enough. Sad about what happened to Reverend Oglesby. He was a good man.”
“Did you know him?” I asked.
“Bout as well as anyone, I reckon. And by that I mean not well. He was a quiet fellow. Did his duty here at the church, and I’ve seen him a couple times coming and going from the hospital. He always had a polite hello to say and always asked about my family.”
“Thank you, Johnny,” Jack said. “I guess we’ll go disrupt Ms. Dewberry’s schedule a little more.”
“Gonna have a hard time doing that,” Johnny said. “She drove the Reverend down to North Carolina to speak with Reverend Oglesby’s father and bring him back here for the services. You only missed them by half an hour. They said they’d be back late tonight or early in the mornin’. Someone from Richmond is supposed to come in and fill Reverend Oglesby’s position temporarily until someone new can be found. He’ll be here in the morning.”
Jack sighed and I could feel the frustration coming off him in waves, but he hid it well from Johnny.
“Thanks again, Johnny. We’ll be seeing you around.”
Johnny reached out and put his hand on Jack’s arm to stop him. “I heard some of what was done to that boy,” he said. “Whispers get out, no matter how quiet you try to keep it.”
“Don’t I know it,” Jack said.
Johnny’s eyes were dead serious and steady on Jack’s. “We like to think we’ve progressed, and that we’re all accepting of change with the times. But people lie to themselves every day. No one really likes change. And things aren’t all that different from when I was a boy. You be careful, son. Very careful. I’m tired of standing over gravesites of people I’ve known since they were in diapers.”
“I don’t suppose you’d know where I should get started?” Jack asked.
“I wouldn’t know a thing like that,” Johnny said, dropping his hand and bending down to pick up his shears. “I keep my head down and do my work. Take care of my family. Just like my father and grandfather did before me. But you might talk to the sheriff over in Westmoreland County. Seems I remember hearing a similar story a few months back when I was there getting a trailer full of mulch. ”
Jack and I said our goodbyes to Johnny and got back in the cruiser. I couldn’t control the shivers that racked my body, and I huddled tighter in my coat.
“Do you think he’s part of it?” I asked as we headed back into town.
“No, but he’s given us as much of a warning that we’re on the right track as he can without bringing danger to his own family. I’m going to drop you off at the funeral home. I need to do some checking and put out some feelers. Will you be okay?”
“I’m fine, Jack. I’ve got Reverend Oglesby to keep me company and organs to weigh.” I didn’t bother telling him I’d be fine as long as I didn’t go to sleep. But I had a feeling he already knew more than I wanted him to.
“I’ll be back by dinner,” he said. “I’ve never had a campout on the third floor of the funeral home before. I’ll bring the stuff for S’mores and a couple of sleeping bags. Campouts are always more fun with company.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief I didn’t know I’d been holding. Never forget to breathe, J.J.
***
Other than being beaten to hell, Daniel Oglesby had been a very healthy thirty-six year old man. I lost track of the hours that went by as I studied every inch of the victim. There hadn’t been any food left in the stomach or small intestines, so I’d been able to firm up the time of death around the 48-52 hour mark, which would put TOD anywhere from 11pm Tuesday night to 3am Wednesday morning. Which also told me his body had been kept somewhere fairly cool and protected because he hadn’t decomposed as much as he should have for being dead that long.
I’d also found high traces of Diprivan in the tox screen, which explained how the killers had managed to get to the Reverend without him
“Did you know him?” I asked.
“Bout as well as anyone, I reckon. And by that I mean not well. He was a quiet fellow. Did his duty here at the church, and I’ve seen him a couple times coming and going from the hospital. He always had a polite hello to say and always asked about my family.”
“Thank you, Johnny,” Jack said. “I guess we’ll go disrupt Ms. Dewberry’s schedule a little more.”
“Gonna have a hard time doing that,” Johnny said. “She drove the Reverend down to North Carolina to speak with Reverend Oglesby’s father and bring him back here for the services. You only missed them by half an hour. They said they’d be back late tonight or early in the mornin’. Someone from Richmond is supposed to come in and fill Reverend Oglesby’s position temporarily until someone new can be found. He’ll be here in the morning.”
Jack sighed and I could feel the frustration coming off him in waves, but he hid it well from Johnny.
“Thanks again, Johnny. We’ll be seeing you around.”
Johnny reached out and put his hand on Jack’s arm to stop him. “I heard some of what was done to that boy,” he said. “Whispers get out, no matter how quiet you try to keep it.”
“Don’t I know it,” Jack said.
Johnny’s eyes were dead serious and steady on Jack’s. “We like to think we’ve progressed, and that we’re all accepting of change with the times. But people lie to themselves every day. No one really likes change. And things aren’t all that different from when I was a boy. You be careful, son. Very careful. I’m tired of standing over gravesites of people I’ve known since they were in diapers.”
“I don’t suppose you’d know where I should get started?” Jack asked.
“I wouldn’t know a thing like that,” Johnny said, dropping his hand and bending down to pick up his shears. “I keep my head down and do my work. Take care of my family. Just like my father and grandfather did before me. But you might talk to the sheriff over in Westmoreland County. Seems I remember hearing a similar story a few months back when I was there getting a trailer full of mulch. ”
Jack and I said our goodbyes to Johnny and got back in the cruiser. I couldn’t control the shivers that racked my body, and I huddled tighter in my coat.
“Do you think he’s part of it?” I asked as we headed back into town.
“No, but he’s given us as much of a warning that we’re on the right track as he can without bringing danger to his own family. I’m going to drop you off at the funeral home. I need to do some checking and put out some feelers. Will you be okay?”
“I’m fine, Jack. I’ve got Reverend Oglesby to keep me company and organs to weigh.” I didn’t bother telling him I’d be fine as long as I didn’t go to sleep. But I had a feeling he already knew more than I wanted him to.
“I’ll be back by dinner,” he said. “I’ve never had a campout on the third floor of the funeral home before. I’ll bring the stuff for S’mores and a couple of sleeping bags. Campouts are always more fun with company.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief I didn’t know I’d been holding. Never forget to breathe, J.J.
***
Other than being beaten to hell, Daniel Oglesby had been a very healthy thirty-six year old man. I lost track of the hours that went by as I studied every inch of the victim. There hadn’t been any food left in the stomach or small intestines, so I’d been able to firm up the time of death around the 48-52 hour mark, which would put TOD anywhere from 11pm Tuesday night to 3am Wednesday morning. Which also told me his body had been kept somewhere fairly cool and protected because he hadn’t decomposed as much as he should have for being dead that long.
I’d also found high traces of Diprivan in the tox screen, which explained how the killers had managed to get to the Reverend without him
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