Little Town of Death-lehem by Holly Dey

Author:Holly Dey [Dey, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“Oh?” Tran tilted his head. “Why did Whit Bulger threaten to kill you?”

The minister sat back down. “I don’t wish to speak ill of the dead.”

“Not even if it could help catch his killer?” PC asked.

Thomas Wholt gestured to some chairs in front of his desk. “I had heard it was an accident.”

Tran chose the seat farthest from the door. PC sat and pulled her chair as close to the desk as possible. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it look that way.”

“Oh, dear. My heart goes out to his family.”

PC nodded. “You knew Makayla, right?”

The minister hesitated. “Yes.”

Tran leaned forward. “How did you know her?”

Wholt rearranged some papers on his desk. “What Mr. Bulger did was uncalled for. But I can understand. Some members of the clergy have been… inappropriate with children. Not most of us. But, as they say, a few rotten apples spoil the whole barrel. He thought he was protecting his daughter.”

PC gave him an encouraging nod.

The pastor pursed his lips. “Makayla had come to me to ask some questions about graphic design. She and Sarina Stein are best friends, so Sarina came along more often than not, although she didn’t come with Makayla yesterday. It wasn’t just the girls. Several business owners were interested in improving their branding on a shoestring budget, so I started having informal classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Karla Fitzroy, from Karla’s Kurls, was one of them.”

“That’s very civic-minded of you.” Tran tucked his thumbs into his belt.

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? Faith, if it hath not works, is dead.”

PC clenched her jaw and let it go. Putting the preacher on the defensive was not going to get him to open up. “So, Reverend Wholt? What happened between you and Whit Bulger?”

Wholt picked up his pen. “We were just finishing up the class. The Christmas tree lighting festival would be starting soon. Whit came barging in, looking for Makayla.”

The pastor set his pen down, then moved it to another spot on his desk.

Tran started to say something, but PC kicked him in the ankle. Not hard enough to hurt. Much.

“It turned out,” Wholt said, “that she hadn’t been entirely truthful about where she was spending the morning. Whit had told her to go to the office and help her mother.”

PC pulled out her notebook. “I can see why he’d be upset if he didn’t know where she was.”

“Nancy—that’s Makayla’s mother—was aware of the classes. I’m not sure Whit was. They weren’t very busy at City Bail Bonds that day, so Nancy told her to go home. Mom thought she was home, Dad thought she was at work. She failed to mention she was coming here. Not sure if it was intentional, or just an oversight.”

The detective shifted in her chair. “Did Whit threaten you?”

“Yes. But I don’t think he meant it.” Wholt moved his pen again. “Something you have to understand about Whit.

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