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“Sure,” Millie said, and Nikki could hear the smile in the other woman’s voice. “You got it.”
CHAPTER 11
Reed cut the engine.
He’d parked his Jeep in the shade of one of the large live oaks that separated the church lot from the parsonage, a white brick bungalow, and now was walking along a stone path leading to the porch.
The door opened before he could press the doorbell and a small, bird-like woman peered at him through the screen. Her eyes, behind rimless glasses, were red from crying, her skin blotchy. Blond hair shot with silver was cut short and swept away from her face.
“Mrs. Le Roy? Margaret Le Roy?” he said, showing his ID, then introducing himself.
“We’ve been expecting you,” she said, her voice husky. “The first officer who was here . . . The deputy who told us about”—she cleared her throat and forced herself to continue—“who explained that . . . that the girls had been found said . . . said that someone would be coming.” She opened the screen door. “Come in, please.” In jeans, a light T-shirt and pink cardigan despite the heat, she led him to a living room just off the entry. Waving him into one of the floral wingback c
hairs positioned in front of the picture window, she dropped onto a faded couch pushed against the opposite wall where a large print of The Last Supper was mounted.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, and she closed her eyes, nodding.
“Thank you. Yes . . . it’s . . . it’s hard.”
“I can’t even begin to imagine.”
“You wouldn’t want to.”
“No.” He faced her across the coffee table, where a large Bible lay open. A canary twittered from a cage on the side table. Upon the mantel of the fireplace were several family photos; a group shot of three blond girls, arms linked as they squinted into the sun, was front and center. Reed’s heart twisted as he recognized Holly, Poppy and Rosie Duval. The two older girls were nearly twins, they looked so much alike, the main difference being one was taller, but only by a couple of inches. Both dark blond, both with short, little, freckled noses. The littlest was too young to have had such a clear resemblance.
“My husband will be joining us. He’s on the phone, I think.” Margaret glanced to the empty hallway, then back at Reed. “Are you certain?” she asked, a hushed, desperate note in her voice. As if she were afraid to say the words. “I mean, are you sure the girls are really Holly and Poppy?”
“Yes, the dental records were a match.” No reason to sugarcoat the truth. “We’re waiting for DNA, but there’s really no doubt. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“I want to see them.”
He’d been expecting that. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“They’re my daughters!”
“And . . . unrecognizable.”
“But—”
“Mrs. Le Roy, I would strongly advise against viewing the remains.”
“I am a nurse. Retired now, but still,” she said. “And I’ve seen bodies before. Many bodies.”
“Again, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
She shook her head, wiped the edge of her eyes with a handkerchief. “But my daughters—”
“I know.”
“And . . . and by the way, there are three of them. You say you found Holly and Poppy, but what about little Rosie . . .” Her voice trailed off before she spoke quietly. “You haven’t come to tell me you’ve found her, have you?” Behind her glasses, her eyes focused hard, drilling into him.
“No. No, I haven’t.”
“Good.” She swallowed hard. “Maybe she . . . maybe she somehow. . . Oh, no, I won’t let myself think it.” She sketched a sign of the cross over her thin chest and then caught herself. “Old habit,” she admitted. “And it’s true what they say, old habits really do die hard. I was born and raised Catholic. But then, well, I met Ezra and . . . well, he convinced me to start attending his service and I did.” She looked over her shoulder again. “He said he wouldn’t be long—oh, I think I hear him.”
She did. Heavy footsteps heralded her husband’s approach and he appeared, a big bear of a man with snow-white hair and a thin white beard that just traced the edge of his jaw. “Reverend Ezra Le Roy,” he said, extending his hand as Reed stood.
“Detective Reed,” Margaret explained. “He won’t let me see the girls.”
