with a leopard-skin clad woman. Ray Elkins, you have remarkable recuperative powers.”
“Let me explain….”
“And I’m really tired. I need to go home.”
“How about the dinner I’ve prepared. The lamb is almost done.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“You should have some food. You’ve had a lot of champagne.”
“I’m okay,” she said, gathering up her things.
Ray watched the door close behind her. The timer on the oven sounded.
17.
Ray was adding information to his whiteboard diagram when Sue entered his office a little after eight on Monday morning.
“I came by your place to pick you up, but I could tell by the tracks in the snow you had already left. So much for doctor’s orders.”
“How was Grand Rapids?” Ray asked.
“I trust you kicked back Saturday afternoon and yesterday and got some rest.”
“Absolutely. How was Grand Rapids?” he asked a second time.
“Brenda Manton, following her relatives instructions, will be pulled off a respirator sometime today.”
“Tell me about her family.”
“I met both brothers and their wives and her mother. Good people, smart, very solid. Brenda was probably the outlier, the artsy one in a family of professionals. That said, from my conversations with them I sensed that they respected what she did. They all seem to be high-performing people, and the more I learn about her, she seems to fit that mold also.”
“Did you learn anything from them that might help us find her assailant?”
“No, not really. I talked to them at length, and I didn’t sense that anyone was holding anything back. For them this violence was unfathomable. They couldn’t imagine how this happened.”
“Did you learn anything more about Brenda?”
“I’m not sure how much they know about her. I didn’t sense that they were estranged, but neither were they close. They are all busy people pursuing their own lives. Her mother told me that Brenda came down for a couple of days at Christmas. She also said that she would see Brenda often during the summer. They have a family cottage on Glen Lake where her mother spends most weekends during the summer. If there are any dark secrets in Brenda’s life, her siblings and mother are probably not aware of them.”
“Did you find a home for Simone?”
“I took her along—she loves car rides. I told them that she was in the car and that I had been looking after her, and she was a wonderful dog. They didn’t show any interest in taking Simone.” Sue paused for a moment. “I don’t know if I have time for a dog, but we’re starting to bond.”
“So what are the plans now? A funeral, memorial service?”
“They are talking about a memorial service next summer at their cottage. And this is where it gets quite interesting. Our Molly was there, and so was Elise Lovell who helped Brenda on the church project. I think that they came together. Molly, who had mostly been in the background trying to be supportive and helpful, got rather animated over this issue. She wants them to have a service for Brenda at that new big-box church down at the end of the county, the church that replaced Reverend Tim’s Freewill Bikers Bible Church or whatever it was called.”
“As I remember it,” said Ray, “the complete name was the Freewill Bible Synod of God, the Only True Followers of Jesus or something close to that . The Jesus loves Bikers was just tacked onto the original sign.”
“Yes, that’s the place. What do you know about the new building or church?”
“Not much,” Ray answered. “I haven’t talked to Reverend Tim in awhile. I heard that someone with deep pockets bought his church and was building a new church, and that somehow Reverend Tim is still involved. So what does Molly want the family to do? I don’t understand.”
“This is the interesting part,” said Sue. “Seems Brenda’s last major commission was working on the interior of the new church. Molly was trying to convince Brenda’s family that
“Let me explain….”
“And I’m really tired. I need to go home.”
“How about the dinner I’ve prepared. The lamb is almost done.”
“I’ve got to go.”
“You should have some food. You’ve had a lot of champagne.”
“I’m okay,” she said, gathering up her things.
Ray watched the door close behind her. The timer on the oven sounded.
17.
Ray was adding information to his whiteboard diagram when Sue entered his office a little after eight on Monday morning.
“I came by your place to pick you up, but I could tell by the tracks in the snow you had already left. So much for doctor’s orders.”
“How was Grand Rapids?” Ray asked.
“I trust you kicked back Saturday afternoon and yesterday and got some rest.”
“Absolutely. How was Grand Rapids?” he asked a second time.
“Brenda Manton, following her relatives instructions, will be pulled off a respirator sometime today.”
“Tell me about her family.”
“I met both brothers and their wives and her mother. Good people, smart, very solid. Brenda was probably the outlier, the artsy one in a family of professionals. That said, from my conversations with them I sensed that they respected what she did. They all seem to be high-performing people, and the more I learn about her, she seems to fit that mold also.”
“Did you learn anything from them that might help us find her assailant?”
“No, not really. I talked to them at length, and I didn’t sense that anyone was holding anything back. For them this violence was unfathomable. They couldn’t imagine how this happened.”
“Did you learn anything more about Brenda?”
“I’m not sure how much they know about her. I didn’t sense that they were estranged, but neither were they close. They are all busy people pursuing their own lives. Her mother told me that Brenda came down for a couple of days at Christmas. She also said that she would see Brenda often during the summer. They have a family cottage on Glen Lake where her mother spends most weekends during the summer. If there are any dark secrets in Brenda’s life, her siblings and mother are probably not aware of them.”
“Did you find a home for Simone?”
“I took her along—she loves car rides. I told them that she was in the car and that I had been looking after her, and she was a wonderful dog. They didn’t show any interest in taking Simone.” Sue paused for a moment. “I don’t know if I have time for a dog, but we’re starting to bond.”
“So what are the plans now? A funeral, memorial service?”
“They are talking about a memorial service next summer at their cottage. And this is where it gets quite interesting. Our Molly was there, and so was Elise Lovell who helped Brenda on the church project. I think that they came together. Molly, who had mostly been in the background trying to be supportive and helpful, got rather animated over this issue. She wants them to have a service for Brenda at that new big-box church down at the end of the county, the church that replaced Reverend Tim’s Freewill Bikers Bible Church or whatever it was called.”
“As I remember it,” said Ray, “the complete name was the Freewill Bible Synod of God, the Only True Followers of Jesus or something close to that . The Jesus loves Bikers was just tacked onto the original sign.”
“Yes, that’s the place. What do you know about the new building or church?”
“Not much,” Ray answered. “I haven’t talked to Reverend Tim in awhile. I heard that someone with deep pockets bought his church and was building a new church, and that somehow Reverend Tim is still involved. So what does Molly want the family to do? I don’t understand.”
“This is the interesting part,” said Sue. “Seems Brenda’s last major commission was working on the interior of the new church. Molly was trying to convince Brenda’s family that
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