Denise's anxiety increased as more time passed. She had to stop herself from gnawing on her fingernails. She had pulled into the church parking lot with a half hour to spare. She wanted to reverse and go back to her cabin.
A few people had already parked. She assumed they were inside. The cars were all empty. She stuck around another few minutes before she gathered the courage to head inside.
A cement staircase led up to the front doors. A large part of the congregation consisted of elderly people. A ramp had also been installed for easier access.
Denise grabbed the metal railing and started up the stairs. Her heart pounded in her chest. She tried to calm herself down. Before she could open the door, she heard footsteps behind her.
"Let me get that for you," a guy spoke up. He stepped around her and opened one of the wooden doors. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."
Denise walked through the door and was hit with the old smell of the church. "It's been a while since I've been here."
The guy gave her a polite smile. "I hope you enjoy the service. I'm glad you chose to join us today."
Denise put on a fake smile. "I'm happy I decided to come here today."
The blonde guy nodded and took off further into the church. It left Denise alone again. She hadn't been expecting to bump into anyone so soon. She needed time to gather herself.
"Pull yourself together," she mumbled under her breath.
The building smelled like it always had. It was a combination of wooden church pews and old books. The hymn books hadn't been updated since the 80's. The Bibles had been around forever. The hymns and Bibles were scattered throughout the sanctuary. The backs of the pews had little racks attached to them. Multiple Bibles and hymns sat in each one.
When Denise was younger, she spent her time leafing through their worn pages. Some ink on the pages had faded. Some pages had started to turn yellow. Everything Pastor Baker preached about went in one ear and out the other. She spent church service trying to silently entertain herself.
She shook her head trying to get the memory to fade. She was on a mission. She was determined to sit through, at least, one church service. If Susan and Jennifer didn't show themselves within the next week, she'd rekindle her relationship with God.
She stepped out into the back of the sanctuary. A bright red carpet was laid out on the floors. Up ahead, multiple pews lined the room. Bright red hymn books and black Bibles lined the back of the pews.
"Denise?"
Denise looked over. A man with a black suit came up to her. He had aged since she last saw him. Wrinkles had appeared in the corners of his eyes. The creases in his forehead were more prominent. His beard had gone from black to grey.
"Good morning, Pastor Baker." Denise gave him a timid smile.
"Oh my goodness!" A grin lit up his face. "I haven't seen you since you were a teenager! You've grown so much since then. Susan used to talk about you all the time. I'm so sorry about her and Jennifer."
Denise's heart hurt at the mention of her mom and sister. It's something she should have expected. Both her dad and mom were heavily involved, she should have known someone would bring them up.
"I tried to go to your house a few weeks after the incident occurred. Nobody answered the door and I realized there was a for sale sign in the yard. I thought you left Brimington."
Denise shook her head. "I moved, but I'm still around for now. I've been tossing around the idea of leaving Michigan. I've been thinking about moving to Kansas with a friend."
"I'm glad you decided to visit us today. Susan was friends with quite a few people here. Jennifer was great with the kids. I know she liked teaching Sunday School with her mom."
Denise nodded her head. Jennifer hadn't been an avid churchgoer. She didn't go every week. She usually attended once a month. She sometimes went with Susan to help out with the kids. She loved working with them.
"No Bible today?" Pastor Baker glanced down at her empty hands. "I remember you always used to carry a purple leather Bible."
Denise pulled her hands to her hips. She shoved her thumbs into her front pockets. "That Bible ended up falling apart since I used it so much. I haven't had one since then." She braced herself for a lecture.
"Don't worry about that, come on." Pastor Baker waved her towards him. "Let's go into my office and I'll give you one. Consider it a gift from me to you."
Denise followed him down the row of pews. She followed him into a room. A group of people sat around a large rectangular table with their Bibles open. They had been laughing until Pastor Baker and Denise walked in.
"Morning, Pastor Baker!" Someone called out from the crowd.
"Good morning, how is everyone doing today?" Pastor Baker responded.
A mumble of replies came from the table. Someone else spoke up. "Who's that behind you?"
Denise held her breath. She was afraid people weren't going to be happy if they found out who she was. She was afraid to make them mad.
"This is Susan Houghton's oldest daughter, Denise. Jennifer was her younger sister," Pastor Baker responded.
Denise could feel the mood in the room turn sour.
"I'm going to give her a Bible since she doesn't have one."
"That sounds like a great idea," someone else spoke up. The voice was filled with sarcasm.
"It's a wonderful idea." Pastor Baker ignored the person. "Come on Denise, let's go pick one out." He quickened his pace.
Denise hurried behind him. She was desperate to get out of the room. She could feel eyes on the back of her. It didn't take long before she was in a smaller room.
Pastor Baker closed the door behind them. A desk sat in the middle of the floor. Multiple bookcases full of religious books lined a wall. One row was filled with Bibles. He took one off the shelf and handed it to her.
Denise thanked him and grabbed it. They talked for a few more minutes until he glanced down at his watch. "I hate to interrupt our conversation, but service is going to begin in a few minutes."
"I should probably go find a seat." Denise took a step towards the door.
Pastor Baker stepped in front of her and led the way out of his office. "Are you coming to tonight's service too? I think you should, the sermons are going to connect."
"I've thought about it, but I haven't decided."
"You'll always be welcome here," Pastor Baker said. "I have to go back to my office to grab a few things. If you go out that door, you'll be back in the sanctuary."
Denise thanked him as he turned and left. The room that had been filled with people was now empty. She silently made her way through the empty room.
Her anxiety spiked up again. She grabbed a door's metal knob and turned it. Murmurings and mutterings could be heard behind it. She peered out behind the door to see multiple people in the pews. Nobody paid attention to her.
She exited and shut the door behind her. She hurried towards the back of the sanctuary. She didn't want to interact with people. She planned on sitting towards the back.
She couldn't stop herself from glancing around the room. Detective Mullen mentioned he and his wife would be there. She didn't spot a redhead in the crowd. Either they didn't come because they were too worried about the disappearance of their kid or Mullen felt bad about slapping her.
Denise made her way to the very back row of pews. There was a family in the second to last pew. There were five of them and they sat in the middle of the section. Two of them looked like toddlers.
She ignored them and sat towards the end of the last pew. She opened her new Bible and scanned through it. The pages were bright white and untouched. Some of the pages had spaces where you could write notes. She shifted her weight on the padded pew. Her foot tapped along the floor. She flipped through the Bible again.
When she was a kid, she memorized all the chapters of the Bible. It was a challenge for Vacation Bible School. If you could name all the chapters, you'd get a prize. It took her all week.
At age ten, she proudly marched up to the microphone. It was the last night of the program. The kids spent all week learning and performing dances to religious songs.
Parents and family members came to watch.
One of the teachers announced the books of the Bible challenge. If you could name them all, you'd get a prize. Most kids turned away from the challenge. They didn't think the prize would be good.
Denise had overheard her mom one day on the phone. The prize was a brand-new Atari. She couldn't pass it up. She spent hours trying to memorize the correct order of the old and new testaments.
When the teacher asked if anyone wanted to give it a shot, Denise's hand flew up. The teacher waved her towards the microphone and stepped back. Denise was more than ready to take on the challenge.
She stood in a jean dress with a bright pink shirt underneath. She opened her mouth and began with Genesis. Her hands were tucked behind her back. She had to get on her tiptoes to reach the microphone.
Susan pulled her blonde hair into pigtails. Bows made from pink ribbons were wrapped around them. Denise stood there for two minutes and recited the chapters perfectly. She ended with Revelation.
Everyone in the audience clapped. Her mom gave her a thumbs up and her dad whistled. Susan was still pregnant with Jennifer. She had only been a few days away from giving birth.
Denise smiled and revealed a gap from her missing tooth. Nobody else bothered to go. The teacher went into a room and came back with the Atari.
During the exchange, someone snapped a picture. Another picture was taken when Denise was holding it. She had a huge grin and her pigtails were lopsided. Someone gave the photo to Susan after it was printed. It hung on their refrigerator door for years.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The talking in the room died down. Denise glanced up to see Pastor Baker holding a microphone. He smiled at the crowd. "Good morning everyone. We're going to begin the service with a few songs. Please stand and turn to page ninety-eight."
Denise stood with the crowd and grabbed a hymn from the pew in front of her. A woman sat down at the piano up front. Her fingers moved over the keys. Sound belted across the room.
Denise struggled to turn the hymn book with her left arm still in a cast. People started to sing before she flipped to the page. She looked down at the words and tried to sing along the best she could.
It was going to be a long service.