Page 42 of In Her Fears
“We need to speak with him urgently,” Jenna said.“Is there a way to reach him?”
“He doesn’t take his phone when he’s shooting,” Vince replied.“Says it interferes with his process.”
“Where is he working today?”she asked.
Vince hesitated.“I’m not really supposed to...I mean, he wouldn’t want to be disturbed.”
“This isn’t optional, Mr.Espy,” Jake said sharply.
Vince glanced between them, weighing his options.“Look, I don’t want any trouble, but Chris would be seriously pissed if I just sent people after him when he’s out on a shoot.”
Jenna stepped closer, moderating her tone.“Vince, I understand loyalty to your employer.But this is a time-sensitive matter that can’t wait.”
Vince’s expression remained conflicted.“Are you investigating him for something?Because if this is about those parking tickets—”
“This isn’t about parking tickets,” Jenna interrupted.“Without getting into specifics, there’s a potential public safety concern.We need to speak with Mr.Ashworth immediately.”She held his gaze.“I’d rather not have to charge you with obstructing an investigation.”
The threat was a bluff—but Vince didn’t need to know that.
He swallowed visibly.“Okay, fine.He’s in Gildner.About thirty minutes from here.”
“Gildner?”Jake repeated.“What’s he photographing out there?”
“The old church ruins,” Vince said, his resistance crumbling.“St.Something’s...it burned down like forty years ago.Chris has been wanting to shoot it for a while, said the light would be perfect today.”
“Can you give us specific directions?”Jake asked.
Vince nodded reluctantly, pulling out a pad of paper.“It’s on the outskirts of town.Not hard to find—Gildner’s only got like fifty residents.”He sketched a quick map, marking the church’s location with an X.“It’s just past the old general store, down a dirt road about half a mile.”
“Thank you for your cooperation,” Jenna said, taking the map.“If Mr.Ashworth returns here before we find him, please have him call me immediately.”She handed Vince her card as she turned toward the door.
Back in the cruiser, Jake studied the crude map while Jenna buckled her seatbelt.“Gildner,” he said, starting the engine.“Hadn’t figured on heading over that way.Town’s barely hanging on.”
As they pulled away from the curb, Jenna leaned her head back against the seat.“Perfect setting for the next grim scene,” she murmured.
Jake glanced at her as he navigated through Trentville’s light afternoon traffic.“You think the burned church is going to be the next location?”
“I don’t know,” Jenna admitted.“I can’t remember seeing a church in any of those paintings.”
When Jake turned onto the highway that would take them to Gildner, the landscape outside the window shifted to the forests and farms of rural Missouri, where fields were golden with early September crops awaiting harvest.Under different circumstances, Jenna might have found the scenery peaceful.
“What are you thinking about those paintings?”Jake asked after several minutes of silence.
Jenna gathered her scattered thoughts.“I’m thinking they’re either blueprints or prophecies, and I’m not sure which is worse.”
“If they’re blueprints,” Jake reasoned, “then Ashworth must be involved.He provides the locations, Harrow paints the scenes, then Ashworth—or someone else—brings them to life.”
“But if they’re prophecies...”
“Then Harrow is somehow seeing murders before they happen,” Jake finished.“Which sounds crazy, except...”
“Except I have dreams where dead people talk to me,” Jenna said quietly.“I’m not exactly in a position to dismiss unusual abilities.And seven years without proper sleep—it must do something to a person’s mind.Maybe break down barriers between...I don’t know, different levels of perception?”
“And your own insomnia this past month?”
“I don’t know,” she said again.“Maybe it’s just stress, maybe it’s something more.”
Jake slowed as they passed a faded sign welcoming them to Gildner, population 47.The “town” consisted of little more than a cluster of houses, a boarded-up general store, and a gas station that looked like it hadn’t seen customers in years.
