"When we first met, you told me you thought Rachel had run away," Stride said. "Do you still feel that way?"
Tenby pursed his lips. "This is a long time to carry a joke, even for Rachel. I would never say so to the Stoners, but I'm beginning to fear this may be more than a childish game."
"But you have no idea what else it could be?" Maggie asked him.
"No, I don't. Do you feel she was abducted?"
"We're not ruling anything out," Stride said. "Right now, we're trying to find out more about Rachel's relationships and her past. We're trying to construct a picture of her. Since you've known her and her family for a long time, we thought you could help."
Tenby nodded. "I see."
"You sound reluctant," Maggie said.
He folded his hands in his lap. "It's not reluctance, Detective. I'm trying to decide what I can say and what I can't. There are things I've learned in my role as a religious advisor that naturally must remain confidential. I'm sure you can understand."
"You mean you counseled Rachel?" Stride asked.
"Briefly. A long time ago. I've worked with Emily much more. She and I have tried to work through the problems with Rachel for many years. Without a great deal of success, I'm afraid."
"Anything you can tell us would help," Maggie assured him.
"In fact, I did talk about your visit with Emily," Tenby said. "I had a suspicion this kind of topic might come up, you see. Emily was gracious and gave her permission for me to talk about our conversations freely. Naturally, I don't have Rachel's permission, but perhaps, under the circumstances, I would be doing a disservice to keep things hidden. Of course, I have to say that Rachel told me very little that shed much light on her soul."
"Maybe if you started at the beginning," Stride suggested.
"Yes, indeed. Well, you know that many of the problems between Emily and Rachel date back to her first marriage to Tommy Deese. He drove a wedge between Rachel and Emily, and the gap only widened after Tommy's death. Of course, I only learned about most of this in retrospect. I knew both of them from church, but neither one made an effort to confide in me."
"They lived near here?" Maggie asked.
"Oh, yes. Right down the street, in fact."
"Did Rachel have many friends?" Stride asked.
Tenby drummed his fingers on the end table. "She was never really close to anyone. Except, perhaps, for Kevin. He always had quite the crush on her, but it was a one-way thing."
"This is the same Kevin who was with her in Canal Park on that last night? Kevin Lowry?" Maggie asked.
"Oh, yes. Kevin and his family still live here. I expect he'll be a lawyer or vice president someday, a real success story. I'm afraid his one weakness is Rachel. He always seemed to want to save her, but Rachel didn't have much interest in being saved. Well, that's all right, he's better off with that girl Sally he's dating now. I'm sorry, that sounds rather cold, doesn't it? It's not that I have any ill feelings toward Rachel, but she would never have been right for Kevin."
Maggie nodded. "I take it you don't believe Kevin could have had anything to do with Rachel's disappearance."
Tenby's face revealed real shock. "Kevin? Oh, no, no. Impossible."
"Let's talk about Emily and Graeme," Stride said. "Did Rachel resent Graeme? Did she resent Emily bringing a new man into their lives?"
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Tenby said. "But it didn't seem that way. They seemed to get along, at least for a while. I think Rachel thought she could use Graeme as a wedge against Emily, just the way Tommy did with her. Turn Graeme and Emily against each other, you see. And maybe it worked. It hasn't been a very happy marriage."
"How so?" Maggie asked. "Fights? Infidelity?"
Tenby held up one hand. "I'm afraid I'm getting thirsty. I need a glass of water. I can't afford to have a sore throat before my sermon! Can I get the two of you anything?"
Stride and Maggie both shook their heads. Tenby smiled and excused himself, disappearing into another room. They heard his footsteps tapping on a hard floor, then the bang of pipes as he turned on the water. He returned a few seconds later, sipping from a red plastic cup.
"I'm sorry," he said, sitting down again. He looked more relaxed. "Where were we?"
"Emily and Graeme," Maggie said.
"Yes, yes. Well, I don't think there's been any violence in the marriage. I think it's the opposite problem. No passion. There just doesn't seem to be much love between them."
"Then why did they get married in the first place?" Stride asked.
Tenby frowned. "Graeme is very successful. I think Emily may have been a little blinded by all those dollar signs on his paycheck. When you've struggled to make ends meet your whole life, it can be very tempting to imagine a world in which you've got considerably more leisure. She may have allowed some of her dreams to get in the way of reality."
"And Graeme?" Maggie asked. "No offense, but Emily doesn't seem to be much of a catch for a bank honcho."
Tenby studied Maggie with an unusual smile, as if he found the question very amusing. "Well, who knows why anyone is attracted to anyone else? Emily is a lovely woman. Rachel didn't get her good looks exclusively from Tommy, despite what Emily might say. Plus, there are a lot of men who are attracted to women who need to be taken care of. That may have been the case with Graeme."
Stride didn't think that sounded like Graeme at all. "How did they meet?" he asked.
"Oh, it was rather sweet, as Emily tells it," Tenby said. His voice was suddenly louder, almost boisterous. It sounded forced. "Graeme had been at the bank for about a year, and I gather that most of the female staff considered him to be a very eligible bachelor. Good looks, a lot of self-confidence, and a high-paying position in the bank. What's not to like? But he didn't seem to take an interest in anyone. Emily mentioned him to me a couple of times, but she never dreamed he would look her way. She never even bothered trying to approach him. She was one of the few who didn't try. Maybe that worked in her favor. He may have seen her as the only one who was immune to his charms. In any event, one day, Graeme approached her in the parking lot after work. He asked if she'd like to have a drink. It seems he had been attracted to her for some time and hadn't had the courage to ask her out. Funny, isn't it? But you never know."
"I guess not," Stride said. He glanced at Maggie, who frowned.
"And not long after, they were married," Tenby continued. "It was a whirlwind romance."
Maggie shook her head. "And a few years later, there's no passion left?"
"It happens," Tenby said. "I see it all too often."
Stride nodded. "Forgive me, Reverend, but I'm still having trouble here. Even if Graeme asked Emily out, I find it hard to believe they found so much in common that he was ready to dive into marriage. This may sound callous, but did Emily lay a trap for him?"
Tenby bit his lip and looked uncomfortable. "I don't know what you mean."
Maggie smiled. "A trap. You know, women are awfully good at manipulating men to make them do whatever they want. Why, Stride here will do anything I tell him to do. It's an art."
Tenby smiled nervously. "Well, I don't think Emily had any kind of strategy. She was too dazzled. As I say, the money may have caused her to overlook the fact that she really didn't feel much passion, but I don't believe she intentionally deceived him."