Hotline to Murder

for Nathan to respond.
    After a few seconds, Nathan said, “No. No. You don’t understand. You don’t understand.”
    He seemed incapable of saying more. Tony said, “The Reverend never said when this big day was going to take place. When is it?” When Nathan was silent, he continued, “You don’t know, do you? He’s going to announce it after he has all your money. And then, while the faithful flock gathers on the hillside and waits for the chariots to come for you, he takes off to Bora Bora or one of the other paradises listed in his prayer.”
    They were at the car. Tony unlocked it with the remote and opened the passenger door for Shahla. As she got into the car, Nathan fell on his knees beside it and actually raised his head and looked her in the eyes.
    “It’s not true,” he said. “You believe me, don’t you? You want to go to heaven, don’t you?”
    “I want to go home,” Shahla said. “I’ve got school tomorrow.”
    She shut the door in Nathan’s face. Tony limped around to the driver’s side, stowed his crutches in the backseat, and slid behind the steering wheel. As he maneuvered out of the parking place, he saw Nathan standing there, looking at Shahla, with a strange expression.
    “He’s as crazy as some of our callers,” Shahla said as they pulled away.
    “I’m glad to hear you say that,” Tony said. “I’m almost as relieved as your mom will be that you’re not getting mixed up with Nathan. But in addition, I don’t think I could have any part in a religion where you have to be a member of the elite to get into heaven. I guess I’d call that the religion of the smug.”
    Shahla laughed. “You know, you’re a pretty smart guy.”
    “Thanks.” Maybe he was smarter than he thought he was.

    CHAPTER 26
    Detective Croyden listened to Tony’s story while doodling with his Mont Blanc pen on his pad. He didn’t take any notes that Tony could see. When Tony was finished, he said, “That’s not our jurisdiction. That’s LAPD.”
    “Then why did you let me talk so long?”
    “I wanted to see if there was anything about this Nathan character that we should be looking into. He sounds like a harmless kook, however.”
    “He may be harmless, but he’s about to lose all his money.”
    “As I said, you’ll have to tell that to LAPD. I can’t do anything about it.”
    “If I go to them, what do you think they’ll say?”
    “They’ll ask you if you have suffered a loss. Since you haven’t, they’ll ask whether you know of anybody who has. You will mention Nathan and the rest of the congregation. They will ask why none of those people has complained to them.”
    “By the time they complain, it will be too late. This Reverend Hodgkins will be long gone. With their money.”
    “Tony, it isn’t illegal to contribute money to the nonprofit organization of your choice. It’s not even illegal to contribute all your money.”
    “Unless the leader of the nonprofit absconds with it.”
    “Which hasn’t happened yet.”
    Tony felt thoroughly frustrated. “What you’re telling me is that there’s nothing the police can do.”
    Detective Croyden shrugged. “Believe it or not, I’m sympathetic to your point of view. We see this all the time. But until a crime is committed, our hands are pretty much tied.”
    “These people are going to be wiped out. And when the big day comes and they don’t get lifted up into heaven, they’re going to be homeless and starving.”
    “You’re welcome to go to the police station nearest the church and tell them what you told me.”
    “But you don’t think it will do any good.” Tony considered. While he was here, should he tell Detective Croyden about the panties he had found in Josh’s drawer? No, he wasn’t ready to do that yet. Shahla had said she wanted to look at them again. He clung to the hope that she would reject them as evidence.
    “Have you got any leads?” he asked.
    “We’re working on a number of possibilities,” Detective Croyden answered, enigmatically.
    “In other words, no. Thanks for your time, Detective.” Tony carefully got to his feet and swung his crutches into position. He was able to bear some weight on his bad leg now and hoped he could discard the crutches soon.
    “Always a pleasure, Tony. By the way, what’s with the crutches?”
    “I fell and hurt my knee.”
    “Well, try to keep your balance.”
    “I always do.”
    ***
    Tony went to the Hotline after leaving the police station. On the way