Page 29 of In Her Shadow

Jenna noted the redness rimming Sage’s eyes, the sign of distress.“Ms.Willow,” she said.“What can we help you with?”

“Sage here is Lily’s assistant,” Donovan explained.“She’s the one who first noticed something was off.”

Jenna watched as Sage’s fingers twisted together.Her voice, when it came, wavered like a reed in the wind.“Lily was acting weird all morning.”

“How do you mean?”Jenna prompted.

“She kept checking her phone, jumping every time it buzzed.”Sage continued.“Then, about an hour ago, she just...left.”

“Left?”

“Didn’t say where she was going, didn’t take her usual bag.”Sage’s eyes searched Jenna’s.“After a while, I tried calling her cell, but she didn’t pick up.I know that might not sound like any big deal, but it’s not like her at all.”

A skipped routine, a hurried departure, unanswered calls - Jenna realized that such things might fit into her own worst fears, or they could prove to be unimportant.She asked, “Did Lily mention anything about what she was working on?Any names or places?”

Sage shook her head, her cascade of dreadlocks whispering against her shoulders.Then, as if an afterthought had snagged her, she paused, her gaze distant.“Well, she did mutter something about ‘corrupt officials’ and ‘the truth coming out.’”A frown creased her brow.“But that’s not unusual for Lily, you know?“

Jenna nodded.Lily Cummings’ penchant for conspiracy was well known throughout Trentville.In Jenna’s line of work, she’d found that such phrases could be either the raving of paranoia or hints leading to secrets she needed to know.Nevertheless, the mention of corrupt officials tightened her own interest—especially after her cryptic conversation with Ethan Holbrook, and his question about whether Lily had spoken to her about Clyde’s rumored investigation.

“Thank you, Sage,” Jenna said, giving the young woman a reassuring nod.“That could be important.”

At that moment, Jake pulled out his phone.“I’ll try calling her again.”The deputy’s voice carried concern that Jenna knew mirrored her own.After a moment, he pocketed his phone and said, “I’m not getting her either.”

“Sage, we need to see Lily’s office.Now.”Jenna’s tone brokered no argument, yet it was met with hesitation.

Sage bit her lip.“I don’t know...”There was a quiver in her voice, a tremble of reluctance.“Lily’s pretty protective of her space.She doesn’t trust cops poking around.”

“Listen,” Jenna’s tone softened to convey empathy rather than authority.“I understand your concern.I could get a warrant, but right now, Lily’s safety is what matters most, and we may need to move fast.”Jenna held Sage’s gaze, willing her to see the sincerity behind the shield.“Besides, Lily took us up to her office yesterday.She didn’t seem too worried about it then.”

“Okay.”The word was a whisper, but Jenna caught the change in Sage’s posture, the reluctant acceptance of urgency over loyalty.She added, “Follow me, then.”Jenna, Jake, and Donovan moved quickly toward the back of Harvest Haven, then climbed the narrow staircase to Lily’s office, the wooden steps creaking under their weight.

The office looked unchanged since yesterday.Protest posters shouted from the walls, slogans calling for action and change.The cork board with its red strings and thumbtacks was much like the one in Jenna’s own office.The disarray of papers and personal effects on the desk looked much the same.But today, a half-drunk cup of herbal tea sat forgotten, and a pen lay uncapped and bleeding ink onto a notepad—a freeze-frame of disruption, a moment captured before flight.

Jenna’s hand hovered above the mess, resisting the urge to sift through the documents.She respected Lily’s privacy, but the necessity of finding some clue as to where she’d gone took precedence.

“Anything?”Jake’s voice cut through her focus, but Jenna only shook her head.There had to be something here, some clue that would lead them to Lily, but it was hidden among the detritus of daily life and fervent activism.

There, amidst the chaos of advocacy flyers and recycled paper stacks, one document halted Jenna’s roving eyes—a flow chart of Genesius County officials that seemed to pulse with accusation.Gently, she extracted it from the papers covering part of it.

“EVERYTHING POINTS TO HIM!!!!”

The words screamed from the page in desperate capitals, underlining the gravity of what they might mean.One name was circled repeatedly as if to emphasize his central role.Arrows converged on him from every direction, each line a silent indictment.It was clear that Lily had found something big—perhaps something worth fearing.

“Jake, look at this name.Garth Fields.”

“He’s a zoning official, isn’t he?”Jake asked.“The one that I’ve heard might be flexible with the rules?”

“I know him a little—can’t say I like him,” Donovan said.“He always struck me as kind of fishy, and there were rumors that he wasn’t exactly on the up-and-up.”

“He could be involved in this,” Jake mused aloud.

“Let’s head over to his office at the County Courthouse,” Jenna said.“It’s our best lead right now.”Turning to Donovan, she said, “Mike, I need you to stay here.Keep trying Lily’s phone, and let me know the second you hear anything—either from her or about her.”

“You got it, Sheriff,” was Donovan’s reply.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile, her version of thanks, before turning on her heel and hurrying down the narrow stairs to the main floor, through the restaurant, and out the front door.The gravel outside Harvest Haven crunched like brittle bones under Jenna and Jake’s synchronized steps as they made their way back to their cruiser.

As they sped towards the County Courthouse, Jenna’s mind raced, remembering her own fleeting encounters with Garth Fields.He’d always struck her as surly and resentful, as if he felt underpaid and unappreciated in his work.He’d also struck her as not particularly bright.Could he be their killer?Or was he just a minor piece in this increasingly complex puzzle?What had Lily’s research told her about him?

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