A Game of Murder by Elise M. Stone

University of Arizona or not long past graduation, but one or two appeared a few years older. A man with reddish brown hair long enough to reach his shoulders stood off to the side, alone. His large lump of a nose drew so much attention to itself John had trouble seeing the rest of his face. John started crossing the room without consciously making a decision the man would be his first target.
    “Good afternoon. I’m Pastor John.” He held out his hand, which the man took in a firm grip.
    “Stan Odwarzka.” He gave John’s hand a perfunctory shake.
    The residual dampness from Stan’s grasp clung to John’s hand, making him want to wipe it on his pants, but instead he held it down by his side, fingers spread, with the hope his hand would dry quickly. “Were you a friend of Mira’s?”
    “I knew her. I’m not sure I’d call myself a friend.”
    That seemed to be the case for Mira. Other than Cathy, she didn’t have friends. An ache started in his chest in empathy for the lonely, persecuted woman.
    “I see you’ve mounted solar panels on your roof,” Stan said.
    Ah! A topic! John smiled. “Yes, we did. I’m very much in favor of conservation and reusable resources.”
    “So am I. It’s one of the reasons I decided to live in Civano. I haven’t paid an electric bill in years. Last year I installed a gray water system to feed the drip irrigation.”
    One of the younger men drifted up behind Stan and hovered, listening to the conversation. His face was a drawing in charcoal pencil with a scruffy mustache, soul patch, and beard that fringed his chin. He wore a long-sleeved shirt, odd for Tucson, but perhaps he considered the shirt appropriate for a memorial in a church. John smiled at him, an invitation to join them. The young man looked away, studied the posters and announcements taped to the wall.
    “Faith lives in Civano,” John said.
    Stan’s brows lifted, and a hint of a smile appeared on his lips as he glanced over to where Faith stood with Lorna, Cathy, and Adam. “Good for her. I’ll have to look for her at some of the community events.”
    John doubted Faith went to community events, but he’d mention her neighbor to her in case she wanted to get to know him. An idea suddenly came to John. “How much do you know about solar panels?”
    “A little.” Stan’s lips turned up in a wry smile. “I’m an electrical engineer.”
    “Oh. Oh!” John loved it when a plan came together. God’s plan. One more confirmation God never failed his people. “The church is building an Earthship out off X9 Ranch Road in Vail. It’s slow going because we don’t have a lot of money or enough expertise. I wonder if you’d be open to advising us on buying and putting up the solar panels.”
    “Sure. After the comp, though. Until I finish my game, that’s how I’m spending all my spare time.”
    The lurker stopped gazing at the wall and spun around to face them. “You don’t really think you have a chance of winning?”
    “As much chance as anyone does, Paul,” Stan said, annoyed.
    “I don’t believe we’ve met,” John interjected, hoping to head off the imminent argument. “I’m Pastor John Menard.” He held out his hand toward Paul.
    Paul stared down at it as if John had offered him a dead fish, slimy and decaying, then promptly ignored the hand and went back to confronting Stan. “Not this year. This year is my year.”
    “Whatever. We’ll see how the judging comes out.” Stan turned his back on Paul, who stared at it for a few seconds, then stormed off toward an extremely obese young man and started lecturing him. By the expression on the fat man’s face, Paul wasn’t being any more diplomatic toward him than he had been toward Stan.
    “After the competition would be fine,” John said. “That’s only a month away, right?”
    Stan nodded. “Are you building a real Earthship?”
    “Not exactly. I didn’t buy the plans from the place in New Mexico, but I studied a lot of alternatives