Christmas Blackout

by Maggie K. Black

  From outside the vehicle he thought he heard footsteps crunching in the snow. Or was he hallucinating?

  “Move a muscle and I’ll shoot you.” It was Kodiak’s voice, right in his ear. Cold fingers grabbed his face and held them in their viselike grip. “I will find Charlotte. You can’t stop me.”

  A hard, sudden blow snapped Benjamin’s head back against the seat.

  Unconsciousness took hold.

  FIFTEEN

  A light flashed somewhere in the distance. Benjamin could hear a voice shouting, but far away, like someone trapped in the distant fog. His entire body ached and he could barely move. He forced his eyes open. He was in the upside-down, crushed hatchback—suspended by a seat belt with a face full of air bag. The beam of light scanned back and forth on the hill above him. A voice echoed, disjointed on the wind. “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?”

  “Over here!” He tried to shout but the words left his throat as barely more than a groan. He fumbled in the front pocket of his jeans for his pocketknife, yanked out the blade and hacked away at the seat belt. He fell free and crumbled into a ball on the ceiling of the car. The door was bent in and the handle wouldn’t move, but he kicked the door hard with both feet, pounding into the metal until it flew open. He crawled out.

  He was at the bottom of a steep hill. A wall of snow and trees rose above him. It was a wonder anyone had been able to find him down here.

  “Benjamin!”

  He blinked, unable to let his heart believe what his eyes were seeing.

  Piper was running down the hill toward him.

  Strength surged in his chest. He pulled himself to his feet. She flew into his arms and her lips brushed his cheek. “Benjamin! Are you okay? What happened? Where are you hurt?”

  “Kodiak ran me off the road.” And that was it. He suddenly lost the ability to find words to speak. One moment he’d thought he was about to die. The next, Piper was running down the snow toward him. He held her close. “Piper...” His hands cupped her face. “Is it really you?”

  “Yeah.” A laugh of relief slipped through her lips. “It’s really me, I’m really here. But more importantly, how are you? What happened? Can you walk?”

  His arms slid around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. Was she kidding? Just knowing he was still alive and she was here, he felt as if he could fly. “Yeah, I can walk. Everything aches, but I’ve been worse. Between the air bag, the seat belt, the deep snow and the layers of winter clothes I have on, I seemed to be pretty well cushioned.” His lips brushed her cheeks and he tasted tears. So many questions were tumbling through his mind that he didn’t know where to start. There were probably just as many tumbling through hers. “How did you find me?”

  “When you didn’t answer your phone, I called your sister.” Piper had called Meg? But why? His head was still spinning and Piper was talking so fast she was barely pausing for breath. “She told me the route you were taking and told me where she’d lost your signal. When I spotted the smashed railing I followed the footprints down and trail of debris and Dominic’s things—”

  “Dominic’s things?” He pulled back and followed a few steps around the back of the car in the direction she was pointing. The back of the hatchback was smashed open. The contents of Dominic’s boxes were strewn in the snow. “Kodiak must’ve come down the hill through the snow to steal something by the look of it. But what could he possibly be after in Dominic’s stuff?”

  “My guess? The newspaper star I made my aunt. Dominic’s the guy Charlotte was sneaking out to see. Probably even the person Uncle Des saw her kissing. She apparently stole my newspaper star and gave it to him. Maybe that’s even what Trisha had Gavin looking for when he trashed all the Christmas decorations in the barn. Alpha did text something about checking in ‘Christmas things.’”

  There were so many questions cascading through his mind he didn’t even know where to start. “How would he find Charlotte from a newspaper star you made your aunt as a child?”

  “No idea. Maybe Charlotte wrote something on it before she gave it to Dominic. Some sort of address, phone number or clue to where she is now. Then again, I made it out of very old newspapers I found in the basement and Charlotte was studying history. Maybe she thought it was worth something. Because Alpha was tracking her down, maybe she gave it to Dominic for safekeeping. We might never know.” Her hand slid over his arm. “There’s a whole lot we still need to talk about, but all that really matters right now is that it’s cold, you just survived a car accident and we still have to get you to your sister’s wedding. Come on. There’s hot coffee and cookies in the truck. I called 911 before I walked down the hill, so police and ambulance are already on their way.”

  They climbed up the steep hill, walking slowly as Benjamin gingerly tested his limbs for injuries. The remnants of Dominic’s boxes lay around them, slowly disappearing under a dusting of snow. The star was nowhere to be seen. They trudged upward. Something was niggling at the back of his mind, something very important about Christmas and Piper being here. But his head still ached and his mind was swimming in so many circles it was hard to focus.

  His eyes rose to the highway above and he was so shocked by what he saw that he could barely believe he wasn’t hallucinating. “Is that my truck?”

  “Yes!” Happiness shone in Piper’s eyes. “That’s why I called your sister to begin with and then came after you. I managed to get it back for you, along with your bag, your passport, your ticket—everything. All of it. It’s all right there. Now, you can catch your flight tomorrow.”

  For a moment he couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying. He grabbed her around the waist and hugged her so tightly her feet left the ground. Then they climbed into the truck. She pulled out a Thermos from behind the passenger seat.

  “Like I said, we have a whole lot to talk about. Blondie in the navy ski mask was Trisha. She wore a wig and mask when she was stalking me and a fake belly when she wasn’t. You were right when you said we should think about how clothes disguise people.” She poured him a cup of coffee. The steam rose. “I caught her poking around the basement, chased her down and tackled her.”

  “Nice!” Again that unsettling feeling that he was forgetting to ask her about something important kicked at the back of his brain. He glanced at the clock. Quarter to twelve. He’d been out for over an hour.

  “Thanks.” Piper smiled. “I convinced her to tell me where she’d hidden your truck. She also backed up everything that Gavin said and most of what we suspected.”

  He raised the cup to his lips and drank. He’d never tasted better coffee. “She was working for Alpha?”

  “Worse. She was dating Alpha. Exact same story, just six years later. They met online. He got scary. She wanted to get away from him. Only she says he started slipping sometimes and calling her ‘Charlotte’ when he was upset and demanding she wear a blond wig so she looked like her, too. Creepy stuff. She thought finding Charlotte for him would be her way out. When he told her that Charlotte said she’d be here this Christmas, she offered to come to The Downs and convince Charlotte to take him back. Took Gavin with her as backup, pretended to be sick and pregnant so Gavin would keep his distance, and created a cover story for them in case Charlotte needed convincing.” She leveled her eyes at him over the mug. “I get the impression she was more than ready to kidnap Charlotte if that’s what it took to get Alpha off her back. Only when she got here, she couldn’t find Charlotte.”

  “Did she give you Alpha’s name?”

  “No, that’s one thing she wouldn’t spill. I get the impression she’s really scared of him. It was like part of her was kind of relieved to be arrested. But she didn’t deny it when I accused her of breaking into my room at night. Alpha apparently texted her that he’d actually seen Charlotte go into my room, so she was really surprised when she broke in and it was just me. The weird
est part of the whole thing for me is, just like Gavin said, Alpha’s texts started getting bizarre until she had no idea what she was looking for or where.”

  Like “check the Christmas things” and “check the brick.”

  Flashing red-and-blue lights were coming toward them. “How did Kodiak know that I had the newspaper star? And even if Charlotte had written her address and phone number on the thing, why would Alpha think he could still use it to trace her six years later?”

  A police car pulled in front of them. Another stopped behind.

  “No idea,” Piper said. She ran both hands through her hair. “Aunt Cass and Uncle Des are working out an arrangement with Dominic where he takes a suite whenever we have guests so I’m never staying there alone with strangers. And if I ever do manage a night without guests, I’ll stay over at Silver Halls with Aunt Cass and Uncle Des. Now that Trisha and Gavin have been arrested, police are hopeful the harassment will stop. But they’ll also be doing a media blitz about everything that’s happened, which will hopefully get word back to Alpha that there’s no point looking for Charlotte at The Downs. Oh, and they have a pretty good suspect on Kodiak, too. They think he might be a career criminal called Cody Aliston, so they’re issuing a warrant. Hopefully, this will all be the end of it.”

  The end of it. So that was it? It was over? Benjamin ran both hands over his face feeling as if he’d been knocked out for months instead of minutes. It was like waking up from a coma to catch up on the story that had been his life. Only instead of having people urgently trying to tell him everything that had gone wrong in his absence, this time everything had been wrapped up. He’d missed the finale, and other people had stepped up to do what he hadn’t been able to.

  Piper didn’t need him as her hero.

  There was nothing to stop him from catching his Christmas flight.

  “Christmas Eve at The Downs!” He grabbed her hand, as he suddenly realized what had been kicking the back of his brain. What was Piper doing here, sitting beside him in his truck, when she had a huge event to run? “You’ve got to get back to The Downs!”

  “It’s fine.” She pulled her hand away from his. Cops were walking to her door. “Aunt Cass and Uncle Des have it covered. They’re scaling things down to what they can manage and relying on a lot of volunteers. Someone needed to bring you your stuff and it made the most sense for it to be me. Not to mention your truck is so much better for this weather than the hatchback you were driving. I was going to try to meet up with you, switch vehicles and drive Dominic’s car back.”

  He glanced toward the cliff where the hatchback lay crushed at the base.

  “Don’t worry,” Piper said, following his gaze. “My aunt’s friend on the island has a spare car she’ll lend me to get home.”

  He felt as if he should be arguing, but wasn’t sure quite what to say. She couldn’t just show up, say she was skipping the event she’d been single-mindedly focused on and not give him a real explanation.

  What happened when I was unconscious? What am I missing?

  And why won’t Piper meet my eye?

  An officer knocked on the truck door.

  “Christmas Eve happens every year. Your sister and her fiancé only get married once.” She squeezed Benjamin’s arm, but her gaze wouldn’t quite meet his. “There isn’t enough time to get me back to The Downs and you to the island both, and we can hardly expect the cops to ferry us around the province. Let’s just hope we can file a report and get you checked out quickly, so you can still make it home for the wedding.”

  * * *

  They drove to the island in uncomfortable silence, both of them staring straight ahead through the windshield at the lightly falling snow.

  Piper glanced over at Benjamin as he slowed the truck to cross the swing bridge to Manitoulin Island. Thankfully, despite the fact Benjamin’s jacket hid some impressively large bruises on his arms and chest, the paramedics had been convinced to let him continue on to Meg’s wedding. The police had even given them an escort for a while, until the cruiser turned off to head back to the closest provincial division.

  But the joy-filled thankfulness and relief that seemed to fill Benjamin when she’d first found him had descended into awkwardness. He wanted her to go back to The Downs. That much was clear. But there wasn’t any time. Benjamin’s large, sturdy four-wheel truck had the best possible chance of cutting it through the storm and getting him to the island on time. Dropping her off at a car-rental place at night on Christmas Eve was silly when there was a vehicle waiting on the island she could borrow.

  But still they’d argued and when she hadn’t given in, he’d lapsed into stony silence.

  She’d made peace with her decision to miss Christmas Eve. Why couldn’t he? As the truck mounted the bridge she looked down at the frozen lake spread out on either side, icy gray with dark waters showing here and there through the surface.

  He didn’t understand what had happened in those minutes between when he left and when she found him, and she’d never explain it to him.

  Her uncle and aunt had taken her aside. Aunt Cass had held her hands when she had told her, “Get in the truck, go after Benjamin. Make sure he gets his stuff on time and that he walks into his sister’s wedding with none of that stress on his shoulders.”

  “I’ll miss Christmas Eve.”

  A soft light had twinkled in her aunt’s eyes. “But, you’ll be giving someone you love both peace of mind and joy—which this Christmas might just be the best gift you can give him.”

  Someone she loved? What did her aunt think she’d seen when she’d watched the two of them say goodbye?

  “Trust me.” Uncle Des’s hand had fallen on her shoulder. “Your aunt and I have been managing bigger crises than this together long before you were born. We’re built of stronger stuff than you seem to think sometimes. Benjamin’s a good man and that’s some talk he gives on chasing dreams and taking chances. So go. Wish him a merry Christmas from us and then come home in time for Christmas morning. We’ll be okay.”

  So she’d followed Benjamin. She’d followed the route he’d sent his sister, down snowy, twisting back roads in a storm. She’d done that one thing she promised herself she’d never do—left what mattered most to her and followed a man, because she realized she’d loved him.

  Even though everything about him now seemed to indicate he wished she wasn’t there.

  Benjamin looked at the clock on the dashboard. It was five thirty. He frowned. “The church is still half an hour from here. We’re not going to make it for the start of the service. I’m just going to skip it, go home, get changed and show up at the reception.”

  “You’ll make it. It’ll be tight but—”

  “I’m wearing grease-stained jeans with giant holes in the knees. I’m a mess from the car crash. I have to get cleaned up and change into my tux. I need to shave and—”

  “Your sister won’t care about any of that!” Why was he even arguing about this? Her eyes scanned the torn jeans and plaid shirt that fit him as comfortably as a second skin. “Your sister loves you, more than anything! You can show up dressed just as you are and she won’t care.”

  No response. Just a deeper frown. It was as if he wasn’t even hearing her and instead just listening to a voice in his head that only he could hear—one that seemed to be berating him.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s too late, anyway. While you were talking to the police, I borrowed an officer’s phone, called her and told her she’d have to go ahead and get married without me.”

  “But we’re so close now!” Piper argued. “We can call her on my phone, tell her we’re only thirty minutes out, and ask her to postpone the wedding for an hour. You know she will.”

  “But she shouldn’t have to!” Benjamin smacked the steering wheel. His voice echoed through the cab. When he glanced at Pi
per her heart leaped in her chest. Behind the frustration burning like flames in the blue of his eyes echoed a deeper pain than she’d ever seen there before. “You don’t get it, Piper. I’ve let my sister down. Again! And I made you miss your big important Christmas Eve thing.”

  But you don’t understand! I chose to miss it. I chose you.

  And I don’t know how to tell you that.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but he waved her down.

  “Please, don’t try to tell me it’s not my fault, that it’s because of Charlotte, or Gavin, or Trisha, or Kodiak, or Alpha. I made choices. Me. I chose not to lock my truck outside the barn when Trisha stole it. I chose not to shoot Trisha when she escaped through the snow and not to choke Kodiak until he was unconscious when I caught him in the alleyway. I chose to take an empty back highway to get to the island instead of inching along the main road. I...” He took a deep breath. Then his chest fell. “I chose to come see you and drop the dog off in person, because I wanted to see you one more time before I went. If I hadn’t done that you might not have even been down by the barn for Kodiak to attack you.”

  But you saved me!

  She waited a moment while he crossed the bridge. Then they hit shore.

  “Everyone makes mistakes,” she said softly.

  “Yeah, but my mistakes hurt people, Piper. Don’t you get that?” The truck wound through the narrow, island highway. “My mistakes hurt people. I made the mistake of not wearing a helmet snowmobiling when I was fifteen years old, and my sister spent years paying for that. You know the accident happened just two weeks before her birthday? So instead of having a party and opening gifts, she spent the day huddled around my hospital bed, wondering if I was ever going to wake up from the coma.”