The next day is a Sunday, and Alex does not come to church. It is first time that he has missed it, to Ryan’s knowledge, and he finds himself staring at the empty pew all the same. John Bexley has come alone, not bothering to wear his charm and looking bored through the entire sermon—without his wife, it seems as if he has all the dedication to the Lord as Ryan and, he strongly suspects, Alex himself.
John Bexley sits alone—and leaves the same way.
In the last year, it seems that the elderly ladies of the village—in reality, the village itself—have come to disapprove of Mr. Bexley. When the congregation rises, he leaves swiftly and unhindered by anyone wishing to speak with him—which was, Ryan knows, a rarity last year. He wonders vaguely what has changed, before his thoughts cycle right
