In the Paths of Righteousness (Psalm 23 Mysteries) by Debbie Viguié Page A

met?”
    “What do you mean?” Jeremiah asked.
    “Please, don’t give me that. It’s not quite meeting the parents, but it’s certainly a step in that direction.”
    Jeremiah rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing going on between Cindy and me.”
    “Whether there is or not isn’t the point. There should be and you know it and I know it. You can’t tell me you’re not the least little bit trepidatious about spending time with one of her relatives.
    “She’s not very fond of her brother.”
    “And you’re dodging the question. Whether she likes him or not doesn’t mean anything. You know he’s got to be sizing you up and that he’ll be reporting back to mom and dad about the guy she’s been spending all her time with.”
    Jeremiah could feel his temper slipping. It didn’t help that Mark was right about that last part. He had worried about what Kyle might say to Cindy’s parents and whether or not they might object to her spending so much time with him. What made it worse was that he wasn’t sure whether or not Cindy would care what they thought. He wasn’t about to let Mark know he had struck a nerve, though.
    “How about we get back to figuring out who’s trying to kill Kyle and worry about Cindy’s parents later,” he suggested.
    “You do care, I knew it,” Mark said, a smug sound to his voice.
    “What I care about is all of us making it through the next few days alive,” Jeremiah said.
    “Okay, fine,” Mark said, sounding clearly disappointed. Apparently the detective would rather discuss Jeremiah’s love life than stop a killer. Maybe he was taking the whole vacation concept a little too far.
    “So, despite how we all feel about Kyle, I think it’s safe to eliminate the four of us as potential suspects,” Jeremiah said.
    Mark snorted. “Yeah, only worry from Traci is that she might hug him to death.”
    Jeremiah bit back a sarcastic comment which would only lead Mark back onto the topic of relationships.
    “The three cowboys weren’t bunking with us at the cabin when the cameraman was killed,” Jeremiah said instead.
    “Yeah, what are their names again?” Mark asked.
    “Zack is the doctor, Tex is the older one and Curly is the younger one,” Jeremiah said.
    “Curly? Are you kidding me?”
    “No, why?”
    “Curly? Come on, the guy must have seen City Slickers one too many times as a kid and decided that Jack Palance was the god of all things cowboy.”
    Jeremiah hadn’t seen the film in question. He had just assumed the nickname had to do with the young man’s extremely curly hair. He felt like he had done a pretty good job assimilating into American culture but every so often there were pop culture references he just did not get. It reminded him that he was an outsider, not really part of this world.
    And unable to go back to his.
    He shook his head. “So, unless one of them knew Kyle prior to this, I’m betting we can rule them out.”
    “Someone could have hired one of them to go after him.”
    “True, but I kind of doubt it.”
    “Yes, because you’ve never met a hired killer before,” Mark said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
    Jeremiah stiffened slightly until he realized Mark was referencing the Green Pastures incident from Saint Patrick’s Day.
    “One of them could have snuck into the cabin and they all had access to the saddle and could have cut the girth strap. Okay, so let’s not rule them out completely,” Jeremiah said.
    “Done. So, moving on to the people Kyle brought with him, other than us, of course.”
    “Hank and Norman arrived the next morning to replace Martin and the guy Aaron who left afterward.”
    “I’d say we should be wondering if Aaron killed Martin but he was long gone by the time those horses were saddled up,” Mark said. “And, you’re right, Hank and Norman might have been able to do something to the saddle, but they weren’t even here when Martin got killed.”
    “Still, they managed to get both of them here really