Page 27 of Silent Prayer

They exchanged a troubled look. This new detail added another layer of complexity to an already puzzling case.

Just then, a commotion outside caught Sheila's attention. She stepped outside to see a middle-aged man arguing with an officer.

"Please," he said, trying to get to the front door. "I just need to speak with someone in charge." His eyes met Sheila's, pleading for her understanding.

"Let him through," Sheila said.

The officer, a burly man with sideburns, grunted and stepped aside.

"I'm Deputy Stone," Sheila said as the man approached. "And you are?"

"David Larson," he replied, his face etched with worry. "I live next door. Is it true? About Rachel?"

Sheila exchanged a glance with Finn, who was now standing behind her, before responding. "Mr. Larson, I'm afraid Rachel Kim has been killed. We're investigating it now. Did you know her well?"

David ran a hand through his thinning hair, visibly shaken. "We weren't close, but we've been neighbors for three years. She was...she was a good person. Driven, you know? Always working."

"Can you tell us more about her?" Finn asked. "Anything you know could be helpful."

David nodded, collecting his thoughts. "She worked at Elbridge Tech, some big executive position. Always left early, came home late. Lived for her job, I think."

"Was she religious at all?" Sheila asked. "Did you ever see her attend church or anything like that?"

To their surprise, David let out a short, humorless laugh. "Rachel? Religious? No way. She was about as atheistic as they come. I remember she hosted a winter solstice party last year instead of Christmas. Said she preferred to celebrate science over superstition."

Sheila and Finn exchanged a startled glance. This revelation threw their entire theory into disarray. If Rachel wasn't religious, why had the killer targeted her?

"Are you sure?" Sheila asked. "She never mentioned meeting with a priest or seeking spiritual guidance?"

"Absolutely not," David said. "Rachel was all about facts and logic. She thought religion was...well, let's just say she wasn't a fan."

"What about her personal life?" Finn asked. "Did she have many visitors? A boyfriend or girlfriend, perhaps?"

David shook his head. "Not that I ever saw. Like I said, she was always working. The only regular visitor I ever noticed was her dog walker."

Sheila glanced at Finn, who in turn addressed the burly officer. "Hey, Chad, you hear anything about a dog?"

"Yeah, there was one hiding in the bedroom," he said. "Animal control picked him up already."

Sheila turned her attention back to David. "So this dog walker would've had access to the house?" she asked.

David nodded. "That's right."

"You wouldn't know where we can find him by any chance, would you?"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"I can't tell whether we're on to something," Sheila said as she drove, "or if we're going deeper down the rabbit hole."

Sheila and Finn were on their way to speak with Jason Reeves, Rachel Kim's twenty-eight-year-old dog walker. He'd been working as a professional dog walker for the past five years with several clients in Rachel's upscale neighborhood. He had no criminal record and no religious affiliations that might make him a more likely suspect.

"I know. But we have to follow every lead, no matter how small," Finn said, studying his phone. "This guy had access to Rachel's house—we can't just ignore that."

Sheila said nothing. She sensed they were missing little details—details that might be the difference between life and death for the killer's next target.

Jason's modest apartment building was older, clad in a faded brick exterior crawling with rusted fire escapes. A few kids were playing in the small courtyard, their laughter echoing off the walls.

Sheila parked the car, and the two of them got out. They entered the building and climbed the creaking stairs to the third floor, the smell of various lunches cooking wafting through the hallways. Finn knocked on the door of apartment 3B, the sound echoing in the narrow corridor. There was no response.

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