Barely Missing by Molly Black

Author:Molly Black [Black, Molly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Molly Black
Published: 2024-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Douglas home was painted a cheerful yellow color—made all the more vibrant under a bright, sunny morning sky. Tessa felt the weight of the sad and shaken atmosphere before they even crossed the threshold. She could hear the muffled sounds of grief seeping through the front door.

It was the sort of moment that made Tessa feel almost guilty for knocking on the door. The man who answered the door was a bit older than Tessa had been expecting. He was dressed in a casual suit, and his face bore a resigned grief, almost like a blank slate.

A pastor, I bet, Tessa thought.

“Yes?” the man said.

Jake showed his badge first, then Tessa. “Agents Sullivan and Flint,” Jake said. “We know it’s a very bad time, but the sooner we can speak to the family, the better chance we have of finding who did this.”

“Yes, yes,” the man said, opening the door wider. “I’m the pastor of the church the Douglas family attends. Just here for moral support as they receive necessary visitors like yourselves.”

Tessa could hear a loud weeping coming from elsewhere in the house. A woman, doing her best to not completely lose control.

“When were they informed?” Jake asked.

“About an hour ago. So it’s still fresh. But they want to speak to you. They want answers, of course. Come on…I’ll lead you.”

The pastor led them through a small foyer, down a hallway with hardwood floors, and finally into a beautifully decorated den. There, two people Tessa assumed to be Kelly Douglas’s parents sat on a couch, huddled together for support.

Kelly's mother, eyes swollen from tears, clutched a tissue that had long since given up any pretense of providing comfort. The father, a sturdy man with hair so gray it was nearly white, sat beside her with his face buried in his palms. Both looked up as Tessa and Jake entered, their expressions a mix of anguish and exhaustion.

A third family member sat in an armchair on the other side of the room—a girl who looked to be roughly eighteen. The loud sobs had been coming from her.

"Mr. and Mrs. Douglas," Tessa began, her voice firm yet gentle, "we're deeply sorry for your loss. And I know the last thing you feel like doing right now is talking with us, but—”

“No, that’s fine,” Mr. Douglas said, his voice trembling but still somehow stern. “I want the man who did this found. We’re fine to talk.”

The young girl in the armchair did her best to get control of her sobbing. Her efforts sounded almost like wet hiccups as she worked to control her breathing.

“This is Janell,” the pastor said from where he still stood at the room’s entryway, nodding in the direction of the girl. “Kelly’s younger sister.”

“Well, we certainly want to respect your time,” Tessa said. “So we’ll get to the point. What happened to Kelly…it’s happened to two other women within the past week. And this is the soonest we’ve been able to speak to loved ones after the discovery.

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