Country Wishes

by RaeAnne Hadley

  Bill rubbed his stomach and turned to Sarah. “All that work has made me hungry. What are we doing for supper?”

  “Let me take you all out for supper,” Jake offered.

  Bill shook his head. “We can’t let you do that. There’s too many of us.”

  “Not for me. I own a restaurant and I am grateful for being included today in all your Christmas fun. It’s meant a lot to me,”

  Hannah had never heard him speak of owning a restaurant. “You own a restaurant?”

  “Which one?” Sarah asked.

  “Have you been to Bob & Jake’s?”

  “I love that place,” Bill said. “You’re the owner?”

  “It’s the best restaurant in town, if I do say so myself.” Jake grinned and exaggerated putting his thumbs in his arm pits. “I spoke to them by phone every day I was gone. But the last time I spoke to her, my manager sounded as if something had happened that she didn’t want to tell me about over the phone. I want to find out what is going on, so let’s go.

  Chapter Five

  Not one empty table remained in the main dining room at Bob & Jake’s. Jake led them to a private chamber and a table made larger by smaller ones shoved together near a large crackling fireplace. While three waitresses set the table, Jake pulled a chair out for Hannah and leaned in to whisper, “May I have the seat next to you?”

  “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t.”

  After everyone at the table gave their orders to the waitress, Jake excused himself to follow her into the kitchen. A short time later he left the kitchen and entered the door marked “Office.”

  The walls of the restaurant were paneled in polished wood. Plush, deep-red drapes covered the windows. “Wow,” Hannah breathed. “This place is fantastic.”

  Bill and Sarah nodded in agreement. ”We were thinking the same thing,” said Sarah. She pointed to the dramatic paintings on the walls. The pictures depicted the gold-mining days of Hopeful’s history.

  Jake returned to the table as the food arrived. His movements were tight, less fluid. He didn’t acknowledge Hannah with a look or a smile. He ate in silence. She touched his arm. “Is something wrong?”

  “I just learned someone broke in and robbed us three nights ago.”

  “Oh no.” Bill said. “Did they get away with a lot?”

  “That’s what’s confusing. As far as I can tell, they never went near the office or the safe. They carted off boxes of Christmas decorations. They took all of them.”

  “Your Christmas decorations? How odd,” Hannah said.

  “They took—what?—garland and snowmen right off the walls?” asked Sarah.

  “We hadn’t gotten the decorations up yet. Some of the employees brought them up from the basement and stacked them in the back,” Jake said. “We usually pick one night that everyone on the staff can come to decorate. We make a party of it. I make pizza for everyone. You see, my Dad and I invented the best pizza in the world.” Jake’s gentle, remembering smile wiped some of the tiredness off his face.

  “We love pizza,” said the twins, grinning like snowmen themselves. They had been so quiet, no one realized they were listening.

  Jake smiled back. “I’ll have to make some for you two one of these days,”

  Hannah studied Jake’s profile. He had such a kind face to match his generous heart. She hated that anyone would take advantage of him. She squeezed his hand. “Jake, I’m sorry for what’s happened,” she said, just to him. To the whole table she said, “I must say that this meal was so good, that I believe your pizza must be amazing, too.” Hannah spread her hands to include all of the delicious dishes that sat in front of each person. “Thank you so much for this.”

  Bill and Sarah agreed with her. “What can we do to help with your decorations?” asked Bill.

  “I’ll have to go to Denver and buy more. The wholesale markets over there cater to businesses. I’m a little worried, though. It’s only three weeks until Christmas, so I hope the decorations aren’t running low.” Jake sighed and turned to Bill. “I could use your help getting that tree out of my truck and into the back of the restaurant.”

  The men left and Sarah took the girls to the restroom to clean up. With everyone gone, Hannah looked around the vast room and tried to imagine what decorations would look the best. She didn’t think anything gaudy would work.

  Then she spotted Jeremy. What is he doing here? He sat across the room with his back to a wall and stared straight at her. She felt her face flush and her body stiffen. She turned around and faced the opposite direction. It looked like he had just finished eating, too. Everyone has to eat, right? Hannah took a deep breath to calm her nerves and pushed him out of her thoughts. She wanted to ask the waitress about the decorations.

  “Excuse me,” Hannah signaled a passing waitress.

  “Yes?” Her badge indicated her name was Helen.

  “I’m so sorry the Christmas decorations were stolen. Can you describe them to me? Were they modern or old fashioned?”

  Helen looked around before answering. “The ones stolen were the new ones the owner bought a few years ago. I never thought they looked as nice as the old ones.”

  “Old ones?” Her reporter radar activated, but before she could ask any questions, Bill and Jake returned. Helen backed away with a slight bow then turned and fled.

  Sarah and the girls returned. “The girls and I are worn out. Let’s go home.” While the girls yawned their way into their snowsuits, Sarah turned to Jake. “This was a wonderful meal. Thank you so much, Jake.”

  “You’re very welcome. Thank you for including me in all your Christmas fun. Let me walk you out.” Outside he drew Hannah close. “Would you like to go to Denver with me tomorrow to search for more decorations?”

  “I’d like that, then I need to get back to work. This was a long weekend and a lot happened. Are you looking for modern or maybe more regal decorations to go with your decor?”

  “I’m not sure,” responded Jake. “We’ve had both and I didn’t care for either. I’m hoping there is something better out there.”

  Suddenly, Bill was tugging on Jake’s sleeve. “Hey! There’s something burning on your roof!” Bill pointed to the roof, and we all turned to see what looked like a blazing, plastic snowman centered on the restaurant’s chimney.

  “What the—?” Jake ran to the restaurant. He shouted over his shoulder at Bill, “Call 911 while I get the people out.”

  Bill called in the fire, then tossed the car keys to Sarah. “You take the girls home. There’s going to be a mass exit in a few seconds, and I don’t want you and the girls in the middle of it.”

  “You stay safe.” Sarah shouted as she hustled the girls into the car. She drove away quickly.

  “Hannah, let’s see if we can direct traffic. I doubt there’s any smoke inside yet, so there shouldn’t be much panic.” Bill held the door open for the restaurant’s customers. All wore worry on their faces as they hurried out while buttoning their coats and urging their companions to keep moving.

  Hannah tugged her stocking cap out of her pocket, snuggled it on her head and slipped into her gloves. It was going to be another long night. She still hadn’t written the story about the apartment fire two days before. What were the odds she’d be watching another fire so soon?

  “Bill,” she shouted. “I’m not going home until I buy some smoke detectors. Lots of them.” Mental note. Buy smoke detectors for apartment. She heard the fire trucks approaching just as the fire alarms in the restaurant began to shrill.

  Chapter Six

  A great rush of people—pulling on coats, lugging children, with eyes white with panic—came out of the restaurant. Hannah and Bill directed them out of the parking lot, encouraging them to slow down. The rest of the people came out at a measured rate and paused to look at the burning snow man before climbing into their cars and leaving the parking lot.

  Jake must have explained about the burning snowman to the calm customers. Otherwise, she couldn’t ex
plain the difference in people’s reaction to the fire. Across the street, inquisitive people gathered behind the caution tape to watch the firemen.

  She didn’t know why but she felt certain Jeremy was watching. She vowed to be more alert. After all, she was a reporter. Was it Jake that had made her forget that? She smiled. Of course it was Jake.

  The firefighters put the fire out quickly and removed what was left of the plastic snowman from the chimney. Even though the fire was out, Hannah saw firemen inside the restaurant, looking under every table and behind the cashier’s counter. Pushing into the kitchen and the bathrooms. All the drapes on the windows had been pulled open. She knew from all of her years covering fires that the firemen wouldn’t return to their station until they were sure no fire remained.

  The firemen were still escorting Jake’s employees out of the building. Hannah marveled that they had opted to stay in a burning building. In fact, they were upset they couldn’t finish cleaning up now that the danger had been removed. She heard Jake assure a group of waitresses and chefs that the firefighters would be there most of the night, hunting for hot spots and they should go home.

  A police car skidded to a stop on the sand left by the road department. After speaking briefly with the firefighters, the officers took a device from the firefighters and went inside.

  Jake joined Hannah and Bill. Mindless to the cold, he stood frowning at the restaurant.

  Bill indicated the police car. “What’s going on?”

  “Their thermal-imaging device is supposed to point out hot spots in a building on fire. Instead, it’s showing there’s someone hiding in the basement.” Jake raised his eyebrows. “Who would want to hide in a building they thought was on fire?”

  Hannah pulled out her phone and made a note to research thermal imaging. She turned at the sound of sirens from another police car. It entered the parking lot and sped around the corner of the restaurant to the back. Hannah jogged to the edge of the parking lot, hoping to see what was transpiring.

  “Stay back, Hannah,” Bill shouted then followed her.

  “See, you want to know what’s going on, too.”

  “To make sure you don’t interfere.”

  Hannah put her hands on her hips. “When have I ever interfered with a police investigation?”

  “Okay, but you do have a habit of pushing to find out what’s going on beyond what’s considered safe or prudent,” Bill said and gave her a knowing look.

  Their conversation at first prevented them from hearing the rustling coming from the tall weeds in the empty lot behind the restaurant. They whirled in time to see a man burst out onto the parking lot, dragging a bike behind him. He pulled the bike upright, climbed on, then pedaled to the street and rode off.

  “Hey,” yelled Hannah, knowing the man could have been a witness or the perpetrator. She turned to her brother. “Was that the guy they’re looking for?”

  “Probably just a homeless guy spooked by all the sirens,” Bill said.

  Hannah considered the man’s tattered coat and wild hair. “He did look homeless with weeds sticking out of his hair.”

  The police car that had gone behind the restaurant returned and pulled up next to them. “Did you see anyone pass you?” asked Officer Walters.

  Bill pointed to the weeds. “A man came out of those weeds and raced off on a bicycle.”

  Hannah pointed which way he went.

  “Did you get a look at him?”

  “Sorry,” Hannah said. “Too dark and he had his back to us. Are you thinking he was the man hiding in the basement?”

  Officer Walters peeled out of the parking lot in pursuit.

  Chapter Seven

  “Jeremy was there?” Bill paced the living room. “Are you sure?”

  “I noticed him after you and Jake left to bring in the Christmas tree. He was sitting at a table along the wall,” Hannah said.

  Bill sat on the coffee table in front of Hannah. Their knees practically touched. “Did he speak to you?”

  “He just sat there and smiled at me. The guy gives me the creeps so I turned away and ignored him. I was all caught up in the stolen Christmas decorations. I wanted to speak to a waitress, see if there was something for me to do. I want to help.” Hannah sighed. Considering what had happened after that, she realized how dumb she had been.

  Bill pulled out his cell phone and dialed. “Jake needs to know about this.”

  Exhausted, Hannah made a mental note to call Jake herself in the morning. She pulled her couches together to make her bed and kicked her shoes off. By morning she would regret another night on the tired cushions, but just then they felt heavenly. Lord God, please keep us safe from this madman. Keep us sheltered in your arms. Without one bit of struggle, she fell into a heavy sleep.

  She woke at the sound of crunching. She raised her head and peered over the couch back. Bill, Sarah and the girls sat at the kitchen table munching on dry cereal. “Uh oh, are we out of milk?”

  Sarah sighed and shook her head. “Not really. I bought milk yesterday and left it in the trunk. Out of sight, out of mind.”

  “Look,” Mindy pointed to the sink, “it’s frozen.”

  “A big ice cube,” Cindy agreed.

  Sarah stood. “Let’s see if it’s ready” Sarah tickled each girl as she walked to the kitchen. She pulled the gallon container out of the sink. “I’ve had the bottle sitting in warm water for an hour.” She dried off the bottle and poured milk into each cereal bowl.

  Hannah slid off the couch, happy she wasn’t pulling herself off the floor, and headed for the shower with a hand to her aching back. She paused to ask if anyone needed the bathroom first.

  “We took our turns a long time ago, Aunt Hannah,” Mindy said sitting proudly.

  “You snore, Aunt Hannah,” Cindy said grinning.

  “What? I do not. I’ve never snored.” She poked each girl making them giggle.

  “Only when you’re very tired or upset.” Bill said softly heading for the door. She shared a knowing look with her brother. “I’ll be at the office researching Jeremy. You have two fire stories to write and we’re behind in selling ads for the next issue.” He opened the door and hesitated. “Sarah will pick up batteries for the smoke alarms we bought last night and I’ll help install them tonight.” He closed the door then opened it again and stuck his head in. “Jake wants you to call him this morning after you charge your phone. He tried calling and texting several times then called me to leave you a message. See you at the office.” Then he was gone.

  Hannah found her coat and located her cell. Yep, it’s dead. She plugged it into the charger, kicking herself for not remembering before she fell asleep, and headed for the shower. After drying her hair she tried to run a brush through it. She looked at it in the mirror. Her hair looked as tired as she felt. Time to get it cut. She had the same rusty hair as Bill, but his was curlier. The longer her hair grew the straighter it became, leaving waves instead of curls. She gave up in disgust and drew it into a pony tail.

  When she pushed open the door of the newspaper, Bill was at the counter with Mrs. Massey, secretary for the Hopeful Church. Every year the church threw a huge Christmas craft fair in the basement of the church and every year Mrs. Massey waited until the last minute to place the ad for it. “You barely got your ad here in time, Mrs. Massey. We go to press tomorrow.”

  “Yes, yes, you always say that.” Mrs. Massey harrumphed her way to the door. “You won’t even put it on the front page.”

  “No one does that, Mrs. Massey. Merry Christmas!” Bill shook his head as the door closed behind her. “She pretends to forget there are no ads on the front page every year.”

  The mailman opened the door and handed Bill a stack of letters and hurried back out. “Merry Christmas, Jamie,” Bill called.

  Bill tamped the pile of mail on the counter to bring some order to the mess. “This is the second installment. I found a huge stack of mail shoved through the slot when I arrived.” Bill tamped the pile again
, harder. “The three-day weekend sure put us behind.”

  Hannah reached under the counter and pulled out three shoe boxes. “We’ll catch up using Dad’s method of dealing with overload.” She sorted the mail by dropping the bills into one box, letters in the next and what was left into the box labelled “Junk.” As she neared the bottom of the stack, she paused to read what should have been the return address. Instead, there was a message for her and Bill. She felt her face drain of color. “Bill,” she croaked, handing him the letter.

  Bill’s eyes widened and his face drained, too, as he read, “I got your Dad and I’ll get you.” There was no postage or post mark. He slid the letter opener under the flap, zipped it open and pulled out the note inside.

  The note said, “Hey, Twins. Stop looking for your father. You’ll never find his body. Stop having a life without me or I’ll put you with him.” The note was not signed. It didn’t have to be.

  “That’s what Jeremy used to say to us in high school, ‘Stop having a life without me.’” Hannah’s eyes filled in horror, “He killed Dad.”

  “Twins was Jeremy’s pet name for us,” Bill’s eyes clouded.

  Just then Jake opened the door and walked into the newspaper to find Hannah and Bill holding each other. “What’s wrong?” Alarm laced Jake’s voice.

  Chapter Eight

  “Oh, Jake,” Hannah sobbed, “look at this.” She handed him the note and envelope.

  Jake read them and looked at Hannah and Bill then at the note and envelope again. “Where did this come from?”

  Hannah grabbed a tissue to wipe her face and her nose. “We found it in the pile that came through the mail slot over the weekend.”

  “When I opened the door this morning, I scooped up the letters and put them on the counter,” Bill said. “Mrs. Massey followed me in, so I had to deal with her before anything else.” Bill wiped his nose.