Faithless

“She told you that?” Jeffrey asked, and he could imagine Abby trying to use the information for leverage, thinking she would talk the crazy old man out of putting her in the box.

“Liked to broke my heart,” he said. “But it also gave me the conviction to do what had to be done.”

“So you buried her out by the lake. In the same spot Chip had taken her to for sex.”

“She was going to run away with him,” Co

“You couldn’t let her do that,” Jeffrey encouraged.

“She was just an i

“That’s what it’s about?” Jeffrey asked. “You bury them so that they can be born again?” Co

He put his hand on the Bible, quoting, “‘Let the si

“Cole, where’s Rebecca?”

“I told you, son, I don’t know.”

Jeffrey kept at him. “Was Abby a si

“I put it into the Lord’s hands,” the other man countered. “He tells me to give them time for prayer, for contemplation. He gives me the mission, and I give the girls the opportunity to change their lives.” Again, he quoted, “‘The Lord preserveth all them that love Him, but all the wicked will be destroyed.’ ”

Jeffrey asked, “Abby didn’t love the Lord?”

The man seemed genuinely sad, as if he had played no part in her terrible death. “The Lord chose to take her.” He wiped his eyes. “I was merely following His orders.”

“Did He tell you to beat Chip to death?” Jeffrey asked.

“That boy was doing no good to the world.”

Jeffrey took that as an admission of guilt. “Why did you kill Abby, Cole?”

“It was the Lord’s decision to take her.” His grief was genuine. “She just run out of air,” he said. “Poor little thing.”

“You put her in that box.”

He gave a curt nod, and Jeffrey could feel Cole’s anger revving up. “I did.”

Jeffrey pressed a little more. “You killed her.”

“‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,’ ” he recited. “I’m just an old soldier. I told you that. I’m a conduit through which He speaks.”

“That so?”

“Yes, that’s so,” Co

Co

“With Thomas like he is?” Jeffrey prompted.

Co

Jeffrey remembered O’Ryan telling them that the man at the Kitty gave Chip Do

Co

“I bet.”

“God warned Adam and Eve not to partake of the tree, yet they did.” Cole slid a napkin from under the Bible and used it to wipe his forehead. “You are either strong or you are weak. That boy was weak.” He added sadly, “I guess in the end our Abigail was, too. The Lord works in His own way. It’s not our job to question.”

“Abby was poisoned, Cole. God didn’t decide to take her. Somebody murdered her.”

Co

“I’m not lying to you.”

“Well, sir, you’ll excuse me if I don’t believe you.”

“She was poisoned with cyanide.”

He shook his head, still disbelieving. “If you want to arrest me, I think you should go ahead. I have nothing else to say.”

“Who else did you do this to, Cole? Where’s Rebecca?”

He shook his head, laughing. “You think I’m some kind of rat, don’t you? Go

“Cole?”

Co

“Cole?” Jeffrey repeated, rooted where he stood as he watched the old man’s face fix into a horrible mask of agony and fear. His legs bucked, kicking the chair so hard that it splintered against the wall. He soiled his pants, smearing excrement across the floor as he crawled toward the door. Suddenly, he stopped, his body still seizing, eyes rolling back in his head. His legs trembled so hard that one of his shoes kicked off.

In less than a minute, he was dead.

Lena was pacing beside Jeffrey’s Town Car when he made his way down the stairs. Jeffrey took out his handkerchief, wiping the sweat off his brow, remembering how Co

He reached in through the open car window to get his cell phone. He felt sick from bending over, and took a deep breath as he straightened.

“You okay?”

Jeffrey took off his suit jacket and tossed it into the car. He dialed Sara’s office number, telling Lena, “He’s dead.”

“What?”

“We don’t have long,” he told her, then asked Sara’s receptionist, “Can you get her? This is an emergency.”

Lena asked, “What happened?” She lowered her voice. “Did he try something?”

He was only faintly surprised that she could suspect him of killing a suspect in custody. Considering all they had been through, he hadn’t exactly set a great example.

Sara came onto the phone. “Jeff?”

“I need you to come to the Ward farm.”

“What’s up?”

“Cole Co

“Jeffrey, are you okay?”

He knew Lena was listening, so he just left it at “It was pretty bad.”

“Baby,” Sara said, and he looked past his car, like he was checking to make sure no one was coming, so Lena wouldn’t read the emotion in his face. Cole Co

He told Sara, “I need you to get over here fast. I want you to look at him before we have to call the sheriff in.” For Lena ’s benefit, he added, “This isn’t exactly my jurisdiction.”