Page 40 of Silent Prayer

"That would be helpful," Sheila said. "Let me get your phone for you."

A few minutes later, Celeste was swiping through the footage on her phone. Sheila watched intently, her eyes scanning for any sign of suspicious activity. The footage showed Celeste and Jasper going about their day, arranging displays and helping the occasional customer.

"Wait," Sheila said suddenly. "How far back does this footage go?"

"Not six months, if that's what you're looking for. It erases anything more than a month old."

Sheila's heart sank. So much for getting a look at the killer.

"What was your conversation like with the man who bought the seal?" she asked.

Celeste shrugged. "It was brief. He came in, asked about custom seals, and placed his order. He didn't engage in much small talk."

"Did he give a name?"

"John Smith," Celeste said with a wry smile. "Obviously fake, but it's not uncommon in our line of work. People value their privacy when it comes to spiritual matters."

"And he paid in cash?"

Celeste nodded. "Yes, that's also quite common."

"Have you heard from him since?" Sheila asked.

"No, not at all. He picked up the seal a week later, and that was the last I saw of him."

Sheila paused, considering her next question carefully. "Mrs. Moon, is there any possibility that Jasper has been in contact with this man without your knowledge?"

Celeste's eyes widened. "No, absolutely not. Jasper and I are very close. We work together every day, and he lives in the apartment above the shop. If he was meeting with someone or communicating regularly, I would know."

There was still one thing, however, that bothered Sheila. "If you and Jasper had nothing to do with the murders," she said, "then why did you tell Jasper to run?"

Celeste swallowed hard. "When you two came into the store and started asking questions, I figured this probably had to do with the Coldwater Confessor case. And since you were asking about the man who bought that seal…well, I guess I worriedJasper may have said or done something that would put him under suspicion—even a careless social media post these days can be damning."

"Why would Jasper post something potentially damning?"

Celeste sighed. "He means well, and he would never harm anyone…but not everyone knows that. Ever since the Patriot Act, there's no telling what might get you in trouble. He's dabbled in Communism, written posts about depopulating the earth...I guess I just thought there might be something worse that I didn't know about. I panicked."

Sheila studied the other woman in silence as she took this in.

"Please, Deputy Stone," Celeste said. "If anyone's in the wrong, it's me. I shouldn't have told him to run. Don't blame him for crimes he had nothing to do with."

Sheila nodded slowly and rose. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Moon. We may have more questions later, but for now, I think we're done here."

Finn was waiting for her out in the hallway. "How'd it go?" he asked.

She sighed. "I was able to establish an alibi for the both of them this morning. Not sure whether that's good or bad news. Also, we need to look into Jasper's background—any suspicious social media posts, anything that might indicate motive for the murders."

"Already taken care of."

Sheila frowned, surprised. "What are you talking about?"

"Got him to show me those posts himself—tactless, yes, but not proof of anything. He didn't know any of the victims, didn't post anything about them specifically. Everything was vague, generic—wannabe bullshit."

"How'd you get him to reveal that to you?"

He shrugged. "Told him his silence would do his aunt a lot of harm. Leaned into that angle pretty hard, and he eventually caved."

"Well done," Sheila said.

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