The Dharma Revelation

Chapter 26

"Hi," Bridget said with a smile, as Petra joined her for breakfast.

"Good morning," Petra said, noticing that Bridget had already gotten food for both of them. "And thank you," she added.

"Good timing," Bridget said. "The food only just arrived."

"Where is Kushan?" Petra asked, noticing he was missing. The three of them often had breakfast together.

"You just missed him."

"That's too bad. I have great news," Petra said, setting her napkin on her lap. "I was hoping to share with him, too. Daniel endorsed my book, and I spoke with Janice and was able to get his endorsement in, just in time, before it went to print."

Bridget smiled and her eyes widened, "That's great."

"There's more," Petra added. "Janice was so impressed with the endorsement that she wants to use it as part of the advertising campaign."

"Wow," Bridget said. "It must have been a wonderful endorsement."

"It was," Petra said. "But it was not his words that impressed her. Janice recognized Daniel's name. Did you know that he was bringing Presbyterians—as well as Catholics—into his church? Janice never went, personally, but she heard a lot about him, secondhand."

Bridget nodded respectfully. "I don't know much about Daniel, but I know Caleb thinks highly of him."

Petra speared pear slices from her plate, trying not to rush through her meal. She looked around the cafeteria and noticed that none of the other six were there. She frowned and looked at her watch, fearing she was late for the morning meeting.

"You said I just missed Kushan," Petra asked. "Where did he go? I don't see Caleb or any of the six here?"

Bridget looked around, "You're right. Strange." She pushed her chair backward and rose to her feet to get a better look around, and then said, "John Lassiter came by and said Caleb wanted to see Kushan, so he left with John."

Petra took another bite, "Where did they go?"

"I'm not sure," Bridget sat back down. "But I can find out." She opened her purse and pulled out her mobile phone.

Petra continued to eat as Bridget dialed Caleb and spoke briefly with him. As Bridget hung up the phone, she had a haunted expression on her face.

"What is it?" Petra asked.

She looked at Petra, "You need to go. They are meeting in Metatron. Caleb said you should come."

Petra tried not to overreact. As she gathered her things she asked, "What did he say?"

"He just asked if you were here with me, I said yes, then he said to ask you to meet him in his office," Bridget repeated. "He said something very bad happened."

"I'll go immediately," Petra said. "Thank you, Bridget."

Bridget nodded, and Petra immediately left for the Metatron wing.

Petra had no idea what to expect when she arrived at Caleb's office. The door was closed, but she knocked softly and entered anyway.

Kushan, Nasir, Vincent and Aaron all sat in chairs, but they were alone, Daniel and Caleb were not there. She looked questioningly at the men. They were silent and seemed rather somber.

"What is it?" she asked.

Aaron motioned for her to sit down, and said, "One of Daniel's friends was found dead last night. He was murdered."