28

Sundays were usually reserved for church with Lake, but today was different. Piper was accompanying Sophie to her church for the first time since the murders, responding to Sophie’s text from the night before asking if she could go with her.

Piper picked up Sophie around nine in the morning. Sophie was wearing a slightly ill-fitting dress with just a wisp of makeup on. She stood nervously in front of the CJC building with Carol next to her. After exchanging waves with Piper, Carol gave Sophie a hug before she climbed into Piper’s car.

“You look so pretty,” Piper said.

Sophie blushed. “Thanks.”

“You excited to see your congregation again?”

“I guess. I just don’t want everyone to talk to me about it.”

Piper pulled away and out of the complex.

“How about we wait until it starts and then go in and sit in the back? People won’t talk during the service.”

“Okay.”

Sophie didn’t say anything on the drive down to the church. It was an imposing building of stone and wood. She was Pentecostal, and Piper had never been to a Pentecostal service. She had heard of things like speaking in tongues and faith healing and had watched some of those programs on television. Her own Lutheran church claimed no such spiritual gifts.

They waited in the car until ten minutes after the service started. The building smelled like old pews and dust. Hymns echoed in the hallways. They found a few empty seats in the back with an elderly couple next to them.

“We used to sit there,” Sophie whispered, nodding to the front rows. She reminisced about her family’s past church visits, a smile on her face as she pointed out where her brother used to struggle to play guitar during worship. Piper observed the early signs of an impending emotional breakdown as Sophie’s hands trembled and her foot tapped incessantly on the floor.

“Do you want to take a minute and go outside?” Piper whispered.

She shook her head, but her foot continued to tap anxiously. Her breathing became shallow and erratic. Piper observed tears streaming down her cheeks as the congregation sang a hymn titled “It Is Well with My Soul.” One particular verse got to Sophie:

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.”

Unable to contain it any longer, Sophie shook with the first tremor of a sob, and her face twisted in agony.

“Let’s get some fresh air,” Piper said.

They sat on the church lawn, and Piper leaned back on her hands and lifted her face to the sky, enjoying the sunny day. The shade of a nearby tree was pleasant and cool.

Sophie said, “I’m remembering some of it.”

Piper said nothing as she stared at the girl.

“There was so much blood ... I slipped on it when I ran.”

“Could you see who was chasing you?”

She shook her head and wiped away tears. “No. I didn’t look back. I didn’t know if I had time to open my window, so I just jumped out of it. I cut myself pretty bad. I have scars now.”

Piper wanted to tell her they weren’t noticeable but didn’t say anything.

The police re-creations showed a scenario where the attacker cornered Emily and Sullivan in the hallway, killed Emily, and then chased Sullivan into the living room, where he collapsed and bled to death. Then the killer dragged both bodies back to be displayed near the front door.

Piper really didn’t want to ask her this question, but knew she had to. “What did you see when you opened the front door, Sophie?”

She swallowed. “My mom and Sully. I thought they were sitting down, and I didn’t know what the blood was. I thought maybe they spilled something.”

“What did you see then?”

She shook her head, her gaze down. “Like ... a shadow. It was in the dark in the hallway, kind of in the corner where you turn into the kitchen, but it was different than the dark. It moved.”

“Could you make out anything? Hair or face or clothes?”

“I saw his feet. He wasn’t wearing shoes.”

“What color was his skin?”

“I don’t know. His feet were really dirty. Like muddy almost.”

Piper sat quietly a moment, watching the girl rip grass out of the ground and twist it in her fingers.

“How about we finish the service?” Piper said.

Sophie nodded, and Piper helped her to her feet.