Faithless

She asked, “So, you think Abby confronted him in Sava

Jeffrey nodded. “And Paul called Cole to prod him on to punish her.”

“Or he called Lev.”

“Or Lev,” he agreed.

“Cole already knew about Chip. He followed him and Abby out into the woods.” She had to say, “I don’t know, though. It’s strange. Paul didn’t strike me as the overly religious type.”

“Why would he have to be?”

“Telling Cole to bury his niece in a coffin in the woods?” she asked. “Lev seems more like your general to me.” She added, “Plus, Paul was never in Dale’s garage. If that’s where the cyanide came from, then it points straight back to Lev, because he’s the only one we can co

“I don’t think it was Cole,” Jeffrey insisted. “Did you ever have a real conversation with Terri Stanley about that?”

She felt her blush come back, this time from shame. “No.”

His lips pressed into a tight line, but he didn’t say the obvious. If she had talked to Terri before, maybe they wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Maybe Rebecca would be safe at home, Cole Co

“I fucked up,” she said.

“Yeah, you did.” He waited a few seconds before saying, “You don’t listen to me, Lena. I need to be able to trust you to do what I say.” He paused as if he expected her to interrupt him. She didn’t, and he continued, “You can be a good cop, a smart cop. That’s why I made you detective.” She looked down, unable to take the compliment, knowing what was coming next. “Everything that happens in this town is my responsibility, and if somebody gets hurt or worse because you can’t follow my orders, then it’s all on me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry isn’t good enough this time. Sorry means you understand what I’m saying and you’re not going to do it again.” He let that sink in. “I’ve heard sorry one too many times now. I need to see actions, not hear empty words.”

His quiet tone was worse than if he had yelled at her. Lena looked down at the floor, wondering how many times he was going to let her screw things up before he finally cut her loose.

He stood quickly, taking her by surprise. Lena flinched, gripped by an inexplicable panic that he was going to hit her.

Jeffrey was shocked, looking at her as if he had never seen her in his life.

“I just-” She couldn’t find the words to say. “You scared me.”

Jeffrey leaned out the door, telling Marla, “Send back the woman who’s about to walk in.” He told Lena, “Mary Ward is here. I just saw her pull up into the parking lot.”

Lena tried to regain her composure. “I thought she didn’t like to drive.”

“Guess she made an exception,” Jeffrey answered, still looking at her like she was a book he couldn’t read. “Are you going to be able to do this?”

“Of course,” she said, pushing herself out of the chair. She tucked in her shirt, feeling fidgety and out of place.

He took her hand in both of his, and she felt another shock. He never touched her like that. It wasn’t something he did.

He said, “I need you to be on your game right now.”

“You’ve got me,” she assured him, pulling back her hand to tuck in her shirt again even though it was already tight. “Let’s go.”

Lena didn’t wait for him. She squared her shoulders and walked across the squad room with purposeful strides. Marla’s hand was on the buzzer as Lena opened the door.

Mary Ward stood in the lobby, her purse clutched to her chest.

“Chief Tolliver,” she said, as if Lena wasn’t right in front of her. She had a ratty old black and red scarf around her shoulders, looking more like a little old lady now than the first time they had seen her. The woman was probably only ten years older than Lena. She was either putting on an act or was truly one of the most pathetic people walking the face of the earth.

“Why don’t you come back to my office,” Jeffrey offered, putting his hand at Mary’s elbow, guiding her through the open doorway before she could change her mind. He said, “You remember Detective Adams?”

“Lena,” Lena supplied, ever helpful. “Can I get you some coffee or something?”

“I don’t drink caffeine,” the woman replied, her voice still strained, as if she had been screaming and had made herself hoarse. Lena could see she had a balled tissue up her sleeve and assumed she’d been crying.

Jeffrey sat Mary at one of the desks outside his office, probably wanting to keep her off guard. He waited for her to sit, then took the chair beside her. Lena hung back behind them, thinking Mary would be more comfortable talking to Jeffrey.

He asked, “What can I help you with, Mary?”

She took her time, her breathing audible in the small room as they waited for her to speak. “You said my niece was in a box, Chief Tolliver.”

“Yes.”

“That Cole had buried her in a box.”

“That’s right,” he confirmed. “Cole admitted it to me before he died.”

“And you found her there? You found Abby yourself?”

“My wife and I were in the woods. We found the metal pipe in the ground. We dug her out ourselves.”

Mary took the tissue from her sleeve and wiped her nose. “Several years ago,” she began; then: “I guess I should back up.”

“Take your time.”

She seemed to do exactly that, and Lena pressed her lips together, fighting the urge to shake it out of her.

“I have two sons,” Mary said. “William and Peter. They live out west.”

“I remember you telling us that,” Jeffrey said, though Lena didn’t.

“They chose to leave the church.” She blew her nose in the tissue. “It was very hard for me to lose my children. Not that we turned our backs on them. Everyone makes their own decisions. We don’t exclude people because they…” She let her voice trail off. “My sons turned their backs on us. On me.”

Jeffrey waited, the only sign of his impatience his hand gripping the arm of the chair.

“Cole was very hard on them,” she said. “He disciplined them.”

“Did he abuse them?”

“He punished them when they were bad,” was all she would admit. “My husband had passed away a year before. I was grateful for Cole’s help. I thought they needed a strong man in their lives.” She sniffed, wiping her nose. “These were different times.”

“I understand,” Jeffrey told her.

“Cole has- had- very firm ideas about right and wrong. I trusted him. My father trusted him. He was first and foremost a man of God.”

“Did anything happen to change that?”

She seemed overcome by sadness. “No. I believed everything he said. At the cost of my own children, I believed in him. I turned my back on my daughter.”

Lena felt her eyebrows shoot up.

“You have a daughter?”

She nodded. “Genie.”

Jeffrey sat back in the chair, though his body remained tense.

“She told me,” Mary continued. “Genie told me what he had done to her.” She paused. “The box in the woods.”

“He buried her there?”

“They were camping,” Mary explained. “He took the children camping all the time.”

Lena knew Jeffrey was thinking about Rebecca, how she had run away to the woods before. He asked, “What did your daughter say happened?”

“She said Cole tricked her, that he told her he was going to take her for a walk in the woods.” She stopped, then willed herself to go on. “He left her there for five days.”

“What did you do when she told you about this?”

“I asked Cole about it.” She shook her head at her own stupidity. “He told me that he couldn’t stay on the farm if I believed Genie over him. He felt that strongly about it.”

“But he didn’t deny it?”

“No,” she told Jeffrey. “I never realized it until last night. He never denied it. He told me that I should pray about it, let the Lord tell me whom to believe- Genie or him. I trusted in him. He has such a strict sense of right and wrong. I took him for a God-fearing man.”