Page 24 of Trace of Doubt
I selected the best pastries and placed them in a box.
“Is Mrs. Emory joining you today?” Edie said.
“No. The family’s on the mend from the flu, and she’s exhausted from caring for the kids, the pastor, and herself. The pastor hasn’tfelt like working on his sermon, and he needed her to help finish it for tomorrow.”
I taped the box closed and handed it to the woman, forcing a smile to cover my anger. “I hope the ladies enjoy these tarts.”
“Extra napkins, please.”
A flow of sarcasm swirled through my mind. Unleashing my fury only demonstrated my pride.
15
DENTON
My plans for this morning were less than honorable but necessary. I stalled at my cabin until daylight before I walked to Shelby’s cabin. She told me yesterday her shift ended at two, offering plenty of time for me to search her cabin.
In the back of my mind, I wanted to come up empty. The war within me waged on.
Picking the lock on her door came easily, and I stepped inside, careful to lock the door behind me. Neat. Clean. The scent of lavender and wood permeated the room. And I planned to disrupt it all with the scent of betrayal.
Joy bounced in her kennel, and I lifted the latch to reach inside and pat her head. Good thing she couldn’t talk.
I started my sweep in Shelby’s bedroom, opening drawers and sorting through her few belongings. Most drawers were empty. I removed them and felt along the sides and bottoms for anything I might find to use against her. Inside her nightstand drawer, ajournal appeared. Many pages were filled, and I wished I had time to read them. I reached for my phone and randomly snapped pics of several entries. No reason why I couldn’t return another day if something emerged among her writings.
I moved my rummaging to the bathroom, second bedroom, closets, kitchen, and living room. Nothing out of the ordinary snatched my attention. I returned to her bedroom and surveyed the area with the idea of reading her journal. Her Bible lay on the nightstand, and I picked it up. She’d underlined a lot of passages and made notes in the margins. I held it by the spine over the bed, shook it, and a folded piece of paper drifted to the floor.
Only God knows the truth, and He is Truth.
My mind turned the note inside out. What truth? Her faith, forgiveness, and all the God stuff?
Below it she’d penned a few short lines—
Why do I remember
The sins that stalk my soul?
Why can’t I hold on to the
Forgiveness that makes me whole?
Ashes rise to steal my breath.
I choke from drowning fear.
Help me, Lord, to cling to You
In never-ending prayer.
Her words spoke of anguish that God hadn’t removed. Why did He promise peace when she obviously lived a self-induced nightmare? Did she have dreams of a husband and children? Ambitions to use her business degree? Make a success of her jewelry design? How could she hold on to God when He’d failed her? I shrugged. God failed people on a consistent basis. I knew firsthand.
A thought lingered... What if she had changed?
The sound of footsteps outside the front door caused me to step between Shelby’s bedroom wall and the door. Trapped just when I’d tried to gain her confidence. Maybe she’d forgotten something, and I could stay hidden. I peered through the slim crack between the door hinges and the frame.
A square envelope slid under the door.
Randy Hughes had a few loose screws when it came to Shelby. But invading her privacy while representing the law seemed low for him. I suspected him of sending the last note, except the person who’d left it had raced into the woods. Hughes’s beer gut slowed his speed. Of course, I was breaking and entering. What about the man who’d fired into Edie’s tire? Ran Shelby off the road and into a ditch?
