The Yuletide Rescue

by Margaret Daley

  “One room at a time,” David replied. “Maybe target in here first since it’s what you see when you come into the house. Then when we come back, we’ll see the accomplishment. How does that sound?” He removed his heavy overcoat, righted a chair and laid it on the seat.

  When David said we, she relished that word. She liked knowing she wasn’t alone in this. “Sounds like a good plan.” Bree took off her parka and set it on top of David’s. “I’ll take the desk drawers and their contents on the floor.”

  “I’ll put the books in the bookcases.” Don moved toward the wall lined with shelves, stepping around the piles underfoot.

  “And I’ll straighten up and right the furniture.” David picked up a chair.

  As Bree worked on the desk, she investigated any crevice or cubbyhole she found. Her actions became automatic while she blanked her mind. But every once in a while, an object would spark a memory. When she found a photo of her and Jeremiah posing by his plane in Daring during the summer, tears jammed her throat. Only five months ago. She remembered the flight back to Anchorage. Jeremiah had taken a detour as he often did to show her some bears in a rushing stream, catching their dinner. A tear splashed on her hand, pulling her out of the memory. She couldn’t cry again. It wouldn’t change what happened. A headache began to form behind her eyes.

  A hand clasped her shoulder, and she looked back at David leaning over her. She tried to reassure him with a smile, but she couldn’t.

  “Okay?”

  “Just thinking about the past. I keep running into things that remind me of something Jeremiah did with my family or me. I didn’t realize he was such a pack rat.” She held up a ticket stub. “This is to a movie he took Mom and me to see. It was one of those weepy romances, and his snores filled the theater. Mom had a hard time waking him up. We were getting some nasty stares the whole time.”

  David laughed. “I can see Jeremiah doing that.”

  “Bree, did you say his tablet was stolen?” Don asked from the other end of the living room.

  Taking David’s hand, Bree rose. “Yes. Why?”

  “Is this it?”

  She nodded. “Where was it?”

  “Buried under the books on the floor. The screen is cracked. Maybe that’s why it was left behind, but in that case, why did they leave behind this coin collection?”

  “What coin collection?” Bree strode to where Don stood in front of a cabinet.

  “Right there in a black box.”

  David joined her and stooped to retrieve the container, then open the lid. He whistled. “How did they miss it? There are a couple of gold coins as well as some very old ones. This may be valuable.”

  “I didn’t know about the coins. Not that I had to be informed, but I always thought he told me everything. He was always grumbling about not having enough money, so how did he buy these, especially the gold ones?” Confusion reigned as she stared at the large box, full to the top. “Maybe the lawyer will know something about this when I have my meeting with him in a few days.” She scanned the room. “What else do I not know about? Was there something else that was valuable that the robbers actually took?”

  The pounding in her head increased, and all she wanted to do was go to bed and pull the covers over her head. She thought she’d known Jeremiah well.

  Don flipped his hand toward the box. “This makes me think they were after something specific and the other stuff wasn’t worth their time.”

  “What?” Bree asked, massaging her temples.

  “I don’t know. It could be a lot of things. The first thing that comes to mind is drugs.”

  She couldn’t buy that. Jeremiah had an aversion to illegal drugs. He didn’t understand giving up that kind of control for a momentary “feel good.”

  Bree shook her head violently and backed away from the pair as though that would erase the possibility. “No. That I’m sure of.” But am I?

  She stumbled on something behind her and started to go down. David lunged for her and caught her, his outdoorsy scent flooding her senses. He’d been there for her from the beginning. For a few seconds all she wanted to do was stay in his arms and feel the safety of his embrace.

  “Okay?” David murmured close to her ear.

  She nodded and stepped away before she became too accustomed to his support. “So it’s very possible whatever they were looking for, they got, and I might never know what it was.”

  “Right,” Don said. “The coins were poured out all over this cabinet, so whoever broke in went through the box. I guess it’s possible there was one or more they were specifically looking for.”

  David came around from behind Bree and faced her. “My suggestion is to finish in here and take a break. It doesn’t all have to be done in a day.”

  She panned the partially restored living room, comforted for that at least. “I agree.”

  “And I’m calling Thomas to let him know we found the tablet. He may want to take a look at it, but without any more evidence, there’ll be little he can do, especially since it seems that Jeremiah died from a heart attack, not foul play.”

  As Bree went back to work on the drawer contents, she tried to feel comforted that the burglars probably found what they were looking for and life would go back to normal. At least she prayed that was the case.

  * * *

  “Did you enjoy your day off?” Gail asked Bree a couple of days later at the clinic.

  Bree finished her note in the patient’s chart, then closed it and turned toward her friend. “If cleaning Jeremiah’s house is considered fun, then yes.”

  “Duty calls. I know what that’s like. I also know how much you love housework.”

  “I hear a note of sarcasm in your voice.”

  Gail smiled and held up two fingers an inch apart. “Just a little bit.”

  “At least Jeremiah’s house looks almost normal again, especially thanks to David and his dad.”

  “That’s great. Anyone who will help you clean up a trashed house is a keeper. If I hadn’t been scheduled to work, I could have helped you, but I imagine you had more fun with him,” Gail said with a laugh.

  “I have to admit David is easy on the eyes, but in no way was cleaning up fun.” Bree noticed Gail was dressed in her heavy overcoat, snow boots, hat and gloves. “Going somewhere?”

  “Yes, I have to pick up John from the base, but when I went to leave, I found my car dead. The battery again. I need to own stock in a battery company. The cold is murder on them. I thought I would bring John back with one, and he can change it out. Husbands are good for a couple of things.”

  “I wouldn’t know, but you do have a special man. You can use my car. I’m not going anywhere.” Bree came around the counter and walked back to her office. When she’d retrieved her keys, she dropped them in Gail’s hand.

  “I saw how David looked at you in the café the other day,” the nurse said. “You could have a special man, too.”

  The heat of a blush singed her cheeks. “With all that I’m dealing with, I’m not looking.”

  “You should be. You’re thirty. Practically an old maid.”

  Laughter welled up in Bree, and its release eased the tension of the past few days. “You’ve only been married two years and you’re thirty-four.”

  “Exactly. I’m speaking from experience.” Gail curled her gloved hands around the keys and swung around. “Thanks. I’ll be back in about an hour. Do you want me to bring you anything for lunch?”

  “Nope. I’m meeting David for lunch at the café in twenty minutes.”

  “A date! That’s great.”

  “Not a date...” Suddenly she realized she wished it was. “Chance, a friend of David’s who is a state trooper, wants to talk with us about Jeremiah’s missing plane.”

  Gail paused at the door and said, “May
be you can mix pleasure with business.” Then she winked and left.

  No, she couldn’t—not the kind of pleasure Gail was referring to. David and she could only be friends. Everything was happening too fast. She needed to slow things down.

  Bree glanced at her watch and decided to update a couple more charts before she left. Then she grabbed her coat and purse, and entered Aurora Café right on time. She found David and Chance at a table in the back.

  As she made her way to them, she zeroed in on David’s face. His scowl indicated that he didn’t like what Chance was saying. Both men were so intent on their conversation that they didn’t realize she was in the café until she stopped next to David.

  When his gaze latched on to hers, his expression morphed into a neutral one as he stood and pulled out a chair next to him. “You’re early.”

  “No, I’m on time. How long have you two been here?”

  “Five or ten minutes,” David said with a shrug.

  After taking a seat, Bree homed in on Chance on her left. “Okay, tell me what you told him and don’t sugarcoat anything. I already know it’s something I don’t want to hear.”

  Chance looked at David, who nodded, then retuned his gaze to her. “We think we’ve found the remains of what’s left of Jeremiah’s plane.”

  “That’s good.” Her stiff shoulders sagged.

  “It’s going to be hard to climb down to check it at least until late spring, but the type and color are the same. Can’t read any markings on it. It’s smashed and scattered all over a deep creviced ravine in the Alaska Range.”

  “Which probably means it wasn’t pirates looking to salvage a plane.” David’s clipped words echoed the strain on his face.

  “Also there was one sighting of the helicopter with the plane. A man heard a chopper and looked out as it went over his cabin. Heading southwest, which fits with where the remains of the plane were found.”

  “Maybe the line holding the aircraft snapped.” Bree needed to believe it was someone trying to salvage a wreck.

  Chance pinched his lips together. “It’s a possibility, but I’m more inclined to think someone wanted the plane for other reasons. Like drugs. Or something on the black market.”

  Bree opened her mouth to deny it again but instead swallowed her protest. After going through Jeremiah’s house and putting it back in order as best she could, she couldn’t vehemently deny his involvement in anything. Even though Jeremiah had always talked about the dangers of drinking, she’d found several empty bottles of alcohol at the bottom of one pile and a full bottle in a kitchen cabinet.

  Chance rose. “I wish I could stay and join you for lunch. But I’m headed to work. I’ll let you know if I hear anything else.” He peered at her. “Please be careful. If they haven’t found what they’re looking for, no telling what they’ll do.”

  Bree shivered and folded her arms over her chest. The last couple of nights after the wreck she’d come to believe there wasn’t anyone observing her house. They would have made their move by now. It was too cold to stand outside and watch her like that, her practical side pointed out.

  But also she’d been lured into a sense of safety with the feeling that the robbers got what they came for. And there was an off chance that the break-in had nothing to do with the people in the helicopter. Add to that, now she didn’t know what to think about Jeremiah and what he might have been involved with.

  After the waitress took their orders, a silence hovered between her and David as though neither one wanted to talk because that meant they needed to discuss what Chance had told them.

  Finally when the waitress brought them their coffee, Bree said, “Do you think it’s Jeremiah’s plane?”

  “Yes, most likely. From what Chance said to me before you came, the pilot who spotted it flies over that area several times a week, and he hasn’t seen anything there before yesterday. He flew as low as he could and checked it out, looking for bodies. There were none he could find. There wasn’t a distress call or emergency locator signal, either.”

  “Anything else on the white helicopter?” She fiddled with her spoon, restless energy vying with her weariness.

  “No.” He sipped his coffee. When he set it down, he angled toward her, covering her hand with his on the table. “I think the worst part of all of this is we don’t know what’s going on. We should err on the side of caution. Please reconsider coming to stay at my house until we know more. I spoke to Dad last night, and he hoped you would accept my invitation. He’s enjoyed your visits, but more important, he’s concerned for your safety.”

  Bree listened to David, almost as if she were a spectator to the conversation. She wanted to deny the danger. The closest she had ever come to being in danger before the wreck was when a patient went berserk in the ER because he needed drugs, but security was always there quickly.

  “Bree?”

  She blinked, realizing that David was waiting for her to say something. She took a breath and looked at him. “I like your dad. He reminds me of mine, except for his occupation. My father is one of the reasons I went into medicine.” And she wished he were there right now. Thankfully I still have You, Lord, because I don’t know what to do about all of this.

  “What are you going to do when your daughter comes in nine days?”

  “Talk to her about the situation.”

  “It’s one thing if I’m there with you and your dad. Both of you are very capable of taking care of yourself. But what if my presence puts your daughter’s life in danger?”

  “We have nine days before we have to make a decision about that.”

  “Let me think about it. I can call you later before I go home from the clinic.”

  “You’ve been driving to work, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, worrywart. I’m going to blame you when I put on a few pounds because I’m not exercising like I should. Well, that and your dad’s cooking.”

  “I can compromise. We can go skiing on some trails by my house.”

  “Good. I’m an outdoor kind of gal, even in the winter. That’s one of the things I love about Alaska.”

  “Me, too.” He squeezed her hand, then released it while the waitress served them their hamburgers and sweet potato fries.

  After the waitress topped off their coffees, Bree bowed her head and said, “Father, please give us wisdom in dealing with what’s going on. Bless this food and David and his dad for their kind offer.”

  “My offer is what’s best for me. I wouldn’t get any sleep if I knew you were in danger. In fact, I haven’t. I’m a desperate man. I need my rest.” A smile danced in his eyes.

  She loved seeing it after the heavy conversation they’d been having. Maybe she would sleep better at David’s house instead of listening for any unusual sounds. She started to tell him yes when his cell phone beeped. He read his text, the smile vanishing.

  “I’ve got to go to work.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “A child has gone missing in a small town north of here. I’ll be part of an aerial search while it’s still daylight.”

  “That’s only a few hours.”

  “I know. But there are ground teams going out, too.” He removed his wallet.

  “I’ll take care of the bill. Take your hamburger with you. It might be a long day.”

  “Thanks.” He snatched his hamburger off the plate and strode toward the exit.

  When he left, the energy seemed to be siphoned from the café. Suddenly she didn’t want to sit by herself and finish her lunch. She wrapped up her food, paid for it and hurried toward the clinic. She could eat in the break room. Maybe Gail was back, and she could ask her opinion of staying at David’s.

  But the room was empty, so she went to her office, worked on some files stacked on her desk and ate her hamburger. When the receptionist paused in t
he doorway, Bree looked up.

  “Has the first afternoon patient arrived?” Bree asked, pushing her chair back and standing.

  “Not yet. I just got a call from Gail’s husband. She hasn’t arrived to pick him up. Didn’t she leave over an hour ago?”

  Glancing at her watch, Bree frowned. “An hour and a half ago. Have you tried her cell phone?”

  The receptionist nodded. “Goes to voice mail.”

  Bree checked her cell phone for messages in case Gail had an accident or Bree’s car had broken down. Nothing. “I’ll call John back. It’s probably nothing. She was running a couple of errands. Maybe they took longer than she thought. Let me know if she comes back or my first patient arrives.”

  While pacing, Bree found John’s name in her contact list and called him.

  He answered on the first ring. “Has she shown up at the clinic, Bree?”

  “No. I was going to ask you if she has shown up there.”

  “No, and she hasn’t called. I can’t get hold of her. This isn’t like her. You know how punctual Gail is. She’s obsessive about it. She should have been here half an hour ago. I could get a ride home from a buddy leaving in fifteen minutes. If she hasn’t come by then, I’ll leave and let her know by text. But if you hear anything, please let me know.”

  “Same for you.”

  When she punched the off button, she looked out her window at the parking lot where her car had been parked. She began making calls to a patrol officer she knew and then the hospital. Gail hadn’t been brought in to any hospital, nor had any officers been dispatched to a wreck involving Bree’s Malibu. At least Gail wasn’t injured. Relieved, Bree leaned against her desk.

  But if she wasn’t hurt, then, where was she?

  * * *

  After several hours searching for the child, David returned to Anchorage, taxiing into the hangar at the airport. Ella stood in the doorway of the Northern Frontier office. Weary but glad the little boy had been found, he exited his Cessna, looking forward to a relaxing night. That was, if Bree agreed to stay at his house. Then maybe he could get some quality sleep.