After Amber left for school on Monday, Nanci took the time to just sit back, have an extra cup of coffee, and try to process what had been a busy and ultimately productive weekend. She was coming to believe that the Conestoga church was beginning to accept her, and more quickly than she had expected. Her sermon about the Good Samaritan had gone over well in Tyler as well on Sunday morning, so she thought perhaps her message got across there, too.

By now, she was starting to get more settled into the community. She was aware that she probably would never be fully part of it, mostly because she hadn’t been born and raised here, but at least her little part in the community was gaining some positive recognition. It was too early to tell, but she hoped that her presence was making a difference for the churches and their people.

She was trying to make up her mind whether to just sit there and maybe work on a sermon for the following Sunday, or to go down to the Prairie Dawn for a cup of coffee or two with the people there. It was still a good way to make contact with people informally and socially, and while she wanted to do that, she was sure there would be questions about her sermon that could easily lead into areas she didn’t want to talk about.

Still, she was leaning toward going to the Prairie Dawn when the phone rang. She got up from the kitchen table and answered it, “Tyler Methodist Parsonage, Reverend Chladek.”

“Chladek, how dare you call yourself a person of God,” she heard an angry voice say. “How dare you go against my wishes.”

Well, someone hadn’t gotten the message, she thought. “And who might this be?” she replied as neutrally as she could.

“This is Reverend John Saunders from the Lexington Community Church. You know as well as I do that Elmer Pepper committed a sin against God by ending his life by suicide. You should have shunned him and let him go to hell without trying to put a good face on it.”

So this was the man she’d been hearing about. Instantly she didn’t like him. At least it wasn’t negative feedback from her sermon from the day before like she had been expecting. “You can believe that if you wish,” she told him, “but consider that a funeral is for the living as much as it is for the dead. The people he left behind deserve to have comfort, not angry words. If you believe otherwise, then that’s your problem. I happen to not agree with you.”

“You shouldn’t have done it. He wasn’t a member of your church.”

“If I understand correctly, he wasn’t a member of yours, either,” Nanci replied a little more sharply. “At least not according to the neighbors of his I talked to. It had been a long, long time since he attended there, probably close to twenty years. I know you were offered the opportunity to speak at his grave, and you turned it down. I was asked, and I believe it’s my Christian duty to offer a few words for someone who died, by whatever manner, and to the friends and family to help comfort them in a tragic time.”

“You went against my wishes and you knew them,” he charged. “You had no right to go against them, and then you had the gall to turn it around and steal people from my church.”

“I stole no one,” she said. “In fact, I was surprised to find out that I had some people from your church at Conestoga yesterday. I’ve learned, Reverend, that people will go where they can hear what they want to hear, and apparently they wanted to hear me.”

“I won’t have this! You’re going against the word of God.”

“That’s for God to decide, not you or me. I suggest you direct your complaints to Him.”

“Now, see here Chladek …” she heard as she hung up the phone. She had heard a story or two that Saunders was a pretty stiff-necked and self-righteous person, and she’d run across people like him in churches before. Mostly she’d tried to avoid them, but occasionally it couldn’t be done. At least she didn’t have to put up with him.

Well, that means I’m going to the Prairie Dawn, she thought. I really don’t want to listen to him harangue me some more. The phone was ringing again when she went out the door, and she ignored it.

As always, she walked up the street to the restaurant for the sake of getting some more exercise. The sheriff wasn’t in his office when she walked past, or she would have stopped to ask about Amber’s mother again, though she expected there would be nothing new.

Larry and Bernice Reed were sitting in the restaurant when she went in, and for once Edith was nowhere to be seen. That was just fine; she could stand someone besides the regulars for some different conversation. “Good morning, Reverend,” Larry said. “Won’t you come and join us?”

“Sure, I’ll be glad to,” she smiled. “Especially after the phone call I just had.”

“Trouble?” Larry asked.

“I don’t think so,” Nanci said as she sat down. “Just Reverend Saunders from Lexington Community Church calling to complain that I gave a service for Elmer Pepper last week.”

“I’m surprised it took him this long,” Larry shook his head. “He’s a loudmouth from the word go. In fact, I have to wonder why they put up with him out there.”

“It beats me. It sounds as if he’s very arrogant and sure of himself. He doesn’t exactly strike me as the ideal of a minister.”

“Maybe they can’t afford any better,” Bernice suggested. “I’ve only met him a couple of times, and he’s not someone I want as my minister.”

“To be honest, he’s not really qualified for the position, or at least that’s what I hear,” Larry went on. “He only thinks he is. As far as I know, his only qualification is that he says he had a revelation from God to preach the Gospel, and I know he thumps the Bible pretty hard. But I’ve heard people say that he doesn’t really know anything about it, he only thinks he does.”

“It’s hard to believe that he could get out of a seminary with that attitude,” Nanci observed.

“Seminary?” Larry snorted. “What seminary? He’s self-ordained. He never attended college, let alone a seminary. I don’t know if there’s any truth to it, but I’ve heard it said he dropped out of high school someplace and never went back.”

“You’re kidding,” Nanci replied, but added after an instant’s thought, “No, I see you’re not kidding. When you get right down to it, the only requirement to be a minister in this state, and in Arizona where I’m from, is that you be accepted by a congregation. It’s easy when an independent congregation sets their own rules. My best friend is a minister of a church like that, but she went to the same seminary I did.”

“Right,” Larry nodded. “All it takes is a loud mouth and someone to follow you, and he has both of those. That’s part of the reason why I like the Methodist Church. They at least expect some proven competence from their ministers. I know you were pre-seminary in college, and graduated from seminary with honors, so that ought to indicate you know what you’re talking about. It doesn’t always work, as Darius Anders proved, but you can’t get a winner every time.”

“Reverend Anders knew his Bible and his doctrine,” Bernice pointed out. “It’s just that he wasn’t very personable about it. He might do fine in a church in a place that’s a little more, well, civilized is the word he liked to use.”

“I’m sure you heard he couldn’t wait to get out of here, and he sure didn’t waste any time when his chance came,” Larry added. “But as for this Saunders character, don’t worry about him. He makes a lot of noise, and some people probably listen to him, but he’s going to kill that church if he keeps on the way he’s going. He’s an arrogant loudmouth who doesn’t know what he’s talking about, and that’s that.”

“There’s a line in Galatians, I think Galatians Six, that seems to apply, at least knowing what you’ve told me,” Nanci smiled. ‘For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.’”

“I’d say that says it about as well as anything could,” Larry smiled. “Let’s change the subject. That was quite a sermon you preached yesterday, Reverend.”

“It was from the heart,” Nanci replied. “We are all sinners, and I’ve been a worse sinner than most. But I turned away from sin with God’s help, and the help of family and friends. Even though it was years ago, I still have trouble believing how far I’ve come to see the light.”

“It’s not the usual background for a preacher,” Larry nodded. “But I think it’s good for a preacher to have been out in the world enough to learn what sin really is.”

“That may be why a lot of people entering the ministry are older,” Nanci agreed. “I know it’s true for me.”

They wound up sitting there talking for over an hour, and from time to time others joined them and left. It was an interesting discussion, and by the time it was over with Nanci felt a lot more comfortable about revealing her past.

Eventually Nanci felt like she’d been sitting there long enough; though there was nothing important on her list for the rest of the day, she had things she needed to do. On her way back to the parsonage she noticed that the sheriff had returned, so stopped in to see if there was any more word on Amber’s mother.

“Reverend, I was just trying to call you,” the sheriff said as she walked in the door. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

“What’s this?”

“The Denver Police saw our missing person announcement. Over the weekend they found a body that matches Linda Wallace’s description. If it’s her, I have no idea how she could have gotten to Denver, but she must have somehow.”

“Oh, dear. I was afraid something like that was going to happen. Are they sure of the identification?”

“Pretty sure but not positive yet of course. They’re having trouble coming up with file copies of Linda’s fingerprints and I don’t have one here.” He stopped, shook his head, and went on, “Do you think it would be possible for Amber to identify her? I mean, I probably could do it but it would be better if it was a relative, and that means Amber. I don’t know of any others.”

“I suppose,” Nanci sighed. “I hate to dump that on her, but if there’s no other way, there’s no other way. Amber has been very worried about her mother, and I don’t know how she’ll take it.”

“She’s over at the school, right? I thought about going over there to tell her, but I think it would be better if you were to do it, or at least if you were with me.”

“I think you’re probably right on that,” Nanci agreed. “I hate doing this, but it’s part of a minister’s job, the bad with the good. We might as well go get it over with.”

“Before we go, there’s something else we need to talk about,” he said. “You were right the other day that the girl is too young to be out on her own. I’m glad you were able to take her in for a few days, but this changes things, since there is no longer an adult who’s at least officially responsible for her.”

“I realize that, and what was going to become of her is a big concern for me.”

“There’s the option of sending her down to the group home in Carondelet,” the sheriff suggested. “That’s really the only option there is, unless you were to agree to become her legal guardian.”

“Then it’s not much of a choice, is it?” Nanci shrugged. “Amber and I have talked about it, and she will to go to the group home if she has to, but we also know that it’s not the best solution. I’d planned on having her stay with me at least until we could make up our minds what to do, or maybe think of something else, but it can’t be put off any longer. I have no objections to her staying with me. What’s involved in me becoming her legal guardian?”

“There’s not much paperwork. Once again, we get to cut a few corners since we’re a small county and don’t have as much bureaucratic red tape as larger places, so a lot of these things fall into my lap. There’s some paperwork and a few fees, but once those are taken care of, the court down in Carondelet will pretty much go along with my recommendation,” he explained. “A guardianship isn’t the same thing as an adoption, which is a lot more complicated and takes a lot longer. We do need to move ahead fairly quickly on the guardianship since her mother’s death, if she confirms it, generates some problems that a guardian has to take care of.”

“I imagine that would be the case. Yes, I’ll take Amber on, assuming she’s willing, and I’m pretty sure she will be. I was suspecting that I would have to do it anyway, but expecting it and then actually doing it are two different things.”

“From what I’ve heard you’ve done fine with her so far, and I don’t doubt you’ll continue to do just fine. The other thing we have to talk about is getting her into Denver to identify the body, and that could be a little upsetting for her. I’d be willing to take her up there or send her up there with my deputy, but I think it’d probably be better if you could drive her.”

“I think you’re right, but I need to know how to find wherever it is I have to take her.”

“That’s no problem. It’s not hard to find, and I can give you a map, then we should get over to the school and tell her. I hate this. Giving someone news like this is the lousiest part of my job.”

“It’s no fun for a minister either,” Nanci agreed. “I have to admit, it’s the first time for me, and it’s definitely not a happy one. I’ll walk on home, get my car, and meet you at the school in a few minutes.”

Nanci didn’t run back to the parsonage, but didn’t dawdle, either. Whether Amber living with her permanently would cause more problems or not was now a moot point, unless the girl rejected the offer in favor of going to the group home, which Nanci didn’t think was very likely. What did seem likely was that Amber would be with her for another two years, or at least until she was out of school, and she had no idea what would happen then. She would be eighteen and a guardianship would no longer be required.

The principal at the school was glad to send someone for Amber once the situation had been explained. In a few moments, Amber walked into the principal’s office, to see Nanci, the sheriff, and the principal all waiting for her. “It’s Mom, isn’t it?” she said softly.

“Yes, Amber, I’m afraid it is,” Nanci told her.

“Well,” she replied softly but calmly. “I was afraid something was going to happen. She’s dead, isn’t she?”

“We think so,” the sheriff said. “Up in Denver. Someone has to identify the body, and you’d be the best one to go. Reverend Chladek said she can take you up there.”

“I can if I have to,” she said after some hesitation. “We’d better do it and get it over with.” Nanci thought she was remarkably composed under the circumstances, but as they’d discussed, she’d been expecting something like this. Nanci thought that perhaps Amber thought it might happen, with what she’d heard about the girl’s mother. But she also had to remember that in spite of Linda Wallace’s faults, she’d produced a very good daughter.

There was no problem in arranging Amber’s absence from school for the day, and soon Nanci and Amber were in the Camry heading for Denver. “I’m sorry, Amber,” Nanci said as they pulled away from the school. “I realize that you were trying to keep up a good front while you were in the school, but if you want to cry or something it’s all right with me.”

“I’m sad,” Amber said quietly. “I know I’ll probably cry about it sometime, but right now I’m just relieved to know she was found. Nanci, I know she wasn’t a very good mom, but she was my mom and she was all I had. At least I won’t have to worry about her anymore. I cared for her more than she cared about herself, and I’m probably the only one who did.”

“At least you did,” Nanci replied, choosing her words carefully. “That counts for a lot.” This might have been a time to say something about entering the Kingdom of Heaven or God watching every sparrow that falls, but somehow it didn’t seem appropriate. She didn’t want to come out and say it, but she knew Amber was probably better off with her mother gone, and that would be true even if she had to go to the group home.

Amber sighed. “Nanci, what happens to me now?”

“I talked about it with the sheriff,” she replied. “With your mother’s status in limbo I’ve been your informal guardian for the last week, but now we need to formalize it, at least if you want me to be your guardian.”

“Are you sure you want to be? I mean, even if Mom is dead, I’m still her daughter, and I’m sure people will still think of me as being the same kind of person she was.”

“With her gone that should ease up a little, especially if you continue to give a good impression to people. You’ve gotten a good start on that. I don’t want to say that things got totally patched up with Keith’s parents yesterday, but it looked like it’s a step or two closer.”

“Yeah, Keith said things had eased up a little with his folks. We didn’t get much time to talk this morning, and I was hoping we could talk more at lunch. At least we ought to be able to hang out a bit this summer when we’re at church or something. I mean, that’s if you really want to be my legal guardian.”

“I don’t have any problems with being your guardian, and anyone who does object is just going to have to learn to live with it,” Nanci said flatly. “It’s not totally a done deal, and we may have to drive down to Carondelet to do some paperwork, but that won’t be today. If nothing goes wrong, my guardian status ought to last until you turn eighteen.”

“What happens then?”

“I don’t know. What do you want to happen?”

“I don’t know, either. Honestly, all I wanted to do was to turn eighteen and graduate from high school so I could get out of Tyler. Things were so bad that I wanted to run away before this, but I knew I was too young to do it, and what you said in your sermon yesterday proved it. I thought about joining the army or something, but it was just a thought. Until you took me in I wasn’t sure I’d make it to eighteen anyway.”

“It’s not something you need to think about today, but it’s something to be thought through eventually. I’ll be glad to help you if you have any questions.”

“I know you’ll help. You’ve done nothing but help me, Nanci, and I’m amazed that anyone would care about me.”

“I care,” Nanci said. “And God cares about you. It may be why He put the two of us together. And I’m sure He did it as much for my sake as he did yours.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Probably because there are things I need to learn from you just like there are things you need to learn from me. Amber, when I first went to Seminary, I thought I had things pretty much under control, but He put me with Sarah, and I learned from her that I still had a lot to learn.”

It was almost a three-hour drive into Denver. While Nanci had been there once before to meet with Bishop Ennis, Amber had never been there – in fact, the farthest she had been from Tyler was to Carondelet, and with the exception of the previous week, only a couple of times. So she spent a lot of her time watching the passing countryside, which was familiar-looking prairie much of the way, but then the mountains of the front range loomed in front of them before the buildings and the smog of the city drew into view.

Along the way, they made a quick stop at a drive-through hamburger place, and Nanci was amazed to find that commonplace act was another first for Amber, who was wide-eyed at all the new things that she was seeing.

Nanci was used to driving in cities and heavy traffic – she’d learned to drive in Chicago after all, and had spent years living in Phoenix, so she wasn’t intimidated by the Denver traffic, though she could tell it bothered Amber. It took time to find the morgue despite the sheriff’s claim, and though they knew it had to be done, neither of them really wanted to go inside.

It took some paperwork and explanations to get in to see Linda’s body, which was lying cold in a drawer. Nanci thought Amber was remarkably calm when looking at her mother’s body and saying, “That’s her.”

Nanci only took a quick glimpse at the body, which seemed drawn and emaciated. There wasn’t much family resemblance, and it looked to Nanci like Amber’s mother had lived a hard life and had been beaten very far down in her very short time on Earth.

“You’re sure?” the attendant asked Amber.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Amber replied. “I know what she looks like, and I don’t need to see her any more.”

“All right,” the attendant replied as he closed the drawer. “I’m sure it will be a while before the body is released, but we need to talk about the disposition for when it happens.”

“I wouldn’t know about that,” Amber replied.

“I can’t tell you anything yet, either,” Nanci said. “I’ll have to do some exploring what the options are, and then talk it over with Amber. Do you know the cause of death?”

“Not officially, and that result will have to wait for the autopsy,” he replied. “But unofficially, I’d have to say it involves alcohol, probably alcohol poisoning. It might be that she just drank too much, or that she drank something like denatured alcohol or wood alcohol. It’s been known to happen.”

“She drank too much, and it poisoned her for years,” Amber said sharply. “I don’t want to look at her again, but I want to remember her in that drawer just to remind me that I don’t want to wind up in a drawer like that because alcohol killed me too. She may have been my mother, but I don’t want to end up like her.”

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