Twin Targets by Marta Perry Read Free Book Online Page A

twisted together in her lap, and she didn’t look at the draped coffin. Otherwise, she seemed composed. He wondered again what was in her heart, weighing that composure against her obvious need to attend the funeral. At a guess, anyone who really wanted to understand Jade Summers would have his work cut out for him. Pastor Davison spoke briefly but meaningfully, reminding the congregants that they grieved someone who had come to them a stranger and become a valued friend and sister in Christ. He led them in a familiar hymn setting of the twenty-third Psalm to the accompaniment of the small organ.
    E’en though I walk through death’s dark vale, my heart shall fear no ill, and in God’s house forevermore, my dwelling place shall be.
    Despite Micah’s watchfulness, he felt the peace of the promises fill his heart. He prayed that Jade took comfort from the words and from knowing that Ruby’s troubled life had ended among people who loved her. The final benediction was spoken. As they stood to follow the coffin from the sanctuary he kept a firm grasp on Jade’s arm. This was a danger point, as people crowded in on them, expressing their condolences in the formal words people used to cover a wealth of emotion.
    Jade managed to respond to each person who spoke to her, holding on to her composure. He wasn’t sure how much that cost her.
    As for him, he was too busy scanning the crowd, not knowing if these people were all the innocent bystanders they seemed. Could someone here have alerted the killers to Ruby’s presence among them?
    They moved through the door, fastening coats against the chilly air, donning sunglasses to fend off the glare of sun on snow. The pallbearers eased the coffin down the single step.
    A middle-aged woman pushed through the crowd to clutch Jade’s sleeve. “My dear, I’m so sorry for you. Ruby was such a sweetheart—always remembered how I liked my coffee, every time I went in the café. And always had a cheerful word and a smile. We’ll miss her terribly.”
    “Thank you.” Jade’s voice reflected strain. “That’s kind of you.”
    “Imagine her having a twin sister.” The woman obviously wasn’t the type to express her condolences and move on. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when you walked in. Just as alike as can be, you are. Not like that cousin of Ruby’s—well, I guess of yours, too. He didn’t look anything like you.”
    “Cousin?” Jade’s voice trembled. “What…what do you mean?”
    Micah drew her close to his side, his arm protectively around her. For the first time since they’d arrived, Jade seemed on the verge of losing her composure, and he knew why.
    She and Ruby didn’t have any cousins.
    “It will be safer if we leave now.” Micah knew frustration rasped his lowered voice as he stood next to Jade, watching the pallbearers maneuver the coffin along a shoveled path into the cemetery.
    He’d drawn her apart from the other mourners. They probably thought he was comforting her, not arguing with her.
    For a moment she wavered, her green eyes lost and confused. “I don’t understand. What did that woman mean? We don’t have any cousins.” Her mouth twisted a little. “At least, not that I know about.”
    “Let’s just get in the car.” He tried to nudge her in that direction. “We can talk about it once we’re away from here.”
    Jade didn’t acknowledge his words. “You talked to her. What did she say?”
    He let out a sigh of frustration. Short of picking Jade up and carrying her to the vehicle, he didn’t have many choices. He had managed to stow Jade safely with the pastor for a few minutes so he could talk to Mrs. Calloway, the woman who’d mentioned this supposed cousin. He had her name and address for follow-up saying Jade wanted to stay in touch, but he doubted it was going to get them very far.
    “She said that a man came into the café yesterday, asking about Ruby, saying he was a cousin. Mrs. Calloway told him that Ruby