Carlton House

by B. Groves

  Emma had grown up in Wolfpine, she won every beauty contest in the state, and came home to marry the rich widower-Donald Leavens. Donald was thirty years Emma’s senior and died months before Kyle’s divorce. Donald had been the church’s biggest donor when he was alive and Emma continued the generous donations since then.

  Emma was now the rich widow since Donald never had children to leave his fortune to. Kyle found out that Emma had an eye for other men around the time they were seeing each other, and he ended it not wanting more drama in his life.

  Kyle was hurt, but Emma never showed any emotion. Her looking as cool as a cucumber also matched her personality.

  “Wonderful sermon today, Reverend,” Emma said with a smile. She turned to Markus and said, “It’s so nice to see you here, Chief.”

  Anyone could fall under Emma’s spell. She could turn on the charm quicker than a man losing his toupee in a hurricane.

  Markus grinned up at the woman standing over them.

  “Thank you, Emma,” Kyle said. “You didn’t buy this?”

  Emma shook her head in a dramatic fashion, making sure her hair made swooshing sounds. “Not at all, Reverend. I have no idea who did this.”

  Kyle didn’t care really. He was ready to leave this life behind him once this newest issue was resolved.

  He’d lost his faith over the years and with his divorce, he didn’t think he could call himself a Reverend if he couldn’t even keep his marriage together.

  He prayed over it for many nights in the past three years and as he prayed he became more resentful. The church committee no longer seemed to care about the state of their place of worship so why should he? Donations no longer came in waves, they only trickled in. The church was badly in need of repair even with Emma’s generosity and Kyle thought he wasn’t really lying when he said the pipes had burst.

  He loved his church, but over the years and many heartaches Kyle questioned what his path was and at thirty-five he thought he better decide where he wanted to go in life before it was too late.

  Kyle head bustling from the crowd and stood up. Emma turned and she grinned. She turned back to Kyle with an excited look in her eyes that he never saw before even when they spent some passionate nights together.

  “I think I know who brought the food,” Emma said.

  Kyle strained his neck and caught a glimpse of the person everyone was making a fuss over.

  growled lowly, and silently the mayor of suddenly made an appearance to his tiny church and donated the cold food on this sweltering August day.

  Markus had already abandoned Kyle to greet the mayor along with the rest of the parishioners.

  Miranda pushed her way through the crowd to find Kyle and gave him the look. Be nice, her facial expressions said. Miranda was aware of how Kyle felt about the mayor. He returned her look as he fixed his collar and shrugged about his sweat-stained shirt and tie to greet the mayor with phony enthusiasm.

  She returned to the other side of the hall, and Kyle pushed his way through the overheated bodies to see Mayor Samuel Manes greeting the church committee members while holding Joan Baker’s two-year-old daughter in his arms.

  The young girl stared while the crowd cooed and laughed as she popped her thumb into her mouth. Joan had been trying to stop her from sucking her thumb, and Joan’s face turned a bright crimson when her daughter offered her saliva covered thumb to the mayor, much to his amusement.

  “No, sweetie, you keep it,” the mayor said with a laugh from the crowd.

  Samuel Manes was not a big man, nor an imposing figure. He was short, with a full head of white hair. He had an average build, with blue eyes. Kyle thought he looked some kind of bird with his hooked nose and his angular face.

  Samuel was not a native of Wolfpine. He moved to the town about five years ago and won the position of mayor over a year ago.

  He said he grew up somewhere in Virginia and ran his own business. No one really knew much more about Samuel. You never saw him with a wife and children, or any other kind of partner for that matter.

  He always dressed immaculately in designer suits and ties, even on hot days like today.

  Samuel was an enigma, but the people of Wolfpine loved him. He turned this town from an oppressed former textile town, into a tourist attraction right off the Blue Ridge Parkway and in the heart of the Smoky Mountains.

  The residents of the town had jobs, money, and could comfortably start families.

  Then why didn’t Kyle trust the man who could be seen as some kind of savior? Kyle could feel it. He couldn’t see it, he couldn’t touch it, but he could feel a different vibe coming off Samuel.

  A feeling was not proof of any wrongdoing. Kyle searched and searched the internet for Samuel after he had run for mayor and found nothing.

  But he knew something was off with the man, and he couldn’t do anything about it. He could only wait and see how the town and how this man who came into power out nowhere played out.

  Kyle rubbed his eyes as he waited for Samuel to finish greeting other parishioners before he made his appearance. Why would Samuel send food and other cold items to his small church? There were bigger places in town that he could have focused on.

  Miranda caught Kyle’s attention after she greeted the mayor and Samuel handed the little girl back to her mother.

  Kyle plastered a smile on his face and walked over to shake the mayor’s hand.

  “Mr. Mayor,” Kyle said, “On behalf of myself and the church, I want to thank you for your generosity for making our monthly gathering much easier with your gifts.”

  Samuel smiled, and Kyle noticed teeth whiter than newly fallen snow. “You’re welcome, Reverend Ellis. I heard about your plumbing problems, and that you could only reserve this place at the last minute. The least I could do is make everyone more comfortable.”

  “God shined his light down on us when the food and drinks arrived, Mr. Mayor,” Kyle said. The words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

  Kyle noticed a smirk appear on Samuel’s face, but it was quickly gone.

  “Do you have donation plate or basket? I would like to make a donation today to your fine church, Reverend,” Samuel said.

  Kyle felt Miranda rush past him to find their donation basket. “Looks like my assistant is already on it, Mr. Mayor.”

  Samuel’s own assistant-Kyle couldn’t recall his name-approached and handed the mayor a checkbook. Samuel grabbed a pen and wrote down his check. Kyle couldn’t see how much it was because Miranda was already by his side waiting for the donation.

  She held out the basket and Samuel dropped the check through the slot. “Hopefully, this will help with the plumbing.”

  “That was very kind of you, Mr. Mayor,” Kyle said when Miranda grasped the basket like it was a newborn baby and grinned stupidly beside him.

  Samuel nodded and smiled. Kyle let the rest of the parishioners have their time with the mayor and air their grievances.

  Samuel stayed for another half hour before he apologized for having to cut the time short, and head back to his duties.

  “You never liked him,” Markus said to Kyle.

  Kyle was now holding Joan’s young daughter, while Joan went to gather her things to leave. The little girl fell asleep in Kyle’s arms. Joan’s husband Matt was deployed, and she could use all the help she could get with her daughter.

  Kyle had hoped for this feeling one day, but it never happened. He doubted it ever would the way his life was heading.

  “And I never will,” Kyle commented as he adjusted the sleeping little girl on his shoulder.

  “Never found anything on him,” Markus said.

  “You never will,” Kyle answered.

  Markus shrugged and said, “What about our current problem?”

  “I’m meeting Miguel after everyone clears out. I’m trying again,” Kyle said.

  “No answer?”

  Kyle grabbed his phone and tapped his emails.

  He shook his head, and said, “Nothing
.”

  “It didn’t work the first time. Why do you think it’ll work again?”

  Kyle tried to smile, but it was more out of sarcasm. “My faith. I have to keep Miguel hopeful too, or he might do something rash. I’m afraid of that.”

  Markus nodded. “Do you need me there?”

  Kyle shook his head. “No. I can handle it. I may have to take a drive this week, and I might need you to watch her while I’m gone.”

  Markus frowned. “Where will you go?”

  “To visit this woman,” Kyle said.

  Markus blinked in surprise. “Are you out of your damn mind?”

  “I have to try,” Kyle answered. “This network thing might be our last chance to save her.”