You Can't Get Blood Out of Shag Carpet: A Study Club Cozy Murder Mystery (The Study Club Mysteries Book 1) by Juliette Harper Page A
Authors: Juliette Harper
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office.
“Now what?” Sugar hissed.
"Is someone there?" Brother Bob called out.
“Let me handle this,” Mae Ella said. “It’s just me, Brother Bob,” she called out. “Mae Ella Gormley and the Study Club officers. We parked in the alley so we wouldn't take up a space in front."
Brother Bob Murphy came to the door of his office and greeted the ladies in the hall as if it were the most normal thing in the world for the Study Club officers to be skulking around his Sunday School building. "Good morning, Mae Ella, Clara, Wilma, Sugar," he said. "How are you ladies today?"
"Morning, Brother Bob," Clara said. "We wanted to get here early because Wanda Jean is a member of the Club."
The minister smiled beatifically, knowing perfectly well the women were jumping the line waiting outside the front doors in order to get good seats. "Of course, of course," he said genially. "Please go on into the sanctuary ladies. I'll be opening the doors in just a few minutes, but you all go ahead and get settled."
The ladies murmured their thanks and moved down the hall, but Mae Ella lagged behind. "Brother Bob," she said in an odd voice, "may I talk to you for a few minutes?"
"Why, of course, Mae Ella," he said. "Please do come in."
Clara cocked an eyebrow at her sister, only to be dismissed with a wave of Mae Ella’s hand. "You all go ahead," she said. "Save me a seat. I'll be right there."
Looking a little uncertain about the unexpected turn of events, the other three Club officers left Mae Ella alone with Brother Bob, who gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down,” he said with a smile. “What can I do for you, Mae Ella?"
"Is it true about you and Mrs. Brother Bob dancing to honky-tonk music in the parsonage?" she blurted out.
If anything, Brother Bob’s usually happy countenance only grew more cheerful, which was the last reaction Mae Ella expected. "Yes," he said, "it is. I guess Hilton went home and told Wanda Jean, and she told you all?"
"She didn’t tell us to be gossiping," Mae Ella said shortly. "She may come from a trashy family, but she's a good girl. She just told us about it after she found Hilton dead and when we started trying to figure out who did it."
"‘We’ being the Club officers?" Brother Bob asked.
"Sister says it's because she won't have a Club member accused of murder while she's the president, but it's because she knows Wanda Jean is innocent," Mae Ella said. "Sister always has been one to take up for anybody getting picked on."
"Your sister is, indeed, a formidable woman," Brother Bob agreed. "And she has a heart as big as yours. Surely you don’t think I would have killed Hilton because he caught me dancing with my wife, do you?”
Mae Ella fidgeted in her chair looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Certainly not,” she said. “I’m just . . . well, I’m just . . .”
“Disappointed?” Brother Bob asked.
"You're the preacher!" she exclaimed. "You're not supposed to be doing things like dancing in the parsonage to Ernest Tubb music. That’s just not good Christian behavior!"
Brother Bob leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I may be the preacher," he said, "but I'm a sinner like everyone else, and there isn't anything un-Christian about a man dancing with his wife. Even to Ernest Tubb music."
Mae Ella's jaw dropped. "Brother Bob!" she gasped. "How can you say that?"
"We could sit here a long time and debate the theological implications of dancing and the merits of Ernest Tubb’s songs," he answered patiently. "But the general line of thought is that dancing leads to other behaviors that might not be Christian, especially if they occur outside the bonds of matrimony. Since my wife and I are indeed married, we have God’s permission to engage in those behaviors, so dancing isn’t such a problem. Do you see my point?"
At the thought of what those "other behaviors" might be, Mae Ella's shocked expression turned to outright horror. Her mind was already
“Now what?” Sugar hissed.
"Is someone there?" Brother Bob called out.
“Let me handle this,” Mae Ella said. “It’s just me, Brother Bob,” she called out. “Mae Ella Gormley and the Study Club officers. We parked in the alley so we wouldn't take up a space in front."
Brother Bob Murphy came to the door of his office and greeted the ladies in the hall as if it were the most normal thing in the world for the Study Club officers to be skulking around his Sunday School building. "Good morning, Mae Ella, Clara, Wilma, Sugar," he said. "How are you ladies today?"
"Morning, Brother Bob," Clara said. "We wanted to get here early because Wanda Jean is a member of the Club."
The minister smiled beatifically, knowing perfectly well the women were jumping the line waiting outside the front doors in order to get good seats. "Of course, of course," he said genially. "Please go on into the sanctuary ladies. I'll be opening the doors in just a few minutes, but you all go ahead and get settled."
The ladies murmured their thanks and moved down the hall, but Mae Ella lagged behind. "Brother Bob," she said in an odd voice, "may I talk to you for a few minutes?"
"Why, of course, Mae Ella," he said. "Please do come in."
Clara cocked an eyebrow at her sister, only to be dismissed with a wave of Mae Ella’s hand. "You all go ahead," she said. "Save me a seat. I'll be right there."
Looking a little uncertain about the unexpected turn of events, the other three Club officers left Mae Ella alone with Brother Bob, who gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Please, sit down,” he said with a smile. “What can I do for you, Mae Ella?"
"Is it true about you and Mrs. Brother Bob dancing to honky-tonk music in the parsonage?" she blurted out.
If anything, Brother Bob’s usually happy countenance only grew more cheerful, which was the last reaction Mae Ella expected. "Yes," he said, "it is. I guess Hilton went home and told Wanda Jean, and she told you all?"
"She didn’t tell us to be gossiping," Mae Ella said shortly. "She may come from a trashy family, but she's a good girl. She just told us about it after she found Hilton dead and when we started trying to figure out who did it."
"‘We’ being the Club officers?" Brother Bob asked.
"Sister says it's because she won't have a Club member accused of murder while she's the president, but it's because she knows Wanda Jean is innocent," Mae Ella said. "Sister always has been one to take up for anybody getting picked on."
"Your sister is, indeed, a formidable woman," Brother Bob agreed. "And she has a heart as big as yours. Surely you don’t think I would have killed Hilton because he caught me dancing with my wife, do you?”
Mae Ella fidgeted in her chair looking distinctly uncomfortable. “Certainly not,” she said. “I’m just . . . well, I’m just . . .”
“Disappointed?” Brother Bob asked.
"You're the preacher!" she exclaimed. "You're not supposed to be doing things like dancing in the parsonage to Ernest Tubb music. That’s just not good Christian behavior!"
Brother Bob leaned back in his chair and sighed. "I may be the preacher," he said, "but I'm a sinner like everyone else, and there isn't anything un-Christian about a man dancing with his wife. Even to Ernest Tubb music."
Mae Ella's jaw dropped. "Brother Bob!" she gasped. "How can you say that?"
"We could sit here a long time and debate the theological implications of dancing and the merits of Ernest Tubb’s songs," he answered patiently. "But the general line of thought is that dancing leads to other behaviors that might not be Christian, especially if they occur outside the bonds of matrimony. Since my wife and I are indeed married, we have God’s permission to engage in those behaviors, so dancing isn’t such a problem. Do you see my point?"
At the thought of what those "other behaviors" might be, Mae Ella's shocked expression turned to outright horror. Her mind was already
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