Jolly Dead St. Nicholas

by Carol A. Guy

  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.”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  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 t
o 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.

  * * * *

  It was Vernon who shook Adelaide awake around seven o’clock that evening. A doctor in green scrubs stood next to him. She straightened up from the half-lying, half-sitting position on one of the stiff vinyl couches, her tightly knotted muscles protesting painfully.

  “I’m Doctor Yamata. Your son is out of surgery and in recovery. It was dicey going for a while but he’s stable now. He should recover fully,” the man said.

  She croaked out a thank-you through a dry, scratchy throat. “When can I see him?”

  “They should be taking him up to his room in about two hours. Why don’t you go get something to eat and then come back? I understand he’s to continue having a police guard.”

  Adelaide struggled to her feet. Vernon put a supportive arm around her waist. She was beginning to like the feel of that. “That’s right. He may be in danger.”

  “I see. Well, I will be checking on him later.” He nodded curtly before walking away.

  Adelaide looked at Vernon. His face was a little drawn and his eyes lacked their usual sparkle.

  Well, I doubt if I’m a sight for sore eyes right now, either.

  “I think we should take the doctor’s advice. Let’s go get something to eat. Coffee sounds good to me,” Vernon said.

  Anxiety fluttered in her mid-section. “Who is guarding Daniel?”

  “Ken Lafferty. They decided on four-hour shifts.”

  “Where is James?”

  Vernon steered her toward the elevators. “I sent him home.”

  Adelaide looked over at him. “You sent him home?” She couldn’t help but smile.

  Vernon’s expression was inscrutable. “Called him a cab.”

  * * * *

  Daniel woke up around midnight. Adelaide was at his bedside. Outside his room, Officer Dennis Ackerman was now standing guard.

  When Daniel opened his eyes, Adelaide got up from the surprisingly comfortable lounge chair next to his bed. As she leaned over him, she could see he was having a hard time focusing his eyes. His forehead was bandaged, hiding the dozen stitches underneath. He moaned, his hand going to his midsection. IV lines ran into both arms from liquid-filled bags hanging on either side of the bed. A robotic looking machine dispensed pain medication at regular intervals.

  “You’re in the hospital, Daniel,” she told him softly. Around him monitors whirred and beeped. “Do you remember what happened?”

  “My truck…I couldn’t stop….”

  Adelaide decided to withhold the news that his truck had been tampered with until he was more fully awake. “I’ve tried to reach Brenda, but it keeps going straight to voice mail,” she told him.

  Daniel smiled weakly. “Don’t bother, Mother. I…broke it off…last night.” He closed his eyes, drifting back to sleep.

  Adelaide wasn’t particularly shocked by this news. In fact, deep down, she was a little glad.

  She left Daniel resting comfortably an hour later. In the waiting room, Vernon was asleep on one of the couches. Once he was fully awake, she asked him to drive her home. She wanted to get at least a few hours of sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day.

  Chapter Thirty-nine

  Adelaide dragged herself out of bed at seven o’clock Monday morning feeling mentally and physically exhausted. She made strong coffee, fed Oscar, ate a piece of toast, and then got ready to go to the hospital.

  The latest snowfall had deposited four
more inches, but as usual her driveway was cleared thanks to Tim Hunter. She was equally glad to see that the streets had been plowed and salted, as had the medical center parking lot.

  Officer Judy Hess was standing guard outside Daniel’s hospital room. She looked crisply efficient in her uniform, yet Adelaide could see the lines of fatigue around her eyes and mouth.

  “He’s restless, keeps waking up and trying to get out of bed,” Judy said. “I’ll be leaving soon to work the day shift.”

  Adelaide felt tears of gratitude forming in her eyes. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate so many of you officers giving up your off duty hours to do this, Judy.”

  “I’d do a lot more for Daniel, you know that.”

  “He’d be lucky to have you, Judy.”

  Judy cleared her throat self-consciously, but said nothing.

  Adelaide eyed her son from the doorway. “Does he know about the brake line on his truck being cut?”

  “I didn’t tell him.”

  “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Daniel called. His voice had a dry, brittle sound.

  Adelaide advanced into the room. “Someone tried to kill you, Daniel.” She saw no reason to sugar coat it.

  Daniel pushed a button on the bed’s guardrail. With a smooth mechanical sound the head of the bed rose up until he was almost in a sitting position. “I know. Luke came by very early this morning to share that news with me.” He winced. Pushing the button again, he lowered the head of the bed a little. “They’re processing the truck as a crime scene.”

  “What do you remember?”

  He sighed. “Not much. I left my place about three or so. I was headed to the IGA. I remember crossing Main Street. The next thing I knew I was here.”

  Adelaide didn’t like what she was thinking. “Last night you told me you broke things off with Brenda—”

  She got no further. His face blanched. “Don’t even go there, Mother.”