“We put those we love at risk,” I said quietly.
“I can’t do that to her. At first, I thought I could pull back and leave it alone…let whatever it was die out, but it’s not that easy.”
“No. It’s not.”
“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time, and seeing you and Carter in New Orleans made it all clear. I can have one life or the other, but not both. And as much as I love what I do, I can’t love it and Cassidy both. It wouldn’t be right.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Transfer to a different department. I don’t want to leave the agency. Counterintelligence is what I know, but I want to start doing my part from an office in DC. But not until it’s safe for you to return. I’m not about to leave you hanging. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’re going to finish this together, too.”
“I’m happy for you, Harrison. I mean that.”
“Thanks.” He was silent a few seconds, then said, “I know you’re not in a good place right now, but I also know you’ll come out of it all right. You always do.”
I slipped my phone back into my pocket, overwhelmed and confused. Harrison’s news had caught me by surprise, but then, it had probably caught him by surprise as well. He’d never been the romantic sort.
But he was normal.
I sighed. That was true enough. Harrison had two loving parents, a regular childhood with Little League and a Labrador retriever. He had college buddies he played poker with and was a regular at a pool bar down the street from his apartment. Even though he was dedicated to the job, he’d managed to have a life beyond it. Something I was just learning how to do.
And failing miserably.
Chapter 4
I’d just stepped into my driveway when I heard a car screech to a stop behind me. I turned around and saw Ida Belle gesturing from the passenger seat of Gertie’s ancient Cadillac. “Hurry up,” she said.
I had no idea what I was hurrying for, but since it didn’t involve sitting alone in my quiet house, I figured what the hell. I climbed into the car and Gertie set off down the street. Two casserole dishes sat on the backseat next to me, so I figured we were on some sort of charitable mission.
“Who’s the food for?” I asked, hoping one for was whoever was ill and the other might be for me. I loved Gertie’s casseroles.
“We’ve had a bit of luck,” Ida Belle said. “Beulah has agreed to talk to us about the catfish.”
“Did you bribe her with a casserole?” I asked. As far as bribes went, it was a fairly decent one.
“We didn’t have to,” Gertie said. “She said if we could prevent this from happening to another woman, then she was willing to tell her story, however embarrassing it might be. The casserole is because I feel sorry for her and Beulah likes to eat.”
“And the second casserole?” I asked, still hoping.
“Backup plan,” Gertie said. “Just in case.”
“In case of what?”
Ida Belle shook her head. “No need to worry about that unless it happens. Let’s just concentrate on learning everything we can from Beulah.”
I didn’t much like the sound of that, but once Ida Belle’s lips were sealed, I knew there was no getting information out of her. I watched as we headed out of the subdivision and down one of the farm roads about half a mile. Gertie turned onto a long gravel drive with a small white farmhouse at the end and pulled slowly down the bumpy path. The house had blue shutters and huge rosebushes out front. It looked fresh and pleasant.
“This is pretty,” I said, admiring how the giant oak trees behind the house created a backdrop of green.
Gertie nodded. “Beulah’s daddy built the house. He was an excellent carpenter. He built the Baptist church as well. If those silly Catholics had allowed him to build their church, the place wouldn’t have so many issues.”
“I take it he was Baptist?” I asked.
“Worse,” Ida Belle said. “Atheist. Said he’d believe in a higher being when one stepped down from a cloud and had a beer and a chat with him.”
“That must have endeared him to the local population,” I said.
“It was practically scandalous at the time,” Ida Belle continued, “but that didn’t stop Donald Sr. from hiring him to build the new church. That’s Pastor Don’s father.”
Pastor Don was the current preacher. He was an earnest but boring man who managed to make even an interesting topic sound as if he were reciting from a law journal. I did a lot of dozing in church.
Gertie nodded. “Pastor Don Sr. said the congregation deserved the best, and if the Lord saw fit to change a soul or two while the church was being built, then that would be a fine thing.”