Picture Perfect Murder (Ryli Sinclair 1) (11 page)

Walking out to the Falcon, I phoned Pastor Williams and
asked him if we could stop by real quick. I told him I had some Bible questions
I was hoping he could answer. Pastor Williams assured us we would be more than
welcome, and to come by the parsonage at our convenience.

Our church bought the current parsonage about five years
ago. The old parsonage used to be right next to the church, but recent trends
have encouraged churches to buy away from the church, giving the pastor and
family a little more privacy. So our church raised money and bought a
three-bedroom, ranch-style brick house over on Locust Drive. I’d only been in
the parsonage one other time in all these years.

I rang the doorbell and waited for the door to be opened. To
say I was nervous would be an understatement. It felt like I was waiting to see
the principal. I don’t know why, it just did.

“I hope this goes fast,” Aunt Shirley said. “These places
always give me the willies.”

Parsonages and churches give her the willies? Oh, boy, I was
going straight to hell just by being in her presence. I was about to ask her
why they give her the willies when the door opened. Instead of Pastor Williams,
it was Sharon that answered the door. She looked like she was in mourning in
her black wool skirt and black oversized sweater. Her brown wavy hair was
pulled back in a bun so tight that it distorted her features slightly. She
looked older than her fifty plus years.

“Ladies, please come in. Pastor Williams is expecting you.”
Was I the only one that thought it weird she referred to her husband as Pastor
Williams? I suddenly got a very disturbing image of them having sex and her
screaming out, “Oh, yes, Pastor Williams!”

Yep, I was definitely going to burn in hell next to Aunt
Shirley.

She led us through the sparse living room and into Pastor
Williams’ study. Compared to the drab living room, this room was actually quite
lovely. It had boxed, wooden paneling on all four walls, and three built-in
bookshelves located around the room. There was a large, oak desk along one
wall, with two beige wingback chairs in front of the desk. Along another wall
sat a beige two-person loveseat with two white pillows placed on either end of
the loveseat. Pastor Williams sat behind the desk in a large, throne-like
leather chair.

“Ladies, welcome,” Pastor Williams said as he gestured
around the room. “Please sit wherever you like.” He continued sitting while we
volleyed for places to sit. Aunt Shirley and I sat in the chairs in front of
his desk, while Paige elected to sit on the loveseat to my right.

Pastor Williams was a large man. I don’t mean fat…I mean he
stood over six feet tall and probably weighed over two hundred and fifty pounds
if I had to guess. I’d also guess he played football at some point in his life.
But now in his fifties, you could see the lines in his face, the gray scattered
throughout his hair.

Sharon waited until we were seated before asking if we’d
like something to drink. Since we’d just come from Dairy Queen, we all said no.
“Do you mind if I sit in, or is this private?” she asked.

I didn’t see the big deal in having her sit in. “Of course,
we really just had some Bible questions.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for.” Spreading his arms open
widely, Pastor Williams said, “Ask away.”

I looked over at Aunt Shirley. I wasn’t sure if she wanted
me to start or if she wanted to start, seeing as how she had years of P.I.
training. She nodded for me to go ahead and take the lead.

“I’m not sure how much you know about what’s been going on
with the murders, but—”

“Oh, such a tragic thing. We’ve been beside ourselves here,”
Pastor Williams said, looking over to where Sharon sat demurely on the couch
next to Paige. “You know Dr. Garver was not only a personal friend, but also on
our church board. We were devastated when we heard the news. As you know, we
are holding Dr. Garver’s memorial service on Thursday.” He sounded as though
hosting her memorial service was some kind of great honor.

“What about Iris’s death? What do you know about it?”

I saw his quick frown when I mentioned Iris’s name.

“I’m afraid I don’t know anything relevant as far as
that
woman
is concerned,” Pastor Williams said. I could hear the condemnation in
his voice as clear as a bell. I surreptitiously glanced at Aunt Shirley to see
if she caught it. I could tell by her one raised eyebrow she had.

“Do you know how she was murdered?” I asked.

“No, and I’m not sure how her murder would have anything to
do with Dr. Garver’s murder. I mean those women couldn’t be more different. One
was an educated, pillar of the community and her church…the other a gossiping
whoremonger.”

My mouth dropped. I knew the word whoremonger was in the
Bible...I’d just never heard anyone use it before!

If that didn’t sound judgmental, I don’t know what did. Of
course, I’d pretty much said the same thing, but I thought it sounded worse
coming from my preacher.

“Well, I’m assuming since Dr. Garver’s murder was the first
murder we’ve had in this town in I don’t know how many years, then immediately
afterward we have Iris’s murder, they must be related somehow, don’t you
think?”

“What does all this have to do with the Bible reference you
were needing?” Pastor Williams asked, as though he was tiring of our presence.

“I’m not sure if you know, but we are the ones that found
Iris’s body.”

“Oh, you poor girls!” Sister Williams moaned from the
loveseat.

Pastor Williams looked shaken. “No, I wasn’t aware.”

“Were you aware how Iris died?” I asked again.

“No. No one has said anything to me. She wasn’t a church
goer, so the other preachers in town haven’t said anything to me about what
they know.”

Interesting comment. So it’s okay for preachers to gossip,
just not their flock.

“Well, her tongue was cut out,” I said.

I heard Sister Williams gasp. I turned my head and saw her
wringing her hands together in distress. “After this is all over, please come
and talk with us about this. We can help you,” she said softly.

Help me
with what exactly?

“Yes, any time you want to talk, I’m here for you.”

Okay, this awkward fest needed to end soon or I was going to
start screaming. Time to get this over with.

“When I got home last night, someone had planted Iris’s
tongue on my front porch along with a note.”

I saw Sharon get up from the loveseat and start pacing back
and forth. She was chewing on her lower lip, and I couldn’t be sure, but I
think she was praying.

Pastor Williams cleared his throat. “No, I wasn’t aware of
any of this. What did the note say?”

I wasn’t sure how much I should tell him. I mean, I’m pretty
sure Garrett would be mad if I blabbed all over town there was a note, but I
thought maybe I could cover it up with the fact Pastor Williams
was
my
preacher, so he probably couldn’t talk about it.

Who was I kidding? He just acknowledged a while ago he
talked with other preachers about people. I looked over at Aunt Shirley to see
what she thought. She gave me a slight nod, so I continued. “It basically said
that the Bible says to watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut and you’ll
stay out of trouble. Then it went on to say that Iris had forgotten that
admonition and that I had better watch my step or else the same thing would
happen to me.”

Pastor Williams’s face went pale. “I’m not sure what I
should be saying here. I mean, it’s bad enough Dr. Garver was murdered, but
this is incomprehensible. Does Chief Kimble know of this?”

“Of course. I called him the minute I found the tongue and
he came over to gather clues.”

“Sister Williams, are you okay?” Paige asked.

I looked over at Sharon. She was bent over at the waist,
taking deep breaths. I know she’s perceived as being a gentle soul and all
that, but I really wasn’t prepared for her to actually start hyperventilating
on me. Time to wrap this gabfest up.

Ignoring Sharon I pressed on, “So what do you think? This is
a quote from the Bible, right?”

“Yes,” Pastor Williams said, his skin still pale. “I don’t
know for sure, but I’d say you can eliminate your die-hard ‘King James only’
people as the killer, since it’s not a King James translation. Maybe I should
let Chief Kimble know about that when I see him today.”

“You’re meeting with him?” I asked.

“Well, he’s meeting with the whole Ministerial Alliance
committee. I guess he’s wanting our help in the investigation.”

Or he’s
secretly getting your alibis
.

“With everything I’ve seen and heard the last few days, I’d
definitely watch my step if I were you. It sounds as if you’re too close for
your own good.”

“Ha!” Aunt Shirley barked. “Never you mind about Ryli’s
safety. We got her back.”

Pastor Williams cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.
“Well, then I guess all I can tell you is it sounds like a New Living
Translation. As far as what it means, I think it’s self-explanatory. Especially
when you take into consideration the fact it was written about Iris. I mean,
was there really a bigger gossip than her?” he asked. “I’ll admit I hated the
fact my wife went to her to get her hair done. It’s always bothered me Sharon
gave that woman a dime of our money.”

While I’d never considered myself a friend of Iris’s, I sure
wasn’t going to sit here and listen to this hatred much longer. The judgment
coming from my preacher’s mouth was appalling. Talk about seeing someone in a
new light.

“Dear, it wasn’t all that bad,” Sharon said as she sat back
down on the couch next to Paige. “Iris did have some good qualities.”

“Whatever you say. You knew her better than I did.”

I looked over at Aunt Shirley. I wanted to make sure I’d
asked all the pertinent questions.

“Thank you for your time, Pastor Williams,” Aunt Shirley
said as she stood up. “You’ve been a great help to us today.”

The rest of us stood and said our good-byes. Paige, Aunt
Shirley, and I walked out with Sharon. As we reached the front door, Sharon
said, “Ladies, please understand my husband is under a lot of stress. With Dr.
Garver’s passing, it means we have to fill another place on the board. Plus the
fact we are doing the memorial service and the hours of prep work that entails,
and he still needs to get ready for Thursday’s memorial service, the Fall
Festival, and Sunday’s church service…he’s very stressed.”

Stressed? Is that what they’re calling narrow-mindedness
these days? Because it sure sounded to me like he was judging Iris big time.

As I was following Aunt Shirley and Paige out the front
door, Sharon touched my arm. “Ryli, I’ve been meaning to remind you, please
don’t forget you signed up to help get the games and booths around on Friday.”

I groaned inwardly. I’d forgotten all about it.

I looked into the heartfelt, pleading eyes of my pastor’s
wife, then down to the hand that clung to me like a life support.

“Of course I remember,” I said, the lie rolling off my
tongue.

“How about three o’clock at the church,” she said as she
clapped her hands together. “Just knowing you and the other ladies being there
helping is such a relief.”

I gave her a weak smile and told her I was looking forward
to it. I’m sure she saw right through it, but being the bigger person she
elected not to say anything. Instead she patted my arm and smiled.

“What did she want?” Aunt Shirley demanded as I got into the
driver’s seat and pulled out of the driveway.

“To remind me I signed up this Friday to set up booths for
the festival,” I said, hating the whine I heard in my voice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw Paige gazing wistfully
at her engagement ring. “Thinking about the wedding?”

Paige sighed. “I was thinking I’ve always known Pastor
Williams was an arrogant SOB, but today he
really
sounded like a jerk.”

Aunt Shirley laughed. “Well, you gotta remember he’s just a
man. He puts his pants on one leg at a time just like other men do.”

“I guess,” Paige mumbled. “Doesn’t make it any easier,
though. Just think, he’s the one we’re going to have to go to for marriage
counseling and all that.”

“Well, the wife totally gives me the willies with all that
whimpering and wringing of her hands,” Aunt Shirley said.

I looked over at Aunt Shirley to see if she was serious.
“She’s been like that since I’ve known her. And I’ve practically known her my
whole life.”

“Still, I don’t like it. She needs to be more…” Aunt Shirley
trailed off.

“More like you?” I asked.

“Exactly!”

We decided to make a pit stop at the newspaper since I had
to write up a piece in the paper about Iris’s death. Obviously I was going to
leave out the part about coming home to her tongue on my front porch stuck in a
Halloween pumpkin…after all, kids were known to read the town paper. The last
thing Hank would want was dozens of phone calls from angry parents.

The front door chimed as we walked into the main area of the
building. Mindy was sitting behind her desk, lazily leafing through a gossip
magazine. I swear she reads a new trash tabloid daily.

Today she had on hot pink Capri pants with an
off-the-shoulder aqua cropped sweater. Don’t ask me how, but it worked for her.
I guess because the shoes pulled it all together. Mindy once made me memorize
all the designer shoes she owned. She said it would be fun, would help us bond
as girls.

It didn’t. It was about as fun as when she tried to teach me
to walk in them.

To humor her I memorized her designer shoe collection, which
is why I could tell you today she had on neon-pink, patent leather pumps from
Jimmy Choo. The four-inch heels were so teeny tiny they were like icepicks.

Sashaying effortlessly over to where we were, she gave me a
small squeeze around my waist. “Hank had to run to Kansas City today, so it’s
just us girls. I’ve heard rumors about the tongue missing, is it true?”

“Sort of, yes,” I said.

“Don’t say another word. How about I make us some hot tea
and we talk about it?”

“How about you bring out something stronger?” Aunt Shirley
said.

Laughing as though my aunt wasn’t serious, Mindy gestured
for Aunt Shirley and Paige to sit on the tiny sofa. She then rolled the two
desk chairs over to where I was standing. “Go ahead and sit, the water is
already hot. Just give me a second.”

We watched her stroll over to the buffet and start preparing
cups. I was about to stand up and go help when she turned around with two mugs
looped in each hand…still walking on those icepicks. I figured she was fine
without my help.

We each grabbed a mug and began blowing on the hot water. I
figured I should catch her up from the tongue on the front porch to meeting
with the Williamses for help on narrowing down who might have sent the Bible
scripture to me.

I was just about to go into my spiel when Mindy started squealing.
“You got engaged!” she cried as she rushed over to Paige’s side of the sofa.
Squeezing herself in between Aunt Shirley and Paige, she leaned over and
examined the ring. “Very nice. Oh, yes, he did good,” she whispered as she
turned the ring side to side.

Watching Mindy fawn all over the ring, I had a sudden vision
of Mindy as Gollum whispering, “My precious.”

“So when’s the big day?” Mindy demanded.

Why hadn’t I thought to ask that question? I mean, Paige is
my best friend and Matt is my brother…and it never occurred to me to ask when
they were getting hitched. Damn, I was gonna have to start being a better
future sister-in-law.

“We haven’t set a date yet. Probably sometime next spring or
summer.”

Next spring or summer. Good, that gives me plenty of months
to start planning things. Wait…I
was
going to be the maid of honor,
wasn’t I? Now that I thought about it, Paige hadn’t exactly asked me yet.

Deciding my thoughts were going to drive me crazy, and I had
other things to think about, I told Mindy about the tongue on the porch and
visiting Pastor Williams and the awkwardness from that little visit.

“I’ve been decoding the ledger from the salon. I have a list
of people at the salon the day after Dr. Garver died, and I’ve even compiled a
list of people who were there for the whole month of October. I believe I have
everyone accounted for and what they were doing at the salon. However, I’m just
not sure if it helps any.”

“That was fast,” I said, impressed at what she’d been able
to accomplish in so little time. “And don’t worry, every little thing helps.”

We spent the next hour writing up a piece for the paper
about Iris’s death. Then we just sat around and theorized about who would have
motive to kill two women who had virtually nothing in common. I mean, Pastor
Williams was right. I didn’t think these women hung out together. They didn’t
attend church together. Outside of probably shopping at the same grocery store
here in town and Dr. Garver getting her hair done at Legends, they really had
no cause to run into each other.

We ordered in sandwiches from a local café that delivers and
talked about wedding plans and ideas. Mainly Mindy and Paige talked, Aunt
Shirley and I just listened.

Or rather I half listened. I couldn’t help but think about
Garrett and what kind of information he was getting from the Ministerial
Alliance. Was he seriously thinking that one of the preachers in town was the
killer just because the threatening note left to me referenced the Bible?