Events moved rapidly after Evan’s television appearance, which was now racking up megaclicks on the streaming services. Phone calls offering both sympathy and donations poured in to the church office. Mrs. Olinger became so flustered Evan had to tell her it was okay not to answer and to increase the storage allowance on voicemail. She was to add a recorded greeting directing callers to a new website, developed with funding from Shackleton and directed by Ms. Shinn and her team of website developers.
The decision for a website came after Thurston called Evan to tell him why Shackleton had wanted to meet. The old pastor’s husky voice came through Evan’s phone. “Can you believe it? He actually told me not to turn down donations. I told him that’s up to you, but he insisted he needs to make s
