The Oldest Sin Read Online Free PDF Page A

front of the sofa on her way to the wet bar, there was a loud rap on the door.
     
    “Will you get that?” called Hugh Purdis. Her husband was sitting on the bed in the bedroom typing something into his laptop computer. It was a standard issue. All evangelist-rank ministers were given the same one. Although Hugh looked like he was working, he was probably playing one of his many computer games. It was what he did for relaxation these days — and for escape. She couldn’t blame him. Over the years the stress of being Howell Purdis’s firstborn son and heir to the church leadership had taken its toll. While Adelle wanted her own firstborn son to one day assume his rightful place as spiritual head of the church, she’d developed a plan to shield him from the worst of the pressure.
     
    The Church of the Firstborn was clearly the work of one periodically egomaniacal man. Even so, deep in her heart, where only God the Father could enter, she’d felt the hand of God. For all the evil and human weakness inherent in this worldwide work, she truly believed she’d found God’s one true church on earth.
     
    Since its beginning in 1933, Howell Purdis had created a stunningly Machiavellian organization, full of secrets and ever-changing alliances. The governing principle was power: hierarchical, authoritarian, absolute. The members of the ministry, from lowly church elders all the way up to evangelist-rank ministers, were constantly vying for favor and status. As far as Howell Purdis was concerned, he
was
die Church of the Firstborn. He set the tone, made the rules, and meted out the rewards and the punishment. Yet as he had begun to sink into a kind of madness, so had the organization.
     
    Pulling open the door, she was surprised to find Isaac Knox, pastor of the church in St. Louis, standing before her, a furious look on his face.
     
    “I need to speak to your husband,” he said curtly. He didn’t wait for an invitation but instead pushed past her into die room.
     
    “Hello, Isaac. It’s nice to see you again, too,” said Adelle, her smile a little too cheerful to be anything other than snide.
     
    “Sorry,” said Isaac. “This is important.” The years had treated Isaac Knox rather badly, thought Adelle. Gone was die lean build and rugged face. At fifty-one, he had the ancient, weary eyes of a man who had seen far too much strife in his life. Even though most women would probably find him attractive, even distinguished, Adelle saw only wreckage.
     
    Hugh Purdis breezed out of the bedroom, his smile at high beam. “Isaac,” he said, moving into his deep ministerial voice. “Great to see you again. It was good of you to stop by. I left a message for you at the front desk just after we arrived. I don’t think you’d checked in yet.” His gaze swept over the room. “This is a wonderful place. Father’s very impressed. I’m glad you suggested this hotel and set everything up. You did a wonderful job. Top-notch. The adjoining suites are quite large and comfortable.”
     
    Isaac didn’t move. Instead he whispered, “Where
is
your father?”
     
    “He’s out on the balcony,” said Hugh, looking confused. “Why?”
     
    Isaac took a few steps farther into die room. “I need to talk to you. Alone.”
     
    “What about?” asked Hugh.
     
    “About what happened this afternoon!”
     
    Adelle assumed by his tone that her presence had already been dismissed as meaningless. As a woman in the church, she was used to being invisible. Stepping over to the bar, she quickly selected a bottle of twelve-year-old Scotch, pulled up a bar stool, and poured herself a drink. She might as well be comfortable as she watched this latest drama unfold.
     
    “Just keep it down and tell me what happened,” said Hugh, perching on the edge of die desk. He was a large, barrel-chested man, much taller and heavier than his dad.
     
    Isaac lowered his voice. “Your father talked to a woman named O’Malley here at the hotel this