in Tad’s morgue watching him perform an autopsy.
It was the Rotary Club’s weekly breakfast meeting at the Mountaineer Resort in Newell. The meal was served as a buffet, which Joshua despised anyway. Resting under the heat lamps, the food resembled leftovers to him. Cameron claimed he was spoiled after years of eating meals cooked by his daughter Tracy, a gourmet cook.
Her plate loaded with scrambled eggs and biscuits drenched in sausage gravy, Doris Sullivan took the seat across from Joshua to make a case for her taking Albert Gordon’s position on the church’s board of elders.
Such a position was coveted. Often, it was inherited, a coincidence that was purely unintentional. Joshua’s grandfather had been an elder and, upon his death, his wife took his spot. In the early 1970’s, a woman being given such a position was a big deal. Tad took Frieda Thornton’s place on the board after she had passed away. As soon as he moved back to Chester, Joshua was offered a newly created seat, even though he had been gone for over twenty years. Somehow, it only seemed right.
Such positions were quietly offered by the pastor or other elders from behind the scenes. However, both Doris Sullivan and Mildred Hildebrand had launched into what resembled a full-fledge campaign to take Albert’s place on the board—complete with negative advertising.
At first, Joshua welcomed the change of topic from Cherry Pickens’s body being found in his cousin’s basement. While the identity of the lady in the freezer wasn’t public knowledge, enough people knew about it to make the murder a hot topic for speculation. The murder case that was growing in fame with every day that passed without a statement from the lead investigator, who happened to be the girlfriend of the cousin of the prime person of interest in the case.
Accusations of a cover-up were getting closer with every passing day.
“Were you aware that Mildred Hildebrand has high blood pressure?” Doris sprinkled salt over her eggs and biscuits before tasting it. “This is only my opinion, but it really wouldn’t do to select an elder who is likely to have a stroke at any time. At my last physical, the doctor told me that I have the body of a twenty-five year old. I’m still down in the barn at six o’clock every morning feeding the horses and cleaning stalls. I haven’t had a cold in over forty years.”
“When it comes to serving as church elder,” Joshua said, “spiritual maturity is more important than physical health.”
He fought to keep his attention focused on Doris when he spied Brianne across the room working her charms on a good looking server who looked to still be in college. Not far away, Ned Carter had also noticed his wife rubbing her hand up and down the server’s biceps.
“I understand Cheryl Smith was a chief suspect in your sister’s murder.” Joshua refrained from mentioning the rumor about Angie being Doris’s daughter. In all the years that he had known Doris, he had never heard about it. That made him think it was an ugly, juvenile rumor. Even if it was true, it was still a family secret, which he didn’t want to mention unless forced to since Doris had lost the last member of her family.
Doris started at the abrupt change of subject. “Everyone knows Cheryl killed her.”
“But she had an alibi,” Joshua replied.
“Her lying friends.” Doris cast her eyes on him. “I got a call from the Hancock County sheriff’s office. He says you want to dig up Angie’s body and have another autopsy done.”
“I think you should do it.”
“Why should I?”
“What if Cheryl didn’t kill her?” he asked.
“Who else would have?” she replied.
“I don’t know,” Joshua said. “But forensics has come a long, long way since 1984. If it was one of my kids, and there was any chance that I was wrong about who killed them, I’d want to know it.”
“They want to disturb her grave,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I’m
It was the Rotary Club’s weekly breakfast meeting at the Mountaineer Resort in Newell. The meal was served as a buffet, which Joshua despised anyway. Resting under the heat lamps, the food resembled leftovers to him. Cameron claimed he was spoiled after years of eating meals cooked by his daughter Tracy, a gourmet cook.
Her plate loaded with scrambled eggs and biscuits drenched in sausage gravy, Doris Sullivan took the seat across from Joshua to make a case for her taking Albert Gordon’s position on the church’s board of elders.
Such a position was coveted. Often, it was inherited, a coincidence that was purely unintentional. Joshua’s grandfather had been an elder and, upon his death, his wife took his spot. In the early 1970’s, a woman being given such a position was a big deal. Tad took Frieda Thornton’s place on the board after she had passed away. As soon as he moved back to Chester, Joshua was offered a newly created seat, even though he had been gone for over twenty years. Somehow, it only seemed right.
Such positions were quietly offered by the pastor or other elders from behind the scenes. However, both Doris Sullivan and Mildred Hildebrand had launched into what resembled a full-fledge campaign to take Albert’s place on the board—complete with negative advertising.
At first, Joshua welcomed the change of topic from Cherry Pickens’s body being found in his cousin’s basement. While the identity of the lady in the freezer wasn’t public knowledge, enough people knew about it to make the murder a hot topic for speculation. The murder case that was growing in fame with every day that passed without a statement from the lead investigator, who happened to be the girlfriend of the cousin of the prime person of interest in the case.
Accusations of a cover-up were getting closer with every passing day.
“Were you aware that Mildred Hildebrand has high blood pressure?” Doris sprinkled salt over her eggs and biscuits before tasting it. “This is only my opinion, but it really wouldn’t do to select an elder who is likely to have a stroke at any time. At my last physical, the doctor told me that I have the body of a twenty-five year old. I’m still down in the barn at six o’clock every morning feeding the horses and cleaning stalls. I haven’t had a cold in over forty years.”
“When it comes to serving as church elder,” Joshua said, “spiritual maturity is more important than physical health.”
He fought to keep his attention focused on Doris when he spied Brianne across the room working her charms on a good looking server who looked to still be in college. Not far away, Ned Carter had also noticed his wife rubbing her hand up and down the server’s biceps.
“I understand Cheryl Smith was a chief suspect in your sister’s murder.” Joshua refrained from mentioning the rumor about Angie being Doris’s daughter. In all the years that he had known Doris, he had never heard about it. That made him think it was an ugly, juvenile rumor. Even if it was true, it was still a family secret, which he didn’t want to mention unless forced to since Doris had lost the last member of her family.
Doris started at the abrupt change of subject. “Everyone knows Cheryl killed her.”
“But she had an alibi,” Joshua replied.
“Her lying friends.” Doris cast her eyes on him. “I got a call from the Hancock County sheriff’s office. He says you want to dig up Angie’s body and have another autopsy done.”
“I think you should do it.”
“Why should I?”
“What if Cheryl didn’t kill her?” he asked.
“Who else would have?” she replied.
“I don’t know,” Joshua said. “But forensics has come a long, long way since 1984. If it was one of my kids, and there was any chance that I was wrong about who killed them, I’d want to know it.”
“They want to disturb her grave,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“I’m
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