Free When Rain Falls by Tyora M. Moody Page A

sake. Hopefully, he wouldn’t think anything of it.
    She looked away. There he is again. The man that stood behind the detective. Once again she felt like he’d been watching her for some reason. Well, who is he? Why does he appear to be so familiar?
    She grabbed Daniel’s shoulder. “Uh ... why don’t you go inside and grab something to eat? I’ll be right behind you.” She needed to find out who this man was. Crazy to just walk up to a complete stranger, but they were in church.
    â€œMom, are you sure you’re okay?” Daniel tilted his head, confusion written on his face.
    â€œI’m fine. Really, I will be right behind you.”
    Daniel stared at her a second longer and then shrugged. “If you say so.”
    After she watched Daniel’s back part from her, she looked around for the man in the crowd. She didn’t have to look far. He approached her, his eyes set on her face. Despite people being around her, Candace’s body tensed as the man stopped in front of her.
    He held out his hand. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
    She looked down at his hand, which seemed oddly large. The man was not very tall up close, but his broad shoulders and big arms suggested he liked to hang out at the gym. “Thank you. Uh, do I know you?”
    The man’s smile wavered as he pulled his hand back. “I knew Ms. Coleman. I will miss her.”
    Either the emotional toll of the day was really getting to her or this guy was creeping her out. She sensed there was a reason to not dismiss this man, though. “What did you say your name was again?”
    Before he answered, she felt a light tap on her shoulder and spun around.
    â€œCandace, how are you?”
    â€œHillary, you startled me.” She turned back around, but just as quickly as he’d appeared, the man slipped back through the crowd.
    Hillary reached for her arm, her eyes concerned. “Is everything all right?”
    She turned back, shaking her head. “Yeah. I’m still in shock, I guess. What about you?”
    Hillary glanced around; then she reached up and cupped Candace’s elbow. “Do you mind if we walk this way a little?”
    She glanced around one more time, hoping to see the man again. Candace answered, “Sure.” There was no way she would forget his face.
    Once around a corner, Hillary stopped. “You know, there’s talk at the office that Mitch Harris is a suspect.”
    â€œHow do you feel about that?”
    Hillary sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve been the legal assistant for Mitch for three years now. I kind of figured out there was more than a working relationship between Mitch and Pamela. But he wouldn’t harm her. At least I don’t think.”
    Candace moved in closer to the older woman. “What do you mean by that? Did you see something change in their relationship for Mitch to want to kill Pamela?”
    â€œNo. He admired her, and she was one of the best lawyers. He wouldn’t jeopardize the firm. I guess. I mean, what I’m trying to say is, people can do things in the heat of the moment.”
    Crime of passion. Maybe she’d listened to Frank too much or watched too many cop shows. But something had to have changed. “As her friend, I know Pamela tried several times to pull away from the relationship. Hillary, he had some type of stronghold over her. I mean, she could’ve worked for anyone. I told her many times she could’ve started her own firm.” Was that it? No, Pamela would have shared those details. Or was she going to? She hated to badger the woman, but she asked, anyway, “Are you sure you didn’t notice any animosity between them?”
    Hillary hesitated for a second. “No. I can’t say that I did, but ...”
    â€œBut what?”
    â€œI don’t know. There was some tension there. Sometimes. But I really don’t try to get into people’s