Inside, the church was dimly lit. Rows of pews in dark oak lined the sides. The church was rather plain, painted in white. A large round stained glass window sat high in the gable end wall, casting shards of muted red and yellow light on the altar. Rows of large frosted glass rectangular windows with rounded tops lined the sides, but, surprisingly, didn’t let in a lot of light. It was as quiet as a library and smelled like exotic spices.

I walked toward the front, the sound of my footsteps on the shiny marble floor echoing hollowly. Was Pastor Foley here somewhere?

As I approached the altar, a rustling sound to the left caught my attention and I noticed a hallway led out of the chapel to the side stairs. I followed it to a small room. Inside, a tiny gray-haired lady rummaged in a box exploding with wadded paper. She pulled something out and straightened.

I cleared my throat.

She whirled around, startled, keeping the item she’d taken from the box behind her back.

I recognized her as Emma Potts.

“Sorry. I hope I didn’t startle you,” I said. “I’m looking for Pastor Foley.”

“He’s not here. I’m the church secretary, though. Can I help you?” She peered at me through the thick lenses of her eyeglasses. “I don’t believe I know you … are you a church member?”

I took a step into the room. “It’s me, Wilhelmina Chance.”

Her brows dipped in a V as she studied me. “Oh, that’s right. Anna’s granddaughter who went down south quite a few years ago.”

“That’s right. I inherited my grandmother’s bookstore, so I’m back to stay now.”

Emma pushed her glasses up on her nose with her free hand, keeping the hand with the object she’d retrieved from the box behind her back. “What can I do for you? Any relative of Anna’s is a friend of mine.”

“Well, I’m sure you heard about Lavinia Babbage…”

“Yes, that’s so sad. She was part of our flock, you know. Dedicated to helping others and always donated to our causes … which we are in dire need of money for.” Her face crumbled with sadness and she shook her head. I heard a jingling noise come from behind her. What the heck did she have back there and why was she hiding it?

I leaned to the left trying to see what was behind her and she leaned in the same direction to block me.

“So, what can I help you with?” she prompted.

I straightened back up. “Well, it’s just that I found her and I’d like to follow up on a few things. I feel a bit responsible for helping to bring her killer to justice.”

“Oh, well, that seems reasonable, but how can I help with that?”