“I know you mean it,” I said gently. “And I meant it when I said we’re still doing this…and nothing, not even this damn snakebite, is gonna stop me from getting this place spruced up.”
Silas paused, peering down at me. Jesus…he wassotall.
“You know I could do it without you,” he said.
I snorted. “For some reason, I don’t think your interior decorating skills are up to snuff.”
He huffed something that was almost a laugh, though it came out more like a scoff. “I can patch drywall.”
“But I bet you don’t know the difference between eggshell and ivory.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me. “Touché.”
We stepped through the double doors of the church together, and I was relieved to find that the AC actually seemed to be working today—or maybe I just hadn’t worked hard enough yet. The air smelled like wood polish, but the scent of mildew from before was notably absent…and it was actuallyclean.
“You’ve been working hard,” I said.
“Nothin’ lights a fire under you like tryin’ to track down a snake nest,” Silas replied, moving forward. He ran his fingers along the altar—a new construction he looked to be about halfway done with. “Plus…well, a few of the church ladies came by to help me clean out the place.”
“Church ladies?”
“Loretta Evers, Birdie Calhoun, and Francine Farber,” he said. “Apparently, those three carpool over to Perry every weekend to go to church, and they were so excited about you bringin’ regular services back to Willow Grove that they figured they’d lend a hand.”
“Even with the threat of snakes?”
Silas laughed. “Those gals ain’t scared of nothin’.”
I looked around at the tidied pews, the polishedfloor, the in-progress altar. It actually looked like something—or at least, it was starting to.
“Speaking of which…” I started. “I know you mentioned animal control came by and didn’t find a nest, but did you?”
Silas’s brow furrowed. “Yeah—about that. I don’t think it was livin’ in the church. In fact…I don’t think it was spendin’ time around here at all.”
“Meaning…?”
“I think Abel Trent may have put it here.”
I blinked, my spine going rigid. “Wait. You think he planted it?”
Silas nodded slowly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. No sign of a nest, no droppings, no shed skin. The screen in the bedroom window was intact, and the door had been shut. It wasn’t tryin’ to find warmth, and it sure as hell wasn’t lookin’ for food. It was just…there. And like an idiot, I’d left the door unlocked.”
A chill rippled down my back, though all it did was give me a bit more steel.
“That’s a hell of a thing to do,” I said, the implication making me surprisingly angry. “You know—planting a venomous snake in someone’s house. If you’d been alone…”
I trailed off, knowing that was exactly how Amelia had died—and that’s when it hit me.
“Isn’t that what happened to Amelia?” I asked.
Silas flinched.
“Yeah—figured this was Abel’s way of tryin’ to fuck with me.”
“But what if…” I paused, not sure if I should even raise the question—but I kept going anyway. “Silas, did Amelia’s family have some reason to want her dead?”
Silas’s eyes darkened, but he didn’t look surprised—and it occurred to me that he’d already had this thought. Maybe he’djust believed it was too preposterous to bring it up…but he was actually starting to think he wasn’t cursed at all.
Just stalked by his almost-in-laws.
