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“I know.” Greta sighed. “But with the Toompas case closing down, we’ll have time—though I’d like you to check something in reference to Balfour. I want to look into his church a lot more. Can you find out what kind of county records there might be?”
Plummer shrugged. “I’m not sure what we have on churches. They have special status for taxes, and everyone everywhere is hesitant to examine too closely how churches operate, for various reasons. I’ll see what I can find out. I might also check with the local newspaper. Sometimes they know more about what’s going on than any other source.”
“Okay,” said Greta. “The news articles mentioned several names of congregation members active in various activities. I’ll see if I can tease out some more information without being too obvious. I’ll also pay a visit to Father Merstory at St. Callisto’s Catholic Church. He’s mentioned as participating in some of the same community activities as Balfour. Maybe he knows something. Since my family’s Catholic, Father Merstory may be less reticent to say anything.”
“You think the priest will blab about another clergyman?”
“Well, for one thing, I’ve attended Mass at St. Callisto’s a few times. Not too many, I admit. My excuse for not going more often is the call of duty and the distance from Pacific City. And anyway, most Catholic priests don’t consider evangelicals real Christians.”
Plummer choked on his coffee. Fortunately, he was facing ninety degrees away from Greta, so the resultant spray missed her. Mostly.
When he cleared his throat, or precisely his bronchi, of coffee, Plummer agreed on their initial plan. They would check in by the end of the day.
She went straight to see Father Merstory, and she lucked out. He was in the nave when she got to St. Callisto’s. He was in his mid-sixties, a little rotund, with slightly unkempt thin gray hair, blue eyes, a friendly demeanor, and enough veins in his nose to suggest he might partake of wine or a similar liquid perhaps more than he should.
“Deputy Greta Havorsford. How long has it been since you’ve been to Mass? We won’t even go into how long since confession.”
“It’s a ways up here from Pacific City, and so much has been going on a work . . . ,” she responded lamely. “I’ve gone to the Cloverdale church occasionally.” She didn’t say most of the visits were work related, and she didn’t want him to chastise her as a lapsed Catholic. Best to divert him by jumping right to the reason for the visit. “I need to ask you a few questions, Father. As part of my job.”
“Of course, of course. How can I help you?”
“You know Josiah Balfour.” It was given as a statement, not a question.
“Pastor Balfour. Yes. Church of God Arising.”
She noticed a slight pursing of the priest’s lips. “How well do you know him?”
“Well . . . we interact on a number of community issues. We’re both on the Tillamook Ecumenical Committee.”
“No other interactions? Social outside of church activities?”
“No. May I ask why you want to know?”
“Sorry, Father. It’s part of an investigation, and we’re just running routine checks all around the county.”
In other words, he wouldn’t get an answer to his question.
“Do you have any idea how big his congregation is?”
After a momentary clenching of teeth, as evidenced by the bunching muscle along his jaw line, Father Merstory answered.
“I believe there are around four hundred regulars at Sunday service. It’s been growing the last couple of years. When you add occasional attendees and children, it might go upwards of nine hundred or more.”
Whoa! she thought. That’s a lot for the population of Tillamook. Our Reverend has definitely been busy—and popular.
“That seems like a pretty big church for around here, especially one that’s not part of a major denomination.”
Merstory looked as if he had bitten into a lemon. “He’s a dynamic speaker. Sort of a mix of the old-
time hellfire and a more nuanced New-Agey take on Christianity.”
“Do those two really mix?”
“He thinks so, and apparently so do lots of people, given how his church has grown since he came here.”
Do I detect some sour grapes? Greta wondered.
“When a church is growing like his, do new members come from other denominations or people who never attended before?”
