“June Bug, you're killing me,” Sarah said and let out a hungry moan. “I could go for Chinese food...sesame chicken...fried rice...” Sarah sighed. “Thanks a lot, Pete. Now I'm hungry for Chinese food.”
“I would give anything to be in Los Angeles right now, basking in the warm sun, shopping, eating at that diner you love so much.” Amanda hugged her cold arms. “I can see the blue skies and the palm trees...I can see us driving through the canyons that wind up into the hills high above the city...”
Sarah felt homesickness wash over her. “Pete wants me to move back to Los Angeles and take my old job back,” she told Amanda.
Amanda looked at Sarah with worry in her eyes. “And?” she asked, fearing the worst – not that she could blame Sarah for wanting to pack up her bags and leave Snow Falls. The poor woman had suffered nothing but one catastrophe after another after arriving in town. A person could take only so much hardship before abandoning ship.
“Oh, June Bug,” Sarah sighed, “sometimes I get so homesick for my old familiar life...I can barely stand it. I miss California sun and everything that made Los Angeles feel like a paradise,” Sarah explained. “But I don't miss the crime, the traffic, the pollution, the hate...the violence. My heart is torn between Alaska, a place I want to love and call my new home, and Los Angeles, my hometown that is filled with corrupt politicians, criminals, gangs...the worst mankind has to offer under a sun that shines down on the good and the bad every day.”
Amanda listened to Sarah speak and sighed with a heavy heart. “As much as I love my life here in Snow Falls, sometimes thoughts of London are the same for me, love,” she said. “In the old days, London was a fine city. Today, London is fancy and cosmopolitan, but it has a dark side, too. It has become a...smelly sewer to me. Oh, I still see my old spots that I adore and I still cherish them...but the people, love, have changed, for the worse...and that change has tainted London.” Amanda looked down at Mittens slumbering peacefully on the wooly blanket. “England is still a beautiful country. The countryside is absolutely breathtaking. It's the people, love, that are destroying the world.”
Sarah nodded. “There's this street in Los Angeles, downtown, that once housed this old pie shop. All the place served was pie. Pete and I loved to go there...so did my ex-husband.” Sarah felt pain sting her heart and slowly pushed it away. “A little old man and woman...the Patricks were their name...they owned the pie shop for years and were known by the whole city. Sweet people, June Bug.”
“What happened?”
“Time,” Sarah said in a resigned voice. “Mr. Patrick ended up dying and his wife had to move away. She couldn’t keep up the business or afford the rent. Pete told me a tattoo parlor took over the pie shop, changed all its vintage glamor into ugly decor.” Sarah lowered her eyes. “There was a toy store across the street...a bar occupies the toy store now.”
“What a shame,” Amanda said in a disgusted voice.
“The old-timers made Los Angeles what it was,” Sarah said. “The people of yesterday are all dying away, though, and the world is being ruined by people who have no sense of...what life truly is. The people of today are all about money, power, technology, control, sacrificing their hearts to a world of greed and death. The Patricks were fine, Christian people who understood the old ways. Today it's hard to find a business that respects the old ways. It's all about money and—”
“And change,” Amanda added. “Greedy monsters are changing the world into a dark hole, love.”
“Yes, they are,” Sarah agreed. “And that's why I can never move back to Los Angeles. The city was changing for the worse when I lived there…it's surely not going to get any better.” Sarah shook her head. “Pete told me his favorite Chinese restaurant might be forced to close because some developer wants the space for a new medical complex. I know Snow Falls is a small town, June Bug, but at least there's still people like Andrew around...men who care to keep an older way of life alive.”
“There's us, too,” Amanda promised Sarah. “We're not going to let anyone come in and take over Snow Falls. This is our home and we'll fight for it...better or worse. And that means you can never leave.”
Sarah looked at Amanda with loving eyes. “I wasn't planning on leaving, June Bug,” she promised. “Snow Falls is my home now. Conrad is my home. You're my home.”
“Don't forget about our little O'Mally's” Amanda pointed out. “O'Mally's may not be a huge shopping mall, but it's our store.”
“You bet,” Sarah actually smiled. “I love going into O'Mally's early in the morning, when the doors first open. I love having the store to myself...shopping round, getting this or that, really looking for nothing but loving everything. The other day I went there and ended up buying a simple bath towel. I sat in the snack bar most of the time reading a book, enjoying the atmosphere. Sure, I wasn't at my little diner beside the beach...I was someplace else that had captured my heart.”
“Snow Falls has all of my heart,” Amanda confessed. “I can't imagine living anyplace else, love. I admit that I miss my old life in London, but I'm also very attached to my new life in Alaska. Why, if it wasn't for that mental case outside trying to kill me, I would be at O'Mally's right this second...either that or calling Andrew and fussing at him to get the plows moving so I could drive to O'Mally's.”
Sarah felt a smile touch her face. “Yes, Andrew has told me you have called him a time or two and ordered him to get the plows moving.”
“Nothing stands between a woman and her shopping,” Amanda declared and then grew silent. A sad shadow fell over her lovely face.
“June Bug?” Sarah asked in a concerned voice, “what is it?”
A tear dropped from Amanda's eye. “My love for this place might not be enough. It might not be up to me. My hubby may force me to leave Snow Falls,” she said. “He warned me that if I got into any more trouble, he would move us back to London.” Amanda looked at Sarah. “This will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, love.”
“No, it isn't, not yet,” Sarah promised. “If your hubby tries to take you away from me I'll...punch him square in the nose.”
Amanda wiped at her tear. “I could never go back to London,” she told Sarah. “I love my cabin, the woods, the fresh air...and my snow. I couldn't imagine living in one of those suffocating flats again.”
“You're not leaving Snow Falls, June Bug.”
“I wish I could be as confident, Los Angeles,” Amanda replied. “My hubby isn't the type of man who goes back on his word. Also,” Amanda added in a hurt voice, “his daddy is pressuring him to relocate to London...and sadly, my son is agreeing.”
“But your son loves Fairbanks.”
Amanda felt another tear drop from her eye. “My son was offered a good job in London, love. My hubby...really has no reason to stay in Alaska anymore. We moved here to be close to my son. He's leaving, which means we have no reason to stay.”
Sarah felt her heart break. “June Bug, why didn't you tell me?” she begged.
“Because I...I told my hubby I would never leave Snow Falls,” Amanda explained. She felt more tears leave her hurt eyes. “I can’t do it,” she continued. “I told my hubby and he agreed that if I stay out of trouble, he would continue living in Snow Falls. Now I'm afraid he'll give me a choice: relocate to London or...divorce him.”
“June Bug, your husband would never divorce you over something so trivial. That man...why, you're his entire world.” Sarah put her arm around Amanda. “I think you're panicking over nothing.”
Amanda gazed out of the cell. “I'm not getting any younger, Los Angeles. I want to grow old in Snow Falls. I'm very happy here...but the day might arrive when I will be forced to make a very difficult choice.”
Before Sarah could respond, Conrad appeared with a worried look on his face. “Connor Barker is on the phone. He's demanding to talk to Amanda.”
Amanda squeezed Sarah's hand. “Love?” she asked.
“You better talk to him, honey,” Sarah told Ama
nda and helped her stand up. “Right now, we have to stay in the game and see what cards Connor might play. If we refuse to sit at the table and play with him, he might do something drastic to force us back to the game...like begin shooting innocent people.”
Amanda drew in a deep breath. “Okay, love,” she said, “I'll talk to the monster. After all, Snow Falls is my home, and the people who live here are my neighbors and friends.”
“That's my girl,” Sarah said and walked Amanda into the front room like she was walking a convicted felon to an electric chair. Outside, the winds howled and the snow continued to flood down from a low, dark gray sky, covering the town of Snow Falls, a silent, white scream trapping everyone inside of a nightmare.
Amanda walked up to Brent's desk and picked up an icy cold phone. “What do you want with me?” she demanded, trying to sound firm and angry instead of terrified to her core.
“I want you to understand what it feels like to suffer mental anguish,” Connor told Amanda. He walked over to a chair in the warm cabin and sat down. “I want you to understand what it feels like to suffer before you die.”
“Why?” Amanda asked, allowing her voice to show desperation. “What did I ever do to you?”
“Not to me...my mother,” Connor stated. He locked his eyes on a raging fire and walked his mind back through time. “Because of you, my mother suffered a mental breakdown. Because of you...I suffered under the hands of a cruel man and a cruel woman.”
“What are you talking about? I didn't do anything to Bertha. That woman was already a mental case when my parents hired her to become my nanny.”
“Don't you dare speak about my mother that way!” Connor hissed and hit the left arm of the chair with a powerful fist. “My mother was the victim, not you.”
Amanda looked at Sarah with worried eyes. “Okay...if you insist on believing a lie.”
“I speak the truth,” Connor retorted, forcing his temper to cool down. “My mother told me all about you, Amanda. She told me how you were a spoiled child, indulged too much by weak parents. She told me how you told lies about her to your parents. She told me how you hated her, pulled awful tricks on her, hurt her, and eventually got her dismissed.” Connor drew in a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. “My mother told me your hatred pushed her mind over the edge. She said you tortured her.”
“What a load of cow manure,” Amanda exclaimed. “Listen, you basket case, Bertha was the one who tortured me. She would sneak behind my back and tell my parents awful lies. She made my life a living nightmare for many years. Then one day my mother caught her in a lie and dismissed her.”
“Don't lie to me,” Connor threatened Amanda in a deadly voice. “My mother told me the truth about you.” Connor squeezed the phone. “You’re the reason she suffered so greatly, and I swore I would take vengeance on everyone who harmed her. Now I'm fulfilling my promise. I killed my mother's husband for divorcing her after you had her dismissed. I killed her sister for her crimes against me when I was growing up, feeding me lies about my mother. About her own sister! And now I'm going to kill you…slowly, just like the last two. I tortured their minds before I killed them. Now it's your turn.”
“You're a sick piece of work, aren't you?” Amanda asked, feeling anger suddenly overpower her fear. “You're not after revenge, you're just inflicting pain because you like to hurt people, admit it. There’s no revenge here. You just like to kill. You’re as sick as your mother was.”
“I'm killing because my mother has ordered me to finally carry out vengeance against her enemies,” Connor corrected Amanda. “I began with her husband, and I'm going to end with you. It was no coincidence that poor Aunt Emily became a home nurse to a sick old man who despises you, Amanda. Everything has been planned. Now sit tight until tonight and we'll talk some more. And if you try to leave the police station...well, don't. Unless you want to die earlier than planned.”
Amanda heard Connor hang up. She dropped the phone in its cradle and looked at Sarah with horrified eyes. “We're dealing with an insane killer,” she whispered and watched the snow continue to flood in through the front door. The snow drifts piled up faster and faster, ready to bury anyone who dared to get close. Outside of the police station, scared citizens were locking their doors and grabbing their rifles. A killer was loose in the storm and they had no desire to become his next victim.
6
Andrew made a decision. “Alright,” he said, standing at the back door, “the killer called us from a landline phone about two hours after he shot up the front street. We all know cell phone service is down. It's been about twenty minutes since Amanda spoke to him. Our guess is the killer is hiding out someplace and he's off the radar for the night.” Andrew tapped the wooden back door. “You guys get home to your families.”
Brent looked at Michael and Henry with worried eyes. “Andrew, we're not cowards, but our families...”
Andrew put a caring hand on Brent's shoulder. “I know, Brent.”
Conrad stepped in. “You guys better hurry. Stay to the back of the station, travel on foot, and hurry.”
“This storm is going to be rough to walk in,” Michael pointed out, “but what choice do we have? If we move the snowmobiles, the shooter will think we left the station.”
Henry looked at Andrew. “You sure you want us to go?”
“No sense in staying,” Andrew told his friend. “Now you guys hurry.” Before anyone could speak, Andrew forced the back door open. “Hurry, guys.” Brent hesitated, then he thought of his wife. He took a deep breath and ran out into the storm. Michael and Henry followed. “Now it's our turn,” Andrew yelled over the howling winds. “Let's get to the diner.”
Conrad grabbed Sarah's hand. “Let's hope you're right about Connor Barker,” he said.
Sarah bit down on her lower lip. “This storm is too powerful for anyone to stay out in it for too long,” she said over the winds. “I think Connor Barker is holed up somewhere near town.”
“Let's not wait around and find out,” Amanda said and pulled Mittens to her. “On the count of three, girl.” Mittens barked. “Okay...one...two...three!” Amanda yelled and ran out into the storm. She spotted Brent, Michael and Henry working their way through the back parking area to her left. Amanda turned right and began fighting her way through the snow. Mittens trudged along and then suddenly stopped. “What is it, girl?” Mittens whined, squatted to relieve her bladder against a snowbank, and then let out a happy bark as she continued after the group. “Of all the times,” Amanda complained as a blast of icy wind nearly knocked her down. “Come on.”
Sarah hurried after Amanda with Conrad at her side. Andrew took up the rear. “We can't go back to the cabin,” she said, “we have to stay in town and travel from store to store.”
Conrad studied the back street running behind the police station. A row of small houses lined the rear street, and each had smoke rising from its chimney. Each house was home to an elderly man or woman who enjoyed living in town. “I wish we could draw this guy out into the woods and away from town,” he said, forcing his legs to walk through knee-deep snow.
“Connor Barker would kill us in a matter of seconds,” Sarah replied. “He's a trained sniper, Conrad. We have to stay where he can't see us.” Sarah glanced over her shoulder and spotted Andrew working his way through the snow. “We have to split up, hide in the stores, and hope one of us gets a good shot at him. We can't let him corner us in one location.”
Conrad knew Sarah was right. He respected his wife as a woman and a cop and valued her experience and opinion. “I don't want you out of my sight,” he said over the wind, “but we're not going to catch this guy huddled up in a corner together.”
Sarah worried that Connor Barker would never be captured. She worried the deranged man would kill everyone she loved and leave her sobbing in a deep snow drift. In her mind she saw the snowman again, the dreadful apparition chewing on a candy cane. I'm back, Sarah...oh yes, I'm back...you can never run from me...never. “Amanda
and I will hide in my coffee shop,” she said in a shaky voice. “You have to take the hardware store and Andrew can take the wood furniture shop. That will spread us out pretty evenly.”
Conrad hurried Sarah to the back door of the diner. Andrew caught up, pulled a set of keys out of his coat pocket, and began fishing through them. He carried spare keys to all the Snow Falls businesses in case of emergencies such as these. “Hurry,” Amanda begged, “I'm freezing.”
Andrew spotted a key with a white piece of tape wrapped around it. On the tape was the word “Diner.” He grabbed the key and shoved it into the back door. “My wife had me label all the keys,” he said and quickly opened the back door, “remind me to thank her later.”
Amanda hurried through the back door into a cold and dim kitchen that still smelled of meatloaf, pine-scented cleaner and stale coffee. Sarah followed. Conrad paused at the back door, studied the storm, and then entered the kitchen. Andrew quickly closed the back door and locked it. “Okay, let's get some food and get to our stations,” he said in a relieved voice. “Sarah, looks like you were right.”
Sarah folded her arms and tried to warm herself. “I was expecting to be shot at any second,” she admitted. “We took a very risky chance.”
“What choice did we have?” Conrad asked. “Let's just be grateful you were right and grab some food before anything else happens.”
Amanda looked around the kitchen. “Feels so sad in here,” she said in a broken voice. “It's like...all the life that lives in this diner has been chased away into the storm.”
Sarah glanced around the kitchen. She looked at the large fry grill, the deep basins of a stainless steel sink, and a door leading into a walk-in cooler. The kitchen also had wooden prep tables, shelves lined with dishes and cups and, lastly, a photo of a smiling man and woman hanging next to the door that led out into the dining area. “The diner will have life again,” she promised.
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