Read Mark Schweizer - Liturgical 12 - The Cantor Wore Crinolines for Free Online

found in the portable toilet and run it through our mega-database. Make sure you get a close up of the tapeworm crawling around the bottom of the crapper. Then I’ll check it against all the known DNA in the entire world, and have an answer for you in a couple minutes. I’m sure we’ll find a match.”
    “How about some dessert?” asked Meg. “We have bread pudding.”
     
    * * *
     
    After supper, Pete and I went outside on the back deck to enjoy our cigars. Kent joined us, but eschewed our cheroots in favor of his pipe. This separating of the sexes after supper is a time-honored tradition in North Carolina. So, we were rather surprised when the door opened and Nancy joined us.
    “You can’t come out here,” said Pete. “Men only. We’re smoking.”
    “I brought my own cigar,” said Nancy, then flipped open a lighter with one hand while she rolled the end of the Cuban inside her pursed lips, wetting it.
    “How does this jibe with your health coaching?” Pete asked.
    “I’m a health coach, not a nut,” said Nancy. “I’ve already eaten two brats, German potato salad, and enough bread pudding to feed an African village for a week. Besides, I’ve got a gun.”
    “Fair enough,” I said, then looked at the cigar band. “You stole that one from my desk, right?”
    “Of course I did,” said Nancy, lighting the cigar and taking a puff. “But what’re you gonna do? These Cubans are illegal in every state in the union.”
    The door opened again and Meg stuck her head out. “It’s freezing out here,” she said.
    “Can’t be helped,” I answered. “Unless you want to let us back in the house.”
    “Nope,” said Meg. “You’ll be fine.” She handed me my cell phone. “Here you go. It’s Dave.”
    “Hi, Dave,” I said into the phone. “What’s up?”
    “You know that house that you and Bud bought?” said Dave.
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, Bud was in there looking around after his shift finished at the Piggly Wiggly. The electricity was off, so he brought a flashlight. He had a key to the place.”
    “Right,” I said. “Cynthia gave it to him right after the auction.”
    “So he called the station and, well, since I’m the cop-on-call tonight it was forwarded to my cell.”
    “Yeah?”
    “The thing is,” said Dave with a heavy sigh, “Bud found a dead body in the bedroom closet.”
    “You’re kidding, right?”
    “Nope. I’m here now.”
    “We’re on the way.”

Chapter 4
     
    Meg elected to stay home and clean up the dishes after supper. The rest of the dinner group headed into town, since Nancy and I were heading that way anyway. Nancy dropped Bev off and headed over to Bud’s new house. Kent and Jennifer wanted to stop by since it was on the way home and Kent had a professional interest in the discovery. Being the medical examiner, he’d be seeing the body eventually anyway. Jennifer, though, decided to stay in the car with the heater running. Cynthia held that since she was the mayor, she might as well come and see what was what. Pete wanted to be deputized immediately.
    “Remember when I helped you guys solve that case of the kidnapping and the double murder? I don’t even know how I do it. I’m like some kind of crime solving genius.”
    “I don’t remember that at all,” I said.
    “Me neither,” said Nancy.
    We were standing in the living room of what looked like a small craftsman-style vacation cottage. We couldn’t really tell very much about the house since we were all using flashlights. I kept two in my truck. Nancy had two as well. Dave motioned us toward a room in the back.
    “In there,” he said.
    “Where’s Bud?” I asked.
    “I sent him home. That okay?”
    “Fine,” I said.
    “He seemed sort of shell shocked when I got here.”
    “I’ll bet,” said Cynthia.
    “Anyway, the body’s in the closet. It’s a woman.”
    “Anyone we know?” Pete said, as we all followed Dave into the bedroom.
    “I don’t know her,” said Dave. “At least I