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Jessa went back to studying her hand and continued. “It sounded ridiculous. I did the best I could to calm her and talk some sense into her. But afterward, she acted tight-lipped and withdrawn for a week. She hardly spoke to me or anyone else.”
“Then what happened?” Seyla wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Jessa fixed her eyes on Seyla’s. “Then she died.”
CHAPTER TEN
Seyla’s feet scraped against the rocky soil, their weight heavier with each step. A sea of cars and trucks surrounded her and Jessa as they neared the entrance to the county fair.
So many people.
Her fingers reached for the opal pendant dangling from her necklace, rubbing the worn edges of the metal design that held the gem in place.
A gift from her mother, the opal served as a reminder that God would use what she’d suffered through years ago to strengthen her, make her more Christ-like, and add to her beauty inside and out.“Like this opal,”her mother had said. If that was true, getting through this day would require every ounce of that supposed strength.
For Jessa’s sake, she’d do her best to stay a couple hours. After that, she intended to head to the sanctuary.
Since Janet had to be at the fair, too, Seyla would have plenty of time to rifle through her desk searching for clues.
Jessa’s words echoed in her head.Then she died. Hannah’s death certainly came across as suspicious after hearing that. However, the woman died of a massive heart attack. It didn’t exactly scream foul play.
After Jessa’s disclosure, Seyla had told her about the notes, despite her hesitance after Jessa’s past reaction to Hannah. In the end, the combination of the physical evidence shown in the video footage and their friendship had convinced Jessa. It was a relief to talk about it with a trusted friend.
Unlike Jax. As much as she longed to lean into him, to accept his support whether obligatory or not, her mind whispered warnings to her when she dropped her guard. Jax’s loyalty belonged to Matt, not to her or the sanctuary she pledged to preserve. What would benefit him most was to destroy it. She needed to keep that at the forefront of her mind.
The Wellington representatives would arrive in a few days. Everything had to go smoothly until they had the grant renewal documentation in their hands. If it wasn't renewed, their reputation, not to mention their finances, would plummet with no chance of recovery.
Nobody mentioned it, but the sanctuary had taken a crippling blow when the news article about the accident involving Sam Harrison hit the stands.
She’d seen the numbers.
Not good.
Just last week, Janet’s assistant had gone on furlough right after a meeting with the director.
The grant renewal, however, would boost their reputation immensely, demonstrating to the community that the Wellington group continued to have confidence in them. Their approval opened a lot of doors. Their disapproval closed a lot more.
The entire staff felt the pressure. Their jobs hung in the balance, including hers.
The din of the crowd intensified once she and Jessa neared the entrance.
Seyla clutched her necklace. “Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea.”
“You can’t live your life at the sanctuary,” Jessa chided, grabbing her arm. “You need to get out and surround yourself with people.”
Seyla swallowed several times, unable to dislodge the lump in her throat. That was exactly what she didn’t want.
She focused on prayer in an effort to snuff out the sound of another crowd, long ago, rising up to mix with the noise of the fair. Her hand gripped the necklace tighter, her eyelids snapping shut when a young guy bumped into her. Fear swarmed her, its buzz amplifying until it became the only sound she heard. She rubbed the pad of her finger over the opal.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Lord, help me to do this.
When Seyla peeled open her eyes, Jessa stood next to her scanning the crowd and texting on her phone.
A calming peace blew through Seyla with the gentle, early summer breeze that brushed her skin. The sky directly above remained cloudless, a vast eye-blinding, brilliant blue canvas. The only sign of the forecasted storm later in the day was far off to the west of them, where thick clouds clogged a darkened sky. Knowing how much work people put into the fair and how excited Jessa was to have this date with Matt, she made an effort to squelch the selfish hope that the storm would roll in right about now to end the fair early.
“Is there anything you want to do before we join the guys?” Jessa asked.
