our meeting. Ursula would be here at any moment as well.
âSophie,â Yasmin said when she reached Paul and me. âWhat are you doing here?â
It was an odd question. Maybe Ursula had decided to fire me after all and I just hadnât found out yet. Maybe Yasmin was expecting someone else.
âKevinâs dead, Yasmin,â I said. âI found his body . . . found him . . . in the garden a few minutes ago. Iâm sorry.â
I shouldnât have blurted it out like that, but I was still dealing with my own grief. Yasmin turned pale, a horrified expression on her face. When she finally spoke, she sounded as though she were gasping for breath.
âOh, my God. Thatâs not possible. He canât be.â
Paul Zarin spoke up. âHere comes Father Xavier.â
A small black car sped through the main gate and stopped in the driveway across from the three of us. A slight, white-haired man in a Franciscan habit got out.
Father Xavier and Paul Zarin exchanged glances, and a look passed between them that I didnât understand. âWhere is Kevin?â Xavier asked him.
âThe Gethsemane Grotto. Our brothers are praying for him, and then two of the knights are bringing him to the church. Itâs where he would want to be. In Godâs house.â
The old priest turned to Yasmin and me. âI understand a woman found him,â he said in his gentle voice. âI am Father Navarro and I am in charge of this monastery. Was it one of you?â
âI found him, Father,â I said. âIâm a friend of Kevinâs. Myname is Sophie Medina and this is Yasmin Gilberti. She and her fiancé are going to be married here in June.â
Xavier nodded, apparently recognizing Yasminâs name and possibly mine, but before he could speak, I said, âWith all respect, you canât move Kevin. I mean, you shouldnât. All those people who are down there now are leaving footprints everywhere . . . if itâs a crime scene they could destroy evidence.â
Father Xavier shot me a startled look as the full meaning of what I was saying seemed to dawn on him. âYou are right,â he said. He turned to Paul. âGo and tell whoever is in the grotto not to disturb anything and that they must leave at once. I will call the police and we will cooperate with them.â
Yasminâs face was still as white as bleached bone. I took her arm and said, âYou donât look well. Thereâs a bench over there in the courtyard. Maybe you should sit down.â
She shook her head. âIâm okay.â
She didnât look okay. She looked scared. To Xavier, I said, âI called the police as soon as I found Kevin.â
Two blue-and-white Metropolitan Police Department cruisers pulled into the monastery driveway. âSo you did,â he said. âIt looks as though theyâre here.â
â¢Â â¢Â â¢
The 911 dispatcher was right that the police wanted to talk to me since I was the one who had found Kevin. I caught a glimpse of Ursulaâs black Mercedes with its blue, yellow, and white West Virginia âUSSâ license plate pull into the parking lot as a petite African American officer whose name tag said her last name was Carroll walked me into the visitorsâ lobby of the church.
She pointed to one of the benches in front of a screen where a video usually played before the tour started.
âPlease have a seat,â she said. âIâll be right back.â
I glanced up at the clock behind the reception desk where the knights usually sat. It showed exactly five oâclock.
Officer Carroll didnât return for half an hour. She sat next to me and apologized for keeping me waiting before she asked all the usual questions, how Iâd found Kevin, what my business was at the monastery, and eventually, my relationship with the deceased.
I flinched at that word and she looked up.