'But, as Nancy Tolvey says, things that happen in your childhood scar and stay with you.'
'So what happened to him that could have turned him into a mass murderer?' Joe shrugged.
'Who knows? We’ll go to the Baptist church tomorrow and see if we can find out anything else.'
'Could Dom’s father still be alive?'
'Possibly. He’d be pretty old.' He bent his head and brushed a kiss on her nose. 'Go to sleep. I’ll wait up for Spiro and tell him what we’ve learned.'
'It’s more than I expected.' Excitement tingled through her. They were getting close. Dom was no longer a complete enigma. 'And tomorrow we’ll know more.'
'Don’t get your hopes up.'
'Don’t be silly. Of course I’ll get my hopes up.'
Joe smiled. 'I shouldn’t complain. Hope’s very healthy for you.”
“Stop sounding as if I’m a nutcase and you’re my psychoanalyst.”
“Sorry. I’ve become accustomed to analyzing every move you make. It comes of standing wistfully on the sidelines.'
'Wistful isn’t in your vocabulary.' She hurriedly looked away from him. 'Jane’s in bed. Will you keep an eye on her while I shower?'
'I won’t take a step away from your door.'
She could feel his gaze on her as she walked down the hall, feeling weak-kneed. Since the trip had begun, Joe had fallen back into the role of old friend. He hadn’t said anything too personal until just then and his words brought the memory of the previous night rushing back to her.
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It was very unsettling to realize her feelings for Joe could almost overwhelm her eagerness at what they’d learned about Dom.
Joe was waiting when Eve and Jane came down the stairs the next morning. 'I’m afraid we’ll have to skip Mrs. Tolvey’s breakfast. I have a taxi outside. Spiro’s waiting for us.'
'He’s not here?'
'No, he called me about three in the morning. At the bar he got a lead on Reverend Baldridge, and he’s been up all night.'
'Did you tell him we should go to the Baptist church?'
Joe nodded. 'He said it’s not necessary. After he found out about the tent revival, he tracked down Reverend Piper, who’s the pastor of the Bloom Street church, and woke him up.' He shrugged as she stared at him in surprise. 'Nobody said Spiro isn’t ruthless when he’s on the trail.'
'He found out something?'
'He found the place where the reverend gave his sermons. It’s a fairly long drive. We’re going to meet Spiro there.'
Spiro was standing alone on top of a hill. Patches of snow dotted the ground and gray clouds hovered over the mountains in the distance.
The driver parked at the bottom of the hill.
'Pay off the taxi, Joe,' Spiro called out. 'I’ll drive you back. I commandeered Reverend Piper’s car.' Spiro smiled sardonically as he nodded at the brown Ford parked some distance away.
'There are times when being FBI comes in handy.' Jane ran up the hill and looked around. The ground was utterly barren; tatters of seared cloth clung to the numerous blackened stakes driven into the earth. 'A fire?'
'Yes,' Spiro answered.
Eve felt suddenly cold. 'What happened here?”
“Do you want to send the child to the car?' Spiro asked.
Jane was wandering slowly some distance away.
'No, I won’t shut her out. She deserves to know everything we know.”
“And what do we know?' Joe had joined them. 'When did this happen?”
“Twenty-nine years ago.'
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'An accident?'
'It was presumed to be an accident. Everyone knew about all the candles. The tent was a fire waiting to happen.'
'Any fatalities?'
'No bodies were found. Services were held here every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The fire must have happened earlier in the week, because the site was found exactly like this when the first car-load of people came that weekend.'
