15

“I like her. I think she’ll do a good job.”

Anna’s comment shortly after Chief O’Rourke had been sworn in came back to Oliver as he watched the woman work.

“I want to make sure she feels welcome and supported here.”

He’d agreed with Anna that day. The chief needed support, a fair chance to do well. So far, Oliver hadn’t been disappointed. She was conscientious, careful, and smart. Her attitude with this horrible crime was confident, composed. There was no straining; she wasn’t trying too hard. He saw her simply as a consummate professional in her element. She observed the entire scene, and he doubted she would miss anything.

Anna would be happy that her intuition was spot-on. He sighed as he remembered the day of O’Rourke’s swearing in as a good day; they’d not yet heard the doctor’s bad news. He’d not yet heard Anna doubt God and question something they’d both believed in for as long as he’d known her.

Was Anna now somewhere private just sorting things out? She’d done that once before, during the first battle with cancer they fought, the one that made it impossible to ever have children. Two days passed before she let him in. Was that going on now? He prayed it was and that she’d be home when he got there.

Oliver tried to shift his thoughts to the scene at hand. He folded his arms and watched Chief O’Rourke, wondering how to help here. He knew nothing about a murder investigation, but if the chief needed something from him, he’d be ready.

Chief O’Rourke gave orders in a way that instilled confidence. Watching her delegate and organize this murder investigation, Oliver was even more certain that they had a winner. He wanted to share all of this with Anna. He also wanted to be the one to break the news about Glen to Anna and hoped she didn’t hear it from the radio or newspaper.

After the shock of realizing that the dead man was Glen, he’d forgotten the area was a dead zone and tried calling Anna’s cell. It didn’t go through, and now he was frustrated that he couldn’t even leave a message that her cousin was dead. He was torn between not wanting her to hear the news on the radio and wanting her to, because maybe that would bring her home.

Then he considered the money. He knew the only way Glen could have gotten that kind of money was illegally. As he stared out at the rushing creek, he wondered, was that why he was lying here dead?

“Are you okay, Pastor?”

Oliver looked away from the creek to the concerned face of Chief O’Rourke.

“Yes. Well, as okay as possible under the circumstances.” He held up his phone. “I tried to call Anna, forgot there’s no signal here. It’s frustrating.”

She nodded, and as he observed Chief O’Rourke assessing the situation, he realized she had even more layers. Professional and she had a heart, Oliver thought, knowing that she was concerned about the dog.

“You know him—what about his dog? Is it friendly or not?” she asked.

“Glen rarely if ever came here to Rogue’s Hollow to visit us. I’ve never met the dog, only heard about her.” Oliver searched his memory. What was it Anna had told him about the dog?

“It’s a female?” Chief O’Rourke asked.

“Yes, I think so. He’s had her about two years. Glen may not have had the common sense God gave a goose, but he was never cruel to animals. I think I remember Anna saying the dog was well behaved. But for the dumb name he’d given her, she was a good dog.”

“Dumb name?”

“Yes, he called her Killer.”

The chief placed her hands on her hips and stared at him.

“I don’t recall Anna saying anything about the dog being a problem or vicious,” he added lamely.

“I have rules for things, and my rule #7 applies. I think this situation requires a ‘trust but verify’ attitude, Pastor.”

She left Oliver and he watched as she cautiously approached the dog.

After a few minutes she backed away. “The dog is hurt. She’s wet and bleeding. Whoever shot the master also shot the dog,” she muttered.

She was silent as she studied the dog. “Didn’t I read somewhere that we have an animal advocate in this town? Someone who might be able to help with this dog? I know animal control is too far away.”

“Yes, we do. Casey Reno is involved with an animal sanctuary. She might be able to help.”

“Do you have her number? Can you give her a call?”

“I’ll have to walk out to the road a ways for a signal.”

“Would you mind?”

“Not at all.” Oliver was happy to put distance between himself and Anna’s dead cousin. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

He called Casey Reno, who arrived quickly. The two women huddled together and assessed the situation. He watched as they coaxed the injured dog away from his owner. It was a serious injury; Oliver could see that. The poor animal’s right front leg hung uselessly and there was a lot of blood. Casey carefully led the dog to her truck and got her inside on a pile of towels. She left with the dog to take it to the vet. O’Rourke said she’d pay for the care.

The last chief wouldn’t have been so kindhearted.

While Oliver watched O’Rourke’s cool competence and tried to keep his mind from anxiousness about Anna, he couldn’t quell the dread building in his gut about his missing wife.

First Anna leaves, and now her cousin is found murdered.

If Oliver believed in bad omens, this would be a doozy. He also wished he’d listened closer to Anna when she’d said she needed time. Did he miss something in her tone? Her choice of words?

His thoughts snapped back to the here and now as Tess strode toward him, peeling off her latex gloves as she did.

“Okay, Pastor, I can’t search his pockets until the coroner gets here, but if that is your cousin-in-law, does he live here in the Hollow?”

“His last real address was in Shady Cove. Lately, I believe he was mostly living on the streets, out of his Jeep. He had a drug problem. Anna tried to help him many a time. Nothing ever took.”

Her probing gaze held his. Oliver wondered if she was full Irish. Had to be with that wild red hair and those green, green eyes. He felt as though she could see down into his soul and not miss a speck.

“He said nothing the night he gave Anna the money? Not about where he’d been or where he was going?”

“No. According to Anna, all he said was ‘Only God can make this clean.’ Then he fled into the darkness.”

She considered this. “This makes me more concerned about Anna. We’ve been looking for Glen since you turned in the money. Any idea where he might have been?”

Oliver sighed, crossing his arms. “Not really. Some months ago, Anna did visit him from time to time in Shady Cove, at the last place he was living. She speaks about praying for him often, that he was wasting his life with drugs. His parents are divorced. His mother lives in Washington State but his father is still in Shady Cove.”

“Would he have been with his father?”

“I doubt it. His father is not a forgiving or compassionate man.”

Tess said nothing for a minute and Oliver went on.

“I think her being gone and him being here is just a coincidence.”

Tess shook her head. “Sorry, I just don’t believe in coincidences. Not like this. Not at all.”