“Ms. Compton?” he asked Maria. “I’m delighted to see you up and about. The hospital told me where to find you. I’m Nick Shepherd. I . . . .”
“Oh!” cried Maria, with a look of sudden recognition on her face. She rushed to the large man and wrapped her small arms around him. She had to stand on her tiptoes and she could barely reach from one of his arms to another, let alone behind the large man’s back. “Mr. Shepherd! Of course! Thank you!”
Essie, Santos, and the few other residents who were aware of Maria’s recent trauma looked curiously at the young Hispanic woman and the rough-hewn older gentleman. Maria broke her hold of Nicholas Shepherd and turned back to the group.
“Senor Shepherd,” she explained, “is person who found me when I fall other day. He bring me to hospital. He save my life . . . .” She looked up–way up–into the face of the stranger. His cheeks–noticeably red from the cold outdoor weather–gave him a cheery, dimpled look. He smiled down at the young woman.
“It’s wonderful seeing you up and around, young lady!” said Shepherd. “No one should be stuck in a hospital during Christmas.” He laughed heartily. It sounded like “ho-ho-ho” to Essie as she looked the huge man up and down.
“Gracias, Senor Shepherd,” Maria repeated sincerely. “Thank you, so much!” She gave him another hug. As Maria and Shepherd began to tell the group about their adventure, the group of residents and children gathered around the unlikely pair. Essie handed the baby to Marjorie and moved out of the center of attention. She turned around to see Hubert Darby moving closer to her. He held the blue Kreigsted box in his hands.
Oh, no, she moaned to herself. I thought I’d convinced him to forget about giving me that necklace. Now, what does he want?
Hubert came up to Essie and held the box before him.
“Miss Essie,” he said. “About the necklace . . . .”
“Hubert,” she replied, “I told you I can’t accept that necklace. It’s just not appropriate.”
“I know, Miss Essie,” continued Hubert, “but do you think it would be appropriate for me to give the necklace to baby Antonio?”
“What?” she asked. “What would a baby do with an expensive piece of jewelry?”
“He likes it, Essie. Remember? In your living room? I think he liked the way the gold sparkled,” said Hubert, and then when Essie looked shocked, Hubert Darby laughed. He had a very nice, warm laugh, thought Essie. “I’m teasing you, Miss Essie. I’m not teasing about giving the necklace to Antonio though. Antonio has had a very difficult start, I’m thinking. His mother is now a widow and will need help to care for him. If you don’t want the necklace, then I would like to give it to him. I don’t want to return it to the store. I don’t need the money. I have more than I need. His mother may keep it for his future or sell it to help cover her expenses.”
“That’s very generous of you, Hubert! Maria will need money now that she has a baby to support all by herself. You are a wonderful man,” replied Essie. “Oh, my mud pie! And I hadn’t even thought about how she would be able to pay for her recent hospital stay. She’s only a kitchen worker. Hospital bills can be horrific!”
Nicholas Shepherd evidently heard this discussion between Essie and Hubert and had left the group surrounding the baby to join them.
“I heard you mention Maria’s hospital bills,” he whispered to Essie and Hubert. “You don’t need to worry. I took care of her bills.”
“But, Mr. Shepherd,” argued Essie, “you don’t even know Maria. Why would you do such a thing?”
“Let’s just say I was struck with the Christmas spirit,” he said, with a mischievous smile and a jiggle of his large stomach. Then he walked around behind them as he took a good long look at the Happy Haven tree and its decorations. He appeared especially smitten with the little train at the tree’s base, and gave the tiny conductor a jaunty salute. Essie glanced back to look at the baby for a moment, and when she turned around to see where Nicholas Shepherd had gone, he was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did Mr. Shepherd go?” Essie asked Hubert. Hubert looked around and shrugged. Essie and Hubert rejoined the group of their friends and family gathered around the little infant now back in his mother’s arms. Essie looked over at Hubert at her side and grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze. Hubert blushed a fire-engine red, looked at the ground, and rocked back and forth on his feet.
“Oh, Miss Essie!” he blubbered. The choir director had one more number for the group and directed the carolers to begin singing “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” As the sweet young voices echoed through the halls of Happy Haven, all of the residents and their families joined in, until finally everyone was singing the hymn. The music swelled until it sounded like a throng of angels was serenading one tiny little papoose who was in the center of it all.
About the Author
Patricia Rockwell is the author of two cozy mystery series. PAPOOSED is the second in her Essie Cobb senior sleuth mysteries. The first, BINGOED, introduced Essie and her gang of amateur detective friends who live in the Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility. The group attempt to find out what has caused a fellow resident to collapse and fall into a coma after he wins a dollar playing Bingo. Their efforts are rewarded with a series of merry adventures, just as in PAPOOSED.
Rockwell also writes the Pamela Barnes acoustic mystery series, which follows the psychologist and acoustics expert as she assists local police in solving various crimes with sound clues. In the first of these, SOUNDS OF MURDER, Pamela discovers an accidentally-made audio recording of a strangling death and uses her knowledge of sound to determine the identity of the killer. The second book, FM FOR MURDER, presents Pamela with an intriguing case. A local disc jockey is shot to death on-air. No one sees the killer but many listeners hear the crime unfold. Pamela uses the radio station’s recording to help the police track down the wily murderer. In the third of the series, VOICE MAIL MURDER, Pamela helps in an investigation of the local university football coach’s murder. The man is found stabbed to death in a seedy motel. The only clue is his cell phone which contains voice mail messages from three unknown women. Pamela uses her knowledge of the sound of the human voice to help the police solve this mysterious case.
All of Rockwell’s books are available in both paperback and e-book format on Amazon and other sites. You can read more about this author and her work on the publisher’s website: www.cozycatpress.com.
Papoosed: An Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mystery Page 21
