Found at Sea - By Anne Marie Duquette Page 0,36

the Church, Your Excellency. Five must go to my home archdiocese of Boston, but I see no reason why the other half shouldn’t go to your fine archdiocese of San Diego.”

The bishop nodded, then turned his gaze toward Aurora, as did Jordan.

“This is a shakedown?” Aurora said incredulously. “By a padre?”

“Bishop,” Jordan corrected in a wry tone.

“Whatever. You should be ashamed of yourself, Your Excellency.”

“I have no shame in begging alms for those less fortunate than ourselves, señorita,” the bishop said calmly.

“You mean blackmailing those who are more fortunate than— Ouch, Jordan!” He’d actually kicked her!

The bishop shrugged, then flipped through some papers on his desk. “My poor Bethlehem House needs much work,” he said with a heavy sigh. “There is never enough money for our orphanage or the many children we shelter and educate. And the cost of health care today...” The bishop shook his head.

“This is crazy,” Aurora protested. “Are you saying you won’t help us if we don’t—” Jordan kicked her a second time.

Aurora rose from her chair and moved away from both men. “I’m all for charity, but this forced donating is...is...”

“We help all children in need, no matter their religion.”

“Fine. Then you won’t mind if I earmark half of my donation to a Tijuana orphanage.”

“And the other five percent?” the bishop asked, staring intently at her. Jordan’s face was poker-straight, she noticed. He remained politely in his chair, since the bishop had not yet stood.

“I suppose that can go to your Bethlehem House,” she conceded. “And that’s five percent of the profits—if we get profits. The deal’s null and void if I come up empty-handed.”

The bishop cleared his throat, and Jordan rolled his eyes.

Aurora continued, “I suppose you’ll want all this in writing? Of course you will. Okay, here’s the deal. You’ll turn over the documents to us and we tithe ten percent from net, not gross, earnings—if we have any. You agree to give Jordan ownership of any paperwork concerning the San Rafael, keeping silent your knowledge of same paperwork, and we’ll sign it. Oh, and don’t forget to give us the telephone number for that John Doe.”

The bishop rose from his seat, followed by Jordan. “Shall I give you my blessing as you begin this endeavor?”

“Just give me the papers,” Aurora grumbled under her breath. Both men heard her. Jordan choked back a laugh.

Minutes later the men were exchanging addresses, information and lawyers’ numbers. Jordan stayed for the blessing. Aurora didn’t. She determinedly headed outside into the sunshine, where she could breathe in the scent of flowers and citrus trees, and the spray of the tiled fountain soothed her ears.

Jordan caught up to her about ten minutes later, a large envelope tucked under his arm. He reached for both her hands, pulled her close and kissed her full on the lips.

“What was that for?” Aurora asked, still irritated about being fleeced by the bishop.

“You do beat all.” Jordan smiled. Then he began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she hissed.

Jordan slid an arm around her waist. “You. And keeping His Excellency down to ten percent. I figured he’d hit us up for at least fifteen, and I’d have given him twenty if I had to.”

“I wouldn’t. I don’t care if he is a man of the cloth. I mean, I’m all for helping orphans and the poor, but his methods leave something to be—”

Jordan silenced her with a second kiss. “The best part is that except for the bishop, you’re the only one who’s seen the originals. According to the sign-out log, no competitors have checked out the details—nor will they. I’ve got photocopies and he’s putting the originals in the Mission safe.”

“Good. We can study the documents at our leisure and get the information I didn’t manage to translate.”

“Let’s go back to Oceanside. We have a salvage operation to plan,” Jordan said cheerfully.

“I’m right behind you, partner.” As they walked back to where they’d parked, Aurora asked suddenly, “I didn’t miss anything else, did I?”

“The bishop said he’d get his staff working on an exact translation for us.”

“Hmm,” she grumbled. “Figures he’d look out for his cut.”

Jordan shrugged. “Let him. It’s a difficult job, with that delicate parchment and faded ink, not to mention the antique handwriting. I’m pretty familiar with formal Spanish, but this defeats me.” He smiled at Aurora as he added, “His Excellency also said he’d pray for your family.”

“Let’s hope his prayers help,” she murmured.

“And that Donna can track down John Doe’s phone number,” Jordan added. “If he’s involved with