When Sunday Comes Again by Terry E. Hill Read Free Book Online

Mitchell?”
    â€œReverend Mitchell was a senior minister at New Testament Cathedral. He was also one of the largest individual donors to the new cathedral construction project and a man who would do anything Samantha told him to do. It was an open secret that he was in love with her, and she used that to control him.”
    â€œHow did he die?”
    â€œPoor man shot himself in the head on the night Hezekiah was killed,” Cynthia answered with as much sympathy as she could muster. “It was such a tragedy.”
    â€œDo the police think there’s a link between Hezekiah’s murder and Mitchell’s suicide?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œSo what makes you think there is?”
    â€œReverend Mitchell was madly in love with Samantha. So why would he kill himself after the man he believed stood between him and Samantha was now out of the way? It doesn’t make sense.”
    Gideon still had not opened the folder that lay on the table. “Is Danny St. John a member of New Testament Cathedral?”
    â€œNo. He’s a social worker who works with the homeless at an agency in downtown Los Angeles. I’ve never seen him before, but Lance told me he is quite beautiful. You should pay him a visit. You might like him.”
    Gideon ignored the poorly veiled reference to his orientation and opened the folder. The first e-mail was dated February twelfth two years earlier. It was sent from Hezekiah’s New Testament Cathedral e-mail address to a Google address for Danny St. John.

    Hello, Danny,
    I’m between meetings and wanted to tell you how much I love you. I think about you so much sometimes, it’s hard for me to concentrate. I was just counseling a couple whose marriage is falling apart, and all I could think about was holding you in my arms and kissing your body from head to toe. I love the way you taste, the way you smell, and the way you make me feel. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow night.
    Love you,
    Hez

    Gideon continued reading randomly through the stack of e-mails. They ranged in tone from completely innocuous to sexually graphic. Some were innocent communications, while others spoke to the undeniable emotional and physical bond between one of the nation’s most powerful religious leaders and a young, naive social worker. After a while Gideon looked up from the papers at Cynthia, who had been studying him the entire time he read. There was silence at the table as they each planned their next move.
    Gideon went first. “So, what do you want out of this? Our network has a firm policy that we don’t pay for stories.”
    Cynthia had anticipated that these would be the salivating journalist’s next words and reverted to her best minister’s wife impression.
    â€œI’m not seeking any type of financial remuneration,” she responded indignantly. “I don’t want anything but for God’s will to be done. My heart goes out to Samantha. Who knows what diseases he may have given her? Also, what if this Danny St. John killed Hezekiah in a jealous rage? She needs to know for her own safety.”
    â€œWhy didn’t the Los Angeles Chronicle run the story?”
    â€œIt was scheduled to be their lead story on the Monday after the Sunday Hezekiah was killed. Obviously, Hezekiah being killed was a much bigger story than him liking to suck dick. And, afterward, I’m sure they realized there would be a significant backlash if they were thought to be maligning the dead.” From the expression on Gideon’s face, Cynthia realized her choice of words didn’t fit with the preacher’s wife image. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”
    â€œNot offended. Just a little surprised.” Gideon took a mental note of the multifaceted woman and continued. “If this is true, it has the potential to be one of the most sensational stories of the year. Have you spoken to anyone else in the media?”
    â€œNo, I