Threads of Suspicion(66)

Am I a banker’s wife? That question was now back center stage. She’d been answering that question with, No, I’m not a banker’s wife either, even before Rob had asked her to consider marriage. But she wasn’t sure of that response anymore. Rob Turney was as different from a Michael Foster or Gabriel Thane as she was going to find. If her cautions were encompassed by work overlap, she’d solved it and found a great guy. She would have no work overlaps with Rob, be free of the weight that had led her to back away from Michael, to not consider Gabriel in a serious way. She just needed to say yes to the idea of getting married to Rob, then make the necessary compromises that would come with choosing him.

But in a way she didn’t understand, she found herself torn just thinking about saying yes. She felt herself shift toward a prayer that had been forming for a while, and she finally risked putting it into words. “God, I’m not interested in a long conversation right now, I’m still too tired for that. But I’m aware the days are going by and I’m not getting my head—or my heart—around Rob’s proposal.

“I really don’t see how I can be married and have the career I do now. That seems like part of this. But there’s more. And I guess I’m asking if you’d like to dig it up for me and show me what’s going on inside. Because I truly don’t understand it. Rob wants to marry me, and I’m dragging my feet. I need help. And you’re my ‘go-to guy’ for perfect help. You’re always honest with me, and always say things in a kind way. I need that inner mirror right now. I just want a day, more sleep, some space before you and I have that in-depth conversation, but I do need it, and I realize it needs to be soon. Okay?”

Evie felt some of the stress come off her chest just having the prayer out there. She quietly listened to see if God wanted to say anything in reply. The thought that came to mind within a moment was a Scripture, the beginning and end of a longer passage she knew well. “Come to me . . . and I will give you rest.” The peace accompanying the gentle words settled her emotions. “Thanks, God.”

She knew she was loved, that God cared about sorting it out with her. She didn’t know how it would get resolved, but it wouldn’t be her floundering around, trying to find the way forward. God would help her out. She was pretty sure she was destined to be married. She didn’t want to be sixty and single. But the who and the when, the right choice—she often felt as though she was walking through a thick fog. It was hard to be confident about her personal life when she was so afraid of messing it up. God would be her help like no one else could, for He knew her and loved her. She’d trust what He had to say.



Evie checked the time on the latest message from David and decided to stop at the hotel first. She parked her rental, arranged for its pickup, and headed up to her room for her backpack. Ten minutes later, she settled into her own car and turned toward the office suite.

David was just walking into the building, saw her arrive, and waited as she parked. “Welcome back. So, not your arson guy.”

She shook her head as she retrieved the backpack. “Different accelerant, and the three fatalities had been shot. Local cops are looking for a brother of one of the victims.” She didn’t bother to describe how grim the scene had been. David would have worked more than one arson fire in the past. “I’ve been keeping up on your notes,” she told him.

“Lists are being crossed with lists, producing baby lists.”

Evie laughed at his analogy.

“There are a few possible candidates with Wisconsin speeding tickets, and the union   folks who worked various concert venues yielded two names of interest.” David held the door for her. “As soon as the background reports come in, I’m going out on interviews.”

“Your note this morning said there was good news regarding the credit-card data?”

“The historical credit- and gas-card info we would like to search was sold to marketing companies for analysis, the data stripped of names, but it still shows card numbers and full purchase histories. Since what they label historical data is anything over three years old, we’ve got the data set we wanted without even having to argue for a warrant. With the names gone, we cannot correlate them across various cards he might have used. But if he used the same gas card or the same credit card on at least two of the five dates of interest, there’s going to be a hit. With that, we can get a warrant for a name on that card number, then turn that name into other card numbers, and presto, we can search to find his travels in all five cases.”