Were getting our list, arent we? she said. She meant for it to sound snarky, but it came out with an edge.

He nodded and looked at her with concern. Hey…its me, Rachel. Seriously, is everything okay?

Yeah, she said, the lie burning in her chest. I think this case is just getting to me.

Jack dropped the subject and neither of them said another word until Jergens reappeared, walking down the hallway with their list in hand.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Back outside, the voices of the protestors seemed louder than they had going in. They came from behind poorly made signs and the collective cowardice of the group. Maybe it was just the stress of the day, or the faces of hopeful parents shed seen inside, wanting to bring new life into the world. Whatever it was, the mere presence of the protestors annoyed Rachel. She did her best to look away from them as she and Jack returned to the car.

But as Rachel reached for the door handle on the drivers side, there was one womans voice that seemed to rise over the rest of the din. It came hurtling toward Rachel as if the woman had thrown a spear at her, not an uninformed, stupid comment.

So were the two of you in there opposing Gods will, too?

Rachel knew she should just get in the car and keep her mouth shut. But when her arm froze as she reached for the door handle, she knew it was too late. Gods will, she thought. I wonder if my doctors appointment yesterday was part of Gods will. What the hell do you know about Gods will?

Not that its any of your business, Rachel said, but no.

Jack opened up his door on the passenger side and gave her a curious lookone that seemed to say: Please dont engage these people.

Undaunted, the same protestor stepped forward, dropping her little carboard sign to the ground. She pointed a beefy finger towards the clinic and said, What they do in there is a direct violation of the will of our sovereign God! Freezing eggs and taking stem cells and

Rather than rolling her eyes and telling the woman to shut her mouth, Rachel instead pulled out her badge. She flashed at the woman as if she were brandishing a magic wand. Back away from me, please, she said. And do us both a favor: go home. What the people going in and out of this building might be dealing with is absolutely, one hundred percent none of your concern.

The woman and some of her friends eyed the badge and slowly stepped back a bit. Rachel noticed that one of the women slightly behind the presumed leader even lowered her sign and turned it around so that the blank side was showing. With that, Rachel finally got back into the car, swallowing down about five different further responses.