Aretha Moon and the Dead Hairdresser: Aretha Moon Book 2 (Aretha Moon Mysteries) Linda Ross (books for students to read TXT) 📖

“What was going on?” Thelma asked.

“Well, he was a married man, and from the look of things. . .  Well, I hate to spread gossip, but everyone knew there was something between them.”

“They were having an affair?” Thelma asked.

Pastor Rick nodded.  “And not just an ordinary affair.  If you’ll excuse my crude language they were into weird things, things that good Christians wouldn’t think of doing.  Perversions.”

All kinds of images were going through my head.  I wasn’t sure which one Pastor Rick was referring to, and I wondered if he was too embarrassed to be specific.

“I know this is indelicate,” Thelma said in that soft voice, “but it would help if we knew what she was doing.  There have been some incidents in Hannibal.”

Pastor Rick cleared his throat again, looking as uncomfortable as, well, as Pastor Rick talking about sex.

“Now, I never had direct knowledge of this,” he said in a strained voice, “but Mary Lou Stoermer cleaned his house for him, and she said there was a room with all kinds of. . . well. . . punishment equipment.  And handcuffs.  Rope.”  Pastor Rick turned a bright red.  “And lubricants.”

Ellen was watching with wide eyes, her finger still in her mouth.  I got the feeling she was more titillated than embarrassed.

Thelma made sympathetic clucking sounds.  “I’m sure that was a shock for everyone.”

Pastor Rick nodded.  I was just trying to think of how to diplomatically ask who the man was, when Pastor Rick solved the problem for me.

“I’m afraid we had to ask Mr. Connell not to come back to the church.  I know that sounds judgmental, but you have to understand that we minister to families, and we can’t have that influence in our midst.  I know Jesus loved sinners, but there has to be a limit.  We told him he was welcome back when he changed his ways and gave up the sin of unnatural fornication.”

Thelma was looking down at her lap, her lips pressed together, no doubt remembering me in my demented milk maid outfit at the B and D party.

“It wasn’t Jeffrey Connell by any chance?” Thelma asked, and Pastor Rick looked at her in surprise.

“Why, yes,” he said.  “He moved away, and Kara did too.  I think Rose tried to stay in touch, but Kara wasn’t interested.  After her husband died, Rose wanted to build a relationship with her sister.”

“Well, you’ve been a big help,” Thelma said as she stood.

“We really appreciate your time,” I added.

“I know this may sound gruesome,” Pastor Rick said, “but could you tell me how Kara was killed?”

Thelma and I looked at each other, and Thelma said, “It looks like she was strangled.  And then the killer beat her face in with a heavy object.”

Pastor Rick blanched and brought his hands to his mouth.   “Oh, dear Lord.”

“Yes,” Thelma said, “it was very brutal.”

“No, what I was thinking is that’s similar to something that happened with Kara and a parishioner here shortly before she moved.”

My ears perked up at that.  “What happened?” I asked.

Pastor Rick sent a worried glance at Ellen, and she nodded.

“Well,” he said, “after the collection is taken, it’s put here in the office while the service continues.  Usually, a member is assigned to count it right away, but one Sunday the person who was supposed to do it was sick.  So the money was left here on the desk.  A member of the hospitality committee, Gigi Martin, came in during the last hymn to get something for our coffee hour.  And she found Kara helping herself to the money.”

There was a long silence while we waited for him to continue.  Ellen had stopped chewing her fingernail and was chewing her lip instead.

Pastor Rick took a deep breath.  “Gigi demanded to know what she was doing and started to call for help.  Kara put her hands around her neck and started choking her.  When Gigi was almost unconscious, Kara grabbed a paperweight from the desk and smashed it against Gigi’s face.  Luckily, one of the other parishioners walked in then.”

“What happened to Kara?” Thelma asked.

Pastor Rick lowered his head.  “I’m ashamed to say that nothing did.  Gigi was too traumatized to face the police, and Kara took off.  She never came back to the church, and Rose told us she couldn’t find her.  It wasn’t long after that that Jeffrey Connell moved, and Kara was gone.”

I exchanged a look with Thelma, and she said, “You don’t suppose Gigi might talk to us?  We’d really like to find out what happened with Kara.”

Pastor Rick hesitated.  “I really don’t know.  She’s a very private woman.  One of our most faithful.”

Ellen leaned forward in her chair.  “I could call her and ask,” she offered.

“I suppose that would be okay,” Pastor Rick said.

And five minutes later it was arranged.  Gigi was going to meet us at the church.  It had taken a little persuading on Ellen’s part, from what we could hear on her end of the conversation.  But Gigi had agreed after Ellen told her it might bring peace to Rose.

Thelma and I waited in the pastor’s study next door to Ellen’s office.  “I bet she’s blond and cute,” I said in an undertone.

“Why?” Thelma asked.

“Because her name’s Gigi.  Anyone named Gigi has to be blond and cute.  It’s a requirement.”

Thelma just rolled her eyes.

It turned out that I was sort of right.  Thelma and I both stood up and turned when Pastor Rick ushered Gigi into his office.  Gigi’s hair was ash blond, and it was obvious from her bow-shaped mouth and large blue eyes that she’d been more than cute once.  Pretty, actually.  But now her right eye looked off to the side while