Page 53 of Jenna's Threatened Sanctuary

Swallowing hard, Debbie pocketed the card then rose to her feet.

“I have one more question.” He stood, needing to make absolute certain Milo could be crossed off his suspect list.

“What?” Defeated eyes held his gaze.

“Has there been anything off with your finances this year? Monthly payments going out that you aren’t sure what they’re for?”

Debbie let out a humorless laugh. “Trust me, Milo is crazy about keeping our finances on track. Everything’s in a spreadsheet, our budget kept to the cent.”

He bit back a sigh. “Thank you again for meeting me. Good luck with the move. I hope everything works out the way you want.”

“Me too. Family is the most important thing.” Debbie turned and hurried out the door.

Calvin stared after her. His gut told him if Debbie was being honest, Milo wasn’t the person responsible for killing Stella. He still wanted to check into his finances to be sure, but chances were whoever killed Stella was the same person leaving mysterious deposits in her checking account. Which left him at square one.

23

Jenna held up a framed painting of the Smoky Mountains at sunset against the cream-colored wall. Her muscles screamed at her to put it down, but Elsie stood back with her mouth twisted to the side while she figured out if they’d picked the right spot to hang it.

“I don’t know. What do you think?” Elsie tilted her head as if studying a Picasso.

“I think the picture will look fine anywhere you put it,” Jenna snapped.

Elsie’s eyes widened.

“Sorry.” Jenna let her arms drop and set the frame against the wall. “That was uncalled for.”

“You’re not wrong though. I’m putting way too much thought into tiny details that don’t really matter.” Elsie wiggled her eyebrows. “Sound familiar?”

Jenna scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” Elsie shot back. “When I first got here, the kitchen felt like a cheerful, family scene. That warmth was chased out awfully quick as soon as Calvin mentioned going to speak with that woman. What gives?”

Jenna shrugged, not wanting to dive into her immature reaction. The sting of rejection hadn’t been intentional. Hell, he was just doing his job. “I was acting like a silly teenager.”

“Doesn’t sound like you.”

Jenna sank onto the floor and scooped Oliver into her lap. “My emotions have been all over the place the last couple of days, but one thing has become glaringly obvious. I’m still in love with Calvin. And after last night, I just had this idea of us being a couple again. Right back to where we left off. Being partners, making decisions together, and falling into the same rhythm. But that’s not realistic and it wasn’t fair of me to put those expectations on Calvin. I’ll explain when he comes home.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand.”

“I hope so.” Jenna pressed a kiss to Oliver’s cheek as her phone vibrated against her leg. She fished her phone from her pocket and read the new text message.

“What’s wrong?”

She let out a long sigh. “It’s Father Bowman. He wants to go over Stella’s funeral arrangements with me.”

Elsie lowered herself on the floor beside Jenna and hooked an arm over her shoulder. “That won’t be easy.”

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and her emotions bounced back to grief. “I need to go to the church and see him. I’ve been so wrapped up in myself that I haven’t given Stella’s funeral the time it deserves. I owe her this. I owe it to her to make sure she has the best goodbye we can give her.”

She texted back a response to Father Bowman, asking when they could meet. “He wants to know if I can go to the church now. Can you keep an eye on Oliver?”

“Absolutely. Take all the time you need.”

Fifteen minutes later,Jenna parked along the street beside the church. The tall steeple greeted her. She hopped out of the car and hustled to the large brick structure. Stained glass windows shone from the sides of the building and a giant white cross sat on top of the bell tower. Jenna used the handrail to help her up the steps to the giant double doors. She tugged on the handle, and the old hinges creaked as the door swung open and she stepped inside.

The door closed behind her. Darkness took over the cold space, only the light through the intricate windows brightening the marble floor. The cherry wood walls and dark-colored glass gave the impression the hour was much later. An eerie silence made her shudder. She glanced around the rectangular vestibule. Closed doors sat on either side of the sanctuary, but the wide windows on the interior wall looked into the dimly lit sanctuary. Jenna went to one closed door, then the other, only to find them both locked.

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