The Emily Taylor Mystery Bundle

by Catherine Astolfo

  The lawyer was offended, astounded and angry all at the same time. These were the same people who were subsequently members of the inquest on the Janot fire. How could Dr. Marc André have gotten away with this? And why did he pick the very people who had tried to sue Robert Janot?

  Jacob bounded to his computer and began to trace Dr. Marc. He was in luck. Dr. Marc André finished his career as a provincial government representative in a special department investigating policies regarding the role of the coroner.

  Ironic, Jacob thought, when he had obviously not been above using that role for his own devices.

  However, the raised profile meant that Dr. André was featured in several newspaper articles detailing his amazing career. At a very young age, he became a popular physician and later, the provincial coroner. He subsequently advanced very quickly into public office.

  Last month, he had died at fifty-six of 'an apparent overdose,' while at work in his Provincial Ministry Office. There were many accolades and expressions of grief at losing such an intellect too soon, among dozens of laments about undisclosed mental illness and the stress of such elevated positions as Dr. André held.

  Hidden within the eulogies and laments, Jacob found the most interesting piece of information from his point of view.

  Doctor Marc had been born Marc André Johnson, but had dropped his surname 'in order to avoid confusion with his father, the esteemed lawyer, Marc André Johnson Sr.' The father had predeceased the son, but there were no details about how or when.

  With this fact, the story wound around full circle. The lawyer for the class action suit was André Johnson. His son Marc was the coroner. The community members selected for the inquest were also the complainants of the class action lawsuit.

  It was a pretty good guess, Jacob thought, that all of those families, including parents, offspring, or both had made enormous contributions to the Church of Leviticus, which they believed had been misused.

  In one way or another, they had all banded together to make sure the Janot fire went largely unexplained. Why had they done that?

  Sandford Haineau had been bitter about the pastor, basically calling him a shyster. But he'd also been condescending toward the 'suckers' who'd given money. Perhaps it was not Haineau personally who'd donated. Maybe it was his wife.

  Did Pastor Janot have an appeal to women? From his pictures, he looked forbidding and unapproachable, but perhaps there was some kind of sex appeal in person. You never could tell from a small black-and-white photo the power that some people emanate in life.

  Or, more likely, Sandford Haineau had lied to Jacob out of embarrassment. At the very least, he had given the lawyer only half-truths.

  Jacob began to search more deeply for the other members of the coroner's inquest and class action suit.

  In the obituaries, he discovered a recent listing for Michel Pardie, who died three weeks ago in a car accident. The listing was brief, stating that his wife had died of cancer several years before, leaving Pardie childless.

  Jacob was disconcerted that the André and Pardie deaths occurred so close to one another, but he dismissed it as a strange, ironic coincidence.

  The lawyer called to prevail on his friend once more to look up some records, specifically marriage certificates. Although Kayla teased him about owing her 'big,' she eventually said "pas de problem." She'd have the information by tomorrow.

  There wasn't much more he could do on the inquest angle, so Jacob turned to the information he had gathered about the Church of Leviticus.

  Established in the 1960's outside a small town in California, the 'church' was more of a commune for many years. Several hundred people lived on the ranch and worshipped in their own private way. They claimed to live 'Levitically,' following the rules and rituals set out in the chapters from the Bible.

  When Jacob skimmed over the sections of Leviticus, he found a mixture of love, charity, punishment, vengeance and sacrifice. The era of these chapters was after Moses' death. It was his brother Aaron and Aaron's sons who were directed to follow certain rules in order to keep control over the congregation.

  The worshippers were cautioned to perform all kinds of ceremonies in order to atone, including animal sacrifices and blood rites. From the animal that was offered up, pieces of its flesh were cooked up and ritually eaten. Blood was splashed over those who had to make up for their sins.

  Although a great deal of the faith was about forgiveness and love for one another, the punishments for not adhering to the teachings and the laws were harsh and primitive.

  It was while reading the section on sacrifice that Jacob got his real shock.

  Specific instructions were given for offering a lamb, a goat, or a bullock, depending upon the severity of the sin to be atoned. In chapter five, he came across a passage that sent waves of alarm up and down his spine.

  'And if he be not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring for his trespass, which he hath committed, two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, unto the Lord. One for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering.'

  Jacob pictured the burned body of that pigeon on his doorstep, its dead marble eyes staring back at his fascinated son, the wings and flesh blackened and crushed into the cement of his front porch.

  Had he committed a trespass in someone's eyes?

  Chapter 50: Skhole

  Something was bothering May about the disclosures from Alain's past. She knew that she had been preoccupied solely with her husband's mental state and his difficulties. Even at school, she was somewhat disconnected.

  But the events of Monday afternoon changed all that and she finally made the link.

  Emily spent most of the day in the gym, watching the various performances, while Lynda and May finalized the budget report to send into the school board. The office was fairly quiet, since most of the students and the teachers were ensconced in the gymnasium.

  Suddenly, they heard a commotion in the area just outside the office, where there was a door to the gym. Someone was running, pushing other students aside as they waited to enter the stage, and screaming in a garbled angry voice.

  Lynda and May leapt to their feet and raced out the door, only to stand in shock as they watched Aaron Sanderson literally punch his way through the glut of children and teachers. His face was purple with anger. Spittle flew from his mouth. His eyes were wild.

  Lynda placed her big-boned body in front of the exit, her huge hands outstretched, trying to intercept him, but he slipped around her and crashed through the front doors.

  He yelled as he went and May caught some of the phrases.

  "The Church of Leviticus shall exact atonement. The children of Molech shall pay! God shall smite thee…"

  May returned to the office to make the necessary calls. As she dialled the OPP office, the 'Church of Leviticus' finally sank in, but she didn't have time to think about it. To her surprise, Frances Petapiece-Brennan answered the phone.

  "Frances, you're back!" May said first, knowing it was inappropriate, but consumed with the idea that this beloved woman might be her sister-in-law.

  "Yes, we just got back a few minutes ago," Frances replied, sounding tired. "What's up?"

  "Aaron Sanderson just raced out of the school, screaming and behaving very strangely. I've called his home, but no one is there. We thought you might want to get a car out to look for him immediately. He's clearly out of control."

  "We'll get on it now." She conferred with someone in the background.

  "Okay, Edgar says he knows what the boy looks like, so he'll go out right away. I'll come to the school to get some information, okay?"

  "Sounds good. Thanks!" May said as she hung up.

  Just then, Emily appeared in the doorway, her arms around Cate Sanderson, literally holding the girl up. They were covered in splotches of yellow and blue paint.

  "She's hyperventilating," Emily said breathlessly.

  May jumped to her feet to help.

  They were able to get the girl into the
health room, where they laid her out on the sickbed.

  May rubbed the girl's arms and legs, forcing some oxygen back into her system. Finally Cate took a long, shuddering intake of air and then she was able to breathe more normally. She curled up in a foetal position and instantly, she was asleep.

  Lynda came back into the office.

  "Duncan and I tried to run after Aaron," she told them, "but he disappeared over a backyard fence. Did Edgar say they'd send a car?"

  May answered. "Yes, Edgar said he'd go right out when I called. He knows what Aaron looks like. Frances is coming to the school ASAP. I also called the Sandersons, but there was no answer at home and Mr. Sanderson wasn't at work today. I don't have a cell phone number for either of them."

  After quickly conferring, May called Renae to see if she could come to the school.

  Emily and Lynda proceeded to the gym to speak with the students and teachers who witnessed Aaron's outburst. They reassured and answered some questions. The staff got the rehearsals into full swing once more.

  Both the principal and the vice principal checked on the Sanderson siblings. Fortunately, none of them were in the area outside the gym, but they decided to have a word with each of them anyway, just in case of rumours.

  Lynda spoke with Meghan alone, while Emily gathered Benjaman, Trevor, Tyler, Jennifer, Carly and Devon in her office.

  She told them gently that their brother had become very upset and left the school. None of the children responded. They took the news stoically. She let them know their parents had been called and if their mom and dad wanted them all to go home, Emily would let them know.

  This time they reacted.

  Trevor and Tyler looked at one another. Carly and Devon shifted from foot to foot. Jennifer looked up at Emily, her eyes blinking rapidly. Benjaman emitted a small mewing sound that he quickly stifled.

  Emily was certain they were all on the verge of an emotional breakdown, or breakthrough, if it was carefully managed.

  The children all expressed the wish to go back to their classrooms. Obviously, those were the places where they felt safe.

  Back in the office, Emily grabbed a bottle of water and let out a huge, ragged sigh.

  Lynda was clearly shaken as well.

  May shut the door to the health room, leaving a gap so she could hear Cate breathing.

  Emily, sipping some water and perched on the edge of May's desk, looked calm again. She gave them the details about the sequence of events from backstage to the storage room. Both the vice principal and the office manager were horrified.

  Emily gave a rueful laugh.

  "At last we are seeing some cracks in the veneer," she said. "Even though I've been waiting for years, this reaction was a lot more violent and sudden than I expected. I think there must be stuff happening at home."

  "I've noticed that a couple of the kids have been showing some signs," Lynda added. "Meghan has actually become quieter again. We had that incident with Benjaman last week. Plus I had to deal with Trevor and Tyler out in the yard, fighting with each other, actually. And apparently Jennifer has failed a couple of tests, which has never happened before."

  May suddenly remembered her thought about Leviticus.

  "Emily, do you remember Alain mentioning the other night that his father was the pastor of a church?"

  "Yes, of course," Emily replied, taking another long draught of the water. "It was fascinating." She stared at May. "Do you think…?"

  "I don't think, I know," May answered. "Carl Sanderson is the Pastor of the Church of Leviticus in Norvale. Alain's birth father, Robert Janot, was the Pastor of the Church of Leviticus in Brinston."

  None of them had seen Frances Petapiece approach.

  She stood in the doorway of the main office. Her face went ashen.

  Chapter 51: Skhole

  "What did you just say?" Frances demanded.

  Her voice was louder and she sounded far more brusque and menacing than she intended.

  Simultaneously the three women flinched and wheeled around to face her, their eyes wide with alarm and tension.

  Only May was aware of the devastating effect her statements would be having on Frances. Only she knew the possibility. She was completely tongue-tied and uncertain about how to handle the situation.

  Emily, however, was unaware of the link and ploughed right in. She laughed and drew the police constable into the office.

  "Am I glad to see you!" she said, apparently unaware that the other woman continued to look stunned and anxious. "Aside from the fact that we've missed you for the last week, there have been some amazing events happening here in the school. Did your conference end early?"

  But Frances was not to be deterred.

  "Emily, what were you just talking about when I came in here?" she asked again, her words clipped and cold.

  Emily looked puzzled.

  "Oh, well, May was talking about Alain. He's been looking into his family background. There's a possible connection to the Sandersons…Frances, what's wrong?"

  May went to the younger woman's side and led her into Emily's office.

  Lynda said quietly, "Emily, I'll stay here. I'll call the Sandersons again and take care of anything else that comes up. You go ahead."

  Emily nodded gratefully and followed May. She was still confused. The three women sat for a moment in silence and looked at one another.

  Frances was not sure she could take another shock. She leaned her head back on the chair and closed her eyes for a moment. She tried to remind herself that she was a police officer, a strong person who dealt with many tricky situations. A thinker, an objective upholder of the law.

  She was exhausted from the time in Brinston. She was stunned by the death of a man she just met. She was thoroughly annoyed and concerned about the questioning she endured after her sculpture was found in the ditch, as well as the sensation that the murder had to have something to do with her presence in the village. They'd stayed another night with Cynthia and Nicolas, trying to make sense of the events, but they had all been stymied.

  If pregnancy made every woman an emotional wreck like this, Frances wondered how other female officers carried on.

  She straightened up and looked at Emily and May, remembering that they were her friends. She had spent many hours in conversation with May, as though she were an older sister. Emily Taylor was intelligent and kind. Frances knew she could ask them anything.

  "I heard you saying something about the Church of Leviticus," she said bravely, swallowing her hesitation, hoping it was enough to prompt them, afraid she could not say another word.

  May took the lead.

  "Alain has been looking up his birth family, Frances," she said carefully. "He has been having dreams lately, nightmares really, and recalling some instances from his childhood. He had no memory since about the age of thirteen."

  Frances emitted a huge puff of air and bent forward, placing her elbows on her knees to prop herself up. She looked down at her womb and apologized to Little Ed, but she knew suddenly that this was going to change both their lives dramatically.

  May continued, while Emily handed Frances a bottle of water, her magic elixir. The principal was still not quite certain of where this was going, but she was beginning to have a wild hunch.

  "Through hypnosis with Doc and from research that Jacob Finch did for us, Alain found out that his father was a man by the name of Robert Janot. He was a pastor of a church called Leviticus, which just happens to be the same church that Carl Sanderson heads up."

  "Itha," Frances murmured. "Itha."

  Tears began to race down her cheeks, a stream with a vast source of joy, disbelief and sorrow.

  May moved, and on her haunches beside the chair, she threw her arms around her sister-in-law.

  "Yes. Itha," she said gently, handing Frances a tissue at the same time. "And you are his beloved Dorothée."

  "My God," Emily breathed, unable to help herself. "This is amazing."

  Frances raised her
head. "Yes, it is, isn't it? It's absolutely incroyable. Alain. Alain is Ithamar."

  She explored the idea, hardly breathing, scarcely able to hold onto the thoughts that sped through her mind.

  May sat back up in the chair, her hand still clenched in Frances's.

  "His birth certificate says Ithamar Alain Janot. I understand 'Ithamar' has religious significance."

  Frances nodded. "That's what Cynthia told me."

  In response to their questioning looks, she added, "I met a woman whose name is Cynthia Denis. She's an amateur historian. She kept all the records she could find about the Janot family. I found a document among my Aunt Candace's things that said I was born in Brinston, which is the only real clue I had about my birth, other than the date."

  "As soon as I went to see her, Cynthia knew who I was, especially since I had a gut feeling that my original name was Doro. In fact, at first I told her I was Doro. I didn't want anyone to know that I was going through this search. I wanted…"

  Frances paused, allowing all the emotions, the tumultuous thoughts, the overwhelming sensations to settle for a moment.

  "I'm pregnant. And I wanted to know my history before I became a mom. Just to see what kind of legacy I really had."

  May let out a cry of joy. "I'm so happy for you, Frances! Edgar must be thrilled."

  "He is," the young woman answered, smiling. She could still see his eager, loving face and the happiness that literally poured from him. "You're going to be an aunt, May."

  "Frances, I must tell you that Alain has some idea of who you are. He just told me yesterday that he had a feeling about you. He said…he said that he remembers how you looked back at him when you were running from the house. There was something about that memory that triggered a connection to you."

  Frances nodded. "I have been experiencing some memories, but they're foggy. Like slides, or a video that is just out of focus. I dreamt about the preacher, about the house, about fleeing into the cornfield. And about my brothers. And the baby."

  "Did you find out about the fire?"

  "Yes. Cynthia had it all chronicled. She gave me copies of everything. How about Alain? Does he know?"