Page 77 of Breathe Me In

The medics arrived, and I stepped back to give them room. I tucked what I’d heard from Gumbo away to unpack later. I gave them as much information as I could as they took over.

“Stone,” Cap called as he approached with Kennedy on his heels. “Did we get him?”

“No. It’s not him.”

“Fuck.” He dropped his head as his face plummeted.

“Sorry, Cap.” I groaned as we got close. I was just as pissed as he was.

“You good?” He looked at me, and I nodded. “All right.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “Look, go home and give me your report in the morning. Let’s make this as smooth as we can.”

“I will.” I wouldn’t let Cap down, and he knew it. “But I got his phone—he was in Ford’s truck and in contact with some guy named Savage.”

“This is great, Stone. Good work. Now take a moment and shake it off.”

“Copy that.” I nodded without another word and hurried to my car. I turned the key, and once she purred to life, I headed to the city. My mind drifted back over the case, and my first instinct was to call Bree and fill her in, but I wanted to be respectful of her boundaries. I eyed the lake and felt my chest tighten as images of her swimming toward the shore flooded back to me. She could have died that night. The thought sickened me. I tried to force it away, but it stuck.

I didn’t consider where I was headed. I just found myself at the bottom of the church steps. I think my soul must have known I needed guidance from someone higher up.

The place was empty, just what I wanted. I slipped into the middle row and drew in a deep breath and let my guard down. My eyes went to the beautiful stained glass windows, then I relaxed and bent my head.

I felt movement on the bench and quickly looked up. “Hello, father.” My lips curved upward.

“Sorry to disturb you, my son. What a lovely surprise to see you again so soon. Are we sitting in silence, or do you wish to talk about what brings you here?”

I leaned forward and rested my arms on the pew in front of me. “I know I chose this life, one where I fight evil for the good. This case just seems different.”

“How so?”

“This killer confuses me. The clues confuse me. It’s a case like no other.” I rubbed my eyes. “He’s taken two lives now, and there is zero evidence of why. I get the sense he just enjoys messing with us. Why use a poison made from some crazy green moss?” I glanced at him. “Sorry, father, I shouldn’t have revealed that.”

“These lips are sealed as always.” He patted my arm. “And now you’re questioning why the Lord would allow such things.” He raised his brows, and my mouth twisted at his comment.

“Maybe a little.” I knew that wasn’t fair. God didn’t have control of everything. Demons were everywhere with their own agenda.

“The Lord takes who he needs, sometimes in the worst of ways. It’s hard for us to understand. I can’t say I understand why he’d take those two young women in such a way.” He pointed to the ceiling. “I think of little Johnny Cleveland. Just playing one afternoon in his mother’s greenhouse, and the Lord decided he needed him.” He fingered the cross he wore.

Greenhouse? The word bounced around in my head. “I don’t remember that. What happened exactly?”

“It happened in the next town over, Colville.” He stopped to think. “Back in the sixties or seventies, I believe. He was playing with a friend and got into something, some kind of moss—I’m sure she said moss. Anyway, within seconds the little one was gone.”

I looked up at the ceiling and felt something inside me shift. “Was the friend killed as well?”

“I don’t believe so.” He shook his head, then looked toward the door. “Forgive me, son, but I have to meet someone.”

“Of course, thank you for the chat.”

Something told me it was worth checking out. I called Cap.

“Stone, are you resting?”

“Cap”—I ignored him—“I want to check into something. Will you call ahead to the Colville PD and let them know I’m coming to look at some files?”

“I can do that. Want to share?”

“Probably nothing, but do you remember what detectives were working in the late sixties and seventies?” I knew his father had worked closely with the Colville PD back then.

“Sanders and Pera stand out the most. They both worked homicide. Sadly, both have passed.”