Page 79 of Hidden Hero

“Man, you are one of the sharpest detectives I know. Intuitive. You think ahead and can change course on a dime when necessary.”

“Yes, that’s my job. But a woman as classy as Angie? I can’t think what the hell to say.”

Jeremy sucked in his top lip as he thought of what he knew about his partner. Pete had eventually divulged that he was raised by two parents who didn’t give a shit about their kids. Pete had joined the military the moment he turned eighteen. He’d stayed in the military for ten years before getting out and joining the sheriff’s department. He pushed himself, and Jeremy sometimes wondered if Pete wasn’t always trying to outrun his past. He also knew that his partner volunteered with some of the at-risk youth in the county. Rubbing his chin, he inwardly scoffed.Enough armchair psychiatry for today!

“How did it end? What did she say?”

Pete looked up and sighed. “She said, once I knew my schedule, to give her a call. Then she rattled off her phone number.”

Jeremy smiled. Pete was good with memory, and he had no doubt that Pete had caught the number as soon as she gave it to him. “Check your schedule. And then call.” Figuring he’d pushed enough, he said, “Okay, back to business. Let’s see what the surveillance gives us.”

It took a while of tedious backtracking before they came to the right dates. They made notes as they went along, and the pattern was easy to see. Finally, they stopped and looked at each other.

“Bingo,” Jeremy said. “And I’m not talking about the fuckin’ game.”

Pete nodded. “Let’s go.”

This time, Jeremy hustled right next to Pete, the case filling his mind.

Once again, they arrived at the Praise House of God and noted that Donna’s older-model sedan was still sitting in the parking lot by itself.

When she opened the door this time, she wore a beleaguered look of concern.

“Detectives, please, come in,” she said, obviously her years of serving the church as the minister’s wife coming into play as she accepted her hostess duties. “What can I help you with this time?”

Once again, her hands were clasped before her, her fingers tightly clenched. “I’m afraid if you came to speak to Buford, he’s still not back. He’s been gone all day, which isn’t unusual when visiting the community.”

“Actually,” Jeremy said, “we were hoping to speak to you again.”

Her eyes widened slightly, but she simply bobbed her head repeatedly.

“We needed to check on some of the finances for the church.”

Her brow furrowed, and Jeremy wondered if she would protest, but instead, her expression of confusion remained as she continued to nod.

“We’ve looked at the church finances,” he continued, and with those words, her shoulders relaxed, and she smiled. “But we also needed to check the bank accounts that… um… might feed into the church, and we noticed that you and your husband share checking and savings accounts.”

Her face scrunched, and she glanced around, her expression seeming to search for an answer that she was unsure of. Returning her gaze back to Jeremy, she nodded slowly. “Um… yes. I don’t work… well, what I mean,” she stammered and timidly lifted her hand to the side. “I don’t work for a paycheck. What I do, I do for the church. Of course, Buford always says that it’s my duty to God to take care of his flock.”

“I see,” Jeremy said, adopting a nonthreatening tone with his charming smile to keep her at ease with them.

“Well, another bank account only has your name on it. We wanted to ask you about that one.”

Another deep furrow formed between her brows. “Another bank account?” Then as though a light bulb had brightened over her head, she rushed, “Oh, my goodness. I had forgotten about that. Yes, Buford wanted to open one in my name. He said he’d put a bit of spending money in it in case anything happened to him. He said it would help while waiting for the banks to release money in our joint account.” Scrunching her face again, she slowly shook her head. “At least, I think that’s what he said. Since I don’t get paid for my work at the church, Buford says he’s been putting a little bit into it. He’s really conscientious about wanting to take care of things.”

“Yes, I’m sure he is,” Pete said, seeming to force a smile on his face.

Jeremy pressed forward. “We have looked at security surveillance from a store close to the bank. It’s allowed us to see who’s been making those deposits.”

Continuing to hold her gaze, Jeremy watched her face carefully. She didn’t blink but swallowed deeply, her hands still twisted together. And if he wasn’t mistaken, her expression said it all.

35

Cora continued to dictate as she removed the stomach, weighed it, then opened it carefully with a neat slice. She sifted through the contents, seeing nothing suspicious. She removed several samples and had Janice place them in laboratory containers for further study. “I’m not seeing anything here that alarms me,” Cora noted. “With his swollen and pale legs, circulation was poor. His heart shows evidence of coronary artery disease with blockage of coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis. Complete occlusion of the left anterior descending artery.”

“The widowmaker,” Janice said, nodding as she continued to assist.

“That’s right.” Still working on the organs, Cora said, “Evidence of pulmonary congestion and edema.” She looked over at David. “See the fluid accumulation in the lungs. What causes this?”

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