Praying for Peace

by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

  “Chantilly, it was over fifty years ago. Maybe they just forgot?”

  I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. I think someone is covering something up. I heard that Alice Mae had a crush on Pastor Jeremiah, so maybe she was protecting him.”

  “Who did you hear that from?”

  “Does that matter? It doesn’t make it not true.”

  “Who?”

  “Thelma.”

  He laughed. “You’re dealing with a bunch of people guessing and working off memories long faded. Work off the facts. If you find something factual that leads to Newton Alabaster as a suspect, let me know.”

  I sighed. “Sometimes the facts show up when you follow your intuition.”

  “That’s right, and any good detective will say the same, but my intuition is telling me this is a gang hit, and not intertwined with some fire from back in the day.”

  I grunted. “Fine. I’ll find you those facts. Just wait.” I flipped around and stomped off, aggravated at Jack for dismissing my theory, and myself for thinking he’d even listen in the first place.

  My heart raced again, but not because he’d made me nervous, because he made me furious.

  12

  The team played four games that day and won every single one of them. Austin scored five goals in the first game and two in each following game. Jack made him the MVP of the team after they won the overall tournament.

  Even though my son stunk worse than a pig farm, I wrapped him in a big hug, and I instantly regretted it, too. His sweaty body stuck to me, and the smell was rancid. “Dear Lord.” I backed away and tried to shake off the stink. “You must get that from your dad.”

  Austin laughed. “Are we going for pizza with the team?”

  I thought about the boxes of photos sitting at home waiting for me. “I’ve got some work to catch up on.”

  “Mom, come on, please? I’m starving.”

  I didn’t doubt that. “Okay, but I can’t stay long. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to sit in an enclosed space with a group of smelly boys. Think you can get a ride home if I want to leave?”

  He nodded. “Def. I’m sure Justin’s parents can give me a ride.”

  “Cool,” I said, trying to sound hip.

  Jack sat across from me at the restaurant, but for the most part, I ignored him. If he couldn’t take me seriously, I wasn’t sure our relationship, as simple as it was, had a chance of staying as it was let alone growing into something more.

  I engaged in small talk with a few of the parents, two of which asked me about my ex and if he’d got married yet. I slid over that discussion the best I could. Jack attempted to engage me directly twice, and while I did respond, my answers were quippy and short. The second time, he noticed, because his lip twitched, and his eyebrow went up.

  As I readied myself to leave, saying goodbye to Austin and thanking Justin’s dad for offering to bring him home, Jack followed me out.

  “Chantilly?”

  I kept walking toward my car.

  “I’m sorry you’re upset.”

  I flipped around. “Sorry I’m upset? Interesting.”

  He groaned. “I told you, I’m not very good at this.”

  “This isn’t about that.” I clicked my car key to open my door. “Okay, so maybe it is, but not how you think.”

  He stared at me blankly.

  I pulled out the clip on the top of my head and shook my hair down. Jack smiled, but I wasn’t in the mood for flirting. I’d done it because he was giving me a headache. “You completely dismissed my thoughts about the murder. If you can’t respect me, how can we even be friends, let alone maybe something else some day?”

  “I do respect you, but I’m the one with investigative experience here, and I’m just not feeling what you do about the fire being connected to Acel’s murder.”

  “But it is, I know it.”

  “And I’m encouraging you to find me something so that I can move forward with it. I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m saying I don’t see the connection. Bring me the connection, and I’ll look into it.”

  “What if your gang guy shows up on that video?”

  “Then we’ll have to look into other possible motives.”

  “Like Newton Alabaster avenging the death of his father?”

  “Yes, like that.”

  I shuffled my feet. “Fine. I’ll see what I can find out.” I got into my car and headed home to review the photos.

  I made myself a cup of hot tea, and while the water heated, I crawled into my comfy yoga pants and a large t-shirt that belonged to my daddy. I went into my bathroom to scrub the silly makeup off my face and remembered the broken mirror along with the shattered pieces of it still lying on the floor.

  “I’m not touching that tonight,” I said out loud. “Thanks, Pastor Alabaster, that was really lovely of you.”

  I grabbed my Oil of Olay soap and my toothbrush and headed to the other bathroom.

  The tea pot hummed at a high pitch, and I poured the steaming water over the tea bag in my cup. I knew that wasn’t the right way to make tea, but I was feeling lazy, and tea protocol wasn’t tops on my list. I wanted to go through the photos. I’d hoped there would something in them that would prove there was a connection between the fire and Acel’s murder.

  I turned on the den TV and searched for something mindless, but found a show about ghost hauntings, and watched that as I spread the photos out across the floor.

  “Okay,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “Let’s find something connection worthy for Detective Levitt.” I rubbed my hands together again. “Come on lucky photo.”

  After examining over one hundred photos, I hit gold, sort of.

  I held two photos up in my hands and smiled at them. “I knew it.”

  The first photo was a photo of Pastor Jeremiah standing next to Acel Grimes. Their backs were partially facing the camera, but it was clear from their positions they were arguing. The pastor had his arm stretched out and his finger pointed at Acel. Acel’s hands were up in defense. In the corner of the photo, a younger Alice Mae watched.

  I didn’t believe the picture was from the night of the fire, but it showed a consistency in behavior I thought should be noted, and it wasn’t the behavior of Jeremiah Alabaster.

  The next photo was one of Pastor Alabaster, his young son, and his wife. He had his arm wrapped around Georgia, and his son stood in front of them.

  Alice Mae Kirk stood in the background, staring at the happy family.

  I went back through the photos and found forty-six more photos of Alice Mae in the background, and in the forefront of each photo was Pastor Jeremiah. In several of the photos from the chapel, there was food on the table with the candles.

  If Alice did have a crush on her boss, Thelma couldn’t have been the only one to notice. Maybe Alice set that fire because she wanted the pastor for himself?

  I opened the second, smaller box of photos and searched through those. I knew I wouldn’t find any photos of Alice Mae staring at Pastor Jeremiah because he’d already perished in the fire, but I hoped there would be something to show me a connection between the two events.

  After making separate piles of the photos divided up into people and then subdivided further into people with people, I found a trend. I went back and did the same thing with the photos from before the fire and found a similar trend.

  In every photo with Acel Grimes, both pastors appeared agitated or frustrated.

  And in every photo, Alice Mae Kirk stood in the background observing.

  I rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a spiral notebook and a pen from my computer bag. Back in the den, I wrote out some thoughts.

  The night of the fire Alice Mae said she heard William arguing with the pastor. Georgia said the same thing. William, however, said that yes, they were arguing, but that Georgia left then to get them both food, but she hadn’t returned with it. Newton Alabaster said his mother told him she brought dinner while the pastor was arguing with Acel Grim
es. Was he lying or had his mother’s mixed up memory played another trick on her?

  I leaned my head back onto the seat of the couch and sighed. “Come on Acel, why can’t you just show up and tell me what happened both nights? I could really use your help here.”

  I waited, hoping my begging would work.

  When my front door swung open, I yelped.

  “Hey, Coach Jack brought me home. Is it okay if he comes in?”

  Jack smiled from just inside the door. “Hey.”

  I straightened my shirt and chided myself for washing my makeup off. Yes, I was annoyed with the detective, but I still wanted to look presentable. “Of course, come on in.”

  Austin flung a shoe off each foot. “I’m getting in the shower.”

  “Thank God,” I said.

  Jack sat on the couch. I’d stood up and greeted him and began pushing the photos over on the floor so he didn’t step on them.

  “Find anything?” he asked.

  I shoved the important photos under my notebook. “Nothing I’m ready to discuss.”

  “I’d like to see it. Had one of my guys watch the video during the tournament. He got back to me about twenty minutes ago. That’s why I offered to bring Austin home.”

  “Was the suspect in it?”

  “Yup. Clear as day, too.”

  I tried not to smile, but I couldn’t help myself.

  He smirked. “Can I see what you tucked under that notebook?”

  “I’m not sure what I have exactly. It’s just a hunch, but I’m noticing a pattern.”

  I showed him the photos.

  He examined them all closely. “Maybe Thelma’s right about the crush? Alice Mae sure looks a little put off in the photos with the Alabaster family.”

  “Is that all you see?”

  He smiled. “I see Acel Grimes isn’t well liked by either pastor.”

  I explained how the stories didn’t match up about the night of the fire, but I didn’t mention the food on the table in the chapel.

  “I still don’t see how this has anything to do with Acel’s murder.”

  I put everything together and explained what I’d come up with. “I think Georgia’s memory isn’t clear. She didn’t seem all together there when I talked to her, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she got her memories mixed up. Her son told me she had some kind of emotional problems, and Thelma confirmed that, and I got the impression he didn’t really want me talking to her.”

  “And?”

  “And she said she brought food back to the church on the night of the fire for both the pastor and William Chamblee, but William said something different. He said she left to get the food during their argument. I don’t think he’s lying. And he showed regret for his behavior toward Acel and the pastor, and has even been going to church, which Alice Mae confirmed.”

  He angled his head. “Remind me again, what did Chamblee say?”

  “He said Georgia saw him arguing with Jeremiah that night, but he also said she didn’t bring them food. She offered to and then left with the intention of going home and making it for them.”

  “Okay.”

  “And Alice Mae said she recalled Georgia bringing the food while the pastor argued with William.”

  “You’re losing me.”

  “Newton is the only one that says something different. He said his dad was arguing with Acel when his mom brought the food.”

  “He was a young kid. He wasn’t there.”

  “No, but he’s repeating what his mother told him before.”

  “So, you think his mother is wrong now, and that Alice Mae is lying?”

  I hadn’t gotten to that point, but yes, I did. “I think Alice Mae is trying to protect Georgia. She knows what happened, and she’s not telling.”

  “I’ll interview them all tomorrow.” He examined the photos again. “Can you hold onto these? If I bring them in, they’ll be locked into evidence, and I’m not sure we’re there yet.”

  “Will you tell me when you’ve talked to them?”

  He smiled. “If you agree to forgive me for discounting your intuition.”

  “I’ll consider it,” I said, smiling and blushing at the same time.

  “It’s cute when your face gets all rosy like that.” He smiled. “You never did need makeup.”

  I held my hands to my cheeks so he didn’t notice them redden more.

  As I walked him out, he turned and hugged me. “Thanks for the information.”

  “You’re welcome, I said, and hugged him back a little longer than necessary.

  But I didn’t hear him complaining.

  I stayed awake most of the night trying to work through a motive for each of the players in the fire and Acel’s murder, but I kept coming back to the same thing, at least about the fire.

  Yes, Acel didn’t seem to have a great relationship with either pastor, and we’d never know if Jeremiah decided to let him go that night because the two people that knew the truth were dead, and the one I could communicate with wasn’t telling me anything.

  Was it possible? Yes, and given the photos, I couldn’t help but think maybe he had fired Acel, and they’d argued, and the candle ended up on the ground, but I wasn’t exactly sure how it got there. I had a hunch, but I needed to dig deeper.

  It was also possible that Newton had, all these years, suspected Acel Grimes of causing his father’s death, and for reasons I didn’t know, decided to avenge it by killing Acel Grimes himself. Honestly though, that just didn’t ring true for me. I kept coming back to why he’d wait so long, and why he’d destroy his life like that.

  Alice Mae’s connection was a little different. Perhaps she believed Acel was responsible for the pastor’s death, and she decided to avenge it because she had feelings for him. And to throw the blame another direction, tried to say Newton Alabaster was responsible for Acel’s death. But if that was the case, why lie about the food?

  I got dressed and headed to church service. I figured there was no time like then to do more digging.

  Thelma sat in the back row on the side of the pew next to the aisle. “Hey.” I scooted in next to her. “I thought you didn’t come much anymore?”

  I made eye contact with Charlie Sayers sitting next to her.

  “Oh, I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I understand Pastor Alabaster is honoring Acel Grimes today. Thought I should come and pay my respects after the sermon.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that was happening, but I think it’s wonderful you’re here.”

  I stood. “I’ve got to run to the bathroom. I’ll be back right quick.”

  She patted the pew where I’d been sitting. “I’ll save your seat.”

  I headed straight back to the church offices. The pastor’s door was closed, and I could hear him in there talking to himself. I knocked twice.

  “Yes?”

  I cracked open the door. “Pastor Alabaster, if you have a moment, I would like to talk to you—”

  “Is this about the restoration project? I’m working on my sermon. I’ve got to be out there in a few minutes.”

  “It’s about your father, but yes, it’s also about the restoration project.”

  “Ms. Adair, I’d love to but,” he held up a pad of paper. “I really must be prepared for my parishioners.”

  “Yes, I understand. I’ll come back later today. Is that okay?”

  He moved the paper from his face. “As a matter of fact, I’ll be visiting a parishioner later this afternoon near town. How about if I stop by then? Sundays are busy here at the church.”

  “That would be fine.” I gave him my address.

  I went by Alice Mae’s office, and her door was open. She sat at her desk going through some papers.

  “Ms. Adair.”

  “Hey, Alice Mae. Do you have a minute?”

  “Just that.”

  “Okay, I’ll make it quick. I need you to reiterate what you remember from the night of the fire, please, and what you think happened to Acel the
other day.” I wanted to see if she told me the same thing as before.

  She sighed. “Why must we continue to do this? Nothing about that night will bring either men back.”

  “I know, but if you’d just humor me.”

  “Like I said, Pastor Alabaster and Acel argued, and he also argued with William Chamblee.”

  “Who was first?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Who did he argue with first?”

  “Oh, I…I’m not exactly sure. It’s been so long, I don’t recall.”

  “Who did Mrs. Alabaster bring the food to that night?”

  “I told you, William Alabaster.”

  “But you said you didn’t see them arguing.”

  “No, but I heard them.”

  “Yes, I understand, but if you didn’t see them, how do you know Georgia Alabaster brought the food back then?

  She averted her eyes from mine. “Because she’d left a few minutes before to get it, so I assumed that’s what interrupted the argument.”

  “What do you mean, interrupted the argument?”

  “They’d stopped. The church door opened, and the two quieted. The next thing I knew, I heard him arguing with Acel, and I left.”

  “But you just said you didn’t recall who the pastor argued with first.”

  She shifted in her seat. “Ms. Adair, I have work to do.”

  “What kind of relationship do you have with William Chamblee?”

  “I already told you, we talk when he comes into the church.”

  “Okay, so I’m clear, you didn’t actually see them arguing, and you didn’t actually see Mrs. Alabaster come in, or William leave, or Acel arrive?”

  “Well, I guess, yes, but I know that he was arguing with Acel when I left.”

  “Did you see the food?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The food that Mrs. Alabaster brought, did you see it, or her maybe?”