A Place of Vengeance by David M. Lafferty

Author:David M. Lafferty
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2023-10-25T14:19:56+00:00

TWENTY-FIVE

We three kings of orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar

Field and fountain,

Moor and mountain,

Following yonder star!

O star of wonder, star of light,

star with royal beauty bright,

westward leading, still proceeding,

guide us to thy perfect light!

I had not known that Saint Agnes Church had its own choir—let alone that it would have so many members—but there they were, twenty-five or thirty mostly senior citizens arranged in a semicircle three rows deep. I stood to one side, hoping to catch Father Pete’s eye as he directed them through a set of Christmas carols and hymns while shoppers either paused briefly to listen or just streamed on past. Father Pete stood roughly the size of your average grizzly, with muttonchop sideburns and a build like an NFL linebacker, and anyone seeing him for the first time would assume he would be more at home on a Harley-Davidson than in a church. So much for appearances. I had met him the summer before, when Les and I had ducked into Saint Agnes to run down a clue about my family haunting, and I had liked him right off. So, when I saw him directing the choir on the west side of city hall, I decided to hang there for a few minutes, hoping for a chance to say hi.

It was the perfect Sunday afternoon in December—sweater and jacket weather for sure, with the overcast sky dropping an on-and-off drizzle so fine it was almost like mist, but not cold enough to drive anyone inside. Even better, finals were safely in the rearview mirror, so after a stressful couple of weeks, the pressure was off at last. I’d even done better than I thought I would, and when semester report cards were passed out during the last period on Friday, I wasn’t disappointed at all to see that I’d scored a C+ in geometry, a B in English, B+ in Biology, and A’s in everything else. Not a personal best (and I probably wouldn’t be invited to the Worldwide Genius Convention any time soon), but at least Mom wouldn’t be disappointed, so that was good enough for me. Best of all, the week ahead would be all half days due to parent–teacher conferences, capped off by the dance that Saturday night, and then it was winter break all the way until January second.

Mrs. Wolf’s favorite son was officially a happy guy!

The choir finished the last stanza of We Three Kings, and when Father Pete turned to smile and bow slightly to the scattered applause, he finally noticed I was there. He winked, and I smiled and waved in return before finally turning away to scan the crowd for Kelly.

When she had called that morning to ask if I wanted to go to the Silver Creek Christmas Fair, I had been in such a good mood that I said yes without hesitating or even cringing once—definitely out of character for me. It was not that I was against outdoor markets in general, but Mom had gone through

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