by BJ Bourg
I was impressed with the size of the crowd. If every person in each pew would’ve slid over a few inches, they might’ve been able to squeeze a dozen more people, but not much more than that. As it was, I felt like I was in the pocket of the lady to my right, and Dawn was nearly in my lap. When I stole a glance at the woman beside me, I noticed she had some sort of cloth on her head. I looked around and realized all of the women had one. I knew enough about religion to know that some Christian faiths used to require women to cover their heads during worship as a symbol of man’s authority over them, but I didn’t know it was still being practiced in modern day. If a man told Dawn to put a cloth over her head as a symbol of authority over her, she’d drop-kick him into the next parish.
The drummer slammed his sticks together and then the band started playing what sounded like Christian rock. Everyone in the church jumped to their feet and began dancing and singing. The floor shook from the combined weight of the congregation jumping up and down on the wooden boards. Dawn and I just stood there watching—waiting for it to end—but it wasn’t an unpleasant experience. The lyrics to some of the songs were really cool and the beat was uplifting.
Once the music stopped, a man who had been dancing in the corner of the stage walked to the lectern and adjusted the microphone. He stood for a few seconds with his eyes half closed, staring out over the heads of the church members.
While he did whatever it was he was doing, I scanned all the faces I could see, wondering which one was Shelby Rove. Joey had described her as short and cute with black hair and an infectious smile.
“Her whole face lights up when she smiles,” he had said, “and it makes you want to smile, too…even when you’re having a horrible day.”
A few of the people in the church fit that description, so I figured it would be a long night. As my eyes roved over the faces in the crowd, I caught sight of a man staring in our direction. Our eyes locked for a brief moment and, when I wouldn’t look away, he averted his gaze. He looked to be in his mid-forties (which I didn’t consider old anymore, since I was approaching thirty-six) and he combed his hair like he was stuck in the seventies. It was slicked back and—except for a white patch over his forehead—glowed jet black under the weight of the grease. He had a thick moustache, but the rest of his face was clean shaven.
I nudged Dawn and nodded in Moustache’s direction with my head. Just as I did so, he leaned over and said something to the man sitting beside him, and they both looked at us. The man next to Moustache had thinning hair that was short cropped and sticking straight up. His nose and lips were thick and his eyes beady. He glanced briefly at us, but then turned his attention back to the preacher, staring up at him like a child watching a super hero in action.
“Why’s that moustache looking at us?” I asked Dawn. “We’re just sitting here blending in with the rest of the good folks in this town.”
“He’s looking at you,” she said. “I’m blending, but you look like an obvious cop who’s about to kick somebody’s ass.”
I grunted and scanned the rest of the crowd. They all wore a similar expression as the guy sitting next to Moustache, as though waiting with bated breath for the words that would soon spill from the golden mouth of their leader. Moustache was the only one who seemed distracted.
I turned my attention to the preacher, who had begun talking. His dark hair was combed neatly to the side and his tone was smooth. “Brothers and sisters in the Lord, welcome to our house of worship. For those who don’t know me, I’m Father Nehemiah Masters and I will be bringing you more of the Lord’s word.”
He paused when a few “amens” reverberated from the crowd, and then he continued.
“Last week, we talked about the evil women in our midst and why Christian men should avoid them. Proverbs Five tells us that a strange woman’s mouth is smoother than oil, but her end is as bitter as wormwood. These she-devils bring temptation down on Godly men and cause them to falter. We must rebuke these temptresses and let their feet take hold in hell, for the wages of sin is what?”
The crowd chanted, “Death!”
“That’s right, my children,” Nehemiah continued, “the wages of sin is death and these evil women will find their places in the pits of hell…”
Dawn pushed her lips up against my ear and whispered, “If this bastard doesn’t start talking about evil men in a hurry, I’m going to march up that stage and kick his ass!”
Although she kept her voice low, it carried somewhat and I heard someone behind us gasp.
I chuckled to myself, but then stopped dead. I leaned forward and began to listen carefully as Nehemiah Masters preached out against women. He spoke with such venom that it could only have come from a place of deep betrayal. I craned my neck to see the front of the church, where I imagined a preacher’s family would sit.
The front pew to the right was occupied by three couples and a few small children, so I turned to the left pew. It was crowded, but there was a woman sitting against the wall to the left and she was dressed more conservatively than most of the women in the church. There were three small children lined up beside her on the pew and they all had blonde hair like she did. Two of them were boys and their hair was parted to the side just like Nehemiah’s. They looked like little clones.
As the words of rebuke flowed from Nehemiah’s lips, I studied his wife’s face carefully. When she wasn’t whispering a correction to one of the kids, she was staring down at her feet. I couldn’t be positive, but she looked embarrassed and angry.
You bastard, I thought. Are you publicly calling out your wife?
CHAPTER 18
When the sermon was over, most of the congregation applauded, and nearly every man gave a standing ovation. Nehemiah never once rebuked any of the men in the church, and everyone seemed fine with it. I moved over so I could catch a glimpse of Mrs. Masters. She just sat there with her head hanging.
I turned to Dawn, whose face was red with fury, and pointed out the wife. “I think his whole sermon was aimed at her.”
“Well, if I’d be her, I’d slice off his balls and drop them in a garbage disposal.”
I laughed out loud and nodded my agreement. I was about to ask her what she thought about the head coverings when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Nehemiah Masters standing there, a polite smile on his face.
“Welcome to Second Temple Fellowship,” he said in his smooth voice. “While we always encourage people from the outside to visit our place of worship, we ask that all visitors abide by a few simple rules when entering the house of the Lord.”
Dawn stepped forward and looked up at him. “And what rule might that be?”
Nehemiah regarded Dawn with a curt smile and then turned back toward me. “As I was saying, we require that you have your wife wear a head cover while in the presence of the—”
“Can you read?” Dawn asked, shoving her badge in his face. “Because I’m about to require that your ass be hauled down to the station for questioning.”
Nehemiah’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “I’m very sorry, detective. I did not realize this was a formal visit. I imagined you two were wishing to attend services here. I do apologize for the confusion.”
“You can call me Sergeant Luke,” Dawn said curtly. “Now, I need you to point me to Shelby Rove. As you might’ve heard, one of your church members was murdered yesterday. It seems she and Shelby were good friends.”
Nehemiah’s eyes fell and his face tensed up. “I did receive the news about Sister Kathleen. I was so heartbroken to learn of her passing. We are in the process of preparing a celebration of life in her honor and—”
“Her passing?” Dawn bellowed, catching the attention of several church members who were pushing past us in the crowd. “She was murdered, Nehemiah. Tortured and killed—I’d hardly consider that a passing.”
“I apologize for my poor choice of words, Sergeant Luke.” Nehemiah bowed his head. “Sister Kathleen is the first of my flock that I have lost
.”
Dawn studied him for a few moments. “I take it you don’t like women very much, do you?”
“I love all of God’s children.”
“Then what’s with the sermon about evil women?”
“I was moved by the Spirit last week to deliver a message about sin and adultery. Tonight’s message was merely a continuation of that lesson.”
“Did the Spirit have anyone in mind when it moved you to deliver this message?” Dawn wanted to know. It was obvious she had also noticed the way Nehemiah’s wife was behaving during the sermon. If he didn’t know about his wife’s infidelity, he was a fool, because we could read it all over her.
“I am often inspired to deliver a message to my flock, but I am not always enlightened as to whose lives have been touched by the teachings of the Lord.” He smiled and raised his hands at his side. “I am but a vessel to deliver a message from God, and I am not all-knowing like the Father.”
Dawn nodded idly and looked around the room. People were milling about talking and none of them appeared to be in a hurry to leave. I caught a glimpse of Nehemiah’s wife sitting in the corner alone, staring into empty space. Dawn saw her, too, and I could tell she wanted to walk over and talk to her.
When Dawn turned back toward Nehemiah, I noticed her expression had softened. He might’ve been caught off guard by it, but I knew she was acting.
“I think I was wrong about this place,” she said. “Everyone seems so happy here, so you must be doing something right.”
“They have the joy of the Lord in their hearts,” he explained. “With it comes peace, love, and happiness.”
“Most churches take an exorbitant amount of money from their parishioners and the preachers buy big ole houses and fancy cars for themselves to drive, but not you.” She waved her arms around. “Is this where you live?”
Nehemiah nodded. “I am the church and the church is with me.”
“Well, Father Masters,” Dawn said, extending her hand. “I apologize for being wrong about you and I appreciate your time. Now, if you could point us to Shelby Rove, we’ll be out of your hair.”
Nehemiah looked around and then raised his hand and waved it in the air. “Sister Shelby…can you come here, please?” He shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. “She can’t hear me. I’ll go fetch her for you.”
CHAPTER 19
While Nehemiah walked down the aisle to get Shelby, Dawn spun toward me. “We’re coming back here when that son of a bitch isn’t around and we’re going to see what his wife has to say about his little bitch session. That was all about her!”
I nodded my agreement, shooting another glance in his wife’s direction. She hadn’t moved and she seemed completely demoralized. I felt bad for her and wanted to walk over and offer to free her from this hell, but I knew she was probably so indoctrinated that she thought she deserved the public rebuke she’d received.
“Heads up,” Dawn said quietly. “They’re coming.”
Nehemiah approached with a petite woman following close behind him. I lost sight of her a few times as they worked their way through the crowd, but I saw enough of her to see that her face was troubled. When she reached us she stared into Dawn’s eyes, frowning as they clouded over.
“I guess you’re here to talk about Kathleen. I knew I’d be hearing from someone sooner or later.”
Dawn nodded and extended her hand. “I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. We’d like to have a word with you”—she looked up at Nehemiah—“in private, if that’s okay with you, Father?”
I stifled a chuckle. Nehemiah was so self-absorbed that he didn’t consider for a second that Dawn was patronizing him.
“Of course,” he said, turning to Shelby and nodding his permission. Someone called out his name and he turned away, leaving us alone with Shelby.
“Would you like to follow me home?” Shelby asked. “I live just down the road and it’s really scary now that this has happened to Kathleen. I’ve been terrified to be alone ever since I heard the news.”
“We’d be happy to follow you,” Dawn said, stepping aside to allow Shelby to lead the way through the crowd and out into the parking lot. She stopped and peered nervously out into the darkness. “I don’t know why I get here so late every evening. I need to start arriving earlier so I can get a good parking spot.”
Dawn nodded her agreement and we walked Shelby to her car. Once she was inside, Dawn pointed to where my truck was parked and told her we’d be close behind her. We started walking toward my truck and hadn’t gone far when a redheaded woman hollered Dawn’s name from across the parking lot. The woman was standing near a gray Nissan Sentra with a man who looked a bit younger than she did, and she was waving almost hysterically.
Dawn looked up and gave a short nod, but kept walking. I sensed there was some tension between her and the woman, but I didn’t ask about it.
I fired up my truck and got behind Shelby, who was waiting to pull onto the highway. We followed her to her house—a small trailer at the end of a narrow street—and then joined her at the kitchen table.
After asking some initial questions about how their relationship began, Dawn asked Shelby if she had heard any details surrounding Kathleen’s murder.
“I heard that she was…I don’t even know if I can say it.” Shelby covered her mouth with a hand and her eyes misted over. “I heard she was…um…crucified. At first, I didn’t believe it. I mean, I couldn’t. That kind of thing doesn’t happen. I mean, maybe back in biblical days, but not in modern times.”
“Who’d you hear it from that first time?” Dawn asked.
“It was someone at the grocery store, but I didn’t know who she was. Before long, it was circulating all over town. My husband heard about it from the young boy who cuts our grass, and I think he heard it from his dad who’s a volunteer fireman.”
“Did you hear anything regarding the condition of her body?”
I knew Dawn wasn’t going to provide any details Shelby didn’t already possess, and I was curious myself to see how much Shelby knew. It was obvious word traveled fast in this small community, but I didn’t know how much had gotten out.
“Well…” Shelby cupped her hands over her face, thinking. “I heard she was found totally naked, I heard they think the husband did it, and I heard there was a note saying she was a sinner.”
The skin tightened ever so slightly around Dawn’s eyes.
“Who told you about this note?”
“I really don’t remember. It must’ve been someone at the grocery store.”
“It’s very important that you remember who mentioned the note.” Dawn leaned across the flimsy table and looked deep into Shelby’s eyes. “Think back to the moment you were having that conversation. Picture the faces of everyone in the group. Who mentioned the note?”
After a couple minutes of deep thought, Shelby shook her head. “I…I just don’t remember. I don’t think it was someone I knew.”
“What’s the name of the grocery store?”
“Plymouth Shop. It’s the only grocery store in town. There’s also a gas station attached to it.”
“Where were you standing when you had the conversation?”
Shelby’s brow furrowed. “Where was I standing?”
“If the store has cameras, we might be able to identify the people you were talking to,” Dawn explained. “It might help us track down who mentioned the note.”
“Oh, I was standing in the front by the registers. There’re only three registers, and I was standing at the first one on the right as you’re facing the front of the store.”
Dawn nodded and jotted down the information. I knew where she was going with this line of questioning. The “sinner” message had been a closely-guarded secret. Other than the sheriff, Abraham, Rachael, Melvin, Dawn, Ben, and me, no one knew about it—well, except for the killer. If the information was getting out, it was because the killer was talking, so we needed to trace the comment back to its original so
urce.
When Dawn looked up from her notepad, she asked Shelby if Kathleen had any enemies.
“No, everyone loved her. She was always very agreeable and she was kind to everyone she met. I don’t think she’s ever even been involved in an argument with anyone. I’m serious…she was as nice as they came.”
“What about marital problems?”
Shelby hesitated for a split second. “I mean, when two people from two different backgrounds get together, there’re bound to be issues that come up. She has complained to me a few times about Joey. She said when he gets home from work he just sits around watching football and drinking beer. Of course, that’s if he decides to go to work. Most days he just hangs around the house drinking. She said he never wants to go places with her. He wouldn’t even take her out to dinner. The worst of it, though, was that he refused to attend church with her.”
“Did she mention any boyfriends?” Dawn watched Shelby closely for reaction.
Shelby sighed. “She never mentioned a boyfriend, but she did say she was thinking about divorcing Joey.”
“When was this?”
“Oh, about three months ago, I reckon.”
“What’d you say to her when she mentioned wanting a divorce?”
“I told her what the Bible says about divorce—that if you divorce your husband and then marry another man, you’ve committed adultery and you’ve made the man commit adultery.”
Because I knew her intimately, I could tell Dawn was struggling with Shelby’s belief system, but she was doing a good job of hiding her true feelings.
“Did that convince Kathleen to stay with her husband?”
“I don’t believe it did. She doubted what I said about the scripture, so I pulled out my Bible and showed it to her. She then pointed to the scripture that says we should not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. At that point, neither one of us knew what was right, so I suggested she turn to Father Masters for counseling.”
