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Mrs. Clark crossed her arms and frowned. “What kind of help do you think I can be with this investigation?”
“First,” James said, “let me just offer my condolences on your loss. I can’t imagine what you’re going through.”
“Thank you. And you’re right, unless you’ve lost a child, you’d never understand. But I do thank you for the sincere compassion. Would you like to have a seat?”
The living room was large with two sofas, so plenty of space to sit.
James leaned forward while Lainie bit her tongue on the words that wanted to spill from it. James and Cole knew what they were doing, and she needed to let them do it.
“Mrs. Clark, this is going to be a very odd request, but did you—or any of Joshua’s friends—take pictures of your son’s service and interment?”
She blinked. Rapidly.
“I’m sorry,” James said, “I know it’s an unusual question. You see why I didn’t want to ask over the phone.”
“Um. Yes. You’re quite right. I’m going to assume you have your reasons for asking, and yes, we did. And his friends did. He would have wanted that. It was a beautiful service on a beautiful cool dayfor this time of year. Like the Lord picked it just for him. A nod to Joshua’s love of the fall season.”
While Lainie’s compassion was great for the woman’s grief, her excitement over the pictures was there too. “Do you mind if we look at them? Just the graveside ones.”
Her brow furrowed in confusion, Mrs. Clark nevertheless moved to the rolltop desk in the corner of the room and pulled a small photo album from the middle drawer. “They’re in here.” She swallowed. “I haven’t looked at them. My sister did the album for me. She even had his friends send her some to put in there. I don’t know if there are any of the graveside or not, but I would assume there would be.”
James took it. “Thank you so much for this—and your patience.”
“Of course.”
James opened the book and Lainie leaned in while Cole stood by the front door, his attention on the front of the house.
HE SAT ON THE MOTORCYCLE,his attention on the house they’d just entered. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to catch Lainie by herself. Because someone was always with her. Always.
His gloved hands twisted around the handlebars, and he let out a low sigh. But he’d figure that out. This, however, was another story. Who lived here and why were Lainie and the others interested in the occupants?
For a moment, panic flared. What had he missed? Before the panic could blind him, he forced himself to breathe. To think. No. He’d covered all his bases. The plan was impenetrable. Perfect. No holes. No mistakes. Nothing. It had taken some fancy footwork and sleepless nights, but it was done and nowhere they looked would prove Adam was dead.
All the evidence would point to him being alive.
All of it.
JAMES FLIPPED THROUGH THE PICTURES,taking note of the care Joshua’s aunt had used in putting together the book. She’d started at birth and highlighted the achievements of his short life. He arrived at the funeral pictures, and there were many teary-eyed friends who’d taken selfies and then typed messages across them. “You’ll be in our hearts forever, Josh.” “I can’t believe you’re gone, J-man.” “The world will never be the same.” And so on. He looked up to see Mrs. Clark swiping tears from her cheeks. “This book is a very special gift,” he said. “I hope you’re able to look at it soon.”
She sniffed. “Thank you. I hope so too.”
He flipped the page and came to the gravesite, examining each photo with care. And there it was in the third one. Slightly out of focus, but still legible. “Found it,” he said with a glance at Lainie, then Cole. He turned the book around and pointed to the stone in the background. “Adam Williams. Beloved brother and son. Forever in our hearts.” And the dates below that. Lainie’s breath whooshed from her and brushed across his cheek. He looked up to meet her gaze. “This is it.” He turned to Mrs. Clark. “This is exactly what we were looking for and you can tell the location of the grave in relation to the other headstones around it. Do you mind if I take a picture of it?”
“Of course I don’t mind. Go right ahead.”
James snapped the photos, sent the picture to his supervisor, requesting a rush on the exhumation, and tucked his phone into the clip on his belt. He stood. “Thank you again. I know it’s hard right now, but I can tell you’re a believer. I’m praying the Lord gifts you with a supernatural peace.”
“Thank you,” she whispered with tears in her eyes. “He’s still good even in this tragic season.”
“And, I don’t know if this helps or not, but if everything goes the way I think it’s going to, we can credit Josh for helping us solve this case.”
Mrs. Clark pressed a hand to her chest. “That would thrill him to pieces.”
They said their goodbyes and made their way out of the home, with Cole leading the way and James flanking Lainie. He’d gotten the impression that Cole had seen something that had set his nerves twitching.
“What is it?” James asked while Lainie slid into the passenger seat.
“Guy on a motorcycle was across the street near the stop sign. He seemed to be watching the house before he took off.”
