“I am not any man, Natalie. I’m your husband. I wish you would have talked to me instead of leading me on. Given my family’s history, I’m scared, too. I don’t know what the future of our marriage holds, but I know that I love you more than anything in this world. We have to be honest with and trust each other. More importantly, we have to trust God. I know I’ve been slipping big time where He’s concerned, but I’ll get it together, I promise.”
Natalie was too choked up to respond. She still wasn’t sold on the baby thing, but maybe she would be willing to discuss it more after Corrine was found. The last thing she wanted was for this issue to drive a wedge between them. Troy looked as if he would say something else, but before he could speak, she grabbed his chin, pulling his lips to hers. She tasted the saltiness—her tears or his? In another day or two she’d be on her cycle and in times past, she and Troy made a valiant effort to feed their hormones before the drought. Her emotions were all over the place and it was the immediate need for consolation that overtook her more than the desire for physical pleasure. Like in Genesis when Abraham’s servant brought Rebekah to Isaac after Sarah died, the Bible says that he took her into his mother’s tent and was comforted. Though Corrine was still believed to be alive, the possibility of death was very imminent. While God held her spiritually, Troy took care of her every physical need. At least for the moment, she was able to escape the cruelties of this world into her own universe of ecstasy.
CHAPTER 37: A LEVEL HEAD
“Corrine, you have to eat something,” The Avenger spoke lovingly while trying to force oatmeal in her mouth. Corrine’s lips stayed firmly pressed together. “It’s not time for you to fast yet. We’ll begin that process before you go to meet the Lord. If you don’t eat, then we can start right now and this will all be over sooner than later.”
She said nothing. She would look like her mother if it wasn’t for her swollen eyes from crying all night and her red, flared nostrils. There was innocence in her eyes that the others didn’t have. The Avenger almost felt sorry for her, but sin did not deserve sympathy. It must be eradicated or it would spread like cancer. If Corrine slept with one married man, she’d sleep with another! The mere thought incited the Avenger, and without warning, Corrine was slapped. “Eat!” This time Corrine opened her mouth as the Avenger shoved the spoon in. “Good girl. Obedience is an essential element to your walk with Christ.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” Oatmeal drooled from the corners of her mouth as she cried.
Like a mother gently cleaning her child’s face, the Avenger cleaned Corrine’s softly. “Honey, I’ve already answered that question. You have sinned against God.”
“W-w-hat gives you the right to judge me about anything?”
“Scripture. In the last two verses of 1 Corinthians 5, Paul says that we aren’t to judge those outside of the church because God will, but we can judge those who are inside the church. In verse 13 of the New International Version, he says to ‘expel the wicked man from among you.’ I’m simply following orders. What happened to me will not continue to happen to other couples.”
“You are misusing the Word.”
“And you are living contrary to it.”
“Please, let me go. I promise not to say anything. My family was expecting me yesterday and I know they are out looking for me.”
“They can search high and low, but there’s one thing I am confident of: they won’t find you until I’m ready for your body to be discovered. Eat up! This is getting cold and I need to get to church.”
• • •
Natalie woke up a little after nine Sunday morning to an empty bed. Troy had left a note on his pillow saying that he was in the basement. She smiled. God, please give him wisdom. While Troy did his part, she’d do hers. Faith without works was dead. Yesterday she cried, today she would take action. She heard Aneetra fussing at Nate to stop writing on the walls and got up to see what was happening.
“Hi, Mommy!” He ran and hugged her legs.
She picked him up and gave him a kiss while greeting Aneetra. “What are you in here doing?”
“I color on ’da walls and it go away.”
“Girl, he loves that disappearing ink set that Diane sent him, but I’m trying to get him dressed so we can get out of here. I was going to take him to church and come back later and get his clothes.”
Natalie took one of the ink bottles from her and read the label. Magically disappears within minutes. “I hope this stuff doesn’t stain.”
“No, it doesn’t. It’s really neat though. She got him seven bottles and he’s already used two. I just hope he doesn’t think he can write on the walls with everything.”
“Don’t you write on the walls unless you ask permission first. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am. Can I write on ’da walls now?”
“No. Aunt Nee Nee told you to stop. You’re going to spend the night over her house.”
“I wanna go over Sissy’s house.”
That was a tug on her heart string that she didn’t need. She hugged him, not knowing how to respond. She was thankful that Aneetra stepped in.
“We’ll go over my house and get ice cream later and watch one of your Spider-Man movies.”
“Yay! I wanna go to Aunt Nee Nee’s and eat ice cream and watch my Spider-Man movie.”
“Okay, baby, but first you have to listen to her and get dressed for church.”
“ ’Kay.” He got his pants, attempting to put them on.
“I spoke with Pastor Giles this morning. He told me to tell you that he’s praying for you and if there’s anything you need, ask. He said he tried calling you.”
“I haven’t even checked my phone. Please tell him I said thank you.” Natalie was not one to get hung up on preachers, but she absolutely loved Pastor Giles. He was humble and not one of those super-star mentality types always surrounded by armor bearers and distanced from his mid-sized congregation. Despite being extremely busy, he seemed to go the extra mile to show how much he cared about members. If he couldn’t do something himself, he made sure someone else on the ministerial staff did. “Where are Lauren and Ashley?”
“Marcus picked them up about an hour ago. He asked if he could take them to breakfast and hang out with them today before they leave for my sister’s in the morning. I think he wants to talk to them and explain what’s going on in his own way.”
“Then you don’t have to take Nate. He’ll be all right. If your kids are gone, no need of looking after anyone else’s.”
“It’s not a problem. I’ll have plenty of alone time when they are in Louisiana. Let me help you.”
“I can’t get ’dis!” Nate whined. He’d gotten both of his legs stuck in one pant leg.
“I’ll get him together, but will you please take this?” She gave Natalie the other bottles of ink she had. “You know Nate didn’t open these by himself, right? Feel free to keep them out of eyesight until we’re gone. No need to take everything to my house.”
Natalie laughed and stuffed them in the pocket of her robe while Aneetra attended to Nate. Her motherly instinct wanted to take over. She felt like she was delegating a very important role, but she quickly got over it. Aneetra was an awesome godmother and Natalie told herself she’d step back and let her do her thing. She’d be getting Nate dressed again soon enough. Now that she thought about it, she’d better enjoy the break while she had it. It was too bad it had to come at Corrine’s expense.
Natalie was far enough down the basement stairs to witness Troy close something on his computer real quick. “What’s up?”
“I was going over crime scene photos. Nothing my pretty wife needs to see and worry her head over.” He held out his arms, welcoming her into his lap. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll feel better once this is all over, I’m sure.”
“Ouch! Babe, whatever you have in your pocket is cutting into my stomach.”
“Oh, my bad.” She removed the squeeze bottles, explai
ning to Troy how they had made it there in the first place.
“Leave it up to my mama to get stuff like this. She loves getting loud or messy gifts.”
“Nate needs to call and thank her.”
“Yeah, but finding Corrine is more important right now.”
“True.” Curiosity took over Natalie and she opened one of the ink containers and began writing on the wall. Troy looked at her like she was crazy, but seemed to use her diverted attention to cover up additional things on his desk. She wanted to know what he was hiding, but figured whatever he was hiding from her was for her own good. “Oh wow! This is neat.”
He turned around as the words “I love you” lingered on the wall for a few moments then began to fade. Her excitement disappeared just as quickly. Troy caressed her back while ignoring the vibrating cell phone on his desk for about the third or forth time. “Who’s Cheryl Hunter?”
“Oh, um, someone who works for the FBI. She put together the profile of the suspect.”
“Then why aren’t you answering!” Natalie grabbed the phone and forced it to his ear.
“Hel-lo?” Troy didn’t sound like himself. “No, it’s not…uh, we’re fine…thanks for your insight and concern…um, I have to go now.”
“Everything all right?”
“Yep. She’d heard about Corrine.”
He looked stressed, so she switched her focus. “I shouldn’t have come down and interrupted you. I wanted to say hi. I should probably get going anyhow. I’m going to pass around fliers of Corrine.”
“That’s a good idea. I’m supposed to meet Jon somewhere later, but I’m waiting on him to call me back. Will you send Nate down here before they take off?”
“Sure thing.” She got up to head back upstairs.
“Hey, Nat…I love you, too,” he said and went right back to work.
• • •
Jon wouldn’t risk sending him official photos of Corrine’s apartment, but he did promise to resend the ones of Mindy Lee that he’d neglected to attach yesterday. Troy was cool with that. He had enough pics from Corrine’s apartment on his phone to get an accurate assessment. He uploaded them from his Droid onto his computer and printed them, studying the image of the note: WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD, THERE IS NO REMISSION OF SIN. THEY HAD TO DIE SO THAT OTHERS WILL COME TO REPENTANCE. GOD WILL NOT BE MOCKED BY SIN! SOON THE WAGES OF SIN MISSION WILL BE COMPLETE AND SOULS WILL BE SAVED. Corrine Shepherd WILL BE THE LAST DEATH. Corrine’s name had been handwritten after being whited out. Why didn’t the killer retype the note instead of handwriting the name? Troy was getting restless waiting for Jon. He got the key from Natalie, said good-bye to Nate, and drove over to Corrine’s, ignoring another incoming phone call from Cheryl.
The door was slightly ajar and Troy could hear someone rustling around inside her apartment. He pulled out his gun and went in. “Hold it right there!”
A dusty-blond Caucasian man, dressed in blue jeans and an Ohio State football T-shirt and matching sun visor, looked frightened enough to pee his pants. He dropped his car keys and held his hands up like he’d been placed under arrest. “I-I’m s-s-sorry. I didn’t break in, I promise. I have a key.”
“What are you doing here?” Troy, with his gun still pointed, slowly approached him.
“I came to check on Corrine. She is my g-g-irlfriend. I haven’t been able to get a hold of her all weekend.”
“Place your hands on the wall!” Troy patted him down, pulled out his wallet and confirmed his identity: Brent Ellis, 5’11”, blue eyes, and 175 pounds. “Says here that you live in Mansfield. An hour is a long way to drive for some booty.” For some reason, he’d never pictured Corrine with a white man. He figured she’d take after both her mothers and go for that tall, dark type. Then again, he’d never thought she’d settle for being a mistress, either. “How did you and Corrine become involved?” Troy put his gun away and gave him back his wallet.
“We work together, sir. I’m her supervisor.”
“Sounds like sexual harassment to me.”
“No! It’s not like that at all. We keep our personal relationship separate from work. We only see each other in the evenings and on the weekends.”
That saddened Troy. Corrine was such a bright and talented girl. She didn’t have to compromise her integrity to get ahead. “When is the last time you saw her?”
“Thursday. We came back from a business trip in Chicago. I didn’t go to work Friday because…um…I had some personal issues to deal with. Oh, my gosh, did something happen to her? Her brother’s birthday party was yesterday and I’m assuming that’s his present on the table.”
“Did you talk to her at all Friday or yesterday?”
“Not at all yesterday, but Friday, when she was on break. Then later that night, um, she was dialed by mistake.”
“What do you mean she was dialed by mistake? Did you talk to her that night or not?”
“Not really, but she answered. I wasn’t the one who called her. It was a…um, friend of mine.”
Troy could tell Brent wasn’t being completely honest and, having been a player in his younger days, he could pretty much piece together what had happened. “What time did the call take place?”
“Around ten or so, I guess.”
Brent fit the profile: Caucasian male, anywhere between thirty and forty years old. Troy didn’t believe he had anything to do with Corrine’s disappearance though. The killer made it clear that Corrine was part of his collection. This guy didn’t seem tough enough to pull something like that off. He was bright red and shaking like an epileptic. Plus, if he was in Chicago with Corrine, then he couldn’t have killed Mindy Lee. The information was useful in establishing a timeline for Corrine’s abduction, which had to take place sometime between ten o’clock Friday night and late yesterday morning when Natalie had first tried to contact her.
“Sir, am I going to have to testify in court if something bad has happened to her? Can I just give a sworn affidavit? If this goes public, it can ruin everything for me.”
The more this guy opened his mouth, the more Troy wanted to deck him. He wished he could arrest him, if for nothing else than being stupid. “I’m not worried about your image or keeping your wife and kids from finding out you’re a lying cheater! My only concern is finding Corrine.”
“Wh-h-hat makes you think I’m married?”
Did this dummy really not know he still had his wedding ring on? “I ask the questions; you answer. Who knows about your affair with Corrine?”
“No one except her mom. I guess she sort of flipped out when Corrine told her about us. I certainly didn’t tell anyone.”
He pulled out a pen and notepad. “Leave your name and number so I can contact you if you’re needed further. I don’t know what game you’re playing, but if you come near my daughter again, your image will be the least of your worries. The first chance you have to take another position at your job, you better do so. In the meantime, if Corrine gets fired, demoted, or has any problems at work that can be traced back to you, I will make a personal trip to your job to see that a full sexual harassment investigation is launched and then I’ll escort you to Mansfield and explain how you have been pretending to work late while screwing around with a young innocent girl.”
“Yes, sir, I understand. I swear this is the first time I’ve done anything like this. I—”
“Just shut up and get out of here.” Brent ran like he was on fire. Jerk! What did Corrine see in him? Troy would bet money that he was messing around with other women in the office before he picked Corrine as his latest conquest. A wife, alone, was enough for one man to deal with. Why would anyone want a mistress, too!
Troy looked around Corrine’s apartment some more, hoping to find some missed clues. He tried calling Jon again.
“Hey, man, I was getting ready to call you. Where you at? You want to ride with me to Freeman’s? I want to interview him again.”
“Sure, but what makes you think he’ll be home on a Sunday afternoo
n. You sure he’s not at his church in Sandusky or in Heaven talking to Jesus.”
“He must’ve taken the day off because I spoke with him after talking to you this morning and he said I could come around one-thirty.”
“Okay. I’m at Corrine’s poking around.”
“You find anything?”
“Nope.” He quickly filled Jon in on Brent. “I have his information if you want to question him further.”
“Cool. We have someone trying to decipher whose name was whited out on that letter. It may not do us any good, as common as names are, but it’s worth a shot. By the way, I sent the pics of Mindy to you. They should be there when you get home.”
“Thanks.” Troy wanted to tell him that he’d received an email notification on his phone before Jon called, but he didn’t feel like trying to explain how he’d set up an email account on his phone. He’d look at it later. “You headed to Freeman’s now?”
“Yep. Meet me there in about twenty. Come with a level head, man. Don’t make me regret this.”
CHAPTER 38: DOWN-TO-EARTH
“God bless you!” Natalie said to the manager of the local printing shop. She’d gotten the flier together and took it there to get a hundred of them copied and the store manager didn’t charge her one dime, even after she’d told him she wanted them all in color.
“It’s the least I can do to help. Good luck in finding her.”
“Thank you so much!” She was headed to meet Lisa at a park not too far from where Corrine lived. She’d called this morning for an update on the situation and offered to help. Natalie didn’t even try to object. She’d pretty much figured she’d be on her own with Aneetra watching Nate and Troy working.
The picture she chose was one from last month when the two of them had a girl’s day out and went to the outlet mall in Jeffersonville. The photo was taken outside the Coach store with Corrine modeling a new handbag she’d bought. Natalie managed to crop it to a head shot. Corrine’s smile was so charming. Staring at it brought back memories of their day together and caused Natalie’s eyes to well with tears.
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