The Preacher's First Murder

by K. Gresham

  Dorothy Jo blushed crimson as all eyes in the room turned on her. She shook her head.

  “Dorothy Jo, they’re all dead now. You’re the only one left who knows the truth,” Matt said gently. “I’ll help you. Cash Novak’s real name was James Johann Novak.”

  Elsbeth gasped. “J.J.,” she whispered.

  Dorothy Jo bowed her head. “They were in love. Cash and Maeve. They met one night when Cash came over to have a good time with the . . . paid help.” She stammered, “Maeve was new at Miss Lida’s. Maeve poured him a tequila and that was it. He never left the bar the whole night. Never slept with any of the girls after that either.”

  She looked up at Matt and he nodded for her to continue.

  “Cash was real in love with his first wife, Roth’s mother. He married Miss Olivia because his family wanted it.” She hefted out a breath. “He’d already re-enlisted to serve in Viet Nam. I think he was hopin’ he wouldn’t come back alive, and he wanted Roth cared for, so he agreed to the marriage.”

  “But he did come back,” Matt said.

  “Miss Olivia wasn’t real happy about it, neither.” Dorothy Jo’s voice was filled with disdain. “Got pregnant with James W. and never slept with him again. Cash Novak had been a lonely man for a lotta years.”

  “Then he met Maeve O’Day.”

  Dorothy Jo nodded. “I think she reminded him of his first wife. Full of spunk, Maeve always was, and a good listener. And she was beautiful.”

  Angie let out a whimper, and Matt realized her face was streaked with tears. “Are you sayin’ that Cash Novak was my father?”

  Dorothy Jo lowered her head. “Before you were ever born I promised your mamma I’d keep her secret. I didn’t know you then, but since you’ve grown up, there hasn’t been a day gone by that I haven’t regretted makin’ that promise. But you know your mamma. I couldn’t break it, not then, and not now, though she’s gone.”

  Angie nodded. Maeve O’Day held a standard on promises that couldn’t be compromised. If Dorothy Jo had broken it, Maeve would never have forgiven her. Even from the grave.

  “Cash Novak was Angie’s father.” The whispered statement cut into the room like a knife, and all eyes turned on Elsbeth.

  “That’s right,” Matt nodded. Elsbeth rested her head in her hands and began sobbing quietly.

  “Okay, my dad fathered her.” James W. was still angry. “What does that have to do with Ernie?”

  “Pearl, you’ll have to pardon me speaking this way.” Matt looked apologetically toward the new widow.

  Pearl nodded. “Go on, Pastor. Nobody knows more than I do that he wasn’t perfect.”

  “Ernie Masterson was an opportunist.” Matt’s tone was grim. “The night the news came about Roth’s death, Ernie was given the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “Why?” Pearl asked.

  Matt took a deep breath. “Because he already knew by that time that Cash Novak was dead.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  A Sad Love Story

  Pastor Matt Hayden held up his hands to still the din that had taken over the parlor. “Yes, I know Cash had been seen in Houston for the Reagan debate. He’d made sure he had witnesses, ‘cuz he wanted an alibi that was firm.”

  “Alibi for what?”

  “For spending time with the new love in his life. Maeve O’Day. The only one whose word we had that Cash was actually in Houston for all three days was Ernie’s. My guess is that Ernie’s cabin was where they spent their time together. It was certainly out in the middle of nowhere.”

  Slowly the heads in the room began to nod as they realized it was true.

  Matt continued. “I suspect Cash Novak died in Maeve O’Day’s arms at Ernie’s cabin. Call it a heart attack, stroke, I have no idea. But the only thing Maeve knew to do was call Ernie Masterson, ‘cuz Ernie was probably the only one who knew that Cash and Maeve were at his place.”

  Dorothy Jo sobbed into her handkerchief, the small nod of her head the only confirmation Matt needed to go on. “Ernie didn’t know what to do, but he knew he had to get Maeve out of there. He drove her back to Miss Lida’s hotel—” Matt flashed a look in Elsbeth’s direction, “—suitcase and all.”

  “Where did Ernie go then?” James W. asked.

  “It’s a guess,” Matt continued, “but I think Ernie came here to the mansion and told Miss Olivia what had happened. He knew that Miss Olivia would not want it known where, or with whom, Cash had really died, so they had to come up with a plan to dispose of Cash’s body. A very lucrative plan for Ernie, I’m sure.”

  “Cash was dead before Roth? And Miss Olivia knew it?” Elsbeth asked in horror.

  “It’s a guess, but I’ll bet money on it,” Matt said. “When Pastor Osterburg came here the next day to tell Miss Olivia of Roth’s death, she was already wearing black. Pastor Osterburg also said that Miss Olivia was silent for a whole five minutes after she’d been given the news of Roth’s death. He timed it.” Matt pointed to the wind-up clock that still ticked on the mantel.

  “That would have been enough time for her to have done a lot of thinking. And worrying.”

  “Worryin’ about what?” James W. asked.

  Matt looked kindly at Pearl, and she nodded for him to continue. He could see in her gaze that she’d already guessed the truth.

  “Worrying that if Cash was declared dead before Roth, Roth’s widow stood to inherit Wilks property as well as Novak.”

  Pearl closed her eyes.

  “Texas is a community property state. There was a written agreement that joined the Wilks and Novak properties on the date of Miss Olivia and Cash’s wedding. If Cash preceded either Roth or James W. in death, not only Novak property, but also Wilks property would be split with the descendants. That probably seemed incredibly unfair to Miss Olivia, since Roth didn’t have a drop of Wilks blood in him. Every bit of Wilks property, in her mind, should have gone only to James W. It rankled Miss Olivia that Roth’s wife should have any claim on the Wilks name.”

  “Wilks blood was always so important to her,” Elsbeth said quietly. “I’m Wilks from a third cousin. Be honest, James W. She picked me for you.”

  “There’re other things I love about you.” James W.’s voice was hoarse.

  “So it was important to Miss Olivia that Roth’s death be claimed before Cash’s. That way everything she had could go to James W. and her blood alone,” said Matt.

  “She probably could have fought the community property issue in court, if she’d wanted to,” Jimmy Jr. offered.

  “In 1980? The mind-set of the country was different back then. You didn’t go to court, especially grieving widows,” Matt returned. “It was much easier simply to adjust the time of Cash’s death to erase any question. After all, both Roth and Cash were dead, so why not fix everything the easy way? But it wasn’t easy. She needed Ernie to get rid of Cash’s body, and to tell the lie that Cash had been alive and well in Houston when Roth died. And Ernie exacted his price.”

  “Pearl,” Bo finally spoke.

  “Pearl.” Matt confirmed. “Plus a good portion of the Novak land. Especially the acreage where Cash’s body had been hidden.”

  James W. shook his head. “Miss Olivia and Ernie knew where Cash was, all that time we looked for him?”

  “Ernie put him there,” Matt said. “But in all honesty, most of Cash’s remains probably didn’t last very long.”

  “Where was he?” James W. demanded.

  “Disintegrated, I should imagine, from the bacteria.” Matt said. He looked straight at Elsbeth. “Dumped in the outhouse behind Cash’s old cabin.”

  “The toilet paper,” Elsbeth whispered.

  “Maeve O’Day knew exactly what had happened to the man she loved,” Matt said. “You were right; she wanted money from Miss Olivia to keep her secret. Apparently she got it, and a few other things, as well.”

  “Other things?” Angie asked.

  “The liquor license for the Fire and Ice House. The only way that could�
��ve gotten through the town council was if Miss Olivia let it be known that no one was to fight it. I don’t think Maeve considered it blackmail, exactly. Maybe she thought she had the right to make a living to raise Cash’s child.” He turned to Jimmy Jr. “If Maeve had pressed for it in the courts, she probably could have gotten a great deal more than she asked for from Miss Olivia.”

  “For her part, Maeve kept her mouth shut,” Dorothy Jo said. “She kept her word better’n any Wilks ever has.”

  James W. stepped forward angrily. “My father was buried in a pile of—?”

  “I’m sure Miss Olivia saw some sort of justice in that, don’t you think?” Matt shook his head. “Everything she did was logical. Not terribly kind. Certainly not loving. But it was logical.”

  “What happened to my mother?” Angie demanded.

  Matt blew out a deep sigh. “Now to the present. Only the present for Maeve O’Day was the past. When she saw Jimmy Jr. on TV, to Maeve’s confused mind, she was looking at J.J., her name for Cash Novak. Remember, ‘Cash’ was only a nickname. His real name was James Johann Novak. J.J. He must’ve loved Maeve a great deal to reveal to her what his true name was. And to Maeve, Cash was not a scoundrel, but a sad, lonely widower in a loveless marriage of convenience. Cash was the man the world knew. J.J. was the man she loved. When she saw Jimmy Jr., the spitting image of Cash Novak, it took her back to a time when she was in love and young and beautiful. Back to a time before she’d made promises to keep quiet about her love. When Maeve went out for her walk that day, she asked everyone if they’d seen her J.J. They passed off her question as the ravings of an Alzheimer’s victim. Everyone except the one person who knew who J.J. was.”

  “Miss Olivia,” Dorothy Jo supplied, piecing it together as Matt spoke. “Cash and Miss Olivia argued about Maeve more than once. He wanted a divorce, you know.”

  “So when Miss Olivia heard that Maeve O’Day was asking about J.J., she realized that all the lies of the past three decades were unravelling around her. Just when all of her work at being silent was finally coming to fruition.”

  Pearl spoke up. “She might’ve heard me and Ernie talking about Maeve asking around town about a J.J. person. Someone had pulled up to the garage, but then left in an awful hurry before Ernie could get out there. And Miss Olivia was scheduled to have her car worked on that afternoon.”

  “That would make sense,” Matt agreed.

  “What do you mean all of her silence was coming to fruition?” Elsbeth asked.

  Matt shifted his gaze to Jimmy Jr. “Her grandson was running for governor of Texas.”

  Jimmy Jr. paled, but Matt knew he had to finish what he’d started.

  “So Miss Olivia coaxed Maeve and Shadow into her car. She gave Shadow some meat mixed with poison from her gardening shed so that he couldn’t lead Maeve back to town. Then Miss Olivia drove Maeve and Shadow out to the deer lease where she knew a stupid Yankee was hunting with a gun he didn’t know how to use.”

  Matt turned toward James W. “I’m not sure she really wanted to kill Maeve O’Day. But she wanted to get rid of her. Perhaps confuse her so bad she wouldn’t remember anything. Every one of you said Maeve was very frail. All Miss Olivia had to do was make her sick enough to forget everything. Even J.J. From Miss Olivia’s point of view, what better place for Maeve O’Day to be than on the same property where Cash had died in her arms.”

  “Then things turned sour.” Matt shook his head. “Because Ernie knew exactly who had driven Maeve O’Day out of town. That afternoon he cleaned out Miss Olivia’s car and he probably found Shadow’s dog hair in the back seat, or maybe he’d even witnessed Miss Olivia driving Maeve out of town. Remember how he pointed out the black dog hair in the back of her car? Blanco’s fur is white. However it came to be that Ernie learned of Miss Olivia’s involvement, don’t forget, he was ever the opportunist.”

  The room was silent as he drank down a glass of water. “So that night, when Elsbeth was looking for Ernie, Miss Olivia knew she had to do something to keep Ernie’s silence. She went over to the garage, but Elsbeth had gotten there before her. Elsbeth didn’t hear Miss Olivia enter through the office because of the storm. From what Miss Olivia heard Ernie say to Elsbeth, however, she knew that she would have to meet Ernie’s price for silence yet again. If his price wasn’t met, Ernie might call Elsbeth, or worse, the newspapers, and spill everything. Miss Olivia’s world was falling apart.”

  James W. brought his head up sharply. “Elsbeth, you saw Ernie on Wednesday night?”

  Elsbeth glared at the preacher.

  “James W., Ernie caused a lot of trouble in his lifetime,” Matt said. “Don’t keep it going now.”

  “Ernie brought it on himself,” Pearl said quietly. “I’m glad he’s dead.”

  Elsbeth sighed. “Now, honey,”

  “I can’t believe I cried so hard for him that night,” Pearl said. She looked at Bo. “You let me. You held my hand and let me.”

  “When?” James W. asked.

  “Wednesday night. After you and Reverend Hayden came over. I went to the Fire and Ice House.” She swallowed hard. “Bo knew how Ernie treated me. The night before, they even got in a fight about it.”

  “That’s how the black bandanna came to be in your possession,” James W. said.

  “There was a scuffle.” Pearl nodded. “I’d forgotten I even had it until I went to fold it.”

  James W. turned on Richard Dube. “I thought you were watchin’ the house and the garage Wednesday night.”

  “I did,” Richard said, his Adam’s apple bobbing wildly. “I told you. Not a soul came near the place.”

  “Pearl’s sayin’ she went over to the Ice House.”

  “Sure. She left about fifteen minutes after you and the preacher.”

  James W.’s mouth opened, then shut again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I thought you wanted to know if somebody came to the gas station.” Richard’s eyes lit with excitement. “You know, the murderer returnin’ to the scene of the crime.”

  James W. bowed his head, and Matt could see he was biting back several epitaphs.

  “What I do with my time and with whom I choose to spend it is none of your business anyway, James W.” Pearl’s voice was quiet, but firm. “All these years I’ve been married to a man who didn’t love me, and whom I didn’t love.” She looked at Bo and smiled. “It’s my turn to be happy, James W. So stay out of it.”

  “Miss Olivia really did kill Ernie,” Elsbeth said in a hushed voice.

  “Yes,” Matt said. “Probably exactly the way James W. had it figured. When I went to walk Blanco Thursday morning, it didn’t strike me at the time, but Miss Olivia’s gloves, scarf, and coat were all wet. The only way that could’ve happened was if she’d gone out in the storm the night before.”

  There was a long silence in the room, save for the quiet sobs of Dorothy Jo. Finally a stricken Elsbeth spoke. “So what do we do now, Pastor?”

  “My answer is easy, but you’re carrying it out will be very difficult, I’m afraid.” Matt looked directly at Angie, then James W. “You’ve all been wronged, one way or another. You’ve been lied to, used, kept from learning truths you deserved to know.”

  “What are you suggesting?” James W. asked.

  “Make right what’s been done wrong. Give the respect—and the assets—each one of you is due.” He let out a small chuckle. “All you have to do is love each other.”

  “My mother’s dyin’ today . . . did we cause it by stirring her all up this morning?” James W.’s eyes filled with tears.

  “No,” Matt replied. “I imagine Miss Olivia simply did what she thought was her duty.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Gettin’ Out of Dodge

  It was a week after Miss Olivia’s death, and Matt had seen little of the Wilks clan except for their matriarch’s funeral. His offers to help them through the rough time had been politely, but firmly, refused. So, for the fifth night in a row, Matt sat alone i
n his front room. The parsonage lights were out, the hearth dark. Earlier, in a restless mood, he’d unpacked a few boxes and hung a few pictures. Now he gave in to the melancholy that tore at him.

  He should go to see her.

  He couldn’t go to see her.

  She was everything he wanted.

  She was the only person he could not have.

  The knock at the door jolted him from his thoughts, and he pulled himself to his feet. He was in no mood for company, but an interruption might be what he needed.

  He pulled open the door. “Angie.”

  “Hey, Preacher.”

  Matt swallowed. Her hair fell in glowing copper waves under the moonlight.

  “You really are beautiful.” He realized seconds later he had put his thoughts into words.

  “You’re not so bad yourself.” Angie’s voice was low. Husky. Perfect, like the rest of her.

  Matt pulled himself together. He’d been thinking of her, dreaming of her. This was no dream, however. Reality stood like a brick wall between them. He knew he should ask her to come in. He desperately wanted to ask her. However, he couldn’t trust himself for what might happen when the door closed.

  As if reading his thoughts, Angie took his hand and pulled him inside the house. “We won’t shut the door, all right?”

  “All right,” he said, even though he shivered against the wind.

  “You wanna get a jacket or something?”

  “You still have my coat,” he reminded her. “So what’s on your mind, Angie?”

  She leaned back against the open door. “Thanks for gettin’ me out,” she said.

  Matt nodded. “You trusted me.”

  “You came through.” Angie folded her arms across her chest. “Now I need you to trust me.”

  Matt knew his look was defensive.

  “Not so easy, is it?” she chuckled.

  “No. Especially when I find I can’t trust myself.”

  Angie nodded her head in understanding. “That’s part of the problem. Your problem, I mean. You’ve always been so sure of yourself. Now the very thing you know you want is the one thing you shouldn’t want. It shakes your confidence, doesn’t it?”