A Riverside Christmas Mystery
Chapter 21
"Hell is empty and all the devils are here."
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
The night was cold and very clear as they exited Salvatore's. In the parking lot they exchanged shuttles, Jonathon and Gavin took Winona's shuttle, and went directly to the farm-house to wait for Jim, Spock, Uhura and McCoy. Jim wanted to make sure the two thugs didn't notice a different shuttle in the back pasture parking area.
Spock followed closely behind Jim's shuttle and parked beside him at Jonathon's apartment. Jim sat quietly for a minute and looked carefully around him; everything was still and quiet. He exited the shuttle and they fell in step beside him. At Jonathon's front door, he keyed in the code and ushered everyone in. "Serena, are you in here?" he called.
Serena James, in full uniform with her Phaser in her holster, walked out from the master bedroom. "Hello, everyone. Jim, glad to see you. I just finished checking out all the rooms," she said. "Hello, Winona, Peter, good to see you too." With a smile, she reached for a hug from Winona, and then turned to Violet and Davy. "Violet, it's been too long. I'm so happy you're here and safe. Hello, little guy. Boy are you the spitting image of your mama, except for the hair," she smiled at Davy, reaching out a gentle finger to the baby. She turned to Jim. "Everything is fine, here. Don't worry, Jim, I'll take good care of everyone."
"Thanks, I know you will." But Jim's hazel eyes were still anxious as he scanned the apartment.
His mother glanced at him. "We'll be fine, dear. Don't' worry about us. You just take good care of yourselves and comm me as soon as you can."
"I will, Ma. We'll be on our way then. We're leaving Gavin's shuttle here if you need it. We'll see you in the morning then; please don't go outside for any reason." He kissed his mother, Peter, Violet and Davy, then he, Spock and McCoy left the apartment.
The four were silent on the way to the farm-house. Jim's body was relaxed and still, his hands on the shuttle sure and careful. With the unconscious part of his mind he was piloting the shuttle, while with the conscious part, he was looking at and discarding different tactical scenarios that could happen when they confronted the two murderers. It was his usual focused pre-mission mode which made him the exemplary commander that he was. Spock, glancing at him, easily recognized the set face and straight shoulders, the fluid body language that was always evident when, as McCoy put it, "Jim was bent on saving the universe and bringing about galactic peace." His Captain was poised for battle and for victory.
Jim landed the shuttle beside his mother's in the back pasture and they made their way to the farm-house. Jim saw that the heavily falling snow had already obliterated Jonathon's and Gavin's tracks and would do the same for theirs. He opened the back door quietly and Uhura turned on the flashlight as they walked in.
"Gavin, Jonathon, we're here, " Jim called softly, bolting the back door. He didn't want to make it too easy for the two thugs to get in.
"We're in the living room, Jim." Gavin's voice sounded loud in the deep silent darkness.
Jonathon and Gavin sat on the sofa and in the soft light from the lit tree, he saw they had changed from their party clothes to black pants and long-sleeved black t-shirts. "Gentlemen, I see you're dressed for stealth; not a bad idea. I think the rest of us should do the same. With all the tree lights off, we'll be much harder to spot in black. Give us ten minutes and we'll be right back."
They changed into their regulation Star Fleet issued undershirts and black pants and went back into the living room. Jim turned off the tree lights and only Uhura's flash light gave off any light. All of them looked ghostly in the dimly lit and shadowed room.
Gavin gave Jim his extra Phaser. "This is our new modified Phasers, Jim. It has an extra setting, Kill, Stun, Light Stun, and the new one, Immobilize. Immobilize assures that the suspect is conscious and able to speak, but is unable to move. SIS is beta testing them for Fleet…so far we like them a lot; the extra option means we don't have to wait to question a suspect or worry about a possible escape or suicide attempt. The Immobilize setting lasts about an hour or so."
Jim hefted the Phaser; it was light and compact, the settings clearly marked. "Bones, do you want to have this one with you up in the attic?" Jim looked at his CMO, knowing full well McCoy's professional and personal objection to weapons of any sort. The fact that the doctor had to be proficient with the use of a Phaser like all the Enterprise's crew mattered not at all.
McCoy sighed. "Yeah, Jim. I'll take it up with me. You never know, it might come in handy for somethin', like killing rats, maybe."
"The only rats in this house will be those two men." Jim's voice was grim. "Even up in the attic, I'd feel better if you had some sort of protection, Bones, so just take it okay?
He got up and started to pace. "It's almost midnight, I'm going to bolt and double lock the front door. The storm windows are up, so the only window that is unprotected is the kitchen window, and it's too small for any adult to get in, so we can expect them through the kitchen door."
"Jim would you like me to make some coffee?" asked Bones. "I think it's probably gonna' be a couple of more hours before any action around here, and I for one feel a little sleepy after that big meal at Salvatore's."
"Good idea. I'd appreciate a cup."
"I'll bring it in, Leonard," said Uhura. "Mr. Spock? Would you like a cup?"
"Unnecessary, Lieutenant, but thank you."
At 0100 Jim said. "Let's get in place. Stay alert everyone; we should hear the shuttle flying overhead before they land." He pulled the attic ladder down, "Get up there, Bones. I'll leave the attic door cracked a little so you can hear what's going on. I want everyone to have their communicators on, but silent. We'll do a communications check from our positions."
They got in their positions and Jim did the communicator check, "Uhura, Check; Spock,Check; he continued. Bones." Silence. "Bones, do you read me?"
"Damn it! Where's that stupid thing," Jim could hear McCoy's muttering and shuffling around. "Check!" He heard Bones' triumphant voice and then his lament. "Jim, it's really lonesome and pitch dark up here."
Jim huffed a small chuckle. "Better lonesome and dark than dead, Bones. Suck it up and try to stay alert for Pete's sake!" He heard suppressed laughter from Uhura, Gavin, and Jonathon. "We'll wait until they're well into the living area before showing ourselves. Spock, your night vision is better than the rest of us, so as soon as soon as you see they're well into the living room switch on all the lights. The main light switch is on your upper right as you face the door way. Do you see it?"
"Affirmative, Captain."
"Okay people, we're going comm silent now. Keep your communicators on and your Phasers in your hand and listen for the shuttle overhead. Kirk, out"
It wasn't long before they heard the rough noise of the shuttle's engine over head. It circled the farm-house and then grew fainter as it headed to the back pasture. He heard the faint sputter as they landed and then silence. Jim breathed silently and shallowly and relaxed his tense body; waiting was always the hardest part for him. His mind and his body craved the action that he knew was coming. In his mind's eye he could picture the men walking silently through the back pasture through the soft snow and up to the back door stoop.
From the doorway of the master bedroom where he was standing, he could hear the soft muffled tinkle of breaking glass as the back door small glass pane shattered. There was a few seconds of silence and the inside bolt, which always had a tiny squeak, was pulled back and the back door opened. Jim could picture the men standing in the dark kitchen listening for any sound in the house and hearing nothing; the farm-house sat shrouded in total silence.
He heard soft footsteps approaching as they walked from the kitchen into the living room. They were not far from him as he crouched down by the doorway of the bedroom. Jim held his breath as the footsteps came closer. He could hear their soft breathing as they stopped to get their bearings in the dark.
Jim's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he leaned over very slightly for a cautious peek at the men. To his surprise, in the gloom of the room, he saw three men instead of two. So, he thought, they left nothing to chance and brought in reinforcements.
Suddenly, the lights in the living room came on. Gavin, Jonathon, Spock, Uhura, and Jim stepped out of their hiding places with Phasers in hand. The three men froze in surprise at their sudden appearance.
Jonathon stepped forward quickly. "Drop your weapons, " he said.
Gavin, Jonathon, Spock, Uhura and Jim came forward with Phasers in hand and stood in front of the three stunned and unresisting gunmen. None of the three said a word as Gavin, Jonathon and Spock took possession of their Phasers.
Jonathon faced the three men. "Frank and Tom Clancy, you and your companion are under arrest for the attempted murder of Dr. Violet Sterling Palomino and her son, the infant David Palomino. You are further charged with agreeing to murder Dr. Palomino and her son in a signed contract for the sum of 50,000 credits. I am legally obligated to tell you that the crime of contract killing falls under the Special Circumstances Act implemented by the United Federation of Planets. If you are found guilty of this crime, you will receive the death penalty. In addition you are charged with breaking and entering into the home of Dr. Winona Kirk. There are also two pending charges by the Iowa State police department; hit and run and leaving the scene of an accident."
When there was still no response from the three men, Jonathon read them their rights. "You have the right to remain silent when questioned. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish. Do you understand these rights?"
One of the brothers finally spoke, Frank the older one, Jim thought. "We understand." He sneered at Jonathon. "We know all our rights and we won't be held long. Our lawyers will have us out on bail before you finish processing us, you'll see." He stared belligerently at Jonathon.
Jim felt a sudden fury rise in him at the heedless, uncaring, and arrogant words he heard. Violet had gone through so much pain, worry and fear because of these men. His eyes blazed. "Not this time. This time we have so much proof against you that no judge will grant you bail. It's iron clad proof too, and there's proof against the Williams siblings as well. You won't be able to weasel out of these charges and let me add that as Captain of the Star Ship Enterprise, my testimony against you about your murder attempt will carry a lot of weight with the courts." He gave them that triumphant feral grin which Sulu had once told him would strike fear in anyone with common sense.
Frank Clancy stared at him and his face paled. His brother looked over at him in panic. "Frank, Frank! What are they talking about. Our lawyer can get us off, right?"
"Shut up, Tom. Don't say another word. You hear me? Not another word. Our attorneys will take care of us."
Jim turned away from them in disgust and called up to the attic. "Bones, come on down, it's all over."
Bones' voice came down to him. "Well, thank God for that. It's dark and really cold up here, Jim, I didn't like it much," he said peering down at Jim. He turned his body around to climb down the ladder and stepped down to the first rung. One of his booted feet slipped on the rung; he lost his balance and came crashing down to land hard on the wooden floor.
"Bones, Bones, are you okay?" Jim ran over to him, alarmed to see how white McCoy looked. "Bones, answer me; did you hurt yourself? Let me see?" He knelt to check McCoy over, running his hands down his legs and arms, checking for broken bones.
McCoy looked up at him, pale as death, wheezing helplessly, for once totally speechless, the air knocked out of him.
Everyone's attention was suddenly on the wheezing fallen McCoy. In that split second of inattention, and with lightning speed, Frank Clancy leaned down, drew a long knife out of his boot and aimed it at Jim's back.
But Spock, always hyper vigilant for any danger, turned with the speed and strength of a Vulcan who sees his Captain in mortal peril and fired his Phaser at the assailant. Clancy dropped like a stone and the knife throw went wide; the long blade missing Jim's back by inches as it impaled itself harmlessly in the wall. Uhura gasped, Gavin's face whitened and Jonathon face tightened in anger.
Jim heard the knife go into the wall, and his eyes widened in sudden comprehension as he helped the groaning McCoy get to his feet. He glanced at the hilt of the knife protruding from the wall and then at Spock and sent him a look of thanks across the room. Spock nodded, his relief not apparent on the calm impassive face. He noted dispassionately that his heart rate and his respiration were elevated by 11.435 percent. Once more, Jim had escaped serious injury or possible death; once more, Spock had been in the right place at the right time; once more, a disaster had been averted.
"Well," said Jonathon." That does it. No further proof will be needed than the eye witness accounts of the attempted murder of a Star Ship Captain." He looked down at the unconscious Frank Clancy, bent and cuffed him, and then turned to put the stasis cuffs on the other two. "You can say goodbye to the rest of your lives, gentlemen." He took out his communicator. "Romaine here," he told his on-duty office deputy. "Send three well armed deputies to the Kirk farm to collect some trash. I want them put into maximum security cells and let's keep them separated," he added.
"A job well done," he said to everyone as he closed his communicator. "Now, I have to call the state police and have them arrest the siblings and the husband. We'll have them all in jail before dawn," he added, satisfaction in his voice.
Jim helped McCoy to the sofa and looked down at him anxiously. He sat down beside McCoy and checked him over once more. He was relieved to see color coming back to Bones' face and that the blue eyes looking at him were clear and steady.
"I'm okay, Jim. Just had the wind knocked out of me. Nothing's broken, Jimmy, don't you worry. Did we get them? I seemed to have missed that part," McCoy said ruefully.
"We got them. Violet and Davy are safe now, and can resume their normal lives. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked anxiously. "That was quite a fall you took." He didn't add that Bones had scared the hell out of him, falling from the ladder like that. It was a repeat of that too vivid picture he still had in his head of Spock's fall from the Engineering ladder and the terror he'd felt at having Spock's lifeless body under his hands as he and Giotto performed CPR on him.(1)
He looked up to see Uhura and Spock standing beside him. "He's fine. Nothing broken, just had the wind knocked out of him."
"I'm gratified that you were not injured, Doctor. I would not like to spend the rest of my holiday visiting you in the hospital," said Spock with a gleam in his eye.
"Why you, cold-blooded, icy veined hobgoblin," sputtered McCoy indignantly, more color coming into his pale face. "Just you wait until your next physical. I'll use some ice-cold instrument on you, see if I don't!"
Spock, well satisfied that his little by play put some color in the doctor's cheeks, raised a complacent eyebrow. Uhura laughed and leaned over and kissed his now pink cheek. "I'm glad you're okay, Leonard. You scared me there for a minute," she said.
"Why thank you, darlin'. You know how to express concern, that's for sure, whilst others have no idea," he said throwing a glowering glance at Spock.
Jim stood up smiling, and pulled out his communicator. "I'm going to comm Serena and tell her it's all over. Hope Ma and Violet are still awake, but if not, they'll hear first thing in the morning." He walked into the quiet office to talk to Serena and fill her in, and Spock went to answer the back door knock.
Jonathon greeted his three deputies and gave them directives about the incarcerations. Frank Clancy was still lying on the floor unconscious. Unconscious or not, he was manacled and carried out to the police shuttle. The other two were manacled as well and they shuffled off to the waiting shuttle. Jonathon heaved a sigh of relief. He had never felt so happy to put someone behind bars.
Jim came back to the living room. "I talked with Serena. She'll give Ma and Violet the good news as soon as possible. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's 0300 and I'm beat and ready for bed. I know we'll have a full day tomorrow, Jonathon, and since your apartment is occupied, please stay the night here. We'll sort out sleeping arrangements."
"Thanks, Jim, but I have a cot in my office for times like these, and I want to talk to the State Police first thing in the morning and fill them in so they can arrest the Williams siblings and the husband, Jerome Chu, first thing. I also need to send them Violet's autopsy report. I'll comm you in the morning or come by and fill everyone in. Goodnight everyone, it was a pleasure working with all of you."
"Please come have a late breakfast with us, Jonathon. We'll go pick up Ma, Peter, Violet and Davy first thing in the morning and we'll tidy up your place."
Jonathon laughed as Jim walked him to the back door. "If I know your mother, Jim, my place will be cleaner after they leave than it was before I left it. Don't rush your mother. Take your time and I'll comm you if I can make that late breakfast. That way I can fill everyone in at the same time. Good night, Jim. It was a good night's work, " he said shaking hands.
Jim locked the back door, looked at the small broken pane, shrugged and decided that he would replace the glass in the morning. He walked back to the living room and yawned hugely. "Let's get to bed everyone. It's been a hell of a long day and night. Gavin, you have a choice, Violet's bed or the sofa."
"I'll take the sofa, Jim. I'm getting used to it. At least this time I brought something to sleep in, " he said. "I'll have to get back to work by noon," he added. "There's only so much time off a man can take before people notice they can get along without him very well and he's fired," he added solemnly.
Jim smiled. "I doubt there's any danger of that, Gavin. Get some rest, see you in the morning."
Bones, are you sure you're okay?" he asked looking keenly into the blue eyes.
"I'm fine, Jim. I'll be a little sore in the morning from the impact of the fall, but that's all. Let's all try to get some rest now. Doctor's orders," McCoy said walking into the guest room.
"Good night everyone," said Uhura.
"Spock," Jim said quietly on his way to the bedroom. "Keep an eye on Bones, please. He seems fine, but that was a bad fall he took."
"I will Jim, do not worry. The doctor appears to be uninjured, but I will stay alert."
"Thanks, Spock, and thank you for saving me from getting that knife in the back. What would I ever do without my XO to watch my back?" Jim asked softly.
"As that eventuality will not arise, there is no need to think about it," Spock's voice was gentle, but definite. "Good night, sleep well, Jim."
"Goodnight, my friend."
1 "See "Ring of Treason"