When Rain Falls Read Online Free PDF Page B

plans, Pamela stopped everything. Twice.
    Why? Because there was only one man who’d captured Pamela’s heart. The same one Pamela had fallen in love with as a young college student. The same man who, years and years later, still had no intentions of divorcing his wife. In her anger, his name came to mind when the detectives questioned her. But would he really hurt Pamela?
    Why would anyone want to kill Pamela? She was the kindest soul. Beautiful. Candace squeezed the steering wheel so tightly, her fingernails made indentations in the leather. She can’t be gone.
    They’d just eaten lunch together yesterday. She could still picture Pamela. Professional, always feminine, her black pin-striped pantsuit fitting her slender physique just right. Candace had often joked about borrowing a few inches from her friend’s five-foot-eight frame.
    She thought back to yesterday’s conversation, remembering that at the time she thought Pamela was in a strange mood.
    â€œI probably asked you this before, but spare me. I am getting old, okay?” Pamela twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, like she had when they were both in eighth grade, right before a teacher scolded them both for interrupting class with their talking. “How did you know Frank was the one?”
    â€œI guess at some point I realized he wasn’t scary, like I thought most guys were. And he ... was a very patient and loving man.” Candace leaned in closer to the table, studying her friend’s face. “Why are you asking?”
    Pamela blinked, but she didn’t answer right away.
    â€œPamela?” Candace narrowed her eyes. “What happened between you and Mr. You-Know-Who?” There were times when communication would cease between the two friends. Sometimes it had to do with Pamela’s caseload, but other times it was because Pamela wanted to keep certain activities from a disapproving Candace.
    â€œI thought you told me it was over? You know he’s never going to leave her.”
    Pamela’s eyes grew dark. “Okay, Candace, that’s enough.”
    â€œI’m concerned... .”
    â€œI’ve just been pondering some things, okay ? At my age, no man, no kids ... seems like all I do these days is play the what-if game. I want to be happy. I want what you and Frank had.” Under all that bravado, Pamela’s insecurities floated to the surface, leaving Candace speechless.
    What could I have said? Candace thought. Funny how Pamela had started the conversation, insisting that Candace should take care of herself and that Frank would have wanted her to move on.
    Wait, the call last night. She didn’t even mention that to the detectives. Probably because it had seemed so strange. That was just it. No way could she not mention the call. Pamela had been her friend a long time. They knew each other’s quirks, sometimes better than they knew their own. She would need to contact the detectives as soon as possible.
    For now, Candace reached in the car glove compartment and grabbed tissues to wipe her face. She glanced at her image in the rearview mirror. There was no way she could hide her grief. God help me, please. Her brief prayer seemed strange in her ears. She had attended church sporadically and had fallen into a rut, work and home, since Frank’s death.
    With the afternoon sun beating down, the car had grown warm. Candace climbed out. Even with two teenagers in her home, Candace felt lost and lonely. But she needed to be strong, especially now. Many, many years ago, the aunt who took her in and raised her had preached that God would give people strength in the time of trouble.
    Right now she needed to keep it together until her family was safely home. It would be a long, difficult weekend.
    Once inside the school office, she approached the secretary. “I’m Mrs. Johnson. I called earlier about signing my children out of school. We ... have a ... death in the