Inspector sterling, p.1
Inspector Sterling, page 1
Inspector Sterling – Case of the Wondering Minister
Copyright © 2023 by Reverend Dave Clements
All rights reserved
No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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Paperback ISBN: 979-8-8229-3041-4
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One: The Arrival
Chapter Two: The Interim Ministers
Chapter Three: The Wondering Man
Chapter Four: Our Past Mistakes
Chapter Five: Time becomes the Next Clue
Chapter Six: Nothing Is What It Seems
Chapter Seven: More Mysteries Uncovered
Chapter Eight: Not Again
Chapter Nine: Signs
Chapter Ten: Two Plus Two Does Not Equal…
Chapter Eleven: The Loose Ends
Epilogue: The Story—The Great Reveal
A Note from the Author
Photos
A Note about the Interim Ministry Network (IMN)
What is Interim Ministry?
Prologue
Who is Inspector Sterling?
The inspector, Charles Anthony Sterling, was born on May 20, 1963, in Glen Ellen, Illinois, and at the age of five, his parents moved to Peoria, Illinois. The inspector attended and graduated from St. Vincent De Paul Catholic High School in 1981. Inspector Sterling obtained a BA in political science from Ohio State in 1985 and went on to earn a master's degree in international relations from Ohio State University in 1990.
Inspector Sterling, upon graduation, started a career with the Foreign Service, and after three years living and working in South Africa, he returned to the States and took a job with the Central Intelligence Agency. He left the CIA in April of 1996 to join the Chicago Police Department. In 1998 he was promoted to the rank of detective and assigned a role in the burglary division of the department. In 1999 Sterling volunteered to take over a murder case deemed unsolvable by veteran detectives. Sterling solved the case and was moved to the police department's homicide unit.
As a homicide detective, Inspector Sterling has solved 356 of 387 homicide cases, a closure rate of 92 percent. Inspector Sterling credited his ability to close cases to being a student of human nature and being good at telling when people were lying. The last case Inspector Sterling solved was a double murder of a husband-and-wife minister couple. The case had been unsolved for over five years. The inspector solved the case in a manner of a month. The inspector was looking forward to a needed holiday and had reached out to his good friends John Davison and Judy McMillian who own and operate a luxury grand hotel in the Catskills of New York, in the town of Nephi.
John and Judy were more than happy to extend an invitation to Inspector Sterling to come and stay at their newly reinvented grand hotel. It had been several years since the inspector had visited, and he was looking forward to a needed rest and just having some time to relax and take advantage of the local attractions. There was a local art gallery in the hotel that the inspector had heard about, and many times that gallery was able to have on loan works of art from several galleries in Boston and New York.
Currently at the hotel gallery was a show called “Art Remembered but Not Forgotten.” Inspector Sterling was interested in seeing three pieces that were all copies of famous works of art: Rembrandt's The Storm on the Sea of Galilee and A Lady and Gentleman in Black and Johannes Vermeer's The Concert. These three pieces were part of a collection from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, and the original pieces were part of thirteen works of art that were stolen early in the morning of March 18, 1990, and to this day never recovered.
Inspector Sterling said goodbye to his office staff, wished them the best, and quickly boarded the train to the Chicago O’Hare airport. His restful vacation had begun.
List of Characters
Inspector Charles Anthony Sterling – A world-famous homicide detective who has worked as chief inspector in the Chicago Police Department for the homicide unit. Known for his keen since of observation and his ability to solve difficult cases.
Reverend Jim Yancy – A pastor of the Episcopal US Church, currently serving in Baltimore, Maryland. Been a pastor for thirty-five years and an interim pastor for the past ten years.
Miss Amber Christianson – A young college student attending NYU at Albany, New York. She currently is working part time as a church administrator for the Interim Ministers Network.
Reverend Megan Doodle – A pastor of the United Church of Christ and currently serving a UCC congregation in Evanston, Illinois. She is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, and before going into ministry, she worked as a prosecuting attorney for the city of Chicago.
Reverend Michael Cramer – A Unitarian Universalist pastor serving in Los Angles, California, and before that served a UU congregation in Orlando, Florida. Has been in ministry for fifteen years and has spent the last ten years as an interim pastor. Before ministry, he worked as an FBI Agent.
Rabbi Janice Weinstein – A Reformed Jewish Rabbi serving as an interim rabbi to the largest Reformed Jewish Congregation in Brooklyn, New York. Janice has been a rabbi for thirty years and has two sons who work for the US government in cybersecurity.
Reverend Janice Turner – A recent graduate from Harvard Divinity School currently beginning her first pastoral assignment to a United Methodist congregation in Rome, New York. Janice worked in international marketing for a Swiss company before she changed careers and went to theological school in Denver, Colorado.
Reverend Rodger Turnbull – A pastor for the Disciples of Christ church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Rodger has been in ministry for forty years and has been engaged in interim pastor work for the past eight years. Three years ago, he served as an interim pastor to a UCC congregation in the Catskills where the minister embezzled $150,000.
Mr. Jerry Lynn – A nationally known church administrator whose expertise is nonprofit finances. Jerry has been the treasurer of the IMN for the past four years. He also does financial consulting work for several medical-related start-up companies.
Reverends Josh Tee and Austin Roper – They are a recently married gay couple and are serving as interim pastors to the Presbyterian church of Norfolk, Virginia. They are both new to ministry, and before going to a theological school, they were both serving in the Peace Corps in South Africa.
Dr. Reverend Sterling Halt – A noted theologian with experience in teaching about the lessons in the writings of the Old and New Testaments. His expertise is with ancient writing scripts.
Ms. Elizabeth Jackson – A wealthy multimillionaire who made her fortune by first buying distressed properties and converting them to high income properties, then investing in struggling companies and fleecing them of assets and then spinning them off. Elizabeth lost her husband two years ago and since that time started working as a workshop and class scheduler for the IMN.
Ms. Jayne Marshall – Executive director of Interim Minsters Network (IMN). Jayne has been the director for IMN for over fifteen years.
Ms. Nancy Donaldson – Director of finance of Interim Ministry Network (IMN). Nancy has worked for IMN for over twenty years. She has a keen since of financial management and has helped IMN develop into a fully sustainable organization.
Ms. Nora Corman – Director of operations of Interim Ministry Network (IMN). Nora has worked for IMN for the past twenty-five years. She works with online education and helps schedule the various workshops that IMN offers to its members. She is also in charge of member-sustaining membership.
Mr. Jerry Davison – The co-owner of the Grand Hotel. Jerry has been in hotel and restaurant management for the past twenty-five years and has managed hotels in South Africa, Eastern Europe, and in New York City. Jerry and his partner, Judy McMillian, purchased the Grand Hotel three years ago and for the past two years have been an active part in the restoration project at the hotel.
Ms. Judy McMillian – Co-owner of the Grand Hotel. Judy has been involved in the hospitality industry for the past fifteen years. She has experience in running the operations of hotels—everything from small boutique to over 2,500 rooms. She met Jerry about eight years ago, and finally three years ago, they formed a partnership and purchased the Grand Hotel.
Chapter One
The Arrival
The plane began its descent to prepare to land at Albany International Airport. The Albany airport was the closet airport to the Catskills, and even then, it was a forty-one-mile drive to the Grand Hotel. The hotel was in the town of Nephi, New York. I checked my watch and thought about the last time I had visited Nephi and its famous mountain resort hotel. It had been over ten years ago, and I came as a guest of the hotel owners, John Davison, and Judy McMillian. I had kept in touch over the years with John and Judy, and they had invited me this time as a guest so I could experience the renovation that had taken place to the hotel. The entire hotel was overhauled during the winter, with efficient windows installed, and all the suites in the president's wing had been updated and refurnished. In January the hotel completed a fifty-thousand-square-foot addition that included a twenty-five-thousand-square-foot spa and a twenty-five-thousand-square-foot conference center.
I was excited to see the changes and to catch up with my dear friends John and Judy. They both were committe
Suddenly the plane landed, and the pilot steered the plane to a quick stop right by our deplaning gate. I had not taken a vacation for several years and was greatly looking forward to staying at a place where I could rest, be waited on, and not have to think or deal with any of my professional work. As chief inspector for the Chicago Police Department, Murder Crime Division, I had made a name for myself in solving crimes, especially murders. Word had gone out that Inspector Sterling could solve any murder if given the facts of the case. I did have a great track record and had learned over the years to look for those clues that we first don’t see when one is investigating a crime scene.
There was the case of Dayne and Cindy Hultquist who were co-ministers of the United Church of Christ and whose murders remained unsolved for several years until I was called in on the case. After a lot of investigative work, it was found that the church administrator had stabbed the pastors to death over a dispute about the use of the church with the local gang. The administrator had hidden her confession in the Bible of Pastor Dayne in a creative play on words and scriptures. I had finished the work on this case about six weeks ago, and thus I was ready for a relaxing break.
The door to the plane had been opened, and the passengers in front and to the sides began to remove their bags from the overhead bins. One by one the people in front of me began their process of walking down the aisle and off the plane. I removed my bag from the overhead bin and began my walk off the plane and down the walkway. Since I was traveling light, I had arranged to meet John and Judy outside by the drop-off curb for departing passengers.
I walked through the double doors that led outside to the pickup and drop-off points. I looked left, then right, and then left again. In the far-off distance, I caught the black SUV that was quickly making its way to where I was standing. John was driving and moved quickly to the curb. Judy got out and said, “Welcome.”
The back of the SUV was opened, and I quickly deposited my bag in the back and climbed into the back seat. Judy asked me how my flight was, and John said, “Welcome, we are glad that you are here.”
As the SUV made its way back to the hotel, which was about an hour's drive from the airport, the three of us took the time to chat about many of the things that had occurred since we last saw each other. For John and Judy, they were so excited to show me all the changes to the hotel. They had worked with an architecture firm out of New York that was known for creating new updated buildings without losing the charm of the original. They had added a new art gallery that had become quite a hit with the locals as well as the crowds from New York and Boston. I was particularly interested in seeing the current show at the gallery, “Art Remembered but Not Forgotten.”
As the three of us continued our journey to the hotel, Judy mentioned that during the restoration they had been able to restore the gold room where the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were created as well as the famous sunroom, with the restoration of the Tiffany-glass dome. Being a history buff myself, I was looking forward to seeing the restoration of the gold room and the sunroom. In short conversation Judy asked me about my past murder case involving the co-pastors of the United Church of Christ. I told her it had been solved. Judy then in passing stated that in the next four days the hotel was hosting an international conference for interim ministers from various faiths.
Judy and John knew how much I was looking forward to a quiet time, and I thought, “What is quieter than a group of ministers?”
As the SUV rounded the bend, there stood the grand lady in all her magnificence. Her bright-red-colored roof with the white stone brick looked splendid against the bright-blue sky. I thought, “If the walls of this grand lady could talk, what stories would she share?” I thought about past events and presidents who had stayed at this hotel and what experiences they had had during their stays. I have learned over the years that architecture wonders such as the grand old lady had history just waiting to be discovered along with secrets that were just waiting to become known.
John brought the SUV to a stop, and I opened the passenger door and got out and took another look at this magnificent hotel. From where I was standing, I could see the area of the hotel that was known as the presidential suite. I had heard that in the presidential suite, there were plaques outside each door identifying which president or foreign dignitary had stayed there during the conference when the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were created. Being the history buff that I am, I was enthusiastic to be able to explore that part of the hotel.
I followed Judy into the massive lobby and up to the check-in desk. Judy informed Pierre, her front desk operations manager, that I would be staying in the Franklin Roosevelt Presidential Suite. I was elated to be able to be staying in the presidential wing of the hotel. Pierre checked me in, gave me my special pass cards, and invited me to join the guests in the dining room for wine hour and dinner, which started at 5:00 p.m.
I boarded the elevator to the fourth floor along with Judy, and she walked me to my presidential suite number 412. Judy explained that my suite was located at the end of the fourth-floor hallway and was right across from the famous sunroom where back in 1944 the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were created. We arrived at the room, Judy opened the door to the suite, and once again she gave me a warm smile and a welcome. The suite was divided into three rooms. A sitting room with a desk and chairs and off that a wide room with several coaches and off that a master bedroom suite. I thought, “I am really going to enjoy my stay and will finally be able to relax.”
I had left information with my staff at my offices in Chicago that I would not be available for the next several days. It had been a long day, so I lay down on the bed and quickly fell fast asleep.
Chapter Two
The Interim Ministers
The sounds of the city were just starting to happen as I drove my brand-new Tesla through the Fenway Park neighborhood of Boston. I had moved to Boston fifteen years ago to be the director of finance for a nonprofit organization, International Ministers Network. IMN, as it was known, had been around for over forty years, providing training for practicing interim ministers and rabbis. IMN as an interfaith member organization had always held a yearly conference. Because of COVID, the worldwide health pandemic, the conference had been held virtually for the past three years. This year the conference was being held in person at the Grand Hotel, which was in the mountain resort of Nephi, New York. I, Ms. Nancy Donaldson, had always dreamed of staying at the Grand Hotel in the Catskills of New York, so I was more than excited that the conference was being held there.
According to my GPS directions, I should’ve planned on arriving at my destination in about three hours. I looked at the route that had been mapped out. I would be driving to Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, then to North Hampton, Massachusetts, from there Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and eventually Albany, New York. Jayne Marshall, IMN executive director, and Nora Corman, director of operations for IMN, were planning on flying into the Albany International Airport, and I would pick them up at the airport, and the three of us would ride together for the hour ride from Albany to the Grand Hotel in the Catskills.
Jane, Nora, and I had worked together as a management team for IMN for the past fifteen years. We knew the organization and many of its members. One that stood out was Reverend Jim Yancy, pastor of the Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a past president of IMN and had served as an interim pastor for the past ten years. Jim had started his ministry at the Trinity Church in the city of Boston, and after serving there for two years, he had the opportunity to live and work in South Africa. His five years in South Africa allowed him to work with the diamond miners in Johannesburg and the various cultures of southern Africa, particularly around Cape Town. Currently Jim was active in the social gospel movement, a social movement within Protestantism that aimed to apply moral theology to social problems, especially issues of social justice where it involved distribution of wealth opportunities and privileges. Reverend Jim joined the IMN board last year at the annual conference and was looking forward to conducting a workshop this year on the messages in the Old and New Testament writings that apply to social issues around distribution of wealth.
