by Donna Doyle
Digby put down his phone and grinned. "God worked. Just as you thought He would."
At that instant JJ Barnes had spotted Digby and pushed his way through the angry crowd. "Digby," he shouted from a distance. "Am I glad to see you. More police will be coming, but arrest the whole bunch. All of them, Sharlan Tan, Hierro Glyphen, Hanson, all of them."
Digby couldn't suppress a smile. "Duty is calling Miss Molly Gertrude and Dora. I have a job to take care of. I will see you later at the police station."
* Numbers 12:8-9
Chapter Thirteen
The atmosphere in the police station, the next day, was electrifying.
JJ Barnes was distraught, his face carried a scowl, and he resembled a football player that had been unceremoniously kicked out of the Super Bowl. His shoulders were drooping as he hung over his desk, and he kept softly moaning that he should have listened to Molly Gertrude earlier. "I really thought this man could help me with some of my problems," he muttered. "But I am going to get my $100 back. Imagine that… Isaiah-seeds. I must have been temporarily insane."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Mr. Barnes," Molly Gertrude, who was sitting before his desk, tried to comfort him. "These conmen are professionals and are highly skilled."
He looked up at Molly Gertrude with glistening eyes. "You got him. You and Digby. And then to think that I am the one to protect the community from folks like this."
Molly Gertrude lightly stroked Barnes' forearm, something she had never done before, but she felt sorry for the husky police officer. "We all make mistakes. And…," she paused and lifted the index finger of her other hand, "… it's not too late to do something about it. The ball is in your court now, as we have everyone in custody at the station, so you are on the winning team."
That thought seemed to cheer JJ Barnes, and he cast Molly Gertrude a grateful smile. "Do you think we have enough proof against Sharlan Tan?"
Molly Gertrude nodded. "I would advise you to get a warrant, so you can search his motor home. I've got pictures on Digby's phone that are very incriminating."
JJ Barnes raised his bushy brows. "What kind of pictures? How did Digby get them?"
"Don't ask," Molly Gertrude stated. "Just go over to his motor home and look for his notebook. But we have more. We have the testimony of Elvis, his employee."
JJ Barnes had heard enough. He pushed the button on his intercom and ordered his secretary to arrange a search warrant for Sharlan Tan's motor home.
When he was done he folded his hands and sighed. "And what about that book that you were asking me about. You told me you thought Sharlan Tan may have stolen that as well. Is it back already?"
"Not quite," Molly Gertrude said as she squeezed her chin. But then she added in confident tones, "But I think I know where it is, and what happened to it. Could we have everyone involved together, then we can solve this mystery as well."
"Who is everyone?"
"You of course," Molly replied, "and Digby, but especially the ones that have been arrested. Sharlan Tan, his helpers, and I understand you picked up Hierro Glyphen and Hanson Gaffy as well, so you can bring them too."
"All right," JJ Barnes mumbled. "I'll tell Digby to get everyone together this afternoon. I must say, I can't wait to hear what you have to say."
Sharlan Tan sat on a small stool, his legs spread out wide, and a dark scowl was covering his face. His hair was no longer in a tail, but was now hanging loosely over his shoulders. His face was scratched, and his priestly robe was badly ripped as he had struggled with Digby upon his arrest. "I will sue you all," he kept on hissing. "You are making a terrible mistake. You have no idea who you are messing with."
JJ Barnes shook his head. "I do," he said with a sneer. "You are the fellow that stole $100 from me."
Without caring for manners, Sharlan Tan spat on the floor. "It was a donation. Everyone knows that. You can't do anything about it, but if you release me, I may still forgive you."
At that instant, the door opened and Papa Julian and Bella entered.
As soon as Sharlan Tan recognized the pastor, his nostrils flared and he began to breathe more rapidly. "You," he fumed, "I knew you were behind all this." He lifted up his handcuffed hands, and pointed with one finger at Papa Julian. "Don't you know that he who touches the anointed, touches the apple of god's eye?"
"I've read that in the Bible," Papa Julian replied without showing any emotions. "I guess it depends on who is really the anointed of God."
Sharlan Tan was enraged and if it had not been for Digby, who stood right behind him, he may have jumped up in an effort to attack Papa Julian.
Then the others arrived.
First they led Hierro Glyphen in. The curator was limping as usual, and his nose twitched violently again. When he saw JJ Barnes, he began to moan, "It's all a mistake. I am not supposed to be here. I am a victim of Sharlan Tan's shenanigans."
"Quiet," JJ Barnes barked, and motioned for Digby to put the man on a stool as well.
Hanson Gaffy and Elvis were brought in, as well as Sharlan Tan's helpers. Wolf seemed especially distraught. Even Emily Bimbleton made her appearance.
Only Molly Gertrude and Dora were still missing, but just as JJ Barnes impatiently began to stare at the clock Molly Gertrude and Dora entered and found themselves a seat.
"Good," JJ Barnes licked his lips. "Let's start this meeting. Molly Gertrude?" he said, "The stage is all yours."
Molly Gertrude pressed her lips together, and for a moment she said nothing. At last she cleared her throat. "A book has been stolen from the church. A very valuable book."
"So?" Sharlan Tan hissed, "What does that have to with me?" And without waiting for Molly Gertrude's reply, he added, "And who are you anyway? The district superintendent or something like that?"
JJ Barnes wanted to bark his displeasure, but Molly Gertrude raised her hand and said, "Excuse me, Mister Tan. My name is Molly Gertrude Grey, and this is my helper, Dora Brightside. We run Calmhaven's marriage office."
Sharlan Tan's eyes narrowed into tiny slots and he backed away with a shudder. "I am not planning to get married any time soon, so what's the big deal."
"I am glad to hear that," Molly Gertrude answered. "I believe your prospects for marriage are rather slim, since I think you'll be going to prison."
Sharlan Tan veered up as if a snake had bitten him. "Why? I am a victim of slander. I am a prophet of god."
"Quiet," JJ Barnes roared. "You owe me $100. Let Miss Grey speak."
Molly Gertrude studied Sharlan Tan's face for a moment and then said in quiet tones, "That's not true, Mr. Tan. You know very well why you are here, and you did know about the book in question."
Sharlan Tan shrugged his shoulders. "Can't remember. I've got more important things on my mind than books."
Molly Gertrude leaned her head forward. "I'll refresh your memory. You tried to coerce our pastor, Papa Julian, to give it to you, so you could sell it. We've got witnesses."
"Lies," Sharlan Tan fired back. "The man is just jealous. I even went to his house to make peace, but he and his wife threw me out. Nice witnesses they are." He averted Papa Julian and Bella's gaze, and then mumbled, "What book are we talking about anyway?"
"Pilgrim's Progress," Molly Gertrude explained. "An original edition, written by a man called John Bunyan."
Sharlan Tan seemed to want to change tactics. He forced a smile on his face, and switched to his kind, suave preacher's approach. "Ah… Pilgrim's Progress. An excellent book. I remember hearing about it. But I never stole such a book."
"But you knew about the book, because you asked Papa Julian to donate it to you, right? Who told you about the existence of that book?" Molly Gertrude continued.
"God told me," Sharlan Tan replied with the conviction of a math student, who has been asked how much two plus two equaled.
"Wrong answer," Molly Gertrude sneered. "I will tell you who told you about that book." She turned to Hierro Glyphen. "It was Mr. Hierro Glyphen, the one who refuse
d to donate paintings to your good cause, and the one you in turn failed to heal from his arthritis."
Sharlan Tan glared at Hierro Glyphen, who shifted uneasily upon his stool. "I don't recall ever seeing that man."
"Is that so?" Molly Gertrude queried. She turned to the curator. "Is Mr. Tan speaking the truth, Mr. Glyphen?"
Glyphen lowered his gaze. "Well… eh…," he stammered, "Not quite. We did see each other. A little bit."
"When was that, Mr. Glyphen?"
The curator wiped his brow. "As you said, Mr. Tan came to ask me if I would be willing to donate paintings for the building of a new church. He told me God would bless me, and…" his voice trembled, "…he was quite pushy about it. But these paintings he was referring to are not mine to give away, and what is more, I could never willingly part with… with my…"
"Children?" Molly Gertrude asked. "Isn't that how you see all these old relics, as your children?"
Hierro Glyphen pressed his lips together and blushed. "You may say so, yes," his reply was barely audible.
"And how do you think Mr. Tan knew that Papa Julian had that valuable book in his possession?"
"I told him," Hierro Glyphen whispered.
Molly Gertrude cocked her brow. "Why did you do that?"
Hierro Glyphen looked down again. "It was a mistake." He lifted his eyes and cast an angry look at Sharlan Tan. "He seemed so interested in old valuable artifacts, and I felt I had finally met somebody with the same passions. It got me excited and off guard. I had just heard about John Bunyan's book, and I was so excited about it."
Molly Gertrude rubbed her brow. "Where had you heard about John Bunyan's book?"
"In Miss Marmelotte's. I usually go there for lunch, and people were talking about it. I just overheard them."
Molly Gertrude leaned back. "People were talking about it openly in Miss Marmelotte's?" She turned around and stared at the others.
Papa Julian pulled on his brow and shook his head. "That was supposed to have been a secret, remember Miss Molly Gertrude? Did you tell anyone?"
Now it was Molly Gertrude's turn to blush. "Well, eh yes, I couldn’t keep it a secret and Digby…”
Molly Gertrude narrowed her eyes. "Digby?"
Digby's ears got red. "Well, eh, I may have told a few friends. I didn't see any harm in it, and it was an important book, wasn't it?"
Papa Julian glared at Sharlan Tan. "You told me you got a prophecy from God that I had that book, but it wasn't a prophecy at all."
"God works in mysterious ways," Sharlan Tan glared back. "But, I still didn't steal your book."
"There you are right," Molly Gertrude said. "You did not. You have an alibi for the night of the theft." She pointed to Elvis and the Sharlan Tan's henchmen. "There are several people that can verify that you went to sleep early the night of the break in. What's more, we have a witness who saw the robber breaking in the church, and he does not fit your profile."
Sharlan Tan smacked his lips in satisfaction. "Well, that settles it. Maybe you can relieve me from these cuffs as well."
"No, we can't and we won't," Molly Gertrude replied. "You are not here because I think you stole the book. You are here on much more serious charges, such as cheating and manipulating people in the name of God."
"You've got no proof," Sharlan Tan howled.
"We've got plenty of proof," Molly Gertrude answered in a calm manner. "Digby has just been searching your motor home, and he found some interesting stuff. What's more, we've got several witnesses. To be honest, I am not sure if the judge will act very favorable upon your antics. If you have any money stashed away somewhere, you may need it to get yourself a good lawyer."
For a moment, Sharlan Tan stared at Molly Gertrude with a stony face, but then, like the walls of Jericho after the Israelite army had walked around it seven times, it appeared Sharlan Tan's battlements began to crumble as well. His face became rather pale, and his breath became labored. "I-I can't get any air," he mumbled. "I feel sick."
"Bring him back to his cell, and call the doctor." JJ Barnes barked.
Digby jumped up, and while a young police officer ran out to notify the doctor, Digby dragged Sharlan Tan out of the room to bring him back to his cell.
"Well," JJ Barnes said with a frown when Digby had returned, "If Sharlan Tan didn't steal the book, then who did it?"
Molly Gertrude's face became sad and she turned to Hierro Glyphen. "It's your limp that gave you away, Mr. Glyphen. The very limp you wanted to get healed from, betrayed you."
For a moment it was very still in the room, but then and without warning, Hierro Glyphen broke out sobbing. "It's true… I did it. I confess. I snuck into the church and it was me who took the book."
Molly Gertrude leaned forwards and placed her hand on the man's leg. "It was a very foolish thing to do, Mr. Glyphen, but I don't think you meant any harm. You wanted to guard that book from falling into the wrong hands."
"That's right," Hierro Glyphen sniffed. "When I first heard about the book, I wanted to go over to Papa Julian, just so I could study it. But then Sharlan Tan visited me. While he was very friendly at first, he became more and more pushy and unpleasant. When he left, I realized I had told him about the book, and I became scared he would break into the church and steal it." He wrung his hands in despair and tried to stop the twitch in his nose, but his emotions got the better of him, and his sniffing turned into sobbing.
"I did it to prevent evil people from stealing and selling it." Hierro Glyphen looked up at Molly Gertrude with drooping eyes. "H-How did you find out?"
"Actually, I thought it was you the day we met in your office a few days ago." Molly Gertrude answered.
"You did? H-How did you figure that out?"
"I didn't have proof, Mr. Glyphen," Molly Gertrude said, "but there were several hints that pointed in your direction. The first one was the stained glass window that was taken out of the church. You would have never wanted to break such a beautiful, old window as was in Papa Julian's church. You even call old things your children, so you very carefully and with great skill removed the window so as to not damage it. Sharlan Tan, or a regular thief couldn't have cared less about a mere stain glass window."
Hierro Glyphen wiped a tear off his face and there was even a hint of a smile when he thought back of it. "I was very careful, wasn't I?"
"Is there more proof?" JJ Barnes bellowed.
"There is," Molly Gertrude continued. "Mr. Glyphen gave himself away when he told us the book had been hidden in a wooden box that was stored in the basement of the church. Papa Julian had not told anybody about that. Dora and I were the only ones who knew that because Papa Julian had told us, but nobody else knew. Only the thief would have known."
Hierro Glyphen looked miserable.
The blood had drained from his face and he was trembling all over. "W-Who is going to take care of Greenacre Museum if I am going to prison?" he mumbled while he stared at the ground.
"You should have thought of that, before you became a thief," JJ Barnes growled. "You will be charged to the full extent of the law."
For a moment it was still in the room, and it was Papa Julian who broke the silence. "No, Mr. Barnes, I press no charges."
Barnes looked up, a scowl on his face. "No charges? The man is a thief."
Papa Julian shrugged. "No charges, Mr. Barnes. Obviously, I can't condone anyone breaking into my church and stealing stuff, but I don't think Mr. Glyphen is a regular thief, and he should be treated with mercy. I feel it's what God wants me to do."
"Mercy?" JJ Barnes rubbed his brow. Then a smile broke out on his face and he nodded. "That's a mighty good thing to do, Papa Julian. But I hope we won't let Sharlan Tan off the hook? He still owes me $100."
"We won't," Molly Gertrude said. "That man has a lot more to answer for than just your $100."
"In that case," JJ Barnes said as he turned to Hierro Glyphen, "you are free to go."
Hierro Glyphen looked up, a look of relief flooding his face.
"Really? I can go back to Greenacre Museum?"
Molly Gertrude's face held the hint of a frown. "It seems like that, Mr. Glyphen. But the first thing you should do is return the Pilgrim's Progress to Papa Julian."
"Of course," Hierro Glyphen said with a grand smile. "Right away."
"No need," Papa Julian spoke while he held up one of his hands. "I wish to donate the Pilgrim's Progress to the Greenacre Museum. Mr.Glyphen is right. Such a book should never be sold. It carries the spirit of the past, and it is a wonderful monument to the love of God. The Greenacre Museum is the only place where it truly belongs."
Hierro Glyphen's eyes widened. "I-I…," he stammered, "This is better news than getting healed from my arthritis. And…" he added while he looked up into Papa Julian's face, "…maybe it's time I learn a bit more about the God Who is willing to show mercy to a man like me."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Papa Julian returned Hierro Glyphen's statement with a smile.
"Well," JJ Barnes said, "That just about wraps it up. Except…" he narrowed his eyes and stared at Sharlan Tan's helpers, including Elvis and Wolf, "…what are we to do with these fellows." He turned to Papa Julian. "Please don't give me the mercy-speech."
"Why not?" Papa Julian grinned. "Without Elvis' help, things would not have been so easy. Because of him, we got the big fish, so maybe we should leave it at that." Then he stared at Wolfgang Crossley. The man shuffled his feet around and did not dare look into Papa Julian's face. "And you, Wolf? What do you think about all this?"
Wolf shook his head and for a few seconds kept staring at the floor.
"Wolf?"
At last Wolfgang Crossley looked up. "I-I was a fool, Papa Julian. I had no idea. I was blinded by my greed."
"Glad to hear you say that, Wolf," Papa Julian said. "Please know that Calmhaven’s Trinity Church is always open to you."
"That's it?" JJ Barnes asked, while he wrinkled his nose.
"No," Papa Julian answered. "I'll say to these folks what Jesus said to the adulterous woman, "Go, and sin no more." *