Black Monday, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 7

  Chapter 52

  THE FUNERAL

   

  Rebekah wanted to go to Jimmy's funeral so we arranged for the kids to spend the day with their grandparents. It was a cold, windy day and thick cumulus clouds were rolling in from the west. Just as we arrived at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church the skies let loose. I fumbled with my umbrella and finally got it opened. I ran around the car and Rebekah and I dashed inside the church.

  The church was filled with Jimmy's friends and family. We found a seat near the back of the church and waited. I noticed Margie and Earl seated up at the front with the rest of the family. Betty, her children, and John were standing around the casket. Precisely at 9:00 a.m. the funeral mass began.

  The mass lasted over an hour. The priest as well as many of his family and friends talked about Jimmy's life, how much they loved Jimmy and would miss him. The ceremony was so moving that even Margie was in tears. When she and Earl got up to leave, they were met with a stone-faced detective, Bingo Besch.

  "Margie Baker and Earl Modest, you are under arrest for the murders of Jimmy Bennett, Don Baker, and Amanda Black."

  Margie let out a shriek of despair and then mumbled a few obscenities. Besch yanked her around and cuffed her. When a second officer tried to handcuff Earl, he pulled out a big knife and sliced the officer's wrist. Blood spurted out of the wound and several women screamed. Earl took off running toward the back of the church, tossing aside several bystanders in his path. Another officers went after him. I flew out a side door hoping to get a good view of the action. As I ran toward the front of the church, Earl suddenly appeared and charged straight at me. In my mind's eye I saw the big blade slice through my stomach and could almost feel the unbearable pain. I dove to the right to avoid a collision but Earl tripped over my foot and went sprawling head over heels. After righting himself, he came at me with his knife.

  A helpless feeling shot through me. Then I remembered the gun around my ankle. I reached down and pulled it out. He lunged at me with the knife narrowly missing my abdomen. When he came at me again, I aimed the gun and fired. He grabbed his side where the bullet had hit him and fell to the ground still wielding the knife. The other officer yelled for him to drop it. He finally obeyed and the officer cuffed him.

    Paula, who had followed me out the side door, rushed over to me. "Are you okay? You could have been killed."

  "I'm fine," I said trembling. "I didn't expect him to come back this way."

  Sirens could be heard in the distance. I thought of the poor officer who'd had his wrist sliced open. We rushed inside where Rebekah was tending to the injured officer. Detective Besch was holding a bandage over the wound struggling to stop the bleeding. Rebekah had taken her scarf and tied it tightly around the officer's upper arm. She was telling Besch to raise the arm up to slow the blood flow. A few minutes later the paramedics arrived and took over. They put the injured officer on a gurney and rolled him out to the waiting ambulance.

  "I forgot your wife was a nurse," Besch said.

  I looked at Rebekah and smiled, "Yes, it comes in handy sometimes, particularly with kids."

  "I bet."

  "Thank you, Rebekah," Besch said.

  She shrugged. "It was nothing. All in a day's work. I hope he'll be all right."

  "I'm sure he will, thanks to you."

   After the paramedics and police had left, the funeral continued. We followed the limousine to the grave site to pay our last respects. As the ceremony was coming to an end, I felt great satisfaction that we had found Jimmy's killer and cleared his name. Now, at least, his family would be able to honor and cherish his memory.