Page 68 of Girl, Accused

Ella loaded up the software on her laptopand threw her credentials into the FALCON portal. The interface loaded up. Ella navigated to the nonprofit section and typed in ‘First Light Assembly, Granville, Ohio.’

One result. The church was registered, with a full financial history going back fifteen years.

‘They’re in here,’ Ella said.

‘Now just go through the donations and see if Walsh’s name crops up.’

‘Give me a minute.’ Ella clicked through to the donor records. First Light Assembly received the bulk of its funding from member donations, with a smattering of grants from larger religious organizations. She sorted the data by donor name and began scanning for Walsh.

Nothing under W.

‘Dammit,’ she said. ‘No Walsh in the donor list.’

‘Try initials,’ Ripley suggested. ‘Some people donate anonymously but keep their initials.’

Ella adjusted her search parameters. T.W. yielded three results – two small donations from different individuals, and a third, more substantial one: a $5,000 gift made three years ago for ‘building repair.’

She clicked through to the donor details. The system required additional authentication for this level of data. Ella entered her second-factor code and waited.

The screen repopulated with information that made her pulse quicken.

Donor: Thomas W. (Full name redacted at donor request).

SSN: XXX-XX-7849.

Amount: $5,000.

Purpose: Building repair fund.

Donor address: 1587 Macbeth Drive, Granville, OH.

‘Mia, I’ve got him. 1587 Macbeth Drive.’

‘Hang on,’ Ripley said. Her voice went tinny. ‘Westfall, you know where Macbeth Drive is?’

A moment of silence. Ella tried to listen to their chat but couldn’t hear anything.

‘You’re in luck.’ Ripley continued. ‘It’s five minutes from here, apparently.’

‘Five minutes from you is thirty minutes from me. Can you check Walsh out? Take the cavalry with you. We don’t have time to wait.’

‘Dark, come on.’ Ripley’sfrustration was palpable. ‘And what? We talk to him. He denies everything. We charge Canton tonight regardless. Is this really going to change anything?’

‘Please, Mia.’ Ella rarely begged, but desperation had its own language. ‘If Walsh is home, we could end this today. Properly.’

Another pause. Ella could hear Ripley weighing up her options. ‘Fine. I’ll go.’

‘I know. Just... be careful. This guy believes he's on a divine mission. Men like that don't surrender easily.’

‘Sure. And what are you going to do? Meet us here?’

Ella glanced at the wall clock. Four twenty-seven PM. Daylight bleeding away by the minute. ‘I'm going back to First Light Assembly. Canton mentioned another staff member – Sister Mary something. She lives in an outbuilding behind the church. If Walsh isn't at home, she might know where he's hiding.’

‘Fine. Keep your phone on.’

‘You too,’ Ella said. By the way, it’s Latin.’

‘What’s Latin?’