Page 31 of Chosen Path
“If you lived in this village and it was an open secret that none of the deaths here are really investigated and you had an enemy—I mean someone you really wanted to get rid of—what would you do?”
He blinked. “Are you suggesting it’s an invitation to commit murder?”
She rolled her neck from side to side. “When you say it like that, it sounds farfetched.”
He waited.
She shrugged. “And I suppose it is. I mean, it is. There hasn’t been a murder in this county since I’ve been on the force. But it sets a bad precedent if everyone knows the deaths are never investigated.”
“I suppose it does.”
“And you didn’t answer. What wouldyoudo about someone you truly hated?”
He laughed. “I’d wish them well.”
“Come again?”
“I’d sit in meditation and think about this enemy of mine and wish them good health, safety, and ease of mind.”
“What are you, some kind of saint?”
“Hardly. But I am a practicing Buddhist, so my solution would be to sit in loving-kindness meditation. I’d do it for myself as much as for my imaginary enemy. Hatred will destroy you from the inside.”
They exited the car, and Officer Booth fell silent again. Bodhi sensed she was contemplating what he’d said. She unlatched the back gate, and he followed her through Molly’s weed-choked backyard. She raised her fist to knock on the kitchen door, but first she turned back to him.
“Loving-kindness meditation, huh?”
“It’s been studied clinically and shown to have powerful positive effects. I’d be happy to talk about it more if you like. But I have a question for you: does Corrine Wolf have any enemies?”
He wondered why a police officer who’d never caught a homicide case had jumped straight to murder. Did she know something about Corrine? Or perhaps it was simply her default response to believe the worst of people. If so, she wouldn’t be the first law enforcement officer to take a dim view of human nature.
“Everyone has enemies, whether they know it or not.”
She shot him a look that left no doubt of what she thought of his views, rapped her knuckles against the door, then tried the handle. She opened the unlocked door and stepped inside.
* * *
Bodhi was a half-step behind the police officer as they came through the door. As he crossed the threshold, Molly and Hope jerked away from one another. Molly ran her hand over the bun at the nape of her neck in what Bodhi had come to recognize as a nervous gesture. Hope swiped angrily at her eyes.
Officer Booth froze. It was a stark contrast to the way she’d taken charge when she and her partner had arrived at Corrine Wolf’s house. She threw Bodhi a desperate, panicked look. It appeared the tough-as-nails cop was out of her element in an emotional situation.
He stepped forward. “I’m sorry we didn’t call and let you know we were on our way. That was thoughtless.”
“It’s okay,” Molly said quickly, her cheeks red.
“I’m a mess,” Hope admitted. Her shoulders slumped.
Bodhi cast a careful glance toward Molly, who took charge.
“Finding Corrine’s body has stirred up some dormant emotions in Hope, which is perfectly normal. To be expected, even,” she explained.
It was clear to Bodhi that this last bit was for Hope’s benefit, but that didn’t make it untrue. He recalled what the woman had said after she’d burst into the office. “Because Hope found her mother’s body.”
“Yes, that.” Molly cut her eyes toward the distraught woman. “And Hope also found Travis, Mrs. Wolf’s husband, when he died.”
Booth gave Hope a steely look and growled, “Hang on. You’ve foundthreedead bodies?”
Hope’s eyes went wide.
