COMPASSION

Chapter 3

Foul Play

It is almost 7 am as Tom enters the Havard Home. He turns to the left and sees his wife's body in her chair. The TV is playing loudly as Tom enters the kitchen to sit at the table and reflect on the morning's events. The dining room clock starts chiming to announce the seventh hour has finally arrived.  

Joe Havard, Catherine’s youngest son in his mid-thirties awakens in his bed as he hears the morning radio playing on his nightstand. He also hears the television playing loudly from the first floor TV Room. Joe wonders why the TV is playing so loud as he gets out of bed and puts on his shorts.

A sense of dread comes over Joe as he exits his bedroom and starts down the stairs. When he gets to the bottom of the steps he slowly turns and looks at his Mother 's face and observes her head is down, her body is slumped in her chair and her eyes are closed.

 An unknown panic comes into Joe as he approaches his Mother. His legs are like lead weights as he finally reaches his Mother and he immediately sees Mom's lips are blue, her eyes are large, and her seat cushion is wet. Joe removes her eyeglasses and takes her water glass and runs past his Father to the kitchen sink to fill it with cold water. He runs back and dips his fingers in the water and start patting Mom’ s face with his wet fingers to wake her up. 

He whispers frantically, "Mom...MOM...MA...MA...MOMMY... PLEASE GET UP...PLEASE GET UP. OH GOD PLEASE GET MOM UP!"    Joe picks up the remote and shuts the TV off. He turns and runs upstairs to wake his oldest brother Tommy. He gets to the top of the stairs and screams, "TOMMY GET UP...MA IS NOT GETTING UP!"  

Tom jumps out of bed and yells, "I knew this was going to happen. Call the ambulance now...Call 911!"

Joe runs down the steps and calls 911. Tommy then instructs him to call Doctor Loftus the family doctor and family friend.

"Doctor Loftus we found our Mother in her chair this morning! We are waiting for the ambulance to get here!" Joe tells the Doctor.

"Have the ambulance take your Mother to Mercy Hospital. I will check on her later today."

"Okay, Doctor we will tell them." Joe hangs up the phone.  

Tommy and Joe open all the house doors and clear the furniture to the side to make room for the ambulance crew when they arrive. Joe stands in the street to see if he can see or hear the ambulance.     It is February and bitter cold.

Tommy is in the kitchen not realizing his Father is sitting behind him at the table. 

Joe shouts to Tommy, "The ambulance is coming!" He directs the paramedics into the house.   

"Let’s get her out of the chair and move her to the floor!" One paramedic commands. 

They move her body to the carpeted floor and pull up her dress to her chest. They observe her and check her pulse and decide not to use the defibrillator. The paramedic kneeling next to Catherine checks her pulse and breathing. He turns around and announces to the room, "I am sorry but she’s gone." 

Tommy and Joe are all in shock. They cannot believe what they just heard.

A man enters the home and introduces himself as the County Coroner. He surveys the scene and speaks to the paramedic. 

“My name is Mr. Hymen. I am the County Coroner. He kneels down to inspect the body. He places his fingers on her lips then on her neck. He lifts her wrist to take her pulse. Then he stands up.

“I see no signs of Foul Play here. This woman is dead. Is there a relative of this woman who is in charge?”

A devastated Tommy steps forward tells the Coroner, "I am in charge...I am her oldest son."

Mr. Hymen turns toward Tommy, "You have to remove the body from this house this morning. You can't let her stay here. Do you understand me?"

Quietly Tommy replies, "Yes."

"Do you have a Funeral Home you can call?" Mr. Hymen asks.

"I  will call Manion Funeral Home," Tommy replies.

Our Dad worked there as a Mortician years ago before he died.

The Coroner advises the room, "I am going to list the cause of death as Congestive Heart Failure. I will send a copy of the Death Certificate over to Manions. You can get a copy of it there. I have other County Business to take care of so I am leaving now. Remember you can't leave the body here it has to be removed from the home it is the Law!" 

Joe Havard stands silently in the room looking down at his Mother and repeats the what the Coroner announced to the room, “No Signs of Foul Play!” Joe turns confused and stares at the Coroner as he leaves the house. Joe silently said to himself, "What did he mean no signs of Foul Play?" 

The Paramedics now leave and Tom tells Joe to call St. Johns and ask to send a Priest to the house.

Joe reluctantly picks up the phone and calls the Church. 

"Yes, this is Father Burns." Father Burns is an Old Irish Catholic Priest who met Joe six months ago when he signed up his Mother, Brother and himself and joined Saint Johns. 

"Father...this is Joe Havard our Mother just passed away this morning and we need you to come to our house."

 "Whose is calling?...I don't know a Joe Havard...have I  seen you in church?"

"Don't you remember me...I saw you in September and signed up my Mother, brother  and myself and joined St. John's!"

"I  have never seen any of you in my church. How do you expect me to come to your house if none of you have ever come to my church?" 

"Father...my Mother could hardly walk her back always hurt her and she could not climb the church steps.

"Why haven't I seen you or your Brother in Church?" Father asks.

Joe pauses, "Father this is important to our Mother to have a proper burial and mass. What do we have to do to have you come to our house?"

Dead silence on the phone then Joe hears, " All right I will send Father Tragic to your home. How do you spell your last Name?"

Joe gratefully replies, "Havard 1281 Main Street. We are the white vinyl sided house on the corner of Thompson and Main." "

Father tells Joe, "Don't let anybody touch or move the body until he gets there."  

"Thank you, Father." Tommy...Father Burns is sending a priest now...here to the house.

Tommy takes the phone, "Good I will call Manions Funeral Home to have them come and get Mom."   

Tom Havard is sitting silently at the kitchen table. He stands up and looks out the window. He starts weeping and is devastated over his son's loss of their Mother. He sees a car pull into the driveway behind the house and recognizes Michael his middle son who is married and no longer lives at home.

Michael exits the car and runs into the house and sees his Mother lying on the floor.

Joe tells his brother, “Mom is gone.”

Michael falls to his knees next to him Mother and starts weeping.

Tom Havard sits back down in his chair at the kitchen table and starts to pray for his sons. He does not have the will to enter the room to see his wife on the floor with his sons standing over her.