“My daughter is missing,” Reverend Gaines announced his voice crackling over the words.
“Daughter,” Walden asked looking at Imogen. “Which daughter are you talking about?”
“Faith is gone,” Imogen wailed wiping her eyes with the lace handkerchief she held. “Her bed has not been slept in.” She gulped for air her bosoms rising and falling in agitation.
“Faith is missing,” Walden asked hoping to clarify what Reverend Gaines was saying. It was not everyday a young woman disappeared. He wondered where to even start looking for Faith.
“That’s what I said,” Reverend Gaines recounted.
“Have you checked with her friends,” Walden asked.
Reverend Gaines scoffed at the idea. “Do you think Faith would go off with one of her friends without first telling either her mother or me! It is preposterous! I want that rascal Jim Cook arrested. I am sure he is behind Faith’s disappearance. You were a witness to his accosting my daughter on Wednesday after Mr. Hogan’s funeral. Faith said you escorted Mr. Cook to the door. He made threats I am sure.” Reverend Gaines shook one finger at Walden. His boney face ravaged by fear. “Just because I am a Minister does not mean I don’t know about men’s . . . well, men’s baser instincts. If Mr. Cook has harmed Faith I want to see him hanged. Do you hear me, hanged!” He glanced uncomfortably at Imogen. Why she had insisted on coming with them was beyond him. He could not talk freely about his fears. There were things a man did not say in front of a woman. Especially in front of an innocent daughter!
“Dear, don’t upset your self,” Mary Gaines said taking hold of her husband’s arm. “We don’t know that Mr. Cook has taken Faith.”
“Who else,” Philip Gaines roared. “I was foolish enough to think the man would make Faith a good husband. After the way he treated her. The man is capable of anything. I want him arrested and locked up until he tells us what he has done with Faith!”
“Was there a struggle when Miss Gaines, Faith disappeared,” Walden asked. The look Imogen gave him pierced his heart. “Perhaps I should see for myself,” he continued when no one answered his query. “On the way you can tell me everything you know.”
“That rascal will get away. Skip town or whatever men like him do,” Reverend Gaines declared openly hostile. “I want him locked up before you do another thing. First things first,” he insisted pointing his finger at Sheriff Walden again.
Walden wondered if Reverend Gaines was capable of shooting a man. In his fury the man was no longer his vague self. He was demanding answers.
“I can’t arrest a man without probable cause,” Walden explained. How would he feel if his daughter turned up missing, providing he had a daughter. The way Imogen was looking at him his hopes on that subject was quickly vanishing. She was just as angry as her father. The light in her brown eyes was disappointment over his lack of action.
“You have cause,” Reverend Gaines insisted after taking a deep breath. He was striving to stay calm. “I saw the bruises on Faith’s wrist. The man is a beast,” his voice rose to a shout once again.
Walden picked up his hat and shouldered into his winter coat. “If you please,” he said indicating the door. “I want to see Faith’s bedroom before I do anything.”
“There is nothing of interest to see,” Reverend Gaines shouted.
“Let me be the judge,” Walden retorted calmly. He reached for Imogen’s elbow. She pulled away from him tilting her chin in the air and looked down her pretty nose in disgust.
“Oh alright,” Reverend Gaines agreed. His shoulders slumped in discouragement. “You are wasting valuable time my poor Faith might be experiencing God only knows what.”
Mary Gaines tucked her hand under her husband’s arm and walked beside him. She knew the strain Faith’s disappearance had on Philip. He was blaming himself for Mr. Cook’s behavior. If he had told the man no, Faith would not now be missing. “Come Dear,” she said. Her face was pale, her eyes haunted. As always she worried about Philip’s health. Faith? She would reserve judgment until Mr. Cook could be questioned. Perhaps they had eloped. She really did not see that possibility. Yet, young women were known to be impulsive and Faith was no different.
Walden had always thought of Reverend Gaines as being a vague sort of person. Today the man was livid. “We don’t want to frighten the ladies,” Amos cautioned against wild accusations as he closed his office door.
“Wild accusations,” Reverend Gaines retorted. “I have you know young man. I do not make wild accusations. Facts are what I am relying on.”
“Yes Sir,” Walden replied.
Walden entered the house through the backdoor. Dishes were still on the breakfast table. A pot of coffee boiled on the stove filling the room with a rich aroma. Reverend Gaines led the way upstairs. “Faith shares a room with Laurie and Lydia,” he explained. “I felt it best to send Lydia and Elizabeth on to school. Valerie has taken Laurie over to the church to clean after yesterday’s service. I don’t want to frighten my daughters,” he said.
“You found the bed like it is now,” Walden asked looking around the crowded room. Three walls were taken up with narrow beds. A tall chest-of-drawers stood between two beds. A vanity dresser stood along the outside wall. Lace curtains hung over the windows. A feminine room that made Sheriff Walden feel uncomfortable when he glanced around.
“The bed wasn’t slept in,” Reverend Gaines declared. His hands trembled as he spread one hand over the quilted coverlet.
“She couldn’t have made the bed this morning,” Walden asked, “Before going off with a friend.”
“We’ve covered this before. Faith would not go off without telling someone,” Philip Gaines shouted. He took a
