Constance pulled the double layer of wool scarf down from her face while she waited at the front counter. She’d only had to walk a short distance across the street to get from the diner to the sheriff’s office, but the icy wind already seemed to be more brutal than it had been just an hour ago.
Clovis looked up when she came in, making eye contact and nodding to acknowledge her presence. She was currently occupied with the phone pressed up against her ear.
“Yes, yes I know,” she said into the handset. She listened for a minute, then looked up at Constance again and made a quick motion with her hand to indicate that the person at the other end of the line was a rambling talker. Eventually, she said, “Okay… Well, thanks so much for letting me know… I’ll send someone over to check… Yes… Yes… I will… You too… Bye…”
Once she had managed to hang up the phone she let out a quick sigh and shook her head, then turned her attention to the counter. “Good morning, Special Agent Mandalay. Sorry about that.” Her tone was businesslike, but she came across somewhat less standoffish than she had on the first day they’d met.
“No problem,” Constance replied. “Good morning, Clovis.”
“What can I do for you today?” the woman asked.
Constance looked past her to the darkened office windows on the back wall of the room. “I take it Sheriff Carmichael isn’t in yet today?”
“Been here and gone already,” Clovis answered. “He started early because of the snow. He’s out running a few errands right now.”
“Do you happen to know when he will be back?”
The woman shook her head. “Not for sure, but I can try to get him on the radio if you’d like.”
“Hmm…” Constance hummed thoughtfully for a moment before shaking her head and saying, “No, that’s okay. I just wanted to check in with him about the surveillance tonight.”
She nodded. “He mentioned that before he left.”
“To be honest, I’ve actually got a few things I need to take care of myself, so I’ll be tied up all day,” Constance told her. “When you speak to him, could you do me a favor and just let him know that I’ll meet up with him here this evening?”
“Sure, I can do that. Any particular time, or does he already know?”
The petite federal agent clucked her tongue then grimaced. “I’m not exactly sure on that just yet.”
“That’s okay,” Clovis replied. She glanced over her shoulder. When she looked back, her lips had arched into a tight frown, and it seemed as if the color had drained from her cheeks. The pained expression that resulted easily tacked ten years onto her face. With a heavy sigh she said, “It’s Christmas Eve. He’ll be right here waiting. He always is.”
“Yeah…” Constance muttered, not quite sure what else to say. “I imagine he is.”
Clovis fiddled with her hands for a moment, looking down at them as if lost in thought. Her face eventually began to soften, allowing a blush of life to return. Finally, she looked up and asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Special Agent Mandalay?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Constance replied, giving her gloved fingers a soft drum on the edge of the counter. “Thank you very much though.”
“No problem at all. Stay warm out there.”
“I’m definitely trying.” Constance reached up and began tugging at her scarf in order to pull it back around her face. She was just hooking it over the bridge of her nose when she furrowed her brow and pulled the fabric back down. “You know, there might be one other thing you can help me with…”
“Pastor Reese?” Clovis replied.
Constance froze for a second and cocked a questioning eyebrow, but her brain was already doing the math. “Ahh… That was Stella on the phone when I walked in…”
Clovis nodded.
“That was quick, but then I suppose I shouldn’t be all that surprised,” Constance said.
“She saw you walking over here and wanted to make sure we knew what had happened in case you were going to file a complaint.”
“Well… An official complaint really wasn’t my plan. If it was I would have arrested him myself.
“I actually told her that.”
Constance canted her head to the side. “Although, it might bear mentioning that he did voluntarily confess to stalking me.”
Clovis gave her another nod. “I’m sure. If it’s any consolation, it’s not the first time. He followed all of the other FBI agents too.”
“Really…” Constance allowed her voice to trail off as her brow dipped and creased of its own volition. Here was yet another thing that hadn’t been mentioned in the official case file. “Were there any altercations?”
“None that I’m aware of,” she replied. “I know that he did speak to each of them, but that was about it as far as I know. From what Stella said he was quite a bit more wound up with you. Sort of pushy.”
“Just a bit…” Constance said with a nod. “Maybe he didn’t perceive me as intimidating since I’m female, so he thought he could get away with it.”
“I suppose that could be,” Clovis replied, pausing for a moment before adding, “Honestly, he’s harmless. He’s just addled in the head. Has been for years. He goes off his medication now and then, but he’s never hurt or threatened anyone.”
“I see…” Constance cocked her head to the side as she digested the new information. “So what’s the problem? Some sort of dementia?”
“Seems like it. Nobody’s really sure. One day he just snapped, more or less. He spent some time in the hospital over in Mais…” she shrugged. “Poor man. He never recovered from it. His wife couldn’t take it. She tried for a while, but she finally divorced him and moved away.”
“Does he have anyone to take care of him?”
“Us,” Clovis returned, making a small sweep with her hand. “That’s the other reason Stella called. To let us know he’s probably skipped some pills again.”
“One of the many hidden advantages of living in a small town, I suppose,” Constance mused.
“We do try to look out for one another,” Clovis agreed. “We’ll probably send Mel over to his house to check on him like usual. She seems to have a way with him when he’s off his medication.”
“That’s good… So…what else can you tell me about him? Stella said he’s not even a real minister.”
“She’s right, he’s not…” She paused and gave a halfhearted shrug. “Well, not that we know of, anyway. He’s lived here all his life and nobody in Hulis has any recollection of him even going to church, much less becoming an ordained minister of any sort.”
“Well, he’s apparently spent some time studying the Bible,” Constance offered. “He was quoting verses to me.”
Clovis nodded. “Let me guess, they all had to do with Satan.”
“Yes. They did. I suppose that’s not unique, then.”
“Not really. That’s what he does. When he’s been off his pills for a while, he gets convinced that everyone here is possessed by the devil himself.”
“Any idea why?”
“Don’t know. Like I said, he’s addled. He has been for years now.”
“Well, thanks for filling me in; I appreciate it.”
“No problem, Agent Mandalay. Thank you for being so understanding about this. I really don’t think he’ll be bothering you again.”
The wind was at Constance’s back during her return walk to the Greenleaf Motel. However, that didn’t keep it from stinging the exposed portions of her cheeks, because she couldn’t stop casting a wary eye over her shoulder.
Something about Clovis’s explanation regarding Pastor Reese wasn’t sitting well with her. She didn’t think the woman was necessarily lying about anything she had said, but something down in her gut was telling her that there was more to the story.
The truth was, it seemed like everyone in this town was hiding something. Except maybe for Merrie Callahan, but at the moment-for reasons Constance didn’t even want to imagine-she wasn’t talking either.