Lakeview Protector

“She quit a few months ago?”

“Six or seven weeks ago, I think. I hired another college student a few days later.”

“Did Mary give you a reason for quitting?”

Sarah hesitated for a heartbeat, just long enough for Jazz to notice. “No.”

It was a lie. Jasmine knew her mother-in-law well enough to recognize the tightness in her jaw, the frown line between her brows. What was she hiding and why was she hiding it? Curious, Jasmine took a seat in the old rocking chair that sat beside the recliner. The rocking chair she’d rocked the girls to sleep in. The one she hadn’t had the heart to give away to anyone but family.

The time-worn wood of the armrest felt warm beneath her suddenly chilled fingers, and she clutched it tight as if that could anchor her in the present.

“I spoke to Mary’s pastor earlier. He said she left seven weeks ago. Her parents haven’t seen her since.”

“That’s a shame.” Sarah’s response was noncommittal, and Jazz was sure she knew a lot more about Mary than she was letting on.

“Yeah, her mom is pretty broken up about it.” Eli paused, his gaze sharply focused. “Her father thinks you might know something. According to the pastor, he seems pretty convinced that you know where his daughter is. That you might even have helped her leave.”

Sarah blanched, but she didn’t look away. “Maybe if Jackson Cornell had been as interested in helping his daughter pursue her dreams as he is in making accusations, Mary wouldn’t have felt the need to run away.”

“So she was running away from her father?”

“I don’t know her reasons, but I do know that things weren’t easy at home. Her parents and that hardnosed pastor of theirs didn’t agree with her plans to attend college. They wanted her to marry right out of high school. It was ludicrous.”

“Lots of people do that, Sarah.”

“Of course they do. I did. But I was in love. Mary wasn’t.”

“It sounds like you know a lot about her.”

“That doesn’t mean I know where she is, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I was. I need to speak with her about Rebecca McKenna.”

“Rebecca fell out of love with her husband and in love with a man she met at Liberty University. It’s as simple as that.”

“Maybe so, Sarah, or maybe not. Until I find Rebecca, I can’t know for sure what happened.”

“And I suppose there is a reason you need to find her?”

“I’m doing a favor for a friend. Someone still in Iraq. He asked me to find his sister and make sure she’s okay.”

“Then I wish I could help you, but Mary’s the one who told me Rebecca ran off with another man. I doubt she has anything else to add to the story.”

“I’d still like to speak with her. Do you know how I can get in touch with her?”

There was another minute hesitation before Sarah spoke. She was going to lie again. Jasmine knew it as well as she knew her own name.

“No.”

“You’re sure?”

“Young man, I may be recovering from hip surgery, but I assure you there is nothing wrong with my brain. I’m very sure that I can’t help you get in touch with Mary.”

Did Eli notice the odd phrasing of Sarah’s response? Jazz dared a quick look in his direction, saw the tightness of his jaw and the frown that added more than a hint of danger to his hard-angled face. “A woman is missing. If you know anything—”

“She already said she doesn’t,” Jazz cut in, then wished she hadn’t as Eli leveled the full force of his gaze on her.

“Sometimes things we don’t think are significant are very important.”

“Sarah either knows how to get in touch with Mary or she doesn’t. She says she doesn’t.” It might not be the truth, but Jasmine had to assume Sarah had good reason for her subterfuge.

“Since you two seem to be doing quite well having this conversation without me, I think I’ll go lie down. Maybe a little rest will strengthen my feeble memory.” Sarah smiled as she rose to her feet, but her face was drawn, her eyes shadowed.

“I appreciate your time, Sarah, and I hope you know I wasn’t implying—”

“That I’m a feeble-minded old lady?” Sarah arched a brow, and Jasmine was reminded of years gone by. Years when she’d been a teenager dating a handsome first-year college student, years when she’d been newly married and unsure, years when one raised eyebrow from Sarah would make her cringe and run for cover.

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