Jolly Dead St. Nicholas (18 page)

He hesitated in the small foyer once he became aware of her presence behind him. “Oh, Adelaide, I didn’t see you in the parking lot.”

He looked haggard and unkempt. His thick hair was sticking up at odd angles in several places. He’d also missed a few spots when he’d shaved. His eyes were a little puffy, as though from lack of sleep. “I visited Fran yesterday, Douglas,” she said without preamble, “I know she’s leaving for good.”

“I suppose the news is probably all over town by now,” he replied, his broad shoulders slumping even more.

He walked along the back rows of pews to the hallway. After unlocking the door to his study, he said. “Come on in.”

She stepped around him. He shut the door behind them. “Maybe I should leave the door open. We wouldn’t want any more rumors to start circulating.” His expression held no humor. He flung his keys on the desk, then took off his topcoat and hung it on an ornate looking coat rack in the corner.

The study was furnished much as it had been for decades, with a broad walnut desk, two metal file cabinets, a striped loveseat, maple end table, and brass table lamp. Built-in bookshelves lined one wall.

“Have a seat, Adelaide. Is there something you want to talk to me about?” He sat down behind his desk in an oversize leather swivel chair.

“Actually, I came to make sure the unsold items from the bazaar are properly packed away. Ethel and Carl boxed them up on Saturday night, but I’m sure with all the confusion, some things were…well, I just want to be sure they’re…secured.” Adelaide could see his attention was elsewhere. He was fiddling with a ballpoint pen, twirling it around on the desk blotter, watching it as though mesmerized.

“Fran thinks I killed Jerry Hatfield.” Douglas finally said.

Adelaide leaned forward in the loveseat. “You have to admit, there are a lot of unanswered questions.”

He made a huffing noise. “You’re talking about Susan, I assume.”

They were interrupted by a discreet knock on the study door. Brenda poked her head in. “Sorry to interrupt, I was just wondering if you were here, Reverend Underwood.” She nodded a greeting Adelaide’s way.

“Do you need me for anything, Brenda?” Douglas asked rather sharply.

Brenda blinked several times, her gaze flickering to Adelaide then back to the pastor. “No…I just wondered…I’ll leave you two alone.” She backed up a step, closing the door.

Douglas kneaded his forehead with one hand. “I’m sorry about that. This whole thing has turned my world upside down.”

Adelaide wondered if he was referring to the murder of a parishioner or the discovery of his infidelity.

There was a commotion in the hallway, footsteps clearly discernible, voices loud enough to be heard through the thick, oak door. All of a sudden Brenda came into the room. “The police are here. They have a search warrant.” She handed the paper to Douglas.

The calmness with which the young woman had delivered both bits of news told Adelaide that Brenda already knew about this, no doubt through Daniel.

The phone on Douglas’s desk rang. “It’s my direct private line.” He snatched up the receiver. “Yes? Well they’re here too, Fran. I don’t know what to tell you. Just let them do their thing.” A small smile crept over his face as he listened. “Really. Well, don’t expect me to be sorry.” He slammed down the receiver. “They’re searching the parsonage too. The moving van is due any time. They told Fran she can’t move any of those boxes until they’ve gone through them all.” He emitted a small chuckle. “Even her brother, the smart lawyer from Columbus, can’t get around
that
one.”

Adelaide turned to say something to Brenda only to find her gone. At that moment, Officer Ray Butler entered the room. “You both need to leave,” he commanded.

Adelaide left at once with Douglas right behind her. Suddenly feeling warm, she took off her coat, looping it over her arm. She exited the short hallway into the main corridor. She could see two other officers searching the office, while another one was just entering the parlor. She figured the basement would be next, so she hurried down the stairs, making a beeline for the closet where the Henshaws had stored the unsold Christmas bazaar items. Everything seemed to be in order. She did a quick search of all the boxes, sealing them again once she was finished. She wasn’t sure what she expected to find. Surely not the murder weapon?

She returned to the main floor just as her son, Daniel, came in through the front door. The look on his face was grim. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “What are you doing here, Mother?”

“Making sure the things left from the bazaar are packed away properly,” she replied, breezing past him. She found Brenda with Douglas in the parlor, sitting side by side on one of the sofas.

“They’re finished in here, so they said we could wait—” Douglas began then stopped short.

Adelaide noticed for the first time that her son was behind her. He held a clear plastic bag in his hand. The telltale orange stripe across the top had the words “Evidence” printed in bold letters. Inside the bag was an object Adelaide recognized on sight.

Daniel strode over to Douglas, stopping just inches from where he sat. “Ever seen this before, Reverend?” He held the bag up for him to see.

Adelaide watched the minister’s reaction. There was shock, surprise then realization.

Brenda drew in a sharp breath, one hand resting over her heart.

Douglas seemed to have lost the power of speech. He stared at the silver letter opener, his mouth agape, eyes wide. “No. It can’t be.”

“Recognize this, Brenda?” Daniel turned his attention to her, waving the bag in front of her face.

Brenda looked up at Daniel, then over at Douglas. “It looks like…but it can’t be. Is that blood on it?”

Adelaide moved closer to examine the item. “I recognize that letter opener. Reverend Preston opened his personal mail with it. Anything addressed directly to him…he was very particular it be put on his desk unopened.” Adelaide had seen their former pastor use it several times during his seven years at Crescent Falls UMC. “It is very distinctive.” Through the plastic, she examined the long, flat blade that ended at an ornate handle—roses on a vine on the front side, no design on the back side. “It’s sterling silver, I recall him telling me that. The handle is solid, not hollow.”

Brenda said, “That’s right. I thought he took it with him when he left. He said it was very old, dating back to the late 1800s.”

Daniel glared down at Douglas. “How about it, Reverend?”

Douglas exhaled a ragged breath. “I found it in the lap drawer of the desk in my study when I moved in.”

“Well,
we
found it in the bottom of your garbage can at the parsonage,” Daniel told him.

Douglas’s hands were shaking, his eyes wide with astonishment. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I. You see we searched the alleys yesterday and there was no can sitting outside behind your house.” Daniel said.

Douglas rubbed a hand over his face. “Fran insisted we keep it in the tool shed in the backyard until late Sunday night, so animals wouldn’t get into it and make a mess between pickups. I guess she or that brother of hers must have put it out. I wasn’t there last night. I stayed at a motel.”

Daniel shook his head. “Well, unfortunately that doesn’t help your case. The letter opener was most likely put there right after the murder, where it remained until we found it today. How did it go, Reverend, did you put it in the can, way down deep inside, knowing it wouldn’t be found by your wife and hoping the trash would be collected before we discovered it?”

Douglas’s face reddened. “That’s crazy! Why would I hide a murder weapon that could be traced to me in my own garbage can?”

“Well, maybe that’s something we can discuss further. You need to come along to the station.” Daniel signaled to Sergeant Ray Butler, who was now standing in the parlor doorway.

“You’re arresting him?” Adelaide asked.

“We’re taking him in for further questioning, for now. After we find his fingerprints on the handle,
then
we’ll arrest him,” Ray snapped as he led Douglas out the door.

“Of course my fingerprints will be on it. I use it all the time to open my personal mail.” Douglas protested as he was hustled down the hallway to the main entrance.

Adelaide turned to Daniel. “He’s right. His fingerprints are bound to be on that letter opener.”

“We’re searching the Hatfield’s house and the insurance office, too. We’re confiscating computers. We’re building a good case,” he told her.

Brenda got to her feet. “I’ll unhook the computer in my office. You’ll want that one too, I’m sure.” She headed for the door.

“Did Underwood use that computer?” Daniel asked her.

Turning to face him, she replied. “No, not that I know of. He had no need to, since he had one in his study.”

“Let it go for now. I don’t want to shut you down completely here. If we need to take a look, we can do it later.”

Brenda sighed. “Good. I mean I don’t want to impede your investigation, but I am in the middle of several projects.”

Daniel left the parlor, walking toward the front door.

Adelaide followed, almost running into Officer Ed Lucas as he entered the small hallway, no doubt on his way to confiscate the preacher’s computer. She stepped back to let him pass. He muttered something that sounded like “Not a good day for your church, is it?” as he hurried by.

Brenda caught up with Adelaide at the front door. “Now what do we do?”

“Just go back to work, Brenda. I’m sure people will be calling with lots of questions once word gets around about what just happened here. Don’t talk to the press. Simply tell concerned parishioners who call that the police are still investigating. As for Fran moving out, I don’t see how we can sugar coat that, since half the town will see the moving van loading up most of the belongings from the parsonage once they get the go ahead from the police.”

Brenda quickly headed for the church office. “I’ll think of something reassuring to say, don’t worry, Adelaide.”

At that moment Carl and Ethel Henshaw came strolling along the sidewalk, stopping in their tracks as Ray Butler shoved Douglas into the back of a waiting squad car. Daniel carried the plastic evidence bag in his hand as he climbed in beside Ray.

Adelaide opened the door for the Henshaws. “They’ve found what they think is the murder weapon in the garbage can at the parsonage. They’re taking Douglas in for further questioning.”

“The police are at the Hatfields, too,” Ethel exclaimed.

Carl shook his head. “It’s pandemonium. Some of her family members are there. I heard a lot of shouting. Judy Hess even threatened to take someone in for shoving a police officer.

Adelaide motioned for them to follow her into the church office. Brenda was behind her desk, taking a phone message. When she hung up, she said, “That was Vernon Dexter at the pharmacy. He was trying to track you down, Adelaide. Don’t you have your cell phone turned on?”

Adelaide suddenly realized she didn’t have her purse. She must have left it in the pastor’s study. Her cell phone was inside it. So was Mary Ellen Oliver’s check, which she intended to give to Carl this morning. She rushed out the door. The minute she stepped into the pastor’s study she saw the purse on the floor by the loveseat. Ed Lucas held the pastor’s computer in his hands. Another officer, a new hire, was rummaging through desk drawers, tossing things all over the place. Books had been pulled off the shelves. In essence the place looked like a cyclone had hit it.

“Do you have to make such a mess?” she asked, grabbing her purse.

This is inexcusable! I’m going to have a talk with Daniel about the way his officers conduct searches as well as the disrespect they show! Well, what did I expect? It’s Ed Lucas. He never did like Daniel. He’d do anything to make him look bad. Daniel has had to sit on him several times for using excessive force. Also there have been complaints about his somewhat caustic attitude. As for that new officer, he needs to watch who he imitates or he’ll be starting down a bad path.

She returned to the church office. “Where are the Henshaws?” she asked Brenda.

“In the parlor counting the offering.”

Adelaide rushed into the parlor. “Here’s Mary Ellen Oliver’s check for the quilt. I’ll catch you both later. I have errands to run.” She left before they could respond.

She drove along Main Street toward the pharmacy. Passing it by, she continued on to Hatfield’s Insurance on the next corner. She parked in front of the building. Obviously, the police had already left, since she saw no sign of them. Through the plate glass window she could see the secretary, Marsha Burns, straightening things up. When she entered the office she could tell the woman was distraught simply by her body language.

“They left a horrible mess!” Marsha cried. She turned toward Adelaide. “Oh, I thought you might be Mrs. Hatfield. She said she was coming over today. They raided her home also. Mr. Hatfield took such pride in that house. He was a good man. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.” She was jamming file folders back into a cabinet near her desk. The one-room office contained a reception area and behind it a tall partition concealing what had been Jerry Hatfield’s desk. As at the church, desk drawers were open, their contents scattered around. “They had no consideration.” Marsha shoved another file folder into the cabinet then seemed to run out of steam. “It’s too much. It’s just too much!”

Adelaide went to the woman, leading her to a nearby corner where a grouping of casual furniture gave the illusion of hominess. “What were they looking for, anyway?”

“They wanted to know if any of our clients had a grudge against Mr. Hatfield. As if they would. What nonsense. Mr. Hatfield was an honest businessman, always. Otherwise I never would have worked here. I’d already given the police a list earlier then they came back with that search warrant and started tearing into the files. It was just awful.”

Adelaide spied a coffee pot on a table not far away. She went to it and poured the woman a cup of the dark brew. “Sugar or cream?”

“Neither, thank you, Adelaide.” She accepted the mug with shaking hands. “It’s been awful here this morning. I almost didn’t come in, but I thought I owed it to Mr. Hatfield to make sure the office was occupied just in case. It’s not like
she
would ever show up around here unless she wanted something, which I’m sure she does, since she said she’d be in.” She sipped at the coffee tentatively. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just so upset about all of this.”