Murder by Serpents (Five Star First Edition Mystery) by Barbara Graham Page B

the hair color that was making her mother-in-law look younger. Jane's choice for a date surprised her, though. Thomas Smith was the morning cook at Ruby's and everyone but Jane called him Red. A nice man in his late sixties, he and his wife had moved to Tennessee from Georgia the previous year. Theo had known the couple for several years starting when Red's wife Raeleene had taken Theo's beginning quilting class on one of their annual visits. The couple had moved permanently right after he retired. Soon after their move his wife became ill and had succumbed to cancer only a couple of months later.

    “It hasn't been that long since poor Raeleene died,” said Theo.

    “We are just friends and we both wanted to see the play.” Jane patted her hair into place even as her blush deepened. “At least that's all it is, for now.”

    “Am I allowed to talk about this or is it a secret?” Theo was accustomed to keeping information to herself. While it was a challenge in Silersville, she was experienced. As the wife of the sheriff, she sometimes heard things that had to stay private.
     
    “You can tell Tony, but I'd rather you not tell the group.” Jane lifted her eyebrows as if to remind Theo of her original reason for visiting.

    “Say yes, of course, to the bowlers.” Theo snatched a rectangle of fabric away from the kitten. The kitten retaliated by meowing and going after the spool again. Both women grinned at its antics. “You know that they are going to want to know why you aren't there. You never miss a meeting and there are few secrets that last around that group.” They had named their group of quilting friends the Bowlers to appease the husband of one of the older members.

    “I know, I know.” Jane gave her daughter-in-law a hug. “Just tell them that I went to the play. They don't need to know that I have an escort.”

    “Deal. I'll do the best I can.” Theo pushed the older woman to the door. “Go. Work. Have fun. Stay away from me.” Theo latched the door firmly behind her. “Let's get back to work, Zoe.” Grabbing her rotary cutter and a length of crimson batik fabric, she started to work.
     
    Zoe blinked a couple of times, her golden eyes flashing like caution lights, then turned and bounced onto the window seat and settled down for a bath and nap.

    It didn't take Tony and Sheila very long to reach the location of John Mize's temporary church. The motel office sat on a dead end road just off the highway. Over the decade or so since the motel had stopped operating, it had been used for many things. At one time the twenty units, which were built like tiny cabins, had been offered as individual low cost housing. Poorly insulated and poorly constructed, they were only comfortable in the summer. No one stayed past the first frost.
    Looking more like a bunker than a church, the office building was a flat-roofed cinderblock rectangle squatting under some old, large tulip trees. If an architect had been involved in the project, it was one with zero imagination. At one time the cinder blocks had been painted white. Now the paint was peeling but the basic structure remained sound. The trim was painted robin's-egg blue, complete with speckles.
     
    A sign propped in the front window announced the building's new use. Written in crude block letters on a sheet of neon yellow poster board was an invitation. “Join our Church of Divine Revelation. Mon thru Fri 6:30 p.m., Sun 9:30 a.m. All Welcome.” There was no phone contact.

    The windows gleamed. Using his hands to shield the glare, Tony could see through the spotless glass and into the room. Devoid of all furnishings but a double semi-circle of metal folding chairs, it looked absolutely uninviting but spotlessly clean. Even the battleship-gray linoleum floor had the shine of fresh wax.

    Sheila walked around the building, checking the doors and windows. She reported to Tony that they were tightly locked and the area around the building had been cleared of