The Christmas Target

by Shirlee McCoy

Female.

  That was his first impression.

  Karen. That was his second. Same hair. Same build. Young, moving like she’d done this a dozen times before. She reached back inside, pulled out a large duffel and set it on the landing. Then she levered half her body into the window, dragged what looked like an oversize flowerpot from inside.

  She hefted it in both arms, wobbled to the railing.

  Looked down.

  Chance had about a millisecond to realize what she was going to do. Then the pot was falling, and he was diving toward Stella, tackling her to the ground, twisting so that his body hit the pavement first.

  The pot landed a foot away, bits of clay flying into the air, dirt sprinkling Chance’s face and arms.

  He jumped up, dragging Stella with him.

  He brushed the debris from her hair and shoulders. “You okay?”

  “Dandy. Now how about we get that little monster? Because I’ve about had enough of her.” She was climbing the first set of fire escape stairs before he could respond.

  He followed, the metal vibrating as they raced toward the roof.

  Karen had already made it there. Chance could see her, easing out onto the makeshift bridge on her hands and knees, the duffel hanging from her shoulders, bumping against her back as she crawled across the area between the buildings.

  Didn’t matter.

  She wasn’t going far.

  Dallas was waiting for her, standing on the roof of the other building, just far enough away that Karen probably couldn’t see him. Oblivious, she just kept crawling, completely focused on her escape.

  Stella reached the roof a second ahead of Chance, and by the time he was up, she’d made it to the bridge. She didn’t pull her gun, didn’t call out to try to stop Karen. She just watched as the young woman eased across the boards.

  “How long do you think it’s going to take for her to realize she’s been caught?” she asked as he reached her side.

  “I’d say about three seconds.”

  “One,” Stella said. “Two.”

  Karen had reached the other side and was scrambling over the roof ledge. She straightened and looked right at them, smiling triumphantly.

  “Sorry about this, Stella. No hard feelings, right?” she called, pushing the boards so that they tumbled down into the alley. “See you around, cousin!”

  She turned, saw Dallas and screamed so loudly Chance was certain the foundations of the buildings shook.

  She pulled the duffel from her back, tossed it with all her strength. It fell short of Dallas, but she was already running to whatever entrance Dallas had used to gain access to the roof.

  Another fire escape?

  A door from the building?

  “Should I call Cooper and tell him what’s going on?” Stella asked.

  “Not unless you think Dallas can’t handle this.”

  “He can.”

  He did. A quick sprint, and Dallas had Karen by the arm, hauling her up against his side.

  “Looks like he’s got it under control. Let’s head back down. Cooper should be there with your uncle, and I’m anxious to hear what he has to say.”

  “You and me both.” She turned away from the drama unfolding on the other roof. Not much of a drama, really. Dallas was nudging Karen toward the opposite side of the building.

  She wasn’t screaming anymore.

  She looked like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the duffel she’d been trying to escape with now in Dallas’s hands. “Wonder what is in the bag?” Chance said more to himself than to Stella.

  “I have a feeling some of it came from Beatrice’s house.”

  “Do you think Larry was telling the truth?”

  “About Camden being his son?” She shrugged, stepping onto the fire escape and beginning her descent. “Why would he lie?”

  “Why wouldn’t he have acknowledged Camden two years ago, when he moved to town?”

  “Knowing my uncle, he didn’t want to hurt Patty. He was probably hoping he could keep the relationship a secret, maybe have some kind of connection with Camden but not one that anyone would be suspicious of.”

  “Have you ever met the guy?”

  “No.” She’d reached street level and stood waiting for him, her hair shimmering in the sunlight that shone between the buildings, her cheeks red from exertion or emotion or both.

  This couldn’t be easy for her, but she was handling it like she did every mission—with focus and determination.

  When he reached her side, she smiled, shaking her head. “You’re a mess, Chance.”

  “Thanks?”

  She laughed, brushing dirt from his shoulders, then from his hair, her hands lingering a little longer than was necessary. He knew that. She knew it, and that smile was still in place, her gaze direct and unapologetic. “We have a lot to talk about. One day. When we’re not dodging bullets or clay pots.”

  “What is there to say, Stella? We either go for it or we don’t. There’s never going to be any in-between for us.”

  Her smile slipped away, and she nodded. Solemnly. Carefully. As if that one gesture spoke every word that needed to be said. “I don’t ever want to be hurt again, Chance. I don’t ever want to love and then be left alone. The thought of that terrifies me. But you know what terrifies me more?”

  “What?”

  “The thought of never having that kind of love. The kind that takes up all the empty places in my heart. The kind that would hurt to lose, but that would leave memories that would make the pain worth it. Come on. Let’s go find Cooper and Larry. Let’s figure out what Karen had in that bag. Let’s get this mess cleaned up because Christmas is coming and I promised Beatrice we’d hang the stockings.”

  He could have said a dozen things to that. He could have given her all sorts of reassurances. She didn’t want that, though. He knew Stella. Just like he knew himself.

  “Chance? Stella?” Cooper appeared at the end of the alley, Larry beside him. “Everything okay here?”

  “One of my men caught Karen Woods trying to escape through the building next door,” Chance responded.

  “I’ve got a man over there now.”

  “I guess my uncle told you what’s going on,” Stella said, and Cooper nodded.

  “Most of it.”

  “All of it,” Larry corrected.

  “We’ll see if your story checks out, Larry,” Cooper responded, and Larry flinched.

  “Why would I lie about something like this?”

  “Because you’re in deeper than you want to admit?” Cooper suggested. “Because maybe you’re having financial difficulties and you want your sister’s estate to help you get back on your feet. Maybe you hired Camden to make sure you got it?”

  “He’s been blackmailing me for two years. That’s how I got into the financial trouble I’m in.”

  “Because he’s your long-lost son?” Cooper asked.

  “I told you he is! Patty had no idea that I’d had an affair, and I never thought...” His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

  He hadn’t thought he’d get caught?

  He hadn’t thought he’d have to pay the consequences of his sin?

  Chance didn’t ask.

  He’d seen it too many times. The sin. The results. The sadness that followed.

  “Maybe you should have thought,” Stella said quietly, and Larry started to cry. Quiet tears that streamed down his face.

  “When Camden’s mother told me she was pregnant, she asked for ten thousand dollars cash so she could leave town. I gave it to her, because I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Maybe confess?” Chance suggested.

  “I couldn’t hurt my wife like that. I thought I could pay the money, and it would all go aw
ay, but then Camden showed up and told me that if I didn’t pay, he’d go to Patty.”

  “So you did?” Cooper asked, and Larry nodded.

  “What else could I do?”

  A lot, but Chance didn’t say it.

  He could picture the first meeting, could imagine Larry’s shock. He’d been living a lie for forty-five years, and now it was all going to unravel.

  “I paid until I was out of money, but he kept wanting more,” Larry continued. “I told him that, and he told me he’d take care of it.”

  “He must have known Beatrice didn’t have a will,” Stella said. “He must have known about your father’s stipulation regarding the house and the property.”

  “He knows everything. More than me. He’s fixated on the family.” Larry wiped moisture from his cheeks. “If he could get you out of the way, Stella, it was only a matter of time before—”

  “Stop,” Cooper ordered. “You have rights, Larry. You’re well aware of them.”

  “I gave up my rights when I betrayed my wife and my family.”

  “I’d still rather you get a lawyer,” Cooper said. “I’ve got a warrant issued for Camden, and I’ve petitioned for a search warrant of this property and of Camden and Karen’s house. They live about a mile from here.”

  “Has anyone been over there yet?”

  “I sent a deputy. No one’s home.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Stella muttered, meeting Chance’s eyes.

  He knew what she was thinking.

  Exactly what he thought—they needed to get back to the hospital. He pivoted, headed back toward the SUV.

  “You don’t think he’s at the hospital, do you?” She was following him now, running behind him as he sprinted for the vehicle.

  “Where’s Dallas?” she asked as they reached it. “We need the keys.”

  “I’ll get—” His phone rang, and he saw that it was Trinity.

  “Hello?” he said.

  “She’s gone!” Trinity cried. “You’ve got to get back here because she’s gone!”

  “Beatrice?” he asked, and Stella froze, all the blood draining from her face.

  “She went for an X-ray. They said an orderly would bring her back out. I waited outside radiology, but she never came back.”

  “We’ll be there as quickly as we can. Contact hospital security.”

  “Simon is already with them. I can’t believe I let this happen. I should have—”

  “We’ll be there soon.”

  He disconnected and sprinted back to the front of the store, adrenaline pouring through him because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Camden had Beatrice.

  How long had she been missing?

  How far could he have gotten?

  Cooper would need to put on an APB on whatever vehicle was registered to Camden. He’d have to—

  Stella grabbed his arm, yanked him to a stop.

  “He has her, doesn’t he?” Her eyes were bright with tears, but she didn’t let them fall.

  “Yes,” he said, hating having to say it. “But it’s going to be okay,” he promised, and he prayed that he was right. Prayed that she wouldn’t be disappointed, heartbroken, hurt. Because Beatrice was all she had left of her little family, and he thought it just might destroy Stella to lose her.

  She took a shaky breath, nodded stiffly.

  “Okay. Let’s go find her.” Then she took off, sprinting toward Cooper and the deputy.

  THIRTEEN

  By the time they’d arrived at the hospital, Beatrice had been missing for forty minutes. Not long, but to Stella it seemed like a lifetime. She’d listened while Cooper had questioned the hospital staff; she’d ridden with Chance as they’d headed over to the sheriff’s department.

  Now she was pacing Cooper’s office, waiting while he questioned Karen. Chance and Simon were with him in the interrogation room. They’d left Stella and Trinity together. Stella wasn’t sure where Uncle Larry was. All she really cared about was finding Beatrice.

  Trinity sat a few feet away, slouched in a chair and crying. “I should have insisted,” she said, her eyes red-rimmed from tears. “I should have told them that I had to go with her.” She’d said it a dozen times before, and Stella had responded the same way each time.

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Stella assured her, her throat dry with fear. Did Beatrice understand what had happened? Was she afraid? Was she hurt?

  The thought left a dull ache in her chest and a twisting pain in her gut. She couldn’t just sit around hoping that Beatrice would be found. She had to act.

  She walked to the door, yanked it open.

  “I’m going to look for her,” she said.

  “You can’t!” Trinity protested.

  “Watch me,” she replied, stalking down the corridor and pausing outside a closed door.

  She could hear voices. Female. Male.

  She knocked. Didn’t wait for an invitation. Just walked into the room.

  They were all there—Chance, Simon, Dallas. Larry. Cooper.

  Karen.

  For the first time in longer than she could remember, Stella saw red. Her body went cold with rage, her skin crawling with anger.

  She walked across the room, ignoring Chance’s look of caution.

  “You’d better hope that my grandmother is okay,” she nearly spat, and Karen frowned.

  “My father would never hurt her,” she responded blithely, her legs crossed, her fingers tapping impatiently on her thigh. “She’s family.”

  “I’m family, too,” Stella responded. “He tried to kill me.”

  “You’re kidding, right? My father barely even knew you existed,” Karen scoffed. “I’m sure he was too busy cashing the checks Uncle Larry was writing to bother with you.”

  “I never wrote him a check,” Larry said faintly.

  “You gave him cash. Same difference, really.” She shrugged. “He’s just taking what he’s owed. That’s all.”

  “What does he think he’s owed?” Chance asked.

  “Whatever the rest of the family has.” She shrugged again. “It’s only fair. At first, he just wanted to get me through college and get his shop going, but once I started working for Beatrice and realized how much money the family has, the plans changed. Things should be split equally in a family like this, and my father deserves his cut.”

  “Based on what Larry has said, your father got more than his cut,” Cooper said. “And he extorted it. Which is a crime and could get him jail time.”

  “Extorted? That’s a heavy word, Sheriff.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, studied her nails. “Go ahead, Granddad,” she said, “tell him that’s not what happened. You were more than willing to help with the shop and with my education.”

  “It’s true. I was happy to help him. At first. Then he kept coming back for more. He thinks I’m a bottomless well that he can keep pulling from.”

  “You should have told him that you weren’t.” She frowned. “It’s not like he wanted to drive you into bankruptcy.”

  “Karen, he didn’t care if I had nothing. As long as he got what he wanted. He told me that I’d either find a way to pay or he’d take something more valuable than money from me. He threatened to kill my wife.” He put his head in his hands, closed his eyes. “I’ve made a mess of everything.”

  “No,” Chance broke in. “You made mistakes. Camden is making the mess, and Karen is helping him.”

  “I haven’t done anything,” she protested.

  Chance reached down and opened the duffel that was sitting on the floor beside him, pulling out a beautiful gilt vase that Stella remembered from her childhood. It had a crack down the center now. Probably from being tossed at Dallas.

  “Where’d this com
e from?” he asked, and Karen blushed.

  “Beatrice gave it to me.”

  “Did she give you this, too?” He lifted a gold bracelet decorated with rubies and sapphires.

  “I want a lawyer,” Karen responded.

  “I’ll get you one,” Cooper said. “Once we book you. Of course, if you want to tell us where your father has taken Beatrice—”

  “He didn’t take her anywhere! He wouldn’t. I keep telling you—”

  “Does your father have an old bowie knife in the shop? One with symbols carved into the handle?” Chance asked.

  Karen frowned. “Yes. Why?”

  “That’s what was used the night Stella was attacked at the hospital.”

  “My father isn’t a murderer,” she responded, but her brow furrowed, and she bit her lip.

  “You’re wondering if he is, kid,” Dallas broke in. “So I’d say you have your doubts. How about you try some honesty and either prove your doubts or put them to rest?”

  “I’ve already told you everything I know.”

  “You haven’t told us where you were going with this stuff.” Chance nudged the bag with his foot.

  “If I tell you, will you agree not to press charges?” She was looking straight into Stella’s eyes and, for the first time since she’d met her, Stella saw the resemblance to Larry. The shape of the eyes. The color. They were almost identical.

  “That depends on what you know and what you’ve done,” she answered honestly, and Karen blushed.

  “I did take a few things. Dad asked me to. He said he just wanted a few family heirlooms to remind him of where he’d really come from. Not the rat-infested house his mother raised him in. You guys were like royalty to us, and Dad said Beatrice would never know anything was missing. He told me that we wouldn’t sell anything until after she was gone. We’d just keep them and enjoy them. I let him convince me. I bought the whole we’re-family-and-we-deserve-it thing. I knew it was wrong, though. And I’m sorry. I was going to bring everything back before we left town. That’s why I was in the shop. I was getting the things I’d stored there.”

  “You were leaving town?” Stella asked, her heart beating wildly, her mind jumping from thought to thought so rapidly she couldn’t quite hold on to any of them.