What she was going to tell him was going to hurt. Jac knew that. There were no easy answers in this job. “Pastor Bartlett, Debbie’s niece Rachel was murdered this morning around midnight last night. Rachel and an elderly neighbor. We believe Debbie may have been a victim as well.”
“You believe? Where is she? Is she in the hospital?” The man had paled right in front of her eyes.
Jac studied his reactions carefully. “We don’t know where she’s at yet. We believe she was able to make it to her car and drive away from the scene. We also don’t know the location of her great-nieces. Anything you can tell us about Debbie may help us find them quickly. Our first objective is to find Livy and Ava, then the killer. We’re hoping Debbie can help us do that.”
“Those girls are sweet little girls. Debbie adores them and they adore her.” Tears fell unabashedly from his gray eyes. His hurt was almost tangible.
The man broke down. It took almost a half an hour to calm him down enough for him to be able to speak articulately about Debbie. “She’s as close to me as my own aunt. I’ve known her since I was fifteen.”
“What can you tell us about her relationship with her niece?” Jac asked. Max just sat quietly taking notes. “Rachel’s relationship with her husband? The girls?”
His face tightened. “Rachel and Debbie are extremely close. Debbie raised her. I’ve known Rachel her whole life. I knew her mother, before her mother passed away. After that, Rachel went to live with Debbie. She was seven or eight at the time, if I recall correctly. I was probably around twenty. We lived next door for years. I eventually married, and then when Rachel was a teenager, she babysat my daughter and my son. I officiated her marriage to Paul.”
His mouth twisted at the last.
Pastor Bartlett didn’t like Paul Sturvin.
His was another name to add to the list of those who didn’t like Rachel’s husband. That list kept growing.
“What can you tell us about him?” Jac asked. “We have yet to be able to locate him to tell him about his wife. To see if he has the girls with him. We understand he is on a business trip in Indianapolis.”
“He was always traveling somewhere. He kept to himself. He didn’t attend services, but Rachel did every few months or so. Occasionally, she’d bring the girls. We’re a small church, still growing. Not many offerings for young families. Not the type that they were looking for anyway.”
His face tightened at the end. Jac seized the hint.
“What do you mean by that? What were they looking for?”
“Paul Sturvin considers himself up-and-coming. I believe he is around thirty-eight or so. He wants to move up financially and socially. He wants his girls to go to the best schools; he is always speaking about his investments. Trying to make himself appear wealthier than what I suspect he is. Business contacts that he has. That sort of thing. I’m not exactly certain what business he is in, but he travels frequently. Leaving Rachel alone with the girls most nights.”
“Was that a problem?” Max asked.
He shook his head. “Not with the older daughter, Olivia. But with the baby, Rachel became violently ill. I believe she almost died during the pregnancy; I know Debbie was extremely worried. Debbie kept Olivia for a month or so midway through the pregnancy. To give Rachel time to rest. I don’t think Paul was very supportive at that time. I think they were having some difficulties then. Debbie let it slip that Paul seemed very angry at Rachel, as if he was blaming her for the troubles. Six months or so after Ava was born, Debbie said Rachel tried for another pregnancy, but wasn’t ever successful. That…Debbie thinks that made Paul angry. That they weren’t successful. She…Debbie didn’t have many people she confided in. I acted as a sounding board when I could.”
Jac was trying to keep up with what he was saying.
They had to find Paul Sturvin. That man was out there somewhere.
Possibly with all of the answers they were looking for.
The pastor continued. “After the baby was born, Rachel was bedridden for about a month. I remember Debbie being upset that Paul hadn’t taken any time off to help his wife with the baby or Olivia. None at all. Debbie moved in with them for that time. And she helped. She seemed to dislike Paul even more after that.”
“In the four years since the baby was born, had they had noticeable marital problems?” Jac asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t believe so. After about a year, he convinced her that they needed to attend a larger church inside city limits. There were quite a few people there that he wanted to make connections with, Debbie had said. And there were more social activities for the girls. Which I can understand that. We’re building our programs here. But I got the sense that they were attending church with Paul simply to appease him. Rachel was comfortable here, loved living in this town. She did not want to move to the city. She told me once it is so impersonal there. But Paul…he sees church just as a way to hobnob with those of the social crowd he wants to connect with. Debbie said once that he’s always going on and on about being upwardly mobile, moving up into the lifestyle they deserve. This town wasn’t big enough for him, even though this was where Rachel and he met, where they lived for the first year or so they were together. He seemed content then—it
