Page 89 of At Midnight Comes the Cry
The chief pushed his glasses up and squinted. “A Christmas spectacular at Emmanuel Baptist?”
“I know that church. It’s the oldest Black church in Albany, and it has a big congregation.”
Flynn nodded. “You should also alert churches with a large immigrant population. These guys hate immigrants.”
“A group with a guy named Tony Di Marco hates immigrants.” Van Alstyne shook his head. “Yourgrandparents were fine, buttheseguys are poisoning the blood of the country.”
“Rigorous thinking is not their strong suit,” Flynn said dryly.
“Hey! Hey! Who’s here?” The voice echoed from the truck bay below.
Flynn started.
“Terrance? What’s he doing here?” The chief headed for the door.
Hadley let herself touch Flynn’s arm. “It’s okay. It’s Paul Terrance. He’s a ranger who’s been helping us.”
A minute later, he and the chief entered the office, Paul looking back and forth expectantly. His expression dimmed. “You don’t have him.”
The chief shook his head. “He took his infant daughter and left. We think for Albany.”
“Dammit. I thought…”
“How did you find out we had a lead on March?” Hadley asked.
“I was at the sheriff’s office and heard your deputy chief had called for backup in the jurisdiction.”
“Still working on possible IDs?”
“Yeah, and not getting anywhere.”
Van Alstyne stepped in. “Well, here’s your chance. We’re heading for Albany to see if we can catch these bastards.” He grinned wolfishly. “Want to come along?”
3.
The chief and Reverend Clare escorted Tiny March to one of the waiting vehicles, while MacAuley and the sheriff’s deputy formally arrested the two militia members and then hustled them to the other. The ranger followed them, but as if by an unspoken agreement, Hadley and Flynn lingered in the ratty office.
“Hey,” Flynn said.
“Hey.”
He thrust his hands into his jeans pockets. “I had so much stuff I wanted to say to you, and now I can’t think of a thing.”
“I—” She took a deep breath. “I know what I want to say. I’m sorry.”
“You’resorry? No, no, I was the one—”
“I should have told you—”
“—completely overreacted—”
“—honest about my past—”
“—like an immature jerk—”
“—afraid—”
“—afraid—”
