The Reverend by Kayla Perrin

Author:Kayla Perrin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kayla Perrin
Published: 2023-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

THE URGENT KNOCKING on his office door was followed by Maxine’s voice. “Reverend James? Reverend, please open the door.”

Grumbling, Emerson got up from his desk and went to the door. He unlocked it and swung it open. “Maxine, I asked not to be disturbed.”

“I know, and I’m sorry to bother you.” She tucked some of her long salt-and-pepper strands behind her ear as an apologetic look streaked across her face. She wasn’t yet forty, but she’d started to go gray prematurely, from in her late twenties. “You have a couple of visitors, and I can’t get rid of them.”

“Didn’t you tell them I’m busy?” Emerson asked. “I’m in the middle of preparing for this funeral.”

He had finished writing his sermon for Sabbath, and now was working on the sermon for the funeral service. It wasn’t going to be until the following week, when Anton arrived back from overseas. And this would be the first of two funerals. One here in Charlotte before Claudette’s body was sent back to Jamaica, where her family there could say their final good-byes.

“I couldn’t very well do that,” Maxine said. “It’s the police. They want to talk to you about the murder.”

The police? After a moment of alarm, Emerson’s mind eased. Of course. They were here to update him on the investigation. With Claudette’s husband still away, and no other real family here, Emerson had become the go-to person for the police to communicate with. Poor Claudette’s mother-in-law was practically comatose. He’d spoken to her this morning, but she was still overwhelmed with grief and could barely put two coherent words together.

“Where are they?” Emerson asked.

“In the foyer.”

“Thank you, Maxine. Sorry if I was short with you. I’m just stressed.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “I understand. This is a trying time for all of us.”

Maxine was a faithful secretary. Always there for Emerson when he needed her. She went above and beyond, actually, and she didn’t deserve for him to take his frustration out on her.

Emerson headed out from his office at the back of the church and made his way to the foyer. Two detectives, one male and one female, looked eagerly at him as he approached. The man smiled, while the woman’s expression was serious.

“Hello,” Emerson said solemnly.

“Thanks for seeing us,” the female said, without even a hint of gentleness in her voice. She was short, fair-skinned and robust, with closely-cropped hair dyed a fiery orange. Emerson noticed that she was holding a large Manilla envelope and tapping it against her palm. “By the way, this is for you.”

As Emerson took the envelope she offered him, his stomach sank. It was just like the first letter he’d received. His name was printed on a white label that had been stuck onto the front of the envelope. Even the font was the same. “Where did you get this?”

“It was just outside the front door when we arrived,” the woman explained.

That hair color was horrible on her. She wore no makeup, not even a little lip gloss, and from far one might suspect she were a man if not for her large breasts.

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