In The Bleak Midwinter: A Special Agent Constance Mandalay Novel (5 page)

“Becca…” she asked as the five-year-old
pressed forward with her in tow. “Wouldn’t it be more fun to just
look at the train some more?”

“No!” her sister yipped.

“But you didn’t see everything. I can show
you…”

“No!”

“I’ll let you have my dessert after dinner
tonight.”

“No! Santa!”

“But you already saw Santa,” Merrie objected.
“When Mommy and Daddy took us shopping at the big department store
last weekend. Remember?”

“Santa! Santa!” Becca demanded, pulling
harder as her older sister came to a full stop and began to
resist.

Merrie started to object again and even
considered pulling
big sister
rank
on her. “But,
Becca, I’m…”

Before she could finish, a cheerful voice
interrupted. “Did I hear someone say they’re looking for
Santa?”

“Santa! Santa!” Becca chirruped, dancing in
place as the excitement percolated from her tiny body.

Miss Ruth, the store manager, smiled down at
them, then turned up her wrist and pushed back her sleeve so that
she could check her watch. “Hmm,” she said. “Well, I believe Santa
is taking a break right now so that he can feed the reindeer up on
the roof.”

A wave of intense relief washed over Merrie
as the words registered. She couldn’t have asked for a better
excuse to get out of this whole mess.

Becca’s eyes widened and she yelped,
“Rainn-deeeer! Can I pet Rudolph? Can I?”

“No, honey, I’m afraid it’s too slippery up
on the roof for little girls,” Miss Ruth explained, apology clear
in her voice. Then she asked, “You’re Elizabeth Callahan’s girls,
right?”

“Yes ma’am,” Merrie replied.

“Is she next door?”

“Yes ma’am, at Norris’s,” Merrie answered
again, this time with a slight nod, then she added, “She’s waiting
in line for the butcher, so I said I would bring Becca over to see
Santa. But since he’s busy…”

Miss Ruth smiled wide. “Oh, no need to worry
dear. Santa should be back down in just a few minutes.”

Unfortunately, that bit of news sent a second
wave crashing down upon Merrie, but this one made her feel
miserable all over again.

Miss Ruth squatted down in front of Becca and
gave her nose a tweak as she continued. “And, you know what’s even
better?”

“What? What?” Becca asked, excitement pushing
her eyes even wider at the idea of something better than petting a
real, live reindeer.

“I’m pretty sure you two are the only
children in the store right now, so if you just go on back and
wait, you’ll be first in line to see Santa when he’s done.”

Becca’s body literally shook with more glee
than could be contained by a full-grown adult, much less by a
five-year-old. She started dancing in place once again as it fought
to escape. Tugging on Merrie’s arm she demanded, “C’mon, Mare-ree!
Hurry! C’mon! Santa! We kin be first…”

Miss Ruth stood up and pointed toward the
back of the store, then smiled at Merrie and gave her a wink. “Go
all the way to the back, sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll be out to see
you very soon.”

“Thank you,” Merrie muttered, forcing the
words out as nicely as she could, even though she didn’t feel very
much like being polite anymore.

Still dragging her feet, she stumbled along
behind her sister, who seemed to need no help whatsoever finding
the Jolly Elf’s lair. The farther back they went down the aisles,
the less crowded it became, until finally it seemed there was
nobody around but them. Bremerton’s wasn’t as huge as the fancy
department store in Mais, but it was still really big. Or it seemed
that way to Merrie, at least. Now, looking back over her shoulder
she couldn’t even see the entrance anymore. And, no matter how hard
she listened, even the
tick, tick, tick
of the electric
train was gone. All that remained was the annoying Christmas music
from above and distant voices of the shoppers.

Becca came to a halt the moment they stepped
out into the open area at the back of the store. She uttered a soft
“Wow… North Pole…” but other than that she remained quiet, staring
in wonder at the cardboard cutouts and bunched up blankets of
glitter-covered felt “snow” that surrounded the decorated
throne-like chair. The smell of peppermint candy canes mixed
strongly with the other odors that were still floating around the
inside of the store. It seemed to Merrie that God was intent on
torturing her at every turn with smells and sounds…and just
everything
.

If only she knew what she had done to make
him so angry at her.

She looked around, but the Jolly Elf was
nowhere to be seen. Display stands were bunched together to one
side of the area, arranged in an organized sort of mess; all to
make room for the fake North Pole scenery that was now holding her
little sister’s attention. On the wall, to the left of the
cardboard fireplace and plastic tree and empty pretend presents,
was a large door. Attached to it was a sign that read EMPLOYEES
ONLY.

“That’s probably where ‘Santa’ is really
taking his break,”
she thought to herself.

Merrie’s stomach was now churning more, and
she pressed the palm of her free hand against it. Even through her
coat she could feel her insides gurgling and somersaulting. If only
Sister Regina hadn’t made her eat that lunch, then maybe, just
maybe it wouldn’t hurt so badly right now. And maybe she wouldn’t
feel so much like she needed to puke.

She swallowed hard and wondered how much
longer they would have to wait. She really wished this would all be
over. If Mister Babbs would just come out here right now in his red
suit and listen to Becca for a couple of minutes and give her a
candy cane, they could leave. Maybe Mom would be finished with the
shopping then, and they could go home.

Home. Safe. Then she could wait for Daddy and
tell him what happened. He could fix this. She just knew he could.
He had to. Because, if he couldn’t, then she really was going to
Hell—if she wasn’t already there, that is.

Merrie squeezed her eyes tightly shut and
wished as hard as she could for Santa to appear and get this over
with. Wishing hadn’t worked before, but this one was just a little
wish. It wasn’t big like the others. Maybe it was just small enough
to come true. Besides, she had no choice but to wish because she
was too afraid to pray. If God really was mad at her, she knew he
wouldn’t listen. Still, even if the wish didn’t work, at the very
least she hoped Miss Ruth was right about Santa being here soon
because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep herself from
throwing up.

However, as she stood there concentrating she
remembered something Daddy always said.
Be careful what you wish
for, because sometimes what you wish for isn’t what you really want
at all
. When she heard the door she opened her eyes, and then
she knew exactly what he meant. It wasn’t Mister Babbs in the Santa
suit this year, and in that moment Merrie began to wish that she
had never wished for anything, ever.

“Ho, ho, ho,” the sickeningly familiar laugh
came from the man in the Santa suit. As he started toward them he
said, “Well if it isn’t, my
very
,
very
special little
helper… And, ho, ho, ho… You brought a friend to see Santa…”

CHAPTER 4

4:15 P.M. – December 22, 1975

Sheriff’s Department

Hulis Township – Northern Missouri

CLOVIS
Meriweather started to speak
but caught herself before any sound actually made it past her lips.
Instead, she kept her mouth closed and bit down softly on the end
of her tongue—not enough to hurt of course, but just enough to
remind herself to remain quiet for the moment. The almost
unconscious act was one she’d had since she was a little girl. In
fact, it had started right around the time she’d heard her grandma
say, “bite your tongue” in response to someone’s thoughtless
comment. A year or two later, when the nuances of language began
making sense to her, she realized that the instruction was really
just a metaphor. However, by then it had already settled in as a
quirky habit, and it just never went away.

Clovis furrowed her brow as she took a long
look at the black, velvet-covered cube resting on the desk in front
of her. It had been placed on the dark green blotter with a light
but purposeful thump. However, the deputy who had done the placing
had not yet spoken a single word. He was still standing silently on
the opposite side of her desk. She knew he wouldn’t be expecting a
stereotypical reaction, so she almost gave one just to trip him up;
but that really wasn’t her style at all. No, this definitely called
for one of her customary off-the-wall replies.

She released her tongue, pursed her lips,
wrinkled her nose, and then looked upward to his face. As she
figured, he was staring back at her with an expectant look in his
eyes. She smiled and said, “Has it started snowing yet?”

“No,” he answered without hesitation. “Not
yet, but it looks like it’s going to any minute.”

He continued to stare at her, the anxious
expression intact.

She couldn’t resist making him wait. “I just
heard on the radio that the weather service has issued a blizzard
warning. Looks like it’s going to be worse than they originally
thought.”

“Come on, Clovis…” the deputy appealed.

“Really. I’m not kidding,” she told him,
staring back with an earnest expression as she nodded her head with
enough vigor to tousle her layered shag of blond hair.

He sighed. “You know what I mean.”

She glanced down at the box on her desk. “Oh…
You mean this?”

“Clovis…”

She cleared her throat then let out a
dramatic sigh and said, “Well, Skip, I’m not quite sure what to
say… I’m flattered and all, but you know darn well I’m already
married.”

“Real funny,” Carmichael grunted, a slight
chuckle now replacing the impatience in his voice. “You’re a
regular comedian today.”

Now that she had toyed with him for a bit and
delivered the expected sarcasm, she could safely embrace the
girlish excitement that was bubbling inside her.

“So, should I assume this means…” she asked,
leaving the crux of the question hanging in the air with an
intentional pregnant pause to keep it company.

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “That’s what
it means.”

She grinned then scooped up the small box and
cradled it in her fingers as she carefully levered the clamshell
open with her free hand. At almost the very instant her eyes fell
on the intricate gold band adorned with a sharply faceted diamond,
she breathed, “Oh Skip, it’s absolutely gorgeous…”

“You know the kind of stuff Kathy likes,
Clovis. Do you think it’s the right style? Is the rock big enough?
Old Man Turner said she’d looked at this setting a couple of times
before, but I could exchange it if I needed to.”

“It’s perfect. Just perfect,” she returned.
“I was with her when she was looking at it. She’ll love it, Skip,”
she paused and then almost quivered with her now escaping
enthusiasm. “Okay, so when? Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?”

“Christmas morning probably,” he said with a
nod then gave her a half shrug. “That’s the plan, anyway… If I can
wait that long… I know it’s only three days away, but… Well, you
know… I’ve already been putting it off for so long as it is, what
with her wanting to finish her degree and all… I talked to her dad
yesterday, so at least that part of it is out of the way.”

“What did he say?”

Skip tensed and deepened his voice for
effect. “‘Bout time, son. Just remember, deputy or not, if you hurt
my little girl I’ll hunt you down and kill you.”

“That sounds like him,” Clovis replied. “Was
he smiling?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you’re fine.”

He nodded and chuckled. “I know.”

“Okay, so explain to me why it is I’m just
now hearing about this,” she pressed.

“That should be obvious,” he answered,
shrugging. “You’re her best friend. I want it to be a
surprise.”

She pouted an objection. “I can keep a
secret.”

“You mean like the time you told her about
the surprise birthday party I had planned for her?”

“We were in high school, Skip,” she
grumbled.

“I’m talking about last year.”

“Oh… That… Well… That was different.”

“Different how?”

“It just was. Really… I can keep a
secret.”

“Yeah… Do yourself a favor and don’t swear to
that under oath or anything. Some of us know better.”

“Who’s the comedian now?”

“I wasn’t trying to be funny. Honestly, I
wouldn’t even have told you about this at all, except that I wanted
your opinion on the ring. I’m taking a big enough chance telling
you now as it is. You’ve got a whole three days to spill it and
ruin everything.”

She ignored the gibe. “You know if you’d just
said something I could have gone shopping with you.”

“What was I just saying, Clovis? Are you not
even listening to me?”

She rolled her eyes at him then ogled the
engagement ring again.

“I won’t tell her,” she assured him.

“You’d better not. Besides,” he added. “It
looks like I picked out the right one without your help
anyway.”

“Sure, but how long did it take you to decide
before you actually bought it?” she asked.

“That’s not the point.”

She chuckled. “It doesn’t matter, it’s
beautiful, Skip. You did real good. Kathy is going to be so happy…”
After a moment she furrowed her brow again and looked up at him.
Visible confusion spreading across her features, she said, “Wait…
You’ve always said you weren’t going to ask her until…”

He nodded as her voice trailed off. “Yeah, I
know. That’s the other thing. I got the call last week.”

“Seriously?”