Page 49 of The Girl and the Lies

Almost as though her words beckoned him, a doctor comes out of the back of the emergency room and comes over to us.

“Mrs. Powell?” he asks.

“That’s me,” she says.

“I’d like to speak to you privately for a moment,” he says.

She looks like she doesn’t want to stand up, but eventually, she pushes herself out of the chair and follows him into the back. Too filled with adrenaline to sit, I stand and start pacing the waiting area.

“I think that we’ve got enough for tonight,” Officer Trammel says. “We’ll talk to Mrs. Powell more tomorrow.”

They leave, and as I watch them walk out the door, I’m shocked to see Tracy Ellis come in. I stalk over to her.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Something has happened to a member of my company, and I am here to provide spiritual support,” she says.

“Where were you and your spiritual support when Gideon and Sabrina were murdered?” I ask.

“I didn’t have the opportunity to be there for their loved ones when I should have been, and I regret that, but I’m here now, and I want to know what happened,” she says.

“How do you even know that something happened?” I ask, briefly wondering if Marshall called her after dropping the call with police dispatch.

“Another employee, Miles Kaufman, lives on the same street as Marshall and Carla Powell. When he saw the police cars and ambulance go to their house, he called me to let me know that there was an emergency and my prayers were gravely needed. Please, Agent Griffin, I know we haven’t seen eye to eye in some parts of this investigation, but you need to understand how important this is. I’m here to bring peace and comfort. I need to know what happened. Miles said he saw Carla run into the house. Does that mean something happened to Marshall?” Tracy asks.

“I’m not going to give you any information about what happened tonight. This is an emerging situation, and I don’t need your interference,” I say. “You need to leave.”

“I have just as much right to be here as you do,” she says. “If something happened to Marshall, Carla is going to need support and guidance. I know she recently strayed from the flock, but I am still here to be a prayer warrior with her and keep vigil over Marshall.”

“She didn’t stray from a flock. She quit your company because she wants a new life for herself and her husband,” I say. “And it’s up to her if she wants you to know anything about what’s happening or if she wants you here. You can’t decide that for her.”

“And neither can you,” she shoots back icily.

I glance over at the door again and notice a figure standing just outside. He shifts, moving his weight to one foot, but he doesn’t turn around to look inside.

“Is that Ander?” I ask.

“Yes, I called him when I decided to come here. I thought it might be a good idea for me to have security with me considering the situation,” she says.

“I thought you said not to be afraid and that you weren’t going to back down or show any fear in the face of a mere human,” I point out.

Her face goes red as she obviously struggles to come up with reasoning.

We fall into an icy silence and stay that way for several minutes as I wait for Carla to come back from talking to the doctor. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice people gathering outside the doors. Ander holds his arm out to stop them from going any further. I can hear the muffled sound of them shouting, but the thick glass of the doors stops the words from coming through. I start toward the door to find out what’s happening, but I turn around when I hear Carla’s voice.

“What’s going on? Tracy, what are you doing here?” she asks.

I walk over to her, putting myself between the two women as Tracy rushes forward like she’s going to grab on to her.

“Oh, dear, I had to come be here for you in your time of crisis,” Tracy says around me. “Please tell me that Marshall is all right.”

“How did you even find out about this?” she demands, the gaze she gives me filled with the question of whether I might have called her to tell her about the attack.

“Someone deeply concerned about the two of you and aware of your need for spiritual guidance and strength at this time called me,” she says.

“Miles,” Carla says with a note of disdain in her voice. “I can’t believe he thought it was his place to call you and tell you anything.”

Tracy contorts her face into a hurt expression. “I thought you would be glad that I was here. There are so many people praying for you right now. Don’t you know that? So many people holding you in their hearts and lifting you up as you walk through this trial.”

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