The Secret Sins of their Preachers

By Peggy Savage Baumgardner

Edward and Donald Briceson are identical twins, but they could not be more different. Edward excelled in school and was very popular. Donald barely passed and had to live in Edward's shadow.

Edward receives a scholarship to the same college that Charles Briceson, his father, also graduated from. He then becomes a very influential minister for one of the largest churches on the east coast. Donald becomes a career criminal, committing his first murder as a teenager.

The twins lived their lives f

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781628386882

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Copyright © 2014 Peggy Savage Baumgardner

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

New York, NY

First originally published by Page Publishing, Inc. 2014

ISBN 978-1-62838-687-5 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-62838-688-2 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Dedicated to

My wonderful husband,

family, and friends.

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PREFACE

Three ministers face issues and day-to-day problems involving false accusations, sins of omission, and deliberate sins that were knowingly committed, hoping God would forgive them.

Reverend Charles Briceson tries to live his life as he felt God so ordained. He and his wife are forced to deal with two sons who are identical twins. One son is the minister of a megachurch, and his sermons are televised all over the world. The other son only pretends to be a minister! He has a heart that is as black as coal and doesn’t feel that he needs God or religion because he thinks that his parents have enough religion for everyone. He commits many unbelievable crimes and sins, and then tries to blame all of them on his twin brother who is a true minister.

Reverend Foy Richardson has to live his life according to what his wife feels is appropriate. He is more afraid of her than he is of God. His life is so stressed from trying to live up to her demands that he eventually feels that he needs to save lives, especially his own. He leaves his church, wife, children, and grandchildren, and begins a new life.

Reverend Edward Briceson commits what his fiancé and her family called an unforgivable sin, and it causes him much grief and heartache throughout his life. While living with that issue, he also has to deal with false accusations and lies.

At the end of what may possibly be his final sermon, everyone in the congregation and the television audience watch as an unbelievable incident happens after their minister extends his hands to heaven.

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CHAPTER 1

She Kept Her Eyes Closed

Elsie’s day had been very hectic. Her mind was filled with so much fear and anxiety that she dreaded going home, a place where she no longer felt safe.

When she did get home, she went straight to the bathroom and locked the door. She stood with her back against the door taking deep breaths. She ripped her clothes off and took a long hot shower, hoping the water would cleanse her body as well as her memories. She wished that she could stay in the bathroom with the door locked; maybe she would be safe there.

After her shower, she was feeling a little more relaxed and opted to go to bed early instead of eating dinner. She was so mentally and physically exhausted that she went to sleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

About an hour later she was wide awake. She always woke up when she heard the squeak of the door because she knew they were coming into her room.

She kept her eyes closed and remained still as though she was sleeping. Hopefully if they thought she was sleeping they would go away and leave her alone tonight. She didn’t have to see their faces to know who they were. She felt as helpless now as she had so many years ago when it happened the first time.

She had always trusted her parents and felt safe with them, but now she felt alone and had no one whom she could trust.

Every time they knew that she was alone, they would come to her room. As the door squeaked when it was opened, she would immediately wake up and try to pull the covers up over her head. While it was happening she was afraid to move or make a sound because she knew what they would do to her if she did.

Fear was now engulfing her, and she couldn’t move. She remained still, just as she did the first time it happened. When it stopped, she didn’t dare move or make a sound until she heard the squeak of the door as they left her room.

After they left she reached down and pull the covers back up.

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CHAPTER 2

The Police Were Taking the Preacher to Jail

The next morning when Elsie heard the alarm, she felt as though she should be going to bed instead of getting up.

Mental stress, fear, and the anguish of what was happening to her night after night was making it almost impossible for her to be alert and mentally focused at work, which was not good because she worked in a bank.

After she got out of bed she went to the kitchen to make coffee, hoping it would wake her up. While the coffee was brewing, she went to her bedroom to dress. After dressing Elsie went back to the kitchen. The coffee was ready, so she poured a cup and sat down at the kitchen table to drink it. She began thinking about everything that had been happening to her. With the first sip, she spit the coffee back into the cup and then ran to the kitchen sink and tried to wash the taste out of her mouth.

What was in that coffee? She knew it was fresh because she had just purchased it a few days ago. It was the same brand that she always bought, and she had put it in the coffee canister herself. In fact she had made a pot of coffee the day before, and it had tasted just fine.

She raised the lid on the canister and smelled the coffee. She instantly jerked her head away because the odor was so offensive. She had not smelled the odor when she was making the coffee or while it was brewing. Were they now trying to poison her in order to keep her quiet?

Elsie poured the remainder of the brewed coffee that was left in the pot and what was left in her cup, down the sink drain and poured the ground coffee into a plastic bag, tied it up, and threw it into the garbage. She also threw the coffee maker away because she knew that she would never be able to drink coffee made from that one again.

After thinking about everything that had been happening to her, Elsie decided to take the coffee to the police department and ask if they could have it tested. She didn’t know if there would be anyone at the police department who could help her because it was Saturday, but she decided to go there anyway.

She took the bag of coffee out of the garbage container and headed to the police department. When she got there, she had no idea where she should go. Through a set of double glass doors, she saw a lady sitting at a desk and decided to ask her where she should go and with whom she should speak. The lady told Elsie that the police chief was out of the office and would not be back until Monday. Captain Bruce Atkins was the officer in charge. She asked Elsie if she would like to speak with him. Elsie told her that Captain Atkins would be fine. After about five minutes she was shown to his office.

After Elsie told Captain Atkins about the coffee, she handed him the bag containing the coffee when he asked her to let him smell it. After he opened the bag and smelled the coffee, he jerked his head away and asked, Is this some sort of a sick joke? Elsie very adamantly assured him that it wasn’t a joke, and she resented any insinuations that she would do anything so childish.

Captain Atkins told her that he was a big coffee drinker, but he had never smelled any coffee that smelled that bad and wanted to know what brand of coffee it was. When she told him, he said that his wife bought the same brand, but it had never smelled like that.

Just by looking at Elsie, Captain Atkins could sense that she was very frightened about something. He asked her if the coffee was her only problem or if there was something else that she needed to tell him.

Elsie looked almost afraid to say anything. Finally she said, I think someone is trying to poison me.

Trying to put her at ease, Captain Atkins jokingly said, I don’t know about poisoning you, but it certainly would turn you against coffee.

Elsie didn’t seem to find humor in what he said, so Captain Atkins decided to speak more seriously and asked Elsie if she wanted to make an official report. Elsie told him that she didn’t know what she should do, but she would like to have the coffee tested if possible. If the results showed there was some type of poison it, she would probably want to file an official report.

Captain Atkins told Elsie that he would take the bag of coffee down to the lab and have it tested. It might take a week or so to get the results back, but he would get back with her as soon as possible. If someone were trying to hurt her, he would make sure that someone was criminally charged for any crimes they committed. He asked her to check back with him in about a week if she had not heard from him by then. Elsie thanked him and then left his office.

As she was leaving the police department she saw Reverend Edward Briceson being escorted inside by two police officers. She knew one of the officers. He was Stephen Swartzenski, an old boyfriend whom she dated before she met John. When they got to her Stephen said, Good morning, Ms. Parnella.

Elsie smiled at him and said, Stephen, it is Anderson now.

He smiled back and said, Ahhhh, I remember now. You married the big tall Irishman who took you away from me. He then said, Good morning, Mrs. Anderson, and winked at Elsie. She smiled again because his sense of humor was what always attracted her to him when she met him.

Elsie was curious as to why her minister would be with two police officers, and each of them had a hand on one of his arms as though making sure he didn’t get away. She very hesitantly said, Good morning, Reverend Briceson.

The man told the two police officers, I told you that was my name and that I was the minister of the church you were claiming that I was trying to break into, but you wouldn’t believe me. It is disgraceful the way you are treating me.

Stephen said, You didn’t have any identification on you confirming who you were, and we did see you breaking into the church office, and we had no alternative but to arrest you. It was a judgment call!

The man told them that he had left his wallet and the keys to the church at home. He was going to a meeting and needed some notes that he had left on his desk in the church office complex. It was a long drive, and he didn’t have the time to go home to get the notes before his meeting. He very boldly told them that they had already made him late for his meeting.

The two police officers excused themselves and stepped away from Elsie and the man claiming to be the minister in order to discuss the situation privately. Elsie’s old boyfriend said to the other officer, If Elsie said this man is Reverend Edward Briceson, we can believe it. Besides, we don’t want the people of that church coming down on us if we are wrong about him. Our chief and some other city officials attend that church. I think we should just apologize and let him go. The other officer vehemently agreed.

Both police officers apologized to Reverend Briceson and let him go. When they started to walk away, Officer Swartzenski tipped his hat and said, Good day Mrs. Anderson. He winked at Elsie again and continued looking back at her as he walked away. He almost tripped when he reached the first step going into the building. The officer that was with him said, Stephen, you have got to get over her.

Stephen said, I know, I know! I still can’t believe that I let her get away.

After they walked away, the man claiming to be Reverend Briceson asked Elsie if she would like to have coffee with him.

She had never seen the minister in casual clothes, but she thought that he might be dressed that way because it was Saturday, and he was probably going to the church to work by himself or going to a casual meeting.

Elsie remembered Reverend Briceson telling the police officers that he had a meeting to go to and they were making him late for his meeting, so she couldn’t understand why he was asking her to have coffee with him, knowing it would make him even later for his meeting. Maybe she didn’t understand him correctly. She did have about an hour free, so she agreed to have coffee with him.

He suggested that they go to a coffee shop across from the police department. Shortly after entering the coffee shop they were seated in a booth, and the waitress immediately asked if they would like coffee. He said, Yes, and that would be all.

There was something about the minister that was different and making Elsie uncomfortable. He was normally more refined and very eloquent with his speech. By the way he was talking, no one would ever guess that he was a college graduate and the minister of such a large influential church. He actually had a very uneducated, crude sound to his speech. She would have never dreamed of seeing the minister anywhere dressed in jeans and an old T-shirt.

After the waitress poured their coffee, he asked Elsie to tell him something a boat her self. He wanted to know who her parents were, if they were still living, and where her father worked. She told him that she really couldn’t remember very much about her parents because they had died when she was very young. He said, Oh, you were just a little girl when they died.

Elsie said, Yes.

He then asked, Did your parents have another ‘doorder,’ or were you an only child? She didn’t know why, but his questions were causing her to become very tense, and she could feel fear and anxiety creeping up her spine.

She had just met with Reverend Briceson the previous Wednesday evening, and she couldn’t believe all the questions he was now asking her. He was becoming weirder by the moment.

After about ten minutes, Elsie told him that she should be going because she had a lot of things to do before she went home. He asked her where she lived. For some reason, she pretended that she didn’t hear him and walked away.

As Elsie walked away, he smiled to himself. It was worth the risk coming back here just to find out that she didn’t remember anything. He had been concerned after seeing her wedding photo in a women’s magazine on a rack beside a cash register where he had purchased gas. Her maiden name was the same as the man and woman that he and another guy robbed and killed. He thought that she was probably about the same age that the couple’s daughter would now be. She didn’t seem to recognize him other than the fact that she thought he was Reverend Edward Briceson. He laughed and said to himself, Donald 1 and Edward 0. He always liked those odds.

When he went by his parent’s house he was thankful they weren’t home. He was able to go to his old room and get the gun and the money that he had left behind. He couldn’t believe it; his mother had kept his room exactly as it was when he left years ago. He had straightened his room before leaving, hoping that his mother would not feel the need to go into it to clean. At least until he had enough time to get a few hundred miles away from there. It looked as though it had not been touched since he left. It was just like his mother wanted to turn his room into a shrine and not allow anyone to go in until he came back home. For that he was very thankful.

The money and the gun were exactly where he had left them. That made it much easier. He just wanted to get it and get out of there as soon as possible.

His parents were so self-righteous. If they had found the money and especially the gun, they would have probably taken it to the police department. If he had ever let them know where he really was, they probably would have brought the police to his door. Of course they would have been praying for his soul while he was being arrested.

He was also thankful they had not changed the locks on the doors. His key still worked, so he didn’t have to break in as he had planned to do. All he needed now was for another local cop to catch him breaking and entering again. Of course he could tell them that he lived there and the window he had intended to go through was in his bedroom. He couldn’t believe how smart he was. Every time he had a problem, he had an immediate answer to solve it.

He had been in a hurry when he left that night and forgot to take the money and the gun with him. He desperately needed the gun and the money because he only had about ten dollars in his pocket, and his gas tank was almost on empty. He would also need the gun where he was going. He couldn’t believe he had let someone steal his other gun. They had been after his drugs and his money, and the gun was something extra for them. It had been a long time since he had been so broke. If he played his cards right, he would be sitting pretty again without a worry in world.

With his parents being like they were, he couldn’t believe that he was able to sneak out of his house that night without either of them seeing him. He had been nervous. When he closed the back door he bumped his head on the wind chime that his mother kept beside the door. Evidently it had not awakened either of his parents. If they had, he was sure that one of them would have checked to see if anyone was outside the door. He didn’t know what he would have done if either one of them had come to the door that night. There would have been no way that he would have let them stop him from leaving. If he would have had the gun on him, he would have probably used it if they had tried to keep him from leaving because there was no way he was going to stay there and probably be arrested. Things had just gotten too hot around there.

He had forgotten to take the gun with him, and that was probably a good thing. Had he been stopped by the police that night for any reason, even a license check, and they found that gun, he might have had to serve time in jail if they had been able to match the bullets from the crime scene to that gun. They didn’t have all the modern equipment then that they have now, but a smart detective could have probably discovered that he was one of the two suspects who robbed and killed that couple.

The man they killed was an undercover police officer, and they would have been hot on his trail. Edward had too good of an alibi that night, so he knew they would come looking for him next, especially if it had ever been made known that Edward had an identical twin.

The house smelled like freshly baked bread. He had to admit; he did miss his parents sometimes, mostly his mother. He sure didn’t miss Edward or that stupid hamster. He remembered the rush he got when he chopped the hamster’s head off. Since then there had been a few more animals, a lady, and the grandfather of a girl that he had dated who came under his skillful ability with a knife. For some reason it gave him another rush just thinking about it.

Well, he was sure that he would never have to be in the same place with Edward again. He was just like their father, preaching to everyone about Christianity and going to heaven. He really didn’t go in for all that religious brainwashing. He laughed. If there was such a place as heaven and hell, he knew that he would not see his parents again. Sinning was a lot more fun than having to live under all those legalistic rules the so-called Christians made up just so they could control their children and the people who attended church. They tried to make everyone think that if they did anything fun, they would go to hell.

He personally did not believe there was a heaven or hell. He believed when you died, you just died. You didn’t go anywhere except into an expensive coffin that was put into an expensive vault and then put into a hole in a cemetery that cost almost as much as a house. If you were a so-called Christian, people would sing and cry over you and tell lies about how good of a person you were or what great things you did. By the time the people left the cemetery, the person in the grave would be forgotten. Lies! It was all just a bunch of lies, and he didn’t believe any of it. He didn’t care whether anyone would remember him or come to his funeral. Of course no one would probably know when he died. When it was his time to go, he would probably be killed by a jealous husband or when a drug deal went bad. Either way, he would just be dead.

Before he left his childhood home, he went to the kitchen and cut a big slice of the fresh-baked bread and got a coke out of the refrigerator and then picked up an apple before he walked out the door. This should hold him for a while. He didn’t want to make any more stops than absolutely necessary. He needed to get away from there, and he needed to get away fast.

Just as he got to the door to leave, he had a thought. He went back to where his mother kept her knives and pulled out the knife that he had used to chop the hamster’s head off. He laid it on the chopping block. He laughed! That should give his mother a good scare when she saw it. He laughed again and left.

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CHAPTER 3

What the Preacher Did to Her

Elsie and her grandparents had not been big churchgoers. They would go to church on Easter and Christmas and maybe for weddings or christening. She loved to dress up at Easter and go on all of the egg hunts. Christmas time was her favorite. She loved receiving and giving gifts. Her grandmother would always insist that she have her picture taken with Santa every Christmas. She had just turned sixteen when she had her last picture with him, and that was only because her grandmother was ill and begged her to have her picture made one last time. She told Elsie that she would never ask her to have it taken again with Santa.

She hesitantly agreed, but she waited until it was almost closing time at the mall and made sure that all the kids were gone before she approached the Santa to ask him if she could have her picture made with him. She told the Santa that she felt ridiculous; but her grandmother was sick, and it was her wish that she have her picture made with him one last time.

She was happy that she did because her grandmother passed away on January 3 the next year. Her grandfather suffered so much grief over her grandmother’s death that he passed away just before school closed for the summer. Now she was all alone in that big rambling house.

She had a housekeeper that came each morning to straighten the house and do laundry, but she normally left around noon each day. Unless she had friends over, the remainder of her time at home was spent alone.

She had inherited a good bit of money and the house from her grandparents. She also had an income from her father and mother’s estate. Financially she was secure, but it would be nice if she had someone to live with her in that big house. She had thought about selling the house and getting something smaller, but it had so many memories that she wasn’t ready to part with it. Her mother had grown up in the house, and she had lived there with her grandparents after her parents were killed.

Elsie called her grandmother’s sister, who lived in a small house by herself. Her husband had passed away about twelve years earlier, and she was also alone. When she called, her aunt said it was so sweet of her to call. She seemed so happy to hear from Elsie that it almost brought tears to Elsie’s eyes.

Elsie told her aunt Cheryl that she had a proposition for her. She invited her aunt to come and live with her in her grandparent’s big house. Her aunt asked her if she wanted her as a guardian or a housekeeper.

Elsie had to laugh at her aunt’s fake abruptness. When she answered the question she said, Aunt Cheryl, you know that I need someone to finish raising me and also someone to clean this big house and cook meals.

Her aunt said, I knew there had to be a catch with such a great offer. Then her aunt laughed and so did Elsie. Cheryl had a charming wit, and everyone loved her.

Elsie said, Aunt Cheryl, I really would just like to have someone in the house with me at night. I do okay during the day when I go to school and then after school when I go to school functions, but at night I really get lonesome. You are the only family that I have left.

Cheryl could relate to what Elsie was saying. Her house was only about one fourth the size of the house that Elsie was living in, and she didn’t like being by herself at night either. During the day she stayed busy, but as soon as it started turning dark outside, she closed the blinds and bolted the door.

Her aunt asked Elsie if she would have to help pay any of the utilities or taxes for that big house. Elsie said, No, Aunt Cheryl, I just want your company. You don’t have to pay or do anything that you don’t want to do.

Her aunt said, You are not going to believe this. My neighbor’s mother has become ill, and they want her to come and live near them, but her mother refuses to live in the same house with her son-in-law. Her husband feels the same way about his mother-in-law, and she doesn’t know what to do about the situation. They are looking for a small house near them, and mine would be perfect. I could sell them my house and come live with you.

Elsie said, That would be great!

Her aunt laughed and asked, When can I move in? Elsie told her anytime she liked. Her aunt said that she would talk her neighbors into buying her house, and then she would start packing.

Within a month, her aunt sold her house and moved in with Elsie. Her aunt was always talking about something. She told Elsie that it had been so long since she had anyone to talk to that she was afraid she might talk Elsie’s ears off.

Her aunt felt the same way about going to church as Elsie’s grandmother had. They liked to belong to a church, but they didn’t like to go to church.

They just didn’t think it was necessary to go to church every Sunday. They had too many other things they could be doing instead of wasting their time sitting in church. Elsie did get to go enough that she knew some of the people in the church and they knew her. Every time anyone met you for the first time, for some reason they would always ask you where you went to church and where you went to school. It made her feel good that she had a good answer for both questions.

After she and John started dating, he invited her to go to church with him. The church she and her aunt went to was very ritualistic. She almost went to sleep one Sunday because the service was so boring. Her aunt couldn’t say anything because she almost did the same thing. You sure wouldn’t go to sleep in one of the services at John’s church. There were more people in the choir at his church than there were members at the church where they had been going. When their choir sang, her aunt said that it was the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard. When Elsie and John got married, she sold the big house and bought her aunt a little condo in a senior community that was close to them. She offered to let her aunt live with them, but she declined. She wanted to be with people her own age so that she could have fun.

Things had been so simple with her grandparents and then with her aunt Cheryl, but everything sure changed after she married John.

Elsie played sick on Sunday and didn’t go to church with John. She was dreading her session with Reverend Briceson next Wednesday. It wasn’t just because of the way he was dressed on or the way he talked on Saturday. It was everything about him, especially the cologne he wore and the mark on his neck. It was probably just a birth mark, but why was it stressing her out? She had never noticed the mark on his neck at church or during one of their session, but for some reason she wanted to scream when she saw it.

Why would he be interested in her maiden name? He asked her where she grew up and who her parents were. His questioning seemed odd to Elsie. It was a requirement in John’s church to go through counseling sessions with the minister when you became a member. When she first started the sessions she had filled out a form that included all of the information