The Silence (Columbia River #2)(37)

After waiting a moment, she tried the large brass handle and was surprised when the door pulled open.

A church smell wafted out. Old carpet, wood polish, and history. And some guilt. Ava had been raised Catholic, but it hadn’t stuck after she left home. Although some of the clichéd Catholic guilt occasionally cropped up. Like now. It wasn’t a Catholic church, but the shame flared anyway.

Zander’s quick stride sounded on the stone steps behind her. “I found the camera in back. It only covers a back entrance and more of the parking lot.” He stopped beside her. “We going in?” he asked after a long pause.

“Of course,” Ava said quickly. “I was waiting to see if someone was coming first.” She stepped inside the vestibule and he followed.

“Gorgeous,” Zander stated. They’d stopped outside the sanctuary. It had high ceilings with wide beams, and the walls were filled with the lovely arched windows Ava had noticed outside. Ava eyed the front of the sanctuary, where three carpeted steps led up to a pulpit. A wedding scene flashed in her mind. She and Mason standing side by side in front of those steps. They had agreed not to have their wedding in a church.

Guilt hovered again. Sorry, Mom.

Zander’s phone rang, startling her. He frowned at the screen. “It’s a foreign number—oh!” He immediately answered. “Wells.”

Foreign number? Ava didn’t answer those.

“Thanks for getting back to me,” Zander said, holding Ava’s gaze. “What did you find out?”

“Who?” she mouthed at him.

He covered the microphone. “Costa Rica.”

She’d completely forgotten he’d called to see if anyone at the rehab clinic had lost their license or had their identity stolen.

“Uh-huh. Can you spell the name?” Zander said into the phone. His eyes darted from side to side, and Ava knew he was storing the information. He had amazing recall and could memorize pages in a short time.

She’d asked him once how he did it, hoping for some tips. But he’d shrugged and told her he saw the page in his head and simply read it back. That didn’t help her at all.

He ended the call. “One of their patients, Camila Guerrero from Los Angeles, had her wallet stolen a while back. It hasn’t turned up. Nothing was charged on her credit cards, but she immediately canceled them.”

“Jayne would want the ID, not the cards. Surprisingly,” Ava noted wryly. Jayne had done her share of stealing credit cards and going on shopping sprees, telling Ava that it wasn’t hurting anyone because the bank would cover the fraudulent charges. But now, with Brady Shurr in her pocket, Jayne apparently had access to plenty of cash and credit.

“I’ll email and have someone search to see if ‘Camila Guerrero’ has turned up in the area. Maybe at a hotel or car rental place.”

“She’d still need a credit card,” Ava pointed out.

“Depends on the place.” He raised a brow.

He was right. Some might accept a large cash deposit. Or bribe. Depending on the quality of the business.

“True.” Ava sighed. “Jayne is the least of my concerns at the moment.” Footsteps sounded, and she turned to see a man walking their way.

“Can I help you?” he asked as he approached. His jeans had several holes and he wore battered flip-flops. Ava guessed he was in his midthirties. His faded T-shirt had an image of actors from the TV show Portlandia, and his curly brown hair nearly covered one eye. She wanted to brush it out of his face.

Ava introduced herself and Zander while trying not to stare at the man’s broken front tooth. His name was Pat Arthur.

“Is this about the shooting yesterday?” he asked, tucking his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans.

“Yes. We’d like to review your camera footage from yesterday. It’s possible it picked up something.”

“Like what?” Simple curiosity filled Pat’s dark eyes.

“Are you a church employee?” Zander countered with a question of his own.

Pat pushed his hair out of his face, to Ava’s great satisfaction. “Yeah. I’m sort of the do-it-all guy. A little maintenance, set up for meetings, basically I keep an eye on the place. I have a small room at the back. They wanted someone on the premises at night after a break-in several months ago. They also had a pipe burst last winter. A lot of damage could have been avoided if someone had been around.” He lifted one shoulder. “My parents attended here for years. When they told me what the church needed, I figured it was a good fit since I’m in school.”

“You get a free place to stay in exchange for being sort of a watchman?” Ava asked.

“They pay me too. Not a lot. Doesn’t really matter. I’m saving a ton on rent.”

“Where do you go to school?” Zander asked.

“Reed. I’m off for the summer, but I work at a deli over on Division.” He gave a satisfied nod. “I get free food there.”

Ava was familiar with Reed College in Portland. It was a very small liberal arts school.

“You’ve got it worked out, don’t you?” Zander asked. “Free rent, free food, and you get paid by two jobs.”

Pat grinned. “Yep.”

“You know how to access the camera footage?” Ava asked.

“I’m the one who told them they needed it and then did the installation.” He turned and gestured for them to follow. “They needed to catch up with the twenty-first century.”