Uncertain Truths

Ch 17 - Matters of Faith

When Kae arrived at the church she asked to speak to the pastor. A short, heavyset blonde woman in the church office smiled and asked her to have a seat while she went to get him. While Kae sat, she looked around the office. It was clearly the domain of the blonde woman. Pictures of her kids, grandkids, other relatives – they were everywhere. It struck Kae as a little bit extreme.

"Drew says to go back to his office. He'll talk with you there." Her smile was strained, but Kae couldn't understand why. She thanked the woman and went back.

As she went in, she closed the door behind her. This seemed like the kind of topic for his ears only. She opened up her bag and pulled the binder out.

"You hired EDS Security to do a project for you. I suspect this is the item you hired them to replace." She passed the binder over to him.

He looked up at her with a stunned look on his face. "Where did you find this?"

"My brother-in-law was Gerald Landover. This was in his stuff."

"And how did you know we had hired out?"

"Well, this could be either coincidence or Providence, but René from EDS hired me to work for you. He stressed confidentiality, and that's why he contracted out to me. I used to work for him as a researcher."

Drew started flipping through the binder slowly. Kae waited, not sure what he was thinking. When he lifted his head again, he was grinning. "Miss, you have no idea what this means to me or what you've done for this church. Some of these are original documents. Irreplaceable."

"I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me." "Anything. What would you like to know?"

"I know Gerald. I know of Mira. Who is Alexandra?"

He gave a light smile. "She used to work here. She was one of the founders. One day she took the binder and disappeared. Quit with no notice. Trudy could probably tell you more, but it's very confusing. Lavender— I mean, Alexandra was the one spearheading the church change."

"So that's the connection. And only Mira survived. Who's Trudy?"

"Oh, she's the secretary. You met her out front."

Right. The blonde with family issues. "So, she would have a forwarding address?"

"For Alex?"

"Yes, please."

She added researching Alexandra to her to-do list. With Mira in hiding and presumed dead, and Gerald actually dead, it made her wonder... was Alex the first target of three, or was it bad luck all the way around?

"How well did you know her? Alexandra."

Drew's expression hardened. "Not as well as I thought, apparently. We've been friends for years. In many ways, she was like a sister."

"Whose idea was it to switch the church over?"

"It was hers. She was in prayer one day, early in the morning. She's not a morning person but something woke her up. And while she prayed, she said it became clear that the needs of our congregation could be better met by joining the larger body of Christ. That the division of the denominations was painful to God."

"And you believed her?"

"Of course. The idea is not foreign to me. The old saying, 'divide and conquer,' applies to all areas of life, not just war. She's the reason I was hired to transition the congregation."

"Research is my talent. If I can find out a few things about her to explain her sudden departure, I'll let you know."

"That would be greatly appreciated. But please, don't mention any of this to Trudy. It's all been far too upsetting for her. Apparently Alex said some fairly nasty things on her way out. She's already needed a week off of work."

"Was that normal for Alex? To drop a caustic remark or two and disappear?"

"No." He sighed deeply. "It really wasn't. But chaos is the rule, not the exception at this point." He patted the binder. "You can tell your employer not to worry. Regardless of how you got the job done, you're going to be paid. I should throw in a bonus for speed."

Kae shut the door of Drew's office behind her, noting Trudy's apparent penchant for hovering. She was barely seated back in her truck when she pulled out her cellphone and dialed Greg. "I think I know who the frozen woman was. Alexandra Belisarius."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line. "Really? How did you find that out?"

"Answered prayer."

He laughed. "Fine. Be mysterious."

"She was a college friend of Gerald's. A few days before Gerald's accident she quit her job with no warning and hasn't been heard from since."

"And how does that make it her?"

"They were working on a controversial project in college, and she stayed with it. She contacted him about it recently. And now he's dead."

"Look, you should come into the station. Every time you say something, it only adds to my questions. This could take a while." That seemed to catch his attention.

"Just check her teeth against that name, or whatever you do to ID a Jane Doe. If I'm right, I'll tell you whatever I know." She had places to be.

"Fine. But don't go researching your way down a rabbit hole without a lifeline."

Aiden's name popped into her head, followed by a flare of anger.

"Why Greg, I didn't know you cared," she joked.

"It's all part of the job. Now stop snooping around." He sounded mildly exasperated. "Don't be surprised if I call you in a day or two."

She laughed. "I think you know me better than that. But I'll keep from creating trouble." She decided to fish a bit. "I suppose there's no use in asking you if you've found the crime scene yet."

"Have a nice day, Kae."

"Sure, sure. You too."

She sat back in her seat and thought about his reactions. He must have already found out the woman's name, because he wasn't overly interested until she mentioned the project.

If Alexandra was how this started, then she would lead her to the crime scene. And hopefully answers – such as how they really died. She had to find where Alexandra's path and Gerald's had intersected. She was doubtful this stop would be on Gerald's itinerary, though. She wouldn't be messing up a crime scene. Greg already knew. That meant Ted did too.

Kae pressed a few buttons on her phone to start up the GPS. Drew had given her Alexandra's address. Another scouting trip – should she check to see if Sam was interested? She shook her head. Not this time. She'd already stretched the rule to not work with Sam by going to his office that one time. Then again, how would Aiden find out?

She was about to pull into traffic when her phone rang. The call display read, "Mom." With a sigh, Kae answered as she backed into a parking spot.

"Kae, I think Diane is coming back to the house. Can you call me if she shows up?"

"What happened?" The two of them frequently butted heads, but this was a new speed record.

"We were talking about what she should do with her life. One minute I was suggesting she could go back to school, the next she was saying she wanted to get her job back, packing Becca up and leaving. I really don't know what triggered it."

"She left? And she took Becca?" Kae knew Diane's triggers. "Which school?"

"The one I went to. It's a good school. She could go far with their name embossed on her diploma."

"Mom, they don't teach anything Diane is interested in. But I guess this means she's ready to face reality again, if she's talking about jobs."

Kae suddenly remembered she hadn't done dishes in a couple days... and laundry in even longer. "Hey Mom, I have to go, but I'll text you if she shows up, okay? She's a survivor... survivalist. Whatever. She'll be fine, wherever she lands."

"You're right about that," her mom said before hanging up.