Christmas Conspiracy

by Susan Sleeman

  Cash shook his head and continued staring. Jake understood the guilt Cash was feeling.

  “Let it go,” Jake said, yet knowing full well that if he was in Cash’s shoes, he wouldn’t have been able to do so. “Rachael’s going to be fine.”

  “Right,” Cash said, but there was no conviction in his voice.

  Skyler dug out her phone. “I’ll call this in and get some uniforms out here to search the neighborhood.”

  As she talked on the phone, sirens broke through the quiet.

  Jake tipped his head in their direction. “That’ll be the ambulance. I’m going in to check on Rachael.”

  In the entryway, he stomped the snow from his boots, then hurried to the dining room. He found Rachael sitting up next to Darcie, who was still monitoring Rachael’s blood pressure and heart rate.

  Darcie looked up. “She’ll be fine, but she’ll need to remain under observation in case another reaction occurs.”

  “It can come back?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, with some people. Usually in twenty-four to forty-eight hours.” Darcie changed her focus to Rachael. “Have you had a severe reaction like this before?”

  Rachael nodded and lifted the mask. “It didn’t return.”

  “I still insist on you going to the hospital to get checked out,” Darcie said.

  Jake waited for Rachael to argue, but she didn’t speak.

  “What did you find outside?” Darcie asked.

  Jake told them about the driver. “He’s fine, but he said the guy who tied him up put something liquid on the pizza. We’re guessing peanut oil.”

  “How do you think he found me here?” Rachael asked.

  “Simple,” Skyler said as she walked into the room. “I suspect after seeing Jake at your house, he tracked him down. After all, it’s no secret that the team lives here.” She stepped closer, her gaze staying on Rachael. “What I’m more interested in learning right now is how he could know about your peanut allergy.”

  Jake could guess what Skyler was thinking—that this might be another indicator Rachael knew the kidnapper and was involved. He didn’t want to embrace the same thought, but it was the easiest explanation for the guy knowing about her allergy.

  Rachael sat up higher. “We post children’s allergies in visible locations in our classrooms. I’ve included staff on the list so when parents bring in birthday treats, they’re aware of all allergies in the center. My name and allergy would be listed in every classroom.”

  “The kidnapper could have seen it on either of his visits to the building,” Jake added with relief.

  Rachael nodded. “And when he broke into my house, he could have taken my EpiPen.”

  “But you checked your purse,” Skyler said.

  “I didn’t actually look in the case.” Rachael sighed. “I never even considered he would steal my EpiPen, so I only confirmed the case was in my purse.”

  Jake looked at Skyler. “That would mean our suspect’s been thinking about poisoning Rachael since the break-in.”

  Skyler nodded. “Could be that his real purpose for the break-in was to steal the EpiPen, and the warning on the mirror was a distraction.”

  “The same thing could be true at the center.” Rachael sat forward. “He needed to search for additional EpiPens and left the picture to cover up that break-in, too.”

  Skyler pondered the comment, then gave a firm nod. “Makes sense. After all, it wouldn’t do any good to give you peanuts if you had an EpiPen handy.”

  Heavy boots sounded from the hallway, and Cash marched straight to Rachael. “This is all my fault. I should have paid more attention to the driver. I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t blame you.” She waved a hand. “Maybe if you describe him to me, it will help me remember his face.”

  “He had a sandy-brown beard and mustache. Long nose and tinted wire-framed glasses.” Cash closed his eyes. “The tint kept me from seeing his eye color.”

  “I know the kidnapper didn’t wear glasses,” Rachael said. “But that’s all I remember.”

  “He was likely wearing a disguise, or he wouldn’t have shown his face,” Jake said.

  The mood in the room turned more somber, and they all remained still and unspeaking for a long, painful moment.

  Skyler cleared her throat, breaking the quiet. “The good news in all of this is that Cash saw our suspect’s face, and he can meet with a sketch artist.”

  “But if the suspect was disguised, how will that help?” Darcie asked.

  “The sketch could provide enough detail to jog Rachael’s memory.”

  “I’ll try my best,” she said.

  Jake nodded. But the bad news is the kidnapper upped the stakes to attempted murder.

  No matter how hard he tried to shake it, he knew it was the truth—and he needed to up his game to match the raised stakes.

  * * *

  After only an hour in the hospital, where the doctors had given Rachael Benadryl and monitored her condition, Jake drove her back to the firehouse. She’d agreed to hang out in the family room for a little longer so Darcie could keep an eye on her. Skyler joined them and was scurrying around the room, taking down decorations from her annual Christmas party for homeless families. She needed to make room for more personal decor like Christmas stockings for team members and their significant others, and she was also hanging homemade ornaments whittled by Brady.

  Every few minutes she’d stop and clutch her stomach, showing them all that she was still having health issues. Jake considered saying something, but he saw Darcie watching her, and she eventually got up to join Skyler.

  “Enough,” Darcie said. “You’re clearly not feeling well, and I’m taking you upstairs and putting you to bed.”

  Darcie pried a Santa figurine from Skyler’s hand and shoved it at Jake. He took it, but didn’t know the first thing about decorating, so he trailed behind them to ask where Skyler wanted him to put it.

  At the bottom of the stairs, Darcie stopped. “Is your only symptom still nausea?”

  “That, and I’m feeling more tired.”

  “Does the nausea still come and go?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is there any chance you’re pregnant?” Darcie asked.

  Skyler’s mouth fell open, and Jake stopped dead in his tracks. He knew with everyone on the team getting engaged or married recently that pregnancy was something to expect, but still, the thought took him by surprise.

  “From the look on your face, it’s possible.” Darcie smiled.

  Skyler blinked a few times. “It’s not only possible, but very likely. Why didn’t I see it?”

  “Because as usual, you’re letting an investigation take over.”

  Skyler kept blinking as if she couldn’t believe the news. “I’ll have to drive to the store to pick up a test.”

  “You go up and rest, and I’ll run to the store for you.”

  Skyler grabbed Darcie’s arm. “Make sure no one sees you, and promise me you won’t tell anyone. I don’t want Logan hearing about this from someone on the team.”

  “Don’t worry. I can keep a secret.”

  Jake stepped back into the shadows, because he wanted Skyler to relax and not worry about anyone else knowing her news.

  Once Skyler went upstairs and Darcie walked out the front door, Jake returned to the family room. Rachael had gotten up and was hanging stockings on brass holders at the fireplace. For years there had been only six stockings, but now, with all the significant others and Isabel, the number had doubled. Would there be a baby’s stocking there next year?

  Jake could easily imagine Logan and Skyler with a baby, standing in the glow of the fireplace. Sure, they’d likely move out of their condo at the firehouse and find a home of their own, but Jake suspected they’d sti
ll spend Christmas with the team. Or at least, he hoped they would.

  And what about the others? When would they have children and move out? Would he be alone in this big old place that had seemed wonderful until right now?

  Everything had changed so rapidly, and the thought of even more change speared his heart. He didn’t want it to change. Didn’t want the team to go their separate ways.

  Then it hit him like a two-by-four upside the head. He was jealous of Skyler and Logan’s happiness. He’d never been jealous of the team’s relationships, so why now?

  Dumbfounded, he stared at Rachael.

  Had she changed him in just a few days? Did he want a relationship with a woman, even with all the messiness and tremendous risk of getting hurt? Did he truly want that, or did it even matter what he wanted when she’d made it clear how she felt about him?

  Rachael turned to retrieve another stocking from the table and caught his gaze. The fire glowed behind her, and she looked beautiful—so incredibly beautiful that he had to force himself not to cross over to her.

  Because even if a relationship now seemed appealing, that was not an option for him. Not with the promise he’d once made to his family, and with so many people still needing his help.

  * * *

  Kelly’s cries brought Rachael to a sitting position on the sofa in Jake’s condo. Pam stepped out of the bedroom, jiggling a very fussy Kelly.

  “Sorry,” Pam said, looking exhausted. “I hate that she woke you.”

  “No problem. Do you need help?”

  “I’ve got it.” She dug through her diaper bag and held up a diaper. “This is the last one.”

  “We left the extra supplies in the entryway. I’ll go grab some diapers.” Rachael tugged an oversize sweater over her T-shirt and leggings and stepped into the hallway.

  Thankfully, she didn’t have any residual side effects from the allergy attack, except for being afraid it would happen again. She jogged down the stairs and dug through the large shopping bag for the pack of diapers they’d picked up on the way to the firehouse. She saw a light on in the family room and decided to investigate.

  She found Jake standing at the lighted tree, his back to her. He was hanging the ornaments that Skyler had left behind. Rachael knew she should head back upstairs, but the homey scene in front of her kept her mesmerized.

  Memories of her Christmases with Eli flitted through her mind. She missed their special times together. Missed being married. How wonderful life would be if she were in her own home right now, her husband standing at the tree before her and their child sleeping upstairs.

  She hugged the diapers against her chest and sighed. She hadn’t let herself dare to think of such a thing in a very long time. Not with the memory of that Christmas Eve four years ago that so often came to mind.

  Would she ever regain her love of Christmas? She suddenly wanted to, but the vision of her and Eli after church on that last night together whisked away her hope.

  She hadn’t wanted him to go out for the ice cream. In fact, she didn’t ask and had gone to bed, but the craving for something cold wouldn’t let up. So she got up, searched the freezer and even chewed on ice cubes.

  Eli joined her and joked about her craving. He’d insisted on running to the convenience store. As he stood by the door, he turned, that sweet smile he had just for her crossing his face. He blew her a kiss, winked and said he’d be home in a flash.

  He didn’t come home. Not in a flash. Not ever.

  Instead, a police officer came to the door. The shock of his news brought her to her knees, her hand cupping her belly to protect their baby as she fell. She called her friend Annie, who sat with her into the wee hours of the night as Rachael tried to forget her loss for just a moment to eat so she could nourish the baby, and try to sleep.

  She’d managed a few bites and a few hours of sleep. Then time moved on, and she didn’t. She would look at Eli’s clothes, his sweaters, his laundry in the basket, and wonder what she should do with that. How did she go on alone?

  Then, a month later, she remembered with painful clarity waking in the night with cramps and bleeding. Annie racing her to the hospital. Miscarrying before morning. The pain had swallowed her whole, and she could do nothing more than grieve.

  The memories now brought the pain back to life, fresh and intense, but something else was there, too. The desire for a family. It was something she hadn’t dared to admit to herself since Eli had died and she’d lost the baby.

  Seeing Jake like this, with her feelings for him growing, proved that she wanted more—but it didn’t matter. She turned her back and marched up the stairs.

  Her only family would be the ones at the center. They needed her help, and even now, as she knew she wanted more, she also knew she didn’t deserve it.

  TEN

  The sun shone bright the next morning on Jake’s drive to visit Pam’s parents in Tigard. Jake had dropped Pam off at work, with Rachael babysitting Kelly. Jake reluctantly left Rachael under Cash’s watchful eye. It wasn’t that Jake no longer trusted Cash after the peanut incident—that could have happened to anyone—but Jake simply didn’t want to leave her care to anyone else. That should have told him something about the feelings he was developing for her, but he refused to dwell on it.

  He parked in front of a small bungalow and climbed out. Two cars sat in the driveway, which didn’t fit with Skyler’s research. She’d said the mother’s shift ended at seven and the dad started at six, meaning only the mother should have been home right now. It was something Jake had been counting on, as in his experience, women were often more forthcoming than men.

  He knocked on the door and unclipped his badge from his belt.

  Mrs. Baldwin answered. “Can I help you?”

  “I’m Deputy Jake Marsh, Mrs. Baldwin,” he said, displaying his badge for her.

  She arched a brow and planted her feet. “It’s Pam, isn’t it? You’ve come to tell us she’s finally overdosed.”

  “No,” Jake said quickly. “Pam is fine. In fact, she’s more than fine. She’s doing great.” He added the last bit because, surprisingly, he’d developed a fondness for Pam, and he was proud of her success and wished these parents would be, too. Though, to be fair, he hadn’t witnessed her volatile history with drugs as her parents had.

  Mrs. Baldwin crossed her arms. “So what is it, then?”

  “Do you mind if I come in? I have a few questions for you.”

  “Regarding?”

  “Pam.”

  “I knew it had to be about her. It’s the only time we ever get visits from the cops.” She sounded bitter, but she led him into a small dining room with a round wooden table, where Mr. Baldwin was drinking a cup of coffee, a newspaper folded in front of him. Short and squat, he had a full head of black hair with gray at the temples. He was a few inches shorter, and many inches wider, than the kidnapper as he’d been described.

  “This here’s Deputy Marsh,” Mrs. Baldwin said. “It’s something about Pam.”

  “Of course it is.” Mr. Baldwin frowned and gestured at a vacant chair.

  Jake sat. “My coworker, Detective Skyler Hunter, talked to you yesterday about Pam.”

  “That’s right.”

  “You said neither of you had heard from or spoken to her in years.”

  “Also true,” Mrs. Baldwin said, dropping into a chair by her husband.

  “How did you learn about Kelly, then?”

  “Got a call from Pam’s social worker,” Mr. Baldwin said. “She needed to verify information on Pam, and she mentioned the baby.” He shook his head.

  “Looks like you don’t approve of Kelly.”

  He crossed his arms. “I don’t. Not of having a baby out of wedlock, but mostly I don’t think Pam will be a very good mother.”

  “Not if
her history is any indication,” Mrs. Baldwin added.

  “Do you think you’d be better at raising Kelly?”

  “Of course we would!” Mrs. Baldwin exclaimed.

  Jake stared at Mr. Baldwin. Though he wasn’t the right build for the kidnapper, he could have hired the man. “Suppose you tell me where you were at six on Monday morning.”

  “At work.”

  “Do you work the same shift every day?”

  “Six until three. Monday through Friday.”

  “And yet you’re home now.”

  “I’m taking a sick day.” He faked a cough.

  “Your supervisor can vouch for you for today and the other morning?”

  He nodded.

  Jake pulled out a notepad and slid it across the table with a pen. “Write down his contact information.”

  “Why do you want to know where he was?” Mrs. Baldwin asked.

  “Someone tried to abduct Kelly from her child care center.”

  Mr. Baldwin shot to his feet. “And you think I might have done that? You’re nuts.”

  “Still, I’ll need your supervisor’s contact information, and I’ll also need to know where you were yesterday around four thirty.”

  “Right here. Eating an early dinner before watching TV.”

  “Can anyone vouch for you?”

  “We were eating together,” Mrs. Baldwin offered, sounding far less belligerent. Jake believed her.

  Mr. Baldwin scribbled his work information on the page, then stood, glaring at Jake. “Is that all you need?”

  “For now.” Jake stood, too, and picked up his notepad. “You can expect to hear from me again if this doesn’t check out.”

  The couple exchanged a look, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Mrs. Baldwin showed him to the door.

  “Anything else you’d like to tell me?” Jake asked her from the porch, hoping that she might share more now that they were out of Mr. Baldwin’s hearing.

  She seemed to ponder for a moment before shaking her head and shutting the door in his face.

  Jake didn’t want to waste any time, so the moment he settled in his truck, he dialed Mr. Baldwin’s place of employment. When his supervisor came on the line and told Jake that Mr. Baldwin had showed up two hours late on Monday morning without an explanation, Jake’s mouth almost hit his chest. Jake thanked the supervisor and strode back to the house.