Show Stopper (Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm Book 5) by Shirley Raye Redmond

Author:Shirley Raye Redmond [Redmond, Shirley Raye]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Guideposts
Published: 2024-08-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Twenty minutes later, Harriet left the clinic in Polly’s capable hands and took off for the rectory. She found Will waiting for her at the front door, his hands in his pockets and his face shining with eagerness and self-satisfaction. “I can’t believe I found it so quickly,” he said, ushering her inside out of the blustery weather.

Will led her through the foyer and past the parlor to his study—a masculine room, all aged leather and mahogany wood. He invited her to sit in a large black leather chair in front of his desk. The massive chair creaked when she lowered herself into it. It surely dated to Victorian times, Harriet decided, noting how her feet barely touched the floor when she sat all the way back.

“How about some tea or coffee?” Will suggested. “There’s hot cider too, I think. Something to take the chill off?”

“No thanks,” Harriet said, glancing around the study and wondering how many previous pastors had called this room their own.

Will smiled, his eyes gleaming with good humor. He sat down in his desk chair. “All right, I can see you’re eager to learn what I’ve discovered.”

Chuckling, Harriet asked, “Is it that obvious?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t started going through my desk already,” he teased.

Harriet couldn’t deny it. “I’m sorry. I’m hoping your discovery will move this mystery forward and not result in another dead end. I’m making no headway in figuring out where Petey is or how to get him back, so it would be a blessing to find out some details about Rip and his owner, making progress in one area at least.”

“I understand that,” he said, his tone becoming gentler. “I started with the pastors’ journals dating back to 1945, because you said that’s when Rip received his medal. That date proved to be quite helpful in narrowing my search.” He pushed what appeared to be a large ledger across the desk toward her. It was covered with faded blue cloth that was slightly frayed around the edges, and was open to a few pages from the end. “There’s his name. Bradley Welks,” Will announced. “That’s the man who owned Rip.” He pointed to a name in the center of the lefthand side of the page.

Harriet immediately felt an uptick in her pulse as she read the name and the entry about him. The pastor at the time made a note that Bradley Welks had joined the church and that his dog Rip was to receive a prestigious Dickin Medal from the Lord Mayor of London. Several of Bradley’s kinsmen were to travel to attend the ceremony.

Harriet laughed with delight. She could almost sense the pride with which the long-ago minister had made the notation. “It says here the church fete committee asked Bradley Welks and Rip to open the fundraiser. What an honor. They became local celebrities, didn’t they?”

“Indeed,” Will answered.

The church fete in the summer was a big deal in the village. Nearly all the residents participated, and tourists seemed to enjoy it too.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.