Mary sat in her overstuffed reading chair, shoes off, slippers on, surveying the people in her living room. She’d begun to think she’d never get away. Did the straw go on the fire truck, which was in charge of tearing down the inns along the posada route, could the maids leave the cow overnight in the Blake’s garage … that one was easy. No. But finally all the questions stopped, the streets were empty and she was home. Luanne sat on her sofa, a child on each side, the puppy on what was left of her lap. It was asleep. The children weren’t, but their yawns and half-closed eyes gave signs sleep wasn’t far away. Her niece, Ellen McKenzie Dunham, was in the kitchen getting coffee, hot cocoa and the chocolate-mint cookies Mary had made that morning. Ellen. Her only blood relative left in this small town. There had been only one streetlight when Mary was growing up, and only one grade school. Today there were three grade schools, a much expanded middle school and more street lights than she thought necessary. The growth was largely due to the vineyard and wineries that had sprung up all over the county. They brought in large groups of tourists but the town remained small enough so she still knew almost everyone who lived here. Growth had been good for Ellen, a talented and hardworking real estate agent. It hadn’t been as kind to Dan. A growth in population usually meant an increase in crime, and the grey that sprinkled Dan’s light brown hair and mustache testified to the truth of that. He should be here any time now. He’d better hurry up if he wanted to talk to the children.
Tony paced.
‘Tony, for heaven’s sake, sit down. Or, better yet, go help Ellen with the drinks. Dan will be here soon. The kids can tell him what little they know and then you can all go home.’
Luanne moved one of Mary’s pillows into the small of her back and leaned against it. The children moved closer to her. The puppy slept on.
‘He’d better hurry. The kids aren’t going to last much longer.’
Both children looked at him with half-closed eyes, as if determined to prove him right. Ronaldo’s head slumped against his mother’s arm.
The front door opened and Dan entered. He looked as tired as the children. The sight of Ellen coming out of the kitchen, carrying a tray filled with white porcelain mugs and the cookie plate, visibly brightened him. She smiled at him, walked across the room and set the tray down on the coffee table in front of the children. ‘I put marshmallows in your cups. Is that OK?’
The two children sat up straight, their now wide-awake eyes darting from their mother to the cups and cookies. Ellen picked up a mug and walked over to Dan. ‘Here. You look like you need coffee. Let the kids get a sip or two of their cocoa down before you start grilling them.’
‘I don’t grill children.’
‘Oh, yeah?’
‘Yeah.’ Dan smiled, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and took his mug.
Mary watched with satisfaction. It was a good marriage. They’d both had problems with their first marriages, but this one was working well. She glanced at Tony, who scowled at Luanne. Worry about her and the child she carried showed on his face. He adored the other two and was the only father they remembered, and they seemed to love him back. However, he had a hot temper and a tendency to think his way was the only way. She hoped this marriage worked out as well as Ellen and Dan’s, but she sometimes had her doubts.
Dan set his mug on the tray and squatted down in front of the coffee table. ‘Nice puppy. Where’d you find him?’
The children looked at each other then up at their mother.
‘Tell him.’ She squeezed Dalia a little closer and dropped a kiss on the top of Ronaldo’s head.
‘By the sheep.’ Dalia squirmed until she sat up straighter, while holding her mug tight against her front.
Mary held her breath, but the child didn’t spill a drop.
‘He was crying.’
Dan shifted his weight slightly. ‘Is that why you left the choir room? Did you hear him?’
Ronaldo shook his head. ‘No. You couldn’t hear him until you got out there, where the manger was.’
‘Then why did you go?’
Mary watched Dan carefully. She’d never seen him work with children before and was surprised at how neutral he kept his voice and how quiet he kept his body. Nothing there to frighten two small people who’d already been frightened enough. Dalia, in particular, seemed to be coming around.
‘We wanted to make sure the doll would fit in the manger. Ronaldo couldn’t remember if anyone had tried it.’ She paused and glanced over at her brother. ‘I couldn’t either.’
Dan nodded. He reached for a cookie, picked up three of them and held out two. ‘You guys get a cookie yet?’
Dalia hesitated but Ronaldo reached out. He took one before he looked up at his mother. She sighed and nodded. Dalia transferred her now almost-empty mug to the coffee table and took the other one.
‘So, what happened when you got out by the manger?’
‘We saw someone in it.’ Dalia talked around a mouth full of cookie, swallowed quickly, picked her mug back up and washed the crumbs down with the last of the cocoa. She gave no sign of wanting to say more.
Dan’s jaw tightened. ‘What did you do then?’ He turned to Ronaldo who, up to now, had said nothing. It didn’t look as if he was going to begin now, either. Dan turned back to Dalia. ‘Did you walk over to the manger?’
She shook her head. ‘At first, we stood there. We didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t supposed to sleep there.’
‘Could you see who it was?’
Dalia shook her head again. ‘Not right then. That part came after we heard the puppy and the other man ran out.’
Mary forgot to breathe. They’d seen the murderer. Tony stopped pacing and stared down at the children. Luanne gathered both of them tighter. She bit her lip, hard, and stared at Dan. He rocked back on his heels a little and waved his hand toward Tony, who looked as if he was about to speak.
‘OK. You watched a man leave, is that right?’
The children nodded in unison.
‘Then you went over to the manger?’
They shook their heads together. ‘We heard the puppy.’
‘He was crying real loud.’ Ronaldo seemed to come alive in his concern for the dog. He turned toward his mother and laid a hand on the puppy’s head. It looked up, as if to see who was there, seemed reassured and dropped his head back on Luanne’s lap and closed his eyes once more. ‘We started looking all around. We found him, too. He was in with the sheep.’
‘Did you climb over that fence into the pen?’ There was not only disapproval in Luanne’s voice, but a tinge of horror.
‘Didn’t have to.’ Ronaldo looked at his mother with wide-open eyes. ‘He was right by the gate. We just opened it a little, grabbed him and backed out.’ He paused and gave them all a proud smile. ‘I put him under my sweatshirt and he liked it. I know, because he got real quiet.’
So did everyone.
Finally, Mary spoke. ‘Then what happened?’
‘We went over to the manger.’ Dalia leaned over and started to rub the puppy’s ears. There was a tremor in her voice, and Mary was certain tears pooled in her eyes. The child had seen more than she thought. Should they be putting her through this?
Mary could see just the side of Dan’s face, but it was enough. He looked as agonized as she felt. So did Luanne. Tony looked as if he was going to stop this. But they couldn’t stop. Not now. The children had seen something – a man, quite possibly the murderer. The next question had to be asked.
‘Dalia, honey, I know this is hard, but I’m counting on you. You walked over to the manger and then what?’
‘We saw Doctor Mathews lying there, all crumpled up. He had blood on his sweatshirt.’
Mary’s stomach lurched. Luanne’s hand shook as she put her coffee mug back on the tray. A strangulated sound came from behind her. Tony. He’d walked around behind her sofa and stretched out his arms along the top, as if trying to envelop all three of them.
‘Can you go on?’ Dan no longer looked neutral. The lines around his mouth had tightened and his eyes had narrowed. He looked like a man fighting profound anger and losing.
‘We didn’t know what to do. That’s when I told Ronaldo to hide back by the sheep and I’d go find you.’ She lifted her head and looked into Mary’s eyes. ‘I knew you’d know what to do.’
Dan glanced at her and the lines around his mouth briefly softened into a sliver of a smile before he turned back to the children. ‘Why didn’t you go into the church and find Father D’Angelo?’
‘We were scared.’ Ronaldo looked as if he still was.
‘With good reason.’ Dan nodded. ‘But the church was closer than Mrs McGill and the library. Why didn’t you go in there?’
The children looked at each other. Ronaldo closed his mouth with an expression that clearly said he wasn’t saying another word. Dalia’s voice wasn’t much louder than a whisper. ‘Because we were scared to. The man who ran out?’
Dan nodded, encouraging her to go on. ‘Did you recognize him?’
Dalia nodded then stopped.
‘For heaven’s sake, Dal, tell us.’ Tony apparently couldn’t hold it in any longer, but it didn’t help.
The frightened look in Dalia’s eyes intensified.
Luanne sent Tony a warning look and crunched Dalia closer to her side. ‘It’s OK, baby. We know how hard this is, but we have to know. Who did you think the man was?’
Dalia took a deep breath and, as she let it out, the name came with it. ‘We think it was Father D’Angelo.’