The Priest Who Ate A Poison Petit Fore

by Kee Patterbee

  Whipson reached over, took hold of his grandson-in-law’s hand, and smiled, but he said nothing. Instead, he swallowed hard and cleared his throat.

  Hannah watched every minute detail of the exchange. Real, she commented to herself. It was at that moment she would follow her instincts. Her ‘gut’ as Gran called it. Calvin is not involved, she determined, but what about his wife? Again, she reconsidered what she had briefly pondered.

  It seemed nearly impossible that Susan would poison herself just to throw off an investigation. Then again, she had not only heard of stranger things, she had borne witness to it. In her brief time with the FBI, she was part of a kidnapping investigation. All evidence suggested that the victim, a young wife, was first targeted, and then taken. Every detail seemed in place. Every clue leading right toward where it should. When the victim’s wealthy husband refused the ransom demand, a finger showed up at his office within hours. Tests concluded that it belong to his wife. He paid thereafter. Once the ransom delivery concluded, her kidnapper returned her as promised. Within weeks of the incident, the wife filed for divorce, citing her husband’s reluctance to pay upfront as a sign that he did not care. While everyone else found this reasonable, Hannah again followed her instincts. It did not feel right to her. Her gut suggested something was amiss. She dug deeper, and in time, exposed the whole affair as an elaborate plan between the purported victim and her lover. Their downfall was the unexpected refusal of the husband to pay. In desperation, the two decided to remove a finger. This was not in exchange for a $1,000,000 dollar ransom, but for her half of the divorce settlement. It amounted to about $10 million dollars. Before, the woman had determined she could not get nearly that much because of the limited time married to the man. However, after his refusal to meet the demands of the ‘kidnapper’, she felt she had a greater chance of things going her way. Her lover, being an attorney, believed he could sway the court, under the given situation.

  The thought made Hannah shake her head. Greed, she noted. What people won’t do for money? It also troubled her before she considered this whole mess as a possible result of fraud. From what she knew of Susan, it did not seem probable. Yet again, Cate’s reminder of Conny Miller pushed forward. You don’t know her. You don’t know what she’s capable of. You only have Hymn’s word about her, and he’s wearing rose colored glasses. Even this bothered her to a degree. Hymn, her Sweet Face, still seemed enamored of the woman to Hannah. He seemed protective of both Calvin and Susan, but to the sleuth, it was more apparent with the latter. His ‘Mudbug’ as he called her. It caused a swell of emotion within her. Something she denied having. She pressed her thumb into her temple and rubbed.

  “Headache?” Hymn asked with a concerned tone.

  “A little one. It’ll pass. I need to get some water and aspirin and then give Cate a call.”

  She rose and exited the waiting area.

  “For your honeymoon? I was joking when I said he should take you there. You know that, right?” Cate commented with an incredulous tone.

  “Yeah, but he said something always comes up with me, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything until I got this out of my head. Then we’ll go on to our actual destination.”

  “Well, you can’t say he doesn’t know you. Smart and pretty to look at. You did score big.”

  “I did, but if I don’t get on with this, he might leave me here, stuck between Greek Hell and old age emotional bliss.”

  Cate half laughed. “Well, let’s see if I can help you along so you can use that number I got you.”

  The thought of Cate’s last minute, impromptu wedding gift made her both smile and blush. “I’d like that. What have you got for me?”

  “Well, just a few things. Some of the info I told you would take some time, I actually got quicker.”

  Hannah smiled. As expected, she commented to herself. “Have I ever told you how amazing you are?”

  “Occasionally, but not enough. Now, when we started talking about his troubles at seminary, that whole bit distracted us from the fact that Janus was an adoptee. The state of Ohio sealed his adoption records, for the most part per usual. But with some finagling… well, a lot of finagling, I did find out some things. Someone viewed those records, according to the lady I talked to where the records are held. She wouldn’t say who or when, so it could have been yesterday or sixty years ago. No way of knowing. All she would say is you have to make a special request through the court to view them. But she did say the ‘who’ in that scenario, the one who viewed the record; is also redacted without an additional court order, and you’d need to have good reason to do so.”

  “Like someone under investigation or such,” Hannah thought aloud. “Interesting. Someone was or is looking for that person. Like us, just with the authority to do so.”

  “Or he’s looking for his siblings. That’s more probable, given the limited access to identifiable information. Again, it can only happen through a court order, and such orders come under dire circumstance,” Cate continued.

  “Such as health issues that require contact with the birth family.”

  “Uh huh. Things like blood disorders or rare genetic illnesses. Sometimes if a person has a rare blood or bone cancer and requires a match.”

  Again, suffering traipsed across Hannah’s thoughts before she further responded. “Okay, so there is a probable medical link to the good Father’s adoption.”

  “I’m not sure how that helps, but you have the info. So use it to your advantage.”

  “Will do. Anything else?” Hannah inquired.

  “Yeah, you know the family who adopted him was from Ohio, but he wasn’t from there. I couldn’t find out where.”

  “How’d you find that out?”

  “Inter occupational cooperation. I had the local librarian do a quick search of the Peaksville Gazette. They digitized it for storage and research purposes. Turns out Janus did an interview for an article about being the child of adoption. According to his own words, his came when he was three.”

  There was a slight pause. Hannah broke the moment, disrupting Cate’s flair for the dramatic. “Now I’m sensing an ‘and’ coming on.”

  “Spoilsport. His surname at birth was Beaumont, and he had three siblings. The state split him away from them. A twin sister named Mary, an older brother named Buck who was five, and a younger sibling who was one and named Scott. At the time of the article, Janus was nineteen and looking for his siblings.”

  “Why would the state split up a family? Twins in particular?”

  “You got me. Makes no sense. But if the opportunity presented itself, like a family looking for something specific, I imagine they would jump on it. A placed child is a placed child. Off the books of the state.”

  “Sad.”

  “It is, but from all the records I have managed to get hold of, there is no mention of his brothers or sister. I can only assume he never found them. Janus, of course, ended up in Peaksville.”

  “Their names may have changed.”

  “I suppose, but I have no way of finding that out. He’s lived in a dozen different places over the years but he doesn’t leave a trail, at least not a traceable public one for the most part.”

  “Did he say why they ended up parentless?”

  “No, not in the article, but he did mention his adoption came through a state operation, but his siblings and he came from a local institution of some kind. From the article, he seemed to have been too young or too traumatized to remember, which means the parents were out of the picture at the time of his adoption. Could be neglect. Parents in prison or unfit.”

  “Or dead,” Hannah stated.

  “Can’t say. But there’s more.”

  “More? Do tell. Remind me when I get back that I owe you big time.”

  “You’ve owed me for years. Someday you’ll pay, like at my wedding.”

  “Set a date?”

  “Not yet, but you’ll know when I do. Anyway, back to his troubles at seminary. You were right about
the charge. It was involvement with a staff member. One Ingrid Larkin. Seems innocent enough, but the seminary had a rule about dating among the staff and students.”

  “Even though that denomination doesn’t require celibacy.”

  “I suppose not. But, regardless, I couldn’t think of a reason why this would be significant.”

  “Me either, but I’m sensing a ‘but then’ coming next.”

  “Indeed, but then I got to thinking, so I followed up on her. After the incident, she lost her job at the seminary, but while there, she worked as a records clerk for the church.”

  “Hmm,” Hannah commented, producing her quirk as she shifted her phone to the other ear.

  “You’re doing it again. I can hear it rolling around. What?” Cate huffed from the other end.

  “You know what I’m thinking...”

  “That he met her trying to find out something about his siblings whereabouts or his parents.”

  “People do abandon children at churches sometimes. It would have been sixty-five or seventy years ago, more or less. Things were different then, but if it were already a seminary, it might look just as appealing to parents looking for a safe place for their kids.”

  “And I’d bet good money they’d keep records. He was following a trail.”

  “Worth looking into, don’t you think?” Hannah asked, already aware of the answer she would receive. Cate did not disappoint.

  “I’ve already been digging. I got some people helping me check for this Ingrid Larkin. So far, I haven’t found her, but I’d imagine she got married and has a different last name. Plus, like you said, it’s been a long time. Even then, she may or may not remember him, or even if he found what he was looking for. If that is even relevant to the case, but even if it is, how does that relate to what’s been going on?”

  “I’m not sure. Just following the bread crumbs to see where they lead at the moment.”

  “Well, we could also just take the direct route. Have you spoken with him yet?”

  “No, he stayed in the cabin for the weekend. It was already rented, and he asked if we would mind. Hymn didn’t see any harm in it and neither did I.”

  “You want me to swing by and see if I can catch him?”

  Hannah thought for a second before answering. “That’d be great. I don’t know if you got to talk to him much, but he can be a bit terse. He might not like us poking into his past, so tread lightly. You might want to come up with a cover story.”

  “Will do. Anything in particular you want me to get at?”

  “Anything and everything you think would help. You know the drill. We’ve done this before.”

  “Gotcha.”

  The phone line clicked indicating an incoming call on Cate’s side.

  “Oh, that’s one of the people looking for Larkin. I have to run, but given when they said they were leaving, Buster and Magdalen shouldn’t be too far out. Tell him to give me a call and let me know they got there safe.”

  “Buster’s with Magdalen?”

  “Connected hip to hip, girlfriend. Got to go, and wrap this thing up so you and Hymn can get on with it.”

  “You’re starting to sound like Gran.”

  “Same idea. Different goals. Love you.”

  “Love you too. Let me know about Larkin.”

  “Will do. Bye.”

  Hannah clicked off the cell and tapped it against her chin as she pondered Cate’s information. It was all intriguing to her, but is it relevant? She checked her phone and found she still had just a short time before meeting with Rhoades. She pressed her thumb into her temple and rubbed. “Darn,” she half mumbled. “No closer than before.” Her shoulders were tight and her head ached. She inhaled and let out a long breath, trying to calm her increasing tension. Too much information. Too many possibilities. Focus. Focus. Focus, she chided to herself.

  She was about to return to the waiting area and tell Hymn she was going to her appointment, when a familiar voice called to her. “Hannah,” she heard from an elder, female voice. She turned to see Buster and Magdalen waving and heading her way. Beside them was Gran. She paused and greeted them with a strained smile. “Gran? What are you doing here? I thought you were watching Hazelnut.”

  “Oh, she’s here too with your grandfather in the RV.”

  Hannah blinked several times, eyes wide and mouth agape. “But…”

  “Well, Magdalen and Buster needed a ride. You have a case. More importantly, you have a honeymoon. You won’t go until you get this thing behind you, and the longer it goes on, the longer it will take for that thing to happen that will get you in that way.”

  Buster assumed a quizzical face. “Wait. What?”

  “Pregnant,” Magdalen half-whispered, “she wants her to get pregnant.”

  “Oh,” Buster acknowledged. “Oh!” he added, wide eyed.

  Hannah said nothing as she tried to compose a response, but nothing came forth. Seeing this, Magdalen intervened.

  “How is she?”

  “Still out. They’re waiting for a specialist friend of Calvin’s looking her over, but he’s pretty sure she suffered some heart damage. Enough for a defib implant.”

  Magdalen’s eyes widened as her hand came to cover her mouth. Buster put his arm around her waist to steady her. After a moment, she stiffened her stance. “Hymn said that it was cardiac arrest, like all the others. Someone tried to kill her then?”

  “Oh, my,” Gran said. “Good thing I came.”

  Hannah considered her response with care. First, she had to deal with her sister-in-law. Like Hymn, Magdalen was friends with both Susan and Calvin. She even mentioned in an earlier conversation that the Yorks offered her a place working in their practice. Whenever she was ready to leave Chicago, she had a job waiting. This gave Hannah pause. Hymn’s sister was more open to the idea of the Yorks’ involvement than Hymn. Now, with Susan as a possible victim of attempted murder, Hannah was unsure how Magdalen would react. Of particular concern was her theory of self-poisoning. She decided to air on the side of caution and to avoid a direct statement. Be noncommittal, she told herself.

  “Maybe,” Hannah gave with absolute uncertainty. “It could have been accidental.”

  Magdalen nodded.

  “Well, at least it narrows your list down,” Buster chimed in. “That one guy, who you thought may have been doing it, but poisoned himself by accident, isn’t around.” He squeezed his hold on Magdalen. “And their friend is now a victim.”

  Hannah’s eyes darted over to Buster. She knew he was attempting to comfort Magdalen, but he was jumping to conclusions. Susan still ranked high on her list at the moment, despite her condition. She considered going on and exposing her theories to the three before her. However, in the end, she again held back and avoided the question.

  “So, where does that leave us, dear?” Gran chimed in.

  Hannah stared at her grandmother. As usual, Gran had inserted herself into an investigation. While the elder Starvling was a talented detective in her own right, at the moment she was being both nosy and pushy. Hannah knew that Gran still liked to dabble in ‘being nosy’ as Papa Jay called it. More so, this was her grandmother trying to force her into a situation she was yet to deal with. The idea of her getting pregnant. She decided that she would deal with this issue at the conclusion of the case, but for the moment, with the elder Starvling there before her, she would press on.

  “Well, I have lots of information, but nothing conclusive. To date, all I do know is that there’s a link between some candy boxes and three of the victims. Two are dead, the other being Susan, who is at the moment out of it.”

  Buster frowned. “Like the stuff you ordered for the wedding? Are you back to that?”

  “Yes, we are back to that,” Hannah answered.

  The sleuth’s terse tone caused Buster to move back slightly and Gran to frown. Hannah’s irritation showed in her expression as well. It was enough to cause the handsome man to drop his hold on Hymn’s sister. Magdalen, herse
lf, scowled in a slight manner but said nothing. In return, Hannah sighed.

  “I’m sorry, guys. I’m just a bit flustered at the moment. Hymn and I are supposed to be on our honeymoon, but there’s this with Susan. A lot of stuff points in all kinds of directions, but none of it completes the puzzle. I just want to go and forget about it, but I can’t…”

  By this time, Hannah’s voice sounded stressed. In an unexpected move to the sleuth, Magdalen reached out and hugged her.

  “It’s all right. You’re doing the best you can. You’re right, you know. You should just go on and forget about this for a while.”

  “Oh, I don’t see that happening,” Gran interceded. “That’s just not possible. I know that from experience.”

  Buster pointed to Hannah’s forehead and grinned. “It’s all swirling around up there, like planes in a cloud. She has to land them before she can move on, but now we’re here, maybe we can help.”

  “Come here, you,” Hannah said, releasing Magdalen and embracing Buster. After a moment, she released him. Then she hugged Gran. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I do. Sorry if I snapped at you.”

  “Not like it’s not happened before.”

  Hannah jabbed at Buster’s arm.

  “Hey, not like that hasn’t happened either.”

  His reaction caused Hannah to half laugh. Needed that. Always good for a laugh, she noted. “Hymn’s in the ICU waiting room.” She pointed down the hallway and then looked to Magdalen and Gran. “But I’m on my way to talk with Jackie Rhoades. Want to come?”

  “What about me?” Buster asked.

  “He’s a bit shy.” Hannah pointed between Magdalen and herself. “He met us through Whipson and I don’t think he’ll mind, Gran, but if you tag along, he might not talk.”

  “Well, what am I supposed to do?”

  Magdalen shoulder bumped Buster. “You can find something to do without me for a little bit. Let us girls go do some work.”