Bad Samaritan Read Online Free PDF Page A

an aluminum pie pan while the women were seated at the breakfast bar.
    â€œI know you’re scared and worried, Gloria, but you’ve already come a long way from last night. Keep your spirits up. Tom needs you to believe in him.”
    â€œHe didn’t tell you about us, did he?” Seeing Sister Agatha’s puzzled look, she continued. “Tom and I are having major problems, and I was getting ready to move out. The only reason I’m still here is because of Tom’s attorney. Doug said that it would make things even worse for Tom if I left now. People would think I moved out because I thought he was guilty.”
    â€œYou were going to leave Tom?” Sister Agatha repeated, stunned. “Gloria, why? He loves you, and you have such a lovely family.”
    â€œTom loves his
job,
Sister. The boys and I finish a distant second.”
    For a moment, words wouldn’t come. Sister Agatha understood better than most what drove Tom, but she wasn’t sure there was a way to explain it. “He
does
love you and the boys, Gloria,” she answered at last. “You’re at the very center of his soul. It’s true that his job takes much of his time, but he sees his work as his mission in life. It’s what he was put here to do.”
    â€œIs that the way you feel about being a nun?”
    She nodded. “It gives me purpose. Tom’s work is very different from mine, though. It’s not all-encompassing. Tom needs you—as much as you do him. The job keeps his blood pumping, but you and the boys
are
his heart.”
    â€œTom and I will have to settle a lot of things after this is over,” Gloria said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She drank her coffee in silence for several long moments, then, in a stronger voice, continued. “In the meantime, we’re both counting on you to help him prove his innocence.”
    Realizing that Gloria didn’t want to discuss her marital problems any longer, Sister Agatha didn’t press. “The first thing I want to do is find out more about Robert’s campaign manager, Al Russo. He’s the one who found Tom and Robert.”
    â€œHis ex-wife, Jayne, and I were friends for a while before she left town. Jayne told me once that Al and she divorced because they didn’t have enough in common to stay together. They never really talked. They also never went anywhere together except to dinner, and then it was always to a sports bar. All he ever wanted to do was watch games on TV, play golf, or work. She wanted . . . well, a husband and a friend she could do things with. He was neither.”
    â€œWho’s Al dating these days?”
    â€œNobody, according to the gossip. He hits the sports bars, but mostly for the guy talk and the big-screen TV. From what I hear, Al likes keeping his life simple. I assume he still dates occasionally, but it hasn’t been often enough to catch anyone’s attention.”
    â€œThanks for the information, and the coffee,” Sister Agatha said, standing up. “Come on, Pax, we’ve got a long day ahead of us.”
    â€œYou sounded like Tom just then.” Gloria walked with Sister Agatha and Pax across the room. “If you hadn’t become a nun, Tom would have married you in a heartbeat.”
    The statement, under the circumstances, surprised Sister Agatha, and she stopped to meet Gloria’s gaze directly. “Tom and I were together a lifetime ago, Gloria—our last year in high school and for a few semesters in college. Since that time neither one of us has ever looked back.”
    â€œYou sure?” Gloria asked, an edge to her voice now as she reached for the door handle.
    â€œCompletely. My heart belongs to my Lord, and Tom’s love is yours and the boys. It’s the way things were meant to be.”
    Gloria nodded, opening the door.
    â€œI have one last question for you before I go,” Sister Agatha said, turning