by Clare Revell
Nate finished his coffee. “I should take Vianne home. I have a thousand and one things to do around the house today. Thanks for the coffee. And the prayers, Miss Monroe.”
Adeline smiled. “You’re welcome, Sgt. Holmes.”
He got to his feet, his tall frame not in the least bit imposing. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
For a moment her heart leapt, then she realized he meant in church and a shaft of disappointment filled her. “We’ll be there.”
****
Walking down the aisle to her usual seat in Headley Baptist, Adeline was amused to see that Ben adopted his church attitude almost as soon as they entered the building and walked sedately. She smiled at Holly and Kyle and said hello as she passed them. They really did make a beautiful couple. Who’d have thought God could work such a horrid situation for good the way He had with them?
She slid into the pew and Ben settled at her feet.
Chrissie and Matt sat in front of her. They’d announced their engagement only recently. It seemed as if the church would soon have a spate of weddings.
Glancing down the order of service, her attention was diverted by a hand on her arm. She looked up into a pair of bright eyes and beaming smile under a wooly hat. This time the dappy hat was florescent yellow. “Hey, Vianne.”
“Can we come and sit with you?”
“Sure. Mind you don’t trip over Ben.”
“I won’t.”
Adeline swung her legs to the side so Vianne and Nate could move past her. She got a delicious aroma of musk and spearmint as Nate brushed past—the small touch of his legs on her knees sending a blast of heat through her. Really, in church, too she scolded herself.
He smiled as he sat and her insides followed her heart in a storm of butterflies and thudding.
Anyone would think I was twelve. She smiled back. “How are you, Vianne?”
“I’m OK,” Vianne replied making sure to look at her. “How do you say that in sign?”
Adeline showed her. “This is ‘how are you?’ This is ‘I’m well’ or ‘I’m sick’.” She smiled as Vianne copied the signs flawlessly. “Very good,” she said, signing as she spoke.
Vianne tilted her head slightly. “So, how does this work? When you can’t hear what’s happening?”
“I read the lips of whoever is speaking in the pulpit, and I can feel the music.”
“Feel the music?” she repeated, her eyes widening.
“Yes. The sound the organ makes sends vibrations though the air. And if I watch Pastor Jack, I can see when he’s singing, so I know when to start if it’s one I know.”
“That’s clever. Does Ben tell you, too?”
“He puts his paw on my foot when it’s time to stand and sing, but as everyone else stands then, it’s easy to figure out.”
Nate tapped Vianne’s arm. “Shh, now.”
Adeline turned her attention to the front, following Pastor Jack’s words relatively easily. It was a standing joke between them that even if the PA system failed, he’d have to carry on preaching as she’d be able to tell what he was saying even if no one else could hear him.
After Vianne left for Sunday School, Nate slid up the pew next to her, and she found herself overwhelmed by his clean scent and aftershave.
Lord, help me here. I am meant to be worshipping You, not acting like some teenager with a crush because some man…a very handsome man…is sitting next to me. I can feel my cheeks burning. Maybe I should have worn something else. I look like mutton dressed as lamb. What must he think? Just listen to me going on like this.
Ben knocked his paw against her foot, and she stood with everyone else for the hymn.
Keep my mind focused, Lord, and if it does wander again, then I’ll pray for him. She stood with the others, reciting the words of the hymn in her head, aware of Nate’s hand inches from hers. For a moment she wondered what it would be like to have a man hold her hand in church, the way Matt had just grabbed Chrissie’s, or to have someone look at her with love.
So many of her friends and people around her had found their soul mate now, that she couldn’t help but wonder if there was someone out there for her. Someone like Nate, who wasn’t just outwardly handsome, although he was undeniably good looking, he shone with an inner beauty that came from loving the Lord. If she ever found love, it had to be with someone who shared her faith.
Adeline managed to keep her mind focused on the sermon, which she knew was entirely thanks to the Lord and nothing to do with her. She was far too easily distracted when left to her own devices. Keeping her eyes on Pastor Jack until the benediction finished, she sat down and closed her eyes, a heavy burden coming over her again.
Why did she feel so led to pray for Nate? Surely it wasn’t simply the fact that he was sitting next to her? Or was it? His presence filled her senses, but as she prayed, the burden she felt eased and the peace of the Lord descended like a dove.
Lifting her head, she found Ben curled in her lap, concern in his eyes. Had she been that engrossed in prayer she hadn’t noticed him jump up? “I’m fine,” she told him, petting his ears. Long, slim fingers touched hers and she followed the arm to Nate’s worried face. Fire radiated from his touch, sending ripples of warmth throughout her body.
“Are you all right?” Anxiety filled his eyes.
“I’m fine. Why?”
Nate waved his hand and Adeline glanced around, suddenly realizing the church was empty apart from the two of them. She looked back at him.
“…on the verge of calling an ambulance.”
Confusion filled her as there was no one around. “Who needs an ambulance?”
“Pastor Jack was going to call one for you in a few more minutes. First we thought you were sleeping, then unconscious, but Ben didn’t seem unduly concerned.”
“Oh.” Heat flamed in her cheeks and nausea filled her. “I didn’t mean to worry everyone.”
A waft of aftershave and movement from the pew in front made her turn. “Pastor Jack, I’m so sorry to cause such a fuss.”
His grey-green eyes sparkled with a hint of concern. “As long as you’re all right, then it’s not a problem. Neither is calling someone to check you over.”
“I’m fine. It’s just as soon as you finished the benediction, this huge burden for prayer came over me, and I just had to give in to it. I didn’t realize I was praying so long though.”
Pastor Jack smiled. “Time spent with the Lord is never time wasted. Especially when it’s a response to something He’s telling you to do. I’m glad you’re all right. I’ll see you tonight.”
Adeline nodded. “I should go. Jasmine will be wondering where I am.”
Nate touched her arm. “I said I’d bring you. She’s taken Vianne already.”
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“You’re not. She asked us over for the day. She said you were coming as well, and suggested I bring you and Ben.”
“Did she now?” That sounded suspiciously like Jasmine-the-Matchmaker at work.
Nate tilted his head. “Is that a problem? Did you not want to leave your car here?”
“Ben and I walked this morning. I was thinking more of him getting hair on your car seats.”
Nate petted Ben. “It’s not a problem. He doesn’t look like he sheds much anyway. Shall we go?”
Adeline got to her feet, grasping the pew in front as her knees buckled. A strong sense of foreboding closed in on her. Not again…
Her vision danced, and a red sheen dropped over her sight. For a moment she saw a teenager, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, sitting on a swing, laughing, playing, safe. Then the next moment the same girl, wearing a red sweater, lay on her stomach in the mud, her face to one side with eyes closed, and mouth drawn back in a long silent scream.
A strong hand gripped her arm, jerking her back to reality. Everything spun and she kept her eyes closed until the need to cry passed.
She hated these visions. The first couple had been dreams. Horribly accurate ni
ghtmares that left her pinned to the sheets, and terrified to sleep. Now they impinged on her every day activity. At least she’d been able to hide the one at work yesterday.
Lord, God, be with the girl’s family. Comfort them in their grief. Give the police the skills they need to catch her killer quickly, before he strikes again.
More than anything else, she hated the fact the visions were always right. This was the fifth. That meant a fifth girl had died.
But if she said something, or went to the police, she’d be branded insane, a fool. It wasn’t as if she ever saw the killer’s face. She didn’t understand why God was showing her these things when she was unable to change the outcome.
“I’m all right,” she said once the spinning stopped. She shot Nate a faint smile. “I’m just stiffer than I realized, and a little dizzy.”
She wasn’t fooling him.
His eyes narrowed and something flashed across his face. He recognized lies. “Are you sure? If you’d rather go home, I can drive there just as easily.”
“Really, I’m fine. I can’t let Jasmine down. Not after she’s gone to all the trouble to cook.” She shook her head, trying to clear the images from her mind. She closed her eyes for a long moment then took a deep breath. Walking to Jasmine’s wasn’t an option, and as he was offering a ride, and going the same way, it would be silly to refuse. “A lift would be good, thank you.”
He nodded. “Come on then. It’s not too far a walk to where I parked, or I can bring the car around.”
Not wanting to appear weak in front of this gorgeous man, Adeline smiled at him. “I’m fine. Really…the fresh air will help.”
“All right.” Taking her arm, Nate led her down the aisle.
Tempted for a moment to shrug him off, Adeline soon realized that she wouldn’t make it two steps without his help.
****
Nate glanced at Adeline as he waited for the traffic lights to change. She had her eyes shut, and he took the opportunity to study her in some detail. She wasn’t like most women his older brother, Pete, had tried setting him up with over the years. Pete had preferred brunettes and seemed to think everyone else did too.
However Nate preferred what he termed a ‘real woman’. One with curves and a natural, inner beauty. Just like Adeline. She almost shone at times, yet had a sense of vulnerability about her that tugged at his heart strings. If it wasn’t for the fact he wasn’t interested in a relationship, he’d probably ask her to dinner.
And what’s stopping you from doing that? It doesn’t have to be a date, just a ‘thank you for taking care of Vianne’ dinner. And take Vianne, too. Don’t want to give Miss Monroe the wrong idea. We could go to the burger place on the High Street. Or I could cook for her. Make something Vianne will eat without a fuss.
And then there was her hearing—or lack thereof. It was somewhat disconcerting knowing she couldn’t hear him. If—and that was a big if—he or any other bloke got involved with her, how would that work in the dark? He couldn’t whisper sweet nothings in her ear as they danced, or stand behind her like his father did his mother when she was looking out of the window and talk to her.
Adeline opened her eyes and smiled.
He returned the smile and turned back to the road, his cheeks heating at getting caught staring at her. She really was a beautiful woman. Her love for the Lord emphasized it.
Unlike like his sister-in-law. As thin as a rake and made up to the nines, Ophelié had used her feminine charms and beauty on his brother like a spider wove a web, drawing him in and trapping him, before devouring him.
No, women were not to be trusted. They captured your heart, and then broke it. After all, Miss Monroe lied to him in church after that dizzy spell. Insisting she was fine, when it was blatantly obvious she wasn’t. He’d have a quiet word with Jasmine. Maybe Miss Monroe would be more akin to talking to her than to him.
Adeline shifted in her seat. “Penny for them.”
“For what?”
“Your thoughts. Your eyes clouded over for a moment.”
She’s perceptive, I’ll give her that.
“I was thinking about my brother.”
“Is he Vianne’s father?”
“Yeah.” Nate pulled up at a stop sign.
“She said she lives with you. She hardly mentioned her parents at all.”
“My brother and his wife died in a plane crash when Vianne was three. She doesn’t really remember them. Pete made me her guardian in his will.” He released the handbrake and pulled away.
“I’m sorry. Were you and your brother close?”
Nate tried to stifle the sudden rush of emotion speaking about Pete brought him. “Yeah. I can’t say it’s been easy, because it hasn’t.” His voice came out gruffer than he wanted and wracked with grief. For a moment he was glad she couldn’t hear him. Now if he could only keep the emotion off his face.
“Must be hard, bringing her up alone.”
“Because I’m a cop?”
Adeline shook her head, color touching her cheeks, only accentuating her looks. “No, I didn’t say that. Or mean it. I meant not having anyone to share the joy and pain of bringing up a child with.”
Nate took a deep breath. “It’s hard. I don’t know the first thing about what girls like. Never had a sister, it was just me and Pete. I didn’t even realize Pete had wanted me to be her guardian until—”
What was it about her that made him open his heart to her like this? He barely knew her, yet this was the second time in two days he almost told her something he’d never told anyone.
“Until?” she asked, a tender tone in her voice he wasn’t expecting.
Nate looked back at the road, his eyes burning with the tears he was holding back. He angled his head towards her, so she could read his lips. “I never knew what he saw in Ophelié. He met her on holiday in Paris and was enamored with her. She was a model, more like a painted doll than anything else. She played on the fragility he assigned her. Vianne was born early, about four months before their first wedding anniversary. Pete doted on her.”
“She’s a very pretty child.”
“Like her mother.” Nate took a deep breath and pushed a hand though his hair, surreptitiously wiping his eye at the same time. “I was working undercover one night and discovered Ophelié was having an affair. After a lot of heart searching and praying, I finally told Pete. He and Ophelié fought and she left him and moved in with her lover. She left Vianne with Pete.”
Nate looked studiously at the road as he drove. He didn’t want to see her expression on her face as she watched him speak. If anything it was more than slightly unnerving, knowing she was constantly watching him the whole time. Did he study people in the interrogation room the same way?
“That must have been hard on all of you.”
“It was. After six weeks, Pete asked me to find her. I traced her to Paris, and Pete left Vianne with me while he flew over to talk to her.”
Nate’s voice wobbled and he took a deep breath. “He…he rang from the airport. Said they’d sorted things out and were coming home on the Concorde. I thought I was helping by telling him where she was. Instead I sent him to his death. The Concorde crashed, killing everyone on board.”
He pulled over outside Dane and Jasmine’s and yanked hard on the handbrake, hearing the gears click against the ratchet as the car shuddered to an abrupt halt. He covered his face with his hands for a moment, desperate to regain control before seeing Vianne.
Images of the flaming plane filled his mind. Hitting debris on the runway as she took off, the Concorde had burst into flames, staying airborne for only a few minutes before crashing onto a hotel just outside of Paris. The horrifying images caught on camera by a passing car, had flashed around the world almost instantly.
Hot tears spilled down his cheeks, and his shoulders shook. Please, Lord, not now. I don’t want to deal with this again. Especially not in front of someone I hardly know.
“I’m sorry,” Adeline said. “I remem
ber seeing the pictures of the Concorde crash on the television.”
He blew out a breath, wiped his eyes and turned in his seat towards her. “Vianne doesn’t know the reason her parents were on that plane, and she never will. She remembers very little from that time, and that’s the way I need it to stay.”
“She won’t find out from me.”
“Thank you.”
Adeline reached into her bag and pulled out a packet of tissues. Extracting one, she held it out to him. “Here you go.”
Nate smiled gratefully and took it. “Thank you.” The irony wasn’t lost on him as he used it and then put it in his coat pocket. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s fine.” She smiled with sympathy in her eyes. “We should probably go in. Jasmine will be wondering where we are.”
“Yes…Miss Monroe…thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Sergeant.”
Nate exited the car and opened the back door for Ben to jump out. The dog obediently sat on the pavement waiting for his mistress to get him. He started up the path with her, just as Dane flung open the door and ran towards them.
Nate’s stomach sank into his shoes. “What’s wrong?”
“We got to go. Jas will keep some dinner for us and watch Vianne.”
“Go where? We’re not on duty.”
Dane’s expression seared him to the core. He only spoke two words, but those two words spoke volumes. “Euphorbia Way.” He looked at Adeline. “We’ll see you later.”
Leaving Adeline on the path, Nate headed back to the car, praying hard that this time the Herbalist would leave them something a little more substantial to go on. “My car is faster than yours. We’ll take mine to the station and pick up a pool car. ”
“Are you tanking it?” Dane asked.
“Legally tanking it,” Nate said looking at him, not even the speeding joke gaining a smile this time. “Would you pray while I drive?”
“Sure, partner.”
“Thanks.” Nate glanced across at the mirrors and pulled away, heading towards the station before going on to crime scene number five.
****
