The Ruth Valley Missing Page 17

  “You want to haul a wardrobe of coats out of there undetected? That doesn’t sound like much of a plan.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not done yet. I don’t plan on hauling anything. If we could get in there when the nuns are out, maybe we can find something in the pockets, a used tissue, a snagged hair on a button, anything that might lead us to who the coats belong to.”

  “Like DNA evidence? You’ve been watching too many crime dramas, James.”

  I ignored him and continued. “But there could be some kind of DNA evidence. Or identification.”

  “Seems like a stretch. You’d think they wouldn’t be so careless as to leave any evidence sitting in there.”

  “We have to go with what we’ve got.”

  He sighed. “And how do you propose getting inside?”

  “Our lovely little bake-off. The whole town will be at that, including the sisters. I’m even asking the Sisters to be on the judges’ panel, to ensure that they’ll be unable to interrupt my snooping.”

  I sat back in my seat, pleased with myself.

  “Then we both go in.”

  “Why? One of us should be the lookout. Plus, what if someone noticed we were both missing? Too many problems. I’ll go in alone.”

  Father Mike pulled his mouth in tight and frowned. “I don’t like it. But fine. We’ll do it that way. We’ll solidify the plan next time we meet. Timing will be everything. Get in, get what we need, get out.”

  “Yes sir.”

  I was excited to be moving forward, to feel like there was some progress, but the thought of returning to the convent did make me nervous. So much could go very, very wrong.

  “That’s a little annoying,” Mike said, staring at my finger as I’d absentmindedly returned to hitting the mug with my ring. He added in a whisper, “I think you’re making Doris angry.”

  I looked behind the counter and saw Doris with her hands on her hips. I slid my hand away from the mug, clenching my hand into a fist.

  “When did your Sheriff declare his undying love?”

  I looked at Mike and frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  He pointed to the ring on my finger with his fork. “It’s a Celtic love knot.”

  “It was just a little gift.”

  “A gift of eternal loooooove,” he sang.

  “Do you work at being this obnoxious? Like, at home in a mirror?”

  “You’ve seen my place. Not much else to do. Seriously though, has he declared his intentions so soon?”

  I laid my head down on the table next to my plate. Father Mike laughed.

  “Fine, I’ll leave you be.” I picked my head back up. “One thing though, James, and really, I’m serious about this.”

  I sighed. “What?”

  “You have yolk in your hair.”

  “I hate you.”

  “I know.”

  Chapter 45

  “That old gate keeps coming off the hinge when it storms. You need to tell Gordon what he’s doing wrong.” Maria turned towards me, smiling. “Do you mind if I borrow him, dear? Won’t be more than a minute.”

  The old woman grabbed Jack’s arm and pulled him to follow her. He looked at me with a helpless shrug and I smiled as he left me standing on the church steps. Mass was over and I was doing my best to stick around and be social, but I was all out of energy.

  I fiddled with the broken zipper on my coat, grateful that it wasn’t quite so cold out today and leaned against a railing.

  “Hello, Miss Quinn.”

  I looked up at Father Mike coming down the steps and yawned, mumbling a hello. I started to say something else, but another yawn came out instead. I opened my eyes wide for a moment, trying to wake myself, and shook my head. “Sorry about that. Long week. Guess I didn’t realize how much it took out of me.”

  “Bake sale arrangements?” He looked around before leaning against the railing next to me, wiggling his eyebrows. “Or ‘bake sale’ arrangements?”

  “A little bit of both.”

  “Speaking of which, are we still on for our usual diner date?”

  I nodded.

  “What, no smart reply? You sure you’re just tired?”

  I gave a weak smile in response. Father Mike smiled briefly, then quickly frowned, squinting as he leaned closer to me.

  “James, what’s this?” he said, reaching over to pull my coat open further.

  “Hey! What are you doing?” I answered, slapping his hand.

  “No, I’m serious. Look at your shirt.”

  I looked down and touched the dark stain on my white blouse. It was wet. “Man, I love this shirt, too.”

  “You can buy a new shirt. Shouldn’t you get that looked at?”

  I shrugged. “One of the cuts opened up a bit on the end the other day. I must not have bandaged it well enough this morning.”

  Mike pulled his mouth back in disgust.

  “It’s a little oozy. I’ll get some antibiotics this afternoon to be safe. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Bake sale is soon. You sure you’ll be up for that?”

  I gave the thumbs up. “Of course. I just need a nap. Or three.”

  “Well, go home then.”

  “Can’t. Waiting.” I yawned again, pointing to Jack in the distance, talking to Gordon.

  Father Mike shook his head and took off in Jack’s direction. I watched him as he shook hands with Gordon and said something that made Maria smile, before turning to Jack, his hand on his shoulder and motioning in my direction.

  Both men turned and made their way over, Jack grabbing my arm as he got close.

  “Are you feeling alright, James?”

  I looked at Jack, then at Father Mike, puzzled. “Just a little tired. Really, it’s no big deal.”

  “She needs to go home. She’s obviously not well.” Father Mike stood on a step higher than Jack, his hands on his hips. Both men were tall, but the extra step allowed Mike to tower over Jack. “Stop at the Doc’s and get some antibiotics while you’re at it.”

  “Excuse me?” Jack stiffened, unaccustomed to being told what to do.

  “You heard me. Take care of your girl, Sheriff.” Mike’s tone was calm, non-threatening, but Jack bristled at his words. He bit his lower lip as he smoothed the hair back from my forehead. “You do feel a bit warm, James. Let me get the Jeep and get you home.”

  He turned to Father Mike and grumbled before heading down the steps. “Thanks for your concern; I’ll make sure she is taken care of properly.”

  “I’m sure you will,” Mike said, grinning. He stood next to me, watching Jack head down the stairs. “That Sheriff of yours is a cheerful fellow.”

  “Why do you do that? You know he doesn’t like you.”

  Father Mike shrugged. “Can’t help myself. Anyhow, I’m just trying to get you home. You need to be in bed, not holding up my railing.”

  I wanted to be upset with him, but found I only had it in me to be grateful. The longer I stood there, the worse I felt.

  “There’s your white knight now. Get some rest, James.”

  Father Mike walked up the stairs as I walked down to the Jeep. Jack came around to open my door and lend a hand as I hoisted my tired body inside.

  After a quick stop at the unmanned clinic to borrow some antibiotics, we headed home. I cleaned the wound, took the pills, and went to bed.

  ~~~

  I felt a cool hand on my forehead, and heard my name. I groaned, keeping my eyes closed.

  The hand grabbed my shoulder and gently shook it. “James?”

  I opened my eyes, reluctantly, to find two mud-green eyes staring back at me. I recoiled, frowning as I sat up.

  “What are you doing in my room?”

  Father Mike stood up from his crouched position next to the bed. “You didn’t show for breakfast, and after seeing how you looked yesterday, I figured you probably weren’t feeling too hot. Thought I’d check on you.”

  I pulled my blanket up around me, leaning against the headboard
as I felt the room sway a little. “You let yourself in?”

  “I did try knocking first.” He held up a key, turning it in the light. “See, the thing about hiding your key in a fake rock is, it’s a fake rock. Kinda stands out. Not terribly effective.”

  “I am so not awake enough to deal with you right now.”

  “That’s what the coffee is for,” he motioned towards the cup sitting on the nightstand next to my bottle of antibiotics. “How’s the infection?”

  “What?”

  “The fever, you practically falling asleep on the church steps yesterday, leaking fluids all over…”

  I waved my hand. “The antibiotics are just a precaution. I only have a low grade fever, and the oozing isn’t a funky color or smell, so I should be in the clear. ”

  Father Mike made a face and put down his coffee. “Thank you for that bit of detail.”

  I grabbed the bottom of my shirt, smiling, pulling it up slightly. “I can show you if you’re really interested.”

  “No, no, I’m good, thanks.”

  “So, did you come here to scare me awake?”

  Father Mike stared for minute then sighed. “I’m scrapping the bake sale plan.”

  “What?” I leaned forward, trying to sit up straight. “Why?”

  “Look at you. You’re clearly not at your best. Heading into that convent poses a risk as it is.” I started to object, stopping as he held up his hand. “You’ve got two strikes with these ladies. If something goes wrong and they catch you, well, we don’t know what could happen. I’d rather we didn’t find out.”

  “But—“

  “I’m not debating this with you, James. Decision’s been made. We’ve got other leads to follow. End of discussion.”

  “No ‘end of discussion’. You’re not the boss of me.”

  “Maybe not, but we both know that I can and will kick your butt if needed.”

  I smacked my hand down on the comforter, leaning forcefully against the headboard, deflated.

  Father Mike reached inside his coat and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling out a few pieces of folded paper and handed them to me.

  I took them, still pouting, scanning the pages. It was a life insurance policy. I continued reading, stopping when I reached the beneficiary information.

  “The church?”

  He nodded.

  “But the church wouldn’t be able to get anything unless—“

  “Next page, dear.”

  I turned the page to find the copy of a death certificate. The physician signature at the bottom belonging to Dr. Matthews.

  “Do we know if this is the only guy? I mean, this could be a guy that really died and left the church his policy, right?”

  “My contact’s found another like it. Not done looking yet either.”

  I grabbed Mike’s hand. “This is huge. How did you not know about any of this?”

  “The nuns handle all the incoming mail, the books, everything. They don’t let me touch any of it. At first I thought maybe it was just because I was the new guy. But you’ve seen where I live. They don’t exactly set things up to keep any priest around for long.”

  I nodded, as I’d wondered about that after seeing the rectory.

  “Are you going to show this to Jack? The state police? It has to be enough to make someone investigate at the very least.”

  “It’s still too thin. They might come ask questions, but this isn’t enough to search the convent or get anything concrete. If there is any evidence in that place, we don’t need the Sisters tipped off ahead of time. So, no. We sit on this for now. And no, we don’t include Jack. The fewer people involved the better.”

  I frowned, understanding but disappointed. Lying so much was getting tiresome.

  “Have you talked to Doc Matthews?”

  “Those are my afternoon plans.”

  I stared at the papers, reading over them all again in giddy disbelief.

  “James?”

  “Hmm?” I mumbled, not looking up.

  “Not that this isn’t lovely, but…” He wiggled his hand back and forth slightly.

  I quickly let go. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He held his hand out for the paper. I gave them back, reluctant to let them out of my sight. “Thanks. Gotta keep these in a safe place.”

  I nodded and slumped down into the pillow behind me. “What now?”

  Father Mike pulled his brow together. “What do you mean ‘what now’? Now, you rest and get better. And put on a bake sale.”

  “Bah. And I’ve got all those nuns judging the bake-off for nothing now.”

  “I don’t know. May be good to have a weekend where you aren’t up to anything suspicious. They may actually believe you are behaving yourself.”

  “I am behaving myself.”

  “You know what I mean.” Father Mike looked down at his watch and frowned. “I should go.”

  I nodded, watching as Father Mike got up and disappeared down the stairs.

  I collapsed into my pillows and heaved a sigh. It was a relief to see that Mike and I were making some progress, but we were still far from hard evidence. Still so far from a place where I felt safe. Where I could tell Jack anything and keep him safe.

  I turned over, burying my face in my pillow, hoping for something big to happen. Soon.

  Chapter 46

  “Everything looks amazing, James. You’ve done a great job.”

  Jack stood with his hands on his hips, taking in the tables of sweet and savory baked goods, a proud look on his face.

  “Thanks. I’m really excited at how it all turned out.”

  Despite the original reasons for working the bake sale, I had put a lot of work into it. Creating games for the children, a tea garden at the recommendation of the knitting circle ladies, and a donation-only raffle for a few items from the townspeople; the town was buzzing about the new and improved event. And about me.

  It was a nice feeling.

  Jack looked at the crowd and back at me, giving me a big smile. “I guess I should get things going then.”

  I asked Jack to not only judge but serve as an MC for the main event. Charming and nearly everyone in the town’s friend, it seemed only natural to put him in that role, and it allowed me a little time to catch my breath.

  “You’ll be great. Everyone loves you almost nearly as much as I do.” I pointed to the little old lady from the knitting circle. “I think she might even love you more.”

  Jack’s entire face lit up and he wrapped me in a hug, lifting me off the ground. His face buried in my hair, he spoke in my ear. “I love you, too, James.”

  Setting me down, he smiled at me once more and took off for the bake-off area. I stood there, slightly stunned, as I hadn’t realized what I said until Jack responded.

  I stood in the crowd as Jack made introductions to the judges, making jokes with the crowd, and charmed even the sternest faces on the judges’ panel. Standing up there, he looked perfect; broad-shouldered, blue-eyed, and absolutely adored.

  I should have been ecstatic. True, it seemed early in a relationship to be hearing those three words, but isn’t that what every woman waits to hear? Why hearing ‘I love you’ from an obviously amazing guy would make my stomach twist was a mystery.

  Maybe the true culprit for my knotted guts was all the guilt about lying to Jack.

  I looked around the crowd, scanning for familiar faces. Everyone from town was there. Even Emma’s mother, who rarely left the house, was sitting in a yellow folding chair, holding Emma’s hand.

  Everyone was there. Well, almost everyone.

  I scanned the crowd again. Then a third time.

  There was no sign of Father Mike.

  I looked up at the little stage we’d erected for the bake-off then back at all the townspeople. I made my way closer and closer to the fringes of the large crowd, then when it seemed no one was paying attention, I took off towards the church.

  Once inside, I called out for Mike
, getting no response. Had he been found out? My heart started to race, as I pushed any thoughts of what could be and tried to focus on finding him. I was standing at the front of the church when I looked over at the steps leading down to the locked door I’d approached the first time I was alone in the empty church.

  I followed the steps down and tugged on the heavy door. It was unlocked. I slipped inside, stumbling as my eyes adjusted to the dark. With my hand on the wall to guide me, I quickly made my way down the corridor, listening intently.

  I paused by each doorway I passed, finding them all locked, not a sound coming from behind them. As I crept up the steps leading to the Sisters’ quarters, my path brightened, the outside light creeping in through the windows.

  I started pass the large wooden doors, the room I’d once visited, then took a step back. The lock hung from the door, open. I pushed the door slowly, enough for me to squeeze into the room.

  Standing perfectly still, I listened.

  “James,” a voice whispered.

  I spun around to see Father Mike creep out from behind the door, a hand behind his back. “What are you doing in here?!”

  “You weren’t outside with everyone. I got worried.”

  “This is a very bad idea. What if someone notices you’re missing?”

  “I’ll say I had to pee.”

  Mike shook his head. “I’m almost done. Get out of here.”

  “How did you get in here?”

  He returned to searching the room, waving a key in response.

  “Did you find anything?”

  “Maybe.”

  “What?”

  “Not now, James. Go.”

  Mike grabbed the door and ushered me out. “I’ll catch up with you at the bonfire.”

  “Fine.”

  I took off the way I came, moving faster this time, even if I was fairly sure I still had a good amount of time before the bake-off ended.

  Outside, I snuck back into the crowd, making my way next to Emma and her mom. The crowd was laughing at something Jack said as I exhaled, calming myself.

  “He is too cute, James,” Emma said, grabbing my arm.