Free Secrets of the Heart by Al Lacy

allow the others to speak with her. While words of comfort were being offered to the grieving girl, the Killanins spoke in quiet tones among themselves, agreeing that they would offer to let Kathleen live with them permanently. The poor girl had nothing. The grocery store had burned to the ground, and Kathleen had mentioned that the family savings had gone up in smoke because her father did not trust banks.
    When the last person had left the gravesite, the Killanins returned to Kathleen’s side.
    “We’ll stay here just as long as you want,” Turlough said. “You tell us when you’re ready to go.”
    Kathleen nodded and walked to the four coffins, which stood side by side on carts next to the first of four graves dug in a row. Asshe tenderly touched the first coffin, tears spattered its wooden surface. “Good-bye, Papa. I love you. I will miss you terribly. I…I hope someday we will meet again.”
    The Killanins looked on with heavy hearts as Kathleen moved to each coffin, speaking her final words to her mother, brother, and sister. When she had said good-bye to Patricia, she turned and took hold of Hennie’s hand and said, “I’m ready to go now.”
    During the ride to the Killanin home, Evelyn turned on the front seat and looked back at the weary girl for a moment, then said, “Kathleen, we want you to live with us. The room is yours, and well just sort of adopt you.”
    Kathleen’s heart fluttered, and her mouth went dry. She did not want to live in the Killanin house. She was uncomfortable with the Bible being read every morning at the breakfast table and the Killanins talking so much about Jesus and so many things related to their Christian life.
    She cleared her throat nervously and said, “That is awfully nice of you, Mrs. Killanin, but…but I will have a place to go to within a few days.”
    “Oh, really?” said Evelyn, surprised.
    “Where will you go?” Hennie asked.
    “With some friends of my parents. You remember when those people gathered around me there at the cemetery?”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “Well, one of those families offered me a place in their home, and I told them I would come. I…I didn’t know you were going to make this offer, but I can hardly back out on them now. You understand.”
    “Of course we understand,” Evelyn said. “But we’ll leave the door open just in case the other place might not work out.”
    “Thank you,” Kathleen said. “I’ll need to stay with you just a few more days until they can fix up my room. Will that be all right?”
    “Of course,” Evelyn said.

    The next day, Kathleen walked downtown alone. She needed some money to rent a room somewhere. And she would have to drop out of school and get a job. She also needed to buy some shoes. The dress lace-up boots were hurting her feet. That is, the right one was. On the night of the fire, when she was frantically trying to find her family, shed caught her right foot in the wooden sidewalk and torn the sole loose. It wasn’t flapping yet but it soon would be, and the way she had to turn her foot when she walked made it hurt.
    At the Chicago Land Office, Kathleen was met at the front desk by a man named Ralph Martin. She introduced herself and explained about the death of her family and that she was the rightful heir to the lot where the house had stood at 139 DeKoven Street. What would she have to do to sell it?
    “I might be interested in the lot, myself, Miss O’Malley, but first you would need to bring some witnesses to this office who will swear that you are who you say you are.”
    “That would be no problem, Mr. Martin. Would tomorrow be all right?”
    “Yes…fine.”
    “How much do you think the property will bring, sir?”
    “If you’re the rightful heir, I’ll give you $250.”
    Kathleen figured the lot was probably worth twice that amount, but with a buyer standing right in front of her, she told him she would take it.
    Martin instructed her to bring in three people who would swear before