Secrets

Because Waldo Templeton was, at best, a mediocre organist - and careless besides - his killer was able to follow him to the sanctuary of Stonewall Jackson Memorial Church and dispatch him. Because his ambition overwhelmed his common sense, the Reverend Blake Fisher found himself exiled to Picketsville, Virginia, by his bishop to be Stonewall Jackson's new Vicar. Because Millicent Bass, the Vicar's secretary, was an incorrigible gossip and snoop, she soon followed Waldo to an early grave. Blake Fisher had had enough trouble in Philadelphia. He did not need a corpse behind his altar. He did not need his gun to be stolen, and he definitely did not need the local law breathing down his back, suspecting him of a double homicide. And if that weren't enough, his congregation flares in open rebellion, and his future as a clergyman is at a risk. For Sheriff Ike Schwartz, two murders, an attempted murder, and the unexplained presence of the FBI in his town are wreaking havoc with his otherwise serene life.
His relationship with the president of Callend College for Women, Ruth Harris, is threatened by the murders on the one hand, and on the other by her faculty, who dismiss him as just another country cop - and something of an embarrassment. But Ike - and Blake - can call on the computer wizardry of the newest sheriff's deputy, Sam (Samantha) Ryder, and the country wisdom of Billy Sutherlin to sort through false leads, missing files, and too many helpful hands to uncover long-held secrets and a daring killer.