The Fruitcake Murders by Collins Ace;

Author:Collins, Ace;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Published: 2016-08-18T04:00:00+00:00

22

Saturday, December 21, 1946

9:45 A.M.

Shaking thoughts of Christmas past from her head, Tiffany marched up to the Randolph Street entrance of the nine-story City Hall. After pulling open one of the building’s ornate entry doors, she climbed two flights of worn marble stairs to the third floor. After a sixty-second walk down a long, tiled hallway, each of her steps echoing off the walls and ceiling, she pushed on the frosted glass and hardwood door of the city’s licensing and permit department. The man she’d made the appointment to meet was waiting behind the counter and holding a file.

“Miss Clayton?” he asked.

“I hope I haven’t kept you waiting,” she quickly replied. “This is a horrible time of the year to ask someone to come to work on Saturday.”

“No, I was actually going to be here anyway,” he answered. “I have some things to catch up on. Anyway, my name’s Collins.”

The tall man had graying hair, blue eyes, and a quick smile. He was dressed casually, in a blue shirt and black slacks, and unlike almost everyone else in the city, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere or do anything. If only all folks could be this relaxed during the holidays.

“I believe,” he began, “you wanted to know about the Santa project.”

Tiffany nodded, unbuttoned her coat, and leaned up against the chest-high counter opposite her host. She watched intently as he opened the file and glanced at the first page.

“This campaign actually began three years ago,” he explained as his eyes came up to meet hers. “At that time, the mayor was made aware of how many men from Chicago had died in combat and how many of their widows and orphans were having a hard time during the holidays. So we put a dozen Santas on the street that year to raise money for presents for the fallen servicemen’s kids. We’ve been doing that same thing every year since. Last year, we raised over twenty thousand dollars. This year it looks like we will even top that.”

“That amount will buy a lot of gifts,” she noted with a smile.

“Not just gifts,” Collins pointed out. “We also buy food and clothing for the families in the greatest need. So while churches and other organizations take care of the needs of the very poor, we focus on those who have suffered due to the war. Now that peace is really here, I hope things will improve enough in 1947 so that we won’t have to do this next year. In other words, I hope peace brings prosperity and security to those we reach.”

“Let’s hope so,” the reporter echoed. “How many Santas do you have this year?”

Before answering, Collins glanced back to the file and flipped to a second page. “We have forty-three. They are good men, too. They work long hours in the cold and are paid nothing. Most of them are retired. A couple of local churches and the Salvation Army do bring them food and coffee a few times a day, but that is all they receive.

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