The Death Collector

Ada Whittaker thought it a good idea when her widowed sister moved to Willowdell, Sackets Harbor’s premier senior living village on beautiful Lake Ontario. But the upsurge in unexplained deaths among the residents makes her ask, when do too many incidents stop being accidents, and is Frances in danger?

Pastor Maxwell Bailey’s elder board “plopped him on the curb outside Westlake Community Church.” Bitter, he’s determined to not care about anyone anymore, until an annoying neighbor, a victim’s cocker spaniel, and the attractive Frances Ferrell draw him into Ada’s quest to identify the death collector.

Questions abound for Sheriff Meriday. Does the kidnapping of his deputy link to Simon Hilton’s bid for the NYS senate? What is going on at the shipyard? Who is handling the estates of the deceased residents? His greatest challenge is to determine which incidents were accidents and which were murder set in motion. And he would like, just once, for his deputies to find the evidence before those nosey parkers at Willowdell.

The Death Collector is the winner of the Scrivenings Press 2021 GetPubbed Contest.