Jolly Dead St. Nicholas (39 page)

“Well, you’re a tough old bird, I’ll give you that,” Brenda Collier said in a tight voice. “I’d hoped the fall would kill you, but I guess I’ll just have to give it another try.” She sat down on the floor facing Adelaide, her back to the open door. Adelaide struggled into a sitting position. Her left hand seemed useless. She surmised her wrist was broken. She put the injured arm on her lap. It felt numb right now but she knew that wouldn’t last. Soon she’d be in terrible pain. “How did you get into my house?”

Brenda laughed harshly. “Oh, please! You don’t even have deadbolts on your doors. And what are those locks, about fifty years old?”

Adelaide had never thought she needed to secure her home like a fortress. Now she knew differently. “You won’t get away with it, Brenda. Daniel—”

Another harsh laugh erupted from Brenda’s mouth. “Daniel will be dead soon, too. I won’t fail this time.”

Adelaide felt fear triple its squeeze on her heart when she thought about what Brenda was capable of. “You’ll never get near Daniel again. The entire police force has him under guard.” Then another thought struck her. “What did you do to Oscar?”

“That mangy cat? I put him outside. He didn’t much like it.”

With the light from the kerosene lamp shining upward onto her face, Brenda looked like the personification of evil.

How could we have been so wrong about this young woman all this time? I was actually picturing her as my future daughter-in-law, the mother of my grandchildren.

“The police know you cut Daniel’s brake line, Brenda. And, I know you killed Jerry Hatfield.”

Brenda smirked. Her blonde hair was tangled around her face, her clothing dirt smudged. “It wasn’t my fault. He should have listened to me. I begged him.”

“Jerry?” Adelaide wanted to keep the young woman talking. She knew people would be looking for her before long, if they weren’t already.

Brenda’s eyes took on a dreamy quality as she continued. “He found out I’d been gambling online on the church computer. He caught me one day. I promised to quit. But I didn’t. I’d lost some money online and at that casino up in Columbus. That thug, Bruno, lent me money, but I couldn’t pay that back either. Things got tight. I had a losing streak. It happens, everyone knows that. No big deal. I knew it was just temporary. But I still had to pay my bills, put gas in my car, you know?” She looked at Adelaide as though she expected her to understand.

“Yes, I met Bruno. Why did you allow yourself to become indebted to a loan shark, Brenda?”

“I needed to pay off my debt to the casino. It seemed like an easy out. That night you were so anxious to tell Daniel about, Bruno ordered me to meet him in the parking lot at the Dovetail Inn with a payment. I didn’t have enough, though. I never had enough!”

“Couldn’t you go to your parents for help?”

Brenda sneered. “You’re kidding, right? They never would have understood.”

Adelaide rushed on. “So you stole from the church?”

Brenda’s mouth twitched. She scooted closer. It was then Adelaide noticed the knife in her hand. She recognized it at once as one from her own kitchen.

Brenda continued. “In the beginning it was just ten or twenty at a time from the Sunday offerings. No one missed it.”

“You know, the police have the computer from your office, Brenda,” Adelaide said.

Brenda emitted a harsh laugh. “I erased all those sites before I left the other day.”

“I’ve heard that Alex Shane is better than the FBI at recovering files people thought were gone forever.”

Brenda’s expression turned stormy, but she remained silent.

“How did you get the combination to the safe, Brenda?” She thought she had that figured out but wanted confirmation.

“That was easy. I set up my little camcorder between two notebooks on the file cabinet one Monday morning so I could record Jerry twirling in the combination. Neither he or that old goat Carl noticed it sitting up there.” Brenda smile proudly, obviously pleased with her cleverness.

I was right. It was the same video camera she used to record the Sunday school rooms right before the bazaar opened. What had Dora called it? A spy cam. How appropriate
.

Brenda’s expression sobered. “Then I needed more money so I started taking more. That’s when Jerry noticed, I guess. Because he laid a trap for me. It was in October. He came in one Monday morning to get the money like always. But that day he sent Carl to make the deposit while he stuck around. He made me open my purse. He said he’d recorded the serial numbers of some bills before putting them in the safe on Sunday. He had a list. Can you believe that? On a spreadsheet, no less. What could I do? He found those bills in my purse. He had me.” Her expression turned sour.

“Yet he was willing to give you a chance to pay it back, wasn’t he, Brenda?” Adelaide watched as the young woman waved the knife around in front of her. She recalled the comment Jerry had made to Harold about justice being served by giving the person a chance to make things right. Jerry had been referring to Brenda.

“He said he’d set up a payment plan if I agreed to join Gamblers’ Anonymous. If I did that, he’d be willing to keep quiet so I didn’t go to jail and lose my job. He gave me until the end of the year to do as he said. He gave me an ultimatum, like I was a naughty child or something.” There was bitterness in her voice.

“But you couldn’t do it.” Adelaide shifted her position, trying to get comfortable.

Brenda’s indigo blue eyes, looking almost turquoise now in the yellow glow from the kerosene lamp, shone with anger. “I tried. I really did. But I knew I was close to a winning streak. I could
feel
it. In here.” She tapped one fist against her chest, over her heart. A drop of saliva ran down from the corner of her mouth.

Spoken like a true gambling addict. That big win is just around the corner. Always.

* * * *

“I just talked to Alex Shane. He’s been trying to recover information off the computer from the church office. It seems someone had been visiting several online gambling sites over the past months. I think we can assume it was Brenda. She hasn’t been seen for a couple of days and no one can find her,” Luke told Daniel.

“I should have had Brenda’s office computer examined when we confiscated the others.” Daniel made a huffing noise. “The mistake was mine. I let my relationship with Brenda color my judgment. I trusted her.”

Luke looked at Daniel. “Your mother told me about what she witnessed Friday night. She assumed Brenda was cheating on you and felt you deserved to know. I’m guessing that’s why you broke up with her.”

Daniel nodded.

“Your mother called me earlier today from the Royal Aces Casino in Columbus. She went there to do some sleuthing. Seems there was no affair going on. The man your mother saw Brenda arguing with on Friday night works at the casino as part of the security force. She confronted him. He admitted that Brenda lost a lot there and he, a guy named Bruno, loaned her money to cover those losses. In other words, old Bruno has a loan sharking sideline.”

Daniel’s insides twisted at the thought of his mother facing down a thug named Bruno. “Did you encourage my mother to go off to that casino?” He glared up at Luke.

“No, of course not. She called me with a theory. I told her it would be hard to prove.”

“So she skittered off to get the proof. Typical,” Daniel snapped. He eyed Luke for a moment then added, “There are more theories, I presume.”

“It’s one your mother and I share. I think we need to find out about Brenda’s whereabouts when Carl was attacked and when Susan’s house burned down.”

Daniel felt his skin crawl a little. “You think she attacked Mr. Henshaw and tried to kill Susan?”

“It makes sense if the other theories are true. Those are the two people who Jerry may have opened up to about what he suspected. Besides, if Susan Hatfield and Carl Henshaw were out of the way and Douglas Underwood was arrested for Jerry Hatfield’s murder, Brenda would be entirely in the clear, wouldn’t she?”

Daniel sighed. “She was with me the night of the fire. She was still there when Ken came to the door.” He recalled that night—the wine, the éclairs and how quickly he began to feel drowsiness overcome him. Finally realizing what had happened, he reached for his cell phone just as Luke’s rang.

Luke answered and listened for a few moments then said, “Get units over there. I’m on my way.” He disconnected the call and looked at Daniel. “Vernon Dexter just called the station. Your mother is missing. She’s not answering her cell and the house is dark even though her car is in the driveway. He even banged on the door but got no answer.”

Daniel climbed out of bed, pulling out IV tubes as he went. He flung off the nasal cannula from his oxygen supply, tossing it aside. He wobbled then grabbed the bed for support as pain shot up through his abdomen.

Luke lunged forward. “Whoa, Daniel, what are you doing?”

Daniel shook off Luke’s hands as he tried to restrain him. “Get me something to wear. I’m going with you to my mother’s house. Brenda could be there right now. There’s no telling what she’ll do. Don’t try to stop me!”

Daniel, riding in the passenger seat of Luke Fagan’s cruiser, spotted Oscar wandering along Hawthorne Avenue as they turned the corner. Behind the cruiser was another one driven by Dennis Ackerman. In the backseat of that car sat Vernon Dexter and James Preston.

“We should have left the two civilians out of this,” Daniel told Luke.

“They’d have just followed us anyway,” Luke replied.

Daniel knew this was true. Luke pulled over to the curb in front of Adelaide’s house. Oscar, shivering from the cold, stood on the sidewalk, yowling loudly. Dennis Ackerman screeched his car to a halt crossways in the street. Jumping out, he scooped up the cat then deposited him onto James Preston’s lap. “Keep him safe. Do not get out of the car.” He slammed the door.

“How can we? There are no inside door handles back here!” Vernon yelled indignantly.

Daniel had to chuckle, which hurt his incision. He was dressed in a pair of green scrubs, provided reluctantly by a nurse at the medical center. Although his down jacket had been spotted with blood from the accident, he’d dragged it out of the small closet in his room and put it on. Luckily, his shoes and socks were still in that closet too.

Two more cruisers came barreling down the street, pulling to the curb across from the house. Larry Schwartz emerged from one, Ken Lafferty from the other. A late model Nissan drove up, parking behind Luke’s cruiser. Judy Hess, dressed all in black, got out. She immediately approached Daniel, who was now leaning against Luke’s cruiser, clutching his abdomen. Luke and the other officers began talking strategy.

“There are no lights on inside, Daniel. Maybe she’s not there,” Judy suggested.

“Where else would she be at this hour?” Daniel asked.

“We’ll surround the house. Do recon before we go inside,” Luke told them. “Dennis, you and Ken take the back. Larry, check out the south side. I’ll take the north.”

“What about me?” Judy asked. “I came to help, not observe.”

“You stay with Daniel, make sure he stays out of the line of fire.”

Daniel shook his head emphatically. “Not a chance. I’m going in there when the time comes.”

Judy tightened her grip on his arm. “You’re in no shape—”

She got no further. He shook off her hand. “I’m still the chief of police,” he said through clenched teeth. He stared hard at Luke.

Finally Luke gave him a curt nod.

“Get going,” Daniel told the officers, including Luke, who dispersed quickly and quietly toward the house. Judy remained at his side.

I need to think clearly now. I’ve made it clear I’m giving the orders. When the time comes I need to lead the assault inside. Who am I kidding? I can barely stand up by myself.

“Who are those two in the back of Luke’s cruiser?” Judy whispered.

“Vernon Dexter and James Preston,” Daniel replied.

“What did they do?” Judy asked.

“Nothing. Vernon’s the one who called the police. James and he were together. Luke just wants them out of the way. Plus, they’re watching Oscar. We found him wandering around outside.”

Judy left Daniel’s side. He looked behind him when he heard a car door open. Slowly, Vernon and James climbed out of the car.

“Sorry, gentlemen. Just stay back out of the way, all right?” Judy said. She petted a protesting Oscar before slamming the door in his furry little face. “No dice, kitty. You need to stay put for your own safety.”

“I never thought I was claustrophobic until tonight,” James said raggedly.

Vernon said nothing, but Daniel could see he was furious.

Luke was the first to return, followed closely by Larry. “The dining room is empty from what I can tell. So is the kitchen. I couldn’t see in the living room from that side because the windows are too high off the ground, but we can see from the front it is all dark in there. I did see a dim glow from that corner basement window, though,” Luke told them.

“The upstairs windows look dark. The basement door on that side of the house is locked,” Larry said.

Dennis and Ken ran through the front yard, joining them. “What’s in the…northeast corner of the basement? There’s…a light on…down…there,” Ken said. He was out of breath, panting. Daniel figured from excitement, since the officer wasn’t overweight and worked out regularly.

“The old coal cellar. It’s not used for anything now. There’s no window, just the coal chute, but it’s been sealed up for years,” Daniel replied. A knot the size of a tennis ball settled in his stomach.

“We couldn’t hear anything, but since there’s some light in that area, I’d bet money if Brenda has your mother, they’re down there,” Ken said.

Luke looked at Daniel. “Call your mother’s cell phone again.”

Daniel pushed Number One on his speed dial. In the distance the unmistakable sound of the ringtone she’d assigned to him,
Oh Danny Boy
could be heard.

“It’s gone to voice mail,” Daniel said as he slid the phone shut and shoved it back into his jacket pocket. He turned his attention to Luke. “You lead the team. I’m too weak to be of any real use. But I am going in.”