Don't Look Back

Cassie again paused in the entrance, glad that the couch blocked her view of the red-stained carpet. She did a visual sweep of the large room with the kitchen off to the left, but saw nothing out of place. A picture of her brother sitting at the small kitchen table typing on his laptop popped into her mind. She peered toward it, but its bare surface mocked her.

While Jameson circled the spacious open area, Cassie hung back, frozen in place. Sweat broke out on her forehead and palms. She watched while Jameson opened cabinets and drawers in the small kitchen and even checked the refrigerator.

Finally he faced her, his gaze reaching out to her. “I can’t find the laptop or recorder. Would they be anywhere else?”

“Maybe in his car. I know the police inventoried its contents. They didn’t say anything about his laptop being in it.”

“How about at the paper?”

Cassie shook her head. “He has a computer there. And he always had his recorder on him in case something came up unexpectedly. There wouldn’t be any reason for it to be at the newspaper.”

“Then let’s take a look at his car. If we don’t find them, we can tell the police they are missing for sure.”

“Which means his murder is probably connected to something he was working on.”

Jameson closed the space between them. “Yes. Do you know what story he was writing?”

“No, he always kept things secret until his story came out. The last story published was that series on corruption at nursing homes run by the Bender Corporation. The last article was a few days ago.”

“Let’s go check his car, then call Detective Harrison.”

“Yeah, I need to get home and talk to Mom before someone else tells her.” But first she had to walk past that stain in the carpet.

She started forward but couldn’t move. When Jameson turned back to her, her gaze shifted toward the area where Scott had been lying when they had found him Friday night. “I—I can’t…”

Jameson held out his hand for her.

A fine sheen of perspiration covered her face. She rubbed her damp palms against her jeans, then lifted one toward him. It quavered between them.

His firm clasp surrounded her fingers. “You won’t have to come back here again, Cassie, if you don’t want to.”

His calm voice soothed her raw nerves, but still her legs wouldn’t obey the command from her brain to walk.

I can do this.

Then suddenly Psalm 23 flowed through her mind, prodding her forward. When she got to the place where the red stain was, she said out loud, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”