The outrage in the man’s expression was enough to quell even Vi. There was so much threat in it. “He was a snake.”
“Papa, I’m worried.”
“Why?” He looked disgusted. “When enough time has passed, we’ll announce your engagement to Tobias, people will forget about Jason, and things will be as they should be.”
“But Papa, Mrs. Meyers hired renowned investigators.”
“So?” Her father’s gaze narrowed, and Vi was sure he knew what his daughter was getting to with that statement.
He reached out and wrapped his arm around his daughter’s arm. The harsh squeezing made Vi sick, and she begged Miss Sinclair to call to them. But she didn’t. Her eyes flashed with their own cold fury, and she said, “They’re the best investigators that Scotland Yard had to offer, and now they’re working on their own. They’ve solved case after case, and they’re like lions on the hunt.”
“What do I care?”
Miss Sinclair surprised them all with a laugh even though her father was so clearly hurting her. She didn’t try to escape that too harsh hand. She didn’t whimper or even acknowledge what he was doing to her. Not even when he took hold of her other arm and shook her like a rag doll.
Vi bit down on her fist to hold back her outrage.
“What do I care, Hepzibah?” he asked, shaking Miss Sinclair again.
“They’re going to find out that you told Mrs. Meyers that Jason had to be back before Saturday. Saturday only means something to you and me, doesn't it?”
He shoved her back, and she stumbled but steadied herself. “What do you mean?” he demanded.
Her laugh was as mean as his had been before. “They’re going to find out that we wanted to be married. They’re going to find out how you swore I would never marry Jason. They’re going to realize how, when I went to the pictures with the other young people from the church, no one was here with you.”
He backhanded her across the face, but she didn’t cry out even as her split lip began to bleed.
“Be quiet,” he commanded in a cold, gritty voice that promised more pain to come. “I’ll teach you to talk to me that way.”
“Father,” Miss Sinclair cried, “you’ve ruined us in murdering Jason. Those investigators will put the pieces together, the church will break down when they realize their reverend is a killer, and it’ll all be over. Tobias will never marry me now.”
He slapped her again. “If you’d done as you were told, none of this would have happened. This is your fault. Always, it’s the women. There’s a reason original sin goes back to you foul creatures. Since the dawn of mankind, your sex has been leading good men into betraying our promises to God.”
Her gaze darted to them, hidden at the door, and Vi looked to Smith. He shook his head once. It wasn’t enough. They needed a clear confession for a man like this. He’d said so before, but Vi hadn’t realized it would require so much of Miss Sinclair. When she’d been told what he wanted, however, she’d straightened in her seat and flatly warned them that they would witness things that no one wanted to see.
It had been Miss Sinclair who’d made them promise to stay quiet and stay out of it, no matter what. Vi held back every reaction, but she couldn’t stop the tears for Miss Sinclair. Vi wouldn’t, couldn’t let Miss Sinclair’s bravery be for nothing when she sacrificed so much.
“Father,” Miss Sinclair begged. “Stop, Papa, stop! I just don’t want anything to happen to you. What should I say?”
Reverend Sinclair paused at that. “What do you mean?”
“If they suspect you? How do I protect you? Are there clothes I should burn? With blood on them?”
“Do I look like a fool, stupid child? Of course I already got rid of them.”
“What about the gloves? The shoes?”
“They’re long gone,” her father told her. “Don’t think you’re smarter than me, child.”
“Of course, Father. Never. I—” She cried, sniffling. “Father—”
“Are you repentant, my child?”
She nodded frantically. “I’m sorry, Papa. I’m sorry.”
Slowly her father stepped back and started to remove the belt at his waist. Vi’s scream was only prevented by Smith because she’d dropped her fist and he slapped his hand over her mouth, pulling her against him. He said nothing as Vi struggled, but their battle was utterly silent.
As Reverend Sinclair gestured for his daughter to place her hands on the desk and lean forward, and to Vi’s horror, she obeyed, but as she did, she asked, “But Papa, what about Mrs. Meyers? She knows. I know she does. If she saw—”
“I’ve taken care of her,” the Reverend said. “She won’t be able to speak before long and what remains of her fortune is slated for Tobias.” He started to pull back with his belt again, but he added, “I’m surprised at you, Hepzibah. I’d have thought you’d have been too weak to stand with your father.”
She turned and faced him, ignoring the flush of fury that crossed his face for leaving the position to receive her beating.
“I didn’t,” she told him. “You killed Jason, and you’ll suffer for it. You’ll be hanged, and you’ll be hanged knowing you failed. I got what I wanted, and you’ll face God with bloody hands.”
He slapped her again, but she laughed that time. “You killed Jason.”
“I’ll kill you, too.”
“You killed him to prevent me from marrying him.”
“And now you won’t. I took your love, and no one wants you. No one will believe the mad claims of an old maid over a man of God. I’ll put you into an asylum for hysterical women if you don’t do what I say. Remember that I’m the only one who loves you. Not even God could love such as you. No one wants you. Not even God.”
“No one wanted you,” she shot back with triumph, with overt hatred. “Everyone hates you. Everyone who would have loved me, hates you. Except one.”
“And he’s dead,”
