Page 41 of Silent Night

"Of course," Sheila agreed, her mind racing with possibilities. "But we should also consider the possibility that someone else is involved. We can't afford to overlook anything."

They continued down the hallway to another room where Finn was hunched over the computer seized from the church, his brow furrowed in concentration. The blue glow of the screen highlighted the intensity in his eyes. Sheila could feel the urgency in the air as they approached him.

"Find anything new, Finn?" she asked, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife.

Finn glanced up from the screen, rubbing his temples. "There are several user profiles on this computer, which suggests multiple people had access to it," he explained, his voice tinged with frustration. "And there's some stuff on here that Walden probably didn't download himself, like rock music."

Sheila's heart raced as she considered the implications. If other people had access to the computer, it strengthened her suspicion that Walden might be protecting someone else. But who?

Before she could voice her thoughts, however, Natalie's phone rang, its shrill tone slicing through the tension in the room. She excused herself and stepped away to take the call, her expression taut with anticipation.

Sheila watched her sister intently, trying to read her body language as she listened to the voice on the other end. She felt an uneasy knot forming in her stomach, knowing that whatever news Natalie received could have a significant impact on their investigation.

Natalie finished the call and returned to Sheila and Finn, her eyes darkened with concern. "A young woman named Heather Landow was just abducted," she said, her voice grim. "Apparently she met a guy online, but when he showed up for their date, he was angry, yelling incoherently at her. Then he threw her into the trunk of his car and drove off."

The room seemed to grow colder at the revelation, the shadows deepening as they all grappled with the weight of the information.

"And you're sure this is related to our investigation?" Sheila asked.

"Guess what app they met on," Natalie said.

"Birds of a Feather?"

Natalie nodded. "You really think that's a coincidence, given the timing?"

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Sheila's eyes bore into the reflection of Pastor David Walden as he sat, stoic and unyielding, behind the cold metal table. The fluorescent light overhead cast eerie shadows on his face, highlighting the lines of age and unease. Her heart raced with frustration and worry, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.

He knows something about that damn computer, she thought. But he won't tell us what he knows because he's protecting whoever the real killer is.

After hearing that another woman had been abducted, Sheila had wanted to rush out of the building and race over to the scene of the abduction. Natalie, however, had calmly explained to her that nobody knew where the abductor had gone, and their best bet at making progress was to stick with Pastor Walden and try to figure out who had created the dating profiles on the church computer.

Staring at Walden's face, though, it was difficult to imagine they'd get much information from him.

"Natalie, I'm telling you," she said, "Walden's protecting the killer. That's his only part in this."

Natalie regarded her with skepticism, but concern flickered in her eyes. "Sheila, I know you want to find Heather, but we can't jump to conclusions. It's equally possible that Walden is working with the killer. Just because we know he didn't abduct Heather doesn't mean he's not directly involved."

Sheila shook her head insistently. "Walden's not that kind of person. Does he seem capable of such violence to you?"

"Appearances can be deceiving." Despite Natalie's words, however, there was a note of doubt in her voice. Sheila could tell that Natalie, too, recognized Walden's pacific nature, his gentleness. If he was acting, he deserved an Oscar.

Finn, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, I think Sheila's onto something. Walden is used to keeping others' secrets—he's probably counseled dozens, if not hundreds, of people in his church over the years. Maybe he considers it his duty to protect whoever was using that computer."

"You're still bound by law to report a crime," Natalie said.

"By law, yes," Finn said. "But by conscience? Maybe not. Not if he's protecting someone he really cares about."

Natalie, looking suddenly tired, passed a weary hand over her face.

"Are you okay?" Sheila asked. She knew Natalie had been working hard, but it was unusual to see her sister looking so…spent.

"I'm fine," Natalie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Listen, even if you're right about Walden, he hasn't said a word since we brought him in. The bottom line is we need to find a way to make him talk."

Pursing her lips, Sheila turned her attention back to Walden, who sat motionless in the interrogation room. Who was he protecting? She recalled their first encounter at his church, where he had spoken passionately about their foster care program. He had seemed genuinely invested in helping the children who came through his doors.

Then she recalled something else Walden had said when talking about his marriage to his now-deceased wife—how he regretted not being able to have children with her. Suddenly it all clicked.

---