Shepherd by the Sea: A Pastor Clarissa Abbot Mystery

by Glen Ebisch

  The door to the interrogation room opened and Lieutenant Baker entered. He nodded at Clarissa, sat down, and opened a file. He glanced at the top sheet of paper, and then looked up at her.

  “I read the statement you gave the officer last night. It seems very complete. Of course, we haven’t been able to verify any of the facts.”

  “Have you questioned Richard Coppleston?”

  “Not yet. He was taken to the hospital last night and found to have a rather severe concussion. We should be able to talk with him later on today. However, a preliminary forensics examination shows that the knife he had with him last night is the same weapon used to kill Karla Evanston and her husband George. If that turns out to indeed be the case, we’ll probably be able to get the police up north to launch a further investigation into Coppleston’s activities at Verve Pharmaceuticals. I say, as of right now, it looks like we should be able to develop a strong case against him for these murders, and, of course, there’s also the attack on you and Porter.”

  “Good. I think he was a ruthless man.”

  “And a very clever one.” Baker smiled. “Although not clever enough to fool you, Pastor.”

  “He had me fooled up until he mentioned Karla trusting him. That reminded me of what she’d said about men she trusted letting her down and being dishonest. At first I thought she was referring to only George, but then I began to wonder why she’d had used the plural. Coppleston was the only other man that I knew she trusted, so I began to suspect him.”

  “So you threw in that little trick about George being a blackmailer, and he fell for it.”

  “He was an arrogant man, and like most arrogant men, he underestimated others.”

  “One question I wanted to ask you with regard to your statement. You said that Jonathan Porter came to your house last night because he wanted to see you about some business matter, but you were a bit vague about what that business matter was.”

  “I don’t think that’s really relevant to the case.”

  “Since this is a murder investigation, I think you’d better let us decide that,” Baker said gently, but firmly.

  “Jonathan was planning to move from South Shore and start over again elsewhere after the Victor Carlson incident. He wanted me to go with him and be a partner in his new enterprise.”

  “What type of an enterprise was he planning?”

  “He hadn’t fully formalized his plans, but I imagine it would have had something to do with . . . spirituality.”

  The Lieutenant nodded, but she thought she saw a smile flicker across his face.

  “I called the hospital this morning and all they would tell me is that he was resting and his condition was ‘fair.’ Do you know anything more than that?”

  “I know that the knife missed his heart by inches, so he was very lucky. Much as you were with your bullet wound. There was some muscle damage to his shoulder and chest. So he’ll have a long period of recovery and rehabilitation. But I’d say that he’s definitely out of the woods. Did you walk to the station this morning?”

  Clarissa nodded.

  “I’ll have an officer take you to the hospital right after this. A police presence will get you in to see him for a few moments.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’d like to thank you for your help on this case, but I’m not sure that I should. Intentionally or not, you put yourself in a lot of danger.”

  Clarissa started to speak, and he put up his hand. “I know you didn’t realize you were letting a killer into your kitchen, but all the same, if you hadn’t questioned the people at Verve, Coppleston never would have come to see you. He had to find out what you knew before he pushed us in the direction of Jonas Samuels. You brought danger on yourself by pursuing this investigation. I’m afraid I can’t condone that.”

  “You’d never have caught him otherwise.”

  Baker shrugged. “You said yourself that he was arrogant. Eventually, he’d have slipped up, and we would have caught him.”

  Clarissa sat quietly, not indicating agreement or disagreement.

  Baker stood up. “Wait here for a moment and an officer will take you to the hospital.”

  A few minutes later, Sergeant Rudinski stepped into the room. “I’ll be taking you to the hospital,” he announced, holding open the door and following her down the hall.

  They walked into the police parking lot where they got into his unmarked car that Clarissa knew well.

  “It think it’s cruel of Lieutenant Baker to make you be the one to take me to the hospital,” Clarissa said, as they pulled out of the parking lot.

  “He didn’t make me, I asked to do it.”

  Clarissa looked over at him. “Why?”

  “Because I wanted to see that you’re all right, and I needed a chance to talk with you.”

  “Well, I’m doing okay under the circumstances. What did you want to talk about?”

  “I just wanted you to know that although I’m not happy about it, I can understand why you’re attracted to Jonathan Porter. He saved your life last night, and anyone who does that is okay in my book. I won’t say I’m not jealous of him, but I think he deserves my respect. And if you choose him instead of me, I’ll completely understand.”

  “Jonathan asked me to go away with him yesterday at lunch.”

  “What did you say?” Rudinski asked, biting his lip.

  “I said no because I didn’t want to leave Shore Side. But that doesn’t mean that I was planning on coming back to you as some kind of second choice. You deserve better than that. I wasn’t going to be with anybody. I don’t think I should be with anyone until my head is clearer about what I want to do with my life.”

  “But Baker told me that now Porter isn’t leaving.”

  “That’s right. However, that doesn’t change my decision. I’m on my own. I’d still like to see you and Jonathan, but I’m not making any further commitment until things settle down. My life has been in turmoil since I moved here. I need time, time to settle down before I make any life altering commitments. Can you understand that?”

  “If you can understand that I’m not going to disappear and leave the field to Porter. I intend to keep asking to see you. You can accept or refuse, but I’m not going away.” Rudinski smiled. “I may not be as dashing as he is, but I am persistent.”

  Clarissa smiled back. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  When they got to the hospital, Rudinski offered to wait in the lobby while she went up to see Jonathan, but Clarissa told him that she would walk back to the parsonage. After giving Clarissa a friendly hug, he left her in the lobby.

  *****

  A half hour later, Clarissa made her way back to the parsonage. Her time with Jonathan had been reassuring because the nurse had informed her that his vital signs were good and he was making normal progress. However, he was still very groggy, drifting in and out of consciousness. He would see her and smile, appear ready to speak, and then fade back into unconsciousness. She sat with him for a while, glad that she didn’t have to give her little independence speech twice in the same day. She couldn’t help but see herself as an annoying tease, dangling the prospect of her company between two men, satisfying neither. But she wasn’t ready to make a choice, and she was willing to accept the possible consequences of losing both of them.

  Standing outside the door to her office, Clarissa could hear loud female voices coming from within. She wondered for a moment whether Ashley had charged ahead and was already interviewing potential bridesmaids. But when she opened the door, she had a surprise.

  “Karla’s sisters are here,” Ashley announced unnecessarily, since the two women were sitting in the middle of the room.

  Cheryl immediately jumped up and ran across the room to hug Clarissa.

  “Thank you so much for catching our sister’s killer. Whoever thought that nice Mr. Coppleston would be a killer?”

  “I always thought he was a bum,” Rhonda said. She gave Clarissa a comradely punch in the arm. “Go
od work putting him down. I won’t be sorry if he never gets out of the hospital. If they left me in a room alone with him . . .”

  “Now, sister,” Cheryl said, “we have to let justice take its course.”

  Rhonda stared at her as if she were crazy.

  “Well, we have to be on our way now. Thanks again for everything,” Cheryl said.

  “Yeah, nice trolling the bars with you,” Rhonda added with a wink. “We should do it again some time. I won’t be married forever.”

  When the sisters had left, Ashley said, “What a couple of characters. It makes you wonder what Karla was like.”

  “She was like all of us, a combination of good qualities and bad qualities. And it was that combination that got her killed.”

  “They almost got you killed this time,” said Ashley, looking concerned. “Mrs. Morgan was over here this morning telling me everything and crying her eyes out. I had to comfort her, and you know that isn’t really my thing.”

  “I’ll talk to her later and reassure her that I’ll lead a quieter life in the future.”

  “You know it’s a sin to lie.”

  “I’m not lying, just expressing an intention for the future.”

  “How are things on the man front?”

  “I think I’ve ended up with two male friends and no boyfriends. What about yourself?”

  “I’ve got one bona fide fiancé who has Aunt Mona’s stamp of approval. I think she likes him better than me. He eats more.” She waggled her hand in the air. “See I’ve got the ring to prove it.”

  Clarissa stared at the ring, which looked a bit like a skull and crossbones.

  “It’s from the Druid store up in Atlantic City. It’s the ring of undying love. If one of you breaks your vow, you die a terrible and wasting death.”

  “I see. That should definitely keep a couple together.”

  Clarissa went into her office and opened the folder with this Sunday’s sermon inside. As she looked again at what she’d said about community, it seemed like a very long time since she’d read it last. But with all that had happened, she felt that she could deliver it with more sincerity than ever before.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Glen Ebisch is the author of the Madison Revere Mystery Series for Cozy Cat Press, which includes When the Dog Bites, When the Rope Breaks, and When Push Comes to Shove. Also published by Cozy Cat is his mystery The Black Dog in the Marcie and Amanda Series. If you enjoyed A Kingdom by the Sea, you may also like Seaside Secrets, and Ocean Blues in the Pastor Clarissa Abbot Mystery Series.

  A retired professor of philosophy, Ebisch has had over thirty mysteries published. He currently resides in western Massachusetts. He would be happy to respond to any questions or comments by means of his website www.glenebisch.com. If you wish to receive his newsletter announcing new books and special sales, go to the contact section of that website and leave your email address. If you enjoyed this book, a review on Amazon would be appreciated.

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider posting a review on your favorite retailer’s website.

  For more Cozy Cat Press mysteries, visit our website at: www.cozycatpress.com