8. Dave
Dave
After he kissed her, Dave turned back to the stranger. “I said don’t move.”
“You can’t keep me here,” the man on the ground shouted. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You tried to steal one of my Christmas ornaments,” Mattie said.
“And my girlfriend,” Dave added.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The thirty-five-kilogram lamppost you have in the back of your truck?” Mattie said.
“I didn’t see it.”
Dave scoffed. “You didn’t see a six-foot-tall, seventy-five-pound lamppost painted like a candy cane?”
“It was covered by a tarp. Somebody must have put it back there as a prank.”
“Mattie, call the police,” Dave said. The guy was obviously lying his face off. But the situation had to be weirder than it appeared. Nobody would follow them for five hundred kilometres for a Christmas decoration.
“That’s not necessary. You can take it back. No harm, no foul.”
Mattie tugged on Dave’s arm. He bent until his ear was level with her mouth. “I really don’t want to get the police involved. If nothing’s damaged, do you think we could just let it go?”
“This guy has been tracking us across the Prairies. Something is wrong here,” he whispered back. “I think I recognize him, but I don’t remember from where.”
“Before we make any decisions, let’s make sure that nothing is damaged.”
Dave climbed back into the trailer bed and stood the lamppost upright.
Unrelenting sunshine sparkled off the frost and snow under the lantern.
He blinked. The lamppost frost was really sparkling.
He leaned closer to study it. He saw the cubes of hard plastic that caught the light, and the round clear and pearly beads that had been embedded in the hard white foam that passed as snow.
But there was one differently shaped piece that was extra bright.
Dave scratched at a tiny flap of film covering one side of the crystal.
It peeled away, leaving yet another facet gleaming in the light.
“What’s wrong?” Mattie asked anxiously.
“Do you have a knife or a screwdriver?”
“No.”
“There’s one in the tool kit in the back of the van. Will you get it for me?”
She walked the long way around the mini truck to the van and returned with a flathead screwdriver. “Will this do?”
“It’s perfect.” Dave had to put all his weight behind his almost-six-foot frame to pierce the hard, white shell.
Only half of the long, thin tip of the screwdriver had penetrated the foam snow, but it was deep enough to get under the crystal.
Dave yanked, levering the tip, and the crystal popped free. He caught it in midair.
“No, don’t!” the man shouted, his face red with anger.
“Stop! What are you doing?” Mattie cried at the same time.
Dave held the crystal between his forefinger and thumb. It was smaller than the rest of the beads. It was also neither cubed nor round; it was pear-shaped. He looked at the man. “I do know you, don’t I?”
A tall, auburn-haired woman got out of the white pickup truck that had driven out on to the field behind them. “Hi, Mattie. Hi, Mattie’s friend Dave. What’s going on here?”
“Oh, no. This is such a disaster,” Mattie moaned.
“Hi, Ginger,” Dave said in greeting. “I think you might recognize this fellow from the old news clips. George Essex, this is Virginia Rye. I’ll bet most people would have forgotten your name by now. Unfortunately for you, Virginia just made you famous again on her latest podcast.”
Virginia looked like she didn’t know who to address first. “Why did you call me Ginger?” She stared at Dave. “Wait. Mattie said your name was Dave. Humbug Dave? Mattie, why didn’t you tell me that your Dave the Magnificent was my Humbug the elf?”
“I was going to when we got back to December, but I didn’t think it was a priority,” Mattie said. “More importantly, why would Dave think that you would know who our attempted thief is?”
Virginia focused on the stranger’s face. “Wow, that really is George Essex. I didn’t recognize him at first from his mugshot. He got old.”
“That’s unnecessary,” George Essex huffed.
“Why is he here?” Virginia continued.
Dave hopped off the trailer and dropped the tiny crystal into her hand. “I think he came back to finish the Frost Creek Jewellery job.”
Virginia held the crystal up to the sunlight to get a better look at it. “You have got to be kidding me! Is this real?”
“No, I’m not. And yes, I think it is.”
“Will somebody please tell me what is going on?” Mattie demanded. “Why are you prying beads out of my lamppost?”
“It’s not a bead, and it doesn’t belong on your lamppost,” Dave said, motioning for Virginia to pass the crystal to Mattie.
“I’m almost positive that’s a diamond. I think we just discovered why none of the jewels from the Frost Creek Jewellers heist were recovered.
They never left the Moose Lodge Mall. They were hidden in plain sight.
George Essex and Archie Loire were arrested before they could recover them. ”
“Are you saying that I bought stolen property? Does this make me an accessory after the fact?” Mattie gasped. She sucked in air and bent at the waist. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“You didn’t buy stolen property. You recovered it,” Dave said, although he had to admit that it didn’t look like his distinction made Mattie feel any better.
“I’m going to be arrested. Worse, I’m going to be fired! Mei Chen isn’t even going to let me back onto the property. What have I done? ‘Come to Christmastown! Sing carols, eat gingerbread, commit felonies.’”
The man on the ground opened his mouth to speak, but Dave raised a single finger in warning. “You are not in trouble, Mattie. Mr. Essex, however, is a different story.”
“Listen, this is all a mistake. Take back your decoration that found its way into my truck. I’ll go my way, and you can go yours,” Mr. Essex pleaded.
“I don’t think so. The police are going to want to talk to all of us,” Virginia said. “And look, they’re here.”
A siren whooped behind them, and a RCMP cruiser drove up, stopping beside the out-of-place Japanese import. A tall, brown-haired woman in uniform stepped out. “Hi, folks. I’m Constable Claire King. What’s going on here? I got a call about an attempted robbery?”
Mattie raised her hand. “That was me. Or at least, I told people to call the police. My name is Matilda Appleton. That man”—she pointed—“tried to steal my Christmas ornament.”
“Your… You called the police about a Christmas ornament?”
Mattie gestured for her to look in the truck bed, then pointed at the trailer still visible half a field away. The matching lampposts and the rest of the massive decorations shone brightly in the summer sunshine. The officer nodded slowing in dawning understanding.
“Okay, Christmas ornament. Sir, what is your name?” Constable King asked the man sitting in the dirt.
“My name is George. This is all a minor misunderstanding.”
Constable King looked up from her notebook at the two trucks and the van parked in the middle of the field. “This looks like a pretty big misunderstanding to me. Can someone tell me what is going on?”
Dave stepped forward. “I’m Dave Magnusson. These are Mattie Appleton and Virginia Rye. The man on the ground is George Essex,” Dave said.
Mattie took over. “We just got back from the festival where Dave is performing. I found a stranger on my trailer looking at the Santa’s Village decorations that we’re driving to December for the Christmastown theme park.
He offered to buy them. I said no, so he left.
When George was driving away, Dave noticed that one of the lampposts was missing.
I chased after Mr. Essex—I didn’t know his name then—and when I saw my lamppost in the back of his truck, I jumped in the back to stop him. ”
“Are you sure he took it deliberately?” Constable King asked.
“It’s seventy-five pounds, and it was strapped to the trailer. It didn’t get there by accident. Also, Mr. Essex has a record tied to the history of these decorations. He was arrested about ten years ago for robbing a jewellery story.”
Mattie stared at Mr. Essex. She fought through her fading fear and took a good look.
“I think…I’m certain that’s the same man who was at the diner outside Regina where we had lunch the other day.
I thought that he was being friendly trying to rewrap the lamppost because it was so windy.
” Then she spoke to him directly. “But you weren’t trying to rewrap it, were you? You were unwrapping it.”
The man on the ground stayed silent.
“Why would he do that?” the officer asked.
Mattie stepped forward, her hand out. She carefully placed the crystal into the constable’s palm.
“That jewellery store robbery that Dave said Mr. Essex was arrested for? The gems were never recovered. We just found this hidden in the lamppost in the back of the truck. The lamppost was part of the Christmas decorations in the mall where the store was located.”
“If you examine it closely, you’ll probably find more diamonds. About a quarter of a million dollars’ worth more,” Dave added.
“I think that my commanding officer is going to have questions for all of you. In the meantime, will you be pressing charges against Mr. Essex for stealing your Christmas decoration?”
“Definitely,” Dave said.
Mattie looked up at him. “I think I have to say that. But yes, definitely,” she told the officer.
She gestured at the lamppost, then pointed at the trailer that was still visible on the far side of the barbed wire fence.
“These are thousands of dollars’ worth of Christmastown property.
” She thought for a moment. “You don’t have to take them all into evidence, do you? ”
“I need to call for backup. In the meantime, I wouldn’t plan on them going anywhere for a while, Ms. Appleton. If these are evidence of a crime, they’ll all have to be examined thoroughly. If you put together an inventory, that would be very helpful.”
Virginia patted Mattie’s arm. “I’ll handle this. Do you need to get checked out by a doctor? I was quite far away, but I saw you getting bounced around.”
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Dave said.
“Go back to the campground. I’ll update you in a little while,” Virginia ordered.
Dave lifted Mattie into the van’s passenger seat, despite her protests that she was perfectly capable of walking.
He pulled back into their campsite, then helped her sit on the picnic table.
He dug around under the driver’s seat in the van and quickly returned with a small first aid kit.
He popped it open and took out an alcohol wipe.
“I’m fine, Dave. I promise.”
“When I saw that truck take off with you on the back of it, my heart stopped. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared.”
“I know the feeling. What were you thinking when you jumped out of the van and hauled that guy out of the driver’s seat? What if he’d been armed?”
“You’re worth the risk, Mattie.” He was having a hard enough time knowing that Mattie had to go home. He couldn’t take it if he had no chance of ever seeing her again.
“Not if something happens to you.” Her warm hand felt right in his as he wiped gravel off her palm. The sunlight hit her chestnut hair and highlighted her brown eyes. He was going to miss her.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do next? Are you going to double down on Dave the Magnificent and try to book more shows? Or are you planning to go back to Grand Prairie?” she asked.
“Actually, I’ve been rethinking my options.”
“Oh?”
Hope bloomed in his chest at her hopeful tone.
“I’m getting more bookings than I initially thought I would.
Right now, I can plan on having magic money coming in through the fall.
Grande Prairie is on the very northern edge of the map when it comes to any largely populated areas.
If I wanted to keep doing Dave the Magnificent appearances, I need my home base to be someplace with closer audiences. ”
“You seem to have a lot of show opportunities in southern Saskatchewan. After this weekend, I’ll bet you’ll have even more in southern Manitoba,” she said encouragingly.
“I think Dave the Magnificent can perform shows at least twice a month. If I find a part-time mechanic position, that should be enough to support myself.”
“Everybody needs mechanics, right? The Boniface garage in December has a help wanted sign in the window.”
“That sounds promising. Of course, I’ll be leaving my old friends behind in Alberta.”
Mattie took the wipe from his fingers and set it on the picnic table. Then she took his hand in hers. “I’ll be your friend, Dave.”
That was kind, but it wasn’t enough. “I was hoping you’d be more than a friend.
We’ve spent every hour of the last three days together.
That’s the equivalent of about twelve dates.
That’s at least two months of dating. I really, really like you, Mattie.
If I go back to Grande Prairie now, it’ll feel like I’m breaking up with you, and I don’t want to do that. ”
“I don’t want you to do that either.”
“What would you think if I hang around December for a few days to check out the work situation?”
“I think I’d let you park the Magnificent van in my spot if it meant that you’d stay.”
Dave slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a gentle hug that tightened the longer he held on. “Does this mean you’re officially my three-day, two-month girlfriend?”
“With more to come,” Mattie added, just before Dave lowered his lips to hers.
Dave lost himself in the moment. Things were still uncertain, but they both knew what they wanted—a future together in December. He was a hard worker; he’d do whatever it took to make their relationship happen. He trusted that Mattie would too.
Everything was going to work out.