CHRISTMAS VIGIL

by

CQB

CHAPTER 3

THE CHAPTERS

INTRO

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

Ezra Collig pulled to a stop behind the police car that had been issued to Con Riley a few hours earlier.  As he took in the scene before him, he felt nauseous.  

Riley was on his car radio, calling for an ambulance.  Lance Mansetti’s body lay in a pool of blood near the driver’s door of a dark blue rental: the coroner’s car was already nearby.  Officer Miller was talking to a very distraught Sam Radley.  

Finally, his eyes came to rest on the man huddled on his knees in the driveway.  Fenton was holding a large green and red blanket, but as he got closer, the police chief realized there was a child in the blanket and that the ‘red’ on the blanket was blood soaking through.  

“Oh God,” he said softly.  He moved quickly to Fenton’s side.  The young father, tears streaming down his cheeks, was talking softly to the unmoving blond boy cradled in his arms.  

“Fenton,” Ezra quietly spoke.   

“He’s alive,” Fenton whispered. “It’ll be okay.  You’ll see. Joey’s tough.”  Ezra just nodded and patted the grief-stricken man’s shoulder.  He looked carefully at the boy and saw the slight flair of his nostrils with each breath, but he also noted the blood through the child’s hair.  Ezra moved to the car to talk to Con Riley.  

“Did you look at the boy?”  

“Yes, Sir,” Con replied.  “There’s blood on his head and on his right side, under the shoulder blade.  An ambulance is on the way.”  Sirens could already be heard in the distance.  

He glanced toward the body in the street.  “It’s too late for Mansetti.  I identified myself, but he wouldn’t drop his weapon. I had no choice but to fire. I’da pulled a sheet from the trunk to cover him, but the coroner got here right away.”  The chief nodded.  

“Don’t worry about getting statements, we’ll talk to Fenton and Sam later,” the police chief instructed.  “I’ll have Radley go to the hospital with Fenton. 

“If Joey doesn’t make it, Fenton will need Sam’s support.”  

“Laura and Frankie went to New York for the day with Radley’s wife and Fenton’s mother,” Officer Miller offered as he approached the other two policemen.  “Radley said they’ll be home in a few hours.”  

The men watched the body of Lance Mansetti being loaded into the coroner’s car.  

“I’ll stay here,” Riley quickly spoke up.  “Miller can go back to the station and write up our report. I’ll just add my part later.”  Miller nodded his head in agreement.  

All three men watched the ambulance pull to a stop and the EMT’s rush up the drive way to where Fenton Hardy held his little boy.  

Less than ten minutes later, Con Riley watched the ambulance drive away with lights flashing.  Sam Radley’s car followed.  

Miller got in the car with Chief Collig and within minutes, Con was standing alone beside his squad car.  He glanced at the pool of blood that lay on the black pavement where Mansetti had died.   

Mansetti’s rental was towed to the police station for the CSI team to go over.  

Con sat down in his police cruiser and waited for the women, but he couldn’t stop staring at the blood stain on the driveway.  He pictured the little blond boy in his mind’s eye.  A silent tear ran down his cheek as he thought about the lousy timing.  

If Joey died, the Hardy family would celebrate Christmas with a funeral.  

* * *

Eight-year-old Frank Hardy sat dozing beside his grandmother in the backseat of his mother’s car.  

He was so glad to be going home.  New York had been pretty with all the lights and trees and Christmas window displays, but without Joe by his side, Frank had grown bored rather quickly.  

Not usually one to complain, he was sure he’d tried his mother’s patience today.  An hour after lunch, Frank was ready to go home and he made sure the women knew it.  

He’d gotten a good scolding from his mother and he tried to be patient after that, but he was miserable and just wanted to see his brother.  

“I think someone missed their brother very much today,” Esther Mae Hardy said softly as she stroked Frank’s silky dark hair.  

“I believe you’re right,” Laura agreed quickly with her mother-in-law.  “I really should have given it more thought.  Frank could have stayed with Joey today and Fent and I could have taken both boys into the city after Christmas.”  

“We live and learn, Honey,” Esther smiled as she caught Laura’s blue eyes in the rear-view mirror.   

Soon, Laura pulled her car to a stop in front of Sam and Ethel Radley’s modest ranch house in Rye , New York .  

“That’s strange,” Ethel commented as she and Laura pulled her packages from the trunk of the car, “Sam said he was going to do a little shopping, and then stay home the rest of the night, but his car is gone.”  

“Maybe he stopped by to see Fenton and got caught up in the cookie baking,” Laura suggested with a smile.  

“Could be,” Ethel agreed.  “If Sam’s at your place, have him give me a call, okay?”  

Laura promised she would and got back in the car.  She watched to make sure Ethel was safely in the house before pulling away.  

It was another thirty minutes before Laura parked in her in-laws driveway on the edge of Bayport.  She helped the older Mrs. Hardy carry her shopping bags to the front porch, where they were greeted by Fenton’s father, Franklin.  

After hasty good-byes, Laura hurried back to the car.  She checked on her sleeping son and made sure his seat belt was secure.   

Tired after the long day, Laura quickly drove toward her home, just five minutes away.  Snow had started to fall and she wanted to be safe at home before the roads got bad.  

As she approached the large stone and clapboard house on the corner of High and Elm Streets, she was surprised to see no lights on in the windows.  

She slowed the car down as she came to the end of her driveway.  Yellow police tape stretched across the cement lane. Laura felt a knot of fear building in her stomach.  Before she could park, Con Riley was walking toward the driver’s side of her car.  

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