Mackenzie found it.

Aaron opened the door and jumped back as two men stood there, staring at him.

“Are you two okay?”

“We are, and thank you.”

<°)))><

They all sat on the steps. Another police car came down the driveway, sending another plume of dust into the sky. The thump-thump of a helicopter sounded close by. Next the media vehicles would arrive.

Aaron looked around the property. This place was going to be gone over with a fine-tooth comb. The ramifications of the technology meant a number of agencies would be involved in the investigation.

They watched the minister being taken to a police vehicle.

“He’s a remorseful man. He’d been initially driven by a lust for power, and finally grief took over. He lost his way with his faith,” said the Rev. “One of the last things he said to me before you found us was that he didn’t fully understand the things of God like he thought he did. He realised that his heart was deceitful and desperately wicked. He was burdened by this and was a shattered man. I told him to seek out God again; his faith and understanding will be restored. He knows that with God, all things are possible.”

Aaron listened to the Rev and decided he was a special man. You could feel his love for others. Aaron watched as the Rev turned his attention to Mackenzie.

“Mackenzie . . . he’s burdened by the sins he has committed, by what he has done. He realised that his so-called righteous acts are like filthy rags in God’s sight. I know this won’t be easy but you will need to forgive this man and uphold him in prayer.”

“I understand.” It was an uncomplicated reply.

Aaron took it all in. But me? He was struggling . . . sin? It seemed so old-fashioned. But one thing remained: Aaron’s dad’s death had not been addressed. Lucas was still out and about. The police had told Aaron they would find him. He believed they would—but if they didn’t?

The Rev walked over to Aaron and handed him something. “Put this in your pocket, look at it later.”

Aaron did as he was told.

Chapter 29

AN OCCASIONAL BEEP BROKE the silence. Small splashes of green from the monitor’s indicators lit up in the darkness. A door opened, the florescent lights sensed movement and switched on. The hooded man looked around the facility, and saw the small silos and the aluminium case on the floor in the corner. He walked over, picked up the case and left the facility.

He blended into the darkness; his car parked in the adjacent block.

A police car pulled into the Cryonics, Inc. facility not long after.

<°)))><

The Cryonics facility manager parked his car in his reserved spot—not that he needed a reserved spot, as the car park never overflowed. He walked over to the police officers and introduced himself. An officer from the Department of Defence sat with them. They all headed to the facility’s main entrance.

The facility manager flashed his card over the security pad. A click resulted. He pushed the door open. They wandered around; they could not locate the case.

The Defence officer looked up and noticed a monitor in the room. “What’s the purpose of the monitor?”

“Maintenance and security,” the facility manager said.

“Are you able to bring up who has accessed the room recently?”

“Sure, wouldn’t expect to see much, maybe the occasional maintenance access visit.”

“That’s fine. Let’s have a look.”

The facility manager double-clicked an icon that resembled a large key with a small clock underneath it. He entered his user ID and password, then clicked on the appropriate menu. Entries were listed in date order, the most recent first.

“Looks like Grant Windsor paid a visit twenty minutes ago.” The Defence officer turned to the police officers. “He’s in custody, isn’t he?”

They nodded in agreement.

“Wonder who it was then?”

Part 5 - Crazy man

Chapter 30

September

THREE MONTHS. A NEW season sprang into life.

Aaron had put in many hours at work to make up for his time off. Now his boss told him he was working too hard, and to take a day off. So he did.

He rode his bike out to Mackenzie’s place and then caught the train into the city with her. He wanted to make sure she was coping okay now she’d returned to full-time work. He knew she would be but was just being over protective. She had changed her appearance a little but still got the occasional ‘hey isn’t that the girl that came back from the dead’ look from strangers.

“Maybe I should have moved interstate like Joshua,” Mackenzie said.

“Why’s that?” Aaron asked.

“I spoke to Joshua recently. He’s doing well and he keeps a low profile as not much Brisbane news filters down to Melbourne. Which would be nice as I still sense a lot of people look at me because of what happened.”

Aaron noticed that Mackenzie had her head tilted down slightly as she spoke to him.

Mackenzie continued. “His mum passed away recently and he and Mel have been busy sorting out things. They hoped to come visit around Christmas time. Mel was building up his collection of jokes.”

Aaron missed Mel in a funny sort of way.

She continued. “Their mum got things right before she died. He said that if Churchie was there he would have seen the angels come and take his mum’s spirit away to be with the Lord. Joshua said there was a nurse in attendance that told them that she had a happy feeling when Joshua’s mum passed away. She puts it down to the presence of angels and has experienced it before but not often. Joshua had coffee with the nurse and he told her about his experience. She cried and thanked Joshua for such a beautiful insight.”

Aaron wondered how often Mackenzie spoke to Joshua on the phone. “That all sounds good Kenz.”

Aaron stared out the window as the train pulled into Central Station. He knew Mackenzie was getting frustrated with him and the faith thing. After all they had been through, she couldn’t understand why he hadn’t asked Jesus into his life. Aaron wasn’t grasping what that meant.

They stopped at the entrance to Mackenzie’s work. Aaron placed his hands on Mackenzie’ shoulders so she was facing him. He looked her up and down. “You look beautiful, Kenz. Go get ’em.”

Mackenzie gave him a peck on the cheek. “I love you, Aaron.”

Aaron smiled and watched her walk off.

The Rev had taken Aaron under his wing, and Aaron had a spring in his step as he headed off to meet with him.