Thanks for your reviews!!!!
I didn't mean to describe Cole as bad, but I also don't like it if he is too (nearly 'holy') good. Before I wrote a chapter, I always wondered, if he could act like this. And I think neither Cole nor Prue would fall in love with each other at once. I'll take some time.
I'll tell later in my story in which world Cole and Prue really are. But at the moment Prue thinks that she lives in a parallel universerse, similar to our world just without magic.
11. Chapter
When Cole entered the bathroom next morning, he immediately noticed that the lock was repaired. He was sure that it had been faulty the day before. After he was ready, he went downstairs into the kitchen. When he saw Prue, he looked at her asking. "The lock in the bathroom is working again."
Prue nodded and kept looking into the Sunday paper. "You've got it. I didn't want to be caught in the bathroom again. Therefore I've fixed it, because you weren't able to do it."
"With magic?"Cole asked surprised and sat down at the table.
Prue looked up from her paper. "No, I don't need magic to repair something. I can do it with my craft skills."
"Wow, you are the woman of every man's dream." Cole told her ironically. "The only question is, why do you need a man anyway?"
"You'll never understand that in any case." Prue explained coldly, she was lucky, when she heard someone knocking at the door to the garden. She stood up and went to the door, grateful for this interruption. It was Dianne, who was waiting with Danny in front of the door.
Some time later Dianne went home again and Prue picked up her little nephew. "Why can't you have another father?" She asked him softly. "It would be easier." The boy looked at her thoughtfully and Prue couldn't help laughing. She would manage it somehow, she tried to convince herself.
She decided to go upstairs with Danny, but even there she couldn't be alone, because Cole entered the room just a few minutes later.
He welcomed his son and picked him up. Then he looked at Prue asking. "Prue will you go to church with me?"
She looked at him sceptically. "Why do you want to go to church? Do you have anything to confess?" she asked sneering.
"No, but you perhaps!" he explained with a grin and continued. "I'd like to take a look at Adam Boucher's church."
"But today is Sunday, so there'll be a service in the morning." Prue told him.
Cole nodded. "I know, but that's a good opportunity to look around very calmly and nobody will notice."
Prue couldn't believe her ears. "You want to go to a church service?" She asked again.
"Yes, why not?"
"Well, demon and church ...." Prue pointed out.
"You don't have to worry about it." He told her with a smile. "I have no problems with church. And believe it or not, but I am even christened." he explained.
"Oh, and what went wrong later?" Prue asked in an ironical voice.
"My mother took the view that it isn't the right thing for me." He explained shrugging. "So are you coming then?"
Prue looked at him thoughtfully, but she had to admit that she was curoius to see the victim's church, too. Perhaps Cole was right and Boucher's death had something to do with demons. "Okay, I'll come along with you, but we'll have to take Danny with us. The church will be good for him, especially when you think of his background." Prue said and cast a meaningful look at Cole.
Cole looked at his son thoughtfully and decided. "Okay, he'll take it."
When they parked the car in front of the Elisabeth Church one hour later, there were already a lot of people. Cole and Prue got off the car and stood in line to get into the church. The church was an old building with a large interior. They found a seat in one of the back pews and looked around. The church was more than hundred years old and splendid furnished. There were colourful glass mosaics at the windows, showing biblical themes and pictures and statues of saints at the walls. Straight on was an elaborate designed altar.
Cole looked around, but he could whether see the Wingroves nor the Careys. He looked at the altar again, where soon after the priest turned up. He was an elderly man with short grey hair. He welcomed the parish and his voice was pleasant calm, but powerful.
Prue listened the priest's words, but after a while she noticed, that Danny started to whine. He just cut his teeth and Prue knew from her experience of the last days, that he would start to cry soon. She gave Cole a slight push to get his attention and gave him to understand that she would leave the service with Danny, but he could stay there. Cole nodded and Prue stood up and left the church silently.
When she opened the creaking door, the sun was shining from a cloudless sky. Prue looked around and found a bench under the shade of a linden tree on the little square. She walked there, while she tried to calm Danny down. "Everything is okay." she said softly and sat down. She was so busy to keep him from crying that she didn't notice, that another churchgoer has left the building and came up to her.
"It seems as if the church doesn't agree with the baby at all." She suddenly heard a voice in front of her.
Prue looked up and David Morgan was standing there. "He cuts his teeth, that's everything." She explained angrily.
Morgan laughed. "Of course it was meant as a joke." He said. "May I sit down Mrs. Turner?" he asked but sat down beside her without waiting for an answer."
"Not Turner, Halliwell." Prue explained and noticed that David Morgan took out a cigarette.
"May I." he asked again and lighted his lighter without waiting for Prue's permission.
"No." Prue explained, this man got on her nerves. "I don't want that you put a smoke screen up around the place where my baby is."
Morgan looked at her with a knowing smile. "No problem." he said and put the cigarette back.
Prue would have prefered, if he had vanished together with his cigarette. But he didn't do her this favour. Slowly but surely she could understand Cole: David Morgan really had an unpleasant personality.
"I'm sure your husband has told you that we'll be opponents in court soon." He started. "I'm astounded that he could establish himself so quickly."
Prue gave an angry groan, she really didn't want to explain him again, that Cole wasn't her husband. Therefore she just said. "Why? You've procured him this job, haven't you?"
Morgan laughed again. "You're right. But I think, it wasn't a good idea to represent Amy Lavreux in court." He looked at Prue forcefully. "I'd advise him to pass it on to another lawyer."
Now Prue looked at him curiously. "Oh, that's interesting, why?"
"He won't gain in prestige. And if you have such a young family, you ought to be careful. Nobody knows what can happen." He leaned forward. "A wrong action and you'll be .... ruined."
"Do you threaten me?" Prue asked coldly.
"Oh no, but women are wiser mostly and they have a special influence over their husbands."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, but I have no influence on Cole." Prue told him, getting more and more furious.
Morgan raised his hands. "It's nothing to worry about, it was just a well-meant advice."
"Thank you, I'll pass it over to Cole." Prue told him in an ironical voice.
"That's alright." Morgan said and looked at Prue searching. "You know, evil lurks everywhere, you can't be careful enough." He cast his look on Danny who was still crying softly. "Evil will stop at nothing, not even at an innocent baby."
"I don't know, what you are talking about." Prue explained very calmly on the surface, but inside of her she felt a freezing cold.
"You know exactly what I mean. And I'll give you another tip-off." He stood up, prepared to leave her alone. "He won't find anything here."
"We'll see." Prue called after him and picked up Danny protectively. "Disgusting idiot!" She said softly and watched David Morgan entering the church again. Prue started to wonder, if Could could be right and demons did exist in this world, too. David Morgan definitely could be one of them.
Soon later she heard the bells and the first churchgoers left the building. Meanwhile Prue has calmed down, because she has decided, that she had got Morgan wrong. Of course he wasn't a demon, just a human with demonical behaviour and so it wouldn't be a problem to cope with it. She looked at the people leaving the square or standing together in small groups to talk. But she couldn't find Cole or Morgan anywhere.
When the service was over, Cole waited until all churchgoers had said goodbye to the priest at the door and had left the church. Then he went slowly to the priest coming back into the church interior. Mr. Tynan was looking exhausted and weak suddenly. Cole walked to him and introduced himself.
"So you'll represent the little Amy in court." Father Tynan shook his head sadly. "I can't believe anything what happened yet. The poor Adam. He came to this church to take over my position, you know. It was time, I'm growing old." He looked at Cole thoughtfully. "You can come to my office with me, there we can talk together and it's more comfortable."
Cole hesitated, because he thought about Prue and Danny. "My sister-in-law and my son are waiting for me in front of the church. I'll let them know first." He said and wanted to rush to the door, but Tynan stopped him.
"They can come with us. It's terrible hot today and they don't have to wait outside. Everybody can listen what I'll tell you about Adam." He smiled friendly.
Soon after Prue, Danny and Cole were sitting in a cosy room, which didn't look like an office. An old writing desk was standing in the corner, but a comfortable corner seating unit took up the main part of the room and there were some refreshments and cookies on the table.
"It's very nice here." Prue said and looked around. After she had met David Morgan, she noticed, that father Tynan was the exact opposite. He had a calming effect on people and his personality was pure pleasantness.
"Thank you. When I've furnished it, I had the idea, that the people coming to me would feel comfortable immediately." He told her. "I'm working for this parish for nearly 40 years, but now I'm growing old. The doctor has told me that I have to take things a bit slowlier. Therefore Adam Boucher came to our church this spring. I've planed to show him the ropes slowly and later he would take over the whole work." Tynan took his glass of water sadly. "He was such a nice guy, full of enthusiasm, he was so young. It's a shame."
"Did you get on well with him?" Cole asked.
"Of course! Adam had all sorts of plans and ideas and so I was getting very enthusiastic too." Tynan said smiling and looked around searching. "Wait a minute." he said and stood up. He went to his desk and came back with an envelope. Tynan sat down again and put out some photos. "They were taken last March." he said. "Adam has organized a children's party and it was a great success."
Prue and Cole leaned forward and looked at the photos.
"There is Amy." Cole said surprised, when he saw her with a bright smile on one of the photos. She was looking different than the young woman he knew from prison. She was smiling gladly and nothing reminded of the strange woman Donald Carey and the Wingroves had described her.
"Oh yes, Amy was here very often this spring. She was such a nice young lady, but very quiet. But she blossomed up lately." Tynan shook his head sadly. "I can't believe that she has anything to do with Adam's death. They had no problems with each other." He leafed thought the photos and pointed at a young man. "That was Adam." he explained in a low voice.
Cole and Prue cast a glance at the photo and looked at each other surprised. Adam Boucher had been tall and slim and it seemed as if he was just in his mid-twenties. He had brown shoulder-length hair and beamed into the camera.
Cole cast a quick glance at Tynan and asked. "If I'm right you are Catholic." When Tynan nodded uncomprehending Cole continued. "And Adam was good-looking, he was young, ..... a man, ...."
But before he could finish his sentence, Prue interrupted him. "What Cole wants to say..."
Tynan raised his hand and laughed. "I understand very well, what he wants to know. Why does a young man like Adam decided for the church in spite of the celibacy?" He looked at Cole smiling. "Well, Mr. Turner, that's calling."
"Calling?" Cole asked sneering.
"Of course, you have no choice. It's the urge to serve God and mankind. You can't resist, no matter how hard the consequences are." Tynan explained calmly.
Prue nodded. "I understand, what you mean, you can't simply get rid of this responsibility, unless you are ...." she looked at Cole with an ironical smile.
"Wonderful, that you are in agreement with each other." Cole said and looked back at the photo into Adam Boucher's smiling eyes. "But I have another question." He looked at Tynan again. "Perhaps it'll strike you rather strange, but do you know, if Adam was interested in magic, exorcism, anything like that?"
Tynan nodded. "Indeed, Adam was very interested in Voodoo, but that isn't unusual in New Orleans. Some people are afraid of it to these days." he said. "But Voodoo isn't dangerous but a kind of religion. In former times it was the slaves' last connection to their old culture and it helped them to survive hard times. Adam was interested in the connection with Catholicism. You have to know, that a lot of Voodoo worshipper decorate their altars with pictures of saints or the Madonna."
"And he was interested in it?" Cole asked surprised.
"Yes, but unfortunately I don't know more about it." Tynan excused, when he remembered something. "But Adam had a little book, where he has written what he had found out." He looked to a small box. "There are his things, the police didn't want them and I'll send them back to his family. But I could lend you the book for a while, if you wanted."
"Yes, I'd appreciate it." Cole said.
They stood up and Tynan searched for the small book in the box. When he found it, he handed it over to Cole. "I hope you'll find the culprit soon." He said and sighed. "That won't bring Adam back to life, but it would make things much easier. Because I can't believe, that Amy is guilty."
"I'll do everything to help to establish the truth." Cole explained and they went to the door.
"And I hope, that I'll see you in our church more often." Tynan said with a bright smile.
"I doubt it. Actually we are..." Cole started to excuse. "...in another church."
Prue looked heavenward, but Tynan nodded understanding.
"Protestants?" he guessed and when none of them answered, he nodded. "I thought as much, but nevertheless you can pay our church a visit. We also organize concerts here and we have a lot of parties and we invite all inhabitants of this town. Moreover we have play groups for babies and children, so if you don't have time, we'll take care of your son."
"Thank your for your offer." Cole said, but it didn't sound as if he would like to make use of it ever.
Tynan laughed. "Don't worry, I don't plan to convert him."
"Well I hope so." Cole muttered.
Prue shook her head. "Thank you for your invitation." she said. "I really hope, that you'll find a suitable successor soon."
Tynan nodded. "Yes I hope so, too. But of course nobody can replace Adam."
On their way back to the car Prue looked at Cole sceptically. "We are in another church?" she wanted to know.
"Sure!" Cole said smirking. "What should I have told him? That you are a former witch and I'm a former demon? Who are actually dead for a long time?"
"That wouldn't have been necessary." Prue explained.
Cole looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Well he was so persistent that he would have tried to convert us again and again. And one day he would force us to confess to him. And then we would sit in his confessional box, and he would get a heart attack, if he heard your confession and when it would be my turn he would drop dead immediately. I tell you, it was the best for him."
Prue shook her head. "I don't know, why he should be shocked, if he heard my confession. Of course in your case that's something else."
They got into the car and on their way home Prue told Cole about her meeting with David Morgan.
"This bastard, I won't let him threaten Danny." Cole explained angrily. "And I really don't know why he is worried about his case. He'll win hands down it at the moment."
"Think hard, perhaps you've already found out something important." Prue said. "And they are afraid about it."
"Mm," Cole shrugged his shoulders. "I can hardly believe that. Amy hasn't told my anything. Absolutely nothing." He cast a quick look at Prue. "But probably I'll have to take a look around the scene of crime as soon as possible. Will you come with me now?"
"No." Prue said, she needed some time for herself and she was terribly tired. "I have a few things to do at home." she answered evasively. "Later perhaps."