by J. D. Shaw
“I can’t argue there.” Kathy agreed. “Have you watched ‘Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol’ on television again?”
“I saw something tonight that just broke my heart a little.” Vivienne replied and then took a small sip of her drink.
“What did you see?” Joshua wondered aloud.
“When I went to the ladies room there was a young woman crying in the other stall. She was the one who made the little church with the crooked steeple.” Vivienne explained. “Some other women came in and were bad mouthing the entry and she really got upset.”
“So what happened?” Kathy asked.
“I left and she came out less than a minute later. I asked her if everything was okay and she thanked me for getting even with them for their nasty remarks.”
“How did you do that?” Kathy’s eyes lit up with enthusiasm.
“I took all the toilet paper out of the stall.” Vivienne felt a little childish admitting it out loud.
“Well, let me be the first to say touché.” Kathy laughed and took another sip of her drink.
Joshua failed to keep a little grin from emerging on his face. “You never fail to surprise me.”
Vivienne waved off their levity. “So right afterwards, this low life comes in and sort of berates her for wasting money on the entry.”
“Is he still here?” Joshua looked around the room quickly.
“No.” Vivienne was quick to answer. “He took her by the arm and said that he had some sort of bet to make on a fight and that if they didn’t win he was going to cancel Christmas for her son.” Vivienne felt tears building up in the corners of her eyes. “Isn’t that terrible?”
“What a creep.” Kathy added. “Sounds like father of the year to me.”
“Did you catch their names?” Joshua asked.
“Her name was Natalie and her son’s name is Connor.” Vivienne recalled. “I think the guy’s name was Eddie, but I never did catch a last name.” She took another sip of the drink in her hand. “He said something about Connor not really being his son and cancelling Christmas. What a creep.”
“I can check at the station to see if their names are listed for the Toys For Tots program.” Joshua put his arm around her shoulder. “He might still have a nice Christmas after all.”
“I hope so.” Vivienne swirled the liquid around inside her glass. “I just hate to think of a little child crying on Christmas morning because he thinks Santa doesn’t care.”
Kathy sniffed a little. “Stop it Vivienne or you’re going to make me start crying.”
Vivienne nodded. “Okay. No need to worry about it yet until we find out if their names are on the list.”
“Can I have you attention please?” The voice of local radio host, Bryce Starr, crackled over the ceiling speakers. “We are about to announce the winner of the gingerbread contest.”
The conversations died down to a soft murmur as the gathered crowd awaited the news.
“We have three prizes this year and the judges would like everyone to know it was difficult decision to make because there was so much talent on display. Please, let’s give everyone a big round of applause.” The room erupted into a fair amount of applause.
Vivienne gripped Joshua’s hand tightly. “Here we go.” She whispered to him.
“Third place and the winner of a twenty-five dollar cash prize is entry number four, Gingerbread Paradise by Suzette Powell.”
Vivienne, Joshua, and Kathy applauded with the rest of the room. The tropical beach scene was a cute idea and they all agreed it deserved recognition.
“Second place and the winner of a fifty dollar cash prize is entry number ten, Gingerbread Express created by Nathaniel Schroeder and Tristan Carr.”
Once again, the room erupted into applause and Vivienne scanned the room to see if Nathaniel or Tristan were anywhere to be seen. Sadly, they were not.
“Finally, the grand prize and one hundred dollars is awarded to entry number three, the Edgar Rothwell Mansion created by Vivienne Finch and Stephanie Bridgeman. Congratulations to all our talented winners. Prizes can be picked up at the front desk.” Bryce finished as the crowd erupted into applause. “Thank you for making this year a smashing success and happy holidays.”
“You won!” Kathy danced with excitement, nearly spilling her drink on the floor.
“Congratulations honey.” Joshua kissed Vivienne and smiled. “I never doubted it.”
“Wow.” Vivienne felt her face flush with pride. “We actually did it.”
“Now you’ve got something to brag about when it comes to awards.” Kathy noted. “Trust me. This will really bring in some business.”
Vivienne nodded back. “Yes it will, but I have an even better idea.”
“What?” Joshua asked her.
“I’m going to ask Todd to give the hundred dollars to Natalie and tell her she won a special prize for most creative entry or something. That way, she’ll have money to buy Connor some presents.”
“That’s awful nice of you.” Kathy agreed. “But what if her boyfriend just uses the money to gamble with? Maybe we could buy some toys and then have Todd give them to her?”
“That’s so obvious.” Vivienne countered. “She seemed like she might be a bit too proud to take charity like that.”
“But it’s for Christmas presents.” Kathy argued.
“What do you think, Joshua?” Vivienne looked up at her handsome boyfriend.
“I think both your ideas are good, but we need to check that list before we go too far with this.” Joshua answered.
Todd York pushed his way through the crowd and reached out to Vivienne. “Congratulations, you’re so very talented.” He handed her a white envelope. “Here’s the prize money.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not for me.”
“But you won it fair and square.” Todd protested.
“I want to give it to Natalie, the girl who made the cathedral.” Vivienne replied.
“That’s awful nice of you. She could use it I’m sure.” Todd smiled.
“Do you know her?” Joshua asked.
“Well, I got to talking with her when she brought her entry in this morning.” Todd glanced around the room quickly before continuing. “She didn’t seem like she had two nickels to rub together.”
“Tell him what you heard.” Kathy prodded Vivienne.
“What did you hear?” Todd asked.
Vivienne sighed. “Did her boyfriend come in with her?”
“You mean Eddie?” Todd smirked. “Yeah, he carried the entry like it was sack of potatoes. I thought he was going to just throw it down on the floor.”
“That wouldn’t have surprised us to hear.” Kathy added.
“Actually, I think it’s because he’s uncomfortable around me.” Todd confessed.
“What makes you say that?” Vivienne asked him.
Todd shrugged. “It’s just a feeling I got. He looked really uncomfortable, like I was going to expose a dark secret about his past or something.”
“Oh, I love dark secrets.” Kathy interjected. “Have you got dirt on him?”
“Kathy.” Vivienne shook her head at her friend. “That’s none of our business.”
“It’s okay.” Todd smiled at them both. “I don’t know anything about the guy. It was just that sense of weirdness you get every now and then with someone.”
Joshua finished his beer. “I can check to see if he has a criminal record. Do you know his last name?”
Todd shook his head. “Not that I recall.”
Vivienne raised her hands in protest. “We’re getting off the topic. This is about Connor getting a nice Christmas not investigating Eddie’s shady past.”
“You’re right.” Kathy nodded.
“Was her little boy with her?” Vivienne asked Todd.
Todd paused for a moment in thought. “No, but everything was so busy it’s all kind of a jumble right now. You know how it is during the holidays.”
“Do you have her
phone number from the entry list?” Joshua asked.
Todd nodded. “It’s in my office with all the others.”
“Let me copy it down and I’ll reverse search it back at the station.” Joshua explained.
“Just hang onto the prize money and we’ll call you after we find out some more details about what kind of home life little Connor has.” Vivienne explained.
“No problem.” Todd nodded to Joshua. “You want to come into the office to get that phone number?”
“Lead the way.” Joshua fished his keys out of his front pocket and handed them to Vivienne. “It’s pretty cold out there, would you mind warming up the Jeep?”
Vivienne nodded back. “I’ll see you out there.”
As Joshua followed Todd back to the office, she took one last look around the gallery. “I wish I felt better about this.”
“What do you mean?” Kathy asked as they followed some of the crowd toward the coat check.
“I think it’s all too easy to get caught up in the commercial madness of gift purchasing these days.” Vivienne summed up as the retrieved their winter jackets.
“I can’t think of a better way to kick off the holiday season than helping little Connor keep the magic of Santa Claus alive another year.” Kathy added as they left the warmth of the Loft 223. She bundled up her black woolen pea coat and turned her back to the cold wind that was blowing harder than ever. “I’d say winter has arrived ahead of schedule.”
Vivienne’s hairstyle threatened to fly apart as a gusty wind blasted her with some puffy snowflakes. “I was thinking I might ask Sheriff Rigsbee if I can add on something nice with the Toys For Tots presents this year.”
Joshua pushed hard to open the front door against the wind and stepped forward to shield Vivienne with his broad chest. “Did you start the car yet?” He asked.
Vivienne pressed the start button on the key fob and nodded. “Uh huh.”
Joshua groaned. “Thanks.”
Vivienne blew him a little kiss and turned back to face Kathy. “What about baking up some nice gingerbread men and maybe some sugar cookies? I was thinking of filling little stockings with some baked goodies for the kids to enjoy on Christmas morning.”
“That’s a great idea.” Kathy smiled. “I know the nuns are knitting mittens and hats for the kids, but what if I donated some warm scarves for them to use to?”
“I’m sure they’d appreciate anything with our harsh winters.” Vivienne agreed.
“Then I better go back to the store and put in an order. I saw a special on fleece scarves that I can order by the gross. I’ll see about ordering some little stockings for you to use.” Kathy waved goodbye. “Call me later with the details.”
“Bye.” Vivienne and Joshua said in unison and then walked the opposite way toward the Jeep which was emitting a cloud of hot exhaust in the night air.
Vivienne took hold of Joshua’s right arm. “This is what I love about the holiday. The spirit of giving is so strong.”
“I just wish the goodwill lasted longer than a month.” Joshua added. “After New Year’s, the crime picks right back up to normal levels again.”
“Well, we can’t have everything.” Vivienne replied as they crossed the street. “But I’ll enjoy the holidays a little more knowing the children have something to look forward to.”
“Well said.” Joshua replied as he opened the passenger door and helped her inside.
CHAPTER 5
Monday, December 2nd
When Vivienne drove past the front of her bakery, her eyes locked onto a single piece of red paper that was taped to the front door. She had seen several of the same bright red papers attached to utility poles, trees, and a few tucked under the wiper blades of cars parked along Main Street. Someone was papering the town with a new marketing campaign and they certainly were doing a thorough job.
Once she turned on the ovens and lights to start the day, she decided to take a look at whatever it was that someone wanted to drum up business for. She thought the town codes had forbidden such tactics. As she pulled the paper off her glass door, she almost felt sorry for whoever was going to get hit with the nasty fine and the scorn of the town council for defying their directive. ‘Thank goodness it’s not me.’ She thought as she studied the paper in her hand.
‘You better watch out!’ That’s what the paper said with bold green lettering and a large size font that commanded attention. Vivienne had to agree that it certainly was catchy and she was eager to read the rest of the contents. ‘Santa is not happy with you, Eddie Robertson. You are a chronic gambler who spends far too much time in the bar and not enough time trying to be a father to Connor.’
Vivienne couldn’t believe her eyes. This certainly wasn’t an advertisement for a holiday special in town. She continued reading. ‘I’ve been watching and keeping tabs on all the bad things you do. You’ve been a naughty boy, hitting Natalie whenever those silly and illegal bets fail to pay off or threatening to cancel Christmas because you don’t want to spend any of your own money on gifts. Find the true spirit before yours is set free. You have been warned. Sincerely, Santa Claus.’
Vivienne reached the end of the paper and turned it over to see if there was anything more. There wasn’t. She walked outside to one of the cars that had a flyer under the wiper and removed it to check if said the same thing as hers. It did. Everywhere she looked there were little flashes of red. Someone had a wicked sense of humor and wasn’t afraid to take action. She stepped back into her bakery when her telephone rang.
“Vivienne, you won’t believe the note I found taped to my door this morning.” Kathy’s voice eagerly explained from the phone.
“Eddie Robertson is on Santa’s bad list.” Vivienne replied. “So now we know his last name.”
“So does someone else.” Kathy replied.
“Who would do such a thing?” Vivienne wondered.
“I wonder if Natalie took matters into her own hands.” Kathy replied. “If so, I have to give her points for originality.”
“Natalie.” Vivienne worried. “Oh my God, what if Eddie sees this and thinks the same thing?”
“Should we call Joshua?” Kathy asked.
“I’ll call him and find out what to do next.” Vivienne stared at the paper in her hand in disbelief. “I just hope Natalie and Connor are okay.”
“Keep me posted about this.” Kathy ordered. “You always forget to do that and I end up hearing the news from your mother.”
“I promise.” Vivienne answered.
“You better or you might end up on Santa’s bad list too.” Kathy joked.
Vivienne hung up and dialed the direct line to Joshua’s office. He answered on the second ring. “Hi honey.” She said.
“I already know about the Santa note.” Joshua interrupted.
“I figured as much. They’re all over town.” Vivienne explained.
“We’re on top of it. We’ve got a unit dispatched to their home to make sure everything is okay.” Joshua informed her. “I can’t say anything more.”
“Just let me know that Natalie and Connor aren’t hurt.” Vivienne asked.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I find out. I better go now.” He replied.
“Love you.” She finished.
“Love you too.” He hung up.
Vivienne stared at the note on her counter and wondered if Natalie really did make them up to shame Eddie into becoming a better man and father to Connor. It would be a bold move to say the least, but sometimes people did bold things when backed into a corner.
* * *
She had just placed her second batch of blueberry crumble muffins into the oven when two police cruisers sped down Main Street followed by an ambulance.
“Looks like they’re in a hurry.” Stephanie quipped as she dropped a new roll of thermal paper into the credit card printer.
“They sure are.” Vivienne closed the oven door and set the timer. She didn’t like this one bit.
Stephanie ran an
inch of the paper and then tore it off. “I’m sure you’ll hear all about it after work tonight.” She crumpled the scrap paper in her hand into a ball.
The sound of crinkling paper reminded Vivienne of the Santa note from earlier. With the morning rush over, she knew Stephanie was perfectly capable of running the store for an hour or so. Just enough time to see what was going on. “I’m going to go take a little drive.”
Stephanie hurled the little ball of paper into a nearby trash can. “Better bundle up. That wind is still pretty nasty out there.”
Vivienne walked into the back room and pulled her coat and purse off the wall hooks. “I’ll have my cell phone on if you need me.”
“I’ll be fine.” Stephanie called back from the counter. “If you think of it, you might want to pick up some more holiday sprinkles from the Monarch. We went through most of our supply last week.”
“I’ll pick up a few to get us by until the delivery comes Wednesday.” Vivienne buttoned up her coat and slung her purse over her left shoulder. “Anything else you think we need?”
“I think we’re okay with the rest for now.” Stephanie tied on her baking apron and moved into the kitchen area. “You want two dozen cranberry orange muffins this morning too?”
“Yes, but be sure to set aside six for Mrs. Fell. I think her bridge club meets this afternoon.”
Stephanie nodded. “No problem.”
Vivienne hurried out the back door and stepped into the brisk morning air. The wind was still quite strong, even in the alley, and it made the temperature feel well below the freezing mark. She hurried to her car and climbed inside.
As she drove along Main Street, she had to pull over the side as another police cruiser roared past with its blue and red lights flashing. She quickly pulled back onto the road and gave chase to follow along.
She felt guilty for speeding a good ten miles above the posted limit of thirty miles an hour through town, but it was the only way she could keep up with the police car as it hurried toward its destination. Besides, she was quite certain there were no officers parked at the usual speed trap locations this morning.