FIFTEEN

“I . . . I don’t understand,” River said, stunned. “How . . . I mean, how did Arnie know to call us?”

I told him the whole story when I spoke to him a few minutes ago,” Tony said. “And I mentioned where Nathan lives. We’d just hung up when he got word about the murder. He saw that the victim was a security guard at Nathan’s complex and put two and two together.”

River glanced over at Nathan. His face was white as a sheet. “How was he murdered?” she asked.

“He was shot. Arnie said his body was discovered this morning in his backyard. His wife found him. She woke up and realized he wasn’t in bed, so she went looking for him. When she couldn’t locate him inside the house, she stepped out onto their back porch. That’s when she saw him. The police haven’t been able to talk to her much. She’s understandably upset.”

“He’s . . . he’s dead because of me,” Nathan said, his voice shaking.

River shook her head. “No, Nathan. That’s not true. He’s dead because someone really bad killed him. None of this is your fault. Don’t let thoughts like that get into your head.”

“Arnie’s sending a couple of officers over to take Nathan somewhere safe,” Tony said. He looked at Nathan. “Until the police know what’s going on, they don’t want to take any chances with your safety.”

“But what exactly does that mean?” Nathan asked, looking worried.

“The police will take you to a secure location and keep a close watch on you until they can find out who killed Kevin and why. Right now, they’re not sure if you’re a target.”

“How could they not be sure? Kevin’s dead.”

“We understand how you feel,” River said, “but the police are just now getting involved with your situation. As it is, the police chief is taking our word that you might be in danger.”

Nathan swallowed hard. “Okay. Will . . . will I be able to see you?”

“I think so,” Tony said. “We’ll have to get clearance, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“So, you think whoever threatened me killed Kevin? And now they could be after me?” Nathan shook his head. “This is nuts. Why is this happening?”

“We’re not sure yet,” River said. “It could have something to do with April’s disappearance, or it could be connected to one of her cold cases. Right now, we have no idea. You’re going to have to let the police investigate—and we’ll be doing what we can too.”

“What about work?” Nathan asked. “I can’t afford to lose my job.”

“That’s something the detective in charge of your case will have to decide,” River said. “You can’t do anything that might lead whoever killed Kevin to your location.” She swung her gaze to Tony. “What do you think?”

“I have no idea. Unless Kevin’s killer has access to Nathan’s emails or his laptop, I don’t see why he can’t work. But if our killer knows who Nathan’s employer is, that might be a way for them to locate him.”

Nathan frowned. “No one really knows who I work for. I mean, they’re in another state. I’m not sure even April could have told you who they are.”

“Ask the detectives assigned to your case if you can continue to work, but whatever you do, don’t tell your employer what’s going on.”

“I won’t.” Nathan shook his head. “To be honest, I’m not sure I could. This is really confusing.” He stared at them for a moment before saying, “So, you’ll help me, right? Look for April and try to find out what’s going on?”

“The police will be working on your case now,” Tony said. “You probably won’t need us.”

Nathan shook his head. “No, you’re wrong. They won’t be looking for April, will they? Not the way you could. I don’t want her to get lost in the shuffle. I’d feel better having you for backup.” He swung his gaze toward River. “I know you said you didn’t care about being paid, but I don’t agree. April used to quote some Scripture about a workman being worthy of his hire. I’m not sure what it means, but I think it’s saying that if you work, you deserve to be paid. So please, take this.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a checkbook. “I brought this from home in case I needed it.” He quickly wrote out a check and handed it to River. Then he asked, “Are you going to turn over everything I gave you?”

“Yes, if they want it. But we have copies of all of it,” River said. She looked at Tony. Nathan was probably right. The police would be looking for Kevin’s killer. Searching for April would probably be put on the back burner. Maybe she and Tony could look into April’s cases and turn over anything that might relate to the police investigation. Tony looked a little confused, but he gave her an almost imperceptible shrug.

“Please,” Nathan said. “The police have a lot of cases, but you can make mine a priority.”

The truth was the police were inundated with crimes while she and Tony could devote all their time to Nathan. River sighed. “All right. We’ll take this retainer, but if we feel we’re just duplicating what the police are doing, we won’t charge you anything else.”

“That sounds fair. I still think the answer will be found somewhere in those cold cases April was working.” He put his checkbook back in his pocket. His expression became serious. “The note says April’s still alive. That’s two different messages that say she’s not dead.” Nathan didn’t ask a question, but it was implied.

River took a deep breath before responding. The last thing she wanted to do was to shatter Nathan’s hope, but she and Tony knew the statistics. Why would anyone who felt threatened by April still be keeping her alive? It didn’t make sense. Before River could say anything, Tony spoke up.

“Look, Nathan,” he said, “the chances that April’s alive are slim. But she’s a Christian, and all things are possible with God.” He smiled at River. “I’ve seen God do great things. Even save people from death. So, of course it’s possible. But the thing you need to understand is that even if she isn’t alive in this world, she’s definitely alive in the next. Let’s go forward as if this is a rescue. River and I just don’t want you to be crushed if this doesn’t turn out the way we all want.”

Nathan stared at him for a moment before saying, “So you believe in all this heaven stuff?”

Tony smiled at him. “I’m betting my whole life on it. You know, Nathan, some people act as if believing in God is just some kind of giant speculation where you hope you’ll guess right and end up in heaven. They call it faith, and in a way it is. But God is knowable. He still talks to people today. I know He’s real. He speaks to me, and He’s answered my prayers. I’m not guessing.”

Nathan studied him for a moment. “You can actually hear His voice?”

“Sure. Sometimes it’s a voice that comes up inside me—like a knowing. Sometimes it’s a whisper. Of course, the main way He speaks to me is through His Word. The Bible is more than just a book. It’s alive and full of God’s Spirit.”

“On rare occasions, God does speak audibly,” River interjected. “As loud and clear as the way you hear me now. Although, I wonder sometimes if He’s just done that for me because I was so stubborn. Like Tony says, the Bible helps me to really know Him—to hear Him. But no matter how he speaks to you, He makes sure you know you’re not alone. And He really does answer prayers. Things happen that would never happen just by accident. You know it’s Him.”

“But the most outstanding thing about God?” Tony said. “The way He changes people completely. There’s no belief system or so-called god in this world who can change people from the inside out. Watching people turn into completely different human beings is . . . well, it’s a miracle. I’ve seen it many, many times. Drug addicts set completely free. Alcoholics instantly delivered. People full of anger turning into loving, caring human beings. Only God can do that.”

“April said a lot of the same things. I guess if we find her alive, I would finally believe.”

River was wondering if she should say anything else or just leave it alone. Pushing people too hard could cause them to back off. But her decision was made for her when the door to their office opened, and two uniformed police officers stepped inside.

“We’re looking for Tony St. Clair,” one of them said.

“That’s me.” Tony stood up and walked over to them.

“Chief Martin sent us to pick up a Nathan Hearne? We’re supposed to take him to a secure location.”

“I thought he’d send detectives,” Tony said, frowning. “Hold on just a moment.”

Tony picked up his phone and punched in a number. River was still impressed that he had a direct line to the chief of police in St. Louis. And Arnie, as Tony called him, always picked up. As usual, Tony got right through.

River glanced over at Nathan, who looked scared. She was sure that Tony’s concern worried him, but it was just a precaution. It was always best to be careful, just in case anything happened that investigators weren’t expecting.

“Just a minute,” Tony said. He walked up to the officers and looked at their badges. “Yes,” he said, “that checks out.” He listened for a moment more, then he thanked Arnie and hung up.

“The detective in charge will meet you at the secure location and get some information,” he said to Nathan. “These officers will escort you there.” He picked up Nathan’s laptop and handed it to one of the officers. “Nathan uses his phone and laptop for his job,” he said. “Once detectives go through everything, it would be great if he could get back to work. We’d hate to see him lose his job over this thing.”

“We’ll have to leave that up to the detective in charge,” one of the officers said. “But we’ll make sure he knows about it.”

River got up from her chair and walked over to Nathan. “You’ll be fine. We’ll keep in touch. Don’t worry. Is your new phone activated?”

Nathan nodded.

She looked at the officers. “Nathan bought a new phone on the way here. Let me get that number, okay? That phone should be completely safe.”