“Fine. Let’s just go down this aisle a few pews.”
As Jenna led the way, Damien noticed she seemed particularly self-aware, messing with her hair and glancing around. Suddenly she stopped and turned. “Let’s not. How about the other side? There are more seats over there.”
“There are plenty of seats here. Look, just up ahead is an entire pew.”
“No, I like the other side.” She pushed between all of them. “Come on. I see the perfect spot.”
“Oh, wait!” Kay said. “It’s Shannon and Susan! Jenna, Zoey and Caydance are with them. Come on!” She hurried forward, waving and smiling.
Hunter shrugged and followed.
Damien glanced back at Jenna. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re sure?” Damien caught the dread in the deepest part of her eyes. “You don’t look okay.”
Jenna’s gaze drifted down the aisle, then to him.
Suddenly a hand was on his shoulder. Damien glanced behind him.
A man with a gigantic smile was offering his hand. “Hi. Pastor Caldwell. I didn’t recognize you and your family. I just wanted to say hello and welcome.”
Damien looked down the aisle. Jenna was making her way to her seat.
“What was your name?”
“Damien Underwood. My family is down there.”
The pastor smiled, and Damien suddenly recognized him as the man whose cat was hung.
“I’m sorry to hear what happened in your neighborhood,” Damien said.
The man nodded, his welcoming eyes turning sad. “I am sorry to hear what is happening to our town.”
“Your friend Tim Shaw. Have you spoken to him?”
“Oh yes. Of course. He is ashamed of so much… what he was heard saying, what he did to his wife. I’m trying to help him deal with that guilt.”
“So you don’t think he did that to your cat?”
“No. I’ve known the man for a long time. My wife has had a hard time with what he said about me. It is a tough thing to hear a friend’s words. I pray for her. For all of us. There is going to be a lot to forgive when this is over.” His eyes turned cheerful again as he gently patted Damien on the arm. “I’m so glad you’re with us today. I must get up front. It’s almost time for the service.”
Damien nodded and joined his family, sliding into the end seat just in time to hear Kay address Jenna. “Honey, say hi to the girls.”
Jenna offered a half smile to the two girls sitting one row ahead. “Hi.”
“Hi, Jenna,” one of them said. Then the girls turned around and giggled.
Damien glanced at Jenna, who only stared forward, expressionless.
“I didn’t know you came here,” one of the women said to Kay.
“We haven’t come in a while. But glad to be back. This is my husband, Damien. Damien, this is Shannon Branson and Susan Sanders.”
Damien shook their hands. Shannon was overly made-up, as if she hoped that fresh-face youthful look would hold on, and when it didn’t, she’d freaked out. Damien was glad Kay didn’t overdo it. Susan’s sharp eyes studied Damien. She was smiling, but it looked scrutinizing, like how rich people greet everyone who is less rich. Damien gave a short smile, and the woman finally turned back around. He noticed Jenna again. Her eyes had glazed over, and she blinked slowly. Damien leaned into her. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
Jenna nodded. But it was the kind of nod that didn’t ring true.
Not surprisingly, the sermon was about gossip. Damien thought the pastor did a good job of not pointing fingers but rather showing the destruction of gossip and also the importance and power of truth in words.
Damien found himself uplifted. Even the family seemed in a better mood as the service ended. Jenna wrapped her arm around his waist as they left. Hunter saw a friend from school and hurried toward the foyer. Kay stayed and chatted with the cheerleading moms.
Damien held tight to his daughter as they walked. “Hey, what do you say we go eat at Chicken Annie’s?”
“Fried chicken, are you kidding me?”
“When you were five years old, you used to eat four pieces. Your face was a mess of grease. You wanted to have your birthday party there!”
Jenna laughed. Giggled, actually. He hadn’t heard her giggle in a long time. She sounded like a little girl again. “I guess one piece won’t kill me.”
“It might, but it’ll be worth it. Go find your brother, will you? I’m starving.”
Jenna nodded, and Damien watched the crowds for Kay. But soon his ears tuned into a conversation nearby. He couldn’t help but listen. Their small words drowned the hundreds of nearby voices.
“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t show my face the day after my divorce was settled.”
“You know why he’s here.”
“And why she’s wearing a short skirt.”
Damien turned, trying to get away from it. He noticed Kay and waved at her. She held up a finger as she finished her conversation. That was when Damien noticed Zoey and Caydance. They both crossed their arms, glaring at someone across the room. Damien couldn’t figure out who they were looking at.
“Let’s go,” Jenna said, coming up from behind with Hunter in tow.
“Jenna, who are those girls looking at?” Damien asked, pointing.
“Probably their own reflection. Let’s go, okay?”
Kay joined them and they left, but Damien couldn’t help but steal another glance. Whoever it was could be at the receiving end of a lot of unpleasantries.
After breaking up an impromptu scuffle in front of the Chinese restaurant, over a conversation off the Web site that may or may not have been about the tall guy’s wife, Frank took lunch and heaped a giant serving of lo mein onto his plate, then pushed his tray down the long self-serve buffet line. He skipped the hot and sour soup but decided on a couple of egg rolls. He joined his rookie back at the table, eyeing the kid’s steamed vegetables and rice. He watched him dash it all with a splash of soy sauce.
“Careful,” Frank said, taking the soy sauce from him. “That sodium can kill you.”
Gavin stared at Frank’s heaping plate, then looked at Frank. He cracked a small, hesitant smile, unsure, Frank guessed, of whether or not Frank was kidding. For a cop, the kid was lacking some serious gut instincts.
“Chinese food is less healthy than it looks,” Gavin said. He pointed his fork toward the egg roll. “Don’t let the cabbage in there fool you.”
“And don’t let the smile on my face fool you.”
Gavin stopped pointing and started eating. “You know,” he said after a moment, “I’ve been thinking about this Web site. I read somewhere that there’s a program that can be loaded onto cell phones, and then someone can listen to conversations wherever the cell phone goes. Even if the cell phone is turned off.”
“Interesting idea.”
“I went by one of the cell phone stores here, just asked some questions. Nobody seemed particularly nervous.”
“That’s what you’re going on, whether people seemed nervous or not?”
“I figured if they’d done something, they wouldn’t like me asking around.”
“Yes, because criminals have a long history of not being able to hide under a facade.” Frank tilted his head. “It’s going to take more than that.” Gavin looked wounded and Frank sighed. “But it’s a good thought. It might explain some of this.”
The wounds slid right off Gavin like Chinese noodles off a chopstick. His face was back to bright and cheery. “Also, there are some pretty powerful listening devices that use laser beams. But they’re really expensive. And of course come with explicit instructions on how illegal it is to listen to private conversations.”
“Yes, those types of warnings always discourage the bad guys.”
Gavin leaned in. “You think this is a bad guy?”
Frank twirled his noodles. “He’s breaking the law. It’s up to someone else to decide whether he’s bad or good.”
A shadow passed over their plates, and Frank was just about to order another Diet Coke when he looked up. “Angela?”