Jolly Dead St. Nicholas (40 page)

Luke laid a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

Two more cars pulled up. Ray Butler and Ed Lucas joined the group.

“We’re going in, but quietly.” Luke ordered.

Luke signaled for everyone to gather around him beside his police cruiser. “This is most likely a hostage situation. We won’t know the extent of the problem until we get in there. Everyone in vests. Weapons out. If Brenda has Adelaide, we can assume she’s desperate, liable to do anything. She’s a suspect in the murder of Jerry Hatfield and the attempted murder of our chief, Daniel. We also want to question her about the assault on Carl Henshaw and the fire at Susan Hatfield’s. We tread with extreme caution. I want everyone to come out of this alive tonight, including Ms. Collier. Got it?”

There were nods all around. Daniel watched his officers slip into their Kevlar vests then check their weapons.

“Give me the house key, Daniel,” Judy said, holding out her hand.

He dug in his coat pocket and brought out his key chain. Then, with fear clutching at his heart, he watched as his officers approached the porch, unlocked the door and went inside. Walking gingerly, he followed them into the foyer.

“Electricity has been cut off,” Luke said in a hushed voice, after trying the nearest light switch.

Flashlights flickered to life as the officers hurried off in different directions. Daniel hung back in the foyer, listening. He was unarmed although he had donned a vest. It weighed heavily on his shoulders and chest, making him feel as though he couldn’t put one foot in front of the other.

Luke opened the basement door with Judy close behind him. Daniel could hear it squeak. He headed that way. Behind him, in other rooms of the house, he could hear urgent whispers as the rest of the officers conducted a thorough search.

When Daniel reached the top of the basement stairs he could barely see through the darkness below. He followed the narrow beam of the flashlights in front of him. Descending the stairs carefully, he kept a tight grip on the railing. Luke had stopped halfway down. When Daniel reached him, the lieutenant was holding a shoe in his hand. He recognized it at once as his mother’s. Panic lit a flame inside of him.

Without being told, Judy flew back up the stairs. “I’ll get the others,” she said in passing.

Daniel followed Luke into the cold, gloomy folds of the basement where the air smelled of musty limestone along with something unpleasant although unidentifiable.

* * * *

At the sound of a stair tread creaking, Brenda got up and slammed the coal bin door shut. “They’re inside. Took them long enough,” Brenda said softly. “Do you suppose Daniel is with them?” She sat back down.

Adelaide assessed the wild-eyed young woman sitting on the cold basement floor just inches in front of her. There was no lock on the coal bin door. In spite of that she hoped the police wouldn’t do anything foolish like rush in before assessing the situation thoroughly. “I hope Daniel is in the hospital where he belongs.” She tried to keep her voice level, calm.

Brenda laughed harshly. “Oh, come on, Adelaide, you know better than that. He’s like you—has to have his nose stuck right in the thick of things.”

“Tell me, Brenda, when exactly was it you decided to kill Jerry Hatfield?” Adelaide glanced down at her wrist, which was now swollen to twice its normal size.

Brenda stared at Adelaide for a few seconds before answering. “I knew about Reverend Underwood and Susan Hatfield from the start, you know. I could see the sparks flying long before they actually did anything about it.” Her lips curled up in a smirk. “You know the first thing I thought of when Jerry Hatfield started laying down the law to me? I thought, Jerry you should be keeping an eye on your wife and the preacher instead of fretting about a few measly dollars from the offering plates.” She snorted then swiped a hand across her lips.

“Did you tell Jerry about Susan and Douglas?”

“No. I figured it served old Jerry right. Let his wife cuckold him with another man. To answer your question, I decided to kill
Santa
the day I heard him arguing with Reverend Underwood.”

“Friday. The day the bazaar opened.” Adelaide had suspected as much.

“Remember, Adelaide? You overheard them arguing. Well, so did I, even though I denied it later on.”

Adelaide felt a little dizzy. Her arm was really starting to hurt. “So, you figured during the bazaar would be the perfect time to kill him, with a church full of people?”

“Of course. Lots of confusion, everyone distracted. It was brilliant!” She snickered at Adelaide. “Anyway, I knew Jerry’s routine, how he’d go up into the balcony alone, get the costume from the belfry, put it on then make his grand entrance as Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. Only this year I made sure he was Jolly
Dead
Saint Nicholas.”

“You came into the sanctuary through that barely used entrance off the alley, didn’t you?”

Brenda smiled smugly. “It was so easy. I had a key, of course, since I’m…I
was
the church secretary. I guess I can kiss that job goodbye, huh?” A giggle escaped her lips, ending in something resembling a hiccup. “I could hear him up there rummaging around. I’d taken the letter opener from Reverend Underwood’s desk on Friday, after he left for the day. Put it in the glove box of my car. I was supposed to come back later on Saturday to help with the church dinner cleanup, but I came early. I parked my car on Parkview Lane, behind the municipal park. There wasn’t a soul around. Just like this evening.”

Adelaide knew the area Brenda was referring to. The municipal park was located north of town. Beech Street ran on the south side and Hawthorne Avenue on the west. The northern most parking area was hidden from view by a line of hearty, thick evergreens. It was the perfect spot to park if you didn’t want to be seen. In the winter it was usually deserted, save for a few teenagers who used the well-concealed lot to have romantic interludes at night.

Brenda was speaking again. “I went up the balcony stairs. He was just taking that wide black belt out of the costume box. He was partially turned away from me. I thought about saying something to him…telling him how unfair he was being. I couldn’t come up with that money. How did he expect me to? But then I just rushed him and plunged the knife into the side of his neck.” Her eyes had the faraway look of someone reliving a particularly pleasant moment in their life.

Adelaide tasted bitter bile rise up in her throat. Swallowing hastily, she fought to keep from vomiting.

Brenda sighed. “He made this gagging noise. I thought he’d look at me, you know? To see who was stabbing him. But he just sort of shuddered, then fell over the balcony railing.” She smiled ruefully, looking at Adelaide. “I really thought there would be a lot of blood all over me. I really did.” She sounded almost disappointed.

“Then you just left him there to die?” Adelaide could barely choke out the question.

Brenda frowned, her eyes squinting a little. “Well, yes. What did you think I’d do, administer first aid or go confess? I did have blood on my gloves, so I just took them off and stuffed them in my pockets. I burned them when I got home. I really hated to lose those gloves, to be honest. They were a gift from Daniel—calfskin, nice and supple. I guess I should have gotten some of those latex ones for the occasion, but I didn’t think of it at the time.” She closed her eyes for a second or two then opened them again. “You know, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.”

A rustling noise outside the door caused Adelaide to shoot a nervous glance that way. Brenda, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. “Welcome to my party. Glad you could all come,” she shouted. She giggled again, this time louder. “Don’t try to come in here quite yet. I have weapons and I’ll use them,” she screamed.

Moving suddenly, she came over and sat beside Adelaide so they both faced the door. Feeling the tip of the knife pressing into the side of her neck, Adelaide resisted the impulse to pull away, afraid any movement might result in her own death.

Brenda voice was calm as she continued. “I know you never really approved of me for Daniel. What was I to you, the Rosewood girl with ideas of grandeur? Adelaide Stevens McBride. Always so confident. Popular. Successful. And who was I? An interloper with her sights set on one of Crescent Falls’ most eligible bachelors, your son.”

Adelaide’s head pounded, her ears rang and her vision was narrowing.

Stay conscious, Adelaide. You have to stay conscious! We must know the rest of it. She’ll talk as long as I’ll listen, I’m sure of that. I need to know if the police are really outside the door. If so, I just pray they can hear me.

Inhaling deeply, Adelaide yelled, “I’m in here! She has a knife!”

Instead of being angry, Brenda gave Adelaide a smile that sent chills up and down her spine. The tip of the knife pinched the skin right below her earlobe. She felt warm liquid ooze down the side of her neck.

Brenda withdrew the knife a little and yelled, “Yes, we’re in here having a nice little chat. But, if you try to come in, I’ll have to slit poor Adelaide’s throat. Or, I could just shoot her with this revolver in my coat pocket. Tell me, who’s out there in the dark? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I’m holding all the cards…no pun intended.” Her laugh sounded maniacal.

Adelaide swooned back, her strength ebbing with each passing moment. The pain in her arm was nearly intolerable now. She brought her knees up a little, resting her head on them, praying that she wouldn’t faint.

* * * *

Outside the coal cellar door, Daniel and Luke, along with the other officers, were trying to come up with a way to bring this situation to a peaceful conclusion.

“She sounds like she’s off the deep end,” Ken Lafferty observed.

“She sounds like a cold, heartless killer to me,” Judy Hess snapped. She met Daniel’s gaze.

“Daniel, you said that coal chute was sealed shut?” Dennis Ackerman asked.

Daniel nodded. He was leaning against the roughhewn stone wall, trying to concentrate. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion making it hard to focus.

“What was used to seal it?” Dennis asked.

Daniel shook his head. “I’m not sure. It was done a long time ago,” He felt lightheaded, nauseated.

“We need to go in soon,” Luke said. “Dennis, you and Ken go outside—see if you can figure out how to get that chute opened up. Be quiet. We don’t want to startle Brenda.”

“Do you think she really has a gun?” Larry Schwartz asked.

“We have to assume she does,” Luke told him. He glanced over his shoulder at Ed Lucas. “Go find the circuit breakers, get us some light down here.”

“The box is on the other side of the basement, next to the furnace.” Daniel noted that Ed seemed about to say something, but instead went to do as he’d been told.

It must be torture for Ed to take orders from not only me, but now Luke, his second least favorite person in the department.

That thought made Daniel want to smile, but he couldn’t, at least not yet. Once his mother was safe, he’d have a good chuckle over Ed’s uncomfortable situation.

Stepping closer to the thick oak door, Luke yelled, “Brenda Collier, this is Lieutenant Luke Fagan of the Crescent Falls Police Department. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt, so let’s talk about how we can get Mrs. McBride and you out of here tonight unharmed.”

“Wow, Luke, you sounded very official. Did you have to practice that speech very often in front of the mirror before you got it right?” Brenda yelled back.

Daniel stepped forward, standing next to Luke. “I’m here, Brenda. Is my mother all right?”

A mocking laugh could be heard from inside the coal cellar. “Still as tied to Mommy’s apron strings as ever,
huh
, Daniel? Well, you should thank her. She did what you couldn’t, she solved the case. Maybe she should be chief of police instead of you. Yes, I think that’s a great idea. I know quite a few people in this town who would agree. Well, maybe not that Adelaide should be chief, but certainly that you shouldn’t be.”

Daniel stepped back. “She’s not going to listen to reason.”

Just then the lights came on. Shortly, Ed Lucas rejoined them.

“I’ll bet you’re out there too, right
Officer
Hess? Brenda shouted through the door. “Following Daniel around like a puppy dog begging for scraps, as always!”

Daniel saw Judy’s cheeks turn red as fire. She avoided his gaze.

“Come out now, Brenda. We don’t want to hurt you,” Luke called.

Laughter again from the other side of the doorway. “Hurt me? None of you can hurt me as much as your illustrious chief has hurt me. He dumped me because his mother told him she saw me with another man. Were you jealous, Daniel? Did it hurt that masculine pride of yours to think of me with someone else? I guess so, since you threw me away like yesterday’s garbage.”

“I know what that was all about now, Brenda,” Daniel called. “Come out so we can talk about it.”

“Nice try, but no thanks,” Brenda screamed.

Dennis and Ken returned with Vernon and James trailing along behind them.

“Don’t try to kick us out,” Vernon warned. “I’ll go down fighting.”

“We’ll stay out of the way,” James promised.

“Speak for yourself, Preston,” Vernon snapped. “I’ll do what I have to do to see that Adelaide makes it out of this mess alive.”

“I hear you out there now, Reverend Preston. Maybe you can do one of those prayer circles you’re so famous for. How about you, Vernon? I’ll bet you’re there, ready to protect your one and only true lady love. Adelaide’s a lucky woman to have so much support. Too bad it won’t do her any good now.”

The facetiousness in her voice made Daniel shudder. She was building up to something awful, something deadly.

“Don’t do this, Brenda. Please,” Daniel pleaded.

Brenda’s chuckle came through the door loud and clear. “Oh, I love it when you beg. Please, Brenda, do that again, more, faster, touch me there, oh, baby, you’re so beautiful. Remember that night we drank wine and ate those wonderful chocolate éclairs in bed? I’ll never forget licking the cream filling off…well never mind. You remember, I’m sure.”