by Robin Caroll
The Christmas Bell Tolls
Robin Caroll
Copyright © 2015 Robin Caroll
All Rights Reserved
For Heather:
Because you deserve the dedication
<3
Table of Contents
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Epilogue
How To Help The Author
Dear Reader,
Other books by Robin Caroll:
One
A knot caught in Darren’s throat as his daughter twirled around the kitchen in her poufy skirt. How was his baby five years old already? Five. It seemed like only yesterday he and Georgia had brought the little baby girl home. They’d been so in love with her wide, blue eyes fringed with long, dark lashes that seemed to study their every move. Darren had let her wrap her fingers around his, and in doing so, she wrapped him around her little finger. He’d had an idyllic life…until—
“Is it gonna snow, Daddy? Can I build a snowman if it does? I’ve never built a snowman. Will you help me?” Savannah’s voice dragged him from his musings.
“If it snows, I’ll help you build a snowman, doodlebug, but right now, you need to hurry up. Aunt Maddie will be here any minute now.” Darren used his stern voice, but couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his daughter twirled around the kitchen in her elf dress. “You want to be ready, don’t you?”
“Am I pretty, Daddy?” Savannah’s blonde curls framed her angelic face as she whipped the red and green skirt around. Her smile lit up her whole face, looking so much like Georgia. The resemblance didn’t hurt his heart anymore. Savy might look like her mother, but she was definitely forming her own personality.
“Daddy? Do you hear me?” Savannah tugged on his hand, jerking him from his thoughts.
“What? Oh, yes, sweetheart. You’re very pretty.” He swept her up into his arms. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world.” He spun her around in swooping circles while dancing toward the living room. “You’re always my beautiful, sweet-and-sassy, Savy.”
She wrapped her little arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek, followed by her contagious giggle. “I love you, Daddy.”
Warmth filled his chest. “I love you, too, doodlebug.” He gave her a final hug, then set her down. “But if your Aunt Maddie gets here and you aren’t ready, we’ll both be in big trouble. Now go get your shoes.” She’d just conned him into buying some new, very sparkly shoes this week.
“Boots, Daddy. I’m wearing my boots.” She rushed toward the closet, and Darren sat on the couch to help her put on her shoes.
Boots. So much for the sparkly shoes she just had to have.
The doorbell chimed just as Savannah plopped down on the floor in front of him with her boots.
“Come on in, Maddie,” he called out as he held out the right boot for Savy. “Hurry, before she sees you aren’t ready,” he whispered.
The door opened.
Savannah shoved her left foot in its boot before she stood and twirled. “Look at my dress, Aunt Maddie.”
“My, you do look festive, sweetie.” Maddie Baxter might not be related to Darren and Savannah by blood, but she certainly was by love. Darren’s best friend, Rafe Baxter, had become like a brother to him before he even met Georgia. Through that friendship, the whole Baxter family had become Darren’s family. Maddie was Rafe’s little sister, but Darren thought of her his sister, too.
“Daddy says I’m pretty.” Savannah did another twirl for good measure.
Maddie laughed, full out and filled with happiness. “Your dad is right about that. Now, run and get your coat because it’s really cold out there. We don’t want to be late. Riley and Remington are waiting on us. As well as a few bell ringer choirs for us to decide which we want to play at the wedding.”
Although Maddie had been a part of Darren’s life for several years, she was about to be married to his boss. The dynamics of that situation hadn’t quite been determined yet, but today, the ladies of the Baxter clan were taking Savannah with them to a wedding-party pre-party. Darren wasn’t real sure what all that meant, but he’d heard something about coordinating flowers with fingernail polish, which was enough for him to know he didn’t want the details.
Savannah half walked, half skipped down the hall to her bedroom. His heart ached at the memory of all the times he’d nearly lost her.
“She’s growing up so fast.” Maddie’s words jerked him from his thoughts.
He nodded. “She certainly is. I blinked and she started school on me.”
Maddie smiled. “They do that. How’s she settling in to kindergarten?”
Because of her medical condition, Savannah was quite a bit smaller than most children her age.
He adjusted his holster on his hip. “Good. She’s made so many friends. I’m not sure that’s such a good thing.”
“Oh, come on. It’s a great thing for a girl to have friends. Especially…” Maddie dropped her gaze. “Have they set the date for her surgery yet?”
“Not yet. They’ll run the tests next week, but the doctor is hopeful she’ll be ready for the surgery right after the holidays. He went ahead and started her on the antibiotics to prevent endocarditis. He’s more concerned with getting her asthma under control.”
“I know it’s got to be hard to balance the two conditions.”
Darren nodded. “If her asthma isn’t under more control, then he can’t do the surgery.”
“I’m praying.”
“I appreciate those prayers. Even if medically she’s ready, this will be the first time she’s really aware of what the surgery is and what all it involves. I’m trying to prepare her, but...” He smiled against the awkwardness and changed the subject. “Bell ringer choirs?”
Her face lit up like Savy’s on Christmas morning. “Riley’s idea, believe it or not.” She sighed. “At least three groups will play today for us to decide which we want to play at the wedding.”
“Who all is going to be there?” He really was interested—Maddie’s maid of honor, Eva, was someone Darren had dated a couple of times. He really liked Eva, more than he liked any woman since Georgia, but she seemed to enjoy the single life a little too much. He couldn’t take a chance with his heart.
Or Savannah’s.
Maddie flashed the famous Baxter grin. “It started out just being me, Riley, Remington and Savannah since Eva has to work, but it’s morphed to include the florist and a couple of makeup artists, hairdressers and just about every other woman in town my sister and sister-in-law could find to make the event.” Maddie pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, still grinning. “And the bell ringers.”
Darren couldn’t help smiling in response. “Sounds fun, and a Christmas wedding is a cool idea.” He pulled his jacket on and straightened his tie.
“We think so, too. Hey, did you save the newspaper for me like I asked? Our official announcement?”
He chuckled. “The one of all of us in front of the church Christmas tree? That was a month ago.”
She shoved his arm. “I keep forgetting to get it from you. I want it for my scrapbook.”
“Yeah. I’ve got it.” He crossed to the desk in the living room, opened the top drawer, and pulled out the newspaper. The Hagar/Baxter wedding party received a full write-up and photo, which got quite a bit of exposure.
Darren handed her the copy he’d saved.
“Thanks.”
“I’m ready.” Savannah burst into the room, already wearing her coat and tugging at the big green bow at the top of her hair. “See my new bow? It’s sparkly.”
“I love it. It’s bright and beautiful, just like you.” Maddie pulled her keys from her coat pocket.
“Hey, don’t forget to give your poor old working Dad a hug.” Darren squatted and held open his arms.
His daughter flung herself against him and gave him a kiss.
“Do you have your inhaler?”
“Of course, Daddy. In my pocket, just like I’m supposed to.”
“Have fun, doodlebug,” he whispered against her cheek, then released her. He stood and nodded to Maddie. “Thanks for including her.”
“Hey, flower girls are vital to the wedding party.” Maddie winked at Savannah, who giggled.
“It’s all she’s been talking about for days. I think everybody in her class is sick of hearing about the party.” He tapped the end of Savannah’s nose. “I’ll pick her up at three, right?”
Maddie nodded. “Do you need me to text you the address?”
Darren shook his head. “I know where the community center is.”
“We’ll be there. All day, I have a feeling.”
“I’ll see you at three, then.” He ran a hand over Savannah’s soft curls. “Have fun.”
Maddie held out her hand to Savannah. “Let’s go, little festive princess.”
Darren waved goodbye once they were in Maddie’s car and seatbelts fastened, then grabbed his own keys and headed out the door. The frigid wind snuck down the back of his neck. He shivered as he climbed into his truck.
Winter had hit Memphis, Tennessee harder than usual for early December, with temperatures already dropping below freezing almost nightly. Savannah just might get her wish of building a snowman. Warnings of sleet and snow were in the ten day forecast, and the city was on alert. Especially law enforcement.
As a senior agent with the FBI, Darren knew all too well how the threat of bad weather brought out the worst in people. Most communities banded together to help one another with heat, food, and water when the electricity went out, but then there were the bad apples. Every city had the types of people would use the loss of electricity and thereby the loss of security systems to their advantage.
Darren let the defroster warm the truck while he locked his cellphone into its dashboard holder. It synced through his truck speakers, and began streaming the morning news. He backed the truck out of the driveway and headed to the Memphis FBI office, less than thirty minutes away.
Even though it was after eight-thirty on Friday morning, traffic was busy. Darren didn’t mind traffic most times, but he was ready to get into the office today and get his work done. He planned to take off work to pick Savannah up at three, then surprise her by taking her to see a special showing of The Nutcracker. She’d loved that ballet since she’d been a baby, and it was their thing to watch it on television together. He didn’t want their tradition to get lost in all the wedding business, so he’d splurged on tickets for tonight’s early performance.
Splurged was right…who knew how expensive it was to attend a ballet. He was so in the wrong profession, but he loved his job. He’d always wanted to be an agent, even when he was just a kid, the only son of middle class working parents. He’d known he wanted to be an FBI agent just like he’d always known he wanted to be a husband and father. Finding Georgia had been a godsend, in more ways than one. Losing her had nearly killed him. If it hadn’t been for Savannah…
The local news eased into the weather forecast. The projected sleet and snow had been moved up in the forecast, possibly hitting at dark tonight. Darren could only hope the wintry precipitation would hold off until after the ballet.
He parked the truck in his usual spot and headed toward the building. Wind stormed across the parking lot, pushing litter into the splotches of dead grass. It’d been an extraordinarily hot summer, killing most grass and foliage. What remained was hardy and could withstand the extreme spectrum of temperatures.
Ominous clouds filled the sky as Darren ducked inside the FBI building, trying to shake off the cold that seemed to have seeped into his bones.
“Why, hello, Eva Langston!”
She didn’t have to turn around to recognize the voice, but she forced a smile and turned to face the doorway to the lab anyway. “Hello, Sarah. What brings you to our humble lab?” Maybe Eva could stave off the woman staying longer than to just say hello.
Sarah Newton was one of Eva’s least-favorite people. The last time Eva had seen her was a year ago when Sarah came to the TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) forensic lab for one of Maddie’s RFLP training sessions. Seeing Sarah first thing this morning was too soon for Eva, but she held the smile firmly in place.
Sarah smiled back, revealing a row of capped pearly whites. She flipped her red hair over her shoulder and cocked out her right hip. “As part of the state’s continuing training program, I’ll be here for two weeks.”
Eva’s stomach free-fell to her toes. Two whole weeks? She wouldn’t survive. Or Sarah wouldn’t. “Really?” Eva eased herself into her desk chair and lifted her coffee cup.
“Apparently you and Maddie will be bringing me up to date on CRISPR/Cas policies and procedures.”
Eva actually gritted her teeth. The gene-editing technique was new and cutting edge technology that allowed unprecedented control over the DNA code. The technique sparked a revolution in the fields of genetics and cell biology, raising genuine hopes about new ways to cure many diseases and to unlock the remaining mysteries of our human cells. Maddie and Eva had just completed their training on the technique’s process themselves, now they were going to be training others?
Training Sarah?
“It’ll be great fun, don’t you think?” Sarah’s saccharin-sweetness made Eva’s teeth ache.
“Just delightful.” Eva couldn’t believe her luck. Of course Sarah had to show up on Maddie’s day off. Eva was on her own with the evil incarnate. Already the temperature in the lab had risen a good ten degrees just by Sarah’s presence.
Or maybe it was Eva’s blood pressure that had spiked.
Sarah leaned against Maddie’s filing cabinet, tapping her fake nails against the metal. “I heard Maddie’s getting married soon. To some guy in law enforcement.”
“FBI.” It was harder than expected to talk from between clenched teeth. Eva could only hope her dentist would be able to repair any damage.
“I hear it’s a Christmas wedding. How sweet.”
Eva set down her cup of coffee so she wouldn’t break off the handle. “Christmas Eve. It’ll be beautiful.”
“Oh. I guess you’re in it, right?”
Eva nodded. “Maid of honor.”
Sarah flashed her white caps again. “Let me guess: the colors are red and green.” The mockery dripped from every word.
“Wrong.” Just being able to say it gave Eva a bit of happiness.
Sarah arched one of her carefully drawn-on eyebrows. “A non-traditionalist. Didn’t see that in Maddie.”
“She’s good at surprising everyone.”
“I’m sure.” Sarah lifted the framed picture off Maddie’s desk. “Oh, this is him? No wonder she’s marrying him. He looks yummy.”
Just proof that the woman hadn’t changed in the past year. One of the main reasons Eva couldn’t stand Sarah was because Sarah came on to every man she saw. Even ones with girlfriends or dates.
Even ones with Eva.
“He’s madly in love with her, that’s for sure.” Eva knew she didn’t need to defend Maddie and Nick’s relationship, but she couldn’t help herself. “They’re so happy it’s enough to make anyone believe in fairy tales.”
“Hmm.” Sarah set the picture frame back on Maddie’s desk. “Weren’t you dating someone in the FBI, too?”
Eva made a non-committal sound under her breath. She didn’t feel up to talking about her and Darren’s relati
onship, and especially not with Sarah.
“I thought I heard you were. Are you still dating him?” Sarah crossed her arms over her chest. Still smug. “Is he your knight in shining armor?”
The phone rang, cutting off the sarcastic retort stinging Eva’s tongue. She lifted the receiver. “Forensics Lab.”
“Eva—”
“Hey, Maddie. What’s—”
“Listen, I need you to get a team and come to a crime scene.” There was no mistaking the waver in Maddie’s voice. “As soon as possible.”
Everything in the lab fell away as Eva focused on Maddie’s voice. “Of course. Where?” She grabbed a pen and scribbled the street address Maddie rattled off.
“We need the best on this one. Bring Peter and Ivan. Either Kurt or Neal is fine. I’m sure the director will be briefed soon enough, but I want to jump on this immediately.”
Peter Helm was the TBI Special Agent Investigator, their boss, and Ivan Goins was hands-down the best latents technician in the state. If Maddie asked for both of them, it had to be serious. But how was Maddie at a crime scene already? She was supposed to be with her sister and sister-in-law doing pre-wedding stuff.
“Got it.” Eva pushed the intercom button twice for both Peter and Ivan, the in-lab signal that they had a call. She stood, slipping out of her blue lab coat and grabbing the team’s royal blue vest with the yellow TBI AGENT on the back.
Eva slipped her holster housing her gun around her waist, wedging the phone between her shoulder and chin. “Can you tell me the basics of what’s going on? So I know if I need to bring anything special to the scene.” She grabbed her badge and secured it on her hip before donning the blue baseball-style cap. She held the truck keys still in her hand as she listened to Maddie’s breathing hitch.
“Abduction.”
Two
The hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.
Darren spun around in his office chair and found Special Agent in Charge Nick Hagar hovering in his cubicle opening. “Hey, Boss.”
“I need to see you in my office, please. Now.” Nick turned and headed to his office.