Read Online Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 03 - The Priest Who Ate a Poison Petit Fore by Kee Patterbee - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kee Patterbee
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their relationship, Hannah saw Hym’s eyes well up. She saw him clap his hands around Whipson’s and squeeze. His admiration of the man overwhelmed any doubts he may have harbored. Unlike her brother, Magdalen could not contain her tears. She pinched the corners of her eyes to clear them. Hannah let them have their moment.
Whipson looked to the sleuth. “Now, I suppose there are questions that come with that.”
Hannah affirmed and apologized. “It’s going to get personal, so…You said you did a lot more than you paid for. Was it just the cars? Or was there more?””
Whipson let out a slow breath as his eyes wandered to the table before he brought them back to meet with Hannah. “Back in the day, I was different. I wasn’t angry or abused or poor. My parents made plenty of money. In fact, they were rich. They left it all for me. As a child, I didn’’t want for anything I needed and most often didn’t want for what I wanted. In a word, I was a privileged and spoiled brat. More so, life bored me. I started stealing things with two other boys. Little things at first. Candy bars and comic books. Kid stuff. Just for kicks. However, like a drug habit, it grew and grew. By the time I was nineteen, we were into high-end vehicles. There was this one car. A Jaguar. White and beautiful. I set my eyes on it. One night, we go to a rich man’s house. We watched him leave, and then we made our move. We went in through a back window of the house. I was the last to enter. Just when we found the door leading to the garage, I heard something. I turn around and there’’s this lady. Pale. Trembling. A maid. I didn’t know what to say.”
Whipson’s lips pulled into his mouth as he grimaced.
Remorseful. Full of regret. A painful memory, Hannah thought, filing it alongside all she had done before about the man. She glanced over to Hym and Magdalen, each wearing strained expressions as they hung on the man’s every word. She wondered if his unfinished confession would alter their opinion of the clergyman. Not my intent , she added, before deciding to address that with both later. Turning back to Whipson, she encouraged him to go on.
Whipson motioned to his face in a near trancelike state as he continued. “She got this… horrified, painful look on her face, gasped and fell to the ground.” When he looked up, twin sets of insistent tears were rolling down his cheeks. “By the time I got to her, she was gone.”
Hannah noticed the silence of Hym but could not draw herself to look in his direction. Instead, she pushed forward. “What happened after that?”
“I called for an ambulance. The other two had long since left. I waited for a minute, looking at her before I left too. When the police arrived, I was across the street, watching. I found out later that she had a heart attack.” Whipson stiffened and leaned back. Then he shook his head. ““I killed that woman, and I never had the decency to pay for it.” Coughing, he cleared his throat. “A few nights later, I got caught with the other two taking an old Buick. Funny thing is, it wasn’’t worth anything. I had no reason to do it. I should have been able to boost that car and been gone by the time anyone caught up to us.”
“You didn’t get away…,” Hym said, ““because you wanted to get caught; on the inside at least.”
Whipson agreed. “I’ve thought about that woman every day since then. The look on her face. What might have been? Every night in prison for six years, I told myself I belonged there. Not for the cars they linked us too, but because of her. Tina Beaumont.”” He shuddered as he again coughed. “Then one day, another prisoner told me that you can’t live in regret. You have to take responsibility and do the most good to repair all the bad. I went from a killing thief, to a religious family man; from wolf to lamb.”
For a moment, no one stirred. Then, with a sudden motion, Magdalen reached out and hugged the
Whipson looked to the sleuth. “Now, I suppose there are questions that come with that.”
Hannah affirmed and apologized. “It’s going to get personal, so…You said you did a lot more than you paid for. Was it just the cars? Or was there more?””
Whipson let out a slow breath as his eyes wandered to the table before he brought them back to meet with Hannah. “Back in the day, I was different. I wasn’t angry or abused or poor. My parents made plenty of money. In fact, they were rich. They left it all for me. As a child, I didn’’t want for anything I needed and most often didn’t want for what I wanted. In a word, I was a privileged and spoiled brat. More so, life bored me. I started stealing things with two other boys. Little things at first. Candy bars and comic books. Kid stuff. Just for kicks. However, like a drug habit, it grew and grew. By the time I was nineteen, we were into high-end vehicles. There was this one car. A Jaguar. White and beautiful. I set my eyes on it. One night, we go to a rich man’s house. We watched him leave, and then we made our move. We went in through a back window of the house. I was the last to enter. Just when we found the door leading to the garage, I heard something. I turn around and there’’s this lady. Pale. Trembling. A maid. I didn’t know what to say.”
Whipson’s lips pulled into his mouth as he grimaced.
Remorseful. Full of regret. A painful memory, Hannah thought, filing it alongside all she had done before about the man. She glanced over to Hym and Magdalen, each wearing strained expressions as they hung on the man’s every word. She wondered if his unfinished confession would alter their opinion of the clergyman. Not my intent , she added, before deciding to address that with both later. Turning back to Whipson, she encouraged him to go on.
Whipson motioned to his face in a near trancelike state as he continued. “She got this… horrified, painful look on her face, gasped and fell to the ground.” When he looked up, twin sets of insistent tears were rolling down his cheeks. “By the time I got to her, she was gone.”
Hannah noticed the silence of Hym but could not draw herself to look in his direction. Instead, she pushed forward. “What happened after that?”
“I called for an ambulance. The other two had long since left. I waited for a minute, looking at her before I left too. When the police arrived, I was across the street, watching. I found out later that she had a heart attack.” Whipson stiffened and leaned back. Then he shook his head. ““I killed that woman, and I never had the decency to pay for it.” Coughing, he cleared his throat. “A few nights later, I got caught with the other two taking an old Buick. Funny thing is, it wasn’’t worth anything. I had no reason to do it. I should have been able to boost that car and been gone by the time anyone caught up to us.”
“You didn’t get away…,” Hym said, ““because you wanted to get caught; on the inside at least.”
Whipson agreed. “I’ve thought about that woman every day since then. The look on her face. What might have been? Every night in prison for six years, I told myself I belonged there. Not for the cars they linked us too, but because of her. Tina Beaumont.”” He shuddered as he again coughed. “Then one day, another prisoner told me that you can’t live in regret. You have to take responsibility and do the most good to repair all the bad. I went from a killing thief, to a religious family man; from wolf to lamb.”
For a moment, no one stirred. Then, with a sudden motion, Magdalen reached out and hugged the
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