The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  “Did the naysayers manage to quash the idea completely?”

  “I’m happy to say they did not. We are each to broach the subject with our boards and return next month to report.”

  “Oh, good. I will tell the ladies at the Club meeting so we can try to drum up support with the women in each of our congregations. This may be too big a project for one church to handle, but with all of us together, I’m just certain something good can be accomplished. Don’t you agree?”

  “I do, God willing,” Kendall replied.

  *

  Elizabeth and Gil Gilbert were sitting at their desks in the pastor’s study of their church talking about the rotating youth club idea discussed at the recent ministerial association meeting.

  “So that was your idea, was it?” Gil asked with a smile.

  “Well, not really. All I said is our First Ladies Club should do something about the dearth of wholesome activities for our young people here in Bannoch. From what you tell me about Tyrone’s suggestion, I’d say Eskaletha took my comment and ran with it. She’s not one to sit on her hands when there’s work to be done.”

  “I chatted with Tyrone after the meeting. He said the rotating youth club idea was just something he thought up to get the ball rolling, never expecting it to be the final outcome, but I told him I thought it was workable.”

  “Were the other pastors as agreeable, dear?” Elizabeth asked.

  “Not so you’d notice,” Gil remarked with a crooked smile. “You really should come to the meetings, too, you know. Then you wouldn’t need to ask me what happens.”

  “No thanks. I went a few times when we were first called as co-pastors to this church, if you’ll remember. It might have been different if I’d been a female pastor, on my own, but being there with you, I was relegated to the role of pastor’s wife, not co-pastor. I fought that fight in seminary and don’t feel like I need to conquer Bannoch’s misogynistic ministerial association.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh, Liz. Misogynistic? Really?”

  “Perhaps not, but I felt their resistance to accepting me on an equal plain. I just don’t need to put myself in that situation, unnecessarily. So, I’m happy to get all the news second-hand from my ever-helpful husband,” she smiled. “Were there any comments about the return of that Oldham woman to our community? I heard Naidenne say she’s coming back to Scott’s church.”

  “I don’t think so. I remember her from working on the joint Good Friday service one year, though. She’s really something. I feel for Scott.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Maureen failed to make good on her promise to call the ladies with further helpful instructions during the week, no one complained, but when she did not appear in church on Sunday, Scott reluctantly decided to make a pastoral visit on the following day to check on this most annoying member of his flock.

  When he phoned Maureen the night before to schedule a visit, he received no answer, nor did he on Monday morning when he called again, so he decided to drive over on his way to the office.

  Noticing magazines and newspapers sticking out of an overflowing mailbox as he pulled into Maureen’s driveway gave Scott an uneasy feeling.

  He tried phoning her again from her front porch and could hear ringing in the house, but there was no response.

  It was likely Maureen had simply gone out and this was a wasted trip. He would have preferred to leave, but, since there was always a chance the irascible woman was ill and unable to come to the phone, as in the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” scenario, he knew he couldn’t just walk away.

  In the past, Scott had been forced to break into a house to help an elderly member of the congregation, so he knew what had to be done.

  Walking around to see if the back door might be unlocked, he was shocked to find the glass shattered and the door hanging open.

  This changed everything and Scott began dialing his phone while hurrying back to his car.

  This was a job for the sheriff.

  Carver Schramm cowered under a large rhododendron shrub at the far edge of Maureen’s backyard and watched the visitor go back to the street.

  He had seen Scott drive up and, realizing his hide-out was no longer safe, he quickly dashed out of the back door, leaving it wide open.

  As soon as Scott was out of sight around the house, Schramm stood up and crept quickly and quietly into the woods, making his way out of the area long before the deputy pulled up next to Scott’s car.

  “What’s up, Padre?” the officer asked.

  “I came to check on a member of my church, but she’s not answering her phone and the back door looks like someone broke in. I thought I’d better let you check it out before walking into trouble on my own.”

  “You did the right thing. Show me this door.”

  The two men walked around to the back and the deputy went inside with his gun drawn.

  *

  Naidenne was at her desk checking emails when Shirley entered the combination realtor’s office and crafts boutique.

  “Oh, this is awful!” Naidenne exclaimed.

  “What?” Shirley asked, plopping onto the visitor’s chair.

  “It’s this email I’m reading from our old friend Bunny. She has some terrible news.”

  “Bunny? I haven’t heard from her in weeks, maybe longer. Tell me what’s happened,” she urged.

  “You remember that airplane shot down over Eastern Europe a few months ago? Well, her husband, Max, was on it. He was killed,” Naidenne said.

  “That’s horrible. Poor Bunny! Whatever was Max doing flying over a war-zone in Eastern Europe?”

  “He was on one of his frequent business trips, according to Bunny.”

  “But why didn’t we hear about this before?” Shirley asked.

  “Becoming a widow again seems to have knocked Bunny for a loop. She apologizes for not letting us know sooner and says she has been trying to come to terms with it and deal with all the details of funeral, insurance, etc.”

  “Oh, my goodness. What will she do, now?”

  “That’s a bit of good news, sort of, at least for us. She’s going to come to the Northwest to visit her sisters soon and will be swinging by Bannoch to see us.”

  “We’ll all be glad to see her, again, but I’m so sorry to hear about Max, even though I never really took to him, much…I guess I shouldn’t have said that. Is she planning to stay in Texas?”

  “She doesn’t say. Boy, you never know what is going to happen, do you?” Naidenne said, just as her phone rang.

  Still shaken by her friend’s unexpected news, she responded with a simple, “Hello?”

  “Naidenne? It’s Scott.”

  “Oh, Scott. We just got some sad news.”

  “You’ve already heard? Who told you?”

  “Bunny. I got her email this morning…who told you?”

  “No one. I was here when the body was found.”

  “What are you talking about? Max’s plane blew up over a field on the other side of the world.”

  “Max? Max Banks is dead?” Scott asked.

  “Isn’t that why you called? What body are you talking about?”

  “It’s Maureen. I came to check on her this morning and found her.”

  “How awful for you. I didn’t realize she was ill. Was it a heart attack or a stroke or what?”

  “We have to wait for an autopsy, before we will know.”

  “Well, she was a believer and had a good long life,” Naidenne said.

  “Yes, but it may not have been natural causes. Her home was broken into and we found her body in the garage, wrapped in a piece of carpet.”

  “Oh, my…”

  Shirley leaned over the desk and whispered, “What’s happened, now? Who else has died? These things come in threes you know…”

  *

  Carver was stomping through the woods above Bannoch, muttering angrily and looking for another likely place to hide out.

  He was ang
ry at himself for not making plans in case someone came to the old lady’s place. He didn’t even have time to take any provisions away with him; nothing but the clothes on his back, such as they were, and his trusty knife.

  He should have been looking for his golden dream girl already. They could have had plenty of fun in that house. He’d gotten lazy and careless.

  Now he’d need to locate the woman and another place to put her, too.

  He headed toward town intent on locating the Bannoch Community Fellowship and this Pastor Scott who would lead him, unwittingly, to his prize.

  *

  The Davidsons’ dinner that night was a somber one, with Naidenne and Scott thinking of the two deaths.

  Naidenne had called and talked with her friend in Texas before dinner.

  They’d had a long chat and caught up on the highlights and low points of their lives since they last spoke.

  Bunny seemed to be taking Max’s death better than Naidenne expected. She said as much, now, to Scott.

  “I was surprised at how calm Bunny was when we spoke.”

  “Well, she has had a couple of months to adjust,” he said.

  “Yes, but Max was the grand love of Bunny’s life, remember? When they remarried it was like something out of a fairytale. I sort of expected her to be completely devastated at losing him so soon.”

  “And she isn’t?” Scott asked.

  “She’s grieving, of course. But she is already making plans and moving on with her life. I can’t wait for her to come for a visit, so I can get the whole story in person.”

  “When is she planning to be here?”

  “Pretty soon. She’s going to California for a few days, first, to see Jean, and then stopping in Boise at Linda’s place. After she’s seen her sisters, she’s coming here.”

  “It will be good to see her, won’t it? Did you invite her to stay with us during her visit? We’ve got plenty of room,” Scott said.

  “I did, actually. She turned me down, saying something about her last stay in this house. I’d forgotten she stayed with you and Rose before.”

  Scott chuckled.

  “Yeah, I don’t think we were very good hosts. Rosie stuck her in that pokey old spare room off the back porch. Bunny was gracious about it, though.”

  “Why did Rosamund do that?”

  “She thought Bunny had her heart set on becoming the lady of this house. Rosie thought she wanted to marry me,” he blushed.

  “That’s silly! If Bunny hadn’t set you and me up, we wouldn’t be married today. She practically threw me into your arms.”

  “I was very happy to catch you, my love. I guess we owe her a lot. Maybe you can convince her to stay with us, if we promise Rose will let her have her pick of the guest rooms.”

  Naidenne began to clear their plates.

  “How can we let your sister know about Maureen? If she knew, she might come back.”

  “Rosamund won’t be happy to hear her old nemesis is dead, you know. In fact, if I know my sister, as well as I think I do, she will be mortified over her unkind thoughts about Maureen.”

  “From what I’ve heard about that woman, all of Rosamund’s hard feelings were completely justified,” Naidenne said.

  “Still, it’s hard to believe someone would kill her.”

  “Are the police sure she was murdered?”

  “How else would she have ended up bundled into an old piece of carpet in her garage?”

  “So, either murder, or someone was hiding her body for some reason?” Naidenne asked.

  “That’s how I see it. We’ll just have to wait for the official report.”

  *

  Meeting this week in the Methodist parsonage, the First Ladies were agog at the news of Maureen’s death.

  Eskaletha attempted to get them settled down with her basilisk-like gaze. When that failed to work, she tried speaking over the hubbub and finally resorted to banging her gavel on the fireplace mantle.

  “Thank you, ladies. If we can all get seated quietly, we can begin our meeting.”

  “But, Madam President!” Judy Falls called out, waving her hand for attention.

  “We can’t just go on, business as usual, when there’s a murderer in our midst.”

  Her comment threatened to wind the ladies back up again, as several echoed the sentiment.

  “Can we please come to order,” Eskaletha said. “While I recognize your feelings, we can’t let recent events take over our meeting. There will be plenty of time to discuss the Oldham woman’s death during our fellowship time.”

  “Olivette, will you please read the minutes of the last meeting.”

  Later, Peggy Burt, carefully balancing a coffee cup and a plateful of tasty snacks, took a seat between Judy and Elizabeth.

  “I feel like I should keep Paisley and Astilbe home, just so they’ll be safe” Judy was saying. “You know, I homeschooled them for years, but now they are in high school they begged to join their friends at the public school.”

  “I’m sure your twins will be fine, Judy. There’s been no hint of any danger to our schools,” Elizabeth offered.

  “I heard the police aren’t even sure Maureen Oldham’s death wasn’t natural causes,” Peggy added.

  “Oh, right! The old thing pitched a fit and wrapped herself up in a carpet and rolled into the garage as she died,” Judy scoffed.

  “Is that how she was found? I hadn’t heard that,” Peggy said.

  “Well, I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but one of Ken’s trustees has a brother in the Sheriff’s office and he told him all about it. The place was ransacked, too. It looked like the killer had been staying in the house for a few days.”

  “How odd,” Elizabeth replied. “Well, we still shouldn’t speculate, until we have all the facts. I’m sure there’s no reason to think anyone else is in danger. This is an isolated incident, after all.”

  “Oh, yeah? What about all the house-breaking and thefts, lately? That could be the same guy,” Judy insisted.

  “I’m going to be sure to keep my doors locked, just in case,” Peggy said.

  She finished her last cookie, emptied her coffee in one gulp and stood up.

  “In fact, I’m going home right now and make sure all the windows in our old parsonage have working locks.”

  “That’s probably prudent, in any case. See you next week,” Elizabeth said.

  “Aren’t you worried, at all, Liz?” Judy asked when Peggy was gone.

  “Not especially. There are always evil people around. I don’t feel in any greater danger today than before learning about Maureen. I am saddened to think Mrs. Oldham may have been killed, of course,” she replied.

  “Well, I felt pretty safe in little old Bannoch before this, but now, I’m worried. I wish I could feel as calmly about it as you, but I just can’t. Naidenne, what do you think about it?” Judy asked when Naidenne joined them, taking Peggy’s vacated chair.

  “About what?”

  “The murder, of course.”

  “Oh, Maureen...Scott says we won’t know if she was murdered until the autopsy report is released. It does seem odd, though.”

  “That’s what I say. It is obvious she was killed,” Judy said.

  “It’s too bad, though. All the speculation about how Maureen died is taking center stage. No one seems to be mourning her death,” Naidenne said.

  “That may not have happened, in any case, Deenie. Maureen Oldham was not very well-liked, you know.”

  “Oh, I know. I didn’t get very well acquainted with her, because she’d moved away before Scott and I married and she hadn’t been back in town very long, but I heard the tales about her. Still, I think she meant well.”

  “If the road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions, she must have had a relatively smooth exit from this world,” Elizabeth remarked.

  “Why, Elizabeth! What a thing to say,” Naidenne said.

  “Mrs. Oldham must have gotten under your skin to provoke you to say something so hars
h,” Judy said, with eyebrows raised. “Tell!”

  “Oh, I shouldn’t have said anything. Forgive me. No matter what she did, like you said, Naidenne, she meant well.”

  “I would love to stay, but I have an appointment with the doctor, so I’d better be going,” Naidenne said.

  “Is anything wrong?” Judy asked.

  “No, no, just a check-up. See you later,” she waved to the others and left.

  “I do hope Naidenne is not having health problems. She is such a dear girl,” Elizabeth said.

  “She’s been a real asset, all right. If she hadn’t inspired us to start this club, none of us would be real friends, now, would we?”

  “Probably not. We were each wrapped up in our own little church-worlds before. We sometimes worked on community committees when our circles overlapped, but nothing like the fellowship we have now.”

  Saying this, Elizabeth got up and began to collect the empty cups and plates.

  “Ooh, it’s late! I’ve got to go, too,” Judy said and dashed out in a flurry of gauzy garments, briefly snagging one flowing sleeve on the door handle on her way out and nearly flinging herself back into the arms of another member who was leaving.

  Chapter Fourteen

  While Naidenne was driving the Coast Highway to Tillamook for her doctor appointment, Carver Schramm was loitering in an alley across the street from Bannoch Community Fellowship, waiting for the pastor to emerge.

  Earlier that afternoon Schramm saw the man who’d come to the old lady’s house enter the church building and heard a woman greeting her pastor by name, conveniently identifying Scott.

  Schramm was waiting for the pastor to come out and lead the way back to his delectable wife.

  Schramm was prepared to wait as long as it took, but in only a few moments Scott came out, got into his car and drove down the hill toward the highway.

  Carver cursed under his breath.

  Being ill must have made him stupid. Of course, he couldn’t follow the man on foot.

  He picked up a pinecone and hurled it after Scott’s car in a rage, just as a rumpled elderly man carrying a sack of mulch came out of the shed next to the church parking lot.