Soon After by Sherryle Kiser Jackson

Author:Sherryle Kiser Jackson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2011-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Blanche is Back

“This is not a game, Mr. Townsend,” came a voice that made Abe realize he wasn’t dreaming, but in fact had answered the phone.

Abe pulled his sheets into a ball under his chin with one hand as if to protect himself from the hostile voice that had awakened him on the other end of the phone. He looked at his clock again that read a quarter past six in the morning and wondered if Chief Rich was putting clues together like a puzzle at this hour, or was this part of his terrorist tactics to catch him off guard.

“I got a four-week-old case and two people of interest, who happen to be ministers, trying to get a guest spot on Letterman by making appearances in every daily paper and dish ’em show out there.”

Abe swallowed hard at Chief Rich’s reference to Harvest’s recent ‘Feed the Streets’ campaign, which was highlighted in the Metro section of The Washington Post, and the Sunday local magazine, Parade. He knew he was pressing his luck when those articles subsequently translated into a remote interview on the 5:00 P.M. news. In print was one thing, but on-air was quite another. Blanche was right when she said publicity begets more publicity.

Blanche’s strategy since offering to help him was to continue the legacy of giving back that the church was known for before he became pastor. The fact that the church was homeless made the story more compelling, made the sacrifice that much greater, and made the public more inclined to help in their efforts. Blanche had even contacted founders of a southern organization called the Sabbath of Support designed to organize churches to collect a special offering on a particular Sunday to help churches throughout South Carolina that, like Harvest, had been damaged by fire. They were going to replicate that effort with participating DC, metropolitan churches on the fifth Sunday of next month, classically known as Missionary Sunday. Most churches had a missionary outreach program; she just provided them with their next worthwhile cause.

“Hellooooooooooooooooo,” Chief Rich said. “If I’m not mistaken, I asked you to stay out of the limelight.”

“With all due respect, Chief, it is very early,” Abe pleaded. “I can call you back later, and I’ll be more than happy to answer any inquiry you may have.”

“Oh, we are so far past pleasantries,” he said, ignoring Abe’s request. “I also recall asking you to get in touch with Charley Thompson. Funny, but nowhere in my notes from that visit do I recall you mentioning that he was your Uncle. Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” Abe was suddenly hot and stripping back covers. “He and his wife haven’t been in church for the past two Sundays. Honestly, ask anyone.”

“I’ve interviewed a whole lot of people. I don’t need to ask anybody anything else because you are going to find him. Call all your other long lost relatives. Heck, call the entire family reunion committee, but find him,” Chief Rich demanded.

“I’ll try,” Abe said, swallowing hard.

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.