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“We’d like to talk to you about Sylvia West.” Turner gave him a firm shake.

Pastor Deegan offered his hand to Josie and she took it. “Carter mentioned in private that his chief indicated the fire was going to be ruled arson. If you’re here asking questions, that must be true.”

Josie said, “We’re investigating several possibilities.”

“It’s horribly tragic,” Deegan said. “I haven’t slept a wink since I heard. It’s so hard to believe. So many congregants have reached out. Sylvia’s loss has hit our community hard.”

“We understand she was very involved here,” said Josie.

“Yes, well, she ran our entire daycare program, not to mention all of the groups she was a part of and the volunteering she did. She was a staple of our congregation, that’s for sure.”

“How long was she a member of the church?” Josie asked.

Deegan smoothed a hand over his hair. “Oh, eleven, maybe twelve years? A long, long time. She joined not long after she moved here. I had just started only a few months before she arrived. One of the most pressing needs here at that time was affordable daycare. Sylvia helped me get the program off the ground, so I hired her to run the entire thing.”

Turner’s foot tapped against the tile. “When was that?”

“Oh, about a year after she joined us. She had a special way with children. They adored her. The parents were always very happy with how she ran things. The other employees loved her.”

“Eleven years,” Turner said. “In all that time, she never had problems with anyone?”

“None that I’m aware of.” Pastor Deegan checked his watch again. “Is there anything else? I’ve got another meeting in five minutes.”

“Maybe later,” Turner said. “Right now, we’re looking for Louis Fisher.”

Deegan’s smile returned, even more strained than before. Gesturing toward the room he’d just exited, he said, “Louis is in there.”

He started to move around them but stopped at Josie’s next words. “Pastor Deegan, were you aware that Sylvia and Mr. Fisher were romantically involved?”

Without turning back, he shook his head and replied, “Not until an hour ago, no.”

Josie could practically feel the leftover tension in the room when she and Turner entered it a moment later, after giving a perfunctory knock. Louis Fisher leaned against the edge of a large table in the center of the room, despite the dozen chairs surrounding it. With one arm crossed over his middle, he hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. His chest rose and fell heavily, as if he was struggling to rein in some strong emotions.

“Mr. Fisher,” Josie said.

Louis lifted his head. His brown eyes were hazy, as if he wasn’t really seeing them. A few seconds later, he blinked. Then a polite smile formed on his lips. When he took in Turner’s size and his very formal suit together with Josie in her informal Denton PD uniform, the smile faltered. For a heartbeat, panic blanketed his features. Then he got it under control, congenial smile back in place. He pushed off the table and offered a hand to each of them.

“I assume you’re here about what happened to Sylvia.”

“That’s right,” Josie said. “I’m Detective Quinn and this is Detective Turner.”

“Does this mean what I think it does? If the police are involved, then her death wasn’t accidental?”

It seemed neither Carter nor Pastor Deegan had shared any information about the fire being ruled arson with Fisher. Or Fisher was pretending he knew nothing about it.

“Her death has been ruled a homicide,” Josie replied. They weren’t going to broadcast the fact that it wasn’t the fire that had killed her, not to anyone outside of Sylvia’s family. Definitely not to Fisher. If he was involved, it was better they kept him in the dark. It gave him an opportunity to slip up.

“Oh God,” Fisher croaked. Tears filled his eyes and he looked away.

While he composed himself, Josie looked around the room, taking in the bookshelves filled with Bibles and other books of worship.

Fisher choked down a sob, pinching the bridge of his nose again.

Turner was getting twitchy. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. It seems we caught you at a bad time.”

“You could say that.” Fisher sniffled before giving a short, humorless laugh.

“You wanna tell us what all the yelling was about?” Turner asked bluntly.