Page 49 of In the Shadows
to the door, but her brow relaxed. She even began to tap her foot.
Thom’s fingers flew over the keys, building up to the end of
the song, when a fist banged against the front door of the church,
causing him to stop. Their ears rang with the missing notes.
The door rattled, catching against the bolt.
“Locked it,” Arthur said with a shrug, stopping Minnie mid-
twirl. His hands lingered at her waist, and Minnie flushed. “Out
the side.”
Cora stood with a low moan of despair or fear, but Minnie and
Thom shrieked with laughter, following Arthur past the pulpit
and into the dark corner at the front where a small door led to a
tiny, closet-like study. Charles and Cora brought up the rear, and
together the five tumbled out of the study into the fast-fading day.
“This way,” Arthur said, turning down a side street and taking
them on a winding, circuitous route through the town. Minnie
took Charles’s arm; she was nearly as breathless as he was, glancing
constantly over her shoulder for pursuit. Charles was too happy
that she had chosen his arm to care very much whether they were
caught.
An angry shout tumbled between houses after them.
“Charles can’t run much longer!” Thom said, puncturing
Charles’s mood. Though Charles was hoping they’d be caught
very soon. He could feel his heart, ragged and rebelling against
this strain, no matter how pretty the girl at his side.
Arthur nodded toward a row of houses. “Minnie, hide with
him. We’ll keep the chase going.”
Tugging his hand, Minnie pulled him through a narrow gap
between fences and into an overgrown yard with an old wooden
swing. They ducked low, letting the strands of grass tickle their
cheeks.
