Season of Danger: Silent Night, Deadly NightMistletoe Mayhem

by Alexander, Hannah; Alexander, Hannah

  In a couple of minutes, Sean joined her, similarly prepared for the water with bare feet and legs. But his gaze rested on the far horizon. The call had apparently not been a happy one.

  “Why don’t you turn off your cell and relax for a bit?” she asked.

  He brought a plastic-wrapped loaf of bread from behind his back.

  “Bird food!” she cried.

  “Organic, made from sprouted grains and seeds. Not sure what sticks it together without any flour.”

  “That’s because you’re not a cook.”

  “I can cook.”

  “You cook eggs. You make sandwiches. Ever bake bread?”

  “You’re kidding. Don’t you need a bakery for that?”

  Tess rolled her gaze to the sky.

  “This stuff has to be good for the birds, right?” Sean continued. “I know it’s not seafood, but a change of pace is always nice. At least, the birds always seem to think so.”

  Tess wrapped an arm around his taut waist in an impulsive hug, then abruptly pulled away. “Well, the water isn’t as warm as bathwater, but I bet it feels good. Want to see who’s willing to get the wettest?” Without waiting for a reply, she splashed into water up to her calves.

  When she turned back around, Sean was pulling open the bag of bread and tossing some bits to a couple of nearby gulls. She stayed in the water, scrunching her heels down into the sand and savoring the feel of the sun on her face. “How did you know I needed this?”

  “Gerard’s idea, remember?” Sean held a piece of crust up with his fingers and tempted a gull to take it from him.

  “The sky’s going to be gray and white with birds before long.” Squeals and squawks echoed down the length of the beach.

  “He knows you better than you think he does,” Sean said.

  “Gerard?”

  “Yep. He believes in you, too.”

  She splashed more deeply into the water. “That’s good to know.”

  “And he loves you very much.”

  She frowned at him. “Have Gerard and I had a fight I don’t know about?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then why do you seem to be trying to reconcile us?”

  Sean joined her in the water and handed her a chunk of bread. “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “I’m not sure what you’re doing. Maybe trying to build up my ego a little, but not to worry, my ego’s fine.” She tore off a piece of crust and ate it. “Mmm, delicious.”

  “It has all kinds of seeds in it.”

  “When did you get it?”

  “Yesterday. I had it in the truck.” Sean took a bite. “You’re right, it’s good, even if it is healthy. Maybe we shouldn’t be feeding it to the birds.” He pulled off another chunk, and a gull grabbed it from his fingers before he could stick it in his mouth.

  Tess laughed.

  “Gerard guessed everything after he heard that you fainted today,” Sean said.

  Her grin died. “And who told him that?”

  “You never told me not to tell him.”

  “You know, sometimes you’re like a little boy. What kind of ‘everything’ did he guess?”

  “The truth, Tess. That you’re still struggling with the fallout from March. You heard, didn’t you, that Gerard had Megan order a toxicology panel on the blood?”

  “When?”

  “You were with her upstairs when he called her.”

  “I left her when she got the call. She didn’t tell me what it was about. So you’re saying he thinks—”

  “I’m saying your brother trusts your judgment.”

  Tess tore off several small pieces of bread and threw them in the air by the handful, and soon they were surrounded by a cloud of feathered friends, as she had predicted. She gave herself to the moment, though she knew she probably shouldn’t be feeding the birds like this. It would turn them into beggars. Instead of hunting for their meals, they would be more likely to litter the beaches with their droppings and become a nuisance to tourists. She only indulged on special occasions.

  “What are you thinking?” Sean asked.

  “About nuisances and bird poop.”

  He stopped in the process of placing another bite of the thick, moist center of the bread into his mouth.

  She laughed at the consternation on his face. He placed the bite between her parted lips instead. It was so delicious.

  He moved closer to her, until she could see the reflection of the rippling water in his eyes and could hear the sound of his breathing over the squealing of the birds.

  “I love it when you laugh,” he said as she chewed and swallowed. He’d suddenly gone serious. “You don’t do that nearly as much as you used to.”

  Before she could think, his lips were firm but gentle on hers, his warm arms coming around her, birds and bread forgotten. Problems at the mission forgotten. Sickness and murder disappeared from her mind as the calm assurance and strength of Sean’s touch gave her a peace and a feeling of rightness she hadn’t known in such a long, long time.

  She’d had to use her imagination with Tanner. She’d imagined he was a good guy deep down. She had no need to exercise her imaginative skills when it came to Sean, because Sean was solid, true to the bone.

  Her hands tingled as she placed them on the back of his neck and drew him closer, and she heard his quick intake of breath. How many years had she longed to do just this? How much time had she spent wishing that his brotherly hugs and teasing and friendship meant more? How often had she suspected that he might feel the same?

  She pulled away with awful reluctance. “Sean, I’m sorry. This isn’t right.”

  He caught her hand. “Why, Tess?”

  She squeezed his strong hand, relished his touch, then pulled from it and shifted through the sand and water. “We just can’t do this. We can’t risk what we have with a mistake.”

  “You think being together is a mistake?”

  “Earlier this year, I got a man killed because I was reluctant to break off a hopeless relationship.”

  “I’m not Tanner. And this isn’t hopeless. In fact, I’d say there’s a lot of hope.”

  “Oh, Sean,” she whispered, reaching up to caress his jaw, “I know that. Even Megan pointed it out to me quite firmly today.”

  “Really?” He grinned and placed his hand over hers. “Well, she’s a doctor, so she’s pretty smart,” he drawled in his teasing voice.

  Again, Tess withdrew. His grin died. There was nothing she wanted more than to stay right here, let him take her in his arms again. Maybe she would even initiate the next kiss…?.

  “The fact stands that I’m not risking more. Not now. Especially not you, of all people.”

  “And by that, you mean because I’m too weak and helpless to protect myself.”

  “By that, I mean because you’re too precious for me to bear losing.”

  For a moment, he didn’t reply, just gazed into her eyes and held her hostage. “Those are heady words,” he said at last. “Don’t you think it’s a little late to disengage our friendship in case someone’s watching?”

  “No. Keeping my distance is safer for everyone.” She handed him the rest of her bread. “I need to take a walk and clear my head, okay?”

  He sighed. “I could walk with you, make sure you’re safe.”

  She couldn’t help smiling. “Then my head wouldn’t clear.”

  “So, you’re saying I clog your sinuses?”

  “No, just my gray matter.” She turned and splashed back to the sun-warmed sand.

  Sean walked from the water, watching Tess stroll away, head bowed, shoulders slumped. Though he was still stunned by the kiss, he felt chilled to the bone. He hadn’t meant for that to happen. How could he have been so thoughtless? Maybe he hadn’t learned as much these past months as he’d thought.

  And yet, for just that moment, he and Tess had been simply two people who cared about each other. A lot. More than a lot. She’d been laughing, happy, playing with the birds. She’d carried her
burden for so many months—longer, actually, than he’d carried his own.

  As he continued to watch her, unable to look away, the right leg of her jeans unfolded to her ankle. She didn’t stop and straighten it. She looked so forlorn.

  Sean started after her. He didn’t care if he messed up her brain matter. Their discussion wasn’t over. No way was he taking that kiss back or apologizing for it. If that kiss had erased just a tiny portion of her sad focus, then he’d done the right thing.

  He’d gone maybe ten yards when his cell phone buzzed. It was Gerard’s ring tone, and Sean knew he wouldn’t call unless it was necessary.

  He flipped the phone open, watching Tess disappear around the curve of a sandy bank. “What’s up?”

  “Are you anywhere near a television?”

  “On the beach.”

  “Great,” Gerard muttered.

  “Why?”

  “I’m in our store, and Colleen has one of the secondhand televisions set up for the customers to check out. Just listen.”

  Sean heard the tinny sound of a voice. It got clearer. It was a newscaster talking about late-breaking news in Corpus Christi. “…serving tainted food to the homeless. One person has already died, and others are still ill, a significant majority Mexican. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending contact with next of kin.”

  Sean groaned. Gerard was understandably upset about this. But he didn’t come back on the line. More news coming?

  “A recent investigation has uncovered evidence that the hit-and-run accident that resulted in the death of Austin’s country music talent Tanner Jackson in March may have been intentional. A person of interest is Jackson’s former publicist, Tess Vance, who turned over her agency to associates and disappeared from the scene in Austin soon after her client’s death. It was noted that this same Tess Vance is connected to the Vance Rescue Mission, though she has seldom been known to fraternize with the Hispanic population of homeless who frequent the mission…”

  When Gerard’s voice came back on the line, it was cold, hard, filled with anger. “No suspicion at all lingered on Tess. She was cleared that first night, and now they’re trying to make her out to be a bigot. If I had my hands on that talking head right now I’d—”

  “You’d stop yourself before you mangled his body,” Sean said softly, though his voice held the edge of his own anger. “Anybody could have reported the poisoning, but nobody knows yet what made our people sick. That report was nothing but supposition and fiction. Which channel?”

  “Our own Corpus Christi Eleven. I’ll call our attorneys.”

  “The TV station’s treading a fine line, as always, but technically, I don’t think there’s anything we can do to them.”

  “I’m calling, anyway. Do you realize how much damage they’ve done to us today?”

  “Immeasurable.”

  “If this spreads, donations will dry up, both in finances and dry goods for the store. We wouldn’t be able to feed and house nearly as many on our own.”

  “Gerard, don’t get carried away. One television station released a few seconds of scandal in the middle of the day.”

  “It’ll hit the six o’clock news; others will pick it up. Too juicy to resist.”

  “My station’s not picking it up.”

  Gerard was silent for a moment, then, “Who made the connection with Tess? I think her instincts are right on the mark. I think she’s still being stalked, Sean.”

  The thought had been on Sean’s mind, too.

  “Is she there with you?” Gerard asked.

  “Not far away.”

  “Could you have been followed?”

  “Not unless someone’s using hi-tech equipment. I watched.”

  “Did you see anyone unusual at the mission this morning after Stud died? Has Tess mentioned anything strange?”

  “Only the influx of sick people.” Sean started walking down the beach after Tess. “Wait. Yes.” He stopped, recalling the details of what he’d seen. “There was a woman there when Stud died. She was just one of the onlookers, didn’t have a camera or recorder that I saw, but she was carrying a satchel over her shoulder, was nicely dressed and didn’t appear to belong. I didn’t see her leave until you were talking on the phone to Megan later.”

  “A woman with a satchel? That’s not much to go on, Sean.”

  “Medium blond hair, long, parted in the middle and tied back. About five foot seven, black dress, heels, beige coat. Moved quickly, as if she had somewhere to go. That’s why she didn’t fit in. I didn’t recognize her this morning; last time I met her, she had hair that was short, red and curly.”

  “You met her?”

  “Name’s on the tip of my tongue. Something sweet… Taffy…no—anyway, she applied for a position at the station. My assistant, Cathy, was impressed by her resume, but when she followed up on it, she didn’t receive enough acceptable references. The woman was a freelance reporter who wrote a lot for the gossip rags. A lot of unsubstantiated information on the resume.”

  “Then why would a television station take her word as fact?” Gerard asked.

  “Rush to get the news out first. Isn’t that what Eleven always does?”

  “You think it’ll be in the papers tomorrow?”

  “I’ll do what I can to stop it. I know most of the media people in the area.”

  “How do you stop a domino from pushing the whole construction over?”

  “Push back the other way.”

  “How could she have found out about Tess?”

  “She could have been eavesdropping on Tess and me this morning in the clinic.”

  “Got a name yet?”

  Sean remembered it, and his footsteps lengthened to catch up with Tess. “Sugar McCrae.”

  “Sounds like a nightclub dancer.”

  “I don’t think it’s her real name, but I’ll check with Cathy. If that’s what happened, then we may be able to breathe easier about a stalker.”

  “Let’s not start breathing just yet. Our priority is Tess, but after that we have a whole building and street full of people to protect. You’d better warn Tess she’ll probably receive a visit from a couple of homicide detectives. With even a slimy lead like that piece of filth from the TV station, they may check her out because she was suggested as a suspect.”

  “Maybe not, if they can call the team that worked on Jackson’s case in Austin. Why don’t you call the captain and give him a heads-up?”

  “Good idea.”

  “I was just getting ready to call you. I received the results from the lab where I took the dirt that was tracked into Admin last night. This could mean nothing except that the intruder was from a ranch, but they found arsenic.”

  Gerard whistled. “Barnyards and old barns are likely to have some arsenic in them from fertilizer, though I don’t think many of my ranching buddies use that anymore.”

  “You might have Megan call the lab, just in case, and have them narrow their search.”

  “I’ll have her get on the phone now.”

  “And I’ll get Tess and return to the mission. See you then.” He closed the phone and went to find Tess. What had he been thinking when he allowed her to walk away alone? The stalker wasn’t playing around, and no one could drop guard on Tess.

  He broke into a jog and called her name.

  SIX

  Sean hadn’t expected Tess to get so far in such a short period of time, and he hadn’t realized how frantic he was to simply see her and assure himself she was safe. Gerard’s overprotective, brotherly love was contagious.

  Except Sean’s love was not brotherly. Sure, he could feel brotherly about her when the occasion called for it, but he’d known for some time that his feelings for that beautiful, black-haired woman weren’t comparable to Gerard’s.

  He called to her and saw her turn. For a moment, he couldn’t bring himself to move farther. Looking at her wavy, long hair glowing in the sun, like the midnight sky scattered with stars, at her dark, inquisitive ey
es, the gentle curve of her half smile, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to say the words that would punch her to her knees.

  “Sean?” She turned and walked back toward him. “What’s wrong?”

  Breathe. “I got a call from Gerard.”

  “What happened?”

  The sound of foreboding in her voice squeezed his heart. With inopportune clarity, it hit home that the fond feelings, the attraction, the longing he felt for her were only symptoms of a much fiercer love. His compassion and potent need to protect her at all cost could consume him and keep him from telling her what she needed to know. For her own good, hard as it would be, he must warn her immediately about what they would find back at the clinic.

  “Honey, I have to explain a few things to you, but you must remember that Gerard and I will be here for you at any time.”

  She stepped through the sand to him. “Trying to scare me?”

  “I’m a little unnerved, myself. So is Gerard. Someone must have been eavesdropping on our conversation this morning in the clinic. That someone was a quasi reporter.”

  Her gaze clung to his as her eyes widened. “What could anyone have heard?”

  He placed an arm around her shoulders and turned to walk with her back to the truck. As they walked, he explained about the earlier call, his suspicions about Sugar McCrae, and his conversation with Gerard in detail.

  Tess was numb and shivering by the time they reached the truck. “What’s wrong with this world?”

  “A lot.”

  “How can professionals allow some sick woman to use smear tactics like this?”

  “You’re surprised? This is the channel you complained about because they took Carlotta’s death so lightly two weeks ago.”

  “Which makes me wonder why they’re suddenly so concerned about the homeless this week.”

  “Ratings.”

  “What if this…this Sugar McCrae was the one who hit Tanner?”

  “Then we’ll catch her, but we don’t know for sure it was Sugar who shared the information. We can’t jump to conclusions.”