Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 03 - The Priest Who Ate a Poison Petit Fore (9 page)

Hannah took in Whipson’s words and considered each one.
Loyal. Protective. Sees Rhoades as a little brother.

“Would he be willing to talk to us?”

Whipson nodded. “If I asked him too. When?”

“We’ll let you know. We’re headed to Zebulon for now.”

“Hannah,” Whipson said as he coughed once more, “have you seen any rhyme or reason to all this? Is anyone else in danger?”” He reached out for the sleuth to take his hand. She indulged him.

Taking the Reverend’s hand, Hannah gave him a serious look. “I can’t say. I wish I could, but I can’t, not with any certainty. We are talking serial killer at this point. Some are unpredictable, but most have a pattern. Sometimes even a schedule. I’m checking into the medical records of each patient. Magdalen, here, has agreed to read them for me. Maybe then, we can establish a pattern. If so, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.” She smiled and gestured with her head toward Hym. “Then I’m going to sic Hym on them.””

“And I’m now armed with a cane,” Hym added.

Whipson patted the back of Hannah’s hand. “Then you do that, dear. You do just that.”

*****

Leaving Happiness behind, Hannah, Hym and Magdalen made their way toward Zebulon. As the car travelled down a long narrow backstretch, Hannah stared out at the passing farmland. She liked how it interspersed with small patches of wooded areas. She found herself considering all that Whipson had revealed about himself.
Two knew, one dead
, she mulled over.
That he knows about
, she added to herself. Catching sight of something on the side of the road, she sat up straight. “Stop!” she exclaimed.

Hym slowed the car in rapid order. Magdalen sat up from the backseat, wide eyed. Both she and her brother cried out. “What?”

“Pull over,” Hannah demanded, “I saw something.”

Hym did as instructed before backing up the road a short ways. Doing so, he asked what she saw.

“I’m not sure, but it was moving.”

“Like an animal or something?” Magdalen inquired.

“Maybe, but I just want to make sure, so stop here.”

Hym brought the car to a halt and Hannah exited with haste. Hym and Magdalen followed after.

Hannah pointed to the edge of the tree line. “There.” Lying down in the grass was a ball of brown fur covered in what appeared to be mud. Two dark eyes peered forward but did not move. As she motioned for the others to slow behind her, she held out her hand.

“What is it?” Magdalen asked in a cautious voice. “A raccoon?”

“I don’t think so,” Hym informed. “I think it’’s a…”

“Puppy,” Hannah interrupted as she pressed her hand forward. “Here baby, come on. No one’s going to hurt you.”

Two ears half raised but fell back down as the creature’s head moved just a bit to one side. The sleuth moved further forward, hand outstretched, and assuming a crouched position.

“Careful, Sherlock,” Hym warned.

“It’s alright. Come on, now.”

Hannah took her time and made a careful approach. At a moment’s notice, she readied herself to snatch her hand away. Reaching the animal, she held it just before the creature’s nose. For the first time, the dog raised its head enough to sniff, and then it licked her hand. Hannah took the opportunity to give a gentle stroke down the pooch’s body. Doing so, she checked for any obvious injuries but found none. She removed the lightweight jacket she wore and wrapped it around the creature. “She’s thin. I think she just hasn’t had enough to eat.” With care, she lifted the small creature into her arms and rose. She turned to face Hym and Magdalen.

“Think Will would mind an extra guest?”

Hym sighed and let out a breath. “I suppose not. Is it hurt?”

Hannah shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“She seems weak. Do you still have some of that sandwich left, Tubbs?”

“Yup,” Hym turned toward the car, “but not for long I imagine,” he mumbled half under his breath.

*****

After arriving, the three went to stay at the home of William “Will” Hooligan, Hym’s best friend. A restaurateur by trade, he owned Hoolie’’s Burgers, Fries, & All That. Hannah admired his work, so much so that it was he that she asked to cater the wedding. He also agreed to be one of Hym’s two groomsmen. When Hannah showed the unexpected guest, asking if he minded her keeping the canine until they figured out what to do with her, Will acquiesced without hesitation. He gave his usual big smile that could light the world. As he scratched the dog’s head, he looked the creature over.

“Although, it seems to me that if she’s going to stay, you might want to give her a good scrub. Bathroom is down the hall and on the left. I’ll bring some towels to dry her up.””

A half hour later, Hannah and Magdalen sat in the living room drying the canine. With the dirt removed, the dog presented itself in a different light. Will inferred that it was young.

“I’d guess between six to eight weeks.”

The fur underneath the mud was short, white, and wiry. There was one tan spot on her back. Another colored patch circled around both the hound’s eyes and extended to mid-muzzle along the side. The tail appeared bobbed, but more so than traditional length. Examining it, Magdalen frowned.

“I don’t think a vet did this.” The nurse lifted the appendage with a finger. “Looks like it was bitten off.”

Hannah lifted the animal’s face up and looked into its eyes. “Oh, how did such a sweet girl get out on the side of the road?”

“No houses in that area, so someone might have abandoned her,” Will suggested.

Magdalen grimaced. “That’s horrible.”

Will agreed. “Yeah, it is, but it does happen.” He glanced the dog over. “She needs a name.”

Hym crossed his arms and looked the dog over. “If she names her, she’ll keep her.”

Both Hym and Will looked over to Hannah and Magdalen as they fussed over the puppy. Hannah stuck her face into rub noses with the beast.

Will laughed. “Little late for that.”

Hym let out a frustrated breath. “Alright, fine. A name. How about Mudpuppy?”

Hannah glanced up at the fiancé. “Mudpuppy. Mudbug. What is your thing with mud?”

“He’s always done that. Mudpie was our turtle. Mudbaby was our rabbit.”

“No cat?”

“Mudcat.”

“A cat named Mudcat?”

Magdalen confirmed.

Hym threw out his arms in a ‘what’ gesture. “I found the turtle in mud. The rabbit's fur looked like mud.”

Hannah gave a quizzical look. “The cat?”

“By that time, it was a theme.”

“I’m not calling her Mudpuppy,” Hannah insisted. “She needs a name that suits her.”

Hym rolled his eyes.

Will pointed to the back of the dog. “She got that brown hazelnut shaped mark on her back. How about that?”

“Hazelnut,” Hannah said aloud, testing out the name.

To everyone’s surprise, the dog gave a short, half-uttered woof sound.

“We have a winner,” Will stated. “I’ll scrounge something up for her to eat. You can take her to the vet in the morning and get her checked out. Everyone seems to like Dr. Kanamit. He's just up the road a bit. He can see if she’s been micro chipped. I’ll give him a call.”

“We are going to take good care of the baby,” Hannah said, once again eliciting licks from the canine.

“Great,” Hym said in a near unenthused voice. “I don’t suppose you have a collar and leash lying around.”

“Nope, but the backyard’s fenced, so take her out there. I’ll get things started in the kitchen.”

Taking the opportunity presented, Will made Hannah and Hym a dinner consisting of food samples for the wedding. He made extras to treat Hazelnut. As they tasted each bit, all extolled the virtues of his work while they talked over wedding plans. During the conversation and tasting, Hannah’s phone rang. She stepped from the table to answer. After listening for a moment, she nodded and hung up before retaking her place and giving her signature move.

“Something up?” Hym asked with an uncertain tone.

“That was Susan. Brother Wessel died.”

Everyone paused in their eating and looked to Hannah.

“Who’s that?” Will inquired.

“The Reverend’s assistant,” Hym answered.

“And a nurse as well,” said Hannah. She paused before adding, “He went into cardiac arrest.”” She shook her head. “It makes no sense. He doesn’t fit the pattern.”

“What pattern?” Will again questioned.

“Older with a terminal disease.”

Hym reached out and took up his drink of iced tea. Hannah noticed the pensive look as he swirled the glass in his hand. “We don’t know that yet. He may have been terminal as well.”

Hannah agreed, though with some reluctance. “Well, an autopsy report would tell, but we don’t have a way to get hold of that either.”

“No real reason to ask for it on a legal basis,” Hym added. He reached out, took the last remaining bite of the white cheddar biscuit from his plate, and held it up. “These are awesome,” he said before holding it down for Hazelnut to eat. The puppy made its way over to take the offering before sitting down in front of him.

“That’s cheating. You’re going to spoil her right off,” Hannah protested.

Hym shrugged as he petted the hound’s head.

“They may not even perform one,” Magdalen informed in an attempt to redirect the conversation back to the matter at hand. “If it seems legitimate and by natural causes, then there’s no reason to go to the effort.” Magdalen turned to her brother. “Where will they take him?””

Hym gave an uncertain shrug. “Carol County Morgue would be my guess. If they do one, I doubt it’ll happen at Happiness Medical.”

Hannah glanced over to Magdalen. “Did he strike you as ill in anyway?”

Magdalen shook her head. “I wasn’t paying that much attention, but from what I remember, no. He was a bit on the hefty side. Given he had a heart attack or went into cardiac arrest, it’s possible no one would question either, due to his size.”

“Maybe he did just have a heart attack,” Will suggested. He too dropped his hand beneath the table to feed the accommodating dog.

Hannah bobbed her head in half agreement. “Cardiac arrest and heart attack are two different things I am told. Still, I suppose it’s possible, but it does seem strange to be coincidental. I mean, he’s the Reverend’s assistant. The Reverend just asked us to look into the case. Then the assistant dies of the same thing that the Reverend asked us to look into.”

Will rose from the table and picked up an empty plate that had held fried green tomatoes with a tangy barbeque dipping sauce. He moved off toward the kitchen, speaking as he proceeded. Hazelnut rose from her spot in front of Hym and padded alongside Will.

“Sounds fishy when you put it that way. So what are you thinking? He found something out and whoever is behind all this did him in?”

“That would be one possibility,” Hannah called after. “You need help in there?”

“Nah, we got it,” the restaurateur answered. “Thanks anyway.”

The large man returned carrying another plate. This time filled with miniature sandwiches made of pork and cheddar on toasted rolls. He had just enough time to set the dish down before hands began to pull the items away. Hazelnut watched, tail wagging. Taking one up himself, Will settled his 6’4” dark skinned frame back into his seat. He slid the remaining one on the plate over to Hannah.

“You might as well get in on the spoiling.”

“Oh, like she hasn’t already given her bits of that bacon puff earlier,” Will informed. “Yeah, little Miss Cheater. I was watching.”

Hannah cocked her head and produced her best, most charming smirk. Everyone laughed. She then took the offered food and gave it to dog. The puppy gulped it down with zeal. “She’s so thin that it’s hard not to give in.” She scratched at the dog’s face. “It’s hard to imagine someone just abandoning her.”

“Eating like this, she’s not going to be thin for long,” Magdalen informed. “And she might have just run away or gotten lost.”

Will looked between Hannah and Hym and pointed. “This might just be a confession. Have you considered that?”

Hym leaned back as he bit into the small snack and smiled. “How so?” He held up the sandwich with one hand and pointed to it with the other. “Oh yeah, these for sure; lots of these.” He glanced down at Hazelnut, who seeing him holding the food, made her way over. “Not this time, sweetheart. Sit.”

To everyone’s surprise, the puppy did as instructed.

“Well, I’ll be,” Hym said. “She belonged to someone.”

Will grinned before returning once again to the topic. “You know, a suicide because he figured he was about to get caught. You said he was a nurse, right?”

Hannah agreed with a nod of her head. She listened as Will explained his theory.

“Think on this. This Wessel is killing off people one at a time. Hiding within the assumption that the elder die of heart issues all the time. He’s a nurse, so he can make it happen. Then the Reverend catches on. Not at first, but in time. He calls you two in to investigate. You meet Wessel. He thinks you are closing in. He chooses his own exit. The logical choice to accomplish that would be that which he already had access too.”