looking at him, an accusation in her eyes.

“You didn’t save me, Rollie.  Why didn’t you save me?” she cried.

Loubar was standing beside the bed, a knife in his hand and a look of triumph on his face.  “You’ve failed again, Tyler.  You have failed her and yourself.  And, this time, your failure has cost the lives of all whom you love.  Look.”  Loubar pointed to the Aussie’s left.  Rollie cried out in anguish as he saw the bodies of his father, Mangela, Mira, Francis, Elena, and Daniel.  Then he saw the people of Hope Island, Alex, Dylan, Callie, Boris, Nub, and everyone else he cared about lying dead before him.

“Noooo!  Noooo!” Rollie cried, deep sobs ripping his heart open.

“You’ve failed everyone, Tyler.  Now you are truly alone.  And that is how you will remain, alone, forever and ever, feeling the guilt of knowing that you weren’t strong enough or smart enough to save them, that you weren’t strong enough to save her.”  With those words, Loubar raised the knife and plunged it into Angie’s chest.

Rollie screamed, feeling his heart explode as the life left Angie.  He ran to her, holding her in his arms, feeling her grow cold even as he touched her.  And Victor Loubar just laughed.

“Alone.  Alone forever, Tyler.  Forever!”

Rollie’s eyes flew open, a cry on his lips.  Trembling violently and drenched in sweat, he sat up on the bed.  He covered his face with his hands.  It had been a nightmare.  He knew that, but the urge to call Angie and make sure she was all right was almost more than he could resist.  He wanted to run all the way down the hill, pound on the door until she answered, and hold her in his arms the rest of the night.  Getting to his feet, he stumbled into the kitchen for a glass of water.  His hands were shaking so badly that he nearly dropped the cup.  The horrible images of the dream would not go away.

The Aussie went to the couch and sat down heavily.  No matter how hard he tried to stop it, the sight of Angie lying on the bed, raped and tortured, the image of the knife taking her life away kept coming into his mind.  A sob caught in his throat, and he began to pray.  He’d been at it for about five minutes when the phone rang.  Startled, he answered it.

“Rollie?  It’s Angie.”

“Angie.”  Her name came out in another sob.

“Rollie, what’s wrong?  Are you all right?”

“I . . . I had a nightmare.  I-it was . . . it was bad.”

“Oh, Rollie.  I’ll come right over.”

“No, Ange, you don’t have to.  I just . . . I just need to hear your voice.”

“I’m right here, Rol.”

“Why did you call?  It’s,” the Aussie looked at the clock, “it’s after two.”

“I don’t know.  It was strange.  I woke up with this feeling that you needed me.  I could almost hear you calling out to me.  I just knew that you needed me.”

“I do need you.  If you’d still been at the Widow’s Walk and hadn’t been staying with Callie, I probably would have called you.”

“You should have called anyway.  Callie would have understood.” Angie paused.  “Do you want to tell me about the dream?”

“I can’t.  It’s still too fresh in my mind.”  The Aussie’s voice caught.  “It was just so horrible.  Everyone was dead, everyone I love.  Loubar had killed them all, and he . . . he . . . did things to you.  Then he killed you, and I was alone--”  His voice broke completely.

“Rollie, I’m coming over right now.”

“No, Ange, you don’t--” he began, but she’d already hung up.  A few minutes later, he heard a car pull up, then she was knocking on the door.  An instant after he opened it and laid eyes upon her, she was in his arms.  He clung to her so tightly that he feared he was hurting her.  But she said nothing, only stroked his hair.  Rollie lifted her up and carried her to the couch.  There, he lay down, his head in her lap.  He closed his eyes as her hand continued stroking his hair.

“I hoped this wouldn’t happen again,” he said.  “I hoped that the nightmares wouldn’t come back.”

“You had nightmares about Loubar before?”

The Aussie nodded.  “Just about every other night for the first couple of weeks after that night in Central Park.  I was scared to death that he’d return and hurt you, that he’d rape you again, only, this time, in a horrible, violent way.”

“You should have said something, Rol.”

“I didn’t want you to know how upset I was.  I knew that you must have already been in a lot of pain.  As the weeks passed, the nightmares lessened.  Finally, they went away completely.”  He sighed.  “I should have known that this might bring them back, especially since. . . .”

“What?”

“Nothing.  It doesn’t matter.”  He went silent for a moment.  “What if I fail, Angie?  What if--”

“You’re not going to fail,” Angie said firmly.  She pulled him up so that she could meet his gaze.  “And nobody is going to die.  We’re going to beat them this time, all of them.”

“I wish I could be certain of that.”  Rollie brushed his fingers across her cheek.  “You should go.  You need rest.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  I don’t think I’ll have another nightmare tonight.”  He followed her to the door and opened it for her.  Angie turned around and pulled him to her, kissing him deeply.  He returned the kiss, wishing that she could stay.

“I love you,” she murmured as they drew apart.  Her eyes looked deeply into his.  “And I have faith in you.  I always have.”  She held his face between her hands.  “You could never let me down, Rollie.  You never have and you never will.”  She kissed him again, then slipped out the door into the night.  The Aussie watched her drive away.

With a sigh, he went back to the bedroom.  He had not told her about the prayer he’d given, that God would let him die instead of someone getting hurt because of him or because he’d failed yet again.

Feeling bone-weary, Rollie lay down.  Sleep came moments later.

Warmth.  It was everywhere, filling his body with an incredible feeling of joy and contentment.  Then there was light, not a light like from a lamp or even that of the sun.  The light was from everywhere, seeming to come from the very air around him.

Filled with wonder, Rollie walked forward toward a point that seemed brighter than everywhere else.  The moment he stepped into the brighter place, he was overwhelmed with the feeling of a love so great it brought tears to his eyes.

“Have faith, Roland,” said a deep voice, speaking inside his mind.  “Have faith in yourself, in your friends, and, most of all, in God.  You are not alone.  You are never alone.  Your spirit is strong, Roland, and your cause is just.  Always remember that, though they can take your life, they cannot defeat your soul.  In the end, you will always be triumphant.”

Rollie awoke with a gasp.  He sat up.  The first light of morning was coming in through the window.  The Aussie sat absolutely still.  He felt . . . remarkable, like he’d just come from a place of complete and perfect joy, a place where no harm could befall him or anyone he loved.  A part of him felt as if he was still in that place.

Knowing that he would not be able to get back to sleep, Rollie got up and fixed some coffee.  He sat at the kitchen table, his mind lost in thought.  He was still there when Angie arrived.  She took one look at the expression on his face and the way he was staring off into space and knew something was up.

“I had another dream,” he told her quietly.

“Another nightmare?”

“No, just the opposite.  It was. . . .”  Rollie shook his head.  “I can’t describe it.”  At last, his eyes met hers.  “I’ve made a decision, Ange.  I’m going to tell everyone here the truth.”

Angie sat down.  “You’re going to tell the islanders who you are?”

The Aussie nodded.  “I have to.  They have to know in case something goes wrong.  I don’t want them finding out from someone else or some other way, and I don’t want them thinking that I just abandoned them if we have to run.  They deserve to know the truth.”

“I can’t agree to that,” said a voice from the doorway.  Both Rollie and Angie turned toward Elena.  “If you tell them and word spreads off the island, it could ruin everything.”

“Then they will have to be made to understand that they can’t speak of this to anyone until after our plan has been carried out,” the minister said calmly.

“Do you really think that two thousand people will be able to resist gossiping to relatives and friends off the island?”

“I’m afraid that she does have a point, Rollie,” Angie admitted.  “Look how it was when you and I were spending all that time together, then when we got engaged.  The islanders do love to talk.”

“Then I won’t tell all two thousand.  I’ll only tell my congregation and a few others and ask them to keep quiet until they know one way or the other what’s happened.  I think they’ll do it, Ange, if they know the consequences of the wrong people finding out.”

“I still can’t agree, but it’s your decision to make,” Elena said.  “I just hope you’re not making the wrong one.”

“So do I,” the Aussie said.  ‘But not for the reason you’re thinking of,’ he added silently.  He did not fear that what he told them would spread off the island.  He had faith that the islanders would keep his secret, at least for the few days necessary.  What he feared was how they would react to the news.  Would they hate him for his deception?  Would they no longer trust him?  Would they want never to see him again?  The thought of losing the friendships he’d made here on Hope hurt terribly.   But he’d made his decision, and he was going to stand by it.

“When are you going to make the announcement?” Angie asked.

“Tomorrow, after services.  I need to figure out a way to get Alex and Father Mac there and some others, too.  Father Mac holds his Sunday services at eight, ten, and two, so I may have to make this Sunday’s service a little earlier so that he can be here between his first and second services.”

“And what about Alex?”

“That’ll be trickier.  I have to make it clear to her that this isn’t something to do with the services.  No matter what I say, she’s going to be curious.”

They had a rather subdued breakfast, then Angie got back to work on the computer while Rollie went off someplace quiet to write his sermon.  Callie showed up at around ten.  The journalist had been there only about five minutes when she heard the blonde give a frustrated sigh.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing.  I’m just having a hard time concentrating.”  Angie pushed the computer aside and focused her attention on her friend.  “Rollie has decided to tell the islanders who he is.”

The journalist eyes widened.  “Wow.  That’s a surprise.  I never expected that.”

“Neither did I.  He doesn’t want them finding out from another source.  He feels that they have a right to hear it from him.  He’s not going to tell everyone, just his congregation and a few others.  He’ll ask them to keep quiet about it until after this whole thing is over.”

“How do you feel about this?”

“I have mixed feelings.  I understand why he’s doing it, and if I were in his place, I’d probably feel the same way, but, at the same time, I’m worried for him.”

“How so?  Are you afraid that somebody will let the cat out of the bag and word will spread to ears that shouldn’t hear it?”

“No, not really,” Angie said.  “I watched how the people here joined together to find him when he was missing.  These people value life.  I really think that if they know Rollie’s life depends on their silence, they’ll keep quiet.  What I’m worried about is how they’ll react.  What if they don’t understand?  I know what it would do to him if they resented him for lying to them.  He has gone through so much.  I don’t want him to be hurt again.”

“Angie, I can’t guarantee how they’ll react, but I’d like to think that it’s going to be all right.  These are good people, or at least most of them are.  I just can’t believe that they’d turn against him.”

“I really hope you’re right, Callie.”

The journalist was still there when Rollie returned.  “Did Angie tell you?” he asked.

“Yes,” Callie replied.  “Have you decided what time you’re going to change the services to?”

“8:30.  I’ll also make the services a little shorter than usual.  That should give Father Mac enough time between his first and second services.  It will also work in well with . . . something that’s going to be happening as part of my plan.”

“What’s that?” the journalist asked.

Rollie glanced at his fiancée, then told Callie a part of his plan that he had not revealed to her before.  Surprised and excited, the reporter barraged him with questions.

“Wow.  This is going to be something else,” she said after all her questions were answered.  “So, what are you going to do right now?”

“I need to make sure everyone knows about the time change,” the Aussie said.  “I’ll have to start making some phone calls, and I will need to go into town, too.”

“I can help spread the word.  Are you going to give a reason for the earlier services?”

“No.  I’ve told them enough lies.  If they ask, just say that I’ll explain tomorrow.”

They agreed on who each of them would tell, then Callie left to start making phone calls.  Rollie got busy calling some of the people on his list.  After calling a few people, he decided to head on into town.  His first stop was the general store.

“Hello, Daniel,” Bonita said, smiling.  “Angie’s not with you?”

“No, she’s at home doing some stuff.”

Bonita and her mother smiled at the minister’s use of the word “home” when referring to Angie being there.  They both wondered if Angie thought of it as home yet.

“I wanted to let you know that Sunday services will be half an hour earlier than usual tomorrow,” Daniel told them.

“Oh?  Why is that?” Ruby asked.

“I’ll explain tomorrow.  Callie’s helping me tell the congregation, but if any of them come into the store today, could you pass the message on?”

“Certainly,” Ruby said.  She studied his face.  “Is everything all right, Reverend Cooper?”

Daniel smiled reassuringly.  “Yes, Ruby, I’m all right.  I’ll see you tomorrow at 8:30.”  He wished them goodbye and stepped out the door.

“Did he seem worried to you?” Ruby wrote on her chalkboard.

“Now that you mention it, yes, he did,” her daughter wrote back.

“I don’t know why, but I suddenly have a bad feeling.”

“I’m sure everything’s fine, Mom.”

“I hope so.”  A thought came to her.  “I hope that everything is all right with him and Angie.  It would be simply terrible if they’d had an argument or something.”

“Well, most couples do argue from time to time,” Bonita pointed out.  “That doesn’t mean they’re going to break up.”

“Yes, I suppose.  I’d still hate for it to happen, though.  They are so. . . .”  Ruby stopped writing, not being able to think of the right word.

“Kindred?” Bonita suggested.

“Yes!  That’s the word.  It’s as if they’re already family and have known each other forever.”

“Relatives argue too, Mom,” Bonita wrote, her eyebrow lifting meaningfully.

Ruby sighed in exasperation.  “Well, I know that.  They just fit together, like two pieces of a puzzle.”

“I agree, which is why I don’t think you have to worry about them.”

“You’re right.  I’m being silly.  There’s probably nothing wrong at all.”  Nodding her head once, Ruby put the chalkboard down and got back to work.

Daniel spied Nub and Brian and headed toward them.

“Hi, Reverend.  Callie told us that services will be at 8:30 tomorrow,” Nub said.

“Yeah, that’s right.”  Daniel looked at the mayor.  “Will you be going to the services, Brian?”

“I was planning to show some visitors some prime development acreage.”

“I’d very much like you to be there,” Daniel told him softly.

Brian pushed out his chest a bit, feeling proud that the minister would specifically request that he be there.  “Well . . . they will be on the island for the whole day.  I suppose I could show them the land in the afternoon.”

“Thank you, Brian.”

“So, what’s so special about this Sunday’s services?” the mayor asked.  “Why the earlier time?”

“I’ll tell everyone at church tomorrow.   Well, I’d better get going.  I have a few other people to talk to.  You will be there tomorrow, won’t you, Nub?”

“Of course, Daniel.”

“Okay, then.  See you both tomorrow.”

Nub and Brian watched the minister head for the police station.

“Something’s up, Nub.  I can feel it,” the mayor remarked.  “I wonder what he’s got up his sleeve.”

“Why do you think he has something up his sleeve?” Nub asked.

“I just think it’s a little fishy that he suddenly changes the time of the church services, then won’t tell us the reason.”

“He did say that he’d explain tomorrow.”

“I wonder if it has something to do with Angie Ramirez and her movie connections.”  Brian’s eyes lit up.  “Maybe she told someone, and they’re coming to the island to scout for filming locations.”

“Why would Daniel announce that at church?”

Brian thought about it for a moment.  “Hey, I’ve got it!  They’re going to film at the church so he has to tell everyone that the services will need to be held somewhere else.  And maybe the reason for the earlier services is that a rep from the production company will be here, and he wants to discuss things with us.”  A self-satisfied smile curved the mayor’s lips.

“I don’t know, Brian.  I really don’t think Daniel would announce something like that at church,” Nub said doubtfully.

“Sure he would.” Brian rubbed his hands together eagerly.  “Just think, Nub.  All the free publicity that a movie being filmed here would bring.  Tourism would skyrocket, and once people saw the island, some will want to buy summer homes.  Then there are the producers and directors who will see it.  This could be a big boon for Hope.”

Nub listened to Brian’s excited words with only a part of his mind.  He looked toward Daniel, who was just entering the police station.  There had been something in the minister’s eyes, almost a look of sadness.  Or maybe it had been concern.  Either way, Nub had a feeling that it was something a lot more serious than film crews coming to the island that Daniel would be telling them tomorrow.

“Hey, Kevin,” Daniel greeted as he walked in the door of the station.

“Hi, Daniel.  What’s up?”

“I just wanted to find out if you could attend our services tomorrow.  I’m having them half an hour earlier, at 8:30.”

“Oh?  Um, yeah, I can be there,” the cop said.  Though he was Catholic, he had attended services with Molly a few times at Daniel’s church.

“Good.”

“Is there some particular reason why you want me to be there this Sunday?”

“Well, yes, there is.  I have something to tell everyone.”

“Does it have something to do with you and Angie?  By the way, let me congratulate you in person about your engagement.  That was great news, though I am surprised by how quickly it happened.”

“Thanks, Kevin.  It does have to do with Angie and me, in a way.  I’ll explain everything tomorrow.”

“Okay.  Well, I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Kevin watched the minister leave.  He wondered what it was that Daniel wanted to tell everyone.  Perhaps he was going to announce the wedding date.  No, Daniel wouldn’t make such a big deal about that.  He and Angie hadn’t even formally announced their engagement.

The cop started thinking about the talk that was flying around shortly after Angie arrived and it looked like something was going on between her and the minister.  Several people had thought that, if they were to get married, Daniel would go to New York to live with Angie since she was a big city girl and probably wouldn’t want to live here.  Some people were still wondering that.  Kevin himself had thought that Angie, being a New Yorker, wouldn’t want to leave the city.  Was that it?  Had Angie decided that she couldn’t live here in a tiny, rural town, so Daniel was leaving Hope to be with her?  If that was the case, there were going to be a lot of unhappy and even upset people.

But why change the time of the Sunday service?

Giving a mental shrug, Kevin got back to work.

Daniel left the police station, turning toward the Widow’s Walk.  This would be the hardest of all, getting Alex to come.  One of the problems was that he wanted Alex, Molly, and Boris to be there, but that would leave no one to run the Widow’s Walk.  Molly would be at church regardless.  She faithfully attended every Sunday.  Being his acolyte, Dylan would be there, too.  This made it even more important that Alex be there when Daniel “dropped the bomb”.  But, after what happened with Boris wanting to protect Daniel and Angie from the “evil men”, the minister felt as if the Russian deserved to know the whole story.  Perhaps he would just have to tell Boris afterwards.  Yes, considering how the Russian could react, that might be the best thing to do.

Molly was behind the counter when Daniel walked in.  He couldn’t see Alex.  She was probably in the kitchen.

“Hi, Molly.  There’s a change in the services for tomorrow.  They’ll be at 8:30 instead of nine,” the minister told the blond-haired woman.

“Oh, really?  Why?”

“I can’t explain now, but I’ll tell you tomorrow at church.”

“All right.”

“Is Alex in the kitchen?”

“Uh huh.”

“Thanks.”  He pushed through the swinging door.

“Hey, Daniel.  You here to plan the wedding buffet with Boris?” the redhead asked with a grin.  “That’s just about all he talks about now.”

“No, I’m here to talk to you.  I need to ask you a big favor.”

“Um, yeah, sure.  What do you need?”

The minister stepped up closer to her.  “I need you to come to the church tomorrow.”  Upon seeing the woman’s expression, he hastily said, “Not for services.  Afterwards.”

“Why?”

“There’s something that I want to tell you--and some others.”  Daniel looked over at Boris, who had stopped what he was doing to listen in on the conversation.  Their eyes met, and, somehow, Boris guessed what the whole thing was about.  The minister could tell by the expression on the Russian’s face.

“What time do you want me there?” Alex asked.  “Until Molly gets back, Boris and I have to take care of everything.”

“Services are being held half an hour earlier than usual tomorrow.  I’d want you to be there right after they finish.”

“That’s going to be a bit tough.  Couldn’t it be later?”

“No, it has to be then.  Please, Alex.  I need you to be there,” Daniel pleaded.

The redhead looked at the expression in the minister’s eyes and knew that this was serious.  “Okay, Daniel, I’ll be there,” she told him softly.  Then she turned to the Russian.  “Will you be able to handle things on your own for a while?”

“Boris handle things fine,” he assured her.  “Remember that I run buffet and hotel when you were campaigning for mayor and Molly quit.”

“Yes, and I also remember that you told all the guests to clean their own rooms, and they almost walked out because of it.”

“Guests should clean own rooms.  Is their mess.  They should clean it, not be lazy and wait for others to clean for them.”

“That’s one of the things they pay for, Boris,” Alex explained.  If it hadn’t been for Molly coming in and seeing that the guests were all leaving, then stepping forward to straighten everything out, Alex would have lost every guest.  Molly had quit the day before because Alex had been terribly guilty of taking her and their friendship for granted, unreasonably expecting Molly to handle everything at the Widow’s Walk by herself while Alex went off to do campaign stuff--and breaking her promise that she would be back at a certain time in the process.  It had been the worse day of their long friendship.  But Alex had learned a valuable lesson about cherishing your friends and putting them ahead of things like work and personal interests.  Which was why she knew that she had to be there for Daniel, no matter what this whole thing was about.

“Okay.  Just give me a time, and I’ll be there,” she told him.

“Thank you, Alex.”  He told her what time to arrive.  “Could you, um, not talk to anyone else about this?  I don’t want people to get curious.”

“Yeah, sure, Daniel.  I can keep it quiet.”

“Is Dylan around?  I need to tell him about the time change.”

“No, he’s off with Rebecca somewhere.  I’ll tell him when he gets back.”

“Thanks.”

Boris handed Alex a customer’s order, and she took it out to the seating area.  The minister walked up to the Russian.

“You will tell her about the men who want to hurt you and Angie?” Boris asked quietly.

“Yes, and the reason why.  I want to tell you too, Boris, the whole story.  After I talk to the others, Angie and I will come over here and talk to you, all right?”

“I will be here.”  The Russian scanned the minister’s face.  “Are you and Angie in big danger?”

Daniel sighed.  “I’m afraid so.  Some things are going to be happening that could threaten our lives even more.”  He looked earnestly at the man.  “But I will protect her, Boris.  I’ll protect her with my life.”

“Boris sees how Angie loves you.  I think if something happen to you, she not want to live.  So, you must protect yourself too, for Angie and for everyone else.”

Daniel nodded.  “I will, Boris.”

Alex watched the minister leave the Widow’s Walk.  “Molly, I’m worried about Daniel.  Something’s wrong.”

“Yes, I’m worried about him, too.  Did he tell you that he’s changed the church services to 8:30 for this Sunday?”

“Uh huh, but he didn’t say why.”

“Not to me either.  He just said he’d tell us about it at church.”

Alex considered telling Molly that Daniel had asked her to come to the church, but she had promised him that she wouldn’t say anything.

Why did he want her to come?  A horrible thought abruptly came into her mind.  “Mol, you don’t think that there could be something wrong with him, do you?  I mean, he had the accident, then he got so sick a few days later that Angie stayed overnight with him.  I heard that Doctor Watson went over there the next morning.  He and Angie have been spending a lot of time there at the house.  He’s hardly been in town at all these last few days.  Then this cousin of his shows up out of the blue.  Could he have gotten hurt worse than what we’ve been told?”

The redhead’s words made Molly even more worried.  Could there be something seriously wrong with Daniel?  Could his head injury have caused damage not evident at first?  No, it couldn’t be.  Something so horribly unfair just couldn’t happen.  Molly sighed inwardly at the naivety of that thought.  Horribly unfair things happened every day all over the world.  Nobody was safe from things like that happening in their life.

Alex leaned back against the counter, thinking about what she’d just said.  What if it was true?  What if Daniel was seriously ill?  First, she had been worried that he would leave and go to New York to be with Angie.  Then, she had been worried that he would no longer have much time to spend with Dylan after he and Angie were married.  But what if something worse happened?  What if he . . . what if he died?  What would that do to Dylan?  The redhead felt a sharp pain in her chest.  The thought of Daniel dying. . . .  Alex put a firm halt on those thoughts.  Daniel wasn’t going to die.  That was not the reason for the change in the Sunday services and his request for her to be there afterwards.  It wasn’t.

Yet, she couldn’t get out of her mind the look she saw in Daniel’s eyes when he pleaded with her to be there.

Trying not to think about it, Alex turned her attention back to her customers.

Daniel walked into the serenity of the Catholic church.  He saw Father Mac kneeling before the altar.  The minister stopped and waited silently for the priest to finish.  A few moments later, Father Mac crossed himself, then rose.  He immediately spied Daniel and smiled.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise.  What brings you here?” he asked.

“I need to ask you a favor.  I’ve rescheduled our Sunday services for 8:30, and I’d like you to come up to the church afterwards.”

“Um . . . yes, I could do that.  I should be able to get up there and back before my ten o’clock service.  What’s this about?  Why the change in time?”

“I really can’t tell you now, Father Mac.  You’ll know tomorrow.”

Concerned, the priest drew close to his fellow cleric.  “Has something happened with you and Angie?”

“Uh . . . well, yes, but not what I believe you’re thinking.  Nothing’s wrong between us.”

Father Mac relaxed.  “Good.”  He looked at the expression in the young minister’s eyes.  “But there is something wrong, isn’t there.”

“There is something that I have to tell you, something I have to tell everyone.  It’s something that. . . .”  Daniel’s voice halted for a moment.  “I need you to be there because I’m hoping that you’ll understand even if some others don’t.”

Very puzzled and more than a little worried over his words, the priest rested his hand on the younger man’s shoulder.  “Daniel, whatever it is, I’ll be there for you.  I promise you.”

“Thank you, Father Mac.  Thank you for everything.”  Daniel told him what time to be at the church, then left.  The priest sat on one of the pews, trying to think of what could be wrong.  What was this thing that Daniel had to tell everyone?  A sudden, disturbing thought came to the clergyman.  Could Angie be pregnant?  No, he couldn’t believe that was the case.  Daniel wouldn’t do that--though it would explain why the couple had gotten engaged so quickly.  But then, they couldn’t have found out this soon.  Well, actually, yes, they could have.  The test could be taken only seven days afterwards, or so he’d heard.

Father Mac shook his head.  No.  That couldn’t be it.  He couldn’t believe that the young minister would disobey God’s teachings in that way.  Whatever it was that Daniel had to tell everyone, it wasn’t that.

Confident in his belief, Father Mac got up, returned to the altar, and began to pray that, whatever it was that was worrying Daniel, it would all work out right in the end.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Rollie walked in the door and sat beside Angie on the couch.

“Did you talk to everyone?” she asked.

The Aussie nodded.  “Everybody’s coming, including Alex and Father Mac.  Doctor Watson will be there, and I also talked to Harry.  He’s one of the fishermen and a nice guy.  He’ll have to keep it from the other fishermen for a while, but I wanted at least one of them to be there, so that when the news can be told, the fishermen will get it from one of their own.”

“Are you okay, Rol?  I know you must be worried about telling them.”

Rollie gave a short laugh.  “Worried?  Try scared to death.  I really don’t know what I’d do if they react the way I fear they will.  I don’t want to lose what I have here, the friendships and trust I’ve gained.  But this is the right thing to do.  I feel in my heart that it is.”

The Aussie got to work thoroughly testing the equipment he’d built while Angie put the finishing touches on the CGI’s.  They then sent the images through the holograph projector to make sure that they looked right and were correctly synced with the audio.  After that, they packed all the equipment into boxes.  By then it was getting close to dinnertime.  Neither one of them felt like going anywhere, so they just fixed a simple meal there at the house and ate it with Elena.  Throughout the meal, Angie noticed that Rollie seemed a little uncomfortable around the FBI agent.  He seldom met her eyes, and when they talked, Angie could sense an undercurrent between them.  Immediately after the meal, Elena bid them goodnight and returned to the back room of the church.

“Rol, what’s up with you and Elena?” Angie asked as she sat with her fiancé on the couch.

The Aussie remained silent for a couple of seconds.  “It’s nothing.  There’s just something that needs to be worked out.  It’ll be all right.”

“Did you have an argument?”

“No, we didn’t argue.  I just . . . found out something that I didn’t know before.  Like I said, it’ll be fine.  This won’t affect the plan in any way.”

“I hope not.  We all need to be able to work together on this thing.”

“Yeah.”  Rollie ran his hand through his hair.  “I’m going to take a walk.  I need to clear my head.”

About ten minutes after he’d left, Angie decided to talk to Elena.  Maybe she would learn more from her.

The blonde knocked on the back door of the church.  A moment later, Elena answered.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Angie asked.

“Uh . . . all right.”  The agent moved aside and let Angie pass.  “Where’s Rollie?”

“Taking a walk.  He’s very nervous about tomorrow.”

“I can imagine he is.”

Angie faced the FBI woman.  “Elena, I can tell that something’s going on with you and Rollie.  I asked him what it was, but he just skirted around it.  Now I’m asking you.”

Elena turned away and pretended to focus her attention on a cross that was on the wall.  “It would be best if you didn’t know, Angie.  You should drop it.”

“I can’t, Elena, not if it’s something that could cause problems with what we’re about to do.”

The FBI agent turned toward her.  “It won’t.  Rollie and I both know what we have to do.”

Angie studied the woman’s face.  “He knows, doesn’t he.  He knows that you’re in love with him.”

Elena eyes widened.  “You know?”

“I suspected.  I’ve known that you were attracted to him since we told you we were engaged, but I didn’t start to think it was that serious until I noticed how you kept reacting to us being together.  Did you tell him or did he finally see it for himself?”

The agent sighed.  “He saw it.  I didn’t intend for him to find out, but I guess I didn’t do a good enough job of hiding it, even from him.”

“And now he feels uncomfortable and guilty.”

The look of surprise returned to Elena’s face.  “You know him very well, don’t you.”

“I know him better than anyone in the world.  If you’d only been attracted to him or had just begun to really like him in that way, he would have been able to handle it okay.  He would have been sweet and kind and told you that there couldn’t be anything between you--that is if he didn’t feel the same way.  He had to do that with this fifteen-year-old that got a crush on him a few years ago.  Of course he didn’t see it, not right away.  The girl had to practically throw herself at him before he realized what was going on.  But realizing that you were in love with him is different.  That would really bother him, especially with you also being a friend.”

“It doesn’t seem to bother you.  I should think that knowing another woman was in love with your fiancé would make you jealous.”

“You can’t help what you feel, and believe me when I say that I understand how you could fall in love with him.  After all, I did, too.  It would be pretty petty for me to be jealous.”  She smiled.  “Now, if Rollie showed any signs that he returned your feelings, even a little, then I’d be jealous.”

The FBI agent gave a small smile at the comment.  The smile quickly disappeared, however.  “I can tell he’s feeling ill at ease around me.  I guess it’s a good thing I’m leaving tomorrow.  Maybe by the time we see each other again, it will be better.”

Angie didn’t answer.  She was busy thinking.  What Rollie needed was to be shocked right out of these feelings of discomfort and guilt--and she had an idea how they could do that.  With a smile growing on her face, Angie told her idea to Elena.

Rollie walked in the door and immediately heard laughter.  Curious, he followed the sound to its source.  Angie and Elena were sitting at the kitchen table.

“Hi.  What’s up?” he asked, noticing the smiles on the two women’s faces.

“Angie was sharing some stories of things that you got into back when you first started working for her father,” Elena told him.

The Aussie colored faintly, thinking about the pranks Angie had pulled on him during those first couple of years--and the ways he’d gotten back at her.  It had all been done in good fun, but some of it had been pretty embarrassing.

“Thanks, Ange,” he said sarcastically.  “Remind me to return the favor someday.  So, what brought on all this reminiscing?”

“Oh, we’re just two girls talking about the guy we both love,” Angie said, fighting to keep her face neutral.  ‘Here it comes,’ she thought.

Rollie’s eyes opened as wide as they could go, and his jaw dropped open.  “You . . . you . . . you. . . .”

“Yes?” both Angie and Elena inquired mildly.

That’s when the blush started.  It spread outward from his cheeks, traveling up to the roots of his hair and down onto his neck.  He was still gaping at them like they both had three eyes.

“So, Rollie Tyler, you have two women who are both in love with you.  There’s nothing you can do about it, so you might as well learn to deal with it,” his fiancée said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. ‘And what would you think if I told you there’s actually a third woman out there who fell for you?’ she added silently.

“I . . . I . . . I. . . .” the Aussie replied.

Angie turned to Elena.  “He seems to be having a hard time finishing a sentence.”

“Yes, I noticed that,” the FBI agent said with a straight face.

“Hmm.  Maybe I can fix that.”  Angie got up and abruptly pulled Rollie’s mouth down to hers in a very passionate kiss.  The Aussie just stood there, stunned, for a few seconds, then pulled away.  His eyes flew to Elena, then back to her.

“Angie, what in the he--  What’s gotten into you?” he stammered.

“Yep, you got your voice back, I see,” she commented.  Okay, it was time to give him a break.  “Elena and I just decided it was time for you to stop feeling guilty about this situation since it isn’t your fault.”

“But--”

“No ‘buts’,” Elena interrupted.  “I fell in love with a man who loves someone else.  It happens.  I’ll get over it.  End of story.”

Rollie’s gaze fell from hers to the floor, making the FBI agent sigh in exasperation.

“Will I have to kiss you to shock some sense into you?” she asked.

The Aussie’s head lifted sharply.  “No!” he exclaimed.  “I don’t want Angie practicing dissection techniques on me.”

“Good answer,” his fiancée growled.

Rollie looked at the two women and decided it was time to turn the tables.  “On second thought, I have always wondered if feds were good kissers.”  He stepped toward Elena.  “This might be my only opportunity to find out.”

Angie’s eyes narrowed warningly.  “Try it, buster, and you’re dead meat.”

The Aussie looked at her, frowning.  “You’re not being very fair, Ange.  All I wanted was just one little kiss.”  He sighed.  “Well, in that case, I’m going to bed.  Goodnight, ladies.”  He turned and walked out of the kitchen, both women staring at him in surprise.

He went to the bedroom and shut the door behind him.  Sitting on the bed, a slow smile spread across his face.  He shook his head.  He had to admit that their little stunt worked.  Though he was still a little uncomfortable with the idea that Elena loved him, he wasn’t feeling so guilty over the fact that he could not return her feelings.

Rollie lay back on the bed, wondering how long it would take Angie to come knocking on the bedroom door.  About ten minutes, he figured.

He was wrong.  She was there in six.

“Hey, Ange,” he greeted.  “Is Elena still here?”

“No, she went back to the church.”  She gave him a look.  “Cute joke, Rol.”

“Joke?  What joke?” the Aussie asked innocently.

“About wanting to kiss Elena to find out if feds are good kissers.”

“Who said I was joking?  It would be an interesting test.  Elena puts a lot of passion into her job.  It would be interesting to see if her kisses follow suit.”  He managed to keep his face straight, though it was a struggle.

Seeing the telltale twinkle in his eyes, Angie stared at him narrowly.  “So, you want a passionate kiss, huh?”

Abruptly, she crossed the few feet separating them, grabbed his shirt, pulled him up to her, and covered his mouth with hers in a kiss with enough heat to burn down an apartment building.  Rollie moaned and pulled her hard against him, kissing her hungrily.  When they finally separated, they were both dizzy and gasping for air.

“Was that passionate enough for you?” Angie asked huskily.

“Any more passionate and I’d have burst into flames,” Rollie replied, his voice equally as husky.  He held her tightly, laying his cheek against her hair.  “I don’t want you to go.”

“I don’t want to go either.  I wish we could stop time and make this weekend never end.”

They held onto each other for a long time before rising and starting the journey down the hill.

Alex was strolling down the empty street, enjoying a quiet moment alone before heading off to bed.  She saw movement in the darkness and recognized it as Daniel and Angie.  They were walking slowly toward Callie’s, their arms around each other.  At the door, they stopped, and Daniel kissed his fiancée in a way that Alex had never imagined a minister kissing anyone.  Watching it made heat come to the redhead’s cheeks.

As they drew apart, Angie took Daniel’s face in her hands.  “It’s going to be all right, I know it is,” she said.  “We’re going to win this thing.  Then we can get married and be together for the rest of our lives.”

The minister pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.  “I love you, Angie.  I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

They kissed again, more gently this time, then Daniel turned and retraced the steps he and Angie had taken.

Alex watched him until the darkness hid him from view.  She was right.  There was something wrong with Daniel, and tomorrow he was going to tell everyone the bad news.  Tears coming into her eyes, Alex returned to the Widow’s Walk.  She went up to her room and sat on the bed, the tears sliding down her cheeks.  After a moment, she wiped them away.  She had to be strong for Dylan.  He was going to need her tomorrow--and she was going to need him.

Wishing there was something, she could do to help Daniel, Alex got dressed for bed, crawled under the covers, and turned out the light.

Rollie watched the sun lift over the hills, its light catching upon the waters of the bay.  His stomach was a tight knot inside him, despite all his attempts to relax.  In a few short hours, he could lose Hope Island.  He wanted to believe that everything was going to be all right, but he could not stop the doubts from creeping in.

“Dear Father, please give me strength and help me find the right words to speak.  I love these people so much, and I don’t want to lose what I have here.”

The minister went inside and tried to busy himself around the house.  It was around 7:00 when Elena came in.  She was carrying her suitcase.

“All packed?” he asked.

The agent nodded.

Rollie put down the cleaning rag he’d been using to wipe off a shelf.  “I should get that sleeping bag and the other stuff out of the back room before services.”

“I’ll help.”

They rolled up the sleeping bag and the foam pad, then straightened up the room.  Angie showed up as they were carrying the stuff into the house.  She immediately saw the tension in her fiancé.

“Have you eaten?” she asked him.

“No.  I’m not hungry.”

“Well, you should eat something anyway.  I’ll fix you some toast and a couple of eggs.”

Angie fixed the breakfast, then sat with him at the table as he picked at it.  She wished there was something she could say to make him feel better, but she was almost as worried as he was.  If the islanders turned away from him in anger, it would break his heart.

He’d barely eaten half his breakfast when he shoved the plate away.  Knowing that he needed something to take his mind off what would be happening soon, Angie got up and sat on his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him.  It took only a second for him to start kissing her back.  After about ten minutes, they moved into the living room and curled up together on the couch.  Elena was sitting in a chair, reading a newspaper.  She glanced at the couple and was glad to see that Rollie wasn’t keeping his distance from Angie to spare her feelings.  She really did hope that everything worked out so that they could stay together and not have to run.

Very quickly, the time came to go to the church.  Rollie donned his ministerial robes.  With Angie by his side, he walked the short distance to the little white church.  He silently placed the hymnals on the pews.  As he put the last one in place, he heard the door open and saw Callie come in.

“How are you doing, Rollie?” she asked, addressing him for the first time by his real name.

“Nervous.”  He laughed shortly.  “Actually, I feel like I’ve got a steel basketball bouncing around in my stomach.  I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

The journalist gave his hand a squeeze.  “It’s going to be all right.  I know it is.”

A few minutes later, others started arriving.  Soon, the entire congregation was there and it was time to begin the services.  The hymn was sung and everyone settled in their seats.

“I’m sure all of you are wondering why we are having services earlier than usual,” Rollie said.  “I promise that I will explain everything to you after the services are over.”

The minister began his sermon, trying to concentrate on it fully and not let his mind wander to what would be happening afterwards.

Another in his position may have given a sermon about forgiveness or showing kindness and mercy toward others as a way to plead for understanding in advance, but Rollie was not one to do that.  Instead, he talked about the sacrifices that Christ made for all mankind.  He poured his heart into the sermon, each word spoken with the knowledge that this might be the last time he would ever stand before his congregation, the last time he would ever stand before the people of Hope Island.

Alex pulled up to the church.  She glanced at her watch, seeing that she was a little early.  The redhead got out of the truck and slowly walked up the steps.  She could hear Daniel’s voice as he gave his sermon and, in spite of herself, she began to listen, captured by the heartfelt passion in his words.

“Good morning, Alex.”

The redhead turned to see Father Mac approaching the stairs.  He ascended them and stood beside her, listening to the young minister.

“He’s quite good,” he commented.

“Is he?  I wasn’t really listening,” Alex said casually.

The priest smiled faintly.  “So, Daniel asked you to come, too?”

“Yeah.  I guess he’s going to make some kind of announcement.”  Alex hesitated a moment.  “Father Mac, has Daniel said anything to you about there being something wrong?”

“No, but by what he told me when he asked me to come here, I get the impression that whatever this is about, it’s pretty serious.”  The priest looked at the expression on Alex’s face.  “Is there something you suspect?”

“I. . . .  Yes, but I don’t want to say anything.  I’m really hoping that I’m wrong.”

Just then, Doctor Watson pulled up and a few seconds later, they saw Harry making his way up the hill.  Inside the church, they had begun singing.  When the services ended, Father Mac took hold of the door handle.

“Shall we go in?”

Rollie’s eyes went to the door as Father Mac, Alex, Doctor Watson, and Harry came in.  There were a few murmurs of surprise from the congregation at seeing them, especially the priest and the redhead.

Rollie nodded and smiled at the newcomers, who then took seats.

“I know that everyone here is wondering why I have asked you to come here and why our services were held half an hour earlier.  The main reason for the earlier services is that I wanted Father Mac to be able to join us.”

Rollie’s eyes met Angie’s, then Callie’s.  Both women gave him encouraging smiles.  Taking a deep breath, he began speaking the words he’d dreaded uttering since the moment he’d made his decision.

“Throughout these months that I’ve been here, Hope Island has been a refuge for me.  It has been a place where I could feel safe, a place where I felt loved and needed.  All of you have not only been my neighbors but also my dear friends.  I have cherished the friendships I’ve made here, holding them deep inside my heart.  You have no idea how much all of you have meant to me.  It has been such a joy to be Hope Island’s minister and to be a part of this community.”  He halted, his throat tightening.  “Which is why what I’m about to tell you is so hard for me.”

Alex took hold of her son’s hand and tried to prepare herself for what she believed she was going to hear.

“When I came here, I had just gone through the worse time of my life, a life that you know nothing about, one that . . . is not the life you think it is.  I came to you as Reverend Daniel Cooper, but I now must tell you that I am not who you believed me to be.  I am not Daniel Cooper.”

Seconds passed in stunned silence as everyone tried to absorb what the minister had just said.  They all sat dumbly staring at the man standing before them.

The Aussie continued.  “My real name is Rollie Tyler.”  He heard gasps from several people, those who recognized the name as the one belonging to the friend of Angie’s who supposedly died.  Alex, Ruby, Bonita, and Father Mac appeared especially shocked, and Nub’s eyes were as big as saucers.  “Nine months ago, I helped bring down the leaders of an underworld crime organization, and, because of that, a contract was put out on my life.  After an attempt to kill me by an assassin, the FBI took me to a safe house, but it was attacked the following night.  The surviving FBI agent and I escaped.  Many of you have met this agent.  She is the woman whom I have introduced as my cousin.  Her real name is Elena Serrano.”

Kevin’s mouth dropped open at the realization that a federal agent had been on the island without him knowing it.

“What followed those events is a long story, one that I will tell all of you in time.  The end result was that, to save my life, I had to become someone else.  I became Daniel Cooper.”

Everybody abruptly started talking at once, shooting dozens of questions at him.  “Please!  Everyone!” Rollie called, lifting his voice above the crowd’s.  They grew quiet.  “I know that you have a lot of questions, and I will answer them, one at a time.”

“What are you?  Are you some kind of cop?” Harry asked.

“No, I’m not a cop.  I am--or I was--a special effects expert.  I did special effects for movies.”  His eyes went to Angie.  “I was Angie’s partner.”

“But does this mean you’re not a minister?” Bonita asked.  This caused an instant uproar.  “What about my baby’s baptism?”  “But you did the funeral services for my mother.”  “You gave sermons!” were some of the words flying around.

“Everyone listen to me, please!”  Again, the church grew silent.  “I am a minister.  I was ordained before I came here.  I would never disrespect you or God by pretending to be a reverend.  Everything I did and said as a minister and as your friend was from my heart.  I never lied to you in that way.  Never.  But I did lie about who I was, and for that I am so very sorry.  Every day I hated having to lie to you.  So many times I wanted to tell all of you the true, but I couldn’t.  If I had, not only my life, but all of yours would have been in danger.”

“This is just like with Jo,” a man said.  “You aren’t who you said you were.  It was all a big lie.”

The words hurt, terribly.  They ripped a hole in the thin layer of control that Rollie had maintained.  He felt tears sting his eyes.  “I know that you can never forgive me for what I’ve done, for the way I’ve betrayed your trust.  I can only hope that, someday, you won’t hate me for it.”  He looked around at the silent faces.  “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Not able to bear standing before them a moment longer, Rollie turned and fled out the back door.  He walked a few yards away from the church, then stopped, his head bowed and his arms wrapped tightly about himself.  His life on Hope Island was over.  They’d never be able to forgive him.  They wouldn’t want him there anymore.

He’d been there only a few seconds when Angie came up beside him.  She wrapped an arm around his waist.  “It’ll be all right, Rollie.”

“I’ve just destroyed their trust in me.  How can it ever be all right?  It’s over, Angie.  Even if our plan works, I’ll never be able to come back here.”  He looked at the house, stricken.  “I-I need to . . . to pack.  I can’t stay here anymore.  And Dylan.  I have to tell him that I’m not abandoning him.  I have to tell him how sorry I am.  I can’t--”  His voice broke.

Angie pulled Rollie into her arms, holding him tightly, her heart aching for him.  How much more pain was he going to have to go through?  Why?  Why did someone who was such a good person have to suffer through so much?  She wanted to rage at the unfairness of it.  But that would do neither her nor Rollie any good.  So, instead, she just held onto him, silently giving him comfort.

The church was in pandemonium.  Everyone was talking at once.  Finally having enough of it, Callie stood, put her fingers between her lips, and gave a piercing whistle.  Startled, everybody looked at her.

“Listen to you people.  That’s Daniel out there,” the journalist said, anger in her voice.

“No, he isn’t.  He’s this Rollie Tyler person,” said the man who had made the earlier comment about Jo.

“Callie, did you know about this?” Father Mac asked quietly.

“Yes, I found out over a week ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?” a woman asked.

“Because Daniel is my friend.  I don’t care what his real name is or who he was before he came here.”  She looked at the woman piercingly.  “He’s still the man who sat with you and your daughter all night long when she had pneumonia.”  Her eyes went to another woman.  “And he’s still the man who talked with you for hours, comforting you when your mother died.  He is still the person who got a job for Kenny, and helped Moses and his family, and slaved day after day to fix this church, and did so many other things for this community that I could never name them all.”

Ruby and Bonita looked at each other, nodded, and rose.  “Callie’s right,” the younger woman said.  “His name may not be Daniel, but he is still Daniel.  He’s still the good person we know him to be, and he’s still our minister.”

“And we still love him,” Ruby added.

The next to rise was Father Mac.  “As many of you know, when Daniel first arrived, I was not pleased about it.  But in these months that he has been here, I have come to see him as a kind and generous man who is truly dedicated to God and to this community.  And that is the man I still see him as.  It is true that he misled us about who he was, but that is a small thing to forgive when weighed against all the good that he has done here.”

There were a few murmurs of agreement.

Callie turned to one man.  “Carl, you made the comment that this was just like it was with Jo, but that’s not true.  Though we all know that Jo is a good person who just made a mistake, the truth is that she was on the run from the law.  She committed a crime.  But that isn’t the case with Daniel.  He didn’t break any laws.  Just the opposite.  Time and time again, he risked his life to see that criminals were sent to jail.  And that wasn’t even his job!  He did it only because he wanted to help people.  And he’s paid a heavy price for it.  He’s had to leave behind his career, his family, his friends . . . his whole life, and start all over again.  As far as I’m concerned, he deserves even more of our respect now that we really know who he is and what he’s done to help people and the police.”  Her face grew hard.  “And I’m going to tell you right now that if any one of you turns against him because if this . . . well, then this is not the kind of community I thought it was.”

Alex stood up, Dylan beside her.  “You know, you’re all in such a state over finding out he isn’t who he told us he was that none of you have stopped to think about the fact that he came forward and told us the truth.  He didn’t have to.  He could have kept right on pretending he was Daniel Cooper.  It took a lot of trust and courage on his part to do that.  What if word of this spread off the island and these people who are after him found out?  He’s put his life in our hands.”

Everyone looked at each other, expressions of concern suddenly on their faces.

“We’d never do anything to harm him,” one woman said.

“Wouldn’t you?  You’re hurting him right now by not going out there and telling him that you still care about him, that it doesn’t really matter that he isn’t Daniel Cooper,” the redhead pointed out.  “Well, I, for one, am going to do that right now.”

Alex turned her back on the others and headed for the back door with Dylan by her side.

Rollie lifted his head and met Angie’s gaze, not even trying to hide the pain he was feeling.  It was time to accept that his life on Hope Island was over and move on.

“I’d better go start packing,” he said, his tone low and lifeless.

“Reverend Cooper?” inquired a soft voice behind them.  They turned to see every single person who had been in the church gathered before them.  Ruby, the one who had spoken, stepped forward.  She came right up to Rollie and laid her hands on his cheeks.  “We don’t hate you.  How could we ever hate you after all the wonderful things you’ve done?  You didn’t betray our trust.  You’re still the same man we know.  You just have a different name.”

Hardly able to believe what he was hearing, Rollie looked at the others.  They were smiling at him, their heads nodding in agreement.  Fresh tears came to the Aussie’s eyes, but, this time, they were tears of joy.  Ruby gathered him into her arms, holding him tightly, then she took his arm and gently led him back toward the church.  As he passed by them, many of the people patted his arm or shoulder or gave his hand a squeeze.

Back inside, Rollie resumed his place at the pulpit as everyone else took their seats.  For a moment, he couldn’t speak.

“I don’t know what to say.  I have no words to thank you,” he finally said, his voice trembling.  “You are all truly wonderful people, and I thank God that I’ve been blessed with knowing you.” His tremulous smile grew firmer.  “Now that you know who I am, I can drop the final pretense . . . and let you hear what I really talk like.”

Sounds of surprise arose as Rollie spoke the last words with his native accent.

A look of understanding came to Nub’s face, and he nodded.  Then his expression changed.  “Reverend Cooper . . . I mean, um, Reverend Tyler, why did you decide to tell us this now?”

“A few days ago, I received word that there have been some developments in the investigation into the organization that put the contract out on my life.  Because of this, we have come up with a plan that may put an end to it.  If that happens, I will no longer have to hide.”

“So, why tell us now?” Bonita asked.  “Why not wait until after everything is over?”

“For this plan to work, I need to be there.  On Wednesday, I will be leaving for New York to join Angie and the federal agents who will help us carry out the plan.”

There were murmurs from the crowd.  Rollie met Dylan’s eyes and saw fear there.  He knew what the boy was thinking, that he would not return.

“But these people, this crime organization, are dangerous,” Ruby said.  “Won’t you be in danger?”

Rollie’s gaze dropped for a moment, then he lifted his head and met their eyes.  “Yes, it is dangerous.  There are risks, but we have no choice.  This is the only chance we may ever have to end this whole thing.  This is why I chose to tell you these things today.  If our plan fails or if something else goes wrong, I wanted you to know the truth now.  I wanted you to hear it from me in case. . . .”  He didn’t finish the statement.  It was clear to everyone what he meant.

“Are you saying that you could be killed?”  This came from Alex.  There was fear on her face.  Her words made the fear in Dylan’s eyes turn to near-panic.

“Yes, that could happen,” the Aussie admitted quietly.  “But we have an escape plan in the event that things fall apart.  We’ll have people helping us, backing us up.  We’re going to do everything we can to keep anyone from getting hurt.  But there’s something else you need to know.  If this plan fails, Angie and I will have to run.  We’ll both have to assume new identities and start new lives somewhere else.  If that happens, we’ll never be able to return to Hope.”

Even louder murmurs arose as people talked amongst themselves in worried tones.

So quietly that nobody heard it, the door to the church opened.  Elena stood in the opening.  Rollie glanced at her, then his eyes met those of the person behind her.  He gave the smallest of nods.

“Please, may I have your attention?” he called out.  Everyone’s gaze turned to him.  “There is someone that I want you to meet.  He’s come here to help me and, if he can, to help you, too.”  His eyes returned to the man standing behind Elena as they stepped through the door.  Everybody followed his gaze.  Gasps and exclamations arose as the islanders laid eyes upon the real Daniel Cooper.

Rollie watched his twin as he walked down the aisle, looking into a pair of eyes that were mirror images of his own.

Angie gaped at Daniel Cooper.  Even prepared as she was for his arrival, it was still a bit of a shock to see this man who was a carbon copy of her fiancé.  Except for the tan that Daniel had gotten in his months spent in Africa, they were duplicates of each other.  It was amazing.

Daniel stepped up beside Rollie, and the two men clasped hands firmly.  The Aussie then turned to the crowd.  “Everyone, I’d like to introduce to you the real Reverend Daniel Cooper.”

Everybody started talking to each other excitedly.  Alex just sat, staring wide-eyed at the newcomer.  There’s two of them?!  “I don’t believe this,” she said aloud.  Hearing her comment, Daniel Cooper looked straight at her, and Alex found herself caught by the warm gentleness in his eyes.  He smiled softly.  Alex shifted her eyes from his, not sure how she should react.  Though he looked just like the man whom she had come to know as Daniel Cooper, the truth was that he was a stranger.  She didn’t know him.

She returned her gaze to him and found that the gentle smile had grown into a grin, a grin exactly like the one she’d seen on the face of the man standing next to him.  Then she realized that Rollie, too, was wearing a grin, and that both smiles were directed at Dylan.  Alex looked at her son to see an expression of wide-eyed wonder on his face.  The wonder changed to a grin of his own.

“Then does this mean that what you’ve said about Daniel Cooper’s life and family is true?” Ruby asked.

“Yes,” Rollie replied.  “What I told you were things from Daniel’s life.”

Ruby turned to the newcomer.  “Then Stella was your wife.”

“That’s right,” Daniel replied.

“And she didn’t know about this?” Bonita asked.  “She couldn’t tell that Daniel wasn’t really Daniel?”

“Stella had no idea I wasn’t her husband,” the Aussie told her.  “Maybe if she and Daniel had been together for more than twelve hours, she might have suspected something.”

“What about you, Angie?” Nub asked.  “You didn’t know that Daniel was really Rollie?”

“Not until I met him,” she replied.  “I thought that Rollie was dead, just like everyone else did.”

“But why did you take over the identity of a real person?” Brian asked the Aussie.  “Don’t those witness protection guys have ways of setting up new identities?”

“And why did you allow somebody else to become you, uh . . . Daniel?” Molly asked the Aussie’s twin.  “Where have you been all this time?”

Rollie briefly explained the circumstances leading up to him becoming Daniel Cooper, then Daniel told them a little about his estrangement from his father, Kate’s death, and what he’d been doing in Africa, though he kept the identity of his father a secret.

“I decided to tell those of you here the truth because I knew that there was a chance I wouldn’t be able to later,” Rollie said.  “But now, I need to ask all of you not to tell anyone else what you’ve learned, not even your relatives.  If word got out that I’m alive and have been living here, our plan would be destroyed, and Angie and I would have to run.  And there’s also the chance that members of the organization would come here to try and get information on me and my whereabouts.  I don’t think I have to tell you how important it is that that not happen.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.  The thought of people like that coming to the island scared them all.

“So, what happens now?” Kevin asked.

“Angie will be leaving tomorrow morning, as originally planned,” Rollie said.  “She will try to make it appear as if nothing has changed, as if she still believes I’m dead.  Then, on Wednesday, I’ll get into New York, and we’ll begin setting up and carrying out our plan.”

“What about you, um, Daniel?” Alex asked.

“I’ll be staying here on the island until Rollie calls.  My part in the plan doesn’t come until later.”

“Do you guys really look alike or did you have your face changed?” Dylan asked Rollie.

“No, we really do look this much alike,” the Aussie replied.  “The only plastic surgery I had was to remove a small scar on my cheek and a few others on my body.”

“That’s amazing,” Father Mac said.  “You could be twin brothers.”

The two men looked at each other and smiled.  “Actually, we wondered about that ourselves until we both determined that it was impossible,” Daniel told them.  “Rollie is several years older than I am.”

“It’s just some weird freak of nature,” Rollie said.  “Who knows?  There might be duplicates of some of you running around in the world.”

A few people laughed at that thought.

“I can’t get over you talking like that, your accent, I mean,” a woman said.  “Are you from England?”

“Australia,” Rollie corrected.  “But I’ve been here in the U.S. since I was fifteen.”  He looked at his watch.  “I think we’d better call an end to this before the other islanders begin to wonder what’s going on.  I’ll be here until Wednesday, so you’ll all have time to ask any other questions you have.  But remember, you must keep this a secret.”

“We will, Reverend Tyler,” Nub said.  “Don’t you worry.”

“Thank you.  To avoid any slips of the tongue, you had all better continue calling me Daniel Cooper.”

“But what about you, Daniel?  I mean. . . .  Man, this is going to be confusing,” Kevin said.   “What I was going to ask is, what are you going to do, wear a disguise while you’re here?”

“Well, we discussed doing that, but we decided that there would be problems involved, so we came up with something else,” Rollie told them.  “Father Mac, you mentioned before that we could be twin brothers.  Well, that’s what we’re going to say we are.  Daniel is going to pretend to be my twin brother, Eric.  Fortunately, I was never very talkative about my, or, rather, Daniel’s history and family, so nobody on the island knows that this can’t be so.  We are going to tell the truth in regards to one thing, that he’s been serving as a missionary in Africa.”

The Aussie looked around at the faces of the people in his church.  “Thank you, everyone, for being here today, and thank you even more for being so understanding.  There’s a good chance that I won’t see some of you before I leave, so I want to say now that you are the finest people I could ever hope to meet.  God bless all of you.”

“And God bless you, Reverend,” said Ruby, her words echoed by well over a dozen other voices.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

A few minutes later, the crowd broke up, most of the people heading for home.  Those who remained quietly talked with each other.  Rollie looked over at Alex and saw that she was watching him.  He went over to her.

“So . . . Daniel, or should I call you Rollie when we’re alone?” she asked.

“Better stick with Daniel.”

“Okay.  So, being a reverend wasn’t your first career choice.”  Her mouth was quirked upward in a faint smile.  She felt like grinning.  The knowledge that she’d been wrong about what was going on was enough to make her want to laugh.

“No, it wasn’t,” the Aussie admitted.  “In fact, being a reverend was about the furthest thing from my mind when I was doing special effects.”

“But you weren’t pretending when you talked about God and religion.”

“No, I wasn’t.  I meant every word I spoke about God, and faith, and religion.”

“Then you’ve always been a religious man?”

“I know this is going to shock you, but, no, I wasn’t a religious man before.  I believed in God, but I didn’t go to church, or read the bible, or practice any form of religion, not since my mother died when I was a child.  But all that changed after what happened and I met Daniel.”

“Really.  Boy, you just keep surprising me.”  She glanced over at Angie.  “So, you two were partners before.  Were you in love with her then?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know it.  It took being separated from her for eight and a half months for me to see it--and for her to see it, too.”

Alex grew serious.  “Daniel, how much danger are you really going to be in doing this?”

“During the first part of the plan, there won’t be much physical danger.  Things will be a lot trickier in the second part.  But it’s the third part that’s the most dangerous.  That’s when