Rivers in the Wilderness

12~With God all things are possible

Leo and Grace raced back to the others just as Colton lunged for Peter.

"He lied to us!" Colton shouted while Dean held him back.

"You tried to kill me!" Peter yelled, his gaze sliding to Rose. "Ask her. She saw it."

Rose kept her head down, not responding, her body trembling.

Dean pushed Colton away one more time. "Enough." His voice commanded attention.

Mark's chest tightened at the stricken look on Rose's face. "Someone needs to tell us what's going on."

"Peter tricked us. He said to keep our phones off, and like good little sheep, we obeyed. That made no sense to me."

Dean released a weary sigh. "I'm not arguing, but it's not like we have service. And most of our phones are dead."

"I got service. Wanna know what I found? Check it out." Colton held his phone up for everyone to see, Peter included.

Janessa caught a glimpse of Peter's face beneath a caption she couldn't completely read, but one word stood out—Murderer.

"He's wanted for the murder of Mike Tripper." Colton raised his arm. "For all we know Peter leading us into a trap."

Dean took the phone, reading the post. "Says here you're wanted not only for Mike's murder but also for the murder of Wichita Davenport the CEO of Wichita Corporation."

Peter looked stunned. His jaw dropped and for a moment he was speechless. All color drained from his face. "I-I don't even know who that is!"

Leo's gaze narrowed. "You don't know who the biggest online retailer in the country is?"

"No! I-I mean, of course, I do, but I didn't kill anyone!"

"You think Davenport was the guy Mike saw murdered?"

"Possibly."

"Don't you see what they're doing?" Peter's voice shook. His face was pasty, and he looked like a man facing a firing squad. "I'm being framed. I know I've messed up, but I am not a killer!"

The information sank in and it was clear no one knew what to believe.

Leo broke the silence. "You're what, twenty-one? What do you do for a living?"

Sweat dripped from Peter's chin. "Twenty-two. I work at the Won-Ton Palace."

"Where do you live?"

"With Mike." He swallowed hard. "I lived with Mike."

"No offense Wilder, but I don't care to get to know Peter. You want to ask him a bunch of questions, go visit him in prison."

"Did Mike have any insurance policies?" Leo continued, ignoring Colton.

"No, I-uh, wait. He might have had one with the school district."

Dean lifted a brow.

"I'm not the beneficiary if that's what you're thinking," Peter said quickly. "He probably left everything to the church."

"Who cares?" Colton scowled. "He's probably a murderer, and the guy is conning us!"

Leo's hard gaze flicked to Colton. "Why would a twenty-two-year-old who works at the Won Ton Palace want to kill a corporate bigwig and the guy he's living with?"

Understanding registered on Colton's expression, and he gave a curt nod. "Point taken. We don't know who the beneficiaries are on Mike's insurance policy."