Discovering a secondary, narrow staircase, she climbed and bypassed the first floor, heading to a choir loft situated high above the nave. This elevated position offered an eagle’s-eye view of the rows of pews below and, through the soaring windows divided by a massive crucifix, a wide panorama of the campus. As she turned around, noticing windows on all four sides of the loft, she realized every portion of the campus could be observed. Lake Superstition and the women’s dorm were visible, as were the cluster of main buildings, the gazebo, and the cafeteria, even the road leading to the stable and garages. Nearly three hundred sixty degrees. This place was like some kind of sacred watchtower.
“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” a deep male voice whispered from the shadows.
Jules gasped. Her heart clutched. She nearly tripped as she spun around.
Tobias Lynch stood at the edge of the loft, leaning against a bookcase.
She pressed a hand to her chest, as if that would still her pounding heart. Had he been here all along? Standing alone in the dark? Watching over his beloved campus from the shadows?
“You should see it in the moonlight,” he said as he crossed the loft noiselessly. Suddenly he stood so close to her that she felt the warmth of his body. She had to fight her instinct to cringe away.
This was creepy. Jules wanted to step away, put some distance between them, but she held her ground.
“The view is spectacular under a full moon,” he went on. “The lake and grounds cast in silver. Such a glorious example of God’s work.”
“It is beautiful,” she admitted, trying to keep her voice even, despite her racing pulse. What was he doing here in the dark? “I went to your office and you weren’t there. I hadn’t been up here, so …”
“You checked things out.” Was there a trace of judgment in his tone? “I understand, and I didn’t mean to startle you. We’ve all been under an undue amount of stress.”
In shadow, his face seemed darker, the hollows of his eyes and lines of his face more defined, almost sinister.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind as well.” He touched her shoulder, and his fingers lingered a millisecond too long. “Such tragedy and loss. A waste. Even though I know we have to take solace in the fact that Nona is with God now, it’s difficult to let go of her, bright star that she was.” He checked his watch, the illuminated dial glowing blue. “I see that I’ve kept you waiting. My apologies.” He motioned toward the main, open staircase that wound downward behind the altar.
She hurried down to the main level, his even footsteps behind her. He unlocked his office, chatting about the reasons why he kept this second office here in the chapel. All the while, she wondered if he’d been in the loft alone or if he’d followed her. Had her exploration been caught on a security camera and he’d been warned that she was poking around the building, or was it all just coincidence? Not that it really mattered, at least not this time.
“Come in, come in,” Lynch said, holding the door open for her and reaching inside the doorway to hit a switch. A desk lamp suddenly cast golden light into the small room with its floor-to-ceiling bookcases, a small brick fireplace, wide desk, and credenza. Upon the desk were several files, one open enough that she caught a glimpse of a picture of Cooper Trent, another labeled FARENTINO, JULIA.
Her heart jolted.
Why was Lynch looking into Trent’s file? And hers? Had he noticed that her maiden name was Delaney, which was the same last name of Shay’s mother? No, no … Delaney was a common name, and she doubted that the parent application would have asked for maiden names. Maybe he’d connected her to her cousin Analise …
So many worries. Jules knew that, with a little digging, he could find the truth, and her lie that she wasn’t related to anyone connected to Blue Rock would be exposed.
It’s nothing. Just a coincidence. He has no idea you’re involved.
He waved her into a rocker tucked into a corner, then quickly slipped both files into a cabinet behind his desk. Before he settled into his leather chair, he lit the fire, turning on a gas jet that ignited the kindling and logs stacked in the grate. “There we go.” Once the fire was crackling to his satisfaction, he turned off the gas and slid into his chair. “Sorry … organization is one of my strong points, but it’s been difficult keeping up with the recent turn of events here.”
He did seem a little flustered. Off.
“I wanted to talk to you alone, to personally welcome you to the staff, to assure you that we’re all a team and you can feel free to ask me any questions.”
“So you said,” she reminded him.
“I know. Last evening at my home.” Meaning: with my wife around. “But I wanted to share something personal with you.”
Warning bells went off in Jules’s head. He leaned back in his chair and stroked his soul patch with a finger. A sensual, thoughtful gesture.
She forced herself to remain seated.
In brief, he shared his testimony, explaining how once he’d been on “the wrong path,” when his negligent actions had put him and two others in the hospital. He’d been unconscious when his Lord and savior had come to him, told him that this time he’d spare Tobias and his friends, but from that point forward, he was to spread the word of God.
And he had listened to the Lord, he told her soberly. His friends survived, though one had been confined to a wheelchair, and Tobias Lynch had turned his life around, accepting God into his life and dedicating himself to doing his will. It was his hope that this school, Blue Rock Academy, would survive him as an institution dedicated to helping troubled youth reclaim their lives.
“The purpose of this school—the academy’s mission—is a wonderful thing,” Jules said with forced conviction, and a part of her wanted to believe him. He seemed sincere. Even troubled. She looked down at her lap, thinking, The mission is good; the way you carry it out is what’s questionable.
“But? Do I detect a note of reticence?” He had a knack for reading between the lines. “You’ve been asking questions about Maris Howell.”
So Charla had already gotten to him. Word traveled fast.