Page 104 of Trouble Comes in Threes

“I miss you too. The kids and I will be here when you get home, so go to work, and don’t worry about us. We’ll be just fine.”

He gave me a long glance, then headed for the bedroom door.

“Joe?” I called after him.

He stopped in the doorway, his hair all askew as he turned back to me.

“Be careful.”

Worry covered his face. “You too,” he said and walked out the door.

Chapter Twenty-Two

I couldn’t go back to sleep after Joe left, and I couldn’t focus on work either. Instead, I grabbed my laptop and started a trial membership on an ancestry site. I wasn’t sure how they worked, but I hoped I could get a better understanding of my family tree. I’d barely started when Liam woke up. I took him downstairs, and since we had plenty of time left before church, I made a breakfast casserole so there’d be warm food when the kids woke up.

The morning went more smoothly than I’d anticipated, and we were only five minutes late to church. Neely Kate called me while we were on our way, checking on Daisy. She met us in the parking lot and helped unload the kids and get them off to their Sunday school classes. I wasn’t surprised Jed wasn’t with her. He liked to joke he’d burst into flames if he ever walked into the church, to which Neely Kate said she’d carry a fire extinguisher with her to put out the flames. He still couldn’t be persuaded, and she seemed to accept that.

“What are we going to do with the kids while we’re at the store?” she asked as we headed to the church sanctuary.

Crap. With the craziness of the morning, I hadn’t even considered it. “Maeve should be at church this morning. Maybe we can ask her to watch them.”

“Good idea.”

I stopped in the foyer and tugged her into a corner. “Neely Kate, Joe got called in early this morning.” Surely that part was safe to tell. Neely Kate was intuitive. She’d figure out the rest.

She didn’t disappoint. “Was there another murder?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.”

Her eyes widened. “They found the guy Austin saw murdered?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Dammit. I had to tell her more than that, but I felt guilty as sin telling her anything after I’d sworn to Joe he could trust my secrecy. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone, and I had to guilt it out of Joe, but they found a victim next to Shute Creek. He assured me it was a man and not a woman.”

Worry filled her eyes. “That’s good, I guess.”

“I’m glad we’re talking to Darlene. If we can find a connection between the victims, maybe we can put a stop to this before…” I couldn’t bring myself to say it.

Neely Kate put her hand on my arm. “We’ll save that woman from being murdered. I just know it.”

My throat tightened. “I’m glad you do because I don’t, Neely Kate.”

She hugged me tightly. “Darlene is going to help us piece things together.”

“I hope so.” Then I added, “But you can’t tell anyone what I just told you. Not even Jed. I feel guilty enough as it is.”

She stared at me with a grave expression. “Then it will just be between the two of us.” She looked into my eyes. “Do you want to try to have another vision?”

“Of the woman? I don’t even know what to ask about. You weren’t in the vision.”

She held out her hand to me. “You can try anyway.”

I frowned. “But I might see something about the baby.”

She was quiet for a moment. “You won’t, but if you do, then we’ll deal with it.”

My heart lurched. “Neely Kate.”

“It’s fine. Look. I want you to try.” Then she took my hand and squeezed.

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