Page 55 of The Souls of Lost Lake
Officer Larson cleared his throat and asked directly, “Have you seen her?”
“I can ask Hanny if she has.” Deflection seemed to be Noah’s hidden talent.
“Hanny is here?”
“She brought me apple pie just last night.” At least this time Noah wasn’t blatantly lying.
“Has she seen Miss Coons?”
Noah’s response was another evasion. “She didn’t mention anything.”
Larson cleared his throat. “Well, if you see Miss Coons, youwilllet me know, right?”
“Who reported having seen Miss Coons in the first place?” Noah dodged. “I thought she disappeared when Jipsy did.”
Ava felt the cold from Jipsy’s dead corpse all over again. She shivered.
“Probably shouldn’t be sayin’,” Officer Larson replied. “But, seein’ as you’re the reverend and all, it was Mrs. Sanderson who saw her. Mentioned it to her husband, who let me know right away.”
“The Sandersons don’t even live on this street.” Noah’s observation was astute, yet Ava could tell he was fishing for something.
“I guess she was visiting someone? I didn’t ask. Figured she was credible and had no reason to lie.”
“Certainly not.” Noah accepted the answer as probable.
“Well then, I’ll let you get back to your ... afternoon.” Officer Larson seemed reluctant to leave. Maybe it was because Noah hadn’t invited him in.
“Thank you” was all Noah said.
Ava heard the door close firmly.
He was gutsy.
She had to hand it to Noah. For bein’ a preacher, he didn’t just sit in a chair, scribbling away on paper until Sunday morning whenhe rained down all the judgment from heaven on his parishioners. Fact was, Ava hadn’t even heard him whisper a sentence that sounded like he was preachin’. He hadn’t hardly said a word about the Lord either.
“Hurry up,” Noah gritted over his shoulder at her.
Here they were, the two of them, slinking through town like two criminals running from the police. She’d seen a picture in the paper of that one bad guy—John Dillinger—now he was a bit of a looker, if you asked her. In the darkness, Ava could make out Noah’s profile. He was a tad more criminal in looks than most preachers, if she was bein’ honest.
“C’mon!” He waved her into the shadows behind the post office and ducked down by a barrel filled with garbage. The moon was mostly behind the clouds, and it wasn’t quite pitch-dark out yet. Still, Tempter’s Creek had fallen asleep, or at least retired to their homes. When he yanked her down by her overall leg, Ava fell onto the ground beside him.
“Hey! You’re gonna break my leg!”
“Shhh!” He glowered at her, poking his head out from behind the barrel. After a moment, his body relaxed a bit. “Thought I heard someone coming.”
“We’re in a heap of trouble.” Her stating the obvious to Noah likely didn’t help matters.
Noah glanced at her. “Don’t I know it?”
“What plan do you got up your sleeve?” she pressed. Ava had rested during the afternoon, exhaustion having overcome her. When she’d awakened, it was to see Noah in the chair across from her, just watching her. He’d moved quickly on her awakening, and before she knew it, he’d snuck her out of the parsonage under cover of darkness with nary so much as an explanation.
“We’re going to go get Jipsy.” Noah’s quiet proclamation made Ava freeze. Her eyes widened until she was sure they were about ready to pop from her skull. Not unlike what Jipsy’s were probably gonna do soon if they left her out there in the woods too much longer.
“Andwhatare we gonna do with her?”
Noah didn’t bother to answer her but instead gave a wave with his hand and hurried back into the darkness. They ducked and dodged their way out of town—which wasn’t very far—and toward the mill and the woods where Ava had been earlier that day.
She had to admit, it was a whole lot different headin’ back into the dark abyss of the forest with Noah ahead of her. ’Course Ava couldn’t say he was all brawn and muscles, but he was all man, and from the back she could appreciate the appearance of him—again, if she was bein’ honest. He had a way about his movements that seemed to say he wasn’t unused to sneaking around in the night or even wrestling another man if need be.
