Polar (Book 2): Polar Day by Julie Flanders Page B

front of him on his desk. Getting a new church up and running was a time-consuming endeavor and he longed for enough funding to hire an assistant. But that wasn’t going to happen for quite a while at this rate, so for now he needed to keep trudging along himself. At least he had a volunteer willing to work as his secretary. He wondered how long Linda would be willing to do that but quickly pushed the thought from his mind. No need to borrow trouble.
    He’d left Seward back in March and decided to move his church here to Fairbanks instead. He wanted to minister in a bigger city and the frontier atmosphere of Fairbanks appealed to him. It felt like the last stop in civilization before the long trek to the Arctic. His goal was the same as it has always been. He wanted to improve upon that civilization and convert others to his cause.
    Phillips had come of age during the era of Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority and had been inspired by the melding of religion and politics during the Reagan years. He believed strongly that the country had lost its way in the decades since and that religion needed a more prominent voice in politics. While he did not condone violence and felt a policy of civil disobedience was the best way to achieve his goals, he also didn’t believe in rolling over and letting what he saw as moral decay take a stronger hold in the country. Or at least not in his beloved home state of Alaska.
    He had moved to Fairbanks with the express purpose of growing his church and agitating for the cause of religious liberty in the face of the homosexual agenda. He wasn’t about to sit still while the gays allowed their perverse lifestyle to take over Christian society. He’d had some success at advancing his cause in the months since he’d moved here, but he knew he still had a long road ahead of him. No rest for the righteous was his motto.
    One thing Phillips hadn’t planned on when he’d moved to Fairbanks was being confronted with the worst heat he’d ever experienced. He wondered how those in the lower 48 handled these types of temperatures every year. He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped his brow before settling back down to work. Unfortunately, he didn’t have more than a minute to work before he was interrupted.
    “Reverend? There are two police detectives here to see you.”
    Phillips looked up from his paperwork to see Linda standing at the door of his office.
    “Police detectives? What do they want?”
    “I don’t know. They just said they’d like to talk to you.”
    “Send them in then,” he said with a scowl. He didn’t have time for this. “Thank you, Linda.”
    “Reverend? I’m Detective Tessa Washington and this is my partner Danny Fitzpatrick. Thanks for meeting with us.”
    Phillips got up from his chair and walked to the door where the petite woman stood with her tall partner. He extended his hand to both of them and shook hands politely.
    “I doubt I had much of a choice. But I certainly don’t mind.” He gestured for both Danny and Tessa to take the seats across from his desk. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
    Phillips returned to his own chair. “What can I help you with?”
    “We’re investigating two crimes,” Danny answered. “Homicides, actually.” He paused and waited for Phillips’ reaction to the word. He knew he’d get one.
    “Homicides? Goodness, I don’t know what I could help you with on something like that. Has something happened to our church members?”
    “No, nothing like that,” Danny said. “At least we have no reason to believe they were members of your church and every reason to believe they weren’t.”
    “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
    “The two men murdered were both gay, Reverend,” Tessa said.
    Phillips sat back in his chair. “Oh. Well I’m sorry to hear that but again I don’t see how I could help you.”
    “You preach a great deal about gays, don’t you?” Danny asked.
    “I do. But I certainly