In the Tears of My Saints

Chapter 7: Conversing with a Mad Man

Saturday: 8:29 p.m.

I’ve have lied to many people in my life, but it has never come easily. Lying to Esther was no exception. In fact, it was almost as bad as lying to one of my brothers, which I did once when I was eleven. I couldn’t sleep for weeks. In this case, however, I suppose I didn’t have much of a choice. I told her that one of my nieces had become extremely ill and was rushed to the hospital. In retrospect, it wasn’t the most inspired lie I’ve ever told, but it was all I could come up with at the time. She was very understanding during the ride back to the hotel. Although this made me admire her even more, it also made my guilt ten times worse.

 I told her I would call her later this evening. I hope I have a chance. I don’t know what’s gone wrong, but my brothers might be pulling the plug on the whole operation. If this is the case, then I may have said “goodnight” to Esther for the last time. Thinking this makes me feel uncomfortably ill.

It is 8:38 as my cab pulls up to the shop. I jump out as quickly as I can without looking suspicious. In The City everyone is in a hurry, so this isn’t difficult to do. Luckily, Joe’s is only half a mile from Esther’s hotel. I had called Jeremy in the car, and he told me that everyone was meeting here. To my irritation, he did not tell me what the problem is. Instead, he said that we would “talk about it” when I arrived.

We always close the store early on the weekend, so I don’t even bother trying the front door. Instead, I move through the chain-link fence toward the back of the building. There is an old set of stairs here that leads up to the rear entrance. I use these and tap out a quick beat on the rotting frame. This entrance is in desperate need of repair. I do not have to knock twice. Within moments, the door is gently pulled open, and Paul lets me in. He doesn’t look hurt or even worried—I immediately feel relieved but puzzled.

“Where’s Matt? Is everyone ok? What happened?”

“We’re all fine.” Paul’s is calm as always. “Matt is in the office—that’s where we have him tied up.”

“What? Who’s tied up?” I don’t mean to snap, but I am beginning to become impatient.

Paul looks momentarily confused. “The guy, you know, the guy we found. He says his name is Willus. W-I-L-L-U-S—he keeps spelling it out. I think he might be mentally unstable.”

I stare at him. “What are you talking about? Willus who?

“He calls himself Willus Lynch. L-Y-N-C-H, Willus Lynch; the guy we found. I thought Jeremy told you all this.”

Why does this have to be so difficult? “What? No. Jeremy told me nothing. He said we would talk when I got here. Where is he?”

Paul’s voice is as expressionless as his face. “He left.”

Now I am just irritated. “He left? Why? He told me that we were all meeting here. Where did he go? I’ve been panicking for the last half an hour, and you act as if nothing’s wrong. What the hell going on? Who is Willus? Explain . . . Please,” I add as an after-thought.

Paul has always possessed the unique ability to calm me down. He begins this process by pushing me gently backward onto my couch. “Relax, kid. Sit down. It’s not as confusing as you are making it out to be. Everything is under control. Breathe. Jeremy has gone to see the Old Man. He is not sure what we should do with this Willus kid. The Old Man will know. That’s all—no big deal.”

“Ok.”

The Old Man may change our plans for the job, but I still don’t know who Willus is. I ask Paul once again.

For a moment, he looks as if he about to explain, but then stops and says, “Wait a minute, I’ll get Matt. He was there, too, and he tells stories much better than me anyways. Besides, he was in the room with Jeremy and Justin when they talked to the kid the first time.”