Daniel quietly opened the door and peeked inside.  Rollie and Angie were sitting on the couch, kissing.  Smiling, he shut the door and went back down the stairs, deciding to give them some more time alone.

He was relieved that his twin had finally opened up and told Angie about what he’d gone through before coming to Hope Island.  Daniel had been worried sick over him those first few weeks, fearing that the Aussie would run back to New York and let the men who were after him kill him, deciding that he’d rather be dead than never see Angie and his friends and family again.  That’s when Daniel had come to realize that Rollie was in love with Angie.  The depth of his emotions over never seeing her again were too great for it to be otherwise.

The missionary remained outside for another fifteen minutes, then stuck his head inside the door again.  He was surprised to see that they were still at it.  The kissing had grown a great deal more passionate, and Angie’s legs were now draped over Rollie’s.

‘Hmm.  I don’t think these two are going to make it through a long engagement,’ Daniel concluded silently.

Not knowing if he should go back out again or politely interrupt, he stood there for a few seconds.  At that moment, the couple came up for air.  Daniel stepped in the room the rest of the way and shut the door.  Rollie and Angie turned toward him, the blonde quickly removing her legs from their place in her fiancé lap.  The missionary grinned.

“You don’t have to do that on my account, Angie.  They’re fine where they were.”

She looked at him in surprise, then smiled.  She promptly put her legs back where they had been, which made Rollie very happy.

“Thank you for knocking some sense into me, Daniel,” the Aussie said.

The missionary nodded.  “I’m just glad you’ve finally talked about it.  How do you feel?”

“Better.  Telling Angie everything helped.”  He gazed at the woman tucked underneath his arm.  “I’m glad she knows now.”

“So am I,” she said.  They kissed tenderly.

Daniel smiled.  “So, have you set a date?”

“No, not yet,” Rollie told him.  “We started talking about it, but sort of got . . . sidetracked.”

The smile on Daniel’s face grew.  “Yes, I bet you did.”

“We’re going to wait to discuss it until after this is all over,” Angie said.

Rollie looked at his twin.  “How are you doing?  It’s been a few weeks since your last letter.  How are things going?”

The missionary sighed.  “Not so good right now, I’m afraid.  We’re having some funding problem, but we have hopes that it will be resolved soon.”  He pushed away his concerns.  “But let’s not talk about that.  I think you should fill me in on the details of this plan of yours.”

Rollie and Angie explained the whole plan to the missionary.  By the time they were done, it was getting close to dinnertime.  None of them felt like going out to eat, so Rollie proved to Angie that he really could cook by fixing dinner for all of them.

“Well, it’s nice to know that you’ll be taking over the cooking duties every now and then after we’re married,” Angie said after the third bite of a meal that was surprisingly delicious.

The Aussie made a face, then looked at Daniel and sighed dramatically.  “You would have to open your big mouth, wouldn’t you.”

“So sorry,” the missionary said, then they both smiled.

After dinner, Angie called Callie to tell her that she’d be spending the night at the parish house.  The journalist offered to bring up her clothes so that she’d have them there.  Callie arrived with Angie’s suitcase half an hour later.  She stayed for a while, the four of them talking about things that had nothing to do with the approaching events, wanting to keep their minds off it.

After a couple of hours, Callie left.  The rest of the evening passed far too quickly.  All too soon, it was time for bed.

Rollie and Angie sat on the couch, their arms around each other.  The Aussie looked down into his fiancée’s eyes and kissed her forehead.  He then met Daniel’s gaze.

“You take the bed tonight.  I’m going to sleep on the floor.”

The missionary just nodded, not even bothering to ask if Rollie was sure.  There was no need to.

Using it as a pad, Rollie spread the sleeping bag on the floor beside the couch, then got blankets and pillows from the linen closet for Angie and himself.  They made their beds in silence, then changed into their sleepwear.

Lying on their makeshift beds, Angie looked down at Rollie, their eyes talking to each other silently.  She lowered her hand to him.  He kissed it, then pressed it against his chest, covering it with both of his.  With that small contact established, their eyes closed, and they let themselves drift off to sleep.

First light had not been long in the sky when Daniel awoke.  He lay in bed for a while, not wanting to disturb Rollie and Angie.  At last, he arose and quietly left the bedroom, intending to take a shower.  He glanced over at the couch and was surprised to find it empty.  Then his gaze dropped lower and saw a blond head lying beside Rollie’s brown-haired one.  The Aussie was curved protectively around Angie, his arms holding her to him, his head nestled against the back of hers.  Even in his sleep, he appeared to be clinging to her, fighting against the moment that she would leave.

Daniel watched them, seeing what he recognized as a love that would last a lifetime.  That was the kind of love that he had felt toward Kate.  Even now, he still loved her, though it had been nine months since her death.  But he had learned to go on without her, and the pain of her loss had eased much in these months.  He knew that he was going to be okay, and he had faith that, someday, he would find another to love.  The missionary’s gaze went to his twin.  But that would not be the case with Rollie.  When Daniel had come to see that the Aussie was in love with Angie, he also saw something else.  He’d realized that if anything ever happened to her, it would kill Rollie.  He wouldn’t survive it.  Perhaps his body would go on living, but what was inside him would die.  Daniel prayed with all his heart that they both got through the upcoming conflict safe and sound.

Turning away, the missionary continued his journey to the bathroom.

Rollie awoke to the feeling of something warm and soft in his arms.  He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a tousled mass of golden hair.  Smiling, he lifted his head and looked down at Angie.  He had no memory of her joining him on the floor.  She must have done it while he was asleep.  The Aussie looked up at the clock, and, much to his regret, saw that it was time for them to get up.  He began to kiss the back of Angie’s neck, working slowly up toward her ear.  She moaned in her sleep, making another smile come to his lips.

Placing a kiss on her ear, he whispered, “Rise and shine, Angel.”

Angie’s lips curved upwards and she drew Rollie’s arms more tightly about her.  Her eyes still closed, she said, “Weren’t you supposed to be sleeping on the floor?”

“I am on the floor, Love, and so are you.”

Angie’s eyes popped open, seeing that he was telling the truth.  “How did I get down here?”

“Don’t ask me.  I found you right where you are when I woke up just a few minutes ago.”  Rollie grinned.  “I guess you must have been sleep cuddling.”

“I wonder if Daniel saw us.  I mean, what would he think?”

“Don’t worry about Daniel.  This wouldn’t phase him a bit.”

At that moment, the object of their conversation came out of the bathroom, his hair damp.  “Good morning,” he said cheerfully, smiling at them both.  Then he headed into the kitchen.

“You see?  What did I tell you?” Rollie said.

“He’s certainly not like some members of the clergy that I’ve met.”

The Aussie’s mouth came right down to her ear.  “Don’t forget that it’s a clergyman whose arms you’re in right now, sweetie,” he murmured.

Angie’s head turned, and she looked up at him.  “Oh, yeah, that’s right.”  Then she twisted around, reached up and pulled his lips down to hers.  The kiss instantly grew deep and passionate.  It was a while before they separated.

“I never imagined that a minister would have such a talented tongue,” Angie commented.

“You’d be surprised at what talents I possess, Love,” Rollie responded, his eyes burning into hers.

“I’ll be looking forward to some demonstrations.”

They both smiled, then, with a regretful sigh, got up.  Smelling the scent of coffee, they went into the kitchen.  Daniel was pulling the makings of breakfast out of the fridge.

“Go take your showers,” he told them.  “By the time you’re finished, breakfast should be ready.”

“You know, you’re a handy person to have around, Daniel,” Rollie told him.

“Well, I’m so happy that you appreciate me, Rollie,” the minister said with a grin.

Angie, then Rollie took their showers and got dressed.  They then sat down to breakfast with Daniel.  As the meal progressed, the silence grew, all three of them thinking about the fact that in just a little while Angie would be leaving on the ferry.

Rollie was scared.  When he’d first made the decision to go after the organization, he’d had faith that everything would work out all right.  But as the days passed and the date of Angie’s departure grew nearer, that faith had slowly been drowned by the fears and doubts that had plagued him since his life fell apart and he had to run.  And now that the day of Angie’s departure had arrived, he was terrified that everything would go catastrophically wrong, that something horrible would happen to Angie.  He was tempted to call the whole thing off, to just run away with her to some faraway place where no one would ever find them.  But he couldn’t do that.  It wouldn’t be fair to Angie or anyone else.  Again, he prayed to God that if a life was to be lost, it would be his.

Far too soon, Callie was pulling up outside the house, ready to take Angie down to the ferry.  Angie’s suitcase was loaded into the truck.  Bluey was within it, safe in a metal box Rollie had purchased for that purpose.  Because of the room taken up by the robot, some of Angie’s clothes had to be left behind.  Rollie would be bringing them with him.

Angie, Daniel, and the Aussie climbed into the jeep with Callie, and they headed down the hill.  When they got to the ferry, they found Alex, Dylan, Ruby, Bonita, Molly, Kevin, Father Mac, and Nub waiting for them.

Angie looked at their faces, knowing there was a possibility that this was the last time she’d ever see any of them.  “Thank you for coming to see me off,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Well, of course we’d come to see you off, dear,” Ruby said.  She came forward and gave Angie a tight hug.  “We’re going to miss you, Angie.”  There were tears in the woman’s eyes.

“And I’m going to miss you too, all of you,” Angie said, her own eyes filling up.  She went to Bonita and received another hug.  “So, who’s minding the store?”

“The store will be fine on its own for a few minutes.  I wasn’t going to miss seeing you off,” Ruby’s daughter said.  “Take care, Angie.”

“I will.”  Angie moved on to Molly, receiving yet another hug.  “So, Molly, do you mind if I give your fiancé a hug too?” she asked.

The blond-haired woman smiled.  “Not as long as I have your permission to hug your fiancé when he leaves.”

“Deal.”  Angie gave Kevin a brief hug.  “You have a great lady there.  I hope you realize that.”

“Yes, I do.  I always have,” he responded.

“Boris wants to say goodbye, Angie, so I’m going to go take over for him at the Widow’s Walk,” Molly said.  The two blondes said their goodbyes, then Molly left.

Angie stepped up to Nub.  She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush furiously.  “You keep Brian out of mischief, okay?”

Smiling, Nub said, “I’ll try.”

Angie’s eyes went to Father Mac.  With a fatherly smile, he opened his arms, and she went into them.

“You keep yourself safe, Angie,” the priest said.  “I’m looking forward to marrying you to that young man there.”

“So am I,” Angie replied.  She gave him another hug.  “You’re terrific, Father Mac.”

“Well, thank you, Angie.”  He looked faintly embarrassed by her words.

Next, Angie went to Alex.  The two women looked at each other as the horn of the approaching ferry sounded.

“Take care of yourself, Alex,” Angie told the redhead.  She tousled Dylan’s hair. “And take care of this guy, too.”

“I will.”  Alex paused a moment, then the two women hugged.  “I don’t regret you coming, Angie.  I want you to know that,” she whispered, so softly that no one but they could hear.

Angie met her eyes searchingly, touched deeply by the woman’s words.  “Thank you, Alex.  Thank you so much.  You’re a terrific person.”

Alex’s eyes shifted downward for an instant, looking both pleased and embarrassed by the comment.

Angie went to Callie and they hugged tightly.  “Thank you for everything, Callie.  You are such a good friend.  I am really going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you, too,” the journalist said, her voice trembling.  “But we’re going to see each other again, Angie.  I know it.”

The blonde nodded and gave her friend a weak smile.  Just then, she saw Boris standing a few feet away.  She walked up to him.  “I never did try your Russian cooking,” she said, trying not to cry.

“Then you must hurry back to island so that Boris can fix you big meal.”  His voice sounded faintly hoarse.

Angie held up her arms, and she was instantly engulfed in the Russian’s strong embrace.  “I’m going to miss you, Boris,” Angie whispered.

“I will miss you, too.”  They drew apart, and the blonde saw tears in the man’s eyes.  He reached up and stroked her hair.  His eyes left hers and went to the ferry, which was docking.  “You must go now, say goodbye to man you love.  I will wait for day you and he return.”

Slowly, Angie walked back to the others.  Her throat was closing up.  She hadn’t realized how much this moment was going to hurt.  She went to Daniel and gave him a hug.

“Take care of Rollie while he’s here,” she told him.

“I will, Angie.  Don’t you worry.”  He kissed her cheek.  “I’ll see you in a few days.”

At last, Angie turned to Rollie.  He was standing several feet away, looking at her as if he were trying to pull her right into his heart.  The pain inside Angie grew.  She quickly covered the distance between them and threw herself into his waiting arms.  They kissed long and hard, not caring who was watching.  As they parted, Angie felt the tears start to come, but she fought them back.

Rollie saw the wetness in her eyes.  “Hey there.  None of that crying now,” the Aussie said, his voice tight as he wiped away the wetness.  “You’ll be seeing me again in less than three days.”

“I know.  They’re going to be the longest three days of my life.”

“Mine too.”  Rollie cupped her face in his hands.  “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Angie pulled him to her again, wrapping her arms around his waist.  She looked over at the ferry and saw the last passenger disembark.  Rollie saw it as well.

“You have to go now, Angie,” he said, the pain clear in his voice.

Feeling like she was leaving a part of herself behind, Angie drew away from him, picked up her suitcase, and boarded the ferry.

As the boat pulled away from the dock, she stood at the railing, her eyes never leaving Rollie.  She remained there until he was lost from sight.  Then she turned around and faced the bow--and what lay before her in the days ahead.

Rollie watched the ferry disappear from view.  Feeling like a part of his heart had just been taken away, he turned around.  Everyone had left except for Daniel.  The missionary walked up to him.

“How are you doing?” he asked softly.

“Missing her already,” the Aussie replied.  “I never knew I could love anyone this much.”

“You’re very lucky, Rollie, and very blessed.  A lot of people never know what it’s like to love so deeply.”

Rollie drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.  “I’m going to go take a walk.”

The missionary nodded.  He watched his twin walk off in the opposite direction of the church, then turned away.  As he was walking by the Widow’s Walk, he saw Alex standing at the railing.

“Hello,” he greeted.

“Hello, um, Eric.”  The redhead’s eyes went to where she had last seen Rollie.  “How’s he doing?”

“He’ll be all right.”  He smiled.  “It’s a good thing that they aren’t going to be apart any longer than they are, though.  Otherwise, I’d probably have to force-feed him again.”

“Again?” Alex immediately asked.

Oops.  He hadn’t intended to say that.  “Um. . . .”  He glanced around to see if anyone was within hearing distance.  “He had a . . . hard time when they were separated before.”

Alex studied the expression on the minister’s face and immediately guessed that “hard” was not nearly a strong enough word.  She got to thinking about what she would feel if she had to leave behind everyone she loved, knowing she would never see them again.  Just thinking about it made her hurt inside, and Rollie had lived it.  Suddenly, she found herself wanting to give him a hug.

Daniel watched the redhead, trying to read her expression.  He could tell that she was a little on guard with him.  Rollie had said in his earlier letters that Alex was not the type to warm up to someone immediately.  It took a while to punch through the walls.

“So . . . when will you be leaving for New York?” Alex asked.

“I’m not sure.  They’ll call me when they need me.”

A customer came up the steps and entered the building.

“Well, I’d better get back inside,” Alex said.

“Okay.  I’ll see you later.”  Daniel walked over to the Islander General Store, needing to get some things that he’d forgotten to pack.

“Hey, Dan--  Oh, sorry, um, Eric,” Bonita said, her bright smile changing to a more uncertain one.  “I thought you were Daniel there for a second.  I mean, uh. . . .  Well, you know what I mean.”

The missionary smiled.  “It is going to be a bit confusing for a while.”

Ruby walked in the door.  “Hello, Reverend. . . .  Um, do I call you Reverend Cooper, too?” she asked.

“That’s who I am.  I would be happy if you called me Eric, though.”

Ruby went behind the counter.  “So, how long will you be on Hope Island, Reverend?”

Not missing the fact that she had chosen to call him Reverend, Daniel replied, “Until Daniel calls to have me join them in New York.”  There was no one else in the store besides them, but he didn’t want to take the chance of being overheard calling him Rollie.

“I see.  Do you have any idea how long it will be before . . . your brother and Angie return?”

“No, it depends on how things go.  Even if everything goes smoothly, there’s a lot to be taken care of.”

“Well, we’re going to miss Daniel terribly while he’s gone,” Ruby said.  “We all love him dearly.  I don’t think that anyone could ever take his place here.”

Daniel nodded, thinking how lucky Rollie was to have found a place with people who cared so much about him.

The minister made his purchases and left the store.  He spied Callie and headed over to her.

“Hi.  Where’s Daniel?” she asked.

“Taking a walk, probably a long one.”

“Missing her already, huh?”

“Yeah.”

Callie shook her head.  “He’s sure got it bad, doesn’t he.”

The missionary chuckled.  “Most definitely.  So, what do you think about all this?”

“About Daniel and Angie or the, um,” she glanced around to see if anyone was close enough to hear, “other stuff?”

“The other stuff.  You being a journalist, you must be in heaven over possibly being able to print a story like this,” the minister said in a low voice.

Callie glanced around again.  “Are you going back up to the church now?”  Daniel nodded.  “Would you like a little company on the way up?”

“Sure.”

Once they were safely out of town, the journalist answered Daniel’s question.  “Printing this story would be a dream come true.  Most reporters would give body parts to get a story like this.  When I first found out about the whole thing with Stella, I thought that was big, but this is huge.”

“I get the feeling that there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

“Yeah.  Angie told me that Rollie never let his work with the police become public knowledge.  He didn’t want the press hounds after him.  He also knew that if the story got out, he wouldn’t be able to help in some of the ways he did before.  He’d be too recognizable.”

Daniel nodded.  “Rollie told me this when we were together.  I have to say that I was a bit surprised at first that someone in show business wouldn’t want to take advantage of the free publicity.  But then I got to know him better, and I realized that what was most important to him was the way he could help people with what he did.  He couldn’t do that if he was a media sensation.”

“Well, there was an article in a couple of the Seattle papers just before Rollie’s memorial service.  As luck would have it, the one I read didn’t have a picture of him.  If it had, I might have recognized him, though Angie said that the picture they ran was old and not a good likeness.  I wish I had seen the picture.  Maybe then I could have saved Angie another month’s worth of pain.  Anyway, the article revealed the whole story about what Rollie had been doing all those years.  It didn’t go into details, of course.  They would have had to run an entire series of articles to do that.  But it was still pretty revealing.  I don’t know if Angie has told Rollie about this or if he found out on his own, but I can imagine that, if he does know, he’s pretty upset about it.”

“He does know,” Daniel told her.  “He found out yesterday after the church services.  And you’re right, he isn’t happy about it.  We were discussing it at dinner last night.  If this plan of Rollie’s succeeds, the press are going to find out he’s alive.  There’s no way to hide that.  But he’s going to try keeping his and Angie’s part in bringing down the organization a secret.  He’s hoping that, since it’s been a month since the story about him came out, he won’t be of as much interest to the press.  Big stories are coming out all the time, and there’s constantly some new hero, villain, or other figure cast in the limelight.  The public loses interest and forgets pretty quickly.  He hopes that, as long as it isn’t discovered that he and Angie were involved in the takedown of the organization, things will blow over quickly in regards to the press.”

“Which is where the ‘but’ comes in,” Callie said.  “Rollie said that he’d give me an exclusive on the story as soon as it could be told.  Of course, at the time, he didn’t know about the other article, that his name had gotten splashed all over the news.  Even so, I know that he’s offering to give me the story and let me print it only because he’s my friend and wants to say thank you for me not printing the story about Stella and keeping quiet about what happened in Seattle.  But if I do print this story, the whole story, people on the mainland are bound to hear about it.  The whole island is going to be buzzing with the news.”

“And you’re concerned that it’s going to do exactly what Rollie doesn’t want to happen, get the spotlight thrown on him.”

Callie nodded.  “I want this story so badly that I’m even having dreams about it, but I don’t want to hurt Rollie.”  She sighed.  “I can’t have it both ways.”

“Maybe you can,” Daniel said thoughtfully.

“How?”

“Well, the story about how Rollie helped the police is already out.  It’s public knowledge, as is some of the story about what went on with Loubar and the organization.  And once it’s discovered that he’s alive, people are going to learn where Rollie’s been hiding all this time.  I doubt he’ll be able to keep that under wraps, especially if they come back here to live.  So there’s no reason I can think of why you can’t print all that in The Lookout.  All you’d really have to do is not include the fact that Rollie and Angie had a big part to play in putting an end to the organization.  You could just say that they went to New York to be there for the big bust.”

A smile spread across Callie’s face.  “You know, you’re right.  I didn’t think about that.  Rollie is probably going to ask everyone who knows the truth to keep a lid on the part he and Angie are playing in bringing the organization down.  And they will for his sake.  Although, I have a feeling that Brian is going to be trouble.  He’s probably dreaming up all kinds of ways that he can use this to boost tourism and media exposure on the island.  You should have seen him when the reporters flocked to the island after the story about Jo got out.  He was in heaven.  After the initial rush, it didn’t change anything around here, but this is different.  Jo was just involved in a bank robbery.  Rollie is this big hero who’s saved thousands of lives.”  She nodded her head slowly, her eyes slightly narrowed.  “Yeah.  It may just be necessary for me to make it crystal clear to Brian that he needs to keep his mouth shut.  And with Alex and Molly backing me up. . . .”

Daniel chuckled.  “I think I’m beginning to feel sorry for Brian.”

Callie smiled.  “I promise we won’t hurt him . . . much.”

Daniel’s chuckling turned to laughter.  “You’re a good friend to Rollie, Callie,” he said after a while.

“Well, he’s a good friend to me,” she responded.  Her eyes ran over the missionary’s face.  “Thanks for your help, Daniel.  I appreciate it.”

“Think nothing of it, Callie.”

They said goodbye, then Callie turned and headed back down the hill as Daniel continued to his destination.

Rollie showed up an hour later, his eyes looking haunted.  The missionary placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Cheer up, Rollie.  Before you know it, you’ll be on that plane heading to New York.”

“I know.  It isn’t just that I miss her.  I’m scared, Daniel.  What if I’m making a horrible mistake?  What if something awful happens?  If I lost her--”  His voice choked off.  He took a shaky breath.  “If it wasn’t for that dream, I’d probably be a basket case by now.”

“What dream?”

Rollie told him about the dream of the place of warmth and light and how it had made him feel, then he told him about the words that he had seen in the book and on the beach and how the burned timber had vanished.  There was a long silence afterwards as Daniel gazed at him, a look of wonder on his face.

“Rollie, that wasn’t just a dream.  That was a message from God, just as those words you saw were.  He is with you, Rollie.  He’s watching over you.”

“I know, Daniel.  I have faith that God is with me.  But remember what the dream said.  I could still die or someone else could.  I just have to keep praying that won’t happen.”  The Aussie took a deep breath.  “I need to stop thinking about this.”  He forced a smile.  “So, are you ready to become Rollie Tyler?  I’ve been often imitated, but never duplicated.”

Daniel laughed at the wisecrack.  “I can believe that, Rollie.  You’re most definitely one of a kind.”

The Aussie began training Daniel on his Australian accent.  After a couple of hours, they decided to take a break.  They ate lunch, then Rollie decided to go down and talk with Alex, as he had told her he would.  He knew that he should talk to Dylan as well, but he didn’t know what to say.  He knew that the boy was afraid he’d never see Rollie again, and the Aussie couldn’t promise that wouldn’t happen.  What could he say to Dylan to make him feel better?

Rising from the kitchen table, Rollie headed out the door.
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Alex hurried across the room to snatch up the phone.  She got it on the fifth ring.

“Alex?  It’s Eric,” said the familiar voice on the other end.

“Hi, Eric.  What can I do for you?”  She listened to the missionary for a couple of minutes.  “Sure, I can do that.  In fact, as it turns out, it couldn’t work out better for me.”  She talked with him a while longer then hung up, immediately going back to work.  A moment later, she saw Dylan come down the stairs.  He was wearing the same serious expression he’d had ever since Daniel made his announcement.  She’d asked him a few times how he was doing and if he wanted to talk about it, but all he ever did was shrug and say no.  Might as well try again.

“Hey, Dylan.  How are you doing?”

The boy’s shoulders lifted and fell.  He looked around the crowded room.  “Who are all these people?”

“Oh, some tourist group.  They hit us kind of unexpectedly.  Um . . . Daniel’s coming over.”

A light kindled in Dylan’s eyes.  “He is?”

“Yeah.  He should be here pretty soon.  He’s feeling a little low because of Angie going back to New York.  Maybe you could help cheer him up, take his mind off it.”

“Okay.”

“But don’t tell him I told you this.  It’s our secret, all right?”

Dylan nodded, smiling.  Alex explained a couple of things, then he went back upstairs.

A few minutes later, Rollie walked in the door.  His eyebrows rose when he saw all the people.

“Hey, Alex.  What’s going on?”

“I’m losing my sanity, that’s what.  This big tourist group hit the island a couple of hours ago.  On days like this, I really wish I had some extra help.”

“Is there something I can do?”

Hiding a smile at the success of her plan, Alex said, “Could you?  I would be forever in your debt.  We really need someone to bus tables and wash dishes.  It would only be for an hour or so.”

“No problem.”  Rollie immediately got to work, happy to have something to keep his mind off things.

An hour later, the crowd was gone, the tables were all cleared, and the dishes were washed.  The Aussie sat down with Alex.

“Thanks, Daniel.  I don’t know what we would have done without you.  You’re a handy guy to have around.”

Rollie smiled.  “Just call me Mister Handyman.”  He became serious.  “I said yesterday that we’d talk some more about everything.”

“It isn’t necessary, Daniel.  You’ll go to New York, get everything taken care of, then come back here with Angie to get married.”

“It isn’t that simple, Alex.  Like I said, if things go wrong, we may not be able to come back.”

“Well, that isn’t going to happen.  I know you.  Once you set your mind on doing something, you get it done.  This will be the same.  You won’t fail, Daniel.  I know you won’t.”

The Aussie searched her eyes.  “Thanks, Alex.”

The redhead shrugged.  “Nothing to thank me for.  I’m just stating the truth.”

There was the sound of rapid footfalls, then Dylan came running into the room, sliding to a stop beside Rollie.

“Dylan, what have I told you about running in here?” Alex scolded.

“Sorry.”  He turned to the Aussie.  “Can we go for a ride?”

“Um,” Rollie glanced at his watch, “sure, but not for too long.  I left my bike up at the house, though, so we’d have to go get it.”

“That’s okay.”

The Aussie looked at Alex.  “Do you need me any more?”

“Nope.  We can take it from here.  You guys go have fun.”

A while later, Rollie and Dylan arrived at the parish.

“Hey, guys,” Daniel greeted.  “What are you up to?”

“We’re going riding,” Dylan told him.

“Sounds like fun.  I think I’m jealous.”

“I’m sorry,” Rollie said.  “If I’d thought about it, I would have borrowed a bike for you from someone in town.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the missionary said.  “Maybe we can all go out tomorrow.”

“That sounds like fun.  What do you say, Dylan?  How would you like to have two Daniels to go riding with?”

The boy grinned.  “That would be cool.”

Rollie got his bike, then he and Dylan went riding off up the hill.  Smiling, Daniel watched them go.  It looked as if Alex was doing a good job keeping the Aussie busy.  Getting Dylan in on it was just the thing.  The missionary turned and went back inside.  He hadn’t been sure of how Alex would respond to his request to keep Rollie’s mind off his worries and missing Angie.  He’d told her a little about the Aussie’s fear of failure, hoping that she might think of something to say that would encourage him.  He had also called Ruby and Bonita, Callie, and Father Mac, who all promised to do their best to cheer Rollie up and keep him busy.

By the time Rollie and Dylan returned, the Aussie looked a great deal happier than he had that morning.  As for Dylan, he was going on and on about Rollie’s work as a stuntman, a special effects expert, and the stuff he did for the police.  Apparently, he’d questioned the Aussie incessantly about everything.

“Did you know that he stopped a bomber, and a man and lady who were burning down buildings, and some guys who were going to kill a lot of people in a building with nerve gas, and a bunch of drug dealers, and a guy who was freezing people and tried to freeze Angie?” he asked Daniel excitedly.

“Well, I heard about some of those things, but not all of them.”

“Yeah, and he also stopped some car thieves, and bank robbers, and people who shot this important senator guy, and--”

“Whoa, whoa, Dylan,” Rollie said, laughing.  “You make it sound like I did all that by myself.  I’m not some one-man crime-fighting force.  Angie and the police had a whole lot to do with all those people being caught.  In fact, I couldn’t have done most of it without Angie.  She and I are a team.”

“Yeah, you’re like Batman and Robin.”

Rollie started laughing in earnest at the boy’s comment.  “Don’t ever let Angie hear you say that.  She’d skin me alive.”

“How come?”

“Because she never wanted me to get involved with the police in the first place.  She was always afraid that I’d get hurt or killed.”  The Aussie had grown serious, the earlier joy in his eyes gone.

Deciding it was time to change the subject, Daniel asked, “So, what time are we going to go for our ride tomorrow?”

“How about after breakfast?” Rollie suggested.

“Works for me.”

The Aussie rode back down to town with Dylan.  When he returned, he resumed Daniel’s training in speaking like an Aussie.  It was close to dinnertime when Rollie looked at his watch, the expression on his face changing.

“Angie’s plane will be landing about now,” he said.  “I hope she’s doing okay.”

“I’m sure she is.  She’s quite the lady.”  Daniel smiled mischievously.  “It’s a good thing you met her first, otherwise I might have stolen her away from you.”  He paused.  “Of course, I would have only been around fifteen years old at the time.”

“Yeah, and I would have kicked your little butt all the way back to California,” Rollie told him, grinning.

Daniel chuckled.  “Well, I wouldn’t have had a prayer with her anyway.  Even if I had been around back then, she probably still would have fallen for you the second she laid eyes on you.”

Rollie looked at him in confusion.  “What do you mean?”

Daniel studied the look on the Aussie’s face.  Then he smiled sheepishly.  “Oops.  I guess I let that cat out of the bag.  I didn’t realize that you didn’t know.”

“Know what?”  He stared at the missionary.  “Are you saying that Angie had a crush on me when we met?”

“Afraid so.  A pretty big one, by what she said.”

Looking stunned, Rollie stared off into space.  “I had no idea.  I guess I was even blinder than I thought I was.  So, did she happen to mention how long the crush lasted?”

“A few months, until after you went on a date.  Then she wanted to boil you in a vat of oil.”

Rollie chuckled.  “Well, that explains why she acted the way she did.  She was mad at me for weeks, and I didn’t know why.”  His grin turned wicked.  “Wait until I see Angie again.  I’m going to have fun with this.”

Daniel groaned.  “Oh, wonderful.  She’s going to kill me.”

“Probably.”

“What would I have to do for you not to let her know I blabbed?  I’ll get down on my hands and knees and beg if you want me to.”

“Hmm.  I don’t know.  Your firstborn child might be enough to buy my silence.”

“Deal!”

There was a slight pause, then both men laughed.  “Don’t worry, Daniel,” the Aussie then said.  “Angie will be too busy wanting to kill me for her to even think about you.”

“That’s a relief,” the missionary replied with a smile.

After dinner, Daniel got Rollie into one of their theological discussions.  The Aussie hadn’t wanted to at first, but he was soon into it full steam, the ministers discussing and debating animatedly.  The rest of the evening passed quickly.

As they said goodnight, Rollie paused on the way to his bedroom.  “Daniel, I never really thanked you for all that you’ve done for me, for the way you helped me.”

“Yes, you did, Rollie.  You thanked me several times before you left for Seattle.”

“I know, but words aren’t enough.  I owe you my life, in more ways than one.”  The Aussie’s eyes met Daniel’s.  “I’ve been thinking a lot about your part in catching Loubar, and I can’t ask you to do it.  I can’t risk your life like that.  I should have listened to myself when I started having second thoughts as I talked to you on the phone.”

“Rollie, if you’ll recall, you didn’t ask me to help.  I offered.  In fact, you said no at first, until I pushed you.  This was my decision.  I want to help.  You’re not going to keep me out of it now, so just forget it.”

The Aussie shook his head.  “Now, don’t you start acting the part of Rollie Tyler, Daniel, at least not until you’re doing it in front of Loubar.”

“No worries, mate,” the missionary said, practicing his Aussie accent.  “You’re one of a kind, even if I do look like you.”

Rollie smiled softly.  “So are you, Daniel.  So are you.”

Angie glanced around, smiling when she saw Mira.

“Angie!”  The detective came forward and gave her a hug.  “How are you doing?”  She studied the blonde’s face.  “You look a lot better.”

“I’m good, Mira,” Angie replied, trying not to laugh at the comment.  Before getting on the plane in Seattle, she had applied some dark makeup around her eyes to make it look as if she still wasn’t sleeping properly.  However, there had been nothing she could do about the fact that she had regained a great deal of the weight she’d lost during the months Rollie was missing, and Mira was bound to notice.  The next words out of the detective’s mouth confirmed it.

“You look like you’ve put some weight back on.  That’s great.”

“Yeah.  Callie and her friends wouldn’t let me get away with not eating.  They were just about shoving it down my throat.”

“Well, good for them.  Come on.  Let’s get your luggage.”

A while later, suitcase in hand, the two women walked to Mira’s car.

“Did you have a nice time?” Mira asked.

“Uh huh.  It’s really great there.  The people are wonderful, very warm and caring, and the scenery is gorgeous.”

“Sounds like a place to go back to someday.”

“Yes, it is.  I very much want to go back.”

Mira looked over at Angie, curious about the fervency in her voice.  She sensed that there was something else behind it.

They reached the car.  Putting Angie’s suitcase on the back seat, they climbed in and made their way out of the airport.  Once they were on the highway, Mira glanced over at Angie.  “So, um, did you and this minister have some good conversations?”

Angie couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.  But she covered it quickly.  “Yeah, we did.  He’s a really nice guy.  We spent a lot of time together.”

Mira had noticed the brief smile that flashed across Angie’s face at the mention of the minister.  Could there be something going on besides counseling?  Maybe it was time to find out more about this Daniel.  “I imagine that he’s one of those older, fatherly types, right?”

“Um . . . no.  Actually, he’s young, mid-thirties.”

“Really?  Is he married?”

“No, he’s single.”  Angie didn’t like how this conversation was going.  Mira was getting way too curious about Daniel.  Time to change the subject.  “So, how have you been doing, Mira?”

“I’m doing good.  Keeping busy.”  The detective didn’t miss how quickly Angie had changed the subject.  Yes, there was definitely something going on with this young minister--and Mira was delighted.  Angie needed someone to love her, to take away the pain of losing Rollie.  Mira knew that Angie had been in love with the Aussie.  The way she reacted when she saw his car, the utter desolation in her eyes at the memorial service, and the deep depression that she had been in since then proved that without a doubt.  The fact that she seemed to really like this minister gave Mira hope that Angie could learn to love again.

“I forgot to ask.  Have you eaten?” the detective asked.

“Yes, I had dinner on the plane.”

Mira nodded.  “Shall we go over to Frank’s and pick up your cat?”

“Yeah.  Thanks.”

Mira called Francis and Sarah to make sure they’d be up.  The two were happy to hear that they’d be stopping by tonight.

Not wanting to push Angie too much about Daniel, Mira talked about other things as they headed over to Frank’s.  Angie’s mood was definitely lighter than it had been when they last saw each other.  When Mira took her to the airport two weeks ago, the woman had barely spoken a word, her eyes full of nothing but anguish.  But now, though you couldn’t really say she looked happy, she no longer looked like someone who had nothing to live for.  Angie’s time in Washington had apparently done her a world of good.  They’d have to see about getting her back there soon.

As they pulled into the Gatti’s driveway, Angie prepared herself to maintain her air of melancholy.  She wasn’t finding it all that difficult.  All she had to think about was how much she missed Rollie and that she was thousands of miles away from him.

“Hi, Angie.  How are you doing?” Sarah asked as she let them in.

“I’m okay.”  She laid a hand lightly on the woman’s extended belly.  “How’s Junior doing?”

Sarah smiled happily.  “Wonderfully.  He’s been kicking up a storm the last few days.”

Just then, Francis came out of the bathroom.  He immediately went to Angie and gave her a hug.  “How are you?” he asked, searching her eyes deeply.

“I’m okay, Frank.”  She studied the detective’s face.  She could still see the shadow of sadness there that she saw every time something reminded him of Rollie.

At that moment, there was a loud meow, then a streak of fur flew across the floor in Angie’s direction.  Chiops, meowing repeatedly, began rubbing himself earnestly against Angie’s legs.  Smiling, she picked him up and was rewarded with a thunderous purring.

“Hey there, you old cat.  I missed you,” Angie said, burying her face in his fur.

“Would you like to stay for a while?” Sarah asked.  “But then, maybe you’re tired after your long trip.”

“No, I’m not really tired.  I’m still on Pacific Time.”

Everyone sat in the living room.

“You look good, Angie,” Sarah said.  “Have you put on weight?”

“Yes, some.  I had lots of people making sure I ate properly.”  Angie told them a little about Hope Island and the people there, being very careful about what she said.

“Mira told us that you were talking to a minister,” Frank said.

Angie nodded.  “His name is Daniel.  He’s been a good friend these past two weeks.”  The blonde was proud of the way she’d been able to say that without cracking even the tiniest of smiles, even though she wanted to grin from ear to ear at just the thought of the time she’d spent with ‘Daniel’.

“I’m glad, Angie,” Sarah said.  She hesitated.  “Has talking to him . . . helped?”

Angie’s gaze dropped to her hands.  ‘You’re missing Rollie.  You’re missing Rollie.  He’s thousands of miles away.  Think about the months you spent without him, the weeks you thought he was dead.’  There.  That did it.  Taking a deep breath, she lifted her eyes, certain that she bore the expression of someone suffering great emotional pain.  “Yeah.  It . . . it helped.”

Sarah reached out and gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

“So, are the girls getting excited about the baby coming?” Angie asked after clearing her throat.  She wanted to get the topic of discussion away from herself and Daniel.

Frank laughed.  “Are you kidding?  Every night it’s a task getting them to sleep because they keep asking if their baby brother will be here in the morning.”  He looked at his wife, who nodded.  “Sarah and I have been taking, and we’ve both agreed.  We’re going to name the baby Leo Roland Gatti.”

Angie’s eyes filled with tears, and before she could stop it, she was weeping.  Mira and Sarah immediate sat on either side of her, their arms around her.

“Oh, Angie, we’re sorry,” Sarah said, distressed.  “We didn’t mean to make you cry.”

The blonde shook her head.  “No, it’s all right.  I just. . . .  Rollie wi--”  She cut herself off, almost having used the present tense.  She took another deep breath, then continued.  “Rollie would be so proud.”  She looked at Frank to see tears in his eyes too, and, for a moment, the desire to tell them that Rollie was alive was almost more than she could resist.  Only the thought of how it would threaten his life kept her from blurting it out.

Frank got a box of tissues, and they all sat in silence until Angie had dried her tears.

“You should go home now and get some sleep,” Mira said.

Angie nodded.  They said goodbye to the Gattis, then headed toward the loft.  As they pulled up to the green doors, Mira searched her face.

“Are you going to be all right tonight?  Would you like me to stay?”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

The woman’s hand came out and laid lightly upon hers.  “Angie, I know that you don’t like talking about Rollie, but . . . you know that he loved you, don’t you?”

The tears coming again, Angie whispered, “Yes, I know.”

“And you know that he’d want you to be happy and not grieve for him.”

Angie just nodded, not able to speak.

“You need to live your life, Angie.  You need to find things that make you happy.  Think about that.  Think about what would make you happy, and, whatever it is, you should do it.”

Angie turned to the detective.  “What do you mean?”

Mira shook her head.  “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?  I’ll take a long lunch break and come over, if that’s all right.”

“That sounds good.”  Angie got out of the car, pulled her suitcase off the back seat, and scooped up Chiops, who immediately perched on her shoulder.  Mira waited until she was safely inside before pulling away.

The moment Angie shut the door behind her she pulled a micro cassette recorder out of her pocket and pushed the play button.  Bluey’s welcoming bark sounded from the speaker.

“Hey, Blue,” Angie said, pretending to speak to the robot dog.  She and Rollie had known that if Loubar was listening in, he would have wondered why Blue didn’t greet her, hence the recording of the electronic dog’s bark.  “Lights,” she then said, flicking on the switch a second later.  Putting Chiops down, she listened to the messages on the answering machine, then headed up the stairs.  She had to assume that she was also being watched.  If someone had tapped into the security system, they could be watching her right through the feeds from the security cameras placed around the loft.  It was unlikely that anyone would do this, since it would be easy for Angie to find out, but until she eliminated the possibility, she had to be extra careful.  Fortunately, none of the cameras in the loft covered the area right in front of the door, so no one would have been able to see what she did with the recorder and light switch.

Entering the bedroom, Angie placed herself between the camera on the wall and the bed.  She then opened up the suitcase and pulled out the box containing Bluey.  Wrapping her pajamas around it and the PDA, which she had also brought back with her, she took them into the bathroom and shut the door.  She started the shower, then removed the robot from the box, turning him on.  He barked once, and she shushed him.  She then ordered him to do a thorough check of the security system.  After the events involving Loubar’s attempted assassination of the Chinese Trade Minister, Rollie had added dozens of safeguards and new features to the loft’s security system.  It would be impossible for anyone to tap into or tamper with the system without it being detected.

As she had guessed, when the results of Bluey’s check came up on the PDA’s screen, it showed no evidence that anyone had touched the system in any way.  Also, no one had entered or attempted to enter the loft.  However, this didn’t mean that someone wasn’t listening in.

Commanding Bluey to stay in the bathroom and remain quiet, Angie turned off the shower and got dressed for bed.  She then lay on the bed just staring up at the ceiling.  If Loubar had been listening in on her conversation with Mira in the car, it would have helped to give the impression that not much had changed for Angie.  She just had to make sure she maintained her act when Mira visited tomorrow, both to fool the detective and Loubar.

Angie began thinking about Rollie, wondering what kind of day he’d had.  She couldn’t wait to see him again.  Wednesday night seemed like a very long time away.

Turning off the light, Angie remained as she was until her eyes grew accustomed to the dark.  Then, as quietly as she could, she got up, fetched Bluey, and took him downstairs.  She then crept back upstairs and crawled under the covers, even though she wasn’t tired.  Lying alone in the dark, she imagined Rollie’s arms around her, holding her safe and warm.  She then imagined his lips on hers, his hands touching her.  She smiled at the feelings her fantasy had aroused.  The smile still on her face, Angie snuggled deeper under the covers and let dreams of Rollie lead her into sleep.

The next morning, Angie slipped out the secret entrance through the phone booth.  Using a device of Rollie’s crafting, she scanned the narrow alley behind the loft for signs that there was any kind of surveillance equipment planted there.  It came up clean.  Angie then ascended the ladder up to the roof.  Keeping low, she approached the front of the building.  Crouched behind the safety wall, she searched the roofs of all the buildings on the other side of Brewery Lane with binoculars.  She’d been at it only a few seconds when she spied something.  A box was mounted on the wall of the building directly across the street.  The box was angled downward so that it pointed at the top row of windows in the loft.  Angie slipped on a pair of goggles and immediately saw the laser beam extending from the box to one of the windows.  She knew that the laser was picking up the sound vibrations off the glass of the window. Alec Martel had used the same kind of device when spying on Rollie as part of his plan with the Chinese Triads to kill Jimmy Chu.  So, Loubar, or someone else, was listening in on her.  There was probably a radio transmitter attached to the device that was transmitting what it picked up to a location in a nearby building.  This meant that Loubar might be on this very block.  The thought sent a small shiver through Angie.

Now that she knew she was being listened in on, she had to know if it was by Loubar or someone from the organization, and there was only one way to find out.  Angie pulled out a mini camera, a tiny device hardly bigger than a ball point pen.  She mounted it on the wall, aiming it toward the roof of the building across the street.  She then left the roof and went back inside.  Now came the tricky part, luring the owner of the laser device back to the roof.  Angie smiled at the idea Rollie had come up with to accomplish that.  It was so simple and so untechnical that no one would suspect anything but what it appeared to be.

Angie spent an hour working on her computer, periodically getting up and doing other things around the loft, all the while recording the sounds she was making.  She was careful not to say anything.  Once she had an hour’s worth of recorded sound, she told Bluey, via computer, to begin playing the recording as soon as she left and keep playing it until she returned.  Angie then proceeded to make herself look like a man, or, rather, a teenage boy.  Once she was finished, she looked at herself in the mirror.  If anyone saw her up close, they’d probably be able to tell that she was a woman, but from a distance, she would appear to be a boy, and that’s all that was necessary.

Angie turned the ringer on the phone off.  Putting what she would need in a knapsack, she exited through the phone booth again.  She made her way to the back of the building across the street and ascended to the roof.  The first thing she did was check for surveillance equipment.  Other than the laser device, there were none.  She then went to the box holding the device and loosed the screws mounting it to the wall.  Next, she took a can of spray paint and drew graffiti here and there on the roof.  Then, wielding the baseball bat she’d brought, Angie began hitting objects on the roof, not enough to cause any real damage, but enough to leave a mark.  Rollie would see about recompensing the owner of the building for the damages later.  After hitting a few things, she turned her attention to the box.  Smiling, Angie lifted the bat and gave the box a whack hard enough to mark the wood, then she wrenched at the box with all her strength, pushing it downward.  She quickly donned the goggles.  Yep.  The laser beam was still on, but was no longer aimed at the glass.

Angie hurriedly left the roof and returned to the loft.  If someone was listening in now they would know right away that something had gone wrong.  When they got to the roof, they’d find evidence that would seem to indicate that someone had gotten on the roof and vandalized it.  Any witnesses would confirm that they saw a teenage boy in the area.

Angie didn’t know how long it would take someone to check on the laser device.  If there was no one monitoring the transmission right now, it could be a while.

Looking at her watch, she saw that Mira would be there in an hour or so.  Setting Bluey to monitor and record the feed from the mini camera, she removed her disguise, then checked to see if anyone had called while she was gone.  No one had.

As promised, Mira showed up at the loft at noon.  Angie fixed some sandwiches, and they sat in the lounge to eat.  Throughout the meal, the detective watched her like a hawk, making Angie uncomfortable.  Finally deciding that enough was enough, the blonde set down her cup of tea and stared right back at the woman.  Mira smiled after a few seconds.

“Sorry, Angie.  I guess I was making you feel like you were under a microscope.”

“Yes, you were.”

“I’m just worried about you.  Did you sleep well?”

“I got some sleep.  Noises kept waking me up.  I guess I got used to sleeping in a place where you don’t have cars and trucks on the streets at two, three o’clock in the morning or jets flying overhead.  It was nice sleeping in complete peace and quiet.”

“You really liked it there, didn’t you.”

“Yeah, I did.”

Mira paused, as if trying to make up her mind about something.  “And this minister you told me about.  You really like him, too.”

Angie’s eyes widened.  “How--  Um, what makes you say that?”

“I noticed the way you looked whenever someone mentioned him and when you talked about him.  It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like happiness in your eyes since Rollie disappeared.”

Angie picked up her cup and focused her attention on it.  Apparently, even through her act, Angie’s feelings for Rollie had still shown through.  Now that Mira knew something was going on, she would have to come up with something to say.

“Yes, I do like him.  We spent a lot of time talking, about Rollie and other things.  It helped a lot.”

Mira smiled in understanding.  “What’s he like?”

Oh, tough question.  She would have to be careful with her answer.  “He’s kind and gentle.  He cares a lot about people, I mean really cares.  He’s devoted himself to the community and his congregation.  He has a great sense of humor and loves music and poetry.  He plays both the guitar and the piano.  He also loves kids.”

“He sounds like a wonderful guy.”

“Yeah, he is.”

“I’m surprised he’s not married.”

Angie paused, not sure if she should use the real Daniel’s past and say that he’s divorced or go with something else.  She decided to say something that was the truth for both the real Daniel and a part truth for Rollie.

“He, um . . . lost someone, the woman he loved, several months ago.”

“Oh.  That’s a shame.”  A thought came to Mira that this was probably the reason why Angie had grown as close as she did to Daniel.  They shared the grief of losing someone they loved.  That kind of shared pain would tend to form a bond between people.  It was sounding more and more like this gentle minister was just the person to heal the wounds Angie had suffered.

“Have you thought about going back there soon?”

“Um, yeah, I have.  I don’t know when, but I do want to.”

“Well, maybe it’s time to think about getting out of New York for good.”

Angie’s eyes widened in surprise a second time.  “What are you saying?  Move there?”

“Sure.  Why not?”

Angie’s mind scrambled for what to say to that.  She decided to stick to what most people would expect her to say.  “It’s really different from what I’m used to.  I’ve been a big city girl for most of my life.  It would be quite an adjustment to move into a small community.”

“Well, maybe that’s what you need, to be someplace that’s not a big, noisy city where you’re a stranger to almost everyone you meet.”  Mira shrugged.  “I’m just saying that these last two weeks have seemed to do you a lot of good, and I’d like to see that continue.  Think about it.”

Angie nodded.  “I will.”

They spent the rest of Mira’s visit talking about other things.  Angie was careful to give the impression that she was recovering from Rollie’s death, but still suffering from grief.

After the detective left, Angie checked what had been recorded by the mini camera.  About twenty minutes into the recording, there was movement on the roof.  A tall man with a scraggly beard and long hair looked around at the destruction, then approached the front of the building cautiously.  He looked about carefully, then stared down at the box holding the laser device.  Slipping on a pair of goggles similar to the ones Angie wore, he reaimed the laser and tightened the mounting screws.  He then left.

Angie rewound the tape to the spot with the best shot of the man’s face.  Zooming in on it, she enhanced the image until the face became clear.  Staring into a pair of eyes that she would remember for the rest of her life, Angie’s hands clenched into fists.  Victor Loubar.

‘We’re going to get you this time, Loubar,’ Angie swore silently. ‘You’ll never hurt Rollie and me ever again.’

Angie sat back in the chair.  The fact that it was Loubar watching her rather than someone from the organization was good.  It could be used to their advantage.

Trying to put out of her mind the fact that Loubar was listening to everything she did and said, Angie got busy uploading the images from her laptop to her primary graphics computer in the cleanroom.  There, she made a few minor changes and did some things that she had been unable to with the limited abilities of the laptop.  She then uploaded the images to the holograph projector there in the loft to double check everything.  A faint smile curved her lips as she watched the holographic projection.  As much as she hated to admit it, this could be fun, at least for her and Rollie.  Dales and O’Brien wouldn’t find it so amusing.

Just then, Bluey began to bark.  Angie quickly turned off the projector.  A second later, Dingo walked in.  He smiled brightly when he saw her.

“Hey!  There’s my girl.”  He came forward and pulled her into a tight hug as soon as she reached the ground floor.

“Hi, Dingo.  Still staying out of trouble?”  Angie asked, smiling fondly.  She had really gotten to care about Rollie’s father the past few months.  During the time they were searching for Rollie he had been a constant presence, and in the month following the memorial service, he had come to the loft three, four, five times a week, sometimes talking about this or that and other times just sitting with her quietly.  He’d always tried to hide his own grief, but Angie had seen it in his eyes.  Ironically, Dingo had become almost like a father to her, a much more attentive father than he had ever been to his own son, a fact that she knew he hated himself bitterly for.

“I always stay out of trouble now, Angie,” he told her.  He held her at arms length.  “Let me look at you.”  His eyes ran over her from head to toe.  “Hey, you’ve put weight on.  Good.  You were getting far too skinny.  I always told Rollie that he--”  Dingo’s voice halted, the deep pain leaping back into his eyes.  He quickly turned away, pretending to become interested in something sitting on the workstation.  “So, did you enjoy your vacation?” he asked, his voice falsely cheerful.

“Yeah, I did.  It was nice.”  Angie could feel tears stinging her eyes.  Before, she had been so consumed by her own grief that she hadn’t been able to focus on the anguish that Dingo was going through.  But now, she could.   Truly looking at him for the first time, she could see the differences in his manner and appearance.  He seemed to have aged ten years.  There was a dispirited air to his walk, a slump to his shoulders that was not at all like the man he used to be.  He was a man in mourning for his only child, a son that he had spent far too little time with.

Getting control of himself, Dingo turned back to Angie, not missing the tears shimmering in her eyes.  “I hear that you were talking with a priest over there.”

“A minister, not a priest.  Yes, I did talk with him.  He helped me a lot.”

Dingo gave her a smile.  “That’s good, Angie.  I’m glad.”  Shortly after Rollie’s memorial service, he had found himself in a church.  The priest had found him sitting on the back pew, crying, and had sat with him for a while.  He had tried to make Dingo feel better, but his words hadn’t helped.  They hadn’t eased the pain of knowing that his son was gone forever, that Dingo would never get the chance to say how sorry he was for not being there for him throughout his life.  Nothing could ever make up for all the time he’d wasted, the time he could have spent with Rollie.  If he could do it all over again, he would spend every second he could with him.  He would give his son the love and attention that he had deserved.  Dingo had been blessed with a wonderful, smart, caring son, and he had been too damned focused on himself to see the gift he had been given, a gift he’d never deserved.  He should have been the one to die, not Rollie, not his precious boy.

Pulling back from the well of grief that he was falling into, Dingo cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders.  Angie needed him to be strong.  She was alone now in this world just like he was, and she had lost someone whom Dingo had come to realize that she loved just as deeply as he did, maybe even more.  In the month following the memorial service, he had watched Angie deteriorate before his eyes, the fiery, confident woman turning into a hollow-eyed wraith who seemed only to be alive because she was still breathing and her heart was still beating.  He had been scared to death that she would take her own life someday.

Looking at her now, he saw that she looked far better than she had the last time he saw her.  There was color back in her cheeks, and there was more energy in her movements.  Something had happened within the last two weeks that had given life back to Angie.  Whatever it was, he was grateful for it.  If it was this minister who had done this thing for Angie, then Dingo hoped that, someday, he’d have the chance to thank him.

“So, would you like to go out for dinner, maybe get a pizza?” he asked.

“Um, thanks, Dingo, but I don’t really feel like going anywhere today.  Maybe tomorrow.  In fact, maybe you, Mira, Frank, Sarah and I could all have dinner tomorrow.”

“That would be good.  Well, I’ll let you get back to work.  You probably have a lot to catch up on after having been gone for two weeks.”  He came forward and gave her another hug.  “It’s good to have you home, Angie.”

Angie watched Dingo leave, wishing she could have told him that Rollie was alive.  But Dingo couldn’t know, not yet.

Her thoughts returning to Rollie, Angie sighed and got back to work.

Rollie plopped onto the couch with a sigh.  What a day!  Every time he turned around, someone had needed help with one thing or another.  Ruby and Bonita had needed a pair of strong arms to move stock, Father Mac had dropped his crucifix down the sink, Alex had asked if he could bus tables again after Molly unexpectedly left to take care of some personal business, and Nub had been stuck with the task of cleaning a vacant house from top to bottom for prospective buyers.  Rollie’s only leisure time had been the two hours he, Daniel, and Dylan went bike riding.  The Aussie now felt as if he didn’t want to move another muscle for as long as he lived.  There was one good thing, though.  He hadn’t had time to worry about the upcoming events or dwell on his loneliness for Angie.

“Rough day?” Daniel asked.

Rollie laughed shortly.  “Yeah, you could say that.  I don’t remember being this tired even after working on a shoot all night.”  He yawned hugely.  “So, have you been practicing?”

“All afternoon.  I think I’ve got it licked.”  The missionary had been practicing his Australian accent, speaking into a tape recorder over and over again until he sounded exactly like Rollie.  “The only way to know for sure would be for someone to come over and listen to us.  Shall I call Callie and see if she can do it?”

Rollie groaned.  “Not yet.  Let me lie here comatose for a few minutes, okay?”

Daniel chuckled and went into the kitchen to fix the exhausted Aussie some tea.  It looked as if the islanders had taken his request to keep Rollie busy a little too far.  He had wanted the Aussie busy, not dropping dead from exhaustion.

When Daniel returned to the living room, his twin was fast asleep, sprawled across the couch.  Smiling gently, the missionary removed Rollie’s shoes, then went to find a book to read.  He’d been reading for half an hour when the phone rang.  The Aussie jumped, his eyes popping open and darting about.

“I’ll get it,” Daniel told him.  He picked up the receiver.  “Hello.”

“Daniel?  This is Brian.  I was wondering if you knew where Nub is.”

“Hello, Brian.  It’s Eric.  Hold on.  I’ll get Daniel.”  He set the phone down.  “Rollie, Brian’s on the phone.  It sounds like he’s misplaced Nub and wants to know if you know where he is.”

With a small sigh, Rollie got up and went to the phone.  “Hey, Brian.  No, I don’t know where Nub is right now.  When I left him,” he glanced at his watch, “about an hour ago, he was still at George White’s old house.”

“Why on Earth was he there?” Brian asked.

“Cleaning it for the prospective buyers, just like you told him to.”

“I didn’t tell Nub to clean that house.  There was plenty of time for that.  The people who are interested in it aren’t coming out here for another two weeks.”

“Is that so,” Rollie said, his eyes narrowing suddenly in suspicion.  “Sorry I can’t help you, Brian.  I suppose it’s possible that Nub might still be there.”  He said goodbye, then slowly approached his twin.  “Interesting conversation I just had.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.  You see, before coming home, I’d spent the last five hours helping Nub clean a house to be shown to possible buyers.  There’s just one thing.  Brian just told me that he didn’t ask Nub to clean that house, that there was no need to clean it right now since the people aren’t coming for another two weeks.”

“Oh . . . really?  Well, maybe Nub decided to get a head start on cleaning it.”  Daniel had kept his eyes fixed upon the book in his hands, not even glancing at the Aussie.

“Uh huh.”  Rollie walked right up to the missionary.  “Give it up, Daniel.  I know what you did.  You asked everyone to keep me so busy that I wouldn’t have time to think about things.  Admit it.”

Daniel sighed.  He put the book down and met Rollie’s eyes.  “All right.  I admit it.  But I didn’t know that they were going to run you into the ground.  They took things farther than I thought they would.  I’m sorry about that.”

The Aussie sat on the couch, his head bowed.  A few seconds of silence passed, then he began to chuckle.  The chuckle soon turned into laughing.  Shaking his head, he looked at his twin.  “I should kill you for this, but I’m too tired.”

“Thanks, Rollie.  I appreciate you allowing me to live for another day,” Daniel said with a grin.

The Aussie sobered, looking at the missionary intently.  “Thanks, Daniel.”

“Any time.”

They ate dinner, then Rollie called Callie, asking her to come over.

When the journalist arrived, she sat on the couch with her eyes closed while Rollie and Daniel both talked to her with their Australian accents.  As hard as she tried, she could not tell which was which.  Smiling, the two men looked at each other.

“I think we’re all set, mate,” Rollie said.

“Looks like it,” Daniel replied.

The smile faded from the Aussie’s face.  “Tomorrow it begins.”
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The sun had not been up long when Callie arrived.  The mood was subdued as Rollie’s duffel bag and the crates carrying the equipment were loaded into the jeep.  Because of the equipment, Rollie would not be taking the ferry to the mainland.  Instead, Alex and Daniel would be taking him in Alex’s boat, it having more room than Rollie’s.

The Aussie smothered the yawn that had crept up on him.  He had not slept well last night, plus he and Daniel had been up fairly late taking care of Daniel’s final training in becoming Rollie Tyler, namely, learning to move like him.  In many ways, Daniel’s walk and motions were a lot like Rollie’s but there were slight differences and mannerisms that had to be worked on.  Victor Loubar had spent a lot of time studying Rollie before he assumed his identity to frame him for the assassination of the trade minister.  He would spot ways in which Daniel was different.

Callie drove to the small dock where they had originally unloaded the components and materials purchased in Seattle.  There, they left the crates, which would be picked up by Rollie, Alex, and Daniel on their way to the mainland.  They had to do it that way to avoid questions from islanders who didn’t know the truth about what was going on.

Knowing how afraid Daniel was of traveling in small boats, Rollie had told him he didn’t need to go along, but the missionary had insisted.

As they arrived at the dock in town, Rollie’s eyes widened in surprise.  They were all there, his entire congregation, plus everyone else who knew what was going on.  Feeling his throat tighten, Rollie approached them.  One by one, everyone wished him goodbye, many of them giving him a hug or a strong handshake.

“Reverend Tyler,” Brian said formally, holding out his hand.

“Mayor Brewster,” Rollie responded, equally as formally as he took the man’s hand.

“Don’t worry about the church or the parish house.  I’ll make sure Nub keeps them clean after Reverend Cooper leaves to join you.”

The Aussie smiled faintly at the comment.  “Thanks.  I appreciate that.”  He turned to Nub, who was standing beside Brian.  He shook the young man’s hand warmly.  “Take care, Nub, and don’t let this guy overwork you.”

Ignoring the sound of protest from Brian, Nub smiled.  “I won’t, Daniel.”  He reached into his back pocket.  “I made something for you,” he said shyly.

Rollie looked at what was in Nub’s hand, then carefully took it.  “What’s this?”

“It’s scrimshaw.  Well, not really.  Real scrimshaw is done on whalebone or walrus teeth.  This is just candle wax that I molded into the shape of a walrus tooth, then dipped in liquid plastic to make hard.”

Deeply touched by the gift, Rollie gazed at the carvings on the ‘walrus tooth’.  At one end of the tooth was the Hope Island church and at the other end was the New York skyline.  Between them was a stretch of ocean.  Spanning the water was a bridge, the sun rising behind it.  Understanding the meaning behind the images, Rollie met Nub’s gaze.

“Thank you, Nub.  This means a lot to me.”

The young man nodded silently.

Placing the scrimshaw in his duffel bag, Rollie went to Kevin and Molly.  “Who’s watching the Widow’s Walk?” he asked Molly.

“Nobody,” she said.  “We put a closed sign up.  People can just wait for their breakfast.”  Tears filled her eyes.  “Angie gave me permission to hug you goodbye, Daniel, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Well, if it’s all right with Angie, it’s all right with me,” Rollie told her softly, then pulled her into a gentle hug.

“You take care of yourself, Daniel, and you come back soon.  We’re going to miss you.”

“I will, Molly.”  Rollie turned to Kevin, shaking his hand firmly.  “I’ve made friends with many cops in my life, Kevin.  I’m honored to have you as one of them.”

Surprised and touched by the minister’s words, Kevin tightened his grip on Rollie’s hand.  “Thank you, Daniel.  If there is ever anything, and I mean anything that I can do to help you, you just say the word.”

Next, Rollie went to Father Mac.

“Well, my boy, this is goodbye, but not farewell.  I have faith that God will bring you back to us safe and sound.”

“I pray every day that will be so,” the Aussie told him.  “Thank you for helping to guide this new minister in the right direction, Father Mac.”

“You and I guided each other, Daniel.  Thank you for showing this old priest how to be more that what was behind the collar.”

The two men hugged, patting each other’s back.  Releasing his fellow clergyman, Rollie turned to Ruby and Bonita.  The older woman had tears coursing down her face.

“You come back to us, Daniel.  You hear me?  You come back to us.  We don’t want to lose you,” she said.

Rollie hugged her tightly.  “I will, Ruby.  I don’t want to lose you either.”  He kissed each of her cheeks, then turned to Bonita, who immediately wrapped him in another hug.

“You are the best thing that’s happened to this island in a long time, Rollie Tyler,” she whispered.  “Don’t ever forget that.”

Fighting back the tears, the Aussie kissed her cheek and hugged her more tightly.  “Thank you.”  His eyes went to Boris.  There was an expression of distress on the big Russian’s face.  Rollie walked up to him.

“I am wishing to go with you to help protect you and Angie from the evil men.  I do not want you to disappear and never come back.”

“It would be good to have you with us, Boris, but you belong here.”  Rollie managed to put a smile on his face.  “When Angie and I get back, we’ve got a wedding to plan, so you keep those cake books ready for us, all right?”

The Russian nodded seriously.  “Boris will do that.”  Abruptly, he pulled the Aussie into a hug.

Feeling the air whoosh out of his lungs, Rollie grunted, then patted the man’s back.  Fortunately, Boris let him go before he began suffering from oxygen deprivation.

The Aussie turned to Dylan, who was standing beside his mother, her hands on his shoulders.  The boy had wanted to go with them to the airport, but there wasn’t going to be enough room in the boat once the equipment was loaded.  Rollie knelt before him.  “Dylan, I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to come back.  Please believe that.”

“I do.  I know you’ll come back.  You’ll get all the bad guys like you have all those other times and put them in jail.  You’re like Batman.  You always get the bad guys in the end,” Dylan said almost worshipfully.

Worried by his words, Rollie looked up at Alex and saw the same worry in her eyes.  Concerned by the boy’s overconfidence and what it could do to him if things went wrong, the Aussie returned his gaze to Alex’s son.

“I’m not Batman, Dylan.  I’m just an ordinary guy doing the best that I can to help people.  I don’t have special powers.  I don’t have futuristic weapons to use to catch the bad guys.  What I do have is other people to help me and faith that God will be watching over us.  Together, we’re going to do the best that we can to get these people and put them in prison.”  Rollie eyes searched the boy’s.  “Dylan, I want you to remember that, no matter what happens, I will always be your friend.”  He held the boy’s gaze for a few seconds more, then stood.  “Would you mind a hug?”

Dylan shook his head, and Rollie wrapped his arms around him, feeling the boy’s arms come around his waist.  Rollie closed his eye and just held him for a long moment.  Finally releasing him, the Aussie looked down into the boy’s eyes.  “You take good care of your mom, okay?”

“Okay.”

At last, Rollie’s gaze went to Callie.  As he came up to her, he saw that she was openly crying.

“You told me once that opening your heart was how someone gets hurt,” the Aussie said, his voice tight with emotion.

“Then you told me that I couldn’t swim if I didn’t get in the water,” she responded in a voice that shook.

“Thank you for opening your heart to me, Callie.  Thank you for being my friend.”

“Thank you for showing me that I didn’t have to be afraid to open my heart, Rollie.”

The Aussie enfolded her in a hug.  They held each other for a long time before separating.  It was time for him to go.

Rollie looked around at the people and the town one last time, imprinting each thing forever in his mind, knowing that his memories could be all he’d have left of Hope Island.  Then, turning away from the place that he had called home, Rollie walked with Alex and Daniel to her boat.

The islanders watched as they untied the boat and climbed in.  They kept right on watching as it headed out over the ocean, each of them thinking that this might be the last time they’d ever see Hope Island’s minister.

“I’m afraid, Bonita,” Ruby whispered.  “I’m afraid that something terrible is going to happen to him.”

“I know, Mom.  I’m afraid, too.”  Wrapping her arm around her mother’s shoulders, Bonita walked with her back to the store.

Rollie heard the announcement that his flight was boarding.  He turned to Alex and Daniel.

“Well, this is it,” he said.  His gaze focused on the redhead.  “Take care of yourself, Alex.  Thank you for everything.  I’ve . . . never told you what a great lady I think you are.  You really are terrific.  Dylan’s father is an idiot.”

Her eye widening in surprise, Alex just stared at him for several seconds.  Finally, she found her voice.  “I. . . .  Thank you, Daniel.  You’re, um, pretty terrific yourself.”  She paused.  “Daniel, I want to apologize for the way I was when you first came here.  So many people come to the island wanting something from us or wanting to change things, and I’ve developed kind of a distrustful and resentful attitude toward mainlanders because of that.”

“Alex, there’s nothing to--”

“Please let me finish, Daniel.  I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time.”

The Aussie nodded his head.

“You need to know that it was also because of what you are, because you are a minister.  You already know how I feel about religion.  I’m afraid that I let my views affect how I treated you at first.  I’m really sorry about that.”

“I understand, Alex.  Really I do.”  Rollie smiled.  “I admit that I was pretty ticked off at first, especially when you disconnected my phone call to California, but after I got to know you better, I understood why you acted that way.  I’ve never given it another thought.  You’re a good friend, Alex.  You always will be.”

They searched each other’s eyes for a moment, then Rollie stepped forward and pulled Alex into his arms.  The redhead stiffened for an instant, then relaxed.  Closing her eyes, she began to hug him back.  It felt good, too good.  A part of her sighed in relief when he released her, while another part missed his embrace.  Refusing to believe that this was goodbye forever, she gave him a smile as he drew away.

Rollie turned to Daniel.  “Alex, could you give us a moment?”

“Oh.  Sure.”  She walked a few steps away.

Daniel scanned the Aussie’s face, the face that was a reflection of his own.  “When I said goodbye to you last time, I thought that it was for good, but God granted me the chance to see you again.  And, now, I’m saying goodbye to you again.  But, this time, I believe in my heart that I will see you again.”

His throat tightening again and tears stinging his eyes, Rollie took hold of his twin’s shoulder.  “You may not be my brother in blood, Daniel, but you are more like a brother to me than any man I have ever known.  I thank God every day that I met you.”  His expression became earnest.  “Daniel, if . . . if something goes wrong, please take care of those people back there.  Please help them however you can.”

“I will, Rollie.  I swear it.  But it won’t come to that.  You will bring down that organization, then we’ll work together to get Victor Loubar.”  They embraced tightly.  “God protect you, brother.”

Picking up his duffel bag, Rollie joined the line of people boarding the plane.  Alex and Daniel watched him disappear through the gate.  They waited silently as his plane rolled away from the terminal and disappeared from view.

Alex turned to the man beside her, not knowing if she should say anything.  She could tell that he cared deeply for the man she still thought of as Daniel Cooper.  Finally, she decided that she had to say something.

“He’s going to be all right.”

“Yes, I know he is.  He is an extraordinary man.  He will win this time.”  Daniel turned to the redhead.  “Let’s go.”

On the trip back to the island, Alex noticed the death grip Daniel had on the side of the boat.  Remembering Rollie’s nervousness about learning to drive a boat and his sea sickness, she felt a smile tug at her lips.

“Don’t like boats, Eric?”

“I have no problem with boats themselves.  What I don’t like are open stretches of water.”

“Oh?  Why’s that?”

“Because I can’t swim.”

“Really?  Didn’t your father teach you?”

“My father was too busy to teach his son things like swimming.  My mom probably would have done it if I’d ever asked her to, but I just kept hoping that Dad would offer someday.  By the time I hit my mid-teens, I didn’t care if I ever learned.”

Alex heard the sad resignation in the minister’s voice.  Her father had walked out of her life before she ever really got the chance to know him.  Daniel’s father had remained in his life, but hadn’t truly been there for his son.  In a way, that was far worse.

“Well, perhaps Rollie can teach you after you all get back,” she suggested.  Then she smiled.  “Though he isn’t really the best person to be teaching swimming, from what I’ve heard.”

Daniel shook his head.  “I doubt I’ll be here long enough for anyone to teach me how to swim.  Besides, knowing how to swim isn’t something that you have a lot of need for in Africa.”

Puzzled by the twinge of sadness she felt at his words about leaving, Alex turned her gaze to the water before them.  “So, how long will you be staying in the States after all this stuff is dealt with?”

“I’m not sure.  After it’s over, I’ll be coming back here to act as minister until Rollie and Angie return.  They’ll be staying over in New York for a few days to get things straightened out, like having Rollie undeclared dead.  Then they’ll come back here to make their decisions on what they’re going to do and to get married.  I’ll probably stay a few days after they get back, then return for the wedding, if I can scrounge up the money.  Rollie paid for my ticket here and will be paying for the return flight, but I don’t want him to have to lay out the money for me to come back.”

“I see.  You really like it in Africa?”

“In some ways, I love it.  It’s a beautiful country, and I’m doing some good there--or I’m trying to.  And that’s the biggest problem.  There’s so much that we can’t do, because of politics, because of graft in the government, because of lack of funds.  It’s so frustrating sometimes.  It kills me to see the children suffering with not enough food or proper medical care, but I can’t . . . I can’t help them all.”  He sighed.  “It wears down the spirit sometimes.”

Alex glanced at him.  She wanted to say something, but didn’t know what.  She still didn’t feel completely comfortable with him.  She could tell that he was a decent, caring man, but the truth was that he was a stranger to her, a stranger that she kept comparing to the man she had thought was Daniel Cooper.

Not knowing what to say, Alex chose to change the subject.  “Funny how you and Rollie both have this thing about boats.  At least you don’t get seasick.”

“I think I’d rather be seasick than scared.  It’s a lot easier to deal with seasickness.”  A small smile curved his lips.  “And Rollie doesn’t have a problem with boats.”

“Well, he sure did when I was teaching him.”

Daniel’s smile grew.  “That’s because he was pretending to be me.  Alex, there isn’t a vehicle made that Rollie would be afraid to operate.  Well, he’d probably be nervous about taking the controls of a plane if there wasn’t a pilot in the other seat, but then, who wouldn’t be?  As for driving a boat, if he hadn’t been pretending to be me, he probably would have just had you show him where all the controls were, then he’d have been taking off across the water, just like that.”

Alex stared at him.  “You mean that he was just playing along all that time that I was. . . .”

“Telling him to be one with the wheel?”  Daniel smothered his laughter.  “Rollie told me about that.  He said that you were really enjoying yourself thinking you had him believing that stuff.”

“Why that stinker!  Oh, I’m going to get him for that.”  Alex then laughed.  “On second thought, I guess I deserved it.  So, what else was he pretending about, besides pretending that your history was his.”

“Well, it was just about killing him to be pretending he’s into healthy food.  He’s just as much of a junk food junkie as anyone else.”

“Yeah, I found out how much he likes chocolate.”

“I have to admit that I like chocolate too, but my self-control is better than his.  Let’s see, what else?  He had to pretend that he was hopeless with things like computers.  That was really hard for him.”  Daniel was silent for a moment.  “One thing that he never pretended about was his devotion to God and to Hope Island.  Those were the only things that kept him going.”

“I can’t even imagine what it was like for him to lose everything like that.  If it happened to me, I don’t think I could handle it.”

“I think you could,” the missionary said, so softly that Alex almost didn’t hear him.  She looked at him, but his face was turned away from her.

The rest of the trip was made in silence.  Throughout the remainder of the journey, Daniel kept glancing over at Alex.  He had seen the expression on her face when Rollie hugged her and had recognized it for what it was.  She had feelings for him, feelings that were beyond friendship.  The missionary wondered how deep those feelings were.

Daniel relaxed when the dock finally came into view, delighted that another boat ride was over, though he was sorry to be leaving Alex’s company.  After docking the boat, they walked toward town.

“Well, I need to get back to work,” Alex said.

Daniel nodded.  “Perhaps I’ll come down for dinner tonight.”

“Okay.  Maybe we’ll see you then.”

The minister watched her walk away toward the Widow’s Walk, then turned and made his solitary way up the hill.

Angie was a nervous wreak.  All day long she had tried to concentrate on what she was doing, but all she kept thinking about was that she would be seeing Rollie tonight.  It was a really good thing that Loubar couldn’t see her, because if he could, he’d be wondering why she kept getting this big grin on her face.

As the hours passed, bringing her closer to the moment when she’d see her fiancé again, the nervousness increased.  This would be when things started getting really tricky.  It was vital that Loubar not suspect something was up, but how was she going to hide the joy on her face at knowing that Rollie was here in New York?  When she went shopping that morning, she had kept her sunglasses on and had exercised an iron will not to smile.  It had been really hard, but not as hard as it was going to be when she went to dinner with everyone tonight.  That would be the toughest acting job she’d ever perform.

Angie looked at her watch for the millionth time that day.  His plane would be landing soon.  After leaving the airport in the van he was going to rent under his fictitious name, he would go to the vacant warehouse that Elena had found for him to set up shop in.  The owners of the warehouse were away in Europe and would never know that it was being used in a federal operation.

After getting to the warehouse, he would spend a good part of the evening setting up the equipment.  While he was doing that, Angie would be having dinner with Dingo, Frank, Sarah, and Mira, knowing that Loubar was probably watching her--which was exactly what she wanted.  While she was in that restaurant eating, one of Elena’s team would be out in the parking lot sweeping the truck to confirm the existence of the tracking device Angie knew must be planted on it.  After it was found, the agent would determine what frequency it was broadcasting on so that it could be jammed if necessary.  The reason why this couldn’t be done at the loft was because Angie was certain that Loubar had placed a camera somewhere on Brewery Lane.  She had thought that it would be with the laser device, but she had seen no sign of it, which meant that he had put it somewhere else.  She knew there was a camera.  Loubar would want to watch her comings and goings and any visitors she had.

The day dragged on until it was time for her to get ready for dinner.  Dressing casually, she looked at herself in the mirror with a critical eye.  There was too much color in her face, the flush from her excitement over seeing Rollie soon far too evident.  Using some makeup that was too light for her skin tone, she made herself look paler.  Then she looked at her eyes.  Even she could see the happiness in them, not to mention the nervousness.  So, what was she going to do about that?

Angie went down to the workshop and hunted through the vials of chemicals there until she found what she was looking for.  She took it back up to the bathroom.  Removing the stopper, she took a deep whiff. Immediately, her eyes began to sting and burn.  Gagging and blinking rapidly, she put the stopper back on, then looked at herself in the mirror.  Her eyes were now bloodshot, which, naturally, gave the appearance that she was upset or tired.  They would remain bloodshot for at least two hours.  Wiping away the tears that the chemical had caused, she did some final touch-ups to her appearance, then went back downstairs and headed for the restaurant.  The others were already at the table when she arrived.  They took one look at her bloodshot eyes and immediately got worried.

“Angie, honey, are you all right?” Sarah asked.

Deciding to play it up, Angie sighed.  “Yeah.  I just had kind of a bad night.  I was all right the first couple of nights, but I guess it’s getting to me again, being here without. . . .”  She dropped her eyes to the tabletop and pretended to blink away tears. ‘Lucinda, eat your heart out,’ she said silently.

“Angie, maybe you should think about selling the loft and living somewhere else,” Frank said.  “It must be hard for you to be there in that place with all the memories it holds.”

Angie shook her head.  “No.  I want the memories.  They’re all I have of him now.  I don’t want some stranger living there.”

The others all looked at each other, then changed the subject.  The rest of the dinner was spent on small talk.  Occasionally, Angie glanced about the restaurant.  She knew that somewhere among these people was Loubar.  She could almost feel him.

After dinner, everyone walked with Angie to the truck.

“Are you going to be all right?  Would you like me to sleep on the couch?” Dingo asked, his eyes full of concern.

Angie gave his hand a squeeze.  “No, I’ll be all right.  I promise.”

“If you want me to, I can park the trailer out in front of the loft.  That way, I’d be there if you ever need to talk or just want some company.”

“Thanks, Dingo.  That’s really sweet of you, but I’m all right alone.  Really I am.”

“Well . . . okay, but if you ever change your mind, you just tell me.”

“I will.”

Angie left her friends and went back to the loft.  The evening had gone far better than expected.  If Loubar had been listening in on her, what she had said and the way she acted would have done even more to convince him that she still believed Rollie was dead.  She hated the worry that she was causing Dingo and the others, but she had no choice.  It was not yet time for them to know the truth.

Back at the loft, Angie turned on the TV, turning the volume up a little higher than normal.  She then began gathering the food she had bought that morning for Rollie and putting it in her knapsack, along with his PDA and a few other devices.  Once she was finished, Angie set it beside the phone booth.  Going back to the lounge, she sat staring at the picture on the screen until ten o’clock, then she turned the TV off and went upstairs.  Instead of getting dressed for bed, Angie donned dark clothing.  She then turned off the light and lay down on the bed.  She lay in the darkness for an hour, then, carrying her inline skates and shoes in her hands, she crept downstairs.  Angie picked up the knapsack and slipped out the phone booth.  Outside, she put on the skates and took off.  She went to the nearest bar where she switched her skates for her shoes and called a cab to come pick her up.  The cabby thought she was nuts when she told him where to take her.  As he stopped at the location she’d given him, he turned around and looked at her.

“Are you sure you want me to leave you here, lady?  There’s nothing around here but a bunch of warehouses.”

“Don’t worry.  My boyfriend works as a night guard in one of them,” Angie told him in the Brooklyn accent she had assumed.  “I come to visit him all the time.  But, um, don’t mention it to anyone.  He’s supposed to be watching the place, not having a good time with me.”

The man smiled knowingly.  “Your secret’s safe with me, lady.”

“Thanks.  You’re a doll.”  She paid the cabby and got out.  Waiting until he was out of sight, she headed for the warehouse that Rollie was in.  By the time she got there, her heart rate had increased dramatically.

Angie knocked on the door, waited five seconds, then knocked again.  A few seconds later, the door opened.  Immediately, her eyes lifted to her fiancé’s.

“Angie,” Rollie murmured, then he pulled her into his arms.  They clung to each other for several seconds, then Rollie lowered his head to Angie’s in a long, slow kiss.  “I missed you,” he whispered as their mouths separated a while later.

“I missed you too, so much.”  They kissed again, then Angie snuggled against him.  Rollie led her inside and closed the door.  He then just stood and held her for a long time.  At last, they sat on the cot that would be serving as his bed for the next few days.

“It’s just as we feared, Rollie,” Angie said.  “Loubar’s listening in on me and following me.”  She gave him all the details.

“The fact that he’s listening in on you can be used to our advantage.  In fact, it will make some things easier.  But him following you everywhere is going to be a problem.  You can’t keep sneaking out the phone booth while he thinks you’re still inside, especially not during the day.”  He smiled.  “It looks like you’re going to get a lot of use out of your skates, Love.”

Angie nodded.  On the island, they had discussed what Angie could do in the event that Loubar was following her whenever she went someplace.  They decided that, though he could easily follow the truck, he would have a tough time tailing Angie on her inline skates since she could weave in and out of traffic and cut through alleys and places that a car couldn’t get through.  On her skates, she could quickly lose a tail without it looking like she did it on purpose.

Angie looked about.  “Everything set up?”

“Uh huh.  Elena will be here in the morning.  According to his schedule, Dales is going to be gone all day tomorrow, which will give us plenty of time to set things up in his house.  As for his car, the congressman will be experiencing some engine trouble tomorrow.”

“And his office?”

“We’ll do that tomorrow night.”  Rollie took her hand.  “How has everything been going?”

“Good.  Nobody’s gotten suspicious,” she smiled, “though Mira suspects that there’s something going on between me and this reverend I told her about.”

Rollie grinned and pulled her close.  “She’s got that right.”  He became serious again.  “How’s Dad?”

“The same.  I wanted to tell him so badly.  I wanted to tell all of them.  Rol, I know that Elena was adamant about us not telling them until after everything was over, but what if something goes wrong and we have to run?  They’ll never get a chance to see you.”

“I know.  I’ve been thinking the same thing.  I’ve also been thinking that we could use Mira and Frank’s help.”

“So, what are we going to do?”

The Aussie got up and walked away a few feet.  He stood silently for a few seconds, then turned to her.  “We’re going to make a change in the plans.”  He looked at his watch.  “Do you think that you could put on a convincing enough performance to drag them out of bed?”

“After the performance I put on tonight, you bet I could.”

Rollie smiled.  “All right, then.  Let’s wake some people up.”
 

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Dingo sat staring at the drink in his hand.  On the night following the discovery of Rollie’s car in the Hudson River, he had tried to drown his grief and guilt inside a whiskey bottle, but he had found out that it did no good.  He only ended up a sobbing wreak on the floor, then woke up the next morning with a hangover and an even greater feeling of guilt, like he’d let his son down yet again.  Later that morning, he went to see Angie.  Looking at the anguish and despair in her eyes, he had known that he couldn’t let himself fall apart.  He had to stay strong for her.  He had never been there for his son, but he could be there now for Angie.  He had to be there for her.  Watching over Angie was the only thing that was keeping him from losing his grip, the only thing that made him feel like his life had some meaning.

Yet every so often, like tonight, he needed something to help him sleep, to push the demons out of his mind for a few hours.

He was raising the glass to his lips when the phone rang.

“Dingo?” said a quavering voice when he picked up the phone.

“Angie?  Angie, what’s wrong?”

“I . . . I had a nightmare about Rollie.  I saw him die.  I saw him get shot.  The blood was everywhere, and his eyes were cold and dead.”  Her voice broke off into the sound of weeping.

Pain ripped through Dingo’s heart.  He knew this dream.  He’d had one very much like it on more than one night.  “Oh, Angie.  Do you want me to come over?  I think I should come over.”

“I-I’m not there.”

Dingo’s pain was instantly replaced by alarm.  He sat up straight.  “Angie, where are you?”  Dear God, please don’t let her be on a bridge ready to jump off.

“I . . . I’m not sure.  I just jumped into the car and started driving.  There are a bunch of warehouses.  Wait.  I’ll find an address.”  There was a long pause, then Angie gave him the address of where she was.

“I’ll be right there, Angie.  You stay there, okay?”

“Okay.”

The second he hung up the phone, Dingo dashed to the car, scared to death that Angie would do something rash before he had time to get there.

Rollie watched Angie disconnect the call.  “Wow!  That was quite an act you put on there.  I think you missed your calling, sweetie.”

Angie just nodded her head.

Suddenly concerned, Rollie took her hand.  “Angie, what’s wrong?”  He studied her face.  “You weren’t acting, were you.  You really had that dream.”

Angie sighed and nodded.  “Every night for a week after they found your car.”

The Aussie pulled her into his arms.  “Oh, baby.  I’m so sorry.”

She pressed her face into his shirt.  “It’s all right, Rol.”  She pulled away from him.  “I’d better make the other calls.  We don’t want Dingo getting here ahead of Mira and Frank.”

Angie called Mira, then Francis, giving the same story to each of them.  They both insisted on coming to get her.

A few minutes before they figured everyone would begin arriving, Angie went outside, and Rollie turned off all but one light in the warehouse.  Angie had only been outside a minute or so when she saw Dingo’s car barreling toward the warehouse.  Wow.  He must have blown away every speed limit in town.  He came to a halt before her and was immediately out of the car.

“Angie, are you okay?” he asked before pulling her into his arms.

“I’m all right, Dingo.  I’m all right,” she told him.  Over his shoulder, she saw flashing lights, which soon proved to be Mira’s car.  Five seconds after that, Frank’s vehicle appeared.  They both came to a stop beside Dingo’s car.  In seconds, they were standing beside her.

“Angie, you scared me half to death,” Frank said.  “Are you all right?”

Angie pulled away from Dingo and faced all of them.  “Yes, I am.  In fact, I’m better than all right.  I’m sorry I had to scare you like that, but I needed to get you here.”

“Why?  What’s going on?” Mira asked.  She was amazed at the sudden transformation Angie had undergone.  All traces of her grief had vanished, and there was a glow of excitement in her eyes.

“Come inside,” Angie said.  She went through the door into the warehouse.  Pausing only a moment, the others followed her.  They immediately spied the equipment.

“What is all this?” Francis asked.

Just then, someone moved out of the shadows and walked into the light.  Shocked beyond speech, Dingo, Mira, and Frank stared at the figure of Rollie Tyler.

Dingo gaped at the man before him, afraid to believe what he was seeing, yet wanting to so desperately.  “Rollie?” he whispered.  Could it really be him?  Please, dear God, let it be him.

Rollie took a step forward, wanting to run to his father.  “It’s me, Dad.  I’m alive.”

A small sob escaping him, Dingo covered the distance between them and threw his arms about his son.  They hugged tightly, tears burning in Rollie’s eyes.  He could feel his father’s body shaking, and when they finally drew apart, he saw that his dad was weeping.  The sight made Rollie’s tears start to fall.

Dingo took his son’s face in his hands and gazed at him, his eyes drinking in the sight he had thought that he would never see again.  “My boy’s alive,” he whispered.  Then he began to laugh.  “My boy’s alive!”  He pulled Rollie’s face down and kissed his cheek, then pressed his own cheek against it.  In a hoarse voice he murmured, “Oh, it is so good to see you, Son.”  He drew slightly away and looked intently into his son’s eyes.  “I love you, Rollie.”

His chest aching from the overflow of emotions, Rollie said,  “I love you too, Dad.  I missed you.”

Dingo brushed away the tears that were falling down his son’s cheeks.  Then, as if suddenly remembering that there were other people in the room, he drew away and wiped the wetness from his own face.

Rollie’s gaze went to Mira and Francis, who hadn’t moved, their faces still showing stunned disbelief.  The Aussie walked toward them.

“Is that really you, Rollie, or is this a trick?” Frank asked.

“It’s really me, Francis, the guy who sat with you beside Leo’s grave and toasted him with beer, the guy who helped you escape out of a vault full of gold by making the walls hide you,” a smile came to Rollie’s lips, “the guy who knows you wore a clip-on earring