Jolly Dead St. Nicholas (35 page)

Dora Carmody and Harold Purcell stood in the entryway, glancing around the room. Dora spotted Adelaide then gave Harold a nudge, nodding Adelaide’s way.

Adelaide waved. Harold looked a little self-conscious. Dora looked pleased as punch.

The hostess led Harold and Dora to a table on the other side of the room. Glancing that way, Adelaide gasped. Her fork dropped to her empty salad plate with a clang, causing several diners to look her way. She didn’t notice. She was too busy gaping at the man who had just accompanied the restaurant owners out of the kitchen area.

It’s him! It’s the man I saw Brenda arguing with…kissing…in the parking lot Friday night!

She watched as the Rausch’s, both rather grim-faced, led the man through the throng of diners, then out into the entryway. This time, Adelaide got a good look at him. He was younger than she’d estimated on Friday, with immaculately trimmed hair. His watchful eyes were a cold, icy blue. His profile had the sharpness of a stone statue. His suit looked custom made, and the overcoat he carried over one beefy arm was of equally good quality. His shoes were shined to a high gloss.

“Are you all right, Adelaide? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Vernon said, his voice tinged with alarm.

Reaching over, James patted her arm. “Adelaide? Is something wrong? Answer us!”

When the threesome reached the entryway, the man turned toward the front door. Jeremy Rausch stopped to talk to one of his employees. Elaine Rausch made a bee line for the hallway leading to the restrooms.

Adelaide got up abruptly. “I’ll be right back. Go ahead and eat without me.” She didn’t wait for them to respond. She rushed out of the dining room, following Elaine Rausch.

On the way through the entryway, she noticed Mark Cardosa and Gayle Nelson waiting to be seated. The slick attorney was whispering something in Gayle’s ear. In response, she chuckled then ran a finger lightly across his lips. Adelaide turned slightly away so they wouldn’t see her.

She found Elaine in the restroom, leaning over one of the sinks splashing cold water on her face. There was a matronly looking woman at the other sink, washing her hands. Adelaide waited until the woman left before she spoke.

“Who is that man I just saw you and Jeremy with?”

Elaine started then raised her head, looking at Adelaide’s reflection in the mirror over the sink. “Someone I wish we’d never laid eyes on,” she said in a hoarse whisper.

Adelaide was suddenly very nervous. “Is he a business acquaintance?”

Elaine spun around, her eyes wide with apprehension. “Why do you want to know?”

A woman came in the door, hurrying into one of the stalls. Elaine hastily dried her face on a paper towel then threw it in the trash receptacle.

Adelaide reached out, taking hold of her arm. “I have a good reason for asking, Elaine.”

“Not here.” Elaine signaled for Adelaide to follow her from the restroom. Quickly she led her further down the hallway to the door marked
Office.

When Adelaide returned to her table several minutes later she found two very unhappy men waiting for her. “I’m sorry, gentlemen. I must have eaten that salad too fast. It just didn’t settle well.”

Obviously very concerned, Vernon asked, “Are you sick? Do you want to leave?”

James got up. “We should get you home. Or maybe you should go to the ER to get checked out.”

Adelaide waved James back into his seat. “Relax, both of you. I just needed a few moments to settle my stomach down. I think that salad dressing was a little too rich. I just felt a little queasy. I’m fine now. I don’t want to spoil our lunch. I’ll just eat cautiously. In fact, I think the roasted turkey will hit the spot.”

Getting up, she headed for the buffet line. She hated to lie to them, but until she did a little more research, she couldn’t share what she’d just learned with anyone.

* * * *

When Adelaide, Vernon and James exited the Dovetail Inn, it was snowing. While Vernon went to get the car, Adelaide took out her cell phone to call Daniel. She needed to tell him about the man she’d just seen at the restaurant, the one Brenda was arguing with on Friday night. She also needed to tell him about Elaine Rausch’s revelations.

James seemed deep in thought, standing by the porch railing looking out at the snowfall. Or, maybe he just sensed she needed some privacy. Both men had stopped asking her what was
really
wrong halfway through the meal. Conversation from that point on had been mostly between her male companions.

The voice she heard on the other end of the line was not Daniel’s. In the background she could hear traffic noises, then a siren’s wail. “Who is this? Where’s Daniel?”

“It’s Ray Butler, Mrs. McBride.”

Caller ID of course had identified her immediately. “Where is Daniel?” She pictured in her mind the tall, sinewy sergeant she was speaking with. Like Daniel, he’d been born in Crescent Falls. His loyalty to her son was without question.

“I’m sorry Mrs. McBride, but he’s had an accident. His pickup hit a pole on Dogwood Avenue at the bottom of the incline. The streets are very slippery—”

“How badly is he hurt?” Adelaide’s heart was going so fast she could hear her pulse pounding a rat-a-tat rhythm in her ears.

“He’s on his way to the medical center. You should probably go there.” Ray’s voice sounded hollow as the wind picked up.

Vernon pulled his Escalade up in front of the porch steps. Adelaide snapped her cell phone shut, running to the passenger side with James close behind. “We need to go to the medical center. Daniel’s been in an accident. Hurry, Vernon!”

Vernon didn’t exactly break any speed records driving across town, but he came close. Adelaide flung open the door, jumping out of the car almost before it came to a complete stop near the emergency room entrance. Rushing through the sliding glass doors as they swooshed open, she approached the registration desk. “Daniel McBride…he was brought in just a few minutes ago.” She was out of breath, her skin slick with perspiration.

“The Chief, yes he’s being examined. You can wait over there,” the perky attendant said with a smile. She pointed to a half-filled waiting area, where less critical patients as well as those accompanying them were seated.

“Not a chance. I’m his mother. Where is he? Tell me or I’ll find a way to get back there anyhow,” Adelaide told the young woman forcefully.

Looking unsure at first, the woman finally pressed a button under the rim of the desk. After a loud click, a set of large wooden double doors began to slowly open. “Through there.” She pointed to her left. “Number ten.”

Adelaide found Officer Judy Hess and Sergeant Ray Butler pacing around outside the exam cubicle. The heavy curtain around the exam cubicle was closed. She could hear urgent voices on the other side but they were somewhat muffled.

“What’s happening?” Adelaide said in a panic.

“He’s got head lacerations, maybe a concussion. I’m not sure what else. He was complaining that his stomach hurt,” Judy told her. The young officer was nearly in tears.

“How did this happen? Daniel’s a good driver.”

“Pickup trucks are notorious for fishtailing on wet pavements, especially snow,” Ray told her.

“Daniel always keep bags of salt in the truck bed for weight so he’ll have traction. He has good snow tires,” Adelaide said. She wanted to yank open the curtain so she could see her son. When she moved to do just that, Ray stopped her with a hand on her arm.

“They told us not to come in. They’re doing all they can. We’ll just get in the way. We need to give them a chance to evaluate his injuries.”

Adelaide drew in a ragged breath. Suddenly she felt lightheaded. The next thing she knew she was sitting on a nearby chair. A nurse was taking her pulse while Judy and Ray stood off to the side looking anxious.

Suddenly the curtain around Daniel’s cubicle was pushed open along the ceiling track until the exam area was almost completely exposed. A young man who looked barely out of his teens wearing blue scrubs emerged first. Behind him a nurse was pushing a gurney with Daniel lying on it toward another set of doors.

“Those here for Chief McBride, follow me into the conference room down the hall,” the man said before walking away.

Adelaide bolted to the gurney, almost loping to keep up as the nurse pushed it toward a bank of elevators. Daniel looked pale. He wasn’t conscious. The bandage on his forehead was soaked with blood. IVs ran into both arms. “Where are you taking him?” Her voice sounded hysterical but she didn’t care. “Daniel? Wake up! Daniel!”

The nurse pushed the button on the back hallway elevator. “He’s going for a scan. You need to talk with the doctor.” The elevator arrived. The nurse maneuvered the gurney inside with practiced efficiency.

Adelaide hung back, staring at her son lying there so helpless. He looked like a defenseless little boy to her now. She began to cry. The nurse faced her. “We’ll take very good care of him, I promise,” she said as the doors slid noiselessly shut.

Ray Butler was at Adelaide’s side. She hadn’t even heard him approach. “Let’s go, Mrs. McBride, the doctor is waiting.”

Adelaide sat sideways on a chair in the third floor surgical waiting area, staring out the window. The snow was coming down in large fluffy flakes. Already the street outside was covered by at least another two inches of the white stuff. A salt truck drove by, dumping its load as it went.

The conference with the young ER doctor had been short and sweet. “He has a concussion. He’s only been conscious part of the time since they brought him in. We also think he has a ruptured spleen.” The scan confirmed that diagnosis.

Immediately, Adelaide had used her cell phone to call Vernon, who was still with James in the ER waiting room, telling him to meet her on the second floor. Now they all waited in tense silence while Daniel went under the knife.

Adelaide felt restless, ready to jump out of her skin. It suddenly occurred to her she should probably call Brenda.

I’m not sure where things stand with them right now, but just in case, I’d better let her know.

They’d given her Daniel’s belongings in a clear plastic bag with the name of the medical center printed on both sides. She dug in that bag now, taking out his cell phone. She found Brenda’s number quickly, but there was no answer. She decided not to leave a voicemail message.

Adelaide turned in her seat, facing the others. James sat beside Vernon on an uncomfortable looking blue vinyl sofa. Judy stood with Ray in one corner, talking in low tones.

“I want to know what happened. How did he wreck his truck?” Adelaide demanded.

Ray came over, sitting down in the chair next to hers. “It looks like he skidded. Ed Lucas and Lieutenant Fagan are at the accident site now, trying to piece things together. His truck was towed to Tim’s shop.”

Instead of an impound lot, the local police had a contract with Tim Hunter to take cars involved in crimes or accidents under investigation to his auto repair shop where they were kept in a separate fenced area.

“I want Tim to look at the truck also.” She trusted Tim.

Ray seemed uncomfortable for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll tell Lieutenant Fagan. He’s in charge now that Daniel’s…until Daniel comes back.”

As if on cue, Luke came striding into the waiting room, heading straight for Adelaide.

Ray stood up almost as though coming to attention. “Lieutenant,” he said with a curt nod.

Judy joined them. “Lieutenant. Glad you’re here.” Her voice quivered.

Adelaide was also glad to see him. She would have said so, but found it difficult to talk around the lump in her throat. So she just gave him a wan smile instead.

“Any word?” Luke asked.

Adelaide shook her head. “It could be a while. They’re removing his spleen.”

“I just examined the pickup. It looks like his brakes failed.”

“That’s absurd. Daniel took very good care of that truck. Tim Hunter serviced it regularly,” Adelaide exclaimed, getting to her feet.

“There was brake fluid on the road. The snow was saturated with it.” Luke said.

James and Vernon got up, joining the group.

“I don’t think it was a question of poor maintenance, was it Luke?” Vernon asked.

Luke shook his head. “I had Tim take a look to confirm, but there’s no doubt that his brake line was cut.”

Adelaide stood there trying to take it all in.

I must have misunderstood. Either that or Luke isn’t making himself clear. He didn’t just say that someone tried to kill my son, did he?

“Someone tried to kill Daniel?” Judy asked, putting Adelaide’s thoughts into words. Her face was as pale as the snow falling outside.

Adelaide felt a fierce anger surge through her body, releasing with it an adrenaline rush that made her pulse double its cadence. “I want a guard posted outside my son’s hospital room once he’s out of surgery. No, I want a guard posted right now outside the surgical suite and in the recovery room while he’s there.”

“Already arranged. Everyone is volunteering for this duty,” Luke told her.

Adelaide looked up to see Ron Elam, Dennis Ackerman, Larry Schwartz and Ken Lafferty walking down the hallway. A third of the night shift.

“Dennis and Ken will be here tonight in shifts,” Luke said.

Ray said, “I’d like to stay for a while too, Lieutenant.”

“So would I,” Judy added.

“Go back to the station and write out your reports for the shift, then if you want to come back on your own time, fine. You won’t be alone. A lot of the others will be in and out, I’m sure,” Luke said.

Adelaide felt Vernon’s arm around her waist. James stood on the other side of her, holding her hand.

“I’d like all of us to join hands in a prayer circle,” Adelaide said in a clear voice. “James, please lead us.”

She thought they must have made a formidable looking sight, a dozen or more of them, some in police uniforms, standing in the middle of the waiting area, holding hands, heads bowed. Others in the waiting room, who were going through their own turmoil for loved ones, joined the circle as it grew until it spilled out into the hallway. James’s words echoed through the corridors, and Adelaide hoped far beyond to God above, as they prayed for the life of her son as well as all the other precious lives hanging in the balance in various operating suites and hospital rooms on this cold, snowy December day.