Page 127 of Seven Deadly Sins

“That’s a good idea, Agent.” The chief followed Liam back to the interrogation room.

He said a silent prayer, opened the door, and rejoined Harper. Before he could hand her the coffee, the door opened again behind him, and Annie escorted a woman in. He took his coffee and stood against the wall.

Harper moved to his side. “You look more intimidating standing over here glowering over your coffee than if you were at the table.” She whispered.

“Really?”

“Yes. Her gaze keeps flicking to you. I need her attention.”

“One more thing. Did Mrs. Wilson seem to have had plastic surgery to you? None of the men did, not that I could tell, but I’m sure the woman have.”

“Her lips looked a little too full, and her forehead didn’t wrinkle when she frowned.”

“Okay, good, because I’ve got something I want to ask Mrs. Dudley.” He followed her back to the table and took a seat, letting Harper start with the preliminary questions. When she finished, he folded his hands on the table and pasted a smile on his face, hoping it didn’t look too much like a grimace.

“Mrs. Dudley do you have a family?”

“I’m a widow with two teenage children.”

“I’m guessing that’s why you’re trying to improve things. To make a better world for them?”

“Yes.” She straightened in her chair, hope lighting her face. “That’s it exactly.”

He widened his smile. “We all want the same thing in the long run, we simply go about it differently.”

While hope still shined on her face, a question flickered in her dark eyes. Eyes that had definitely seen some plastic surgery if her perpetual “surprised” look was any indication. “I…suppose so.”

“There’s one thing that’s been bothering me. Did you start following Mr. Thompson when he was Mr. Landry?”

Her gaze turned stoney. “Why would you ask that?”

“Perhaps you were a patient of his? Did he bring up his beliefs to you or did you find something he’d written?”

She breathed sharply through her nose, releasing her breath slowly. “I was a patient of his. He asked me if I wanted to change the world. At first, I laughed, but said that would be nice, wouldn’t it? He handed me a printed pamphlet. It spoke to my heart. He’s right about the world being riddled with sin.”

Liam nodded as if he agreed with her. “Have you read the Bible, ma’am?”

“No, why?”

“I think you’d benefit from the words written in those pages. Words of sin and redemption. Do you know where I can find a copy of that pamphlet?”

She crossed her arms. “Wanting to expand your thinking?”

“Something like that?”

“Go to the about section on his website. Scroll down to the article Betterment. Can I go now?”

Liam stood. “Thank you for your help, ma’am, but since you assaulted an FBI agent tonight, you’ll need to stay until your court date.” He gave her another nod and waved for Annie to remove the woman.

“Have I ever told you how brilliant you are?” Harper grinned. “What led you to believe there was such a document?”

“I couldn’t figure out how people knew about Thompson unless they’d read something, been a patient of his, spread the word to other people. I guarantee you that his patients, the one on board with his insane quest, told everyone they knew.”

“Word of mouth is always the best advertising.” She pushed to her feet. “Let’s head home and try to catch a few hours’ sleep. In the morning, I need to go to church even if only for five minutes. I need to release all the garbage I heard tonight.”

“I could do with some peace myself.” A quiet sanctuary always left him feeling cleansed and ready to tackle another day fighting crime.

He felt deep down that they still had quite a few days of fighting left to go.

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