Apple Turnover Murder (Hannah Swensen, #13)(87)

It took a few moments after she’d closed the outside door, but at last she could see well enough to move forward in the crowded room. A tall dresser with wide, shallow drawers sat against the wall. It contained the sparkling white linen for communion. The top of the dresser held a large, round silver tray that had been polished to a high gleam by Hannah’s neighbors, Marguerite and Clara Hol-lenbeck. The tray was peppered with small nonnonindentations for tiny round glasses that would hold the communion wine. Another, smaller silver tray with a cover was next to the large tray, ready to receive the communion wafers.

Avoiding several boxes that jutted out into her path, Hannah moved toward the doorway and stepped into the main body of the church. That was much better! The sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows was gorgeous.

“Reverend Matthew?” she called out, but there was no answer. Her eyes scanned the rows of oaken pews, but the only things moving were tiny dust motes dancing in the beams of colored light. Hannah moved forward down the carpeted center aisle, heading straight for the church office. It was opposite the stairway that led up to the choir loft and it had been recently refurbished.

The door to the office was closed and Hannah hesitated. “Reverend Matthew?” she called out again, and followed her query by knocking softly on the door. “Are you there?”

There was no answer, Hannah felt her hearbeat quicken and there was a lump in her throat. This wasn’t good, not good at all. She wanted to turn tail and run, but that would be cowardly. What if Reverend Matthew was inside and he was injured in some way. Or he had been taken suddenly ill? Or … but she didn’t want to think about that!

She called his name again. Twice. And then she reached out with shaking fingers and turned the doorknob. It took all of her gumption to push the door open slightly, just far enough so that she could see the edge of the desk. And then a bit wider. And then …

Hannah stood stock still and stared at the sight that greeted her. Reverend Matthew was seated at the desk and it was obvious that he’d been working on next Sunday’s sermon because it was spread out on the desk in front of him. His head was resting on the pages, but he wasn’t asleep. There was something else on the sheets of paper and on the desktop in front of him. That something was blood. A lot of blood. More blood than Hannah ever would have guessed a human being could contain.

“Reverend Matthew?” she asked again, in a very quiet voice. She didn’t expect an answer and she didn’t get one. Reverend Matthew was stone cold dead.

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