AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Barbara studied the old photo. Despite the man’s good looks, she felt an instant dislike. There was an arrogance to his posture, a hard glint in those eyes. She put the photo down just as Rita hurried back in. Her face was grim, and Barbara’s stomach immediately sank.
“Bad news?”
“There’s been an incident at the church.”
“What sort of incident?”
“An attack—by the Colony.”
38
The night air stank of acrid smoke. It rose up from the charred cross. The wood was old and mostly dry, so it had gone up like tinder. The remains were half the height of the original cross, a truncated stump. Barbara tried hard not to feel some satisfaction at the sight. She didn’t succeed.
She walked past and stared down at the disemboweled pig and the writing in the snow. The letters were already starting to blur and disappear beneath the fresh flakes falling from the sky, but the sentiment was clear.
A warning. A threat.
“Well, this is a freaking shitshow,” Rita muttered from beside her.
“Yeah.”
They walked into the church, where Reverend Grey sat with Grace. Mowlam stood nearby. Shattered glass covered the floor. Snow drifted in through the gaping windows.
“Detective, Rita,” Colleen said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Got here as fast as we could,” Rita said. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah, well, we might not have been,” Mowlam said, looking at Barbara.
She turned pointedly to Colleen. “Can you tell me what happened?”
“Mr. Mowlam and I were in the church—”
“What was Mr. Mowlam doing here?”
“I came by to tell the Reverend about Dr. Dalton’s death,” Mowlam said. “I thought she should know.”
“And how did you know?”
“It’s a small town. Hard to keep secrets.” He smiled smugly, and Barbara had an overwhelming desire to punch him in the mouth.
“And where was Grace?”
Colleen put a protective arm around the girl’s shoulders. “She was in the back,” she said.
“Okay. So, you were all in the church, and then what?”
“Someone smashed the windows,” Colleen said. “Threw rocks at them. Then there were noises on the roof and hammering at the door.”
“What did you do?”
“I opened the door to confront whoever it was.”
“Wasn’t that a little risky? You didn’t think to call the police first?”
“I had faith that God would protect me,” Colleen replied.
He didn’t protect Marcus, Barbara thought.
