by Jane Hinchey
“You can’t have it, it’s mine!” I hissed, then my eyes widened in horror. “I’m sorry! Here, you can have some. Just a piece, though. A little piece.” I proffered the gingerbread, and he chuckled, shaking his head.
“I won’t deprive you, babe, but I think you’re on a bit of a sugar high.”
He could be right. This was my third gingerbread man, and each one was the size of my hand. But they tasted so good! Another, slightly more horrifying thought entered my head. What if they were pot gingerbread men? What if Elspeth had laced them? I proffered the gingerbread to Galloway again. “Taste it,” I demanded. “Does it have pot in it?”
His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “Are you saying you’re stoned?”
“I’m not saying anything,” I whispered back, but paranoia was starting to creep in. Shaking his head, Galloway leaned forward and nibbled at the gingerbread.
“Nope. No pot in that.”
I slumped against him. “Oh, thank God.”
The brass band finished their number, the crowd cheered and clapped, and we all waited while the Willow Creek School set up for their nativity play.
One hour, six different renditions of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, one numb butt, and a major sugar crash later, and the lights came on, and Lucie advised us it was time for intermission.
“I don’t think I’m going to survive another hour of this,” I whispered, leaning my head against Galloway’s shoulder. Not only was I tired, but a headache was niggling behind my eyes. He chuckled and squeezed my leg. “You’ve got this. Come on, let’s take a walk, stretch your legs a bit.”
“Maybe another gingerbread man?” I suggested hopefully, “you know, to give me a boost.”
He snorted and pulled me to my feet. “You really think that’s a wise idea?”
I pouted. “No.” But bless him for not telling me no. He really was a keeper. I sighed, then glanced around. “Ben’s still not here. I wonder what’s keeping him.”
“Ben?” Amanda chose that exact moment to appear behind me. I looked at Galloway in panic, my brain not functioning at the required level to distract Amanda from what she’d heard me say.
“Jen,” Galloway lied smoothly. “We met a woman called Jen today. She said she was coming tonight, but there’s no sign of her.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry, I could have sworn you said Ben,” Amanda patted my shoulder then squeezed past, Madeline’s hand clasped tightly in hers. “Someone needs a potty break.”
My chin practically hit my chest as I blew out a relieved breath. That had been close. Too close. Galloway wrapped his arms around me and drew me in for a hug. “Come on, some fresh air will do you good.”
I let him lead me toward the double doors leading outside, casting an anxious glance at Santa’s photo booth as I pulled on my coat. “It’ll be fine. Look, there are plenty of kids still lining up to have their picture taken with Santa. We’ll only be gone a couple of minutes, tops,” Galloway said, reading my look.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” I muttered.
“Your belly with all that gingerbread and eggnog in it, I’d imagine,” he smirked, before zipping up my coat because my fumbling fingers couldn’t manage the task.
Outside half a dozen die-hard smokers were gathered beneath a street light, their own breath multiplying the smoky white haze from their cigarettes. I screwed up my nose in distaste. Galloway led us in the opposite direction, toward the parking lot at the rear of the hall. The cold night air bit at the exposed skin on my face, my nose already burning from the freezing temperature.
“Where are we going?”
“A walk around the parking lot then back inside, don’t worry, I won’t let you freeze.”
“But why the parking lot?”
He shrugged. “Why not? I figured getting too close to the smokers out front would make you toss your cookies… right?”
I crossed my arms, slightly affronted that he knew me so well, for he was right. With my overindulgence of gingerbread men and eggnog, my sugar crash was also making me feel queasy. Add in cigarette smoke, and you were guaranteed I would, indeed, vomit.
I was trying to think of something pithy to say, and coming up blank, when he barreled into me from the side, knocking me against the side of a van, his hand coming down over my mouth to silence the squawk that tried to emerge.
“Shh,” he whispered in my ear. “Someone’s here.”
10
Crouching, we crept along the side of the van, peering over the slight mound of the hood. The only street light, coupled with the moon, offered up just enough light to make out a green elf costume and gray dreadlocks. I relaxed. “It’s just Elspeth. Probably stocking up on the treats she was handing out,” I whispered. We watched as she went to the trunk of her car, opened it, and rummaged inside. Someone joined her, from the back, he could have been anyone. Average height, average build, dark jeans, and jacket, a beanie on his head. Definitely male, though, given his size.
“I don’t think she’s restocking her free gifts,” Galloway whispered back. I watched the scene in front of me unfold. Elspeth held out her hand, passing him something small. Very small. He handed her money. I couldn’t make out the denomination on the bill he passed her in the dim light, but whatever was going on here, it looked as shady as hell.
“It looks to me like Elspeth Copeland is dealing drugs,” Galloway kept his voice low.
“Laura did say she thought she was selling pot cookies,” I reminded him.
“I don’t think that was marijuana.”
I blinked in surprise. “You think it’s something heavier? What? Cocaine? Heroine?”
“Probably amphetamines. Won’t know for sure without a sample.”
“Well?” I prompted. “Do something. Arrest her. And him.” I waved my arm and hit the van with a thump. Elspeth and her buyer turned in our direction as Galloway dragged me to the ground, his eyes flashing a warning to be quiet.
“Sorry!” I mouthed. He held a finger to his lips, warning me to stay silent. I crouched there, my legs aching, and listened to Elspeth and her friend.
“Relax,” the man said. “Probably just some animal in the trash.”
“Easy for you to say. I can’t afford to get busted by the cops.”
The man scoffed. “Fat chance of that. You’ve been selling this stuff under the Sheriff’s nose for years. He has no clue.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about. There’s some detective in town, here on holiday apparently, but now he’s helping the Sheriff.”
“With that shooting?”
Elspeth's sigh was long and loud. “Yep.”
There was a shuffling noise, and the sound of the trunk being slammed shut. “Call me when you’re ready for your next order.”
“Will do. Thanks, El, you don’t know what a lifesaver you are.”
We waited until the sounds of footsteps had disappeared, then Galloway slowly rose, peering over the hood of the van. “Coast is clear,” he said, helping me up since my legs had frozen in position. With a groan, I stood, stamping my feet to try and get the circulation going.
“Now what?” I asked.
“We find out what Elspeth has in the trunk of her car.”
I followed him as he wound between the cars in the lot until he reached the rusted out sedan that Elspeth drove.
“How are you going to get the trunk open?” I asked, watching as he reached into his pocket and then started fiddling with the lock mechanism.
“Wait, don’t you need a search warrant or something?”
He didn’t even look up, tongue touching his lip in concentration. “Not if I have probable cause.”
“Is that really a thing?”
He cast me a sly wink, then grinned when the trunk popped open. “Use your phone flashlight, will you?”
I dutifully turned on the flashlight app on my phone and aimed it into the trunk of Elspeth’s car. Inside was a shoebox, and inside the shoebox were tiny plastic bags, the type you see on
tv, the kind that people use to sell drugs. And it was no stretch to think that Elspeth was selling drugs because in the bags were pills. Blue ones. Galloway held a bag up to the light, and I counted five pills inside.
“What are they?”
He shoved the bag into the pocket of his jeans. “Dunno, but I’ll get them tested.”
“There you are!” Ben said from behind me, startling me so bad I dropped my phone and banged my forehead on the open trunk. Galloway’s hand shot to where his gun was usually holstered, but of course, he wasn’t wearing it, because we were meant to be on vacation. Instead, we were skulking around a parking lot in the dark, witnessing a drug deal go down. And now my incorporeal best friend had just turned up.
“Ow!” I cried, putting my hand to my stinging forehead. “Geez, Ben. How many times, dude?”
Galloway relaxed. “Ben’s here?”
“Just showed up. I need to put a bell on him or something.” I pulled my hand from my forehead, frowning at the smear of blood on my glove. “Darn it, I’m bleeding.”
“What?” Both Ben and Galloway peered at me in concern, Galloway picked up my phone from where I’d dropped it in Elspeth’s trunk and aimed it at my forehead. “It’s okay. Just a scratch.” Galloway assured me, tugging off his glove to wipe the blood away with his thumb.
“Sorry,” Ben said, hovering.
“That’s okay,” I forgave him instantly. “So? News? Where have you been? Did you find anything on Ken’s camera?” Before Ben could get a word in, I turned my attention to Galloway. “Speaking of, we’d better get back inside. I couldn’t stand for anything to happen to Ken while we’re out here.” And my spidey senses told me Ken was in grave danger.
Galloway put the lid back on the shoebox and slammed the trunk closed. “Done. Let’s go. Do your phone thing, so it’s not so obvious you’re talking to a ghost.”
Putting my phone to my ear, I pretended to be on a call while I talked to Ben. “Okay, spill.”
“You were right. A couple of pictures had something suspicious going on in the background, only the focus was on the foreground. Hence, the detail was pretty grainy.”
“What do you think was in the background? Was Ken in the woods when he took the photo?”
Ben nodded. “It looked like a snowmobile on the ice, and something on the back of it. A crate or box or something. Like I said, I couldn’t make out that level of detail.”
“A snowmobile on the ice? Wowsers, risky! I wouldn’t be brave enough to take a snowmobile out onto the lake.” You’d have to be sure the ice was thick enough and stable enough to hold the weight of the machine. And if it wasn’t? You’d find yourself sinking—and freezing—in the lake.
“There was one thing I could make out, though. What looked like long, ropey hair.”
“Ropey hair?” I echoed.
“Like dreadlocks?” Galloway prompted.
Ben nodded. “Yes. Could be dreadlocks.”
I nodded for Galloway’s benefit, then put my hand over the speaker. “It sounds like it was Elspeth out on the ice. With something on the back of the snowmobile. A new shipment of drugs, perhaps?”
Ben nudged me with his elbow, an icy blast that almost snap froze my ribs. “You don’t need to put your hand over your phone, I’m right here.”
“Oh. Right,” I shrugged and removed my hand from the phone. We were fast approaching the doors to the hall, and I knew we wouldn’t be able to continue the conversation inside without being overheard, and this was one conversation I didn’t want anyone listening in on. If word got back to Elspeth that we were on to her, she could slip away.
“Why did you take so long?” I asked Ben, slowing my steps to a mere shuffle.
“Because I went searching for the snowmobile,” he grinned, seemingly pleased with himself.
“Do I take it from that grin that you found it?”
He nodded. “Sure did. Found something else too.”
“Oh?”
“Welllll, I can’t really say drug lab, but certainly some sort of chemistry setup.”
I immediately swung toward Galloway. “He found the drug lab!”
“Where?” Galloway was instantly alert, hand reaching for his phone.
“Where?” I asked Ben as if he couldn’t hear Galloway for himself.
“There’s a makeshift cabin in the national park, about five miles in. Hidden well with camouflage and everything.”
“And if Elspeth was using a snowmobile to get to and from the cabin, she wouldn’t be seen by the Vaughn’s,” I breathed, excitement rising. “And!” I snapped my fingers as best as I could, considering I was wearing gloves, “what if that footprint we found wasn’t a child's? What if it was a woman's? Elspeth is small enough that her footprint could be mistaken for a child's.”
“Where’s the lab, Audrey?” Galloway prompted.
“Oh, right, sorry. About five miles from the main entrance to the park.”
“Direction?”
“Due East.” Ben supplied. I relayed the information to Galloway, who was texting on his phone.
“Who are you texting?” I asked.
“The Sheriff. Asking him to meet us out here.”
It was several minutes before the Sheriff joined us, and by then, I was shivering so bad my teeth were chattering. At least I was burning off the calories I’d consumed via the gingerbread men, even if I was freezing to death.
“Why don’t you go wait inside where it’s warm?” Dwight suggested, probably annoyed by the sound of my chattering teeth.
“I’m good.” I vibrated on the spot, my muscles so stiff they were screaming.
“Babe.” Galloway slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug, running his hand briskly up and down my back to generate some heat. “Go wait inside. We’ll be in in a minute. I just want to show the Sheriff what we found, and I can’t do that inside where anyone else might see. I promise. We’ll be two minutes, three tops.”
“Come on, Fitz,” Ben cajoled, “you’re turning blue.”
“Okay, fine!” I threw up my hands and stomped my way toward the hall doors, only the stomps were more of a shuffle, and it was kinda embarrassing, to be honest.
Laura met me at the door where she was standing with a sleeping Isabelle in her arms.
“Oh, there you are, I was wondering where you’d got to,” she said. Brad chose that moment to join us and relieve his wife of the dead weight of their sleeping toddler.
“I was walking off the sugar crash,” I explained. “Anything new to report? How’s Ken?” We both looked toward the Santa photo booth, only Santa was no longer in residence.
“Where is he?” My voice rose.
“He was there a second ago, I swear.” Laura sounded as panicked as I felt. This wasn’t good. This was really, really, bad. Then I caught sight of a Santa hat moving through the crowd. Standing on tiptoe, I caught a glimpse of Ken, being pulled along by Blanche Donnelly on one arm and Elspeth Copeland on the other.
“They’re in it together!” Of course. Now it made sense. Blanche had been a sharpshooter in the army. If she was in cahoots with Elspeth and the whole drug thing, she was the one who’d taken the shot that killed Henry.
“Who is? What? What’s going on?” Laura looked ready to cry, and I figured she was probably as tired and emotional as her one-year-old daughter.
“Galloway is going to come through that door any second,” I told her, pointing at the doors. “Tell him that I’m going after Blanche and Elspeth. They’ve got Ken.” Then I darted after them, pushing through the crowd, jumping every now and then to catch a glimpse of two gray heads and one Santa hat. I surveyed the room, trying to pinpoint their exit when I spotted it. A door partially concealed by the giant Christmas tree just right of the stage. And Blanche and Elspeth were dragging Ken toward it. I saw him turn his head, looking back over his shoulder as if looking for help.
“I’m coming, Ken,” I shouted. The people closest turned to look at me, probably wondering why on
earth I was shouting. But they weren’t very quick in moving out of my way, so I had to employ my elbows, physically pushing my way through, a ton of moans and complaints in my wake.
They’d seen me! Blanche and Elspeth had stopped and turned, caught sight of me barraging my way through the audience who were returning to their seats ready for round two of the concert. Ken tried to tug free, but they had a firm hold of him, plus I suspect Ken was too much of a gentleman to risk hurting either of the women in a bid for his freedom. Oh, if only you knew, Ken.
They picked up the pace, they’d be through the door in minutes, and I couldn’t let them get Ken alone. With nothing to lose, I began climbing over the top of the chairs. Sport was never my forte and now was no exception. I tripped, fell, staggered, and generally made a god almighty racket as I attempted to vault over the chairs blocking my path. Puffing with the effort, I finally cleared the front row. Blanche and Elspeth were in front of the tree, and I launched myself at them, flying through the air to crash tackle them to the ground.
Only my aim was off. Of course. And instead of Elspeth or Blanche, I landed on Ken. We went down with an oof, landing in the tree, which began to topple at our unexpected weight.
“Audrey, what are you doing?” Ken cried, trying to untangle our limbs as several people ran forward to right the toppling tree.
“Saving you!” I accidentally kneed him in the groin, heard his startled intake of breath and momentary paralysis. “Sorry, sorry,” I cringed. I knew my knee could be pretty deadly to a man's groin, but it had been accidental on this occasion.
“Saving me from who?” Ken eventually wheezed, knees drawn up as he curled into the fetal position. “Blanche and Elspeth? They’re harmless.”
“No,” I hissed, tugging on his arm to try and get him to his feet. “They’re not. Elspeth is dealing drugs, and I think they’re in it together. I think Blanche shot Henry, thinking he was you because you accidentally caught a drug shipment arriving the other day when you were taking photographs in the woods,” I quickly explained.
“What?” Ken blinked, obviously in shock… and probably pain from the injury he’d just sustained to his… you know. I heard the door behind us open, knew Blanche and Elspeth were about to get away.