Free The Root of All Evil (Hope Street Church Mysteries Book 4) by Ellery Adams, Elizabeth Lockard Page A

pastor pointed to the appropriate parking lot. “His is the green sedan in the corner. A lot of the teachers park on the other side of the school because they’re closer to their classrooms that way, so I don’t know who else was here.”
    “Is Harry usually here around seven thirty?”
    “Like clockwork.”
    Inspector McNamara scribbled in his notepad. “Did you see the victim’s car?”
    “Sylvia rode the bus.”
    “Okay. So you drive here. You park. You see Harry’s car. Then what?”
    “I unlocked the main entrance.”
    “If the door was locked until you arrived, how did Harry get in?”
    “All the teachers have keys to the side door.”
    “All of them?” McNamara raised a skeptical brow. “Isn’t that a security risk?”
    Pastor Matthews shook his head. “I trust all my teachers. Besides, it’s a small school, and everybody has a different schedule. They’re all here during the day, but after school some take work home, others prefer to work at their desks, and a few come in on weekends. I realized a long time ago it’s easier and more efficient if all of them have keys to the side door.”
    The inspector arched a disapproving brow. “All right then. Where does the side door lead?”
    “To the teachers’ lounge.”
    “What happened next?”
    “After I unlocked the main door, I went to my office.” There was a catch in the pastor’s throat. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. “I opened the office door. I turned on the light. That’s . . . that’s when . . . I found Sylvia.”
    McNamara knelt down in front of the pastor. He smiled kindly and spoke in a low, gentle voice. “I’m sorry, Pastor Matthews. I know this isn’t easy for you, for any of you. But I need you to describe what you saw when you entered the office. Everything. Windows open or closed. Doors ajar. Every detail you can remember.”
    Pastor Matthews closed his eyes, breathing deeply, concentrating and remembering. “There are two doors to my office. One leads to the hallway by the classrooms. One goes directly into the chapel. The one to the chapel was closed and locked, but the one to the hallway was unlocked already.”
    “Do you usually leave that door open?”
    “No,” the pastor replied. He paused and canted his head in thought. “No, I don’t. I don’t leave the door open. I always lock both office doors before I leave.”
    “Do you remember locking the doors last night?”
    Pastor Matthews shrugged. “I don’t know. I think so, but . . . Maybe I didn’t. I always do, but maybe I forgot. I’m not sure.”
    “So it’s possible you left the door unlocked.”
    “I suppose it’s possible.”
    McNamara made another notation. Despite the pastor’s hesitation, McNamara was patient. “All right. Now, let’s talk about the office. What did you see?”
    “Everything looked normal . . . at first. I set down my briefcase on my desk, and then I saw Sylvia, lying on the floor on the other side of the desk. There was blood, and she . . . she wasn’t moving. I checked her pulse and called 911. I sat on the floor beside her until you got there, just in case I’d missed her heartbeat and she . . . I didn’t want her to wake up and be all alone.”
    Pastor Matthews paused, his breaths deep and labored, exhausted from relating what had happened. “That’s everything . . .”
    McNamara extended a hand and the pastor took it. “Thank you, Pastor Matthews. If you think of something else, please let me know. We’ll find out if the other staff members saw anything interesting.” The inspector stood and turned away.
    “Saw anything?” Pastor Matthews muttered. “Saw anything interesting.” He fixated on the idea as if struggling to recall an elusive detail. “Saw anything.” He jumped up. “Wait! There’s something else.”
    McNamara returned a steady gaze to him, pen ready at his notepad. “Yes?”
    “I’d almost forgotten. It’s so new, I didn’t think of it. But it may have caught