Blue Chow Christmas

by Rachelle Ayala

  “I believe Brian,” Cait said. “He’s the most honest guy I know, and he takes everything literally. When Mrs. Thornton told him not to tell anyone as long as she lived, he did just that. He kept the entire affair and his suspicion that Glen was his son a secret.”

  “Do you believe Glen is his son?” Todd asked.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” Cait replied. “We have to find the boy and get a DNA test. I hope he’s holed up somewhere safe.”

  “Me too, but as for the DNA test, his current father, Senator Thornton, will fight us on it,” Becca said. “People can’t request DNA tests willy-nilly.”

  “But Brian slept with her.” Cait’s stomach twisted, and a sharp pain sliced her insides.

  “They could say it was a teenage fantasy. Does he have proof?”

  “The locket.” Cait stood suddenly. “Brian found a locket at the accident site. It’s either at the cabin, or Brian has it in his pocket. There’s a picture of Glen as a baby and writing on the back that says, ‘My little Wonder,’ with the ‘W’ capitalized.”

  “When we booked him, he didn’t have any locket on him,” Todd said. “Bec, is it enough proof?”

  “If the locket is genuine, it increases the chance that the judge will rule for a DNA test. However, they could say Brian stole the picture and put it in the locket and wrote the words on the back.”

  “True, true,” Linx said, tilting her chair back on two legs. “But this begs the question. What’s the motive for Brian to claim a twelve-year-old child? He would be liable for back child support.”

  “That part doesn’t matter,” Bec said. “All I need to present is a reasonable argument that Brian could have fathered Glen. The senator is going to try to suppress the motion. Their position is Brian’s a loon and made everything up.”

  “Wait.” Cait snapped her fingers. “Mrs. Thornton gave Brian a very valuable antique fire truck in her will. It’s parked in a friend’s garage.”

  “I can use that to build the argument of a special relationship or friendship. I’ll file for the paternity test.” Becca closed her notebook triumphantly.

  “Great,” Cait said. “Now, let me call my family.”

  “A few more questions.” The sheriff flattened both of his hands on the rustic wooden table. “When you and Brian decided to leave the cabin, who suggested the car exchange?”

  Cait shrugged. “I don’t remember. It seemed like the logical thing to do.”

  “Okay, so, describe what you were doing. You two were talking, then what?”

  “We decided to go home. Brian took out the trash and shut off the propane tanks while I packed my bags.”

  “This is important,” Todd said. He lowered his brows and stared at Cait. "Did you discuss who was driving which car before or after you went to pack?”

  A cold chill rolled down Cait’s spine, and she felt the blood drain from her face. “We weren’t sure if Linx could take the dogs, so I suggested staying behind while he went back home.”

  “How much time was Brian out of your sight?” Becca asked.

  “I don’t know. He had a lot to do. Clean up and shut down the cabin …”

  “Thirty or forty minutes?” Todd asked.

  “Maybe. We weren’t in a rush.” Cait felt her heart scramble into the depths of her belly. “I had to find Linx and see if she’d take the dogs, so he left first.”

  “Why didn’t he wait for you?” The question shot from the sheriff’s mouth like he’d been dying to ask from the get go.

  “I don’t know.” Cait blinked back the worries tearing in her gut. “All I know is that after I dropped off Melia and Sierra, the black SUV chased me down the mountain and I crashed.”

  “Whoa, wait.” The sheriff put his hand up. “Was it the same one that you said tailed you earlier?”

  “I don’t know. It was raining really hard, and everyone thought I was driving too slowly, so they were passing me, but this truck or SUV had their high beams on and he kept on my tail.” Cait covered her face as shivers quaked inside of her. “I tried to slow down to let him pass and I couldn’t stop. I was going too fast. I couldn’t stop.”

  She stiffened her body at the table, pushing her foot against the floor and her hands on the sides. Bam. Pow. A jumble of images and sounds exploded in her brain and she collapsed in a heap on the table.

  Warm arms embraced her, and a dog licked her, but above them, Todd’s voice sounded the death knell. “This doesn’t look good for Mr. Wonder. The insurance inspector said there was no fluid left in one of the brake lines. Bec, are you sure you want to take the case? It’ll put the powerful senator against this tiny town.”

  “I’m starting with the black SUV and filing for the DNA test.” Bec’s businesslike voice cut through the gloom and doom. “I’m going to go see my client now.”

  “Let me go with you.” Cait raised herself from the kitchen table.

  “It’s better if you go back to the cabin and wait,” Bec said. “There may be things Brian has to say to me that you wouldn’t want to hear.”

  “She’s right.” Chad put a warm hand on Cait’s shoulder. “Let me drive you back.”

  “Wait,” Linx said. “Cedar and I would like to go with you and keep you company. Why don’t you call your family while I pack?”

  “Let me go to the store and make sure they have enough food to ride out the storm,” Chad said.

  “Okay, I’m going back to the station. Thanks, Mrs. Wonder.” The sheriff begged off.

  “We’ll get Brian out on bail as soon as we can,” Bec reassured.

  “Yes, don’t worry about him, you poor thing. Let me pack.” Linx added, picking up a duffle bag.

  “Woof, woof.” Cedar ran around the kitchen table in circles, sure that she was going for a walk.

  Cait’s head spun and she couldn’t focus with all the Colsons talking at the same time and milling around like crazy bumblebees in a flower shop. This must be how Brian felt when surrounded by her busy family.

  She excused herself and went to the powder room where she made the call to her family. Her mother answered the phone, and Cait settled on the toilet to give her the bare details.

  “Don’t bother coming up here,” she said, finishing the call. “There’s a huge storm blowing in. Supposed to dump more than fifteen inches of snow.”

  She hung up despite the chorus of protests over the speakerphone. Knowing her family, she’d just baited them to barrel into the van and storm to the rescue.

  Hopefully, the sheriff would close off the roads before any more people got hurt.

  Hopefully, Glen had found shelter and wasn’t out there looking for his dogs.

  Hopefully, Brian wouldn’t hate her for telling the sheriff that he’d had thirty to forty minutes to rig the car.

  But if he had put a slow leak into the brake lines, where did this leave her?

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  ~ Glen Thornton ~

  The lockpicks I bought from that pawn shop work better than paperclips.

  The dogs are sniffing and grunting behind the door, waiting to jump all over me and lick me. Mom says they are therapy dogs and they make people feel better. I like them because they’re like big black bears.

  I grunt and huff back at them and work the lock open.

  Melia and Sierra rush out, wiggling and dancing all around me, making me burst out in a shrill, high-pitched laughter that annoys my dad.

  “Ha, ha, ha, hooo!!!”

  “Woof, woof.”

  “Hoo, ha, hhooo, haaaa, heee!” I wrestle Sierra onto the floor while Melia jumps over me, making a dog sandwich.

  Actually it’s a me sandwich because I’m in the middle. Mom calls it an Oreo cookie with me as the frosting. I wonder if they have any cookies inside.

  My stomach rumbles because I haven’t eaten since I hid inside the camper. I stuffed myself with Twinkies and chips. I’m so hungry I can eat dog food, but I like cookies better.

  “Whoa. Mother lode!” I boun
ce in front of the refrigerator and salivate over the steak, lasagna, mashed potatoes, rotisserie chicken, and ham inside.

  Sierra and Melia want some of it too, so I rip off chunks of meat for them and fill my stomach.

  After eating, I finally get a chance to look around the cabin. I switch on the TV, but there’s no signal. They still have an old VCR player hooked up to it, and a cabinet of ancient video tapes.

  Where’s the Xbox? Do they even have wifi?

  I go to the bedroom to see if they have a computer. I need to erase my messages from the Realm of Rogues. Someone must have squealed to the cops, because they were definitely looking for me earlier.

  There’s a cell phone lying on the nightstand, still plugged in.

  I wake it up, but there is a passcode attached to it. I try 1, 2, 3, 4, but it doesn’t work. 4, 3, 2, 1, no dice. 1, 3, 9, 7, tapping the square, then 2, 4, 6, 8. Hmmm … if I knew these people a little better, I might be able to guess.

  Looking through the closet, I find a suitcase. The luggage tag reads “Cait Hart,” so I try the numbers associated with the letters. 2, 2, 4, 8 for C, A, I, T.

  Bingo! I’m in.

  There’s unfortunately, no signal, so I pocket the phone and the charger.

  I’m not a thief, but there’s also a golden locket on the nightstand I can pawn. I’m going to need money since I spent the last of it on the GPS watch and lockpick tools.

  I feel a little bad taking it, but Wonderman’s my friend and he did invite me over, well, sort of, with the longitude and latitude clue.

  There are no purses and wallets anywhere, and no laptops and tablets. What do these people do all day? Play cards and read paper books?

  It’s time to get out of here, so I go to the kitchen to gather food.

  That’s when the dogs start barking.

  I peek out the window and spy a car rolling onto the crunchy snowy driveway.

  “Shhh!” I point to the dogs. “I have to hide now. Don’t give me away, you two.”

  There’s a ladder behind the kitchen and it leads to a trapdoor. I have no idea who’s coming home, but I don’t want to be caught and sent to my dad’s house.

  I scramble up the ladder in the nick of time as someone comes in the door. I leave the trapdoor open a crack so I can see what’s going on.

  The dogs bark and growl, and a man curses at them.

  “Get the hell out. Get, get.” He kicks them out of the door and slams it shut.

  “Hey, those are my dogs.” I scramble down the ladder. “Who are you? Wonderman?”

  “Yeah, that’s me,” the man says. He has red hair and a scruffy beard, but he doesn’t seem as nice and happy as he was this morning trying to put up the star. Maybe the police tortured him on account of me.

  “I didn’t mean for you to go to jail,” I explain. “I just wanted my dogs back.”

  “You can have them,” he practically growls, as he screws his eyes and squints at me. “What did you say your name was?”

  “Glen Thornton. I’m your buddy on Realm of Rogues. TrickyGlen the Thief.”

  “I knew that, just testing you, kid. What are you doing here?”

  “You invited me over to get my dogs.”

  “Yeah, so I did. You have some place to take them?” His eyes shift around the room as if he’s looking for something.

  “I’ll be out of your way.” I slide over to my backpack and heft it on my back. “My parents have an empty vacation home not too far from here. You can take me there. We’ll need to delete all our messages. Otherwise, you’ll get into more trouble.”

  “Have you seen Cait?” He rubs his beard and heads for the bedroom.

  “She drove off looking for you after the cops took you.” I sidestep toward the door, hoping he doesn’t notice I’ve stolen his cell phone.

  “I have to find Cait. Let’s wait for her to come back before I take you to your house.” Wonderman goes to the kitchen and opens the refrigerator.

  I open the door and let the dogs in. “It’s okay. He’s a friend. Don’t get all excited.”

  Both dogs lower their ears as they slink into the cabin. Melia hides behind the couch and Sierra keeps up a low growl.

  “He’s upset the police arrested him for helping me,” I explain to Sierra. “But he’s my friend. We’re waiting for his wife.”

  The snow is coming down faster and piling up. I hope his wife hurries up. I don’t know why we need her anyway, but obviously Wonderman is worried about her and doesn’t want to leave until she’s home safe.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Cait watched the road anxiously as Chad drove his all-wheel drive truck up the snowy road. He had chains on his tires, and he wasn’t going fast, but she held onto the safety bar tightly, just in case.

  “I’m about to lose the signal,” Linx said on the phone. “Okay, I’ll tell her.”

  “What is it?” Cait turned toward the backseat of the extended cab pickup.

  “Good news,” Linx said, putting her phone away. “Bec got bail for Brian, and it wasn’t too high. The bondsman came, and they’re letting him out of jail. Todd will give him a ride back to the cabin.”

  “That’s great,” Cait said. “It sure looks like we’ll have a white Christmas, and everything’s going to be okay. They won’t be pressing charges over the holidays, would they?”

  “Not likely,” Linx said. “Guess this means you won’t need me to hang out with you after all. I hate to be the third wheel.”

  “I really appreciate you two helping me,” Cait said. “Thank your sister for me, too. Let her know to bill us her legal fees.”

  “You sure you don’t want to stay in town?” Chad squinted through the frosty windshield. “We can pick up the dogs and bring you back to Linx’s place or my parents’ ranch.”

  “You’re too kind, but I’d better stay at the cabin,” Cait replied. “I shouldn’t have called my family, because I’m afraid they’re on their way up.”

  “Don’t worry,” Chad said. “We’re closing the roads above the town. No one but locals get through.”

  “Knowing my parents, they’d sneak past the barrier.”

  “Won’t work. I and my brothers are deputies and we’re going to be stationed there tonight to make sure no one goes up or down until the plows come through.” Chad grinned, action hero style.

  “I just hope Brian gets through before it gets worse,” Cait said, staring out the window at the pure white landscape. Their Christmas tree would be entirely covered with snow, and no one would notice that the star was on the side. They still needed to hang lights up at the cabin, and after that, make snowmen and have snowball fights.

  Sitting in front of the fire sipping hot apple cider and toasting chestnuts would also be on the agenda. It would be a real old-fashioned Christmas and one to remember.

  Lost in her fantasies, Cait didn’t notice Chad turning into their driveway.

  “Looks like your family is here already,” he said, pointing to a snow covered vehicle.

  “It’s not the family van,” Cait said. “Maybe only my mom and dad showed up. They must have been in the vicinity to get up here this fast.”

  “They were probably already on their way after not hearing from you. There goes your romantic Christmas,” Linx said, laughing. “Let’s go meet your parents.”

  “Actually, just drop me off,” Cait said. “My parents will keep you guys forever, and it’s getting dark.”

  “You sure?” Linx hopped out of the truck along with her dog Cedar. “At least let me say ‘hi.’”

  Cait wiped the snow off part of the car and frowned. “Actually, this looks like my brother’s rental car.”

  Cedar sniffed at the car and growled, raising her hackles. She lifted her head and barked, as if warning them something wasn’t right.

  “Oh, well, maybe they sent him to check on you.” Linx grabbed Cedar by the collar. “Does your brother hate dogs? Because Cedar’s getting upset.”

  “Grady used to have a dog,
but ever since he lost his puppy, he’s turned into a grouch and says he doesn’t like them anymore.”

  “Oops,” Linx said. “Come on, Cedar, I think we’d better go.”

  “You sure you’ll be okay?” Chad walked up the porch with two grocery bags.

  Barking and growling could be heard from behind the door.

  “Yeah, just leave them here,” Cait said, pointing to the groceries. “I have to let the dogs out, but they seem to be upset right now. Probably can’t stand Grady.”

  Linx and Chad laughed as they got into the car and drove off.

  The door was unlocked and Cait opened it. “Grady, you shouldn’t leave the door unlocked.”

  Instead of Grady, Sierra and Melia ran out of the cabin. Their ears were down and they whined anxiously.

  “Sierra, Melia, what’s wrong?” Cait stared at the dogs. “Did you run out of food? Sorry, I left you so long.”

  The two blue chows milled around the porch, not even sniffing the two grocery bags she had. If Grady kicked them out, she was going to have a strong word with him.

  “Come on in.” She patted her thigh before picking up the bags. “Grady, did you scare the puppies?”

  There was no answer from inside. Sierra slunk into the cabin, but Melia ran to the opposite end of the porch.

  “It’s going to be cold out there,” Cait called for her. “Come on in. I have chicken.”

  The dog refused, so Cait had no choice but to shut the door. She’d check on her after she heated up the fried chicken. Maybe the smell of hot food would do the trick.

  A low growl rumbled from Sierra as she stuck to Cait’s side all the way to the kitchen.

  “I don’t get why you two are so upset. Grady used to have a dog. He’s not as mean as he looks.” Cait checked the food bowls and added dried dog food. “I know you probably want goodies, so I’ll heat up some of that leftover steak.”

  She pulled the refrigerator door open and dropped the grocery bags along with her purse. Wheeling around, she noticed the dirty dishes in the sink and the general disorder of the kitchen.