A Riverside Christmas Mystery
Chapter 13
"O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How faithful are thy branches.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How faithful are thy branches.
In summer greenly dost thou grow
Thou'rt green amid the winter's snow
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How faithful are thy branches."
Ernst Gebhard Salomon Anschütz 1780
It was very early in the morning when Jim sat across Chief Romaine thoroughly enjoying his eggs, hash browns and sausage! As much as the Enterprise command crew liked Spock, (and all his command crew were as one in their affection for the First Officer), and would never do anything to cause him discomfort, they all shared a deep dark secret. Usually, if they were on shift together with Spock, they would all try to share a meal together so they could talk shop. However, once in a while, it was understood that one or two of them (by some hidden signal) would sneak away from Spock so they could eat meat! Steak, ham, pork, whatever was on the menu at the mess as long as it was meat. The command crew rotated the sneaking part, so Spock remained unaware of their nefarious deeds. Sometimes Jim would leave the bridge ten minutes early and order a steak, then gobble it down fast before Spock joined him. So here he was with Jonathon stuffing his face with real pork sausage and enjoying it to the hilt.
Jim filled Jonathon in on everything since the day that Violet had left Davy with Winona; the search for Davy's birth certificate, the discovery of Gavin's research on the Clancy brothers, Jim's suspicions that Sanford had been murdered, the shuttle hit and run, Violet's comm call, and the need to find her before something happened to her. Jonathon listened in silence until Jim finished.
"That's quite a story, Jim." He looked thoughtfully at his friend. "It seems that purely by accident, Violet got herself involved in some sort of murder for hire scheme. I agree with you that during the autopsy she probably discovered how the murder was committed, but what I don't understand is why she just didn't go to the police with her findings? They could have protected her."
"I think she probably meant to, Jonathon, and she meant to send her findings to Lloyds also, until she was threatened and Davy's life was put in jeopardy with that hit and run incident. I think she realized then that she had to get him away to safety. After that, she went into hiding too, probably to figure out what to do next. You know how she was at school. She never did anything that wasn't planned to the last detail, careful and methodical, that's our Violet."
"Yeah, I do remember that. That's how she got top grades all through school." He nodded to the waitress who brought coffee refills and waited until she left to finish his thought. "First thing we have to do is get her to a safe place. Hope you can convince her when she comms you today. Let me know if you do and we'll go from there with protection for her. Now that I have their mug shots, I'm going to see if I can find those Clancy brothers. They must be hiding in Des Moines somewhere, it's a lot easier to hide there then here in Riverside. I'll call in a few favors with the department there and we'll see if we can find them."
"Thanks, Jonathon." Jim stood up and picked up the tab. "Hey, I'll get that," said the Chief. "Nope, I got it, you get the next one. Let me know if you have any luck finding those guys, and I'll comm you after Violet calls. I better get home. We're cutting down the Christmas tree later this morning."
"You guys still put the red ribbon around the one you select?" Jonathon's face lit up at the memories of being invited to the Kirk's Christmas tree search day. The serious search, weighing the merits of several trees, tying the red ribbon, then back to the farm-house for hot chocolate and Winona's cookies and later, after playing in the snow, lunch.
"Yep, still doing it the same way. Sam's boy, Peter, is now following in the tradition," said Jim, his hazel eyes hazy with memories.
"Jim, I can't tell you how sad we all were about Sam. We lost one of our own, and the whole town mourned with you and Winona."
"Thanks, Jonathon. It's been really hard. Sam was the best brother a guy could have, and it's been very tough on Ma and Peter. But I think we're over the worst of it," Jim sighed. Would he ever be free of this lingering ache at the thought of a world without Sam in it?
On the way to the shuttle, he stopped at the bakery for muffins and bagels to snack on during the tree cutting. He was looking forward to bringing the tree home and setting it up in its customary corner beside the fire-place. He thought of Davy, and grinned. Best to put the unbreakable ornaments at the bottom.
It was barely 0800 and only the adults were up having coffee at the kitchen table. Spock was reading Peter's letter from Amanda. Since he had gotten up first, Bones had made the coffee and was at the stove cooking Southern style oatmeal with lots of butter, sugar and cinnamon.
"Morning," Jim said, kissing his mother and giving her a sunny smile.""Hey Squirt, is that your letter from Spock's mom? What does she have to say?"
"Here Jim, I would not like to thwart your curiosity," said Spock, an amused twinkle in his dark eyes.
Jim took the padd with a smile and read:
Dear Peter,
Thank you for your last letter. It's always a joy to hear from you. Congratulations on your good grades, you are well on your way with the excellent grades you'll need to get into Starfleet Academy. Your Noni and Uncle Jim must be very proud of you. It's good to hear that Sorrel is doing so well. I miss Queen Cleopatra and hope to see her soon. Kiss Sorrel on the nose for me...I know he likes that. I'm so happy that you're having such a good time with Spock, Dr. Bones, Lt. Uhura and your Uncle Jim. Snow is a new experience for Spock and it sounds like he's enjoying all the snow activities. How is your chess game progressing? I hope you and Spock are still playing and he is teaching you new strategies. One day soon I know you'll win a game. Give everyone my love and write back soon. I love getting your letters. Mr. Sarek says hi.
Love, Lady Amanda
Jim looked at Spock, his lips twitching, "Mr. Sarek says hi?" He handed the pad back to Spock.
Spock looked at him blandly. "Indeed."
Jim chuckled. "By the way, Ma, you're looking very nice this morning. Is that a new sweater you knitted? I like that blue color."
"Yes, sweetheart, I worked on it for several weeks, the blue is called Periwinkle, you Philistine. How was your meeting with Jonathon?"
Jim laughed. "Ma, you know us guys, blue is just blue to us and the meeting was good. He's going to see if his law enforcement contacts can track down the Clancy brothers. He's also going to continue the patrols here. I've been thinking that since we're going to Birnam Woods, we should set your comm to forward all calls to your communicator or mine. I don't want to miss Violet's or Gavin's comms."
"I'll go do that now," she said getting up. "Jim, we need to take your dad's saw, and some twine to tie up the branches. Davy can ride in the small sled. Do you think we can carry the tree or do we need the sleigh?"
"We can carry it, Ma, especially is the branches are tied, it won't be that heavy with the five of us helping. Jonathon was remembering when we would invite some of the kids to come for the tree search. We had so much fun. Squirt, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we always did."
Peter said, "I will, Uncle Jim." He tilted his head, "I think Davy's awake. I can hear him and he wants out of the crib."
"I'll go get him," said Jim. "I bet he's hungry. That baby is always hungry," he smiled.
Davy was standing holding on to the crib rails and when he saw Jim. He beamed, "Ji, Ji," he said.
"Hey Davy. How's my big boy this morning?" He picked up the baby and set him down on the bed to change him. "We're going to talk to your mama today, Davy, and when we do, I want you to talk to her too, so she'll want to come see you. Can you do that for me?" He tickled Davy's toes and the baby chuckled, his big brown eyes crinkled with glee. He kissed the rosy baby cheek. "Let's go get you something to eat, I bet you're hungry."
After breakfast and clearing up, Peter and Bones went to feed the animals and chickens and Jim got out his father's large saw and twine. Uhura got Davy bundled up in his snow suit, and Spock went out to get the sled. "Ma, we're ready to go," Jim called out to her.
"I'm ready, Jim. Just tidying up a little in the office and living room. I set the comm to forward."
With Peter pulling Davy in the sled, they all walked down the path to the tree, the red ribbon plainly visible. "It's a beautiful tree," said Winona, looking well pleased.
"Everyone step back. Don't want the tree to fall on you." Jim took one end of the saw, and Spock the other and they began sawing in a smooth rhythm. In no time at all, the tree came down on the soft snow. Jim wound the thick twine around the branches until it narrowed the breath of the branches considerably. He lifted the trunk end, Spock the other end, and Bones and Uhura grabbed the twine on either side. It was short work to carry it back to the house.
"The tree stand is out already, Jim. Just set it in there, and I'll put water in it. We can let it sit for today and start decorating tomorrow." Winona's hazel eyes shone with pleasure. This was her favorite part of the holiday ritual and she liked to prolong it as much as possible.
Her communicator beeped suddenly. She looked at it; "It's Gavin, Jim. Go take it in the office. Hopefully he's found out something." Jim went in hurriedly to answer the call.
"Gavin, good to hear from you. What did you find out?"
"A lot, Jim. Took me a while, the man was a very private person. First of all, Sanford really was the richest man on the planet…and I don't say that lightly. He was a billionaire several times over. His business holdings were so vast that it's wonder he and his board of directors and accountants could even keep track of them. He never married, and as far as I can find out, his only family members are three first cousins. Two from his father's side, and one from his mother's. Their names and ages are Thomasina Williams, age 38, married to Jerome Chu, no children; Harold Williams, age 36, not married, one child, age 4, that's on the father's side. Mother's side: Theresa Sara O'Hara, age 27, married to Constantine Russo, no children, but pregnant. They are not involved in any of Sanford's businesses. Apparently, the Williams siblings did not get along with him; there were several well reported and ugly confrontations through the years. Theresa was a lot younger than Sanford, and they seemed to have gotten along very well. He looked at her as more of a kid sister than a cousin. The two Williams siblings are not employed. Sanford gave them an allowance and it was adequate, but not generous. If they worked, it would be a nice addition to their salaries. Theresa is an established commercial artist. She has a very good income from her many commissions and Sanford also gave her an allowance, which she has never spent, just saved it for many years. It's a hefty amount of money now. Her husband is an attorney and makes a good salary. They live well, but not lavishly. All of them, live in Chicago. So did Sanford and his home is not what you'd think. It's not an estate or anything, just a nice big house with all the amenities, but not ostentatious. I looked it up on the news nets and I'd say it's worth maybe three-quarters of a million credits…not more. When he entertained, which wasn't often, he'd do it at one of his corporate places, never at home.
Sanford's corporate headquarters are in New York City, London, Toronto, Hong Kong, Cairo, and Mexico City. He has an over arching board of directors in Chicago and BODs in each of those cities. He kept his fingers in every pie, the man was a control freak. He was also a philanthropist. He gave away millions of credits to different charities. It never even made a small dent in his billions. As fast as he gave it away, he made more."
"What about the insurance Gavin? Is it a motive for murder?"
"Well that's interesting, Jim. His BODs made him take out the life insurance policy, but for what reason I don't know. His corporations were set up so they'd go on without him almost as well as with him. He was fanatic about that. He was very protective of his employees. Good salaries, good benefits, good medical insurance, and he even offered employee housing on site if they wanted it. His life insurance was a pittance compared to his corporate holdings and personal wealth. He was insured for five million credits, that's the bare minimum for a man of his stature. His BODs were not happy about the amount; it's the minimum they would accept. His beneficiaries are his three cousins, his housekeeper, and his personal assistant. The housekeeper and personal assistant have been with him since he was a very young man, about 20 years. Anyway, that gives them a million each. Do you think that's a motive for murder?"
"Hell yes, Gavin. A million credits may not be much to a billionaire, but it's a lot to almost everyone else in the real world. It would take most of my Star Fleet career to earn that much!"
"Jim, my next step is to investigate the three cousins, the housekeeper, and the personal assistant. Right now, except for the fact that the two siblings didn't get along with him, they all have an equal motive for murder. I've sent everything to your padd. There's a lot more you can look at, but I've given you the highlights. What's going on there? Any word from Violet yet?"
"Not yet, but we did have an interesting evening last night." Jim brought Gavin up to date on the police patrol altercation and the shuttle reconnaissance of the farm-house.
"Hell, Jim. I don't like the sound of that at all. Do you want me to come? I can take a couple of days off."
"Not yet, Gavin, but thanks. Best save your days in case we really need you. I'll keep you in the loop and comm you if we need you. Spock, Uhura and I all have Phasers and Chief Romaine is sending patrols out regularly."
"Is Winona okay, Jim? And Peter? How is he reacting?"
"Yes, she's fine. You know Ma, the woman has nerves of steel. I could use her on the ship during a Klingon battle, she's so steady. Peter is fine too, we've tried to be as low key as possible about it all, except for Violet of course, he knows that she's in danger and that we want her to come here."
"I hope she comms you soon, Jim. Those guys are making me very nervous."
"I don't like it either, Gavin. I'd feel a lot better if Violet was here with us. Anyway, thanks for all the Intel. Please keep at it, the more we know about the heirs the better. I feel sure that the insurance money is tied to the possible murder of Sanford. Nothing else makes sense. I'll pass all this on to the Chief if you don't mind."
Gavin laughed. "I don't mind if he doesn't. Not everyone is enamored of Fleet SIS, especially law enforcement personnel. They think we're somehow above the law, and don't answer to anyone. If they only knew. I think they think SIS is part of Black Ops or something when in reality, I'd never want to get within a hundred miles of those guys they're so damned scary! Talk to you soon, Jim; I'll comm you later with more Intel on the heirs."
Jim's mother was baking cookies in the kitchen and Bones was standing close by helping her. Jim gave him a baleful look which McCoy gleefully ignored. "Bones, don't you have anything else to do?"
"Nope, I'm mighty happy right here, Jim. I love to bake, and I'm a good baker, right Winona?"
Winona just smiled. "What did Gavin say, dear?"
Jim told them everything Gavin had found out and the further research he was going to do. "Where are the kids and Spock and Nyota?"
"They went to feed the animals and the chickens, they'll be back soon. Speaking of feeding, what about a potato and bean enchilada casserole with some Braised Black Lentils, and Lemon Ricotta cookies for dessert, the recipe was my mother's."
"Sounds delicious, Ma. Bones, let's go help feed the animals you can watch Peter and Davy while I catch up Spock and Nyota on Gavin and Jonathan.
"Awww, Jim. I'm happy right here being a baker."
"Yeah, well I'm a lot happier when you're with me, come on, here's your coat."
While McCoy watched the children, Jim talked to Spock and Uhura outside the barn. "Violet just has to see reason today. It's getting too dangerous for her to be out there somewhere."
"I am confident in your powers of persuasion, Jim. I feel sure she will see reason and she will decide to accept your help."
"I hope so, Spock."
"Jim...Jim," Winona called from the kitchen. "Come quick, son. It's Violet! She's on the comm."
Jim took off running. "Ma, bring Davy to me, please." He sat down in front of the comm station, took a deep breath and Winona put Davy on his lap.
"Violet, it's Jim. Davy's here with me, sitting on my lap. Talk to him," he said.
"Davy, it's mama, darling." Jim heard her sharp intake of breath, almost a sob.
As the baby heard his mother's voice, he started babbling and cooing.
"Violet, please let me come get you. Davy needs you," Jim told her, "and it's not safe for you to be out there alone."
"I know Jim. I decided last night. I'm ready, please come get me this evening after dark. I don't want to risk being seen."
"Where are you, Violet?"
"I've been hiding in the high school basement. The place is dark and deserted for the Christmas holidays.
"How in the world did you get in?"
"I got in through that side basement window we always used to use. Remember? It's still easy to open," she said. "It's just very cold in here, the heat was turned off."
"I remember that window, and you'll be warm here at the farm house tonight, Violet. I'll pick you up right after it gets dark. Wait for me inside, don't go out the window until you can see me. I'll have my First Officer with me, he's a Vulcan."
"I'll be waiting, Jim, and thank you."