Chapter Ten
Hannah stood there staring at the gruesome sight for what seemed like endless minutes. She might have stayed there, stationary and in shock, for much longer, but a voice rang out from the top of the bookcase.
“The wages of sin is death,” the voice said, causing Hannah to whirl around and stare at the top of the bookcase. What she saw came very close to making her break out in hysterical laughter.
It was Jacob, the mynah bird, in his cage on the bookcase. He peered down at her with beady eyes and gave a squawk that made her jump. “The wages of sin is death,” he said again in Reverend Matthew’s voice.
At that moment, the phone on the desk began to ring. Hannah reached out to answer it, but she stopped short. Only when she’d taken a tissue from the box on the reverend’s desk to preserve any existing fingerprints did she carefully lift the receiver.
“Hello?” she said, hoping she didn’t sound too shaky.
“Hannah!” It was Grandma Knudson’s voice. “Did you find Matthew?”
“Oh, yes,” Hannah said, deliberately avoiding the natural urge to turn and glance at the reverend.
“Is he coming over for lunch?”
“Uh…no, he’s not …” Hannah stopped, wondering how she could tell Grandma Knudson that her favorite house guest and her grandson’s substitute minister was dead. Certainly not on the phone. That just wouldn’t be right.
“He’s not coming over for lunch?”
“Not right now. He’s not …” Hannah stopped. What could she say? She didn’t want to lie to Grandma Knudson, but neither did she wish to tell her friend the bad news over the phone.
“He’s not what?” Grandma Knudson asked.
“He’s…not hungry at the moment,” Hannah said, grasping at the first excuse she could think of. “You should turn the soup down to simmer, Grandma Knudson. I’m going to stay here with Reverend Matthew for a while, and then I’ll come back to the parsonage.”
“All right, Hannah.” Grandma Knudson gave a little chuckle. “Matthew must have had too much cake. That was a huge piece he took for breakfast this morning. He does love my cake.”
“I can tell that,” Hannah said, glancing down at the sticky goo that had once been a delicious slice of Red Devil’s Food Cake. There was no way she was going to let Grandma Knudson come here to the church office to see the horrific sight. “Just sit tight, and I’ll be there in less than ten minutes,” she promised. “Is that all right?”
“That’s fine, dear. I have to get dressed for my Bible study group anyway. Just let yourself in when you come back to the parsonage, and help yourself to more soup.”
JANELLE’S QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN SOUP
8 cups chicken broth OR
2 quarts water (that’s 8 cups) and 8 chicken bouillon cubes
6 and ? cups uncooked wide egg noodles
2 cans (10 and ? ounce each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
minced fresh parsley
Bring broth OR water and bouillon to a boil in a pot that will hold 12 to 14 cups.
Add the noodles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender. (Read your noodle package for the time. Mine took about 9 minutes.) DO NOT DRAIN the noodles. They are now part of the soup.
Turn the heat down to medium.
Add the two cans of condensed cream of chicken soup. Stir them in well.
Add the cubed chicken and stir it in.
Heat everything through. This should take from 5 to 10 minutes.
When the soup is piping hot, remove it from the heat. If you’re serving it all at once and everyone’s ready to eat, stir in the sour cream, sprinkle with fresh parsley, and ladle into soup bowls.