can bring a tape of her favorite song. It’s not about the ritual; it’s about the visit. It’s about your healing from her loss. Lilly, it’s been over fifteen years.”
“To me, it’s always just yesterday.”
“This is one of the issues with your lack of faith in God. You try to hold everything together in your universe. How much energy does that take?” Dana asked.
“A lot.”
“Yet you believe all life came from chance, without external energy forming it. Does your house ever clean itself? Have you ever come home and, by chance, found it was in an orderly state? This peace you feel from Kadin doesn’t come from him but from Christ living within him.”
So where did that leave their relationship? Was she attracted to him or just to his inner peace—his faith?
“This is not the time to get into this.”
“It never is for you.” Dana stopped and reached for her hip. “I’m vibrating.” Pulling the pager up, she noted the number.
“This is why you should have gone into emergency services.” Lilly pointed a finger. “You could have a life.”
“Good thing I was just drinking water. I’ll call you tomorrow to hear how it went with Kadin. I’ll want explicit details.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lilly said standing. She followed her friend to the door.
They hugged briefly.
“Don’t forget your triple locks.”
“I never do.” Lilly secured the door after Dana left.
Chapter 6
T HE FIRST THING that alarmed Kadin was the fact that he found the door to Lilly’s town home open. Lilly was preoccupied with her safety. Triple deadbolts protected this entrance, each with a different key. He’d been unable, as of yet, to ascertain why.
He rapped the wood three times and stood, waiting for her tender voice to invite him in. A cool autumn wind whistled through the entryway. He rubbed his hands over his arms to cut the chill. The breeze pushed the door open another few centimeters. The hinges creaked.
“Lilly?”
Kadin worried about protective barriers two and three—her black belt in martial arts and her gun. “Hey, Lilly! It’s Kadin. I’m at your front door.”
He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. Taking a few steps back, he leaned against the iron railing. The lights were on inside.
She should be home.
Ringing echoed throughout the living area.
Voice mail.
Kadin disconnected the call and returned the phone to his pocket. Eerie tingles crept up his spine. He neared the door and pushed it open with a single finger.
At first, he didn’t see anything out of place. Taking three steps in, he stopped cold. The glass table that sat between the overstuffed couch and chair no longer glistened under the lights. Four more steps and he figured out why.
The glass was missing. He put his arm through the surface and raked his fingers through the carpet below.
There were no shards. The carpet looked vacuumed with organized strips lining the floor. Stepping into the kitchen, he opened the cabinet beneath her sink and pulled out the trash.
There wasn’t any glass here either. Not even a plastic liner.
He exhaled, releasing pent up anxiety. Feeling certain Lilly had stepped out to empty the trash, he returned to the living area and sat down on the couch. One of the pillows toppled to the floor. A bloodied handprint showed prominently against the light fabric, like a warning in a crosswalk. Grabbing it, he traced a finger over each chenille ridge.
Damp.
Standing, the pillow falling to the side, Kadin raced to the hall that contained her study and an additional bedroom. He burst through the door to her office.
Empty.
He turned and threw open the door to the closet.
Nothing.
Racing across the hall, he entered her guest suite. It remained untouched.
“Lilly!”
He took the stairs, stumbling several times. Standing at the top, he paused indecisively between the two doors. The first door on the right was the bathroom. He entered. The shower curtain was closed. He flung it to one
“To me, it’s always just yesterday.”
“This is one of the issues with your lack of faith in God. You try to hold everything together in your universe. How much energy does that take?” Dana asked.
“A lot.”
“Yet you believe all life came from chance, without external energy forming it. Does your house ever clean itself? Have you ever come home and, by chance, found it was in an orderly state? This peace you feel from Kadin doesn’t come from him but from Christ living within him.”
So where did that leave their relationship? Was she attracted to him or just to his inner peace—his faith?
“This is not the time to get into this.”
“It never is for you.” Dana stopped and reached for her hip. “I’m vibrating.” Pulling the pager up, she noted the number.
“This is why you should have gone into emergency services.” Lilly pointed a finger. “You could have a life.”
“Good thing I was just drinking water. I’ll call you tomorrow to hear how it went with Kadin. I’ll want explicit details.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lilly said standing. She followed her friend to the door.
They hugged briefly.
“Don’t forget your triple locks.”
“I never do.” Lilly secured the door after Dana left.
Chapter 6
T HE FIRST THING that alarmed Kadin was the fact that he found the door to Lilly’s town home open. Lilly was preoccupied with her safety. Triple deadbolts protected this entrance, each with a different key. He’d been unable, as of yet, to ascertain why.
He rapped the wood three times and stood, waiting for her tender voice to invite him in. A cool autumn wind whistled through the entryway. He rubbed his hands over his arms to cut the chill. The breeze pushed the door open another few centimeters. The hinges creaked.
“Lilly?”
Kadin worried about protective barriers two and three—her black belt in martial arts and her gun. “Hey, Lilly! It’s Kadin. I’m at your front door.”
He reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone. Taking a few steps back, he leaned against the iron railing. The lights were on inside.
She should be home.
Ringing echoed throughout the living area.
Voice mail.
Kadin disconnected the call and returned the phone to his pocket. Eerie tingles crept up his spine. He neared the door and pushed it open with a single finger.
At first, he didn’t see anything out of place. Taking three steps in, he stopped cold. The glass table that sat between the overstuffed couch and chair no longer glistened under the lights. Four more steps and he figured out why.
The glass was missing. He put his arm through the surface and raked his fingers through the carpet below.
There were no shards. The carpet looked vacuumed with organized strips lining the floor. Stepping into the kitchen, he opened the cabinet beneath her sink and pulled out the trash.
There wasn’t any glass here either. Not even a plastic liner.
He exhaled, releasing pent up anxiety. Feeling certain Lilly had stepped out to empty the trash, he returned to the living area and sat down on the couch. One of the pillows toppled to the floor. A bloodied handprint showed prominently against the light fabric, like a warning in a crosswalk. Grabbing it, he traced a finger over each chenille ridge.
Damp.
Standing, the pillow falling to the side, Kadin raced to the hall that contained her study and an additional bedroom. He burst through the door to her office.
Empty.
He turned and threw open the door to the closet.
Nothing.
Racing across the hall, he entered her guest suite. It remained untouched.
“Lilly!”
He took the stairs, stumbling several times. Standing at the top, he paused indecisively between the two doors. The first door on the right was the bathroom. He entered. The shower curtain was closed. He flung it to one
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