Holly, Ivy, & Intrigue

by Celebrate Lit Publishing

  He opened the door and rushed into the living room, listening for sounds of movement. Some of the strong smell had dissipated. The Christmas tree lights outside were still twinkling, but the house was empty.

  He opened the large burlap sack and thrust the gifts inside. No matter what size the box, he grabbed it. When the last gift was stuffed into the bag, he peeked through the hole in the window and saw the woman standing in the street, talking on her phone.

  He glanced into what looked like an office next to the kitchen. A brown box sat beside a tall book shelf. Quickly he slipped into the room and grabbed that box. He’d sort through the contents later. Anything that might contain the watch was stuffed into his bag.

  When everything that looked promising had been taken, he opened the closet door, and perused the shelves. After tossing several boxes into his bag, he slipped into the kitchen and out the back door.

  Thankfully, the wind had died down, and the snow was still falling—fast enough to hide his tracks to the woods. Throwing his bag over the fence, he climbed the chain links and dropped to the other side.

  His steps quickened as he thought about what he might have in the bag on his back. If the watch was in one of these boxes, his troubles were over. If not, he’d be back.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Did you get it?”

  Tag sat in his pickup, frustrated.

  “No. It wasn’t in any of the Christmas boxes, and I grabbed every box I could find in his office. It wasn’t in any of those either.”

  Stew let out a curse. “Why aren’t you still searching?”

  “The house is swarming with firemen. I heard ‘em say there was a gas leak. She got out of the house by breaking a window and called 911.”

  “You idiot! Can’t you do anything right?”

  “It’s not my fault she had a gas leak.”

  “What are you gonna do now?”

  “Wait until the firemen leave. I heard them tell her she might want to stay somewhere else tonight. When everyone leaves, I’ll search the rest of the house without trouble.”

  “What are you going to do if you don’t find it?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it. He’s still with you, right?”

  “Yes, he’s still here. Just hurry up. We only have one day left.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Paige sat in the corner of the porch, protected from the falling snow. The wind had died down, but in the beams of three high-powered lamps, she could see the snow falling softly. Motors on huge fans broke up the silence of the flurries and sounded odd in the middle of the night. The fire department was still airing out the house, gradually getting rid of gas fumes.

  A soft blue blanket was wrapped around her shoulders and a fast food cup of tepid coffee was in her hands. She held her emotions together until she saw Rosie stomping through piles of snow in her yard, and she fell apart. Her sobs stole her breath when Rosie pulled her into a hug.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”

  When she was able to breathe, she spouted, “I told you, Rosie. Cooper is … trying to kill me.”

  Rosie leaned back and held Paige’s shoulders with her hands and looked into her eyes.

  “Paige. Look at me, honey.”

  Paige lifted tear-rimmed eyes and looked at her friend—begging for help.

  “Have you talked to Cooper yet?”

  Paige shook her head.

  “Well until you do, you don’t know this was Cooper’s doing.”

  “Who else could it be, Rosie?”

  Rosie glanced at the sheriff’s patrol car sitting in the driveway. “Did you tell the sheriff what you suspect?”

  Paige teared up again and shook her head. “I couldn’t bring myself to even say it aloud to a stranger. Oh Rosie, what am I going to do?”

  “What did the sheriff say about the gas leak?”

  Paige shook her head. “He said … he said the thief turned the gas on and took the key.”

  “Thief? They think it was a thief?”

  “That’s what Sheriff Warren said, but I don’t believe it. I think Cooper did it all himself to make everyone think it was a thief.”

  “Wait a minute. Slow down. What made the sheriff think it was a thief?”

  “Because whoever it was rummaged through Cooper’s study. It’s a mess. And he took all of the Christmas presents. The sheriff thinks he might have been looking for something.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know.” Paige dropped her head into her hands. “I don’t have any idea. We’ve only been married four months. We don’t have anything worth stealing. It had to be Cooper.”

  Rosie sighed and watched the firemen roaming back and forth. “I’m sorry, hon, but I still think you’re overreacting. You need to talk to Cooper before you make that judgment.”

  Paige shook her head and cried.

  “Come on,” said Rosie. “You can come to my house for the rest of the night. I’ll talk to the sheriff and let him know we’re leaving. Do you need a coat?”

  Paige nodded. Her throat was too full of tears to speak.

  “I’ll take care of it, sweetie. Just wait here.”

  Paige watched Rosie walk into the house and closed her eyes. The only explanation for all of this was Cooper. As much as she wanted to be wrong, she was confident her husband might be trying to kill her.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The next morning, Cooper woke up to the smell of bacon … fried bacon. The smell conjured up hot, crisp, sizzling bacon strips at least a foot long, piled high on a platter.

  His stomach growled, and he realized the last thing he ate was a sandwich with Paige the night before. He was starving.

  He tugged on his pants and buttoned his shirt on the way out the door. Half way down the stairs, he remembered his cell phone and hurried back up to his room.

  He pulled the phone from Dave’s extra charger beside the bed and checked for missed calls.

  Nothing.

  Now he was really worried. Paige would never let this much time pass without being in touch. He hadn’t talked to her since leaving the house yesterday. He activated the phone icon and touched Paige’s picture. The call started.

  Once again there was no answer, and it went to voicemail.

  Frustrated, Cooper tried to ignore the smell wafting up the stairs, but his stomach wouldn’t let him forget the aroma. He would eat first, and even if he had to walk home, he would go check on Paige.

  After gulping down his breakfast, he pushed back from the table and nodded at Dave. “I forgot what a good cook you are. How come you haven’t made someone a wonderful wife yet?”

  Dave threw a dishtowel at him. “Maybe I haven’t found the right person I’d be interested in cooking for … yet.”

  Cooper laughed and jumped as his cell phone rang in his shirt pocket. Excitement coursed through him until he saw the strange number highlighted on his phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey Cooper. This is Sam Bradford. How are you doing?”

  “I’m good, Sam. What about yourself?”

  “We’re good. We wondered if you were home last night?”

  “No, my flight to Chicago was canceled because of the storm, and I spent the night with a friend.”

  “Oh … uh … I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

  Cooper realized how it sounded and laughed. “No, I stayed with Dave Stewart, one of the personal trainers from the Fitness Center.”

  “Yeah, I know Dave,” Sam said with a chuckle.

  “He offered to let me spend the night at his house since there was no way I could make it home in this storm. Why do you ask?”

  “I wanted to see what happened in our neighborhood last night.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My sister lives three doors down from us, and she said she saw fire trucks and an ambulance turn down your street. We thought maybe there was a fire down that way.”

  The blood drained from Co
oper’s face.

  “Fire and ambulance?”

  “Yeah, it was about two in the morning. She said everything flew by her house, turned down your street, and came back about two hours later.”

  “No, I didn’t know anything about it.” His heart was racing.

  “I see. Well I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you might know what happened.”

  “No, but now I’m worried about Paige. I haven’t been able to get her on the phone. Would you … would you mind walking over to check on her?”

  “I wish I could, Cooper, but I’m stranded in Gatlinburg. We came to see the Christmas lights, and they won’t let us leave because the roads down the mountain are covered with ice.”

  “Okay. Thanks anyway for letting me know.”

  Cooper hung up the phone and turned to Dave. “That was a friend who lives in our neighborhood. He said his sister saw the fire department go down our street last night, and I can’t get Paige on the phone. I’m worried about her. Snow plows or not, I’m headed home—even if I have to walk all the way through the woods.”

  Dave stood up. “I’ll go with you, but let’s take my RAM, it has four-wheel drive.”

  Cooper nodded and grabbed his coat off the living room chair.

  Dave threw the keys to Cooper. “Warm up the truck while I make a quick phone call.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Standing in the middle of the bedroom, Tag jumped when his phone vibrated. Stew’s picture appeared on the screen.

  “Yeah?”

  “Did you find it yet?”

  “I’m still looking.”

  Stew swore. “Cooper decided to go home and see about his wife. I can’t keep him here any longer. We’re taking my four-wheel drive, so I’ll stall as much as I can. If you haven’t found it before we get there, you’ll have to make him tell us where it is.”

  “What do you mean, I’ll have to make him? Where are you gonna be?”

  “Well I can’t exactly stick around and let him know I’m involved, can I? He can identify me.”

  “I’m not doing this all myself. Like it or not, you’re involved.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll take a ski mask with me. I’ll drop him off then drive around the corner and walk back. If you get into trouble, I’ll be close. You have a mask, don’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Wear it. I don’t want him to see your face. Stealing that watch is necessary, but I’m not ready to add murder to the list.”

  “Have you forgotten what we face if we don’t find this watch?”

  “No, I haven’t forgotten, but I mean it. No one is to get hurt. Understood?”

  “Well, we disagree on that point, don’t we? I’ll do what I have to do to keep from facing Big Bennie empty handed … whether you approve or not.”

  Tag ended the call, and frowned. Stew might not want to get his hands dirty, but he wouldn’t hesitate to murder if he had to make that choice.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Rosie took a sip of coffee and frowned. What was going on with Cooper? He loved Paige—anyone could see that. If he wanted to harm her, Rosie was a misjudge of character. Yet, the circumstances seemed to point in his direction.

  Footsteps on the stairs told her Paige was finally up.

  Rosie got up and poured another cup of coffee.

  When Paige stepped into the room, Rosie had to smile. The pajamas Rosie loaned her were twisted and wrinkled, and the robe was wrong side out. Her long hair was twisted around her head in turban style, and her half-closed eyes told Rosie she wasn’t awake completely.

  “Here,” she pointed at the extra cup of coffee sitting on the table.

  Paige didn’t say a word but made a beeline toward the cup.

  “Coffee,” she croaked.

  Picking up the cup, Paige closed her eyes and smelled the steam rising in the air. After taking a sip, she moaned in pleasure.

  “That is so what I needed.”

  Paige pulled out the closest chair and plopped into it—as if melting into the wood.

  “I couldn’t sleep at all. I kept seeing Cooper’s face in front of me. One minute he was smiling and the next minute he was sneering. And when I did sleep, I dreamed of Cooper coming toward me with a poker in his hand.”

  “Oh Paige, you’ve got to snap out of this. I believe with all my heart there’s a reasonable explanation for the things you heard Cooper say. And there’s no way I can believe the gas leak was Cooper’s doing. I’ve heard strong winds can blow out a pilot light, and we certainly had strong wind last night.”

  “I love Cooper so much, and I don’t want him to be responsible.” Paige’s voice broke as she covered her face with her hands.

  “I know, hon. We’ll figure this out. Let’s look at this logically.” Rosie grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen from the drawer of the small antique desk beside her.

  “First of all, let’s write down the facts.” She raised her brows at Paige. “What should I write down first?”

  Paige held her chin in her hands and propped her elbows on the table. “I don’t know.”

  Rosie pinched her lips together and wrote on the paper. “Cooper and Paige: married four months and seem extremely happy.”

  Paige sat up straight in the chair and spoke with no feeling. “Cooper overheard saying he wanted to kill Paige.”

  Rosie tapped her fingers on the table and glowered at Paige. “That’s not what he said.”

  “Okay, so he said he wanted to get rid of me, and that he spent too much on me already. What’s the difference?”

  Rosie wrote down “Paige overhears Cooper say he wants to get rid of ‘her’ and that he spent too much money on ‘her.’”

  Rosie slapped the paper with the back of her hand. “Paige, ‘her’ could mean anything. You know how men always use the term ‘she’ and ‘her’ for different things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well … cars … boats …secretaries …” Paige crossed her arms then tapped the paper with the pencil. “Okay, let’s get on with the facts.”

  “No, I’m done guessing,” said Paige. “I realized last night I haven’t given Cooper a chance to explain. I love him too much to believe he would hurt me, in spite of what I heard. I’m not making more rash judgments until I talk to him. I’m almost ashamed for believing Cooper said those things about me. What you said yesterday made sense, and I need to hear his side of the story before judging him for something he might not be guilty of.”

  “That’s my girl.”

  “Now,” Paige said as she stood up. “I’m going to get dressed, borrow a pair of your snow-boots, and walk home through the woods. I thought about calling Cooper, but I’d rather face him in person. His meeting in Chicago was sometime this morning, and he should be home tonight.”

  Rosie’s stomach tingled. “Oh dear.”

  “What?”

  “I saw on the news this morning that all flights from Nashville had been canceled.”

  Paige sat back down. “Maybe that was after his flight left last night.”

  “Did he leave before six o’clock?”

  “No. His departure time was at eight.”

  Rosie licked her lips. “The flights were all stopped at six.” Then she perked up. “Maybe he was stranded at the airport.”

  “Maybe, or maybe that really was him at our house last night.” Tears filled Paige’s eyes again.

  “Now sweetie, there you go again … jumping to conclusions without knowing all the facts. Remember what you said? You need to talk to him before making rash judgments.”

  “But if he was stranded, then why didn’t he call and let me know?”

  “I thought you said he called, but you didn’t answer.”

  Paige’s mouth formed an “O” before she admitted, “Yes, you’re right. He did call.” She took a deep breath and flattened her lips. “Okay then, if he didn’t fly out, he’ll find his way home one way or another, so I’m going home too. I’ll wait for him there.”

>   “Would you like me to go with you?”

  “No. I don’t know how long it will be before he gets home, and I want to confront him myself.”

  “Okay, hon. You get ready, and I’ll see if I can find my boots.”

  Rosie watched her climb the stairs, and tamped down the bad feeling she had about sending Paige off to meet Cooper alone. Maybe she should follow her home.

  If she had an inkling at all that Cooper was trying to hurt Paige, she would be right behind her with a pistol in her pocket.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Paige trudged through the foot-deep snow under the skimpy stand of pines and felt the muscles in her thighs protesting. The pain in her legs was nothing compared to the ache she felt in her heart. It weighed more than the heavy boots she wore.

  She loved Cooper, so how in the world could she suspect him of planning to harm her?

  “It was the circumstances,” she said to herself and the trees around her. “Everything points to him—even his own words.”

  She looked up at the tops of the trees and saw the snow swirling in all directions. Her life felt just as erratic and just as confusing. Maybe letting go of her life, and letting God have control was the answer. Rosie and Cooper both seemed to think so.

  She watched the clouds rushing past and felt closer than she ever had before to believing God was real. Maybe Rosie was right.

  She looked up into the sky and found a tiny patch of blue not covered by clouds. She slowed her steps and focused on that spot of shimmering color.

  “God,” she whispered, “I know I haven’t trusted in you in the past—because to be honest, I didn’t really know if you existed—but I want you to know that I believe in you. I want what Cooper and Rosie have. I want to believe you love me, in spite of my faults. I’m sorry for my sins, God, and I want you to forgive me. Will you please accept me as one of your children and help me with my life, God?”

  Nothing spectacular happened. The snow still blew past her face, the clouds still covered most of the sky, but that tiny patch of blue seemed to broaden and grow brighter, and her heart felt as light as one of the snowflakes floating in the wind.

  She stopped dead in her tracks and looked into that circle of blue.