Kenzie stepped inside. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be with you? I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
Lori locked the door behind them. “Will you stop worrying? I’m the custodian. I can be here whenever I need to.” What a heady feeling, having a key for the church and being able to come and go at will. Brother and Sister Kraft and all the deacons trusted her. She loved having their trust, and she wouldn’t do anything to betray it. “I had to leave before Sister Kraft was finished in Brother Jase’s office, so I didn’t get to see what the rug looked like in there. You should get to see, too, since you made it. Aren’t you curious?”
Kenzie hugged herself, glancing around the shadowy space. “Sure I am. But I could’ve peeked in on Wednesday, when the lights are on. It’s kind of creepy in here at night.”
Lori laughed. “Creepy in a church?” She glanced toward the black hallway. Maybe it was creepy. A little. “Lemme get the lights. That’ll eliminate the creep factor.” She hurried to the switch plate and flicked up all four toggles. Light flooded the foyer and illuminated the hallways. “There. Better?”
Kenzie nodded.
“Then follow me.” She set off for Jase’s office, eagerness putting a bounce in her step. After she’d shown Kenzie the rug, she’d go to the kitchen and do something with the brownies she’d left hidden above the refrigerator. She got so focused on cleaning earlier that she forgot about them, but she could ready a plate and have them waiting for Brother Jase tomorrow morning.
The door to Sister Kraft’s secretary office and Brother Kraft’s study was closed, but Brother Jase’s was ajar. Sister Kraft probably left it open to let the paint smell escape. But the light on inside the room gave her pause. As did the mumble of voices coming from the other side of the open doorway. She stopped, and Kenzie stopped, too.
“What’s the matter?” Kenzie whispered.
Lori pointed ahead. “Brother Jase’s office light is on. And I think I hear somebody in there.”
Kenzie shrugged. “Maybe he’s working in there.”
They continued to whisper, adding an element of suspense to the moment. Lori shivered. “With all the other lights in the church out? And it’s his day off. He shouldn’t be—”
“Lori? Kenzie? What’re you two doing here?”
Lori spun around at the sound of Jase’s voice. He stood half-in and half-out of his office, furrows of curiosity lining his brow. She released a shrill giggle. “We, uh, I mean, I was here this morning. Cleaning. And I noticed Sister Kraft was getting your office in order, but she wasn’t done when I left, so I didn’t get to see if it needed dusting. Or sweeping. Or anything.”
Yikes trikes, she was babbling like an idiot. And acting guilty. She had no reason to be guilty. She was a paid employee who had permission to be here, the same as him. She gave her hair a cavalier flip. “I came back to…see.” The mumble of voices continued from the office. She angled her head slightly, trying to peek inside. “Is there someone with you?”
“Nope. Just the radio.”
Thank goodness they hadn’t interrupted a counseling session or something. Lori looped her arm through Kenzie’s. “Well, do you mind if Kenzie and me come in for a minute? We’d like to see if Kenzie’s rug fits the room okay, and I’ll make sure nothing needs cleaning.”
He stepped aside, gesturing with his hand. “C’mon in.”
Lori guided Kenzie to the office and gave her a little nudge over the threshold. She paused in the doorway and smiled up at Jase. “I didn’t expect anyone else to be here. You’re awfully dedicated, working on your day off.”
He shrugged, a grin lifting the corners of his lips beneath his neatly trimmed mustache. “I didn’t have anything else to do. Besides, it’s easy to focus when no one’s around and it’s quiet.”
“But the radio is making noise.”
“White noise. Hardly notice it.”
He probably wouldn’t classify her and Kenzie as white noise. They should get out of his way. “Well, we won’t bother you for—” She took a step into the office, and her mouth fell open. What a transformation in such a short period of time. “Yikes trikes…”
Jase burst out laughing. “I take it you approve?”
Lori nodded, twisting her head back and forth and taking in every detail. “It looks great in here. Sister Kraft and I were going to try to