Thou Art With Me Read Online Free PDF Page A

deceased.”
    “If you give me the name I can have my secretary pull the files.”
    Mark hesitated. There was no reason. There was nothing about Fred Mitchell that seemed out of place. And fog made for incredibly hazardous driving conditions. Still, something felt slightly off about the whole thing to him.
    “His name was Paul Dryer.”
    “I’ll have her get the files and I’ll call you back Tuesday to discuss. What number can I reach you on?”
    Mark gave the man his cell number before hanging up. He sat in the car for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. It was late afternoon. He could go back inside and stare at papers without reading them for another half hour. He started the car and headed out of the parking lot, deciding that going home sounded like a better plan.
    When he walked through the door Traci handed him both babies before throwing herself down on the couch, gesturing dramatically.
    “No need to ask how your day was,” he said drily as he juggled his son and daughter.
    “The other mothers at the park make it look so easy,” Traci said.
    “The other mothers aren’t juggling two hellions at once.”
    “No, you’re right. One of them was juggling three.”
    “Triplets, I can’t even imagine.”
    “Neither can I,” Traci said, struggling to sit up. In the last seven months she’d lost all her baby weight and then some. She looked thin and tired.
    “Do you want me to make dinner tonight?” he asked.
    “Only if it means making a reservation and getting a sitter.”
    “You know what? I’ve had an interesting day, too. That’s probably not a bad idea. Who should I call? Your sister and brother-in-law?”
    “The whole family is sick over there, plus I don’t want to have to drive all the way out to their place to have to drive all the way back. How about Joseph and Geanie?”
    “I kind of imposed on Joseph earlier.”
    “Okay, your day has been interesting,” Traci said.
    “Still, they have said any time...”
    “Now, right now, is any time.”
    “You want to hold the babies while I call?” Mark asked, arms quickly tiring.
    “No. I’ll call. You can get them ready to go in the car.”
    “Better yet, see if they can come here.”
    “I like the way you think, Detective,” Traci said as she retrieved her cell from her purse.
    “It’s a good thing you married me then.”
     
     
    Cindy didn’t know why she was so nervous. She had dumped the entire contents of her closet onto her bed at some point. Half of the clothes had slid onto the floor and she kept trying to step over them but kept stepping on them as she made her way around the room. At one point she got a foot twisted up in a sweater and fell. Fortunately she landed on the bed. Unfortunately a metal hanger dug into her side and she winced in pain even as she hoped it didn’t leave a bruise.
    She had called Geanie half an hour before for help only to find out that she and Joseph were babysitting the twins. Geanie hadn’t even answered her phone. It had been Joseph who picked up and let her know what was going on. Cindy wasn’t sure if the screaming laughter she’d heard in the background had been coming from the kids or from Geanie.
    She didn’t have Geanie or Traci or even Joseph to call on in her moment of crisis and she lay on the bed in disgust, the hanger still digging into her side.
    “I need more friends,” she muttered.
    She managed to push herself to her feet, extricate herself from the sweater, and stagger out of the room. She grabbed her phone and called the only person she had left that she could think of to call.
    “Hello?” Dave answered.
    The youth pastor, affectionately known by almost everyone as Wildman, sounded tired and a little down.
    “Wildman, I need your help,” she said. “I’m desperate.”
    “Cindy? What on earth is wrong?” he asked.
    “Everything. Nothing.” She sat down on the couch with a sigh. “It’s complicated. Do you have a few minutes to help?”
    There was a pause and