The First Ladies Club Box Set

by J B Hawker

  “No. They finished up more quickly than I ever imagined possible, but we’ve had some unexpected setbacks.”

  When Peter just looked at her questioningly without speaking, Merrill felt compelled to explain. It was a reporter’s trick that seldom failed.

  “That must have been traumatic for you,” he replied when she had shared her story. “Are the police all through with their investigations, now?”

  “I hope so. These weren’t exactly natural deaths, but suicides and accidents don’t usually require CSI-type processes. Not around here, anyway. Still, it seems odd for two people who died here in this building to have worked together, too. There must be a simple explanation, although we may never know what it is.”

  Merrill spied the church custodian, Alden, slipping behind a column on the other side of the room and excused herself to go talk to him about a spill she had noticed near the refreshment table.

  When she reached the spot where she thought Alden would be, he was nowhere to be seen.

  She walked around, scanning the crowd for another glimpse of him, with no luck, and decided to get a mop and clean up the mess.

  On the way, she was waylaid by Bethany Sisco.

  “You are coming to my Bible study, aren’t you, Pastor?” she asked.

  “I am going to try, Bethany, if my schedule allows it. When will it be?” Merrill responded.

  “Well, I was going to have it on Mondays, but that didn’t work with everyone’s schedule. I suggested several other weekdays, but everybody I spoke with was already busy with other plans. I finally settled on Thursdays at three o’clock. Most of the ladies who don’t work could make it then, except Manota Addison. But she told me she wasn’t interested, no matter when my study was held. She was really quite rude about it. She even suggested I wasn’t qualified to teach the Bible. Can you imagine?”

  Merrill calmed the woman down and promised to be at her home on Thursday afternoons, Deo Volente, then quickly made her escape.

  Chapter 15

  The crowd was thinning out by the time Merrill replaced the mop and bucket in their closet and returned to the sanctuary.

  She positioned herself in the foyer near the main church doors to thank those who were leaving and to invite them to the next day’s worship service.

  She had convinced the deacons to have a brochure printed on the history of the church and she was offering these to the people as they left.

  “Thank you for helping us celebrate. Would you like a brochure?” she said before looking up at the next person approaching.

  “Sure, I’ll take one of your pamphlets.”

  “Oh, Peter. Hello again. Do you really want one?”

  “Yes, I really do. I’d like to learn more about the church’s history. I’m sort of a history buff,” Peter replied.

  “Excuse us!” Thom Ortello’s bulk loomed over Merrill as he attempted to edge Peter aside.

  “I beg your pardon,” Peter murmured with a smile.

  “Yes, well, I need to speak to my pastor. It’s important,” Ortello said.

  “Tell her what you saw, Christine,” he urged, pushing his slender wife forward.

  “Is something the matter?” Merrill asked, looking around.

  By this time there were only a few people remaining, just a single cluster of folks lingering to chat and the members of the cleanup crew.

  “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, Merrill. It’s just too awful,” Christine began.

  “Spit it out, woman!” Ortello blustered.

  Christine flinched, then continued.

  “I’m afraid someone has vandalized the women’s restroom.”

  “Chris told me it’s a real mess: backed up toilets, cracked sinks and nasty graffiti all over,” Ortello elaborated with an air of satisfaction.

  “Oh no,” Merrill cried, and rushed to see the damage for herself.

  She hoped Thom was exaggerating, but one look into the restroom showed her it was even worse than she’d imagined.

  Peter was right behind her.

  He looked over her shoulder into the trashed room and whistled.

  “Someone sure did a job here,” he said. “What’s with the ugly racist and homophobic graffiti? Has your church been involved in anything controversial on those subjects?”

  “No. Nothing like that. I haven’t even been pastor here long enough to upset anyone, as far as I know,” Merrill said, then began patting her pockets looking for her phone.

  “I must call the police…and the deacons. We will need to make a sign telling everyone to use the men’s room until repairs can be made…” she mumbled, making a mental list.

  Peter stepped inside the men’s room and came out shaking his head.

  “I’m afraid using the men’s room won’t be an option, Merrill. It’s just as bad. Possibly worse.”

  Feeling defeated, Merrill slumped against the wall for support.

  After several deep breaths and a whispered prayer, she straightened up and led the way to her study, where she called the authorities and Manny Lum.

  After reporting the damage, she asked Manny to let the membership know the worship services would be held in the social hall until the restrooms in the main building could be repaired.

  Peter sat in a visitor’s chair and waited while she finished the calls.

  Merrill took a large sheet of paper from the cabinet behind her desk and began writing on it with a black marker.

  “What are you writing?” he asked.

  “Don’t worry, it’s not a suicide note, although I am feeling thoroughly depressed. I’m just making a notice, so anyone who shows up here tomorrow will know we are still meeting next door. This makes me so sad. I could just cry,” she said.

  She finished writing, handed the paper to Peter, laid her head on her arms and closed her eyes tightly to hold back the tears which were welling up.

  “You’ve had a rough day. What say you let me take you out for dinner?” Peter asked.

  Thinking about Ryan, Merrill began to demur.

  Her nephew would be so disappointed about the special music. She couldn’t leave him to eat dinner alone. But, then she remembered he had a basketball game that evening in Coquille and wouldn’t be back until late.

  She certainly didn’t feel like sulking in an empty apartment.

  “I’d love that, Peter. Thank you,” she said, with feeling.

  *

  Arriving at the local Italian restaurant, the couple discovered they should have made a reservation.

  Apparently, Saturdays were date nights in Bannoch. This was the most upscale eatery in town, and it seemed to be the place to go for a special night out.

  Looking over the line of diners waiting to be seated, Merrill was about to suggest they opt for the Crab Shack, when she saw Peri and his grandmother being escorted to a table.

  Peri spied her at the same time and said something to Ariadne, who nodded and spoke to their waiter. Peri began making his way back to where Merrill and Peter stood.

  “Hi, Pastor Merrill. What a nice surprise! Gran and I were just saying this afternoon that it has been too long since we shared a meal with you, and now, here you are! So, of course, we want you…and your friend,” he smiled at Peter, “to join us. Please don’t say no.”

  After a questioning look to Peter, who nodded, Merrill thanked Peri, saying they would be delighted to join him and his grandmother.

  When they reached the table, Merrill introduced Peter, explaining that he was a friend of her brother just passing through on vacation.

  “Oh, and what is it you are on vacation from, young man?” Ariadne asked.

  “I’m an investigative journalist with the Seattle Dispatch newspaper, ma’am,” he replied.

  “Ooh, that sounds exciting!” Peri jumped in. “Do you dig up dirt on politicians and expose criminals and all that?”

  “Occasionally,” Peter replied with a grin. “More often I simply try to find a new way to reframe the current scandal of the
day. With the advent of bloggers and social media, I’m afraid very few people still rely on the newspaper for the latest information. We can sometimes give a story more depth and authenticity, though.”

  “Where are you headed on your holiday, Mr. Compton?” Ariadne asked.

  “I don’t have much of an itinerary, actually, just a vague idea about wandering the Oregon coast and checking out life in the seaside communities. Wolf asked me to include Bannoch in my stops and drop in on Merrill. I’m glad I did. I’m finding this town to be a charming place with friendly people.”

  “So, how long will you stick around?” Peri asked.

  “I’m interested in the history of these coastal towns. If I find something that piques my curiosity, I might stay a few more days.”

  “Bannoch has tons of history! You could stay here investigating for weeks and not dig up all the dirt,” Peri grinned.

  “Hardly ‘dirt’, Peri. Really,” his grandmother chastised.

  “Well, lots of interesting stuff, anyway.”

  “Such as?” Peter urged.

  “Oh, I don’t know…what about my own history? It has romance and mystery galore.”

  “Now, Peri…,” Ariadne began.

  “Sounds intriguing, Peri. Maybe we can get together for lunch or coffee this week and you can tell me all about it. I was more interested in community history, actually, unless there are any sensational current events to cover.”

  “Like bodies popping up in weird places, you mean?” Peri asked.

  “Let’s not go into that, please. Not tonight,” Merrill begged.

  “Maybe we can save that for our get-together, too. What can you tell me about the founding of Bannoch? Why is this town even here?” Peter asked, when he saw that bringing up the deaths was distressing Merrill.

  A general discussion of the fishing and logging industries upon which the town was founded led to talk about the lumber barons and others who once profited from the Oregon Coast’s bounty.

  “The most prominent local family was the Addisons,” Ariadne commented. “My own family was well off, but not on the scale of the Addison’s wealth. Those old families shared their good fortune with the community, though. Addison funds built the local library and they donated the land for the high school, as well. They were very conscious of their civic obligations.”

  “Didn’t they build our church, too, Gran?” Peri asked.

  “That’s right. They donated the land and built the original church edifice. The social hall and Sunday school annex was built much later, in the 1950’s, as the result of a fundraising campaign. My own family did contribute generously to that building, and with no strings attached, either.”

  “What do you mean?” Peter asked.

  “When the Addisons donated the land and church, they retained the right to reclaim it.”

  “How is that possible?” Merrill inquired in surprise.

  “The terms of the bequest state the land and building belong to the church body only as long as they continue to be used for regular Christian worship. If we try to develop the land, for instance, it all reverts to the Addison family.”

  “I suppose that’s reasonable, but it seems they failed to foresee a time when the congregation might need to relocate,” Merrill said. “I suppose they were simply trying to prevent someone from selling off the property and absconding with the funds.”

  “We needn’t worry about it, now that you are here, dear. We are going to be worshiping in our lovely church for years to come, beginning tomorrow, in fact,” Ariadne said with satisfaction.

  “Then, you haven’t heard?” Merrill asked.

  “Heard what?” Peri asked, alarmed by the dismay on Merrill’s face.

  “Someone vandalized the restrooms in your church building today during the open house. They are unusable without extensive repairs,” Peter explained.

  “So, we are back in the annex for a few more weeks,” Merrill said.

  “Oh, no! Ryan will be so disappointed,” Peri said. “He’s been practicing like a demon on the baby grand and he’s becoming quite competent. We were both eager to play tomorrow’s worship music as it should be played. Oh, botheration, anyway! Why do nasty people always have to destroy beautiful things?”

  “Do we know how much the repairs will cost?” Ariadne asked.

  “It looks pretty bad, I’m afraid. Even with volunteer labor, your parts and materials won’t be cheap,” Peter commented.

  “I’m going to call Sage tonight and see if he can come and give us an estimate. As a contractor, he will know what it should cost,” Merrill added.

  “Well, I volunteer my labor, such as it is, and I’m sure Ryan will pitch in,” Peri said.

  “We will probably need a professional plumber, though,” Peter said, scribbling in his notebook. “I shadowed my dad, back in the day. He was a plumbing contractor, so I know what damage amateur efforts can do on a major plumbing job. No offense, Peri.”

  “None taken. I know my limits. Fetching and carrying about does it for me.”

  “What about your brothers, Merrill?” Ariadne asked.

  Distracted by Peter including himself in his comment, Merrill didn’t respond right away. When he said, “we will…,” did he mean he was planning to stay around to help with the repairs?

  “I hesitate to ask them to take any more time away from their paying jobs to help us, again,” she said.

  “In any event, it is going to be weeks before we can celebrate worship and baptism in the sanctuary. With the Lenten season kick-off beach bonfire picnic coming up soon, most of our people will be too occupied preparing for that to help with repairs.”

  After dinner, Peter drove Merrill back to the church.

  She hopped out of the car as soon as Peter pulled up in front of her apartment.

  Leaning in through the passenger door, she thanked him for dinner and walked quickly to her dark entry.

  Fumbling with her keys and wishing she’d remembered to come home to turn on the porch light before going to eat, she was startled by approaching footsteps.

  Turning toward the sound, she saw Alden lumbering from the annex carrying something under his arm.

  In the darkness, with the parking lot lights behind him, it looked to Merrill like a rifle.

  Unnerved, she dropped her keys.

  Noticing her agitation, Peter stepped out of his car.

  “Need any help, Merrill?” he called.

  Alden was surprised to see Peter and paused for a moment before hurrying along the sidewalk to his battered pick-up truck.

  As he passed between Merrill and Peter, she could clearly see the handle of the mop he carried.

  Laughing to herself at her foolishness, she called a good night to Peter and went inside.

  “I’ve got to stop letting these deaths rattle me,” she said.

  Chapter 16

  “Hurry up, girls, you’ll make us late. You know how Daddy hates it when we come in after the Call to Worship,” Judy called up the stairs.

  “Why can’t we go to Ryan’s church today?” Paisley responded.

  “Daddy said we could go!” Astilbe complained over her sister’s voice, as the two clattered down to confront their mother.

  “It’s not fair!” the girls chorused in unison.

  “Daddy agreed to let you go to the Baptist church, so you could hear Ryan play. As I already told you, Pastor Bishop called to let us know the church would be meeting in their social hall, again, for at least a couple of weeks. All they have for music there is an electronic keyboard. So Ryan won’t be playing today,” Judy explained.

  “Why can’t they have church services in their church building? Just ‘cause some dork trashed the bathrooms, that doesn’t mean no one can worship, does it?” Astilbe asked.

  “Yeah, people could always run over to the other building if they can’t even hold it for an hour,” Paisley declared with her arms crossed.

  “Girls! That’s enough arguing. If we are late again your fathe
r may not let you go to hear Ryan when he finally does get to play.”

  “I still say it’s not fair,” Astilbe mumbled, as their flustered mother shooed them out, catching her flowing shawl on a handcrafted twig basket filled with apples sitting on the kitchen counter and sending the organic fruit bouncing across the floor as she slammed the door.

  *

  Ryan wasn’t much happier than the twins at the change in venue for the morning’s worship. He was looking forward to having the nerve-racking performance behind him.

  It felt really good while he was playing, and Peri seemed to think he was doing a good job, but visions of freezing up and forgetting everything, or even of falling off the piano bench in front of everyone haunted him.

  Why did some jerk have to smash up the restrooms, anyway? What was the deal with that?

  Ryan was slumped against the wall at the back of the social hall, waiting for the service to start.

  “Hey, Ryan! Don’t look so glum, chum,” Peri greeted him. “How would you like to play the offertory today on the keyboard? It won’t sound like the duet we rehearsed, but it will give you practice and sort of help you get over any stage fright. You can consider it a dress rehearsal.”

  Ryan thought about declining Peri’s offer, then decided it just might help.

  No one really paid much attention to the offertory music, especially in the casual setting of the social hall. It was so different from the atmosphere of the sanctuary.

  “Sure, I’ll do it. Thanks.”

  The two musicians walked over to the keyboard to discuss the music and keyboard settings, while the folding chairs began to fill with worshipers.

  All the notoriety the church was getting had actually added to the morning’s attendance, supporting the notion that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

  As Merrill took her seat at the front of the room, she was pleased to see Alden setting up another row of chairs in the back.

  This congregation was almost triple that of her first Sunday.

  She reflected on the phrase in Genesis, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”