talking to her old boss when the phone rang again. She answered to find Pastor Rick’s father on the phone.
“Hi, John, did you want to talk to your son?”
“No, I called to set up our lunch date. Rick is leaving Sunday for a mission trip to India. So how about on Monday we have lunch?”
“Sounds great.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she knew nothing about the trip.
“I’ll meet you at Patterson’s at noon, how’s that?”
“I’ll be there.” She wrote the date and time down on her personal calendar.
When she hung up the phone, she was baffled as to why the Pastor hadn’t told her he was leaving for India. She wondered if it was really a mission trip or something a little more sinister than that.
Jessie was finishing up the calendar of church events when Pastor Rick came rushing back into the office and suddenly stopped by her desk. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted lately. I’m trying to get ready for a mission trip to India with some pastor friends and civic leaders. I should have told you sooner.” He grabbed the messages from his box. “I’ll be gone all next week and won’t be back in the office until the following Wednesday. Reverend Peterson at the Baptist Church and my dad are on call if any emergencies come up. I’ve written out the numbers.”
“Is there anything you would like me to do while you’re gone?” She took out her notepad.
“I’ll put a few things on a list for you. You’ll need to send the guest speaker a copy of the finished bulletin so he’ll know the order of service. He’ll email you his sermon title and the scriptures he’ll be using.”
“Okay.” She tapped her pencil on her notepad. “When do you leave?”
“I’m leaving after service, Sunday.” He started to walk away and then turned to look at her. “Oh, and Jessie, when I get back we need to have dinner together.” He walked swiftly to his office.
Secretly, Jessie hoped he would forget the dinner altogether, but on the other hand, it might be a good way to get some information. She wondered who these friends of his were. How could she find out? Maybe the airline would have the information she needed. It looked like more research was in order, and coffee with Andria might also provide some useful information.
****
On Saturday morning, Jessie found Andria already at Java Joe’s when she arrived. Molly wasn’t working so she got her coffee and sat down at the table with Andria.
“I’m so glad you’re doing a story about Gina. I don’t want people to forget her.” Andria leaned forward, her expression fixed. “She was a good friend. Usually she would come to my house, and we spent hours talking and laughing. I miss her so much it hurts. She was the sister I never had.” She paused when a big man walked by their table. He sat down at table in the corner his back to Jessie.
“When was the last time you saw Gina?”
“I saw her a few days before the murder. She wasn’t her normal self, and I kept asking her what was wrong.” Andria looked around to see if anyone might be listening. “She told me she was afraid for her life. I asked if Brad was hurting her, and she told me she was more afraid of his friends and the people he was doing business with.”
“So Brad wasn’t hurting her?”
“He had grabbed her roughly, there were some bruises above her wrist, but believe it or not, he was in love with Gina. He had told her to let him take care of the business and begged her not to get involved because he couldn’t control some of his associates. He kept telling her they, whoever they were, wouldn’t let anyone out of the organization once in because they knew too much and everyone involved was getting rich. Brad also told her he was in too deep and couldn’t get out. If he tried, his life was worth nothing.”
“I wanted to blame Brad for her death, so it could be solved right here and now.”
Jessie sipped her coffee. “Did she believe Brad?”
“I think
“Hi, John, did you want to talk to your son?”
“No, I called to set up our lunch date. Rick is leaving Sunday for a mission trip to India. So how about on Monday we have lunch?”
“Sounds great.” She didn’t have the heart to tell him she knew nothing about the trip.
“I’ll meet you at Patterson’s at noon, how’s that?”
“I’ll be there.” She wrote the date and time down on her personal calendar.
When she hung up the phone, she was baffled as to why the Pastor hadn’t told her he was leaving for India. She wondered if it was really a mission trip or something a little more sinister than that.
Jessie was finishing up the calendar of church events when Pastor Rick came rushing back into the office and suddenly stopped by her desk. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted lately. I’m trying to get ready for a mission trip to India with some pastor friends and civic leaders. I should have told you sooner.” He grabbed the messages from his box. “I’ll be gone all next week and won’t be back in the office until the following Wednesday. Reverend Peterson at the Baptist Church and my dad are on call if any emergencies come up. I’ve written out the numbers.”
“Is there anything you would like me to do while you’re gone?” She took out her notepad.
“I’ll put a few things on a list for you. You’ll need to send the guest speaker a copy of the finished bulletin so he’ll know the order of service. He’ll email you his sermon title and the scriptures he’ll be using.”
“Okay.” She tapped her pencil on her notepad. “When do you leave?”
“I’m leaving after service, Sunday.” He started to walk away and then turned to look at her. “Oh, and Jessie, when I get back we need to have dinner together.” He walked swiftly to his office.
Secretly, Jessie hoped he would forget the dinner altogether, but on the other hand, it might be a good way to get some information. She wondered who these friends of his were. How could she find out? Maybe the airline would have the information she needed. It looked like more research was in order, and coffee with Andria might also provide some useful information.
****
On Saturday morning, Jessie found Andria already at Java Joe’s when she arrived. Molly wasn’t working so she got her coffee and sat down at the table with Andria.
“I’m so glad you’re doing a story about Gina. I don’t want people to forget her.” Andria leaned forward, her expression fixed. “She was a good friend. Usually she would come to my house, and we spent hours talking and laughing. I miss her so much it hurts. She was the sister I never had.” She paused when a big man walked by their table. He sat down at table in the corner his back to Jessie.
“When was the last time you saw Gina?”
“I saw her a few days before the murder. She wasn’t her normal self, and I kept asking her what was wrong.” Andria looked around to see if anyone might be listening. “She told me she was afraid for her life. I asked if Brad was hurting her, and she told me she was more afraid of his friends and the people he was doing business with.”
“So Brad wasn’t hurting her?”
“He had grabbed her roughly, there were some bruises above her wrist, but believe it or not, he was in love with Gina. He had told her to let him take care of the business and begged her not to get involved because he couldn’t control some of his associates. He kept telling her they, whoever they were, wouldn’t let anyone out of the organization once in because they knew too much and everyone involved was getting rich. Brad also told her he was in too deep and couldn’t get out. If he tried, his life was worth nothing.”
“I wanted to blame Brad for her death, so it could be solved right here and now.”
Jessie sipped her coffee. “Did she believe Brad?”
“I think
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