Murder Adjacent #13: The Pageant Murder

Quirky Sleuths. Big Murders. Very Bad Alibis.Retired teacher Agnes Bell has spent a lifetime watching children learn their places and adults forget theirs. During rehearsal for Saint Orla Parish's 125th anniversary pageant, church historian Clive Renner is found dead beneath the old manger platform, surrounded by costumes, props, and decades of carefully preserved tradition.The obvious suspect is Agnes's own son, who publicly argued with Clive and was backstage before the body was found. The church would very much like everyone to remain calm, continue rehearsing, and avoid language such as scandal, cover-up, or homicide during committee hours.Then Agnes studies an old pageant photograph and notices one child standing in the wrong place. Pageant blocking had been rigid for decades. That child's position means a backstage door could not have been used the way church history claims it was. Someone has been protecting an old story for years, and Agnes has finally reached the age when politeness is no longer a sufficient reason to leave a lie alone.