I hesitated on the church steps, trying to remember what was in that direction. I knew the church owned a lot of land in addition to the piece I was standing on where the church was built and the large parcel behind it where the cemetery was. The wooded area the cat was heading into was also part of the church property, but hadn’t been developed yet.

The cat was at the edge of the woods now, looking back at me.

“What the heck,” I said out loud, and started into the woods after it.

The dense woods blocked out most of the late afternoon sun and a damp chill settled on me as I followed the cat. Surprisingly, my leg didn’t hurt. I hoped it was finally getting better.

The cat was following a path and we hadn’t walked far when a rustling sound to my right caused my heart to jerk. I whipped my head toward it. Just another cat. I breathed a sigh of relief as I recognized the gray tiger cat as one that had been behind the library when I’d found the embosser.

I kept following the orange cat while the gray tiger kept pace over to my right, but at a safe distance. Just when I was starting to wonder if I’d made a mistake, an unkempt building appeared. It looked like some sort of storage building—large, with a door on the front but only one window on the side.

We were about ten feet away when the door opened slowly. My breath caught in my throat as Emma backed out of the building.

Emma whirled around, leaving the door open behind her.

“What are you doing here? This is church property!” Her voice rose in a pitch of anger … and maybe even a little anxiety.

Stainless steel bowls clanked together in her hands and I leaned sideways to see into the building behind her.

She stood her ground, legs firmly planted as if she was guarding Fort Knox. What was in there? A stash of crucifixes? Frankincense and Myrrh? What could possibly be so important in a church storage shed … and what was with those bowls?

Elspeth appeared in the doorway and I sucked in another surprised breath.

“Elspeth?” My brows mashed together as I stared at my neighbor. What was she doing here?

“It’s okay, Emma,” Elspeth said sweetly. “Willa is a friend.”

Emma eyed me dubiously as she stepped aside.

“Not many people know about this place.” Elspeth held out her arm, beckoning me closer. “We try to keep it secret, because there are some that would do us harm. Your grandma was a big supporter, though.”

“Supporter?” Apparently, I’d been reduced to one-word questions.

“Yes,” Elspeth’s radiant smile lit her face as she stepped aside. “Come on in and I’ll show you.”

***