Evan Wycliff didn’t consider Stuart Shackleton his personal adversary, but the investment banker certainly was his nemesis. Every time the fellow made a request of Evan, it led the preacher into a nest of snakes. And now, as a result of Evan’s curious meddling into matters that needn’t concern him, Shackleton was behind bars pending trial on a charge of first-degree murder. If this unscrupulous man were convicted, perhaps the unhappy consequences of his schemes would soon be at an end.
It was the height of the pandemic. The balmy spring weather in southern Missouri at least offered more opportunities for holed-up families to venture outside and greet their neighbors. Here in the courtroom, fewer than half the participants were wearing masks. State government hadn’t mandated wearing them,
