Under the Christmas Star

by Amanda Tru

  “Kirk, get in here!” Chief Jacobs yelled, his voice so close to her ear that it sent pain slicing through her already aching head.

  Emma heard the scrambling of feet.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Did this woman come in to report a stolen car?” Jacobs asked, still supporting her in his arms.

  Emma frantically tried to get her footing but to no avail. Her legs seemed devoid of any muscles at all. If Jacobs let go, she would crumple to the floor as if trying to stand on two fully-cooked spaghetti noodles, and yet she would rather lie on the floor in a heap instead of feel the sensations created by the strong, muscular arms wrapped securely around her.

  “Sure. I mean, she looks familiar,” Officer Kirk answered vaguely. “I think she came in saying her car was stolen. But so did everyone else. I think she was the one who tried to cut to the front of the line, but I told her to wait her turn. After you arrived to help out, I didn’t see her, and I figured she just gave up and would come back tomorrow. Wow, she’s still here? I thought we’d made it through everyone.”

  “You sent her to the back of the line?” Jacobs asked through clenched teeth.

  Emma felt the arms around her tighten, and she pushed, feeling the driving need to get away. He was too close. If he let her go, she could crawl to the door and get some fresh air.

  “Absolutely.” He nodded firmly and puffed out his chest as if proud to be giving an exemplary report that he followed the rules. “Nobody was happy about her cutting in line, and I wasn’t about to break with procedure.”

  At her struggles, Jacobs let her go only to grab her again when she promptly began to melt into the floor. This time, he maneuvered to hold her at her back, still carrying her full weight but making any struggles less effective.

  “Kirk, this woman has a head injury!” Jacobs growled, tightening his grip on her even more. “She needs medical attention!”

  Emma pushed at the arms encircling her, but the chief didn’t even seem to notice her efforts to be freed. He just readjusted his grip more securely as if to prevent her from sliding out the bottom of his embrace.

  She looked to the other officer, but Kirk shook his head in confusion and reached up with his finger to loosen a collar that suddenly appeared too tight “She said her car was stolen.”

  “Please, just let me go,” Emma mumbled, pushing her elbows back against Jacobs’ chest.

  Instead of being released, Emma felt her tiptoes leave the floor. Chief Jacobs lifted her into his arms and carried her over to a chair as if she weighed no more than a rag doll. He set her gently on the seat and knelt before her.

  “Miss, I need to know what happened so I know if you need to go to the hospital,” he said, trying to hold her gaze.

  Emma couldn’t look at him. She shook her head and moaned. “No hospital. I’m fine. I’ve just felt a little sick since I woke up.”

  “Woke up? You mean you lost consciousness?”

  Why couldn’t the questions stop? Her head hurt so bad she didn’t understand what he wanted. “No, I lost my car. Well, I didn’t lose it. It was there when the three guys in masks came up to me. And it wasn’t there when I woke up with this bump on my head. I think they must have taken it. I don’t think I’m the one who lost it at all.”

  Kirk groaned. “I’m sorry, Chief.”

  “Sorry isn’t quite going to cut it, Kirk. This woman was assaulted, and you didn’t take the time to hear what she needed before you sent her to the back of the line.” Jacobs took a flashlight out and shined it in Emma’s eyes. She turned away, but he lifted her chin back up, this time holding it in position as he fluttered the light beam back and forth along the edges of her vision.

  “She quite obviously has a concussion and needs to go to the hospital,” Jacobs announced crisply.

  “Should I call an ambulance, sir?” Kirk asked, wringing his hands.

  “No, I think you’ve done enough here. I’ll take her in myself. You’d better hope her injuries aren’t serious or you might be looking at some serious consequences.”

  “I’m really sorry, sir. I didn’t know.”

  Officer Kirk’s voice sounded like a whine, reminding Emma of the sound her dog made when he got in trouble for messing with one of her ornaments.

  “But you should have!” Chief Jacob’s voice sounded almost like a hiss. “It’s your job to evaluate those who come in and take them in order of most urgent need. You probably didn’t even look up at her from your paper when she spoke, did you? When I asked, you weren’t even sure it was the same woman who tried to get help at the front of the line. Get out of here, Kirk. Go home. I’ll let you know later if you’ll be spending much time there.”

  Jacobs turned to Emma. “I’ll carry you to the car.”

  Alarm raced through Emma. “No. Please don’t touch me. I don’t like to be touched.”

  The tension in Jacobs’ jaw relaxed, and a soft glow replaced some of the angry darkness in his eyes. “I need to get you to the car, miss, and you don’t seem to be able to walk there by yourself. How about you try to walk, and I’ll just put an arm around your shoulders to support you? But if you start to fall, I’ll need to pick you up and carry you. I’ll be careful and quick, and I won’t hurt you.”

  Emma nodded. “Okay,” she said meekly, appreciating that the chief was trying to accommodate her.

  Chief Jacobs came around her back and steadied her as she stood.

  “I really don’t need to report my car stolen, now that I think about it.” Her thoughts felt muddy, but it seemed necessary to fill the silence and distract herself from the chief’s proximity. “I never liked that car anyway. It was too red. I hope you don’t drive a red car. I’m not sure I can go in it if you do. You’re taking me home now, right?”

  She didn’t quite make it back to the door before the world turned upside down. She still tried to speak, but her words made no sense even to her. She felt herself falling only to be swung up and into Jacobs’ arms.

  Emma didn’t protest. In fact, as soon as her cheek cradled against his chest, all words left her. Emma braced for the overwhelming anxiety of all her nerves firing with the sensations of being held. Strangely, instead, she felt a warm, safe comfort that she could only compare to a heavy blanket wrapped securely around her. It still felt overwhelming, but in a good way that soothed the pain and fear.

  True to his word, Chief Jacobs very quickly deposited her into the front seat of a police car, releasing Emma back into the reality of masked men who attacked her, a stolen red car, and a frightening hospital hanging like a storm on the horizon. Pain and unshakable confusion closed in again, making her long for the warm, heavy blanket of Chief Jacob’s arms to wrap around her once more.

  “How is she?”

  Even though her eyes remained closed, Emma recognized the voice as that of Chief Jacobs.

  “I’m not sure I should answer that question to you,” a woman’s voice responded crisply.

  “Why?” Jacobs shot back. “If you’re worried about privacy, she already gave consent when I brought her here. Besides, she was assaulted. I’m going to need the details of her injury anyway. If you have another reason for not answering my questions about a victim’s well-being and injuries, then it must be personal.”

  “Fine,” the other voice said, her tone still short. “She has a concussion, which I’m sure you already know. All scans came back fine, however. She will need to be monitored, but hopefully, she’ll recover and with no lasting damage.”

  “Will she be admitted overnight?” Jacobs asked.

  “No,” the woman answered more slowly, a strange tone to her voice. “She will be released.”

  “You sound worried,” Jacobs said, identifying the different sound to her words. “You don’t think she should be released?”

  “No, it isn’t that,” the nurse assured. “She just needs to be monitored. Emma lives with her parents, but they are out of town for the holiday. We called and notified them that Emma was here, but they ca
n’t get back to town until tomorrow. I don’t suppose you know someone who could stay with her?”

  “Doesn’t she have any friends? Anyone from a church?” Jacobs suggested.

  “I’ve tried,” the nurse said, the same worry still in her voice. “Most everyone is out of town.”

  “Then she’ll need to stay here,” Jacobs stated firmly as if the answer was obvious. “She can’t drive or be sent home without care.”

  The woman sighed. “She can’t stay here. You know this is a small hospital with limited beds for admitting patients. We mostly do triage and transport more serious patients to Brighton Falls. We have no room, and Brighton Falls won’t admit her without a medical reason.”

  “I’ll see if I can think of anyone,” Jacobs said reluctantly. “How long before she leaves? I need to get a statement before she is released. We handle an assault case differently than car theft. I need some information to get started right away.”

  “She can leave whenever she wakes,” the woman answered. “We gave her some pain medication and something to relax her since she was so agitated. It seems to have knocked her out, but probably not for long.”

  The nurse was wrong. The medication hadn’t knocked Emma out but had put her in a sort of twilight state, as if between sleep and awake. She felt numb but could hear what was going on around her. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation for Emma in that she was accustomed to listening and not participating in a conversation. In fact, that was most comfortable for her, though her older brother had historically accused her of being an expert eavesdropper with the ability to spy on conversations without anyone knowing she was there.

  Remember her brother’s reaction to her listening habit, Emma tried to stir and open her eyes. She didn’t want the chief or the nurse to think bad of her for overhearing something she shouldn’t. Try as she could, however, the only body part she could actually move was her right foot, which wasn’t enough for either person to notice.

  The nurse’s voice was softer now as she spoke again. “Leo, I know you need to question Emma, but go easy on her please.”

  “Do you really think I’m that horrible of a person, Angie? I know things didn’t go well when we were dating, but I know how to do my job. Talking to a victim isn’t new to me.”

  “I’m not talking about our history, and I’m not talking about your job, Leo,” tightness threaded Angie’s voice. “I’m talking about Emma. She’s different. She’s special. It’s not my place to tell you about her, but I will tell you that if you are the blunt, forceful, angry Leo Jacobs that I know, you will frighten the girl, get no information out of her, and be completely clueless about the wonderful person you just destroyed.”

  Emma suddenly realized the nurse must be the Angie she knew from church. That would explain why she seemed so familiar with Emma. Angie attended the same Sunday school class and even dated her brother a few years back. She had always been kind and friendly to Emma, though Emma didn’t quite know if that qualified her for to be labeled a “friend” or not.

  “I know how to talk to a victim,” Leo grumbled again.

  “This victim has a name,” Angie insisted. “Trust me, you have no clue how to talk to Emma Sheldon.”

  “So, what would you have me do?” Leo bit back with a slight snarl.

  “Simple. Don’t act like Police Chief Leo Jacobs.”

  Emma managed a groan, finally catching the attention of the other two. She forced open her eyes, blinking in the bright fluorescent lighting as Angie rushed over

  “Hi, Emma, how are you feeling?”

  “I’m better,” Emma said simply, struggling to sit up against her pillow.

  “Tell me what that means, Emma,” Angie persisted. “Where do you hurt?”

  “My head hurts, but not as bad. I don’t feel so nauseated.” Emma stopped, looking at the clock and trying to figure out where all the time had gone. That clock read 10:00. Emma shook her head and mumbled, “I still can’t think very well.”

  Angie nodded. “We gave you medicine for the pain and nausea, but I don’t have anything to help with the brain fog. You have a concussion, so that will probably take some time to get better.”

  “Can I ask you a few questions, Miss Sheldon?” Chief Jacobs wasted no time in asking.

  Emma saw the narrow-eyed look Angie sent the chief’s direction.

  Emma nodded. “Yes, I can try to answer, but the details might be fuzzy.”

  “What is today’s date?” Jacobs asked crisply.

  Emma blinked. “I’m not quite sure. It’s after Thanksgiving. Is it Saturday?”

  Jacobs made a mark on his little pad of paper.

  “Where are you right now?” he fired off again.

  Emma looked down as if making sure of her surroundings before giving an answer. “I’m in a bed.”

  Jacob’s made another mark.

  “But where are you?” he persisted.

  “Leo Jacobs, what in the world are you doing?” Angie hissed.

  Leo waved his phone as if holding up evidence. “I’m making sure she’s coherent before I ask about the crime. The doctor said we’d need to ask her questions when she was awake to test her faculties. I found a list of questions on the internet to ask people with concussions.”

  Angie rolled her eyes dramatically and turned to Emma. “Emma, can you tell me what year Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa?”

  Emma frowned thoughtfully. “Well, he started painting it in 1503. They estimate it took him about four years to finish, which would be 1507, but he kept it for himself for years afterward, so that’s really just a best estimate.”

  Angie nodded. “Can you also tell me which stars make up Orion’s belt?”

  “Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka,” Emma replied swiftly.

  Angie turned to Leo with her eyebrows raised. “Is that coherent enough for you, Chief Jacobs?” she asked sweetly. “You just need to know the right questions to ask.”

  Angie’s pager went off, and she hurried out of the room with one last warning gaze shot to Jacobs.

  With not even a muscle twitching in response to Angie, the chief focused on Emma. “Can you tell me what happened this evening?” he asked simply, resettling the little pad and a pencil in his lap.

  Feeling relieved that she’d made it through his hard questions, Emma answered. “I went to the church to deliver some Christmas ornaments for the ladies to decorate,” Emma explained. “When I was getting the boxes out of the back, three men with black masks came up behind me. They all had guns. One of them told me something, but I don’t know what it was. Then the middle one aimed a gun at me. I remember seeing the person on the left move, and he must have hit me with something. The next thing I knew, I woke up to find some of my ornaments smashed on the ground and my car and boxes gone.”

  “A 1997 Honda Civic Hatchback,” Emma said before rattling off the license plate number as well.

  “You mentioned earlier that it was red. I believe you said that you’d never liked it anyway.” A slight lifting of the corners of his mouth made Emma wonder if something was amusing him.

  “Yes, it’s bright red. No, I’ve never liked it, but it was what I could afford myself.” What she didn’t mention was that her parents had wanted to help her buy something newer, nicer, and less red, but she had refused. She’d wanted to be independent and do it herself.

  “I don’t know why anyone would want to steal such an old car,” she mused aloud. “And it’s not at all subtle or easy to miss. People see me coming from a long way’s off.”

  “Honda Civics are the most stolen vehicle in the country,” Leo said factually. “Your car won’t be red when they are done with it, but I doubt you’ll want the pieces, even if they aren’t red.”

  “You mean they’ll chop it up at a shop?” Emma said, trying to use the terms she’d heard once in a movie.

  “They might be doing it as we speak,” Leo said, keeping his focus on his little pad and continuing to make notes. “Crews like this move f
ast. Since yours wasn’t the only car stolen in the area, we know that we’re dealing with a group of professionals who already had a system ready and waiting.”

  “Is that why so many people were in the station this evening?” Emma remembered the crowd with a shudder. “All of their cars had been stolen?”

  “Yes. Every once in a while, we have this happen. It’s probably a crew going through the area, taking what they can before moving on. It’s never locals. Just a group of thieves burning a trail through and stealing things, in this case, cars, before going to the next target on their route. Because of that, they are very difficult to identify and locate, unless we have a good description. In this case, you are our eyewitness. Do you know what the three men looked like?”

  Emma immediately shook her head, the movement causing her to wince with pain. “No. It all happened so fast. They were wearing black and had masks. It was getting dark, and the church parking lot isn’t lit well. Did anyone else describe them?”

  Chief Jacobs pursed his lips.

  That means he’s not happy with me, Emma silently interpreted.

  “Nobody else saw them,” Jacobs said, tapping his pen on his pad in the gesture that clearly communicated impatience. “Their cars were all stolen while they weren’t present. You were the only one hurt. The fact that they assaulted you indicates that their crimes are escalating. We need to find out who they are and stop them. Their next victim may be across the country, but he or she may not get away with just a concussion.”

  Emma looked down and wished she could go hide somewhere that Chief Jacobs couldn’t look at her with his searching brown eyes and ask her important questions that she couldn’t answer. “I wish I could be more help.”

  Jacobs sighed loudly. “Did you see another vehicle or anything that could help us identify them.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” she whispered, feeling like she was taking a test and failing. “Everything is still a little fuzzy.”

  “What did you do after you woke up?” he asked abruptly.

  Emma blinked, thrown off by the change of subject and not understanding why he asked a question he so obviously already knew the answer to. “I walked to the police station to report my car stolen.”