Free A Touch of Greed by Gary Ponzo Page A

He turned back to face Fisk. “Is that clear enough, Sam?”
    Fisk nodded. “I’ll pass it on.” As he headed for the door, he added with a grin, “Mr. President.”
     
    * * *
     
    A large crowd of family and friends milled around Jennifer Steele’s gravesite clutching balled-up tissues and wiping their puffy eyes. They held each other close as one sob bled into another. The priest dipped his fingers into a chalice and sprinkled holy water over the casket while reciting a prayer in Latin. Nick felt Julie tremble in his grip, her head dug deep into his shoulder.
    The cemetery was on a twelve acre lot of green rolling hills and overgrown pine trees in Payson, Arizona. A dirt lane curled around the grounds for cars to drive into the appropriate grassy parking area. Matt stood next to Jennifer’s mother who flew in from New Mexico; occasionally the widow would collapse into Matt’s arms while grieving over her only child’s premature death.
    Finally, the priest turned toward the assemblage of mourners and opened the Bible. “Beloved members of the Steele family, friends, acquaintances, and all who gather to pay their respects to this wonderful woman,” the priest began.
    Just the tone of his voice sent the throng of onlookers into a frenzy of anguish. He continued on about Steele’s courageous life and how she was in a better place, but this wasn’t going to stop the agony. Nick couldn’t bear to hear much more. He kept a close eye on his partner who was holding up quite well under the circumstances.
    Nick looked over his shoulder to see Walt Jackson standing in the periphery, respectful, but not wanting to mingle too much. He’d already been to two other funerals that week. He looked as if he’d aged five years over the past seven days.
    “So it is worthy of note that her soul will be with our Father . . .” the priest continued. This certainly didn’t help. Even the believers were blowing their nose.
    To Nick’s right, a small cloud of dust meandered across the hilltops finding its way toward them in a serpentine fashion. The trail was preceded by a blue sedan.
    “She’s in Heaven, right?” Julie whispered in Nick’s ear.
    It caught him off guard. There was a man who’d devoted his entire life to the Lord standing fifteen feet away from them, and yet Julie still needed to hear it from Nick. The voice of authority.
    “Yes,” Nick whispered. “She’s in Heaven.”
    Julie nodded to herself, satisfied with the answer, still trusting her husband with the important stuff.
    Movement came into Nick’s periphery. The blue sedan slowly pulled into an open patch of grass and stopped. The door opened and Nick breathed a sigh of relief. His cousin, Tommy, came around the rental car wearing a black sports coat and chewing on a purple toothpick tucked into the corner of his mouth. In his left hand was a single red rose. He greeted Walt with a firm handshake, then fist-bumped Stevie who seemed thrilled to see him.
    Nick nodded and Tommy winked back. Julie followed Nick’s gaze and gasped with delight when she saw who’d arrived. She immediately twisted out of Nick’s grip and ran into Tommy’s arms, squealing with a combination of joy and heartache. Tommy gathered her into a bear hug. The spectacle even caused the priest to lose his focus for a moment before gaining his stride once again.
    For Nick it was pure pleasure. Tommy and Julie had shared some real history together. He was much more than just family. Nick heard Tommy say, “Where’s my godson?”
    Julie explained in a soft voice how Thomas was being watched by some neighbors. Actually, Thomas was being watched by some neighbors and a squad of FBI agents who’d flown into Payson just to protect Nick’s family.
    The priest continued with a passage from the Bible Nick recognized as John 11:25. “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live.”
    Once again this didn’t achieve the desired effect as