Sequestered with the Murderers by Dr. Tanner (books for 8th graders TXT) 📕

to a fallen one from within their community. I wondered how many of these people, after the funeral tomorrow, would have any contact with Nancy. Her demeanor when I met with her did not appear to be very open and welcoming.

I sat back in my chair and waited for the revelation I had come here for to spring forth. I let my eyes mindfully roam around the room. There had to be at least 100-125 people in the room. I couldn’t clearly see Montgomery, Jackson, and Lanta from where I sat. I wanted to watch their reaction to the program, and the best way to do this was to stand. I was about to get up and walk to the right wall to stand against it when an elderly White lady came in looking for a seat. I motion to her to take my seat, which gave me a perfect reason to stand. Other people were standing against the wall, so I felt comfortable doing the same.

I could now see clearly the front of the room. Montgomery and Jack sat in seats on the front row on the left side of the aisle. They sat impassively; their attention focused on the funeral director. Next to them were Jackson and his wife. Jackson was emotional. His wife had her right arm around his shoulder. He bent toward her as she whispered something in his ear. Lanta and her husband were next on the front row. As the Brightness group had walked toward the front, I noticed that Lanta’s husband’s uniform was too small for his stout body. Now he pulled down each arm sleeve twice, then yanked down the back of his shirt. Lanta turned to him in annoyance.

She whispered, “Stop it.” I could make out what she said from where I was standing, but I’m sure people seated around her heard her words.

Her husband whispered, “Leave me alone.” He then turned away from her and stared at a picture of Jesus on the cross. The picture was on the wall to the left of him.

I didn’t know the four people sitting to the left of Lanta’s husband. On the right side of the aisle on the front row sat Nancy. Next to her was an older wrinkled woman with long stringy salt and pepper hair. This woman appeared to be offering comfort to Nancy. From where I stood, I couldn’t tell what race she was. I hadn’t seen this woman when I first came in, nor had I seen her walk in.

“She must have been in one of the rooms to the left and right of the casket, then came out once the service began,” I whispered to myself.

From my viewpoint, she was a very slender woman and sat erect as she whispered comforting words to Nancy. I assume they were comforting because Nancy leaned against the woman, appeared to be most agreeable to what the woman was saying, and nodded several times as the whispering continued. This woman held my attention because, like Lanta, she was obtrusive in jewels. A dark green beret with a large diamond-shaped brooch covered the top of her head. Large crystal and sliver rhinestone earrings were in her ears, and a large matching necklace was around her neck. The white folding fan she fanned herself with contained crystal rhinestones. This fan was shaped like a sector of a circle, and it revolved around to open, then rotated back to close when not in use. My cousin Dottery gave similar fans as favors to the women at her wedding a few years ago. As I watched the woman, she opened her purse, took out another fan, and then handed it to Nancy.

Nancy’s two friends, Lynn and Tess, sat to the right of the older woman. As the woman handed Nancy the fan, the two friends gave each other a disapproving look. Lynn then whispered something to Tess. When the whispering ended, they shook their heads in a way that told me what they were thinking. They were thinking; I can’t believe this. Their disapproval of the fan and or the woman was incentive enough for me to try later to find out who the woman is and her relationship with Nancy.

I heard a loud whimper, then turned my focus to the other side of the aisle. Armie was bent over in his seat, holding his face with both hands as he cried. His wife was hugging him and speaking to him.

“It’s going to be alright. I know you miss him, but it’s going to be alright,” she whispered. She was heavy-set, attractive with brown skin, shoulder-length thick black hair, and medium-size facial features. She wore gold and brown animal print eyeglasses and modest size gold hoop earrings.

“I’m okay,” Armie whispered to her as he regained composure and sat upright in his seat.

Lemmonee, sitting behind him, handed him some tissues.

Armie turned to her, nodded his head, and then whispered, “Thank you.”

Louise was sitting on one side of Lemmonee, and beside her was a young White woman who was very emotional. I estimated the young woman’s age to be around thirty-five. Her uniform looked good on her small shapely frame. She was so pale, and her dyed jet black hair aided the paleness. She held her hands in the prayer position against her lips, which showed off her slender fingers, nails painted fire engine red. Louise had one arm around the young woman as she rocked her own body from side to side. I made a note to ask Lemmonee about this woman.

The funeral director caught my attention as he said, “There are several people who wish to speak tonight. The first speaker is Mr. Montgomery Stevens, CEO of Brightness Bus Tours. After Mr. Stevens speaks, Rev. Ronda Valmoria, and then Mr. Porter Carvel will speak. I ask that you each take no more than two minutes or so to speak. Mr. Stevens, you have the floor.

Montgomery somberly walked to where the funeral director had stood at