Page 43 of In Her Fears
“Turn there,” Jenna said, pointing to a narrow dirt road just beyond the abandoned store.
The patrol car bumped along the uneven surface, dust billowing behind them.After about half a mile, the burned shell of what had once been a church came into view.Only the stone foundations and part of one wall remained standing, the rest having collapsed or been reclaimed by nature decades ago.Ivy crawled up the remaining wall, nearly obscuring the soot-blackened stone.The ruins stood in a small clearing, surrounded by tall pines.
Jake parked a short distance away.As they walked toward the church, they saw that an SUV was parked nearby—the only vehicle in sight.
“Probably Ashworth’s vehicle,” Jenna said, jotting down the make and license plate number in her notepad.
“See Ashworth anywhere?”Jake asked, scanning the area.
Jenna shook her head.“Let’s look around.”
They approached the ruins cautiously.Weeds pushed up through cracks in what had once been the floor, and birds had made nests in the remaining rafters.
“Ashworth?”Jake called out, his voice echoing strangely in the open space.
No response came.They moved deeper into the ruins, past what must have been the entrance foyer and into what would have been the nave.Jenna felt an odd sense of trespassing, as if they were disturbing something that should have been left to rest.
“Over there,” Jake said suddenly, nodding toward the far corner where part of the wall still stood.
A figure stood with his back to them, a camera raised to his eye.He was so still, so absorbed in his work that he might have been part of the ruins himself.He didn’t acknowledge their approach, even though their footsteps crunched on the debris-strewn ground.
“Christopher Ashworth?”Jenna called when they were about ten feet away.
The man lowered his camera slowly, as if reluctant to break his concentration.He turned to face them, looking annoyed.
Christopher Ashworth was in his early fifties, with sharp features and intensity in his gaze.His clothes were practical and worn—cargo pants with multiple pockets, a faded flannel shirt rolled to the elbows, sturdy boots.Three cameras hung from straps around his neck, each with a different lens attached.
“Can I help you?”he asked, his tone making it clear that he had no interest in doing so.
“Sheriff Graves, Genesius County,” Jenna replied, showing her badge.“This is Deputy Hawkins.We need to ask you some questions.”
Ashworth’s expression didn’t change.“I’m working,” he said flatly, turning back to his viewfinder.
Jake stepped forward.“Mr.Ashworth, this is a matter of some urgency.”
“So is this,” Ashworth replied without looking at them.“The light only hits this corner for about twenty minutes each day.I’ve been waiting weeks for the right conditions.”
Jenna fought back a surge of irritation that felt disproportionate to the situation.“Mr.Ashworth, we’re investigating a murder case.”
This finally got his full attention.He lowered the camera again, his eyes narrowing.“A murder case?What does that have to do with me?”
“We have some questions about your relationship with Elias Harrow,” Jenna said, watching his face carefully for a reaction.
A flicker of something—surprise?Annoyance?—crossed his features before his expression settled back into neutrality."I don't have a 'relationship' with Harrow," he said."Not anymore."
“Yet you regularly provide him with photographs,” Jake pointed out.“Location shots.Empty settings.”
Ashworth’s jaw tightened slightly.“That’s a professional arrangement.”
"We saw your photographs on a bulletin board in his studio," Jenna said."Some of them depict locations where murders have recently occurred."
This time, what seemed like shock registered on Ashworth’s face.“Murders?What are you talking about?”
His reaction seemed authentic, but Jenna had seen skilled liars before.Martin Holbrook is in Pinecrest Cemetery.Alexis Downey is in an abandoned hunting lodge in Whispering Pines Forest.Both locations you photographed for Harrow, both scenes he painted before the murders took place."
Ashworth paled visibly.“That’s...that’s not possible.”
“I’m afraid it is,” Jake said firmly.“And we need to understand why you’ve been providing these specific locations.”
