A Test of Faith

by Carol Cox

  I can see the headlines now: PASTOR OF FAITH BRIAR CHURCH AND HIS WIFE HEAD LOCAL CAR-THEFT RING.

  Kate kicked at a small rock and sent it skittering away into the undergrowth. “That’s us,” she muttered. “The Bonnie and Clyde of Copper Mill.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  There was one positive thing to be said for running out of leads to follow, Kate thought. It had given her the time she needed to throw herself back into her stained-glass project.

  She spread a sheet of double-thick corrugated cardboard across her workbench and laid the fanlight on top of it with tender care. She took a last loving look at her creation before putting another layer of cardboard over it.

  The delicate pink of the dogwood blossoms complemented the vibrant yellow of the forsythia. Leaves in varied hues of green wound their way around the flowers. All in all, it had turned out even better than she expected.

  She slid the second sheet into place and taped the edges together to hold the fanlight in a cardboard cocoon of protection, glad she had taken several photos of the finished project. She would have to get them up on her Web site soon.

  “Need any help?” Paul asked from the doorway.

  Kate glanced down at his moon boot. She had gotten so used to doing things for him in the early days of his injury, she had to remind herself how well he was able to manage now.

  “Are you up to it? I can handle it myself if you’re not.”

  Paul flexed his muscles and struck a Charles Atlas pose. “You mean carrying that out to the car? Piece of cake.”

  Kate hovered anxiously as he lifted the package. “Just make sure this doesn’t wind up in pieces.” She followed him out to the garage and opened the car door so he could lay the parcel on the backseat.

  “Thanks, honey.” She gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Take your time. And do something nice for yourself while you’re at it. I’m doing fine on my own these days, and you’ve been working way too hard. You need to take a break.”

  WITH THE FANLIGHT delivered and Steve’s exclamations of approval ringing in her ears, she stood on the sidewalk in front of Smith Street Gifts, reveling in the sense of accomplishment of a job well done.

  She tucked her hands inside the pockets of her Windbreaker and leaned back against the building. If only the other issues in her life could be resolved so easily.

  Her fingers wrapped around something in her pocket, and she pulled it out to see what it was. Her eyes widened when she saw the candy wrapper she’d found in the little pine grove above Roland Myers’ house.

  Kate smoothed the wrinkled paper between her fingers. Her only clue, and she didn’t even know whether it was a link in the case or merely litter dropped elsewhere and blown about the countryside before becoming entangled in that thorn bush.

  A sigh escaped her lips. Paul had told her to take a break and do something nice for herself. The nicest thing she could think of would be to have the Mustang mystery resolved.

  Kate studied the wrapper. Was it worth spending her time trying to follow up on this, or would it wind up being another instance of chasing after the wind?

  Just how did one go about following up on a candy wrapper, anyway? She could hardly take it over to Town Hall and demand Skip dust it for prints.

  She ran her thumb across the label, ideas churning in her mind. Fertilizers could be traced to specific factories. Bullets had lot numbers and could be traced by those.

  Was there a way to determine where something as innocent as a candy bar came from?

  Kate raised her eyes and looked over the wrapper to the red-brick building located diagonally across the intersection. Maybe a better question was, who did the candy bar go to?

  She crossed Smith Street to the southwest corner of the Town Green, then waited for traffic to let up before hurrying across Main Street. When she reached the sidewalk, she nearly turned back. Why did she think she would find any answers at the Mercantile?

  Then again, why not? It might well prove to be a wasted effort, but it wouldn’t take long to find out. Then she could go on with the rest of her day. At least she would know she had tried.

  INSIDE THE MERCANTILE, she waited until Sam Gorman was free before walking up to him. “Do you have a minute?”

  “Sure, Kate.” Sam planted his broad hands on his hips in the stance that always reminded her more of a sea captain than a store owner. “What can I do for you?”

  Kate held out the crumpled wrapper. “This may sound like a silly question, but is this a popular brand of candy? Do you sell many of these?”

  “Heath bars? Not too many.” Sam grinned. “In fact, Paul is my best customer for those. He’s the main reason I even keep them in stock.”

  Kate’s hopes plummeted. “Okay, thanks. That’s what I needed to know.” She pocketed the wrinkled paper again.

  So much for her so-called lead. If that was one of Paul’s candy wrappers, it must have been quite a wind that had carried it clear out to the Myers’ place.

  From Sam’s look of concern, her expression must have betrayed her disappointment. “I’m sorry if that wasn’t the answer you were looking for, but I don’t know anybody else around here who likes them as much as he does.”

  “I can think of one,” Arlene Jacobs called from the register. “That new kid is as crazy about them as your husband. He comes in here nearly every day to get one.”

  She leaned back against the register and toyed with a strand of her bleached-blond hair. “You know the kid I mean, Kate. The one who didn’t have enough money the other day. You bought him one of these bars yourself.”

  Kate’s mind flashed back to the snack items she’d purchased for Cody: milk, string cheese, and a candy bar...She tried to picture the items one by one.

  Yes, Arlene was right. It had been a Heath bar.

  So what did that mean? Kate closed her eyes and pressed her fingertips against her temples.

  Sam’s voice filtered through the jumble of thoughts whirling through her mind. “Are you all right, Kate? You need an aspirin or something?”

  She shook her head and smiled. “I’m fine. I just need a minute to think.” She walked back to the snack aisle and stared at the candy display, trying to organize the fragments of information she’d picked up along the way.

  The Heath wrapper had been tangled in a thorn bush near a prime spot for watching Roland Myers’ house.

  Cody liked Heath bars as much as Paul did.

  Cody was a nice boy she truly liked, but he always had an air of hiding something.

  Her eyebrows drew together as she remembered the emphatic way Cody had refused to drive Avery’s truck.

  An image floated into her mind, the sight of the Mustang sitting in the middle of the wreckage at the diner, with no driver in sight.

  With startling clarity, the pieces snapped into focus like a view through Eli’s stereoscope.

  It isn’t two mysteries after all; it’s only one. I’ve been looking at the same problem from different angles all along!

  Picking up one of the Heath bars, she weighed it in her hand for a moment. Then she strode to the counter and paid for it before she could change her mind. She slipped the candy bar into her pocket and went outside. Maybe a few brisk laps around the Town Green would clear her head and give her time to decide what to do next.

  AS IT TURNED OUT, she didn’t have the luxury of time to think.

  Kate stood in the shelter of the Mercantile’s doorway and watched a familiar figure leaning against the clock tower.

  I guess you want me to do this now, don’t you?

  Even in this public setting, the boy maintained his typical air of caution, distancing himself from contact, to all appearances content to enjoy the sunny afternoon alone.

  And Kate was about to cast a long shadow over his day.

  Gathering her courage, she sent up a quick prayer for wisdom. She looked from side to side to check the traffic, then trotted across Main Street. She could
tell the instant Cody recognized her from the ripple of tension that stiffened his slender frame.

  Kate picked up her pace, relieved when he didn’t dart away. Surely that marked an improvement in their relationship. Hating what she was about to do, she slid her hands into her pockets and balled them into fists as she walked up to him.

  “Pretty afternoon, isn’t it?” She pulled out the candy bar and held it out to him without waiting for a response.

  Cody’s eyes lit up at the sight of the snack, and he took it with a grin. “Thanks.” He started to peel the paper back. “It’s my favorite.”

  “I know.” Kate settled back against the clock tower and hooked her thumbs in her pockets, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible.

  “Sam says he doesn’t sell a lot of them at the Mercantile. Not too many people like them as much as you and my husband.”

  Cody bit into the treat with every sign of enjoyment. “I don’t know why. I sure enjoy them.”

  Affecting a casual air, Kate looked across the street in the direction of the diner, where heavy tarps still hid the building from view.

  “It sure seems strange to have the diner shut down. I wonder when Loretta is going to let everybody know what she plans to do with the place.”

  She watched him closely as she went on. “Did you see the damage before they covered up the front of the building?”

  Cody swallowed the last bite of candy and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Focusing his eyes on the ground, he mumbled, “I heard it was a real mess.”

  Kate nodded. “They never have figured out who was driving that night. The car that went through the window belonged to a man named Roland Myers. Have you ever met him?”

  Cody shook his head and continued staring at the winter-brown grass. “No, I can’t say I have.”

  This was it, her point of no return. Kate took a deep breath. “I was out at his place the other day.”

  She pulled the wrapper from her pocket and spread it open so he could see it clearly. “I found this near a group of pine trees on the hill behind his property.”

  The boy’s eyes flared wide, and he took a step backward. He was going to run. Kate could see it in every line of his body.

  She started toward him, hand outstretched. Her steps halted at the sound of a cheery voice.

  “Afternoon, Missus Hanlon. Who’s your friend?”

  Cody spun on his heel, then froze when he saw Skip Spencer in his tan uniform. His head shifted from side to side as if sizing up the potential for escape.

  Before he could make a choice that would only make matters worse, Kate closed the distance between them and put her hand on his shoulder. “This is Cody, Skip.”

  She looked up at the boy’s pale face. “Cody, this is Deputy Spencer. He works for Sheriff Roberts, and you have my word that they’re both fair and honest men. Do you have something you’d like to tell them?”

  Kate could feel the tension vibrating through the teen. She held her breath, hoping he wasn’t going to force Skip to chase him and bring him in like a fugitive.

  To her great relief, his shoulders sagged, and he nodded. “Yeah, I do. I’m tired of hiding.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Sheriff Alan Roberts propped his elbows on his desk and stared at the young man seated across from him without blinking.

  Kate scooted the chair she had commandeered closer to Cody’s and gave him an encouraging pat on the arm. “It’s going to be all right,” she promised. “You can tell him the whole story.”

  Sheriff Roberts cleared his throat and glanced at Skip, who sat off to one side holding a pen poised over the notebook on his lap. Then he looked back at Cody. “Why don’t we start at the beginning? You say your name is Cody?”

  The boy looked at the floor and shuffled his feet. “Actually, it’s Josh. Josh Cannery.”

  Shock rippled through Kate. He lied about his name? Have I misjudged him completely?

  She thought of Paul’s admonition not to jump to conclusions and decided to listen to the whole story before she made up her mind.

  The sheriff nodded. “Okay, Josh, then. Where do you live? You’re not from around here, are you?”

  “No sir, not really.” Josh glanced up quickly, then looked down at the floor again. “I live in Cullowhee, North Carolina, with my mother. I hitchhiked here to look for my dad.” He rubbed his hands together and gulped. “But when I got here, I found out he had moved on.”

  The sheriff eyed him steadily. “Who told you that?”

  “I went to the address he used on some old letters my mom had. Nobody there knew anything about him.”

  Sheriff Roberts fiddled with his desk pen. “What’s your father’s name?”

  “Andrew Cannery.”

  The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up. “Drew Cannery? I knew him well. I never heard anything about a family, though.”

  Josh shrugged with a nonchalance that might have fooled Kate had she not seen the flash of pain that crossed his face.

  “Maybe we didn’t matter to him much. He left when I was six, and I haven’t seen him since. He didn’t know I was coming.”

  “How about your mother? Did she know?”

  “No, sir. I didn’t tell her where I was going. She doesn’t know where I am.”

  “Cody!” The name burst out of Kate’s mouth before she could stop herself. “I mean...Josh. You’ve been gone how long? She’s probably frantic.”

  Roberts hushed her with a look. “Why don’t you give me her phone number? We’ll get in touch with her and let her know you’re all right.”

  He scribbled down the number Josh recited, then leaned back in his chair. “As for your dad, the last I heard, he was in Memphis.”

  Josh’s head bobbed up and down. “That’s what I found out.”

  The sheriff’s eyes narrowed. “I thought you said no one at the place he was living could tell you anything about him.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. They didn’t have a clue, so I used the library’s computer to look him up on the Internet.”

  Kate smiled to herself. That explained Livvy seeing him around the library so often.

  “Then we shouldn’t have any problem tracing him,” Sheriff Roberts said. “But it doesn’t sound like he has custody of you, am I right?”

  When the boy nodded, Roberts continued. “Why don’t you just wait here with Mrs. Hanlon and Deputy Spencer while I let your mother know what’s going on.”

  He planted his hands on his desk and started to rise, but Kate held out her hand. “Wait, there’s more.”

  “Okay.” He lowered himself slowly back into his chair. “I’m listening.”

  Kate waited. Cody—no, Josh, she reminded herself—hung his head and sat with his hands dangling between his knees as if wishing the floor would open up and swallow him.

  The silence lengthened. Kate leaned forward and laid her fingers on his forearm. “Just tell him the truth,” she said softly. “You’ll feel better once you get it all out.”

  A shudder ran through the boy’s slender frame. “Okay, you’re probably right.”

  He drew a deep breath and sat up straight in his chair to look into the sheriff’s eyes. “I’m the one who drove the car into the diner.”

  The sheriff’s jaw sagged. Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw Skip rise halfway out of his chair. Sheriff Roberts recovered his composure first and gestured to Skip, who scrambled to retrieve the notebook that had fallen to the floor.

  Roberts stared down at his desk for a moment, then looked straight at Josh. “Tell me what happened.”

  Having made up his mind to unburden himself, a flood of words flowed from Josh like water from a bursting dam. “I had to get to Memphis to find my dad, but I didn’t want to hitchhike any more. I decided that wasn’t such a smart idea.”

  “No kidding.” Skip’s mutter earned him a raised eyebrow from Sheriff Roberts.

  “I thought maybe I could get a bus ticket, but I didn’t have enough money for that.
I didn’t have enough for food, either, and I was really getting hungry.”

  Kate’s lower lip trembled. She knew he hadn’t been eating well, but she never dreamed he’d been reduced to such dire straits.

  Sheriff Roberts tapped his fingertips together. “It’s been a while since you took that car. You must have had a meal or two since then. How’d you manage?”

  Josh looked even more miserable, if that were possible. Staring at his lap, he mumbled a response.

  The sheriff frowned. “You need to speak up. I didn’t catch that.”

  Josh raised his head and enunciated clearly: “I said, I took her wallet.” He turned to Kate, a look of pleading on his face. “I’m sorry. I thought if I could get enough to buy a ticket to Memphis, my dad could pay you back. I didn’t think of it as stealing, not really.”

  Kate held his gaze. “When did you take it? I still haven’t figured that out.”

  “It was while you were talking to that lady in the library. I’d just found my dad’s address, and I knew I had to figure out a way to get to him. You were busy talking, and you walked off and left your purse there on the counter. No one else was around, so I just reached in and grabbed the wallet and stuck it under my jacket and took off.”

  He looked directly at Kate, his eyelids suspiciously pink. “I never did anything like that before in my life, honest. It just about made me sick, and I’ve felt bad about it ever since.” His voice wobbled. “I don’t know why you should believe me, but I’m really, really sorry.”

  The sheriff’s face remained impassive. “So you took her wallet and stole the money out of it. What happened to the bus ride to Memphis?”

  Josh licked his lips. “There was enough money in there to buy some food, but not enough for a bus ticket. I didn’t know what to do then. I knew if I called my mom and told her what I’d done, she’d skin me.”

  The sheriff’s lips tightened. If not for the steely look in his eyes, Kate would have sworn he was fighting a smile.

  Josh continued. “I was scared someone might have seen me take Mrs. Hanlon’s wallet, so I had to stay out of sight. I wandered around the back roads the rest of the day, trying to get up enough nerve to start walking to Memphis. I must have walked for miles. Then I realized it was almost sunset, so I started looking for a place to hole up for the night. And I found a good one. At least I thought I did.”