Beverly Barton - Silent Killer

“Yeah, it would mean she killed my father and yours.”

“My father deserved what he got, but yours didn’t.”

“We have to talk to somebody, tell them what we suspect.”

“Who can we trust?”

There was one person he’d been able to talk to all his life. He could talk to her about anything. He might still be angry with her, and he certainly hadn’t forgiven her, but she was the only person he could talk to who would take him seriously and at the same time would help him see where he might be completely wrong.

“My mother,” Seth said. “Can you pick me up on Main Street near the drugstore and we’ll go to Treasures together? We’ll tell my mom everything. She’ll know what to do.”

Erin wanted to die. Her life was meaningless without John Earl. She had loved him for years, had devoted herself to him and he had tossed her aside like yesterday’s garbage. He was like all the others, taking what he wanted without any thought of her feelings. He was a vile, egotistical bastard, and she hated him. She wished he could know the pain she felt. He deserved to suffer. It would serve him right if he ended up like the other preachers had. Burned at the stake. Turned into a human torch. Punished for disappointing those who loved him.

He had sent her home, and home is where she’d stayed. She couldn’t go back to the church office today and face him, not after what had happened.

How could he expect her to come to his office tomorrow and talk to him in a calm, rational manner? He intended to fire her. He might ask her to resign, but it amounted to the same thing. He was sending her packing. Oh, he’d give her a decent reference and think he’d done a good deed.

Son of a bitch! Sanctimonious asshole!

Maybe she should go see him and show him just what she thought of him. She’d tell him what he could do with his letter of reference. She’d tell him to stick it where the sun don’t shine.

Better yet, she’d set the damn thing on fire and watch his reaction before she exacted her revenge.

“I think I’ll work in the stockroom for a while since you don’t seem to need me out here,” Cathy told Lorie. “I could use a little quiet time to think about things.”

“You have a big night tonight.” Lorie said. “First a meeting with J.B. and Mona to tell them that Seth knows Mark wasn’t his father and then later, Jack’s stopping by to talk.” Lorie gave her a sympathetic look. “What did Mona say when you called her?”

“Nothing really, just that she’s concerned about Seth because he hasn’t come home. She wanted me to tell her right then and there what was going on. I told her I’d explain everything when I stop by after work.”

“Maybe you should leave now and go on over there.”

“J.B.’s not there. He’s gone to Huntsville and won’t be home until around five,” Cathy said. “I suppose Mona will call Mother and I’ll have to deal with her, too.”

“Your mother should fess up and admit she’s the one who spilled the beans to Seth.”

“Mother takes credit for anything she considers good, but she never takes the blame for anything that goes wrong.”

“Everything’s going to work out, you know. Jack and Seth will both come around. Jack’s already told you that he still loves you and-”

Cathy’s cell phone rang. She picked it up off the counter where she’d placed it by the cash register. “That’s odd. It’s John Earl’s office.” She answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

A hoarse, unrecognizable voice said, “Ms. Cantrell, this is Erin McKinley, Reverend Harper’s secretary. I apologize for my voice.” She coughed a couple of times. “Allergies. I have a mild case of laryngitis.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Cathy said.

“I’m calling for John Earl. He would appreciate it if you’d come over to his office as soon as possible. It seems he wants to talk to you about his daughter Felicity and your son, Seth.”

“What about Seth and Felicity?”

“I really don’t know, Ms. Cantrell. I’m simply relaying a message. I believe there’s some sort of problem with his daughter that involves your son.”

“And you say that John Earl wants me to come over there now?”

“Yes, ma’am. Can I tell him you’ll be here soon?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Thank you.”

When she hung up, Cathy turned to Lorie. “That was strange. John Earl’s secretary said that he wants to see me ASAP to talk to me about Felicity and Seth.”

“That is strange. What could be so urgent that he needs to see you right away?”

“I don’t know. She just said that there’s a problem involving Seth and Felicity. I can’t imagine what it could be. I just hope Seth hasn’t done something stupid because he’s angry with me.”

“Why don’t you go on over there and talk to John Earl now. I’m sure whatever it is, he’s already dealing with it. Felicity’s a handful, but she’s basically a good kid.” Lorie laughed. “Actually, she reminds me of myself at that age. I was always doing something I shouldn’t, always screwing up. But my folks weren’t as understanding and supportive as John Earl and Ruth Ann. If they had been…”

“I’ll try not to be long,” Cathy said. “But if for any reason I can’t make it back here to Treasures this afternoon, I’ll call you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can hold down the fort. Just go find out what’s going on with Seth and Felicity.”

“Give me my purse, will you.” Cathy held out her hand. “It’s under the counter beside yours.”

Lorie pulled out the small leather clutch and handed it to Cathy. “And remember to cut Seth some slack. He’s going through a pretty rough patch right now. If he’s done something he shouldn’t have, point out to him that everyone makes mistakes and forgiveness works both ways.”

Cathy groaned. “All things considered, I guess I can overlook almost anything he’s done.”

Seth glanced at Missy, who clutched the steering wheel with both hands and glued her gaze to the rearview mirror as she backed her car out of the parking lot on Main Street.

“I haven’t driven anywhere since my father died,” Missy said. “I’m sort of nervous.”

“We could have walked to Treasures,” Seth told her. “Or if you want me to, I can drive. I’ve got my permit. I’ll be sixteen next month.”

“It’s okay. We’ll get there a lot quicker if we drive instead of walk, and it’s important that we talk to your mother as soon as possible. If we’re right about Felicity…”

“Maybe we’re wrong. Maybe I’ve jumped to conclusions. Just because she’s weird and was talking trash about killing her dad doesn’t mean she’s the Fire and Brimstone Killer.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t. But what if she is and we don’t tell anybody and she actually kills her father?”

“I keep going over the facts,” Seth said. “Whoever killed my dad and yours and the other clergymen had it in for men of God, right? And this person has to be all screwed up in the head. Also, the killer has to have access to a car and has to know how to drive. And don’t forget that whoever planted your locket at the last crime scene had to be someone who had access to it, which means somebody in the Harper household. Whoever did that doesn’t like you, otherwise she wouldn’t have tried to frame you. All the evidence adds up to Felicity.”

Missy shivered. Her whole body rippled with tremors. “Maybe not. What if it’s someone else in the Harper house?”

“Like who?”

“Mrs. Long, maybe. She’s a strange old woman, and it’s obvious she doesn’t like me.”

“But does she hate preachers for any reason?” Seth asked. “I’d think she might have a fondness for them since her son-in-law is a minister, and so was her husband.”