For the Least of These

by Charlotte Carter

  Leaving the headlights on, she found the flashlight in the glove box and got out of the car. Maybe she was worried for nothing. Maybe the men who questioned Sam were indeed friends of Glynis, not diamond thieves. But that was hard to believe.

  Flashlight in hand, she hurried up to the porch in the drenching rain. She halted briefly at the door. Took a deep breath. And turned the knob. The door swung open, the hinges objecting with a shrill creak.

  “Hello...,” she called into the dark interior, wondering if she had made a mistake by not calling the police.

  Another lightning bolt split the sky and lit up the living room. Kate got a quick view of a mess in the room, and then it was dark again.

  Her mouth went dry as she found the light switch and flicked it on. Nothing happened. Hoping the problem was simply a burned-out lightbulb, not a power failure, she made her way across the room to the table lamp by the couch. She moved with care to avoid a cushion that had been thrown to the floor and an overturned coffee table.

  She heard the steady splat of water dripping somewhere inside the trailer, as relentless as a beating heart but more ominous.

  She turned the knob on the table lamp. A dim circle of light revealed a couch ripped from end to end, the stuffing strewn on the floor. The cushions too, tossed aside, leaked their innards from repeated slashing wounds.

  “Dear heavens!” she gasped. An upholstered rocking chair had been torn apart down to its wooden frame. The TV lay facedown in its broken remains.

  Gingerly she stepped through the debris, turning lights on as she went. Every cupboard in the kitchen had been emptied, the contents left on the floor, broken and useless. The refrigerator stood open, cleaned out as well.

  The bedrooms were the same. Mattresses ripped apart, drawers emptied and turned upside down.

  No friends of Glynis had committed this atrocity. No ordinary vandals either.

  Thieves in search of diamonds were the culprits. And from the way they’d ransacked the place, she didn’t think they’d found what they’d come after.

  She needed to call the police. These thieves were more dangerous than she had realized. Thank heavens the children weren’t still living there.

  Hurrying through the rain, she got into her car and found her cell phone in her purse. Punching in the number of the deputy’s office, she reached Skip Spencer. He promised to come right out.

  Shivering, Kate waited in the car. Her breath steamed the car windows. Her nerves burned with adrenaline.

  Would the culprits return? If they hadn’t found the diamonds, would they give up?

  She bowed her head and spent several moments in silent prayer for the children’s safety—and her own.

  Finally, headlights flashed across her car, and Skip’s SUV pulled up beside her. Her relief did little to slow her heartbeat.

  Wearing a yellow slicker, Skip climbed out of his vehicle with his gun drawn and flashed a light through her windshield.

  “Missus Hanlon? That you in there?”

  She rolled down her window. “Yes, it’s me, Skip.”

  “Stay where you are, ma’am. I’ll check out the trailer. There could still be somebody—”

  “There’s no one there now.” She raised the window and opened her door. “The place has been ransacked.”

  “Well, let me double-check. I’ll call the sheriff just as soon as I reconnoiter.”

  He marched up to the uneven porch and nearly lost his footing on the second step, barely saving himself by grabbing the handrailing.

  Kate followed him up the rickety steps and inside the trailer.

  “Oh, wow,” he said when he got a look at the mess in the living room. “It’s those vandals again. They’re escalating. Sheriff’s gonna be real upset about—”

  “This wasn’t done by vandals. It was a pair of thieves looking for diamonds.”

  Skip looked at her blankly. “I don’t think anybody living in this dump would have any diamonds.”

  “No, you don’t understand.” Kate tried to explain about Hank Weller and the diamond thieves, but Skip appeared fixated on the idea that the same vandals who’d gone Dumpster diving behind the Mercantile had broken into the Maddock trailer.

  “I’ll mention the diamond business to Sheriff Roberts,” Skip agreed.

  “Thanks, Skip.” Kate began to wander through the trailer again. She searched for anything else that might be of value, or at least sentimental value, and found little worth recovering.

  “This is a crime scene, Missus Hanlon. I have to tape it off.” He gestured for her to leave. “I’ve got some yellow tape in the truck. Best you go home now. The sheriff will take a look in the morning.”

  Close to acquiescing, a frightening thought occurred to Kate. She hurried into the kitchen where she’d left Glynis a note by the phone so the woman could locate her children if she came home.

  To Kate’s dismay, the note was no longer beside the phone. She searched the floor. Tried to look behind the counter, but there was no room for anything to have slipped behind the built-in cabinets.

  The terrifying realization struck her like a lightning bolt. Her name and phone number had been on that note. It would take little to discover where she lived. And the children.

  Perry Weller and his partner knew where to look next for the diamonds.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kate hurried home through the heavy rain that continued to fall. She picked up the bag of groceries she’d bought at the Mercantile and went inside, going directly to the kitchen.

  Seeing the children already at the dinner table gave her a sense of relief, both because they were safe and because they’d gone ahead with supper. Paul had made them hamburgers, frozen french fries, and a tossed salad.

  “We were beginning to worry about you.” Paul had changed from his suit into khaki pants and a casual, long-sleeved shirt she’d bought him for his last birthday.

  “Sorry I’m so late.” She set the groceries on the counter. Her discoveries at the trailer had badly shaken her, and her hands trembled.

  “Pastor Paul said he’d help me with my kite after dinner,” Beck said, smears of ketchup on both of his cheeks. “I don’t have any homework tonight.”

  “Because we didn’t go to school,” Gwen pointed out.

  “We’ll have double homework tomorrow,” Megan warned.

  The boy scrunched up his nose in distaste. With a determined thrust, he dipped a french fry into a dollop of ketchup on his plate and stuck it in his mouth. It remained obvious that he wasn’t keen on the idea of homework.

  “Do you think you’ll be ready to go to school tomorrow?” Kate asked Megan.

  “Might as well,” Megan responded with a shrug. “Nothing’s going to change by staying home.”

  “I could stay home tomorrow,” Beck volunteered.

  Kate wished they’d all stay home, where she could keep them close to her.

  KATE WAITED UNTIL AFTER THE CHILDREN were in bed to tell Paul about the ransacked trailer.

  They’d just sat down together in the living room when the phone rang. Paul went to answer it in the bedroom. One of the disadvantages of being a pastor was that members of the congregation were likely to call anytime, day or night.

  A few minutes later, he returned, grinning, and sat down beside her. “That was Skip. We’re on for tomorrow night.”

  “On for what?”

  “A stakeout behind the Mercantile, if the weather clears. We’re going to catch those kids who’ve been messing with Sam’s Dumpster and breaking into the ice-cream shop and taking a joyride on the electric cart at the Hamilton Springs Hotel.”

  “Paul, I’m not sure teenagers are doing all that damage.”

  “Who else? It’s not like Copper Mill has a big homeless population.”

  “Thankfully, you’re right about that.” Though Megan had probably come close enough to hunger that she might have been tempted to dig discarded food out of the Dumpster to feed her brother and sister. But since they’d bee
n staying at the parsonage—and under Kate’s watchful eye—they couldn’t have been the culprits.

  “Did you notice the deep scratches on Sam’s Dumpster?” she asked.

  “Actually, I haven’t had a chance to take a look at the Dumpster. Why?”

  “I saw the same kind of scratches on the maintenance cart at the hotel. I don’t think a teenager would or could have done that kind of damage. Plus, I understand that the back door of Emma’s Ice Cream Shop was completely knocked off its hinges.”

  “The cart was run into a tree. That’s how it got damaged. As for Sam’s Dumpster, you’ve seen those trash pickup trucks. They fling Dumpsters twenty feet up in the air, then bash ’em around a few times before they put them back on the ground. I imagine every Dumpster in town is all dented and banged up and has been for years. As for the ice-cream shop, anybody can remove a simple wooden door with a crowbar. What are you getting at anyway, Katie?”

  Paul could be very persuasive. That was part of what made him a good minister. Even so, Kate thought he was wrong this time. The damage she’d seen had to have been done by something stronger than a couple of adolescents out on the town.

  “Paul, I think an animal is causing all that mischief in town and at the hotel. A large animal, maybe a bear.”

  He laughed. “Come on, Katie. We don’t get bears in town. Why would one wander out of the hills when it has everything it needs right there?”

  “Maybe the bear is hungry or injured and can’t forage for himself.”

  “I think you’re wrong, honey. Completely off track.” His mocking smile brought a teasing glint to his blue eyes that annoyed Kate.

  “Maybe,” she said sternly. “But I’m asking you and your friends to be extra cautious anyway. None of you are a match for a hungry brown bear. Besides”—she made one last effort to stop the men from doing something foolish—“tomorrow night is choir practice. Sam’s the director. He needs to be there.”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you. Sam wanted me to tell you he’s canceling choir practice this week, so all three of us are good to go.”

  Kate groaned out loud.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kate drove the children to school the next morning and waited until she was sure they were safely inside. The thought that Perry Weller and his buddy might be lurking around had kept her awake half the night.

  Hoping to catch the sheriff at the Maddock’s trailer, she drove out Smoky Mountain Hollow Road again. The storm had passed through the valley during the night, washing the trees clean and leaving a few puffy white clouds in the sky. Newly grown pine needles shimmered lime green against the blue and white backdrop.

  As she turned off the road, she realized that Skip had wrapped crime-scene tape around the trailer porch like he was wrapping a boxer’s hands before a big fight, looping the yellow tape over and over again.

  She pulled up next to Sheriff Roberts’ black-and-white patrol car and stopped. As she got out of the Honda, the sheriff appeared at the trailer door.

  A man in his late forties, Alan Roberts had a waistline that suggested he’d consumed too much country cooking. As Kate approached, he touched the brim of his hat in greeting. “Mornin’, Kate.”

  “Good morning, Sheriff. Looks like you’ll have to double the county budget for crime-scene tape next year.”

  He eyed the yellow tape strung around the rickety porch and chuckled. “Looks like I’ll have to start rationing Skip, that’s for sure.”

  She ducked under the tape and walked up the steps.

  “You’re the one who discovered the vandalism, right?” the sheriff asked.

  “Actually, Sheriff, I don’t think vandals ransacked the place. I’m quite sure the culprits were a pair of diamond thieves looking for loot they think their partner stashed here.”

  As she explained what she knew and how she’d become involved with the children, Roberts’ bushy eyebrows rose. Finally he dug a frayed notepad out of his pocket and wrote down the criminals’ names.

  “Were they here last night when you arrived?” he asked.

  “No. They’d gone by then.” For which Kate was grateful.

  “Any idea what kind of vehicle they were driving?”

  She started to shake her head, then stopped. “I did see a light-colored van on the road last night. It was raining so hard that I didn’t get a close look, but I think it was either white or cream-colored. I don’t know for sure, but they may have come out onto the main road from here.”

  “Any identifying markings on the sides of the van that you could see?”

  “It was too dark, and the rain was so heavy, I just tried to stay out of the ditch when the van passed.”

  “Hunh,” he mumbled and jotted down another note. “It sure was a gullywasher, I’ll say that. Any chance you got a look at who was driving the van?”

  “I’m afraid not.”

  “I’ll get out an APB on these two characters and the van. You figure they’re still around here someplace?”

  “I’m reasonably sure they didn’t find the diamonds or they wouldn’t have ransacked the whole place. I’m afraid they’ll go after the Maddock children next, thinking the kids may know where the diamonds are hidden.”

  Roberts scratched his head, then resettled his hat in place. “Seems odd that Hank Weller would go off to Nashville and leave the diamonds behind.”

  “Unless he was expecting to come back and had hidden them exceptionally well.” She glanced toward the woods behind the trailer, wondering if the diamonds could be buried there and how anyone would find them if they were.

  “The only unusual thing highway patrol found in Hank’s car was a bag of Becker’s marbles. He’s Glynis’ nine-year-old son.”

  “Hunh,” he commented again.

  “I’m wondering what to do with the trailer and the children’s personal effects.”

  “I checked the county property records before I came out here this morning. This trailer belongs to some guy in Chattanooga. I’m guessing Glynis or Hank rented the trailer from him, probably furnished. I’ll give him a call when I get back to the office.”

  “Then it’s only the personal effects I have to worry about. And the children’s safety.”

  “I’d say that’s about it.”

  Kate thought about something else that had been bothering her: the reason the children wanted to steer clear of the police.

  “Have you found any reason they would be afraid to trust the neighbors?”

  “I took a walk around the property when I first arrived this morning. Thought there might be a still operating back in the woods.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  “Not on this property. But I’d say a neighbor a couple of lots down the road is cookin’ up some good ol’ white lightning. I plan to let the feds know about that, although it’s pretty common in the hollows. It won’t surprise them any.”

  Kate was relieved to think the neighbors’ activities might explain why the children had been warned to stay clear of both the people living nearby and the police.

  AS KATE WAITED to pick up the children from school that afternoon, she kept an eye out for a white or beige van. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She hated that they might be the target of two violent criminals.

  Finally the three children piled into her car.

  “How’d the day go?” Kate asked.

  “Beck got in trouble and had to go to the principal’s office,” Gwen announced, almost gleefully.

  Kate turned sideways so she could see Beck. “What happened?”

  “Billy Gotshaw called me a stupid orphan, and I hit him.”

  Kate winced. What a cruel thing for a child to say.

  Megan turned on her brother. “We’re not orphans! Pa’s still alive.”

  His lip quivering, Beck asked, “So where is he?”

  I wish I knew, Kate thought. “Was Mrs. Walner upset with you?”

  “Nuh-uh. She gave me a sucker and said she understood.”
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br />   Kate wasn’t sure that was the best reaction to the boy’s violent outburst but decided to shelve any lectures for now.

  Once home, the somber children settled down with their homework and an afternoon snack at the kitchen table. With Paul in town on business, Kate tried to help Beck with his reading. He struggled manfully to get through the assignment, but he was clearly frustrated by the effort.

  When the doorbell rang, Beck hopped up to see who was there.

  Kate held him back. “You stay put. I’ll take care of whoever’s at the door.” She’d been reluctant to tell the children that they might be in danger. They’d already had too much to handle in their young lives. But she didn’t want them to inadvertently open the door to someone who might want to harm them.

  She looked through the peephole. The moment Kate opened the door, Renee blew right past her, Kisses in tow.

  “How are the little darlings today?” Without stopping for an answer, Renee barreled her way to the kitchen. “There you are, sweet things. Little Umpkins has been worried about you all day.” She hugged each child and gave them air kisses.

  “We’re fine, MizLambert,” Megan said.

  Renee fluttered her long, artificial fingernails in the air. “Oh, do call me something besides Mrs. Lambert. It makes me feel ancient, and of course, I’m not that old.”

  Perplexed, the children stared at her wide-eyed.

  With an effort, Kate held her tongue. She knew Renee had already seen her seventieth birthday.

  “You may call me Auntie Renee. How’s that?” Renee beamed.

  Megan shrugged. “Fine, I guess.”

  Kisses popped his head out of the tote. Gwen rewarded him with a scratch under his chin.

  “Well, now, I see you’re doing your homework.” Renee flitted from one child to the next. “You know, I was once a very good student. If you need any help with any little thing, you just ask.”

  “You smell funny,” Beck said.

  “Why, young man, I’ll have you know what you’re smelling is the finest fragrance in the world, Estée Lauder’s Youth Dew.”

  Beck didn’t look convinced, and Kate could see that Megan was doing her best not to laugh out loud.