Witness Read Online Free PDF

hoping her sisters hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t prayed in a restaurant in years, or at home, either, until two days ago. She should have known Bethany and Keilah would never give up the habit.
    Maybe it was a good thing she wasn’t moving in with them. They would soon discover how completely she had abandoned her faith. It walked out the door with Danny Carson when she was twenty-three. Ever since then, she’d told herself she was looking for truth. When she found it, she would trust a man again. As Bethany’s gentle prayer enveloped them, she wondered if she had been looking in all the wrong places.
    For the remainder of the day, she put her energy into their work at the shop. Keilah and Bethany insisted they take Sunday morning off and attend the service at the church their parents had belonged to thirty years ago. For Petra, it was a futile exercise. She sat through the sermon without hearing a word. Her mind drifted back once more to the murder. It was a murder. Her brain would not budge on that.
    But her distractedness didn’t seem to matter. Keilah’s only comment as they left the church was, “I sure wish Mr. Hiland was still here.”
    “It’s not the same,” Bethany agreed. They got into the car and she took out her day planner and read off a list of merchandise that was yet to be delivered to the store.
    “I want to hang those stained-glass pieces this afternoon,” Keilah said.
    Bethany nodded. “Did you bring the roll of wire?”
    Keilah winced. “I left it home. It’s on the hall table, where I put it so I wouldn’t forget.”
    “Why don’t I go get it?” Petra asked. “I’ll take Mason out, get the wire, and make some sandwiches for us to eat at the store.”
    Forty minutes later, Petra drove down the deserted main street. Sunday afternoon appeared to be dead time in Waterville, with all the businesses closed. She turned onto the side street and parked beside Bethany’s car. She was surprised to see a black sedan parked nearby. Joe Tarleton, perhaps? Maybe he was in his office, doing paperwork.
    She reached for the cooler that held the sandwiches and soft drinks, then drew back her hand. It couldn’t hurt to ask his opinion. It couldn’t be worse than what the policeman had said.
    She glanced at the gift shop. Bethany and Keilah could wait another ten minutes. Her knees wobbled a little as she got out of the car, but she drew a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. Did you knock on a private detective’s door, or was it like a doctor’s office, where you walked in and announced yourself? Maybe he wasn’t even here.
    She tried the latch and the door swung open.
    “Well, hello.” Joe smiled and rose from behind a sturdy maple desk at the far end of the room. “Welcome to my humble establishment.”
    Petra tried to smile back, but it was more of a crooked grin. She glanced around the bare office. Two desks, a couple of file cabinets, some extra chairs and a coffeepot. That was about it. She faced him, determined to get this over with.
    “Hi. I went home to pick up lunch for my sisters and me, and when I came back I saw your car and…”
    Joe grinned. “Is this a lunch invitation?”
    She swallowed hard and tried again. “Well, actually, no. That’s not what I intended. I mean, you can join us if you like, but…”
    He watched her now, one eyebrow slightly elevated, and his expression changed from pleased surprise to alert concern. She figured his detective expertise had told him that she had something serious to share.
    “Actually I came to talk to you about business.”
    “Is everything all right?” he asked.
    “No.”
    Joe rounded his desk and pulled another chair over from the wall.
    “Tell me what this is about.”
    She sank onto the chair and took two slow breaths before meeting his gaze again. His deep brown eyes emanated sympathy, sweeping aside her doubts. She’d done the right thing in coming to him.
    “I…” She laced her fingers together and held her hands