I Will Fear No Evil (Psalm 23 Mysteries Book 10) by Debbie Viguié Page B
Authors: Debbie Viguié
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be in terrible danger.”
“Of course, I’ll do anything I can.” She turned and called out, “Albert, can you come here a moment?”
A large, sweaty bald man walked over, his face jovial and grinning from ear-to-ear. “Do we have newcomers Matilda?” he asked.
“No, Albert. These are the police. Lizzie Matthews has gone missing and she may be in danger. I’m going to talk to them for a while. Can you ask the others if any of them has heard from her recently or might know anything about her whereabouts?”
“Of course,” he said, the grin quickly disappearing from his face. Matilda led Mark and Liam away as Albert began to speak to the others. Once they were out of easy earshot she faced them.
“When Lizzie joined our coven she was very eager to learn, excited about everything. She’d had no real exposure to religion of any kind growing up.”
Mark nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was going to avoid mentioning his connection to Lizzie if he could. The less Matilda knew about him, Lizzie, and everything that was going on the better for all of them.
“She took to it quickly, learned as much as she could, but after a couple of months I could tell that something was wrong.”
“What?”
“She wasn’t as happy as she had once been. In fact she was getting more sullen, withdrawn. I suspected something might be upsetting her in her personal life, but she wouldn’t talk about it. Then she began questioning some of our most basic teachings. I could tell that she was no longer satisfied with our way of worship or the things that she was learning. She started asking a lot of questions of more established members, questions that had to do with the study of dark magic. She was making some people uncomfortable. She was becoming obsessed with power, how to achieve it, how to keep it, that sort of thing.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That she was focused on the wrong things. I told her Wicca was about being a part of something and not dominating something.”
“Do you have any idea what she might have been after?”
“Power, that is my only guess. If it was something more specific than that, I wasn’t privy to it. It had reached the point where we knew we were going to have to ask her to leave, which broke my heart. We try so very hard to be inclusive that it is a tragedy when we have to instead exclude. However, it seemed that she had tired of us long before we had tired of her. She quit the coven, said she’d found a better one, a coven that was more suited to her needs. We let her go with our blessings and a heavy heart.”
“And you haven’t seen her since?”
“I don’t believe so,” Matilda said.
“Any idea about who this other coven was she had joined or where they’d meet?”
“Not really, but two of our other members left at the same time she did and I figure they went on together.”
“Who was this?” Mark asked sharply.
“Peter and Vanessa. They were also drawn more to the darker side of things.”
“Do you have contact information for either of them?”
“I’m afraid not. I lost my phone while I was on vacation last year and with it all my old contacts. I’m usually the one who sends out reminders about meetings and things so I had everyone’s numbers. It’s possible someone else knows how to contact them. I can ask.”
“That would be greatly appreciated.”
“Consider it done. Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Not that I can think of at the moment, but I’m going to leave you with my card and I’d appreciate it if I could get your contact information.”
“Of course.”
She gave him her number and he wrote it down in his notepad before handing her one of his cards. She tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Detective, there is actually something you might be able to help me with, if you don’t mind.”
“What’s that?” he asked, somewhat surprised. Most people being questioned by a police officer, even if they were innocent,
“Of course, I’ll do anything I can.” She turned and called out, “Albert, can you come here a moment?”
A large, sweaty bald man walked over, his face jovial and grinning from ear-to-ear. “Do we have newcomers Matilda?” he asked.
“No, Albert. These are the police. Lizzie Matthews has gone missing and she may be in danger. I’m going to talk to them for a while. Can you ask the others if any of them has heard from her recently or might know anything about her whereabouts?”
“Of course,” he said, the grin quickly disappearing from his face. Matilda led Mark and Liam away as Albert began to speak to the others. Once they were out of easy earshot she faced them.
“When Lizzie joined our coven she was very eager to learn, excited about everything. She’d had no real exposure to religion of any kind growing up.”
Mark nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was going to avoid mentioning his connection to Lizzie if he could. The less Matilda knew about him, Lizzie, and everything that was going on the better for all of them.
“She took to it quickly, learned as much as she could, but after a couple of months I could tell that something was wrong.”
“What?”
“She wasn’t as happy as she had once been. In fact she was getting more sullen, withdrawn. I suspected something might be upsetting her in her personal life, but she wouldn’t talk about it. Then she began questioning some of our most basic teachings. I could tell that she was no longer satisfied with our way of worship or the things that she was learning. She started asking a lot of questions of more established members, questions that had to do with the study of dark magic. She was making some people uncomfortable. She was becoming obsessed with power, how to achieve it, how to keep it, that sort of thing.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That she was focused on the wrong things. I told her Wicca was about being a part of something and not dominating something.”
“Do you have any idea what she might have been after?”
“Power, that is my only guess. If it was something more specific than that, I wasn’t privy to it. It had reached the point where we knew we were going to have to ask her to leave, which broke my heart. We try so very hard to be inclusive that it is a tragedy when we have to instead exclude. However, it seemed that she had tired of us long before we had tired of her. She quit the coven, said she’d found a better one, a coven that was more suited to her needs. We let her go with our blessings and a heavy heart.”
“And you haven’t seen her since?”
“I don’t believe so,” Matilda said.
“Any idea about who this other coven was she had joined or where they’d meet?”
“Not really, but two of our other members left at the same time she did and I figure they went on together.”
“Who was this?” Mark asked sharply.
“Peter and Vanessa. They were also drawn more to the darker side of things.”
“Do you have contact information for either of them?”
“I’m afraid not. I lost my phone while I was on vacation last year and with it all my old contacts. I’m usually the one who sends out reminders about meetings and things so I had everyone’s numbers. It’s possible someone else knows how to contact them. I can ask.”
“That would be greatly appreciated.”
“Consider it done. Is there anything else I can help with?”
“Not that I can think of at the moment, but I’m going to leave you with my card and I’d appreciate it if I could get your contact information.”
“Of course.”
She gave him her number and he wrote it down in his notepad before handing her one of his cards. She tucked it into the pocket of her jeans. “Detective, there is actually something you might be able to help me with, if you don’t mind.”
“What’s that?” he asked, somewhat surprised. Most people being questioned by a police officer, even if they were innocent,
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