A Riverside Christmas Mystery
Chapter 23
"A song for merry Christmas!It comes but once a year;
Of all the holidays that be,
To mem'ry 'tis most dear.
Chorus: Around the festive board grouped Are friends from far and near,
To celebrate the festival Which comes but once a year.
And if on thy life's record Some enemies appear,
Forgive them on this holiday,
Which comes but once a year."
J. L. Peters 1875
Violet notified her office that she was taking another week of vacation and there had been no objections from her Chief of Staff. He was so happy that she was safe and coming back that he would have approved two more weeks if she has asked. She and Davy would stay at the farmhouse until the 27th and then go home.
The next few days flew by with a dizzying round of fun activities, more ice skating, sleigh riding, snow boarding, and another snowball fight. Jim got out his skis, cleaned them up, and got in some actual skiing one afternoon, the frigid, cold, pristine snow and glorious cerulean sky were perfection. There were quiet evenings filled with reading, chess, needle work, and Nyota's beautiful voice singing soft Christmas carols usually accompanied by Spock with the lyre or Sam's guitar. Sometimes they joined in, and other times they just listened to the sweet sound of Uhura's breath taking contralto voice. There was Winona's great food, and the back door often slammed with visits from friends. There was also some sneaking around for last minute shopping and then suddenly it was Christmas Eve day and discussion of the next two days' schedule at the breakfast table.
Winona eyed her troops warily. "Sorry to tell everyone, but we have to clean this house from top to bottom. We'll have a house full of guests tomorrow. The last time I counted it was 13 for Christmas dinner, but it may end up being more, and it does need a good cleaning. It may take a while, I'm afraid. This old house is full of nooks and crannies that seem to hold dust, cobwebs, and some unmentionables too! Peter dear, please be sure Sorrel's basket is clean and his litter box fresh."
"No, Ma, we don't have to clean." Jim's face was gleeful. "I've hired a cleaning crew to come in today at 1100 hours. They'll be in and out in two or three hours. I'm not having you cooking and baking all afternoon, and then cleaning house too. You'll be exhausted by tomorrow."
"Jim!" Winona's face was shocked. "It's too expensive, sweetheart. I know how much cleaning crews cost, especially during the holidays."
"Well worth the price, Ma, any price. There's no point in arguing with me, knowing you, I made the arrangements just after we got here and it's a done deal. When the crew gets here, we'll go into Riverside and have lunch and by the time we get back the house will be clean and they'll be gone."
"Jim," she opened her mouth to protest further, but looking at the stubborn set of his jaw, she capitulated. "All right then, thank you, sweetheart." She smiled lovingly at him. No other mother in the sector, she was sure, had as caring a son as she did. She looked around at the satisfied faces who obviously agreed with Jim.
"Well then, here's the tentative plan for today and tomorrow if everyone is in agreement. Please fill free to chime in with further suggestions. Jim, Peter and I are going to Midnight Mass. We always go. Father Joe O'Brian, the pastor at St. Joseph's, is a dear, very close family friend. He'll be here tomorrow for Christmas day dinner. He and George grew up together and were best friends all through elementary and high school. Then after graduation, George went to the Academy and Father Joe went into the seminary. They remained best friends all their lives in spite of different career paths and distance. When George died, Father Joe officiated at his funeral and he has been a true and supportive friend through everything." Her lovely face was sad, but serene. "Please, don't any of you feel that you have to attend the services, but St. Joseph's is a very beautiful church and has a wonderful choir and organist, they're renowned throughout Iowa, and the Christmas music is simply glorious. Nyota, you, Bones and Spock may want to attend just to hear the music. Violet has already told me she wants to attend, Davy will probably sleep through it all, and that's fine," she said looking tenderly at Davy in his high chair. "Peter did very well last year and stayed awake through the entire Mass," she smiled at her grandson.
"I'd like to go, Winona," said Bones. "It would be an honor to attend the services with you."
"I, also, Dr. Kirk," said Spock.
"I wouldn't miss it, Winona. Thank you for inviting us." Uhura's face was alight with anticipation at hearing the choir and beautiful music.
"Wonderful! We'll have to leave here early, it will be very crowded, a lot of Riverside folks attend Midnight Mass. Father Joe commed me yesterday and said he reserved our usual pew for us. It's the second one, on the right hand facing the altar," she told Jim, who nodded. "We'll want to sleep in a little late tomorrow morning. I usually put the turkey and ham in the oven at a low temperature when we get back from Mass, and I make an "eat with your hands breakfast" so we can eat and open gifts at the same time. After we clean up the gift wreckage, I start cooking; working on Christmas dinner which we usually eat between 3 and 4 pm. There'll be snacks throughout the day if you get hungry."
"We'll help you all we can, Ma." Jim said looking at his crew. Everyone nodded. "You just tell us what you want us to do, and we'll do it."
"You just direct the troops, Winona," said Bones. "We're at your command."
They scattered to dress, and when the cleaning crew arrived, they left the farmhouse for Riverside. They had to take both shuttles, all eight of them couldn't fit in one shuttle. Jim piloted the rental and Winona piloted her own shuttle and they set them down in the central parking area in town. Jim commed Jonathon to see if he could join them for lunch and he agreed. Salvatore's was already open so they decided to go there. As Jim said, no one could ever get enough of Marie's and Mama's wonderful cooking. Mama greeted them with delight as she ushered them in and sat them down at a big table. She beamed at Violet and took the willing Davy to the kitchen to show him to Marie while the waiter set up his high chair. Jonathon walked in the door and Jim beckoned to him. "Thanks for calling me, Jim. It feels good to get out of the office and take a break. It's been crazy; irate shoppers, a few pick pockets, lost wallets, lost children, shop lifting, you name it we've had to deal with it." He sat down with a sigh and twisted his head from side to side to release his tension.
"I have some further news for you. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but now I can pass it on to you."
Mama came back with Davy and sat him down in his high chair. "Now, Jim, mi figlio, do you want me to decide the meal, or do you want to order from the menu?" she asked.
"Is it okay with everyone if Mama decides?" Jim asked.
Everyone nodded their consent.
"Yes, you decide, Francesca," Winona said. "We're in your very capable hands. Peter dear, why don't you go say hi to Marie and find out when Dina can come over to the house for the day to play with you."
Peter grinned in delight. He and Dina were in the same grade at school and were fast friends; they often visited each other's homes to play or do homework.
While they waited for the food, Jonathon told them the news. "The third man we arrested was a low-level hired thug. As soon as we told him he could also get the death penalty as an accessory for the contract killing, he sang like a bird. It seems he was hired just for back up and not told about the contract killing. He is more than willing to testify against the Clancy brothers…another nail in their coffin," Jonathon said in satisfaction. "I also heard from the State Police. The Williams' siblings and Chu were also denied bail." He turned to Violet, "Lloyds of London commed me that they received and reviewed your autopsy report and their medical expert agrees that it was definitely murder. Even, if for some reason, the Williams siblings are not convicted of murder for hire, there will be no insurance pay out for them. Lloyds wants to speak to you when you go back to work, but there's no rush. They're very satisfied with your report."
Jim smiled his radiant smile at Violet. "It really is all over, Violet. Put it out of your mind until your deposition and enjoy the rest of your holiday. "
Peter came back to the table at the same time that their waiter brought the dishes Mama had selected, and the conversation became general. The food looked and smelled wonderful! Marie came in from the kitchen to say hello and she and Jim made plans to get together after Christmas on her day off.
"We'll see you tonight at Midnight Mass," Marie said. "Mama and Papa are closing the restaurant after the lunch crowd. We won't reopen until the 27th. It will be nice to have a break and cook for my own family," she smiled.
After lunch and goodbyes to Jonathon and the Salvatore's they stopped at the grocery store to pick up Winona's pre-ordered fresh ham and turkey and the red poinsettias she had ordered for the table. They also went into the bakery to pick up some pastries for their afternoon snacks. Winona would be baking all afternoon, but Jim insisted that all her baked goods be saved for Christmas Day.
Jim looked at his mother ruefully. "Ma, we're like a plague of locusts. The more you bake, the more we eat, so it'll be best to save everything you bake for tomorrow and today we'll make do with this stuff from the bakery."
They got back in the shuttles and headed to the farmhouse. Snow was starting to fall again, it would be a very white Christmas.
The cleaning crew had already left, and the farmhouse looked spotless and smelled of lemon polish. Violet went to put Davy down for his nap. Jim lit the fire and followed his mother into the kitchen.
"Ma, there's going to be 13 at the table, shall I get out the big board and extra chairs? We can set the table today and get that out of the way."
"Yes, please dear. The big board is still stored in the barn, and it's against the back wall, well wrapped. You'll need help with that, it's so big. The extra chairs are up in the attic, and the large table cloth and napkins are in the bottom drawer of the china cabinet. The good china is in there also and so is the silver, it's been washed already. Ask Nyota to help you with the table setting. Your grandmother's china sleigh and reindeer for the poinsettias centerpiece are in my closet on the top shelf. I'd like Violet to do the flowers; she's always been good with flowers."
Jim and Bones brought in the big board specially made for the table by his father many years ago and centered it across the dining room table then covered it with the large damask table cloth. The large cloth and napkins were antiques; they had been handed down from Winona's great grandmother, lovingly used every year, then cleaned, and carefully wrapped in acid free tissue before being put away after Christmas. Once the table cloth was laid over the big board no one could have guessed that it was a make shift table top. Nyota helped Jim with the china and silver and they set the table for 13. The lovely old china and silver placed over the pristine white cloth, gleamed softly in the overhead light. Spock and Bones brought down the extra chairs from the attic, cleaned them with lemon polish and put them around the table.
Violet gently and carefully unwrapped the hand painted china sleigh and the 8 reindeer. She cut florist foam to fit the sleigh indention, poured fresh water in it, and waited for the foam to absorb it. Then she began to measure and cut the poinsettias, laying them on the table by height. When they were all cut, she put the gorgeous, deep red poinsettia into the foam, the tallest in the middle and the shorter ones around the taller ones; one by one slowly and carefully she worked, until the sleigh was filled with the showy crimson mass of flowers.
Spock sat beside her and watched, his eyes never leaving her hands, intrigued at the beauty and simplicity of Violet's results. Jim stopped and watched Spock watching Violet. He smiled to himself. Jim had always known that behind Spock's unemotional façade, there lurked a fine sense of aesthetics; he'd noticed long ago that Spock responded with deep appreciation to beauty in line and form. He thought that now Spock probably realized why Jim loved antique books, furniture and clocks. He had inherited his appreciation from his mother.
The afternoon wound down, and Winona came out of the kitchen flushed from the heat of the oven. "Everything looks wonderful. Violet, the flowers are gorgeous, they look perfect on that beautiful table. Thank you everyone, for all your help. I've made some coffee and hot chocolate; let's take a break and eat those pastries we brought."
Dozens of cookies, several pies, and a cake stood on the counter. "Ma, you've done enough. There are enough desserts here for an army. Sit down and rest." Jim pushed her down in the chair and brought her a mug of hot chocolate. Uhura put the pastries on a platter and brought them to the table.
"Yes, dear. I've finished with all the baking," she said, thoughtfully munching on a pastry and thinking of her to do list. "I'll rest for a while now."
"We'll all rest," said Jim. "If anyone gets hungry later, there are plenty of left overs, there's soup, sandwich makings, a few slices of pizza, so just help yourselves to whatever you want."
Quiet descended in the farmhouse. Jim put more logs on the fire and sat down to a game of chess with Peter. McCoy and Spock caught up with their journals. Winona got out her knitting, Uhura tuned her lyre, and Violet played with Davy on the floor. As the peaceful afternoon and evening drew to a close, Jim got up. "I'm going to feed the animals, Ma." Peter got up to help, but Jim said, "no Peter, you stay, I can manage."
In the barn he gave Ginger and Dapple their feed and fed them sugar lumps. "Merry Christmas, Ginger," Jim said softly, scratching Ginger between the eyes. "You too, Dapple. I expect that at midnight you two will have a lot to say to each other.(1) He smiled to himself at his whimsy, and went outside to feed the chickens.
At 2300 they all walked out of the farm-house door to the two shuttles; it was bitterly cold. Jim and McCoy walked ahead of everyone to turn on the heaters and the warmth was appreciated as they piled into the two shuttles. Jim piloted the rental, and Spock piloted his mother's shuttle, following Jim to Riverside and to St. Joseph's church. The church parking lot was quickly filling up. The massive church doors were closed to keep out the frigid air so Jim bounded up the steps, opened the doors and ushered everyone into the warmth.
St. Joseph's had been built of pale golden limestone 150 years before. It was deceptively simple in design and construction both inside and out. Its main beauty came from the elaborate stained glass windows, 12 in all, that were inspired by biblical stories. Moses and the Ten Commandments, Noah and the Flood, Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Wedding at Cana, the Last Supper, the Beatitudes and more were all depicted and drew the eye to their luminous beauty. Hundreds of lit candles made the stained glass gleam like jewels. The main altar was simple; carved wood, painted white and soaring almost to the ceiling. Two huge urns filled with red poinsettias flanked the main altar on either side. The massive pipe organ was located in the upstairs loft; it too was very old and its sound quality was famous through out Iowa.
Winona led them to their pew and they sat down. The choir, 30 in number, and dressed in red robes, walked in and stood behind the communion railing along the side altar. Uhura straightened in her pew in anticipation of the first notes of the first hymn. The choir director came in, stood in front of the choir, gave the signal and the organist played the introductory notes. The rich sound of 30 beautiful voices reverberated through the church.
Jubilate Deo
"Jubilate Deo omnis terra, servite Domino in laetitia.
Introite in conspectu ejus in exultatione.
Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus:
ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos— populus ejus et oves pascue ejus.
Introite portas ejus in confessione, atria ejus in hymnis. 2
Psalm 99/100
Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554–1612)
Nyota turned to Jim and gave him a beatific smile. The music was absolutely glorious. The choir continued with their concert, singing all the Christmas favorites and some ancient English carols. They finished a lovely rendition of "Away in a Manger, and fell silent; a young woman from the first row stepped forward, clasped her hands, and looked at the choir director. He nodded his head and lifted his baton. She drew in a breath, looked up at the soaring arches, and began to sing "Oh Holy Night" acapella. Her ethereal voice soared to the very rafters of the church. Uhura gasped. The girl had the purest, clearest and most beautiful soprano voice she had ever heard. The Kirks, Spock, McCoy and Uhura along with the whole congregation listened entranced by the heartbreaking beauty of her voice. Uhura was certain she would never hear a voice like that again. The girl finished, bowed her head and stepped back to join the others. The choir director turned to the congregation, rang a tiny bell and they all stood.
Uhura glanced around her. Winona was right, the church was filled to capacity and people were standing in the back. Father O'Brian entered, and the clarion bells high above in the steeple began their symphonic joyous ringing as he processed down the center aisle to the altar followed by the deacons and altar servers.
Midnight Mass had begun.
1 There is a wonderful legend shared by many countries that animals talk at midnight on Christmas Eve. The legend of the talking animals persists to this day in Scandinavia.
2 Latin form of "Make a joyful sound to God, all the earth." Psalm 99/100