As people begin to sit down in order to listen to what the priest has to say, Aaron slips out. I wonder if the grief over someone other than his foster son was too much or if he's too busy investigating three murders. I don't know, but it makes me nervous.
"Jesus once told Peter, 'Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.'" The priest takes a quick sip of water from a bottle. I wonder how many funerals he has quoted that verse for. Probably all of them. "And He is waiting for all of us as well. Death is portrayed as something to be feared, but it's simply when we finally join our Creator. God created an afterlife for all of us—one filled with amazing joys you can't even imagine—and that is where our dear Brianna has gone."
I doubt it. I'd heard Brianna take 'the Lord's name in vain' more than a sailor. I suppose starting a verse about hell isn't a great way to start a funeral though.
I hear my father snort in disbelief. I catch his eye. He smirks.
* * *
I slide into the passenger side of my father's silver 2015 BMW sedan while my father gets into the driver's seat. He locks the door as I put on my seatbelt. Without a word, he starts the car and begins to drive back to our house. I stare out the window, watching the rundown houses pass by. It's lucky none of them were close to the forest fire because it seems like a single flame would engulf them in seconds.
"Sarah," my father says.
I glance over at him. I imagine grabbing the wheel and sending us both off the road. Maybe I'd be lucky and knock out one of those decrepit houses.
"When you came back to the house Thursday night, what should you have done with your wet clothes before you went upstairs?"
He doesn't look at me, but his expression shows that he's waiting for an answer.
"Taken them off."
"Yes. And dried off with the clothes you had stashed in your black bag."
My eyes widen. I can't figure out how he knew. How the hell did he know that I needed to get rid of my clothes?
He continues to wait for me to say something. He's not going to let me squirm out of this conversation by waiting for him to get distracted by something. Maybe I should force us to crash. At the very least, he would hurt his head enough that he could think whatever he saw was invented in his imagination.
"I searched your truck. I found the bag. And the rifle…and your spare clothes. I also found your boots, your raincoat, and your SIG. I didn't find a second cell phone. I assume you have another cell phone somewhere?"
"I-I do."
"Prepaid?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Did you pay cash?"
"Yes, Daddy."
My father, the judge, stops at a red light. "Tell me everything."
Acknowledgments
THE AUTHOR acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following word marks mentioned in this fiction:
Toyota Tundra, Pier I Imports, Coca-Cola, Ford Mustang, Cadillac Escalade, Styrofoam, Chevrolet S-10, Silence of the Lambs, The X-Files, Ray Bradbury, Alice in Wonderland, Agatha Christie, Kalashnikov Group, Colt Manufacturing, SIG Sauer, Botox, and Scrabble/Hasbro.
About the Author
Charlotte Raine is a best selling romantic suspense author. She lives near Vail, Colorado with her cat Jackson. If she isn’t writing her next novel she is skiing, meditating, gardening or chatting up the locals at her favorite coffee shops. If you are ever in the high country of Colorado look for her at Yeti’s Grind or Loaded Joe’s.
Use the links below to find her online…
@crainebooks
ILoveRomanticSuspense
www.charlotteraine.com
[email protected]
Also by Charlotte Raine
Do You Want To Play
* * *
Teacher Beware
Disturbed Mind
* * *
Midnight Sun
Devil’s Dawn
Blood Moon
* * *
Major Threat
Trigger Point
Safe At Last
Series Box Set
Devil's Dawn (A Grant & Daniels Trilogy Book 2) Page 16