happened and insisted I go to the hospital."
"In the future, you call me when something like that happens," she fumed.
"Sorry. I wasn't thinking straight. The car flipped and I was pretty out of it." He felt only slightly guilty playing it up. The last thing he wanted from Marie was a guilt trip.
"Oh! Are you hurt?"
"A little, but it's not bad. I decided I'd take it easy today so that I can do my best in the morning."
"I can call someone to handle the service tomorrow if you need me to."
"No, but thank you."
"Are you going to be able to do the Schuster funeral on Sunday?"
"Yes."
"You need me to bring anything by?"
"I can manage. I've got plenty of food in the refrigerator and I'm planning on sleeping most of the day."
"Okay, but you call me if there's anything I can do."
"I will," he promised, relieved when he hung up. He checked his voicemail and realized he had missed a call from Cindy the night before. He decided to call later and see what, if anything, she had found out from the detective.
At the church things were relatively quiet. A few members showed up around ten to pray together for Mel's family. Among them was Joseph. When they were finished he walked into the office.
"Looking for Geanie?" Cindy guessed.
"I was going to take her to lunch."
"She's at the print shop. She'll be back soon."
"Mind if I sit here and wait?"
"Be my guest," Cindy said. "I'm so sorry about Dr. Tanner."
"Thanks. It's going to be strange holding a meeting this week without him," Joseph admitted. "He's been the iron fist keeping the rest of us in check for years."
Cindy smiled at that. "And just how far amok could the rest of you actually run without it?"
"Farther than you'd think," he said seriously.
"I'll take your word for it."
"How are things going with you?"
She shrugged. "Nothing to complain about."
"Anything ever happen with that computer programmer you were going to go out with a few months ago?"
"We went on exactly three dates and decided we should just be friends."
"Hey, that beats our record. We only went on half a date."
"I guess I'm just too picky. Either that or I fear change."
"Speaking of change, I noticed a For Sale sign up in front of the house Marge left you. Who are you using for an agent?"
"Gary O'Connell."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, why? Have you heard something bad about him?"
"No, no. It's just that he usually does commercial transactions."
"Apparently times are tough for Realtors," Cindy said with a shrug.
"Well, I'm sure he'll do a great job for you. I've been dealing with him on and off for the last couple of weeks. He is persistent."
"You're not moving, are you?" she asked in alarm.
"No, no. He's representing a land developer, Max Diamond, Diamond Industries. He's made a bid to buy the church camp."
"I didn't think it was for sale."
"It wasn't, but he made an offer anyway. Stirred up a bit of a hornet's nest, too."
"Why would that be?"
"Until Max Diamond came sniffing around the biggest point of controversy this year was whether or not to rename Green Pastures to something that sounded a little more exciting," Joseph said.
"How could the board even consider selling?" Cindy asked."They're set up to protect and govern the use of that land for all the churches, scout troops, and clubs in the area. What would happen to it if Diamond Industries purchased it?
"That's where it gets a little tricky. There's a lot of improvements that should be made to the actual campsite itself. The buildings are twenty years old, most of them erected as temporary ones until more permanent structures could be built and the infrastructure is practically non-existent. The truth is that renovations have been sorely needed for years but there's just no money anywhere to accomplish that. The camp itself only occupies one small section of a huge parcel of land. Max Diamond has come in and offered to buy the entire parcel, give us a fifty- year lease on the camp and the surrounding acreage, and pump enough money into it to really bring it into the twenty-first century. Some people think it's the answer to prayer and others of us think we're being offered a devil's deal."
"The one time I went to a retreat there you couldn't turn on the hot water in the sinks without turning the shower water to freezing," Cindy said.
"Exactly. And at least once a week the entire plumbing system backs up. So, you can see where this is shaping up to be a fight."
She nodded. "But if the board accepts the offer suddenly the land is leased and not owned."
"Exactly. And of those who believe that somehow the camp will still maintain its character, its tranquility and its isolation, half believe that fifty years are long enough. After all, they'll be dead before the lease is up."
"And others of you are trying to plan for future generations."
"And that's the fight in a nutshell. Mel was the chairman of the board and he was one of the strongest opponents of the proposed purchase. But then, he's always been a visionary."
The door opened and Dave entered, a sheet of paper in his hand. His face lit up when he saw Joseph. "Any chance you're here to sponsor a couple more kids for camp? I've got two who would love to go if someone would pay for them. Imagine the fun they'll have, the things they'll learn, the excitement on their faces."
"Not what I was here for, but how can I say no after that?"
"Awesome." Dave dropped the paper on Cindy's desk and she could see it was a list of the kids signed up for camp. "Cindy, add Brenda and Zac to the list. Joseph, can you give Cindy a check today? I'm going to go leave messages for the kids."
With a triumphant grin, Dave left.
"I don't have my checkbook. Can I pay in cash?" Joseph asked her.
"That would be fine. I'm sorry that he ambushed you that way."
Joseph fished
