“If she’s made flight arrangements using that name, she’ll be arrested at the airport.”

“No, she won’t,” Shelby said. “Our games included numerous cover-ups of all kinds. We often made up aliases.”

The idea of Marissa manipulating a child fueled my anger. “How many years did you play these games?”

“Years, from the time I was four until I turned sixteen when she married.”

“A lot of indoctrination.” I wanted to say a lot more, but she might grow hostile.

“It took lots of careful planning on her part, to say the least,” she said. “Marissa has my burner phone number, and she’s texted me with it. Before Mom passed, she wanted to meet with me about a threat on her life and planned to drive here for us to talk. She asked me to keep the trip a secret.”

“When was this scheduled?”

“The Thursday before Mom’s funeral. But given what happened, she canceled with the intention of rescheduling. I haven’t heard from her since. How noble of my sister to push suicide so she’d not dirty her hands.” Shelby lifted her chin.

“We must be careful until we find Marissa or Eli Chandler,” I said.

“I know how to end this madness.”

“How, Shelby? By doing something crazy?”

“Yes.” Her voice held a wild tone.

I tightened my hands into fists. “I don’t like the daredevil look in your eyes.”

She smiled. “Forget the fake suicide, especially if Marissa can’t be found. I can infiltrate her organization.”

“Impossible. You know nothing about money laundering, organized crime, or what your sister is capable of doing.”

“I agree,” Sheriff Wendall said. “It assigns a bullet to you.”

“And you think hiding from her hired guns is safer?” Shelby raised a finger. “How easily you forget what’s already happened.”

Fear gripped me. “Trained agents spend months, sometimes years learning the habits and personalities of a specific money-laundering organization before they’re able to work undercover. You have no idea the size of the operation or who else is involved.”

“I have an advantage. I understand her conniving thought process.” She paused. “I’ll contact her, tell her life has gotten too hard, and I want in on whatever she’s doing.”

My blood pressure shot up. “Pastor, tell her not to take on this investigation.”

Up to this moment, Pastor Emory had not offered guidance on her outrageous idea. “With all things considered, Shelby has suffered more than we can imagine with her sacrifices. She acted and reacted out of love, which is exactly how Jesus instructs us. Our faith isn’t about allowing injustice to reign over us or watching crimes unfold. Sometimes we have to take a stand. No matter what any of us say, Shelby is going to act. All we can do is pray and help her make this possible. If you want all my scriptural reasons to support her decision, prepare for a lengthy sermon.”

“She’ll get herself killed!” The roof nearly lifted with my outburst.

Shelby leaned over and touched my arm. “You’re letting your feelings show.”