Thirty and a Half Excuses
Page 75

“Did he mention how she died?”
His mouth twisted as though he was thinking about it. “Now that you mention it, he didn’t.”
Despite being in the middle of all this mess, I still didn’t know how any of these women had actually died. “I ran into Christy Hansen this morning.”
His smile fell. “Is that so? And how is she?”
“Angrier than a cat tossed into a bath. She’s lookin’ for you, and it’s not to discuss Sunday’s sermon.”
He gulped. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure why I had told him. He probably deserved her wrath, but if she shot him, I didn’t want to live with the guilt of knowing I could have helped prevent it.
“Well, I’ve gotta get going.” I pointed my thumb toward the registers.
“Wouldn’t you know it? I’m done too.” He was carrying a basket with a loaf of bread and a block of cheddar cheese. “We can check out together.”
Oh yippee.
We walked to the registers together, Jonah staying closer to me than necessary.
David looked up from stacking his cans, watching us with curiosity.
Placing my cord on the conveyor belt, I pulled out my wallet, purposely avoiding Jonah’s gaze. “If Monday’s your day off, how come you planned for the big revival to start tonight?”
Jonah released an exaggerated sigh. “The Lord may have had a day of rest, but my work never seems to be done. I wanted to get in five solid nights.”
“Did you have revivals at your old church? I’m not sure where you were before you moved to Henryetta.”
He stiffened. “Why the sudden curiosity?”
I wasn’t sure, but if Jonah had anything to do with these deaths, maybe he’d swindled old ladies before. Maybe it was why Joe had warned me about him. The more I knew, the better my chances of getting out of this—and of helping Bruce Wayne. But Jonah wasn’t going to just tell me for the sake of telling me. I’d been giving him the brush off, and I needed to be nice to him. I tried to give him a coy smile, but I wasn’t sure if it worked or just made me look constipated.
The cashier leveled her gaze at me. “That will be $18.79.”
I handed her a twenty, turning back to Jonah. “You know more about me than I know about you. That hardly seems fair.”
He relaxed, resting his shoulder on a display rack. “I was in Texas before here. Homer, Texas. Ever heard of it?”
I shook my head and took my change from the cashier. “Can’t say I have.”
Laughing, he put his two items on the belt, but he looked nervous. “I’m not surprised. Most people haven’t.”
“So why move to Henryetta?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” He continued to look down at his merchandise. “It seemed like a nice town, ready for a spiritual revolution.”
“You sure have added a lot of church members in a short time.”
“I told you, it’s our loving, accepting attitude.”
The cashier handed me my bag.
Jonah looked up, and something in his eyes caught my attention. Desperation. “Rose, will you wait a second and let me walk you to your truck?”
“Uh…” I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea, but Jonah seemed to have been forthright in his answer…well, as forthright as he seemed capable of being. I hated to lose an opportunity to gather more information. “Okay.”
The cashier frowned in disapproval.
I stood at the end of the aisle. “I have to say I was impressed with your service yesterday. And I’m speechless you put me in your video.” I was sure he’d take it as flattery.
“So you’ll consider coming back?”
I tilted my head with a shy smile. “I’ll think about it.”
A grin spread across his face, and he looked almost genuine, like he wasn’t a televangelist, just a happy man. He paid for his food and snatched up his bag, walking outside with me.
“Have you had lunch yet?” he asked.
“I…” I hadn’t, but I needed to look for Bruce Wayne. But my stomach betrayed me, growling at the mention of food.
“I know you’re a busy businesswoman, but you need to take time to eat. Besides I really need to talk to you about something. Lunch will be my treat.”
Jonah was dropping his guard, and I had a chance to get more answers. Maybe he knew where Bruce Wayne was. “I can’t stay for long.”
He pointed to the park at the end of the street. “How about we grab something and go sit in the shade.”
Being out in the open made me feel better, even if it was the park I’d escaped to the night of Momma’s death. “Okay.”
Jonah stopped at an authentic Mexican food restaurant that served takeout. I had recently noticed it next to the caf I’d eaten at that fateful night months ago…
Everything always seemed to be swinging me back to Momma’s death. Would it ever be behind me?
We ordered tacos and drinks, and then walked to the park, sitting on a bench overlooking the small pond. A small breeze kicked up, blowing off the water and bringing the temperature down several degrees under the tree branches.
“I love this park,” Jonah said, handing me a taco. “I like to come here when I’m stumped on a sermon or I need to think.”
“Do you get stumped very often?”
He laughed. “More often than you’d probably think.”