He closed his eyes and wept as he realized Canaan was right.

  He was no better than those he condemned.

  God, please help me. I beg of you.

  5 |

  Acton/Palmer Residence, Overlook Village Gated Community

  St. Paul, Maryland

  Present Day

  Professor Laura Palmer slowly drew the shish kebab skewer through the tines of her fork, depositing its contents on her plate. Grilled peppers, onions, and zucchini mixed with marinated pork was one of her favorite things her husband grilled, though she’d never admit to him that steak wasn’t. The man was red meat obsessed, and while she loved a good steak as much as the next girl, she did love her vegetables, and this was the only way they were ever making it onto his grill.

  Tommy picked up on the unusual choice, holding up a speared piece of pork. “Steak too expensive now, Professor?”

  James grunted. “Everything’s too expensive now, but I thought I’d grill something I know my wife likes.”

  Laura cocked an eyebrow. “I like steak.”

  “Yes, but you love grilled pork and vegetables.”

  She grinned. “This is true. My man knows me well.” She held up her fork with a perfectly charred wedge of green pepper. “And I do love my veggies.”

  “And so do I.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Deep fried doesn’t count.”

  “Hey, Kentucky Fried Chicken is still chicken.” James leaned forward, striking a pose she recognized meant a story was coming. “Did I ever tell you about when I was in college, I used to date this girl and every time she would come over we would order this combo box. It had chicken wings, chicken fingers, deep-fried zucchini, french fries, all the normal stuff. But it also had deep-fried carrots, peas, and string beans.”

  Tommy stared at him. “Deep fried peas?”

  “Yep, everything in the box was deep fried and everything except the fries had batter. It was awesome. But when we had both put on ten pounds after two months of dating, we discovered that just because vegetable was an ingredient didn’t make it healthy.”

  Tommy’s fiancée, Mai Trinh, giggled. “I guess not, but oh my goodness deep fried food tastes sooo good.”

  Laura reached out and squeezed Mai’s forearm. “Not a lot of deep-fried food in Vietnam?”

  “Oh, we fry a lot of food and some things are battered, but not like you Americans do it. We had Popeyes the other day, and I swear there was more batter than chicken.”

  James moaned. “I know, that’s what makes it so good.”

  Laura shook her head. “And so bad for you.”

  James shrugged. “Hey, you only live once. It might as well be enjoyable.”

  “And short.” Laura held up a red pepper. “And I find this equally enjoyable.”

  James’ head lolled to the side toward Tommy. “And yet I still married her.”

  Laura gave him a look. “Yeah, like you could resist me.”

  “Trust me, it wasn’t your favorite foods that attracted me to you.”

  “What did attract you to her?” asked Mai, and Laura cringed before the response was even out of her husband’s mouth.

  “A couple of cheeks and the twins.”

  Tommy snorted as Mai’s eyes narrowed. “Huh?”

  Tommy leaned toward his girlfriend. “I’ll explain later.”

  Laura sighed. “I’m hard-pressed right now to remember why I was attracted to you.”

  “Before or after you saw me naked for the first time?”

  Tommy sprayed his beer and even Mai laughed aloud. She sighed. “God, I hope we’re like you two when we’re your age.”

  An eyebrow shot up James’ forehead. “Our age? Ugh, I feel so old.”

  Mai’s jaw dropped. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry!”

  Laura batted a hand. “Ignore him. He found a gray hair this morning and he hasn’t stopped going on about it.”

  Tommy leaned closer, eying James’ head. “I don’t see any gray.”

  James gave a toothy smile. “Think lower.”

  Tommy squeezed his eyes shut. “Please tell me you’re talking about your chest.”

  “Sure, let’s go with that.”

  Even Laura laughed. “All right, now I remember why I married you. You make me laugh.”

  James eyed her. “Before or after you saw me naked for the first time?”

  She tossed her head back, a good belly laugh ensuing. “I’ll never tell.”

  They finished their meal, the conversation easy, comfortable, just the way good friends should enjoy each other’s company despite the age difference. Mai Trinh had helped save their lives in Vietnam, and they both now thought of her as a daughter and Tommy like a son, children they would never have themselves thanks to the wound Laura had received in France.

  She closed her eyes for a moment. France was a cursed country for her. She had lost her ability to have children, and thanks to events in Paris barely a month ago, they had almost lost Tommy and Mai. While she loved the country, the history, the culture, she wasn’t sure if she would ever go back again.

  James rose. “Tommy, help me clear the table, and ladies, please bring our drinks to the theater.” He said the last two words with a snooty British accent.

  Laura regarded him. “Are we watching a movie?”

  James and Tommy exchanged glances. “I wouldn’t call it a movie.”

  “You two are up to something.”

  James shrugged. “I’d tell a woman who didn’t laugh at my junk the first time she saw it, but you’ll just have to wait.”

  Mai giggled and Laura sighed. “Fine, don’t tell me.” She grabbed her glass of wine and her husband’s beer then headed for the theater located in their new ridiculously large home. It was one of her favorite features, the massive projection system and Atmos speakers so enjoyable in the absurdly comfortable reclining chairs, they hadn’t gone to a movie theater since they moved in.

  James and Tommy joined them moments later, and Tommy did something at the computer that controlled the system as James stood in front of her. “This is Tommy and Mai’s project, so I’m just going to park my ass and let the kids do the talking.”

  “For a change.”

  He stuck his tongue out at her then sat beside her, taking her hand. She leaned against him as Mai stood in front of them and Tommy joined her.

  “Just what’s going on?”

  “You’ll see, but just remember, no matter what happens, I told them this was all right, so blame me if I was wrong.”

  Now Laura’s curiosity was killing her. What could he possibly be talking about?

  Tommy clasped his hands in front of him, fidgeting. “Nobody said there’d be public speaking.”

  James rolled his hand. “We’re all friends here. You can do this.”

  Mai took her fiancé’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Tommy smiled at her and began. “Professor Palmer—”

  Laura leaned forward slightly. “Laura.”

  Tommy flashed a weak smile. “Okay, Laura, as you know, well, of course, you know, I mean…” He growled. “I’m not good at this.”

  “No, you’re not.” James laughed. “Forget the formal speech. This isn’t a presentation. This is a gift.”

  Tommy paused. “You’re right, it’s a gift. Laura, this is our gift to you as the tenth anniversary of your brother’s death approaches.”

  A lump formed in her throat and tears flowed freely as she bit down on her knuckle, struggling not to sob at the mention of her beloved brother. Next week would be ten years since the tragic accident, and as the date approached, she had been thinking more about him.

  James leaned closer. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and indicated for Tommy to proceed.

  Tommy smiled awkwardly. “Well, this is, umm, a celebration of his life.” Tommy and Mai stepped aside, both clearly uncertain about continuing, but James again rolled his hand.

  “Go ahead, it’s all right.”

  Tommy pressed a button on the remote control and Laura cried out involuntarily as a photo of her and her brother appeared on the screen, slowly zooming in toward their laughing faces as Sarah McLachlan’s “I Will Remember You” played over the speakers. The image transitioned to another of the two of them together when they were younger, and she laughed at the rabbit ears she was giving him as he stared at the camera so seriously. The tears ran but a smile spread as the good memories flowed.

  James handed her a tissue and she dabbed her eyes dry as the montage continued, many of the photos and clips familiar, but so many were things she hadn’t seen before. “Where did you get these?”

  “I used my software to crawl the Internet searching for his face. A lot of it’s from improperly secured social media pages, news websites, business and celebrity websites. I just let the bot go for a few weeks. I had it running in the background on half the university’s computers.”

  James eyed their young friend. “Wait a minute. Is that why everybody’s machines were running slow?”

  Tommy grinned. “Are you going to turn me in?”

  James laughed. “No, but I wouldn’t let Greg find out. You might be looking for a job no matter what the reason was behind it.”

  Laura listened to the exchange but couldn’t tear her eyes away from the screen, devouring every moment. It was emotionally taxing, but worth every tear, every shake of her shoulders. She thought of her brother every day and suffered with the knowledge that she was responsible for his death, despite assurances from everyone that it was simply a tragic accident. The tunnel was collapsing whether her brother entered or not, and whoever was in it at the time was dying, then someone else’s sister, mother, or daughter, instead of her, would be grieving. And none would be blaming themselves for their loved one’s death.

  They were right, of course, but her brother wouldn’t have been there if it weren’t for her, and he wasn’t trained for such things. She had asked herself countless times over the years what his final moments were like. Had he heard the timbers creaking? Had he ignored the warning signs, his inexperience having him heading deeper into the tunnel rather than turning around and getting out while there was still time, like the worker who had escaped only moments before the collapse?

  The montage ended and James tapped the button in the control panel built into the arm of the chair, turning the lights back on.

  Laura clapped as she sniffed. “That was wonderful, you two. Absolutely wonderful.”

  Mai’s hands were clasped in front of her chin. “It didn’t upset you too much?”

  Laura rose and gave Mai a hug then Tommy. “Only in a good way. I haven’t cried like that over my brother in years.”

  Tommy held up a USB key. “I found thousands of photos. The montage was only some of the highlights. I thought you might like to have them.”

  She took the memory stick and gripped it in her hand. “Thank you, Tommy.”

  He shifted awkwardly, his eyes drifting to his feet. “Just be careful. They’re not filtered, so…”

  “So, there could be things referring to his death?”

  “Exactly.”

  She drew in a breath, gripping the memory stick tighter. “I understand. Thanks for the warning.” She gave them both one more hug then turned to James. “Since we’re here, why don’t we watch my brother’s favorite movie?”

  James smiled. “And just what movie would that be?”

  “Terminator 2. He loved that franchise. I told you how he was obsessed with computers. He couldn’t get enough.”

  James chuckled. “Whose side was he cheering for?”

  Laura gave him a look. “Haha.”

  Tommy cleared his throat. “I don’t know if you want to hear it, but I did a little digging, and your brother was, well, rather remarkable.”

  Laura sat. “Well, I know he was brilliant.”

  “Yes, but no offense, you’re not exactly into computers, so you might not realize how brilliant he was.”

  Laura gave young Tommy the stink-eye. “I’m not exactly a Luddite.”

  Tommy sat with Mai, his cheeks flushed. “I didn’t mean that, but knowing how to use a computer and truly understanding it, are two very different things.”

  Laura agreed, waving a hand. “I’ll grant you that. What was my brilliant brother involved in?”

  “Well, he was way ahead of his time. Near the end, his focus appeared to be artificial intelligence and quantum computing.”

  James leaned closer, lowering his voice slightly. “And just whose side did you say he was cheering for?”

  Laura swatted him. “Quiet, I want to hear this. Go ahead, Tommy, tell us about what you found out.” She sat back and for the next fifteen minutes Tommy regaled them with what he had found out about her brother, most of it going over her head, though she grasped enough of it to realize that her brother’s brilliance wasn’t just a proud sister’s opinion, it indeed was the truth.

  What you could have accomplished had you not died.

  Laura lay on their bed, utterly exhausted. It had been an unexpectedly wonderful day. She always enjoyed it when Tommy and Mai visited, but the montage of her brother had been entirely unexpected, and hearing about her brother’s work for the first time from someone who understood it, could explain it, had been a revelation. He indeed was brilliant, apparently had strong feelings against unregulated artificial intelligence research, but more importantly, had been an expert in quantum computing, concerned about the implication if the Western world’s enemies were first to the punch.

  She flipped through the photos on her tablet, Tommy having set up their home network so that the USB key was now a shared drive, allowing her to see the images from any device attached to their Wi-Fi. There were thousands of images, many of which she had seen before, far too many covering his funeral, causing the tears to flow again, yet she kept swiping her finger across the screen.

  James entered the bedroom from the bathroom. “You’re going to make yourself sick going through that. You need to take a break.”

  She rolled into a seated position and crossed her legs, continuing to flip through photos. “I can’t stop myself. It’s painful but cathartic. I haven’t allowed myself to really feel about my brother in years. I’ve tried to suppress the emotions, the guilt, the loss, but just seeing this all at once, it’s so raw. If I close my eyes, I can picture that day, every moment of it, as if it were happening to me right now. He was so excited to be there, and I was so excited for him to be finally working with me on something. I was so young and naïve. It wasn’t until years later that I realized there was no way in hell anyone was ever granting me funding for a dig at my age. If it weren’t for him, we never would have been there. He helped kickstart my career. And if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” She clasped her hands over her face as a new font of tears erupted. “I just wish he was here to see how my life turned out, how happy I am, and how much good his legacy has brought.”

  The bed shifted as James sat beside her and he wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close. “I like to think he is here with us, watching down on his little sister.”

  She sniffed and looked up into his eyes. “He would have loved you like a brother.”

  James smiled. “Of course he would, you know how lovable I am.”

  She giggled. “James, you always know just what to say.” He kissed her forehead and squeezed her tight. She extricated herself and continued flipping through the photos, stopping at one of her brother emerging from a theater. “They never gave him a moment’s rest. He couldn’t even go to a movie without someone taking his photo.”

  James leaned in then snatched the tablet from her hands. He zoomed in on her brother’s face. “Are you sure this is him?”

  “Of course, and Tommy’s software program flagged it as well, which means the facial recognition points match.”

  James zoomed out then back in on the marquee visible behind her brother, revealing the movie playing. “Do you see what movie is playing?”

  “Terminator.”

  “No, Terminator Genisys.”

  She shrugged. “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar that much with the franchise. That was my brother’s thing.”

  James stabbed a finger at the tablet. “Hon, don’t you realize what this is, what this means?”

  She shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Terminator Genisys came out years after your brother died.”

  She stared at her husband blankly, still not making the connection. “What do you mean?”

  “It means if this photo is real, your brother is still alive.”

  6 |

  Lot Residence

  Sodom

  1649 BC

  Lot rushed from the room and out the back door, vomiting on the stone of the rear courtyard. His wife’s reaction had been exactly as he had feared—she had expressed shock at Canaan’s offer, but he could see it in her eyes.

  She was tempted.

  She wanted other men touching her, pleasuring her. Anyone but her husband. It made him sick. He gasped in a breath and tears filled his eyes at the betrayal. Yet was it a betrayal? She hadn’t done anything, at least not yet, and he found his thoughts drifting to what it must be like to just not care, to give in to all your carnal desires. Was he any less guilty than her? And was the fact that he was so tempted despite his intense jealousy mean he was as bad as those he vilified on a daily basis?

  He heard someone behind him and a hand was placed gently on his back. “What vexes you, husband?”

  He couldn’t face her. “You want to go to the party, don’t you?”

 

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