Gerald Everett Jones's Blog: Gerald Everett Jones - Author, page 21
April 9, 2024
Chapters 18-19: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP712
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP713 will be posted Wednesday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP712 DescriptionGP712 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapters 18 and 19 (27:25 minutes)Evan has nightmares and remembers how he met Naomi. He realizes reclusive Arthur Redwine might be the only living witness to old land deals. Cora informs Evan Bob must have made changes to his will right before he died.
Chapter 18
Friday Night
With Evan
Now Clapper’s dead. What is life but heat? Time flows in one direction — from low to high entropy, from hot to cold. Angus with the flushed cheeks is now cold. Warm-hearted Bob is now ash.
After that ample meal at Edie’s, Evan didn’t feel much like having dinner. On the way home, he stopped in at a convenience store and bought a can of aerosol cheese and a box of Ritz crackers. There not being any Wild Turkey or Jack Daniels on the shelf, he opted for a fifth of Old Crow.
Edie hadn’t yet asked him to return Bob’s phone or computer. And he certainly wasn’t ready to tell her what he’d found. Maybe she figured he’d never found the passwords. When he got back to his trailer and settled in, his first task was to back it all up into the cloud.
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April 8, 2024
Chapter 17: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP711
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP712 will be posted Tuesday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP711 DescriptionGP711 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapter 17 (28:09 minutes)Edie forbids Evan to go further in his investigation. Evan gets news about Clapper, and a key witness is silent.
Chapter 17
Friday Afternoon
Taggart House
It was two o’clock by the time Evan got to Edie’s. The snowfall had abated, but a blustery wind had kicked up, and the dense cloud cover imparted a general gloom. As the locals say, “If you don’t like the weather in Missouri, wait five minutes and it’ll change.” But Evan remembered they’d said the same thing in Massachusetts.
When Edie didn’t respond to the doorbell, Evan let himself in. These ranch homes don’t have a mudroom, as the farmhouses do, but there was space in the entryway for him to remove his slush-caked work boots and hang up his soaked ball cap and down jacket. He tucked the bag with both computers behind a box of fire logs. He wasn’t yet sure how much he wanted to tell Edie about his data drilling. After all, she’d authorized him to make arrangements. And so far he hadn’t followed through with the details of the memorial service. But he figured it was his responsibility to at least understand the disposition of Molly’s estate. And he was hoping — or fearing — those discoveries would shed some light on why his friend felt he had to die.
Having removed his wet gear and his cap, Evan was more or less neatly dressed in a flannel shirt and khakis. But he’d be plodding around her neat house in his damp wool socks. Somehow exposing his bare, hairy feet didn’t seem appropriate. He called out to Edie, and her voice from another room shot back, “Sit yourself down and eat!”
The place at the head of the dining room table was set for one, with a steaming hot meal and a pot of fresh coffee.
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April 7, 2024
This Week's Audiobook Episodes GP711- GP715
Here’s a list of the next five weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
New episodes will be posted each weekday morning at 8 am Eastern / 5 am Pacific until all 24 episodes in the book have been released.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Monday, April 8GP711 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Episode 11 - Chapter 17 (28:09 minutes)Tuesday, April 9GP712 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Episode 12 - Chapters 18 and 19 (27:25 minutes)Edie forbids Evan to go further in his investigation. Evan gets news about Clapper, and a key witness is silent.
Wednesday, April 10GP713 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Episode 13 - Chapter 20 (21:44 minutes)Evan has nightmares and remembers how he met Naomi. He realizes reclusive Arthur Redwine might be the only living witness to old land deals. Cora informs Evan Bob must have made changes to his will right before he died.
Thursday, April 11GP714 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Episode 14 - Chapter 21 (29:49) minutesEvan goes to see his old mentor Rev. Thurston, who won't let him off the hook.
Friday, April 12GP715 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Episode 15 - Chapters 22, 23 and 24 (33:45 minutes)On a visit to Redwine, Evan learns the Army has a longstanding claim to the Emmett place.
Evan fears he's a fraud pretending to be a counselor, may not be helping at all. In church on Sunday, he tells the congregation why Bob should have wanted to go on living. Zip confronts him and shows an odd curiosity about the investigation. On the way to collect on a car loan, Evan seeks Naomi's advice about next steps.
There are four novels in the Preacher Evan Wycliff mystery series. We’ve produced the first one as an audiobook. Your support here will help us to record more!
It's a Bright New Day in Kathryn Raaker's World
It’s a stimulating half-hour on YouTube.
Wherever in the world, she’s been there and done that. We had an agenda for this talk but it got way out of hand!
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If you’re a free subscriber here, upgrade to paid for $5 per month or $30 and get access to all content, including Thinking About Thinking book reviews, thoughtful essays, podcasts, and audiobooks. Episodes of Preacher Finds a Corpse are releasing daily now and will be complete by April 25. Find past releases on our Bonus Audiobook Episodes tab, and if you haven’t been following - by all means binge!
April 5, 2024
Chapter 16: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP710
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP711 will be posted Monday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode 10 DescriptionGP710 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapter 16 (47:57 minutes)Lawyer Angus Clapper tells Evan about the terms of Bob's will and two problems with title to the Emmett farm. He hints at a third complication but can't explain.
Chapter 16
Friday 11 AM
John Knox Village, Lee’s Summit
As Evan arrived at Knox, a copious snowfall had begun. He wanted to take as much time as necessary with Clapper, but he worried weather conditions could worsen and complicate his drive back.
When Evan reported to the reception desk in the vestibule, he had to first sign the register, which he did as Preacher Evans. So he was within his rights simply writing Preacher in felt marker on his stick-on visitor’s badge. The security guard at the desk summoned a pimply faced male orderly, named Darnell, who accompanied Evan to the solarium on the second floor of one of the residence buildings. Perversely thinking about his newly adopted sister village, Evan wondered about the impression he’d give if he’d written Peculiar Preacher on his badge.
Maybe no one would get the joke?
Angus Clapper was seated in a wheelchair with a plaid blanket covering his lap. Clashing with the blanket was his heavy wool hunter’s shirt, also plaid but of a different stripe. A translucent plastic tube hung from an elastic band hooked around his ears, connecting his bulbous nose to a small oxygen tank mounted on the back of his chair.
Evan shook the frail, dry hand Clapper offered him and sat down opposite the fellow at a small rollaway table. The chessboard was already set up.
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April 4, 2024
Chapters 14-15: Preacher Finds a Corpse- Bonus Audiobook Episode GP709
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP710 will be posted Friday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP709 DescriptionGP709 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapters 14 and 15 (27:51 minutes)Evan does some more data drilling and remembers a time when he and Bob went hunting with Uncle Dick. On his way to see crusty old attorney Angus Clapper, Evan drives through the town of Peculiar.
Chapter 14
Thursday Afternoon
Evan’s Trailer
Evan hadn’t told Otis about the files he found on Bob’s laptop. That Bob had been researching the ownership of the farm was not so surprising. But the fact of the two encrypted files with anonymous labels nagged at Evan. Brownie1993 for the computer had been a lucky find. He’d have to try to guess the password or passwords for those two files.
Brownie, 1993. The year the dog died. Also Bob’s mother. Now we have that in common.
* * *
As boys, when Evan and Bob weren’t poking around AC, they’d meet up at the Emmetts. Bob had permission from his parents as well as from the Emmetts to roam those pastures. Only later did Evan realize it was because Bob’s Great Aunt Molly owned it all (or thought she did). It was a short hike from the Evans’ farm to the Emmett’s, so the boys regarded it as their personal recreation area. Although unsupervised, they knew they weren’t allowed (and didn’t have access to) firearms. But they plinked at everything they saw with BB and pellet guns, and slingshots. Brownie (the First) was there to scout elusive prey. But when she spotted a squirrel or a rabbit or even a mouse, she’d bark excitedly, nonstop. As a result, she’d startle the animal, which would scamper away before the boys had a chance to get off a shot. It was enormous fun, and the boys never faulted themselves for not being expert hunters or crack shots.
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April 3, 2024
Gerald and John Christian Discuss the End of the World
I didn’t say “prevents,” but John might say it’s not a concern.Preacher Evan Wycliff is often a doubter. John Christian says he’s an atheist. What is Gerald? An I-don’t-knowist? Click here to watch on YouTube.
Host John Christian says he’s left Christianity. He’s a Canadian self-published author, music composer, and podcaster. His show is Tell Me About Your Book, where he speaks to other self-published authors about their work. It streams weekly on YouTube.
John retired from film and television editing in 2017 after a brain aneurysm ended his career. In 2018 John began writing books.
Among these is The Way to Kialo, a fictional account of John’s personal journey from evangelical Christianity to atheism. That led to a second book in the series called The Barnabas Trail, which deals with the subject of anti-intellectualism. The third book of the trilogy is The Kialo Expansion. It confronts the awful subject of bigotry. All three books are a continuing story that takes place over a period of 28 years.
Paid subscribers to this blog get the audiobook Preacher Finds a Corpse. Find episodes here.
Fourth in the Preacher Evan Wycliff mystery series.
Feed your curiosity with a paid subscription to this Thinking About Thinking blog. With a paid subscription, you’ll gain access to all the content that’s here, including podcasts, and you’ll be helping us build our worldwide community through storytelling and self-expression.
If you’re a free subscriber here, upgrade to paid for $5 per month or $30 and get access to all content, including Thinking About Thinking book reviews, thoughtful essays, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Chapter 13: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP708
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP709 will be posted Thursday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP708 DescriptionGP708 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapter 13 (33:26 minutes)Evan returns to the sheriff's office to review the autopsy.
Thursday 11 am
Sheriff’s Office
Otis offered Evan a chair in the private office, closed the door, and handed him three documents — Edie’s signed power of attorney, the medical examiner’s report, and the sheriff’s case report.
Evan scanned the POA’s terms and conditions, which were concise but meticulously worded. Edie was giving him authority to “make decisions and execute agreements regarding all matters pertaining to my personal affairs, effective immediately and revocable forthwith on notice, whether oral or written.”
“Wow,” Evan said. “Isn’t this unusually broad? And open-ended?”
“On the face of it,” Otis surmised, “she’s a distressed widow. Can’t be bothered. Trusts you completely.”
“And?” Evan asked cautiously. “What’s her agenda, do you think?”
Otis leaned forward, lowered his voice, and said, “Could be she wants deniability. That is, if she decides to do something other folks might not approve of. Like maybe, try to stop the demolition?”
“I’d like nothing better, sheriff. But, turns out, it’s not up to her. Not at all.”
The sheriff looked genuinely surprised. “How’s that?”
“The Corps of Engineers is telling me it’s not her land. If she’s not the landowner, she has no standing to appeal. Because there was no assertion of eminent domain in the first place.”
“What?”
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April 2, 2024
Chapter 12: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP707
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP708 will be posted Wednesday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP707 DescriptionGP707 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapter 12 (21:33 minutes)Evan meets with his boss Zip, who shares gossip about locals, including Shackleton, who manages a bank.
Chapter 12
Thursday 8:30 am
Zed Motors
Evan found Zip “the Zipper” Zed IV in the service bay of Zed Motors, the family-owned Ford car and tractor dealership in Rockville. In the scheme of things in this part of Southern Missouri, Appleton City in St. Clair County is a one-silo town, nearby Butler (in Bates County, as is Rockville) is a two-silo town, and Springfield — more than a hundred miles to the south in Greene County — is the nearest big city. Rockville is a wide place in the road, with a population of about a hundred-and-sixty souls, which at any given moment might be growing or shrinking by a significant percentage, depending on what’s happening in the beds of its lovers and invalids. Locating the dealership in this smallest of small towns instead of on the main drag of AC may have had something to do with the price of land or that the founder had expected the community to grow more than it ever did. As it was, Zed Motors was only a short side-trip from the teeming metropolis of AC, and Zip relished being the little town’s undisputed business leader.
Zip was admiring a new delivery, a factory-new, late-model Ford TW-25 tractor. His service tech Max Alumbaugh was checking it over meticulously with the engine running, hooking up diagnostic connectors to a dashboard display to step through a sequence of metrics and detect any variances.
Zip glanced up from the maze of cables, j-boxes, piping, and valves surrounding the tractor’s massive diesel power plant. The owner of Zed Motors was ten years younger than Evan, having inherited the business five years ago when his father’s meticulously maintained Studebaker Golden Hawk hit a patch of black ice and collided with a telephone pole. Zip had won a degree with honors from the UM Rolla in mining and metallurgy with a minor in business administration.
Lack of confidence was not among Zip’s shortcomings. Evan wondered whether, after a few more years, Zip would grow bored of running the dealership, although being a big fish in a little pond must have had its perks, including a loud voice in regional politics.
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April 1, 2024
Chapters 9-11: Preacher Finds a Corpse - Bonus Audiobook Episode GP706
Here’s the next post in the weekday releases of the 24 episodes in the Preacher Finds a Corpse audiobook.
Episode GP707 will be posted Tuesday morning at 8am Eastern / 5am Pacific and the other episodes each weekday thereafter.
May you find the novel intriguing and compelling, and please don’t hesitate to leave your impressions in the Comments section of the posts.
Episode GP706 DescriptionGP706 Preacher Finds a Corpse - Chapter 9, 10, and 11 (37:45 minutes)Coralie, waitress at the C'mon Inn, gives Evan another reason Bob was depressed. Evan breaks into Bob's laptop and phone and finally gets some hard evidence. Still unable to make sense of things, Evan has an imaginary debate with his deceased fiance Naomi.
Chapter 9
Wednesday 8 pm
C’mon Inn
In the evening of the day of Bob’s death, Evan found his appetite. He gratefully polished off a light meal of polenta and scrapple as he sat at the counter of the C’mon Inn. Cora had refilled his coffee cup faithfully with fresh-brewed Farmer Brothers from the glass carafe it seemed she never put down. To her credit, she didn’t disapprove of his stirring in a couple of packets of Folger’s crystals to thicken it up. Followed by his usual megadose of sugar.
The brain runs on glucose. That’s sugar. There will either be time enough for me to mend my ways, or there won’t.
The place was abuzz with the news about Bob, but no one suspected Evan had any special knowledge of it. Edie wasn’t talking and neither was Chet Otis. Evan kept to himself, not just because of his ontological crisis but also because he intended to keep his inquiries confidential as long as possible.
It was a slow night at the diner. Only two booths were occupied, and Evan was alone at the counter. He was still dressed in the down jacket and jeans he’d had on since early morning, so he didn’t look different from any of the other men in the place. They’d all parked their ball caps next to their coffee mugs. Cora was the type who was chatty and gossipy enough if you engaged her, but she knew to leave you alone if you were in a mood and wanted to keep your thoughts to yourself.
People say she’s slow. She might not have made it out of grade school, but there’s something glowing inside her
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Gerald Everett Jones - Author
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