Four

By the time Thursday came, Sarah was a nervous wreck. All night long, every time the door opened, she nearly dropped what she was holding.

Donnie’s creepy acquaintance had reappeared on Tuesday night, just as he said he would. This time Kristie let him into Donnie’s office, and then he was gone so quickly Sarah hadn’t had time to listen from the closet. She hadn’t been able to get a better description of him for Matt, but she did see that this time he hadn’t carried anything into Donnie’s office, nor did he take the briefcase back.

That didn’t mean everything was well. In fact, Sarah suspected the opposite was true. For the hour following the man’s visit, Donnie had acted funny. He’d even yelled at poor Kristie for something that wasn’t her fault. Today, Sarah had answered a call for Donnie that she thought was the same voice as the visitor. Donnie hadn’t come out of his office for an hour afterwards, which again told her something wasn’t right.

Sarah had almost worked herself into a tizzy when, at 4:00 a.m., her wishes were answered.

She put on her best smile, even though she was shaking inside. “Hi, Ma. . .uh. . .Constable Walker. And Constable. . .” She leaned closer to the other officer’s nametag. “Lawrence. What can I get for you gentlemen today?”

Matt smiled brightly. “I’ll have a blueberry muffin and a medium coffee.”

The other officer nodded. “Same for me.”

Sarah left the two men at the counter while she fetched the muffins and poured the coffee. The urge to tell Matt about Donnie’s strange actions was so strong it was almost painful. However, not only was Matt with someone, Donnie could have been around the corner listening.

She made polite chitchat with Matt while he paid, and both officers walked to a table.

This time, they stayed only inside for ten minutes and left without their radios going off, which Sarah thought odd. Something fluttered inside her stomach when she thought Matt smiled at her from across the restaurant as he walked toward the exit. She wished he could have stayed longer, which didn’t make sense. All she could do was look at him from across the room unless he called her to either clean something up or ask her a question.

As soon as they left, Sarah began to clear their table. While she worked, she glanced up and through the large windows, then did a double take. The two squad cars were still in the lot. Constable Lawrence was half sitting on the hood of his squad car, smoking a cigarette. Matt was standing upwind while the two of them talked.

Rather than gawk, she bent to clean the table. Her hand froze as she reached for the empty cups. A pen with the RCMP logo on it was on the seat where Matt had been.

She straightened and looked out the window. Constable Lawrence discarded his cigarette and was opening his squad car’s door. Matt, on the other hand, was standing in one place, his hat in his hands while he picked at something on the brim.

Sarah turned to Kristie, who was now standing behind the till. “One of the officers forgot something. If I run, I can catch them.”

Without waiting for Kristie to reply, Sarah grabbed the pen and dashed outside. Matt had just opened his car door, but he wasn’t yet inside. “Wait! You forgot something!”

He smiled. “I was wondering when you were going to find that. Now that we’re out of earshot of any flies on the wall, did anything happen this week?”

“Yes and no. That man came in on Tuesday, and he also phoned today. I didn’t see or hear anything, but Donnie acted really funny both times. I know something is up.”

“I believe you. I just need something more than that to start investigating. I don’t want him to get suspicious if you’re out here talking to me too long, so you’d better get back inside. Keep me posted, okay?” He paused and glanced toward the building. “And Sarah, remember, stay safe.”

“You bet.”

Sarah handed him the pen and ran inside while Matt drove off.

The officers hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes, when Donnie’s illusive “friend” entered with another briefcase. Donnie was already waiting for him near the opening to his office door. Without a word spoken between the two of them, they disappeared inside, and the door closed.

Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. She turned around to see if anyone were watching her. The only person nearby was Kristie. Since the muffins for the next day were already in the oven, Kristie was stacking donuts in the trays behind her.

“Kristie, can you watch things for a minute? I have to go do something.”

Kristie nodded without turning around. “Sure.”

Sarah hurried to the closet, slipped inside, and closed the door without turning the light on. She dropped to her hands and knees and angled her head so she could see upwards through the metal grille of the vent.

The man had put the briefcase down on Donnie’s desk, but his hand still remained on the handle. “What do you mean, you’re not ready for more? We agreed on a date.”

Donnie’s voice came out much softer and lower in pitch than usual. Sarah shuffled closer to the vent, straining to hear.

“You gave me more than we agreed on. I need more time.”

“I’ll mention that to Lennie, and I’ll let you know what he says on Monday.”

The man started to turn around, then shuffled back. “Unless you promise you can give me back my case Monday, empty. Then I can make an excuse for you.”

Donnie nodded frantically. “I’d appreciate that.”

The man turned back to face Donnie. “Consider it a favor. You only get one.”

Donnie stiffened all over. His voice came out in a croak. “Thanks, Blair. I understand.”

Since the conversation was over or at least as much as she needed to hear, Sarah jumped to her feet, grabbed the broom without the dustpan, and ran into the kitchen. She knew she’d never make it into the restaurant area without looking like she was running, so she quickly started sweeping the kitchen, even though everything was already clean.

Kristie appeared in the doorway with an empty tray. When she saw Sarah, she let out a little squeal and nearly dropped the tray. “You scared me! I thought you were going to be in the restaurant.”

“I saw something here. But I guess I should probably do around the tables too.” Without clarifying, and without the dustpan, Sarah hustled into the main area before Kristie had time to think.

Sarah swept every inch of the floor, but her thoughts were elsewhere. No matter how suspicious things looked, there had been no talk about what the items were that Donnie had received. There had been no talk of money, no deals made, and no talk of another delivery.

Sarah was by no means a detective, but she’d read enough super-spy books to know that she hadn’t heard enough for the police to make a report.

But something bad was happening, and something had to be done.

She needed Matt. She walked to the calendar on the wall and counted out his schedule, confirming what she already knew. His upcoming nightshifts were on the weekends. She wouldn’t see him for weeks.

With all the dirt and litter in a neat pile, Sarah quietly retrieved the dustpan from the closet.

Matt wouldn’t be coming to her, so she had to go to him.

❧

Once again, Sarah sucked in a deep breath for courage, and walked into the lobby of the huge building.

Instead of Matt, another man dressed in a nice suit and tie approached her.

“Welcome!” he said as he held out one hand. “Is this your first time here?”

Sarah shook her head and then slipped her hand into his. “No, actually I was here last week. I’m looking for Matt Walker.”

The man raised his eyebrows, then smiled. “Let’s go see if we can find him. I know he’s here.”

Without waiting for her to accept or decline his invitation, he started walking. “Last I saw Matt, he was over there.” As they rounded the corner of the hallway, they found Matt in a circle of people, laughing and talking. Unlike the week before, today he wasn’t wearing a suit jacket, but he was wearing a nice tie.

“Matt! Someone’s here to see you!”

Matt was still half laughing as he turned around. As he saw her, his expression fell. He turned back to the people in the circle. “Excuse me. I’ll catch you later.”

As he started moving, his friends looked at her. Sarah tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach at their knowing smiles. As much as she liked Matt, what they thought they “knew” was wrong.

He was at her side within seconds. His voice lowered to almost a whisper, and he rested one hand on her arm.

Sarah looked down. Matt’s hand was huge. His fingers nearly wrapped around her arm, and his hand was warm on her skin. His fingers were slightly rough, but his touch was still gentle. For a man, he had lovely hands.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

She looked up into his eyes. Beautiful blue eyes, so full of concern that her throat clogged.

Sarah cleared her throat. “He came in again. He brought another briefcase, and he said—”

Matt raised his free hand. “Wait. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that here. This is God’s house. It’s a place of worship, which is what I came here to do. Let’s go out for lunch again. We can talk there. Okay?”

Sarah felt her cheeks heat. “I’m so sorry, Matt. Maybe I should leave.”

He smiled again and gave her arm a gentle squeeze. Attractive little crinkles formed at the corners of his gorgeous eyes. “I didn’t mean for you to leave. In fact, I’m really glad you came. Everyone is welcome to attend the service, and that means you too. Would you like to sit with me? As usual, I came alone.”

“But those people you were talking to?”

“We’ll probably all sit together. Let me introduce you.”

Everyone smiled nicely as Matt introduced her as his friend, not the clerk at the donut shop, which Sarah liked, even though they were more acquaintances than friends.

“I think it’s time to go sit down. This way.”

Sarah discreetly checked her watch, which said there were still ten minutes to go until the service started. She quietly followed Matt and his friends into the sanctuary.

They sat in the back row in the center of the large room, which Sarah thought odd. Matt, however, told her that just like sitting in the back row of the movie theater, it was the best spot in the house because from here, he could see everything.

Sarah doubted there would be as much action at the front of the church as on the big screen. At least there hadn’t been last week. Her most prominent thought about sitting in the back row of a movie theater was teenagers necking in the dark. She doubted that was what Matt had in mind in church.

Matt bent to tuck his Bible under the pew. Very different out of uniform, he was still in many ways the same. He was gentle, yet firm. Strong, yet kind. He generated authority, yet he wasn’t pushy or outspoken. He was also quite a handsome man in normal clothes, although Sarah had to admit that Matt sure looked good in his uniform.

He straightened. Leaning toward her, he spoke softly close to her ear. “We can see pretty much the whole place from here. Do you see your friends?”

Sarah shook her head. “They aren’t going to be here this week. Believe it or not, they’ve left their daughter with Gwen’s mother, and they’ve taken a trip to someplace in the southeastern states. They’re attending the anniversary celebration of a little church they discovered when they were new at driving.”

She turned to Matt. One eyebrow quirked, but he didn’t say a word.

She grinned. “Before their daughter was born, they were both long-haul truck drivers. When Jessica was born, they sold the truck. Lionel took a job in the office so he could stay in town with his new family. I think Gwen is going to stay home for a couple of years, and then she’s going to do part-time subbing for a while. She’s my friend, the teacher. But she’s a truck driver too. And now she’s a mother.”

“It sounds like you know some very interesting people. You’ll have to introduce them to me one day.”

Sarah opened her mouth, but no words came out. She wondered if Matt realized his statement implied that she would be back at his church again, after today, perhaps more than once. “I guess,” she muttered.

The lights dimmed, a screen lowered from a recessed spot in the ceiling, and the music became louder. A man at the front podium welcomed everyone present, and the congregation stood to sing the first song.

As the first part of the service progressed, Sarah was less nervous than the week before, because she knew what to expect. When the pastor began his message, Matt opened his Bible and pointed to the spot the man was reading. This time, Sarah knew better than to comment on Matt’s writing all over the place. She still managed to hear what the pastor was saying, but while he was talking, Sarah couldn’t help but admire Matt’s neat handwriting. Even though it was supposed to be scribbled notes, his handwriting was quite neat and certainly very readable.

Still, she didn’t want to be rude. Sarah stopped looking at Matt’s handwriting and raised her head to watch the pastor. As the week before, he was equally as interesting to listen to. She followed his topic enthusiastically, learning a little historical background on how people lived back in the olden Bible days. She found it fascinating that lots of people in the Bible messed up, but God loved them anyway.

When the service was over, they shuffled out with the crowd, then arranged to meet at a designated restaurant.

This time, they had to put their names on a waiting list. Sarah didn’t mind. Matt would talk about what she’d seen at Donnie’s only in the privacy of their table, where there was no chance of being overheard if they kept their voices down. The wait gave her more of a chance to talk to Matt before he became a cop again.