Page 18 of Silent Prayer

Sheila gazed at Blake's house, lost in thought.He knows me too well,she thought, and for a moment she wondered if she'd made a mistake falling for him. After all, she couldn't lie to him the way she could lie to others. There was always a cost—to herself, if not to him.

He's good for you,she thought.He's kind to you. And after what happened to Natalie, you need someone in your corner.

"Tell me something positive," Finn said, oblivious to her thoughts. "Your best memory with her."

Sheila was quiet for a long moment, sifting through years of memories. Finally, she spoke. "There was this one time when we were kids. I must have been about eight, which would have made Natalie ten. Our parents had taken us camping up in the mountains."

She paused, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Natalie was always the brave one, you know? Always pushing boundaries.One night, she woke me up after our parents had gone to sleep. Said she wanted to go explore."

"In the middle of the night?" Finn asked, a note of amusement in his voice.

Sheila nodded. "Yeah. I was terrified, but I didn't want her to think I was a baby. So I went along. We snuck out of the tent and into the woods. It was so dark, I could barely see my hand in front of my face. But Natalie...she moved like she knew exactly where she was going."

"Where did she take you?"

"To this little clearing she'd found earlier in the day. When we got there, she told me to look up." Sheila's voice softened with the memory. "And when I did...Finn, I'd never seen so many stars in my life. It was like the whole universe was right there above us."

Finn smiled. "Sounds beautiful."

"It was. We lay there for hours, just staring up at the sky. Natalie knew all the constellations. She pointed them out to me, told me the stories behind them." Sheila's voice caught. "That's the Natalie I try to remember. Not...not how I found her."

Finn squeezed her hand. "The sister who showed you the stars. It's poetic."

Sheila nodded, blinking back tears. She felt suddenly grateful for Finn, but she didn't have the words to express it.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

She leaned closer, running a finger along his jawline…

Just then, a sudden flicker of light caught her attention. Her body tensed, instantly alert.

"Finn," she whispered, nodding toward Blake's house.

A light had come on in what appeared to be the kitchen. Through the gauzy curtains, they could see a figure moving around.

"It's three-thirty in the morning," Finn muttered. "What's he up to?"

They watched in tense silence as more lights came on in the house. The figure, presumably Blake, moved from room to room with purpose.

"He's getting dressed," Sheila said as the bedroom light flicked on. "Looks like he's in a hurry."

One by one, the lights winked off again until the only one remaining was on the ground floor, close to the front door. Then it went off, and the door opened. Thomas Blake emerged, dressed in a dark suit despite the early hour. He carried a briefcase and what looked like a small duffel bag.

"That doesn't look like someone heading out for an early meeting," Finn said, his voice low.

Blake hurried to his car, a sleek black sedan parked in the driveway. He threw his bags in the back seat and climbed in.

"He's running," Sheila said, her heart rate picking up. "Start the car, Finn. We can't lose him."

Finn turned the key in the ignition, the engine coming to life with a low rumble. They watched as Blake's car backed out of the driveway and started down the street.

"Lights off," Sheila said as Finn eased their vehicle onto the road. "We don't want to spook him."

They followed at a distance, keeping Blake's taillights in view but staying far enough back to avoid detection. The streets were empty at this hour, making it a delicate balance between not losing their target and not being too obvious.

Blake's car wound through the residential areas of Coldwater, eventually hitting the main road out of town.

"Where do you think he's headed?" Finn asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

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