14 Christmas Spirit

by K. J. Emrick

  Jon nodded along with everything the Chief said until the last part. Then he winced and looked to Darcy for support. "Well, when you put it that way."

  "When I put it that way, it sounds crazy?"

  "You're talking about my fiancé again, Chief."

  "Jon," Darcy said, putting a hand on his arm next to her, "it's all right. He's not trying to be rude. He's just stating a fact."

  Jon looked unconvinced. There was a tension between the two men that Darcy hadn't seen since Jon had been offered a job on the Oak Hollow police force and he'd left Misty Hollow and his job here and…

  And her.

  She stared at Jon, studying his face. When he noticed her looking at him that way he scrunched his eyebrows down and she could tell he was wondering what she was thinking.

  He wouldn't leave her again, Darcy thought to herself. Not now. Not at this point in their relationship. They had plans. They were getting married and inviting family to Christmas dinner and he had even agreed to think about inviting his mother and they were in such a good place right now that there was no way he would do that to her again.

  Then Jon smiled at her. It was like he could read her mind. "Darcy, I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

  When she heard that she felt herself relax. She hadn't even realized how she had tensed up. "You promise?"

  "I promise. I'm not going anywhere this time."

  "Then what…?"

  "I'll explain it all. Later. Right now I still think we need to convince Joe here that going up to Saxton University is the right move."

  "I know Saxton University," Joe said. "Got a good Criminal Justice program up there. Some of our own guys graduated from that program. I have contacts up there, too, and I can call in the right favors to make this happen. You still haven't convinced me that I should."

  "Chief," Jon said, "you're just going to have to trust us."

  Then he sat, waiting on the Chief to decide. All their cards were on the table. Every argument had been made. It was up to Joe now.

  "All right, all right," he finally said after another heavy sigh. "Can't believe I'm going to do this. Jon, if you think this is the way to go, then I'll back your play."

  Jon nodded. "I do. Thanks, Chief."

  "Don't thank me. Watching the two of you is like drinking pure sugar water. If you were any sweeter together my teeth would be rotting out of my head. Just go set things up on your end and I'll deal with getting the warrant from the judge."

  Darcy hid a smile at the Chief's reference to how sweet Jon and her were together. She knew it was true.

  Joe tapped his finger once more against his desk and then reached over for the phone. "Don't you two have something to do?" he asked.

  "Yes, we do." Jon stood up, waiting for Darcy to follow. "We have to call Megan's father and convince him to meet us at Saxton University."

  ***

  "You know," Darcy said as they entered Oak Hollow's city limits, "we haven't finished our talk about inviting your mother to Christmas dinner."

  "Really?" Jon asked innocently. "I was pretty sure we had."

  "Uh, no. Nice try."

  Oak Hollow was small, for a city, but it had the population and the infrastructure to thrive and grow in ways that other places nearby didn't. Highrises and strip malls and traffic lights spread out around them as Jon took his turns without hesitation. He hadn't worked here in Oak Hollow for long before returning to his job in Misty Hollow, but apparently it had been long enough for him to memorize the layout of the streets.

  "We almost died yesterday," Darcy said to him, hoping to press the issue of inviting his mother.

  He nodded. "We did. That's true. Not the first time."

  "Well, no, but that kind of makes my point. You should take the time to rebuild your relationship with your mother now, before something worse happens."

  His expression said it all. "You think something worse could happen? More than what we've already been through, you and me?"

  "Um. Well, I hope not, but…you know."

  "Yeah, I guess so."

  "All right, so why don't we use the time we have—"

  "Okay."

  She lost her head of steam in one short breath. "What?"

  "I said, okay. Darcy, I know you're right. It's just…hard for me. You remember how hard it was for you to reconnect with your mom?"

  "That was a little different."

  He signaled for a turn, pursing his lips. "Fair enough. I'll admit most of the stuff between mom and me is on my end. She's always tried to be there for me, in her own way. There's just a big gap between us now and I'm not sure how to get across it."

  Darcy laid her hand on his knee. In that moment he seemed so vulnerable. He was always this strong, silent man, always so confident, always so sure. It was in moments like these that Darcy felt she was seeing the real him. The side that he never showed anyone but her.

  "I love you," she told him.

  "Then you can make the phonecall to mom."

  "Deal."

  Jon slowed down, checking his mirror to make sure Shane and Blake were following his movements in their black and white patrol car.

  "We're sure the Oak Hollow PD was all right with us bringing our own people?" Darcy asked.

  "I still have friends here. They're sending Sergeant Vasquez with a few men to meet us up there. You probably remember him."

  Darcy nodded, taking her hands back and sliding them deep into the pockets of her winter coat. She was shivering again, and again it had little to do with the cold. Her sixth sense was trying to tell her something.

  Darcy didn't need the gentle urgings of her extra sense to know this was going to be dangerous. They had invited a killer to join them up here in their search for Megan Bortchowski. There was no telling how he'd react.

  The campus of Saxton University was surrounded with a wrought iron fence that had the college's huge seal with the capital "S" on it displayed proudly by the entrance. Three long brick buildings were arranged in the shape of a horseshoe, the open end facing toward the gate. Jon pulled his car through and Blake drove the patrol car in right behind. Two of Oak Hollow's cars were already there, waiting for them.

  Pulling up next to the lead car, Jon rolled down his window and waited for the other driver to do the same. "Hi there, Carlos," he called across to Sergeant Vasquez. "Thanks for meeting us."

  "Not a problem, Jon." Carlos tipped his head in greeting to Darcy. It had been a long time since she'd seen him, but if anything he looked like he had gained a few inches around his biceps and chest. His dark complexion and black hair marked his Hispanic heritage and his smile marked him as a friend. "Always happy to help. Just wish you'd stayed with our department instead of going back to Misty Hollow. I hear you're making quite the name for yourself over there."

  "Well, what can I say?" Jon answered. "Some things are worth going home for."

  His hand found hers, and squeezed gently.

  "Couldn't agree more. The construction project you asked about is at the far side of the quad," Carlos told them. "You really think your girl is up there?"

  "It makes the most sense," Jon was quick to point out. "With the ground this cold, digging a grave would be too much work. Anyway, it's a good place to start."

  "Okay, sure," Carlos admitted, "it's easy to dump a body down a hole that's already there. But why here? What made you think to look for her here?"

  Jon turned to Darcy, then back to Carlos. "That part's hard to explain. Buy me a beer sometime and I'll tell you all about it."

  "You got a deal, man. We have a lot of catching up to do. All right. Follow me. Uh, be careful what you say, too. News is already here."

  Jon nodded curtly, lips curling in a frown. He knew that part. His least favorite television reporter had showed up early. Darcy had argued that having every step they made up here recorded for posterity could only help them in the end. The best way to do that was to bring the news in on the whole thing.

  Besides. They had promised
Brianna Watson to let her know when they had something worth reporting.

  They drove slowly around the campus on a paved access road, college students in winter outfits watching them curiously. Jon waved to a few that stared too long. Darcy rolled her eyes.

  At the back of the campus, off in a field across the road from the main buildings, a large area had been cleared away and dug down with the help of heavy excavating equipment. The large yellow trucks sat idle now that police tape had been strung from short wooden poles around the site. One of the Oak Hollow cars was already out here, an officer in dark long sleeves and a bulletproof vest talking with a woman in a long trench coat. A little guy holding a shoulder mounted camera and wearing a baseball cap backwards on his head stood next to them, filming every word. The officer shook his head several times as the female reporter pointed to the site behind the police barrier tape.

  "Do you really think it's going to be this easy?" Darcy asked, not for the first time.

  "You know Megan is up here," Jon said, "and I trust your instincts. Like I told Carlos this spot makes the most sense. The phonecalls we made from Daleson's office confirmed it as far as I'm concerned. They poured a partial foundation in that hole last Friday. If Megan's body was already down there, covered with a thin layer of dirt maybe, then the people pouring the concrete wouldn't even notice."

  Darcy's stomach turned. She'd seen people killed in a variety of ways, seen people trying to cover up their crimes in shallow graves and worse, but somehow the thought of Megan's body being buried under concrete was unsettling.

  She definitely understood now why Megan's spirit was so restless. Darcy would be upset, too, if she got buried in a hole under concrete. Forgotten. Lost.

  Find me, Megan's spirit had demanded. Darcy hoped that was exactly what they had done.

  For just a moment her mind turned to thoughts of what might happen to her own spirit when she died. Would she haunt the people she loved? Would she be a vengeful spirit looking for justice? Or maybe she would just hang around to keep an eye on things like Great Aunt Millie's ghost seemed happy to do.

  Hopefully, she wouldn't have to find out for years to come. That was a lot more time than Megan had been given.

  They got out, joining Shane and Blake over by Vasquez and his officers. Jon nodded to the reporters. "Brianna Watson," he said, "television reporter extraordinaire. Thanks for coming."

  "You know I wouldn't miss an exclusive like this, Detective," she said with hungry eyes. "Only, next time can you give me a scoop on a warm beach in the middle of summer? I look killer in a bikini. Just FYI."

  "So what's the plan here?" Sergeant Vasquez asked, walking them past the barrier tape and closer to the hole where they could talk privately. "Tear up the concrete and hope Megan is down there?"

  "We know she's down there," Jon assured him. "It's a calculated risk."

  "Pretty big risk."

  Jon looked at Darcy as he said, "Well, it's like playing tic tac toe. The only way to win a game like this is to do the unexpected."

  Darcy recognized her own words from a few days ago. It was nice to know Jon was the kind of boyfriend who listened to her.

  Blake stomped his feet against the ground to warm them, pacing a little. "What do you want us to do, Jon?"

  "You and Shane help keep a perimeter," Jon told him. "Keep the nosy college students away from here once the noise starts. And make sure Brianna over there holds to her promise and stays on that side of the line. She'll have enough action soon enough."

  "You hope," Blake muttered. "Lots of places to hide a body up here. Should we maybe do a search of the grounds first?"

  "No. We're starting here," Jon insisted. "Trust me. You and Shane stay here and watch the perimeter. This will all be over soon. We're just waiting on one more player."

  Both men looked uneasily down the edge of the hole at the nice, smooth layer of concrete. Then they walked back to the edge of the police barrier tape, talking in low whispers, looking back at Jon as they went. Darcy saw Brianna press them with questions, the camera up and recording. The officers shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, and Brianna lost interest.

  As Darcy was watching that, a yellow city utility truck drove up, bouncing on its shocks. The camera turned to follow its progress. The bed of the truck was loaded with heavy equipment and shovels and orange cones. It parked behind the Misty Hollow patrol car and two men got out, both of them older, with big guts that were at odds with their heavy arms. One of the men had a graying, scruffy beard. He was the one who spoke to Shane and Blake before coming across the barrier to where she and Jon stood next to the hole.

  "You Detective Tinker?" the guy asked. "I'm Sam, that's Bill. Got a work order to break up some 'crete. You want us to get started now?"

  This was what Chief Daleson's warrant had allowed them to do. It was the work of a few hours to jump through the right hoops and get a judge to sign an order that would allow private property to be dug up. Darcy still didn't know how Daleson had managed it on the information they had, but they were here now, and the college officials had agreed to stay back until they were done, and Bill and Sam definitely knew how to handle those jackhammers.

  Blake and Shane both wandered over at different times, to watch the work or escape Brianna's questions or both. Morbid curiosity mixed with other emotions on their faces.

  "Rookies, am I right?" Sergeant Vasquez joked after Blake had walked away for the third time looking green around the gills.

  Jon nodded. "Neither one of them has a whole lot of time with our office."

  "Well. They'll get their feet under them soon enough—"

  "Hey, cop guys!" Sam called up to them from inside the hole. The sound of the jackhammers had stopped. "I, uh, think I mighta found what you're looking for."

  Darcy moved to the edge of the hole, close to Jon. She knew what she was going to find. It still unsettled her to see it.

  The concrete had been broken up in chunks, a layer of gray dust covering everything including Sam and Bill standing there in their overalls and heavy boots and yellow hard hats.

  Under the broken concrete lay a heavy black tarp. One corner had been pulled away and folded over, and there was no mistaking what was under the tarp.

  Megan Bortchowski.

  "There was a few inches of dirt over top of it," Sam explained, leaning on the handle of his jackhammer. "That's why it broke away so clean. Never seen anything like this."

  To emphasize the point, his partner Bill climbed over the side of the hole and puked in the snow. Darcy saw Brianna's cameraman angling to get that in the shot.

  Megan looked just like she had in Darcy's vision. Long blond hair. Cute, triangular face. The only difference was the blindfold tied around Megan's eyes.

  Blinded. Megan had been blinded when she died. That explained why her spirit had presented itself to Darcy with the eyes missing. She couldn't see where she was when she died. She couldn't see anything, and she didn't understand why.

  Find me.

  FIND ME!

  "We found you," Darcy whispered, not sure if Megan's ghost heard her or not, but needing to say it.

  "All right," Jon said, sounding just as sickened as Darcy felt to see Megan laid out like that. "That's step one."

  "Step one?" Vasquez asked. "I thought this was the whole plan. Find the body, have the news here to watch, nice little photo op. What's step two?"

  "Catching the killer." Jon checked his watch, then turned his gaze up the access road to see a little blue car that had seen better days driving up to the police vehicles. "Good. Right on time."

  The car pulled up and then stopped. The cameraman was right there to record every step as a short man with a barrel chest and thinning gray hair stepped out. He scowled at everyone, especially at the camera, then his eyes locked with Jon's.

  "Who's this?" Vasquez asked.

  "Braun Bortchowski," Jon explained. "The dead girl's father. Carlos, when I make my play, tell your guys to be ready to back
me up."

  "You here to make an arrest, Jon?"

  "Yes. I am."

  Carlos nodded and then stepped over to his officers to quietly explain they would be taking Jon's lead. Shane and Blake escorted Braun Bortchowski over to the scene. Brianna Watson followed as closely as she dared, calling out questions that went, for the most part, unanswered.

  Shivers ran up Darcy's spine.

  "Sam, do me a favor?" Jon asked the city construction worker. "Cover her back up. No father should have to see a daughter like that."

  "Know what you mean," Sam grunted, spitting to one side before he lowered himself back down into the hole. "I'm a father myself."

  "All right, big shot," Braun shouted at Jon as he got closer. "I'm here. You better have a good reason for dragging me all the way out to this place. I wouldn't even be here if her mother hadn't kept nagging me. Whatever. I'm here. You find Megan?"

  Jon nodded.

  Braun looked around him. "So where is she? Where's my daughter?"

  Darcy watched Shane and Blake, and their counterparts from Oak Hollow, position themselves around Braun in a semicircle, blading themselves, their body language tense. They were ready to arrest Megan's killer at Jon's signal.

  "Well?" Braun asked again. "Where is she?"

  "Down at the station," Jon lied. "Do you want me to bring you to her?"

  "Yes." There was no hesitation from Braun. "I need to have a talk with that girl. She needs to know what she's put us through."

  He wheeled around and started marching back to his truck.

  "Didn't you say you knew she was dead?" Jon asked, stopping Braun in his tracks and making turn back toward them. "When we were out to see you at your house?"

  "What? Well, sure. I did. The way she lived her life…I wasn't sure. I was hoping you would find her and steer her back home…" He bunched his eyebrows down and glared at Jon. "But you just said she was alive. Right? That's what you said. What's going on here?"

  "We're here to arrest Megan's killer," Darcy said to him.