Chapter Thirty #2
The congregation swung their heads around to the last pew.
Cordelia sunk lower on her seat as every eye in the room landed on her and the chicks.
This was too much attention for one morning.
It was already hot in the church thanks to those oppressive lights, but the temperature raised another ten degrees.
Only a small handful, Edna and her ilk, looked smug about the callout.
The rest of the women in the congregation shot each other worried glances.
They’d gotten real comfortable with their alone time and weren’t looking to give that up anytime soon.
Maureen Claremont shot the pastor a dirty look.
The only reason she got to catch up on Real Housewives was because Daisy kept her husband occupied and out of her hair.
“I plan on making it my duty to shut this sinful business down,” the pastor said. “This is God’s country, and there is no place for prostitution within the borders of this town.”
Sherilynn snorted. “Good luck with that, buddy.”
The congregation broke out in murmurs, and none of them seemed to be favoring the pastor.
Least of all because they didn’t consider the subject matter Sunday-morning appropriate.
Ashlynn Vick covered her toddler’s ears while her five-year-old pressed her face into her side.
Her husband was a little too young to pay a visit to the Chickadee, but her kids benefited from the books Daisy donated and she appreciated them all the same.
“If you’ll excuse me.” Arline stood, her bright-purple caftan splashed with irises swishing at her ankles. “I’ve got to use the bathroom. Tell me if I miss anything good.”
Cordelia opened her mouth, then closed it again. It wasn’t worth the effort.
Daisy crossed her arms. “And to think I was going to offer him a discount as a welcome to town. He can forget about it now.”
“The old pastor, rest his soul, might’ve been okay with the goings-on in this town, but I’m not the same.
” The pastor paused and looked out on the congregation to gauge their reaction.
A few of the men hung their heads—the spineless ones who didn’t deal well with a direct shaming of their proclivities—while most of the women looked ready to stage a walkout.
“I won’t stand for heathens making a mockery of you any longer.
We’re going to take our county back and make this a Christian land once more. ”
Only four people broke out in applause, which quickly died out once they realized they stood alone.
Cordelia was pleased to see that Archer and Stella weren’t among them.
But it worried her that there was any support from people at all.
Now that they’d been fully cleared of any wrongdoing in Pastor Reed-Smythe’s death, she figured things would go back to normal.
The lights flickered overhead. The pastor raised a finger. “And one more thing.”
The lights suddenly went out, plunging the church into total darkness thanks to those light-blocking curtains.
Panicked whispers rose above the din as people stepped over one another to figure out what had gone wrong.
They weren’t expecting a storm. What had taken out the lights? And why hadn’t the generator kicked on?
A loud thud echoing from the pastor’s microphone brought everyone to a standstill. The lights flickered again, and a few screams broke out in the front. The lights flickered one more time before coming back on.
And at the front of the church, slumped over the podium, was the new pastor. Still and unmoving. With a knife in his back.
The room erupted in pandemonium. Archer tried to herd people away from the body to preserve evidence as several deputies in their Sunday best ushered people toward the exit.
In the flurry of activity, a flash of movement caught Cordelia’s eye, and she shifted her gaze just in time to see a scrap of purple fabric covered in irises disappear through the side door near the front of the church.
Arline still hadn’t returned from the bathroom.
Sherilynn began crying, and Cordelia had to help her to her feet and get her moving toward the exit, with Daisy and Belinda Sue bringing up the rear.
Looking back, Cordelia caught Archer’s gaze. His expression was set in a grim line. Had he seen anything? Or anyone?
“Excuse me.” Cordelia passed her hysterical momma off to Daisy, who planted Sherilynn firmly against her bosom and tried to usher her forward.
“Where you going?” Sherilynn clung to Cordelia’s arm, her chipped pink nails digging into the skin. “The exit is the other way.”
“I’m just . . .” Cordelia glanced back at Archer. She couldn’t just leave with everyone else, not knowing what was happening or what any of this meant.
“We’ll talk later,” he mouthed across the room. “Tonight.”
Cordelia nodded. He wouldn’t leave her in the dark. With no other options, Cordelia joined the people who poured out of the church like ants running from a flood hill.
Daisy kept her voice low as she ran a soothing hand down Sherilynn’s back, her brown eyes wide and worried. “How did this happen?”
“I don’t know,” Cordelia said, her frantic gaze still searching the crowd. “But I think it’s going to be on us to figure it out.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Belinda Sue said grimly. “Where’s Arline?”
That was the question of the hour. And while it would’ve been nice to have a break from being implicated in another murder of another pastor, it looked like their luck could only go so far. Cordelia pressed her fingers to her temples, knowing she had no choice but to step up.
Just another day for a madam.