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life as a prostitute mattered less to the jurors than the status of the man who killed her.”
    “Exactly as the Galaxy predicted long before any of the other newspapers, which helped reestablish the paper’s credibility,” Clifford noted with pride. “The Livingstone trial, which shouldn’t reach the jury for at least another two weeks or so, is generating even more interest than the Jewett case did, because the man charged with killing this particular prostitute just happens to be a minister. I’m sure you remember him and his organization, Prodigal Daughters, which was designed to bring the city’s ‘fallen angels’ back to the faith. He was rather controversial even before this poor woman was found murdered only hours after he left her.”
    “He’s the minister who confronted those women on the street and tried to convert them,” Jake offered.
    “And visited the brothels regularly at night to see them, which did not endear him to the owners of the brothels or the city elites who frequented them,” Clifford added. “Here. Read these,” he ordered as he shoved a handful of papers into Jake’s hands. “Learn everything there is to know about the case.”
    “If the trial is right here in the city, it’s going to be hard to hide the fact that I’m back working here, assuming that’s what you have in mind,” Jake stated.
    “But you won’t be here. Not for very long, although I expect you to keep a very low profile while you’re here,” his brother said. “There’s no doubt that Reverend Livingstone is guilty, and the city will not accept his acquittal like they did for Jewett’s murderer, which means his fate is sealed. But right now, the big question that’s fueling public interest isn’t about the trial itself. It’s the mystery surrounding Livingstone’s daughter, Ruth. She’s gone missing, and no one, including two of my best reporters, has been able to find her.”
    “What do you think happened to her?” Jake asked as he began skimming the headlines on the four-page newspapers.
    “Speculation seems to favor the idea that she didn’t go into hiding to avoid the scandal of the trial, but that her father may have killed her, too.”
    Jake abruptly stopped reading and met his brother’s determined gaze. “You actually think he killed her?”
    “I don’t know, although in all truth I suspect he didn’t. He doesn’t seem to have many supporters left, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that one of them is giving her a place to hide from the press as well as the officials who would dearly love to speak to her. If you’re serious about redeeming yourself, then that’s your assignment. Find her.”
    “Find her,” Jake repeated, envisioning days, if not weeks, spent traveling again, risking all that he owned to meet his brother’s challenge.
    “If she’s dead, you need to find her body and have it positively identified,” Clifford demanded. “If she’s alive, you need to find out why she went into hiding and whether or not she has evidence that would help to convict her father. Either way will suit both our needs. Just find Ruth Livingstone before anyone else does. Otherwise you’re finished here. Permanently.”
    Jake swallowed hard. His brother had given him a challenge almost impossible to meet, but it was a challenge he could ill-afford to turn down. “Is there anywhere I can stay while I’m in the city?”
    “I still have that cot in the back storage room. You can sleep there. Just be discreet. I want as few people as possible knowing you’re back in the city again,” Clifford snapped.
    “I’ve slept on worse more than once during the past two years,” Jake replied. He knew he would never again find a good night’s sleep if he failed his brother professionally again. But he was determined to earn even more—his brother’s forgiveness.

Five

    Toms River
    Breathing hard, Ruth shut the bedroom door and leaned back against it for support. Her fingers were