Christmas Stalking

by Margaret Daley

  “Someone who only has pants and a T-shirt on and no shoes, not even socks. That’s who.” She ground her teeth together, wanting to draw her gun as she checked the area out. But he was probably right about it being one of the dogs.

  “I’m used to the cold. I’m coming. End of discussion.”

  Patience. I could use a dose of it, Lord.

  “Fine. Stay close behind me.”

  He chuckled in her ear. “Yeah, sure.” Skirting around her, he descended the steps, quickly heading into the wisps of fog snaking along the ground.

  Where’s a stun gun when I need one? Ellie hurried after Colt who moved quickly from the cold concrete drive to the warmer lawn. “Wait up.”

  He didn’t slow his pace, but she caught up with him about ten yards from the house. When she glanced back and spied the unprotected place, lit with security lights, she clamped her hand around his arm.

  He halted, his face unreadable in the shadows.

  “Go back and make sure no one goes into the house. I’ll finish checking out here.” Her fingers itched to draw her gun, but Mr. Jefferson didn’t want Colt to know why she was here.

  “And leave you alone? This is my home, not yours. What kind of man would I be?”

  “A smart one. What about leaving your grandmother alone?”

  “Then you should go back and—”

  Barking blasted the chilled air.

  Ellie withdrew the Glock from its holster and started toward the sound to the left.

  “Where did that come from?” Colt asked.

  “Mr. Jefferson.”

  “Harold?”

  “I’ll explain later. Go back to the house, lock the door and don’t let anyone in until I check out what caused the dog to bark. Do not follow me.”

  “Who are you?”

  No more secrets—at least with Winnie’s grandson. “A bodyguard hired to protect Winnie.” She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was trying to get into the front of the house. “Go. Now.”

  In the cover of night that surrounded them, he stared at her, or at least she felt the drill of his gaze, then he whirled around and rushed back toward the deck. She moved toward where the sound had come from, retrieving her small pocket flashlight in case she needed it. Right now she let the half-moon and security lamps by the house light her path since it would be better if she didn’t announce her approach if someone was inside the fence.

  In the distance she heard the cry of a mountain lion. She’d seen evidence of a big cat on one of her daily power walks with Winnie. Was that what spooked the dog? She’d gone into enough situations with incomplete intel to know the heightened danger that could cause.

  Her heart rate kicked up a notch as she drew closer to the perimeter on the west side of the house where the eight-foot chain-link fence was. Another roar split the air. Closer. The sound pumped more adrenaline through her body. Every nerve alert, she became hyperaware of her surroundings—a bird flying away to the right, the breeze rustling the evergreen foliage.

  Away from the house the only illumination was the faint rays of the moon. Not enough. She switched on her flashlight and swept it across the area before her. Just outside a cut part of the fence, its glow fell upon the mountain lion, its big eyes glittering yellow in the dark. Her light captured the predator’s menacing stance.

  * * *

  The rumble of a mountain lion nearby froze Colt as he mounted the last step to the front deck. He knew that sound from the many years he had lived here. He didn’t know who Ellie St. James really was, how capable she was or why she would be protecting his grandmother, but he couldn’t leave her out there to face a solitary predator by herself. No matter what she ordered him to do.

  He rushed into the house to a storage closet where Winnie kept some of his possessions. He used to have a hunting rifle. Wrenching the door open, he clicked on the overhead light and stared at the mountain of boxes that he had stored there. He delved into the midst of the containers filled with his memories. Where was the gun?

  Panic urged him deeper into the large, walk-in closet to the shelving in the back. There he saw something he could use. Not the rifle but a speargun, a weapon he was even more familiar with and actually quite good at using.

  He snatched it up and raced toward the foyer, grabbing a flashlight on the way. Before leaving, he set the alarm, then locked the front door behind him. Another growl announced to anyone around that this was the big cat’s territory and not to trespass.

  As Colt ran toward the west side of the property, he hoped there weren’t any trees the mountain lion could climb that allowed him access to the area inside the fence. Usually the eight-foot barrier kept dangerous animals out, but it had certainly sounded like it was close to the house, possibly inside the fence.

  Then a yell pierced the night. “Get back. Get away.”

  Those words from Ellie prodded him even faster.

  * * *

  Ellie never took her eyes off the mountain lion. It was still on the other side of the fence with his head sticking through the part that had been cut and peeled back to allow something big—like a man—through the opening. She waved her arms around. She didn’t want to shoot the animal because it was a beautiful creature. But she would if she had to.

  Its snarls protested her order to leave.

  Still it didn’t move back. Its golden gaze seemed to assess its chances of leaping the four or five yards’ distance between them.

  Bracing herself, Ellie lifted her gun and shone her flashlight into its eyes. It continued to stare at her.

  Behind her she heard something rushing toward her. Another mountain lion? But they were solitary animals that guarded their territory. One of the dogs? The one that had barked earlier? Where were the other two?

  She was calculating her chances with the mountain lion, then the new threat, when she heard a war cry, a bloodcurdling sound. The mountain lion shifted its golden regard to her right for a few seconds, then stepped back out of the hole and sauntered away as though out for an evening stroll. Some of the tension siphoned from her.

  She threw a glance over her shoulder and saw a light in the dark moving her way. Colt. An intruder wouldn’t announce his presence with a flashlight or a war cry.

  She spun around and started for him. “What are you doing? You were supposed to stay at the house.” Her light found him in the night, carrying a speargun. “This time you need to stay here and guard this hole. I need to make sure Winnie is okay.”

  When she passed him, he clasped her arm and halted her progress. “Hold it. Winnie is fine. I set the alarm and locked the door. What’s going on?”

  She stared at his hand until he dropped his arm to his side. “Did you check on her?”

  “Well, no. But we never went far from the house.”

  “I’m going to check on her, then I’ll be back. Will you stay here and make sure the mountain lion doesn’t come back? And this time stay where you’re supposed to be. I could have shot you.” She peered at his speargun. “A bit odd to be carrying around on dry land, but it should stop the cat if it returns. That is, if you can use it.”

  He pulled himself up straight. “I’m quite good with this. And it’s very effective if you know what you’re doing. Which I do.” Each word was spoken with steely confidence.

  “Good.” She hurried away, at the moment her concern for Winnie’s safety paramount.

  What if this was all a diversion? What if someone got into the house when they weren’t looking? Different scenarios bombarded her. All she knew was she had to lay eyes on Winnie to be reassured she was all right.

  She unlocked the front door and immediately headed for the alarm to put in the code. Then she took the stairs two at a time. When she saw Winnie’s door open, she finally breathed.

  * * *

 
; A strong scent of urine—probably the big cat’s—pervaded the air as Colt neared the gap in the fence. He stuffed the flashlight through a chain-link hole, and its glow shone into the wooded area outside of Winnie’s property. After leaning the speargun against the fence within his quick reach, he pulled the snipped sides back into place, enough that he hoped would discourage the mountain lion from plowing its way inside.

  Then he examined the ground.

  Footprints were barely visible on the dry ground, but about five or six feet away, tire impressions in the dead weeds and grass were clearer. Someone had pulled a vehicle up to the fence.

  He swung around and swept his flashlight around his grandmother’s property and then it hit him: Where were the dogs? Why weren’t they over here?

  * * *

  Ellie entered Winnie’s bedroom, her gun drawn but at her side in case the older woman was in the room unaware of what was transpiring outside. She didn’t want to frighten her with a gun being waved in the air—not two nights in a row. Halting a few feet inside, Ellie stared at the messy covers spilling over onto the floor, the empty bed. As she raised her weapon, she circled the room, checking for her client. After opening the bathroom door, she noted the spacious area was empty.

  As much as she would like to rush back outside and search the grounds for Winnie or any clue to her whereabouts, she had to check the house first.

  As she started with the room next to Winnie’s, prayers for the woman’s safety flooded her thoughts. When she reached Colt’s bedroom, she hesitated, feeling awkward to intrude on his privacy. But she had a job to do. She pushed open the door and looked inside.

  This is ridiculous. If the man had followed her orders, she wouldn’t have to do this right now. She stepped inside and made a quick tour—noting his duffel bag on a chair, his shoes on the floor, keys and some change on the dresser, pictures on the wall from when he was young.

  A picture of him coming out of the darkness with a speargun in his hand crowded into her thoughts. She shook the image from her mind and turned to leave.

  “What are you doing in my grandson’s room with a gun in your hand?”

  FOUR

  “I was looking for you,” Ellie said, putting the gun out of sight of Winnie in the doorway. “Someone has cut the fence and the guard dogs can’t be found. I wanted to make sure you were all right.” After picking up Colt’s tennis shoes off the floor, she moved toward the exit.

  “Where’s my grandson? What are you doing with those shoes?” Winnie blocked her path.

  “I’ll explain everything after I call the sheriff and make sure Colt is okay. He’s guarding the hole, making sure the mountain lion doesn’t return. He’s barefoot.”

  “The sheriff? A mountain lion? Colt barefoot in this weather? What in the world is going on?” What wrinkles Winnie had on her face deepened as she stepped to the side to allow Ellie to leave the room.

  Ellie hurried toward the stairs, fishing for her cell in her pocket. At the top she paused and glanced at the older woman. “I’m going to set the alarm. Please stay inside.”

  Winnie opened her mouth but snapped it closed before saying anything.

  Ellie rushed down the stairs while placing a call to the sheriff’s office outside Bakersville. After reporting what happened, she hit the buttons on the keypad to set the alarm and hastened outside.

  The crisp night air burrowed through the sweatshirt, chilling her. The thought of Colt without shoes spurred her faster toward the fence line. When she arrived, he stood by the hole he’d partially closed, holding his spear

  gun while hugging his arms against his chest.

  “I thought you could use these.” She thrust his shoes at him, then shined her flashlight on the area beyond the fence.

  “Thanks. I will never again leave the house in winter without my shoes on.”

  “Why did you?” She examined the set of tire tracks and boot prints, wishing it wasn’t so dark.

  “To protect you.”

  “Someone needs to protect you from yourself.”

  “You can’t deny I helped you. Someone needed to guard this hole. Since you’re back out here, I’m assuming Winnie is all right.”

  “Yes, and I called the sheriff’s office.” Ellie backed away, realizing there was nothing she could do until morning other than talk with the deputy who was on the way up the mountain. She had half a mind to call Harold Jefferson and wake him up with the news, but she would wait and give him a full report first thing in the morning. “Do you think there’s anything at the house I can use to finish closing the bottom of this hole?”

  “How about rope?” Colt started for his childhood home.

  “That’ll do.” Ellie followed him. “I’m sure the mountain lion is long gone with all this activity, but I’ll feel better when we have the hole completely closed.”

  “You don’t think the person who cut the fence is inside here?”

  “Probably not. Maybe the mountain lion scared him off or maybe his intent was to take the guard dogs. He could have tranquilized them. The ground looked like something was dragged toward the car.”

  “Why hurt the dogs?”

  “It would take a while to get trained guard dogs to replace them. Maybe it was to scare Winnie like the threatening letters. When I find him, I’ll ask him.”

  “When you find him? And what threatening letters?”

  She reminded herself going after the person who was trying to harm Winnie wasn’t her job. “I mean when the police find him, they’ll ask him.”

  Colt unlocked the front door and hurried to the keypad to turn off the security system. Winnie sat on the third step on the staircase, her face tensed into a frown. She didn’t move when both Colt and Ellie turned toward her.

  “I need to check the house then I’ll explain what’s going on.” She peered at Colt. “Would you stay here with your grandmother?”

  He held up the speargun. “Yes. But the security system was on the whole time.”

  “This one can be circumvented quite easily if you know what you’re doing. We have to assume whoever is after Winnie knows what he’s doing,” Ellie said in a low voice.

  Winnie pushed to her feet. “Someone’s after me? Who?”

  Colt took a step toward his grandmother, glancing at Ellie. “I’ll take care of her. Do what you need to do.”

  “What is going on, young man?” Winnie asked as Ellie hastened her exit.

  As she went from room to room, she heard Colt trying to explain when he really didn’t know much other than what she had told him. From her responses, Winnie was clearly not happy. Ellie decided not to wait until morning to call Harold.

  “What’s wrong?” the chief financial officer of Glamour Sensations asked the second he answered his phone.

  After she explained what happened with the dogs and the fence, she said, “Not only does Colt know, but so does Winnie. I’ve called the sheriff’s office, and one of the deputies is on his way.”

  “I’m calling Sheriff Quinn. Knowing him, he’ll come, too. He lives halfway between Winnie’s and Bakersville. It won’t take him long to get there. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

  “You don’t need to until tomorrow morning. After the sheriff leaves, I hope to get Winnie to go back to bed.” She didn’t want a three-ring circus at the house with so many people coming and going. That could be hard to secure.

  “She won’t do that. Maybe I should call her doctor, too.”

  “She seems okay.” Ellie looked through the dining room into the living room where Colt had taken his grandmother. “She’s sitting on the couch, listening to Colt.”

  “Fine. I won’t call the doctor, but I’ll be there soon.”

  Ellie pocketed her cell and made her way to the pair in the living room. “The house is clear.”


  Winnie shifted on the couch until her glare zeroed in on Ellie. “Who are you?”

  “I told her you’re here to protect her. That Harold hired you. But I don’t know much more than that.” Colt finally sat in the chair across from his grandmother.

  With a sigh, Ellie sank onto the couch at the other end from Winnie. “I work for Guardians, Inc. It’s a security company out of Dallas, staffed with female bodyguards. Mr. Jefferson came to my employer about his concerns that someone was threatening you. You have been receiving notes for the past six weeks, each one more threatening. He finally knew he had to do something when one included a photo of you on your power walk, dressed in what he discovered you’d worn the day before.”

  “Why didn’t he come to me?” Winnie’s mouth pinched into a frown.

  “He’s on his way, and he can answer that. I believe he thought it might interrupt your creative process and since the deadline is looming, he—”

  “So that man kept it from me.” Winnie surged to her feet. “I am not fragile like everyone thinks. Goodness me, I’ve been through enough and survived. That ought to give you all a hint at how tough I can be.” She pivoted toward Ellie. “Is that why he neglected to tell me my new assistant was really a bodyguard?”

  Ellie nodded. “I prefer full disclosure, but he was afraid of how—”

  Winnie waved her quiet. “I know. I will take care of Harold. He promised my husband he would watch out for me, and he’s taking his job way too seriously.”

  “Winnie, I don’t know that he is.” Colt leaned forward, clasping his hands and resting his elbows on his thighs. “Someone did cut the fence and the dogs are missing. Not one of them came up to us while we were outside. They always do.”

  Winnie blanched and eased down onto the couch. “So you really think there’s a threat?” She looked from Colt to Ellie.

  “Yes, especially after tonight.” Ellie rose at the sound of the doorbell. “I’ll get it.”

  She let the deputy and sheriff into the house. “I’m Ellie St. James. I was hired by Harold Jefferson to protect Mrs. Winfield.”