Chapter Three #2
She followed him and stood on the porch. Her little wave caught him square in the heart. Their marriage stood on a foundation of love and respect – her for his life in town, him for the vastness of her art.
She’d come back with him when he’d gone after her, neither of them willing to lose the other. They’d made it work.
Yet the constant dread she’d find another project elsewhere sat like a brick in his uneasy gut. He tugged his jacket tighter as the December wind cut through him. In his vehicle, he let the engine idle while he reorganized the paperwork on the passenger seat—busywork to quiet the churn.
“She’s promised to stay home, and she keeps her promises. So it’s not me or us making her stay away.” Saying it aloud cleared the worry. This fear wasn’t him. Time to look at it from a different angle.
He pulled away from the house, tapping the steering wheel while following the thread of the truth that surfaced. “She doesn’t understand that it’s not her art pulling her out of town. It’s the tangle of anger and unfinished memories with her grandfather she carries like a ghost.”
She hadn’t made peace with the past.
The truth was she loved Echo Falls. It was why people bought her hometown paintings, each and every one a testament to her feelings.
And she loved him—steadfast, deep.
He wouldn’t let their marriage be a casualty of old wounds.
Still…
Loving her through the silence, through the struggle, left an ache that rubbed him raw. But she was the only one who could resolve the tangled emotions. And that left him waiting.
Or did it?
&&&&&&&&&
Tom parked his truck in the back parking lot and noted the chief’s vehicle was in his slot, too.
He needed reports prior to meeting his boss to update.
Before he got to the entrance, the door lock released and Bret Cara, his best friend, fellow cop, and brother-in-law, exited the building.
Already in uniform with shift not starting until later in the afternoon, Tom wondered at his pace.
“Where are you off to?”
“High school. Incident in the crosswalk.” Bret paused at his side.
“Anyone hurt?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but I’ll know more after I talk to Principal Marsh.”
“Good luck.” He stepped aside and used his ID to spring the lock on the entrance. As the door shut behind him, he heard Bret leave the lot. He passed the locker room on his left and went through the dayroom to dispatch.
“Cara’s out to the high school.”
Norah swiveled in her chair. “Yeah, I marked him out already.”
Tom gave her the supervisor’s eye. “Why are you here? It’s your day off.”
“Jared got sick a couple hours ago and needed backup. I had no plans anyway. So no worries.” A book lay in front of her. A red mug with a white snowflake on the side was pushed to the side, empty and lonely.
Tom pulled papers from his mail slot. “Is everybody getting this flu bug?”
“Yep, seems so. I don’t want it, so stay away from me.”
“The feeling is mutual. Lopez going to be in for night shift?”
“Nope. He called in. He visited the emergency room this morning.”
“For legit sick or to see Dr. Jackie?”
Norah stifled a snort. “Hope springs eternal. But legit. Dizziness, fever, and vomiting.”
“Ick. Wonderful.” The rest of his day splintered into pieces of covering the community. “Who is here?” He shoved the memos back in his box. Nothing important there.
“You, Chief, Cara. And me. Matt said he could be called if we were desperate. His kids have the crud, too.” Norah’s dry recitation quirked his mouth. Chief tended to growl at her, for what reason he did not know, but he played referee between the two more than anything.
“What about Vogel?”
“She’s still in court.”
Mia Devlin popped into the reception window. “I’m here, too, but I need to get to school before seventh block.” Her puffy jacket was unzipped to reveal a pink sweatshirt with a green Grinch on the front. Her hair was in a sleek ponytail, her eyes wide and innocent.
Tom glanced at the clock. “Why didn’t you call me or come after school?”
“Might be important.”
“What?
She swirled her phone on the counter. “Santa. He’s sitting in the gazebo. Or he was.”
Tom took two steps to the counter and took her phone. Sure enough, Slade’s Santa was standing with an arm around one of the support beams at the gazebo in the city park. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“To check the park. I’ll take you to school when we’re done and clear it with your mom. When did you leave school?”
“Lunch period, and I have study hall after.” Mia’s expression was much too innocent.
“So nobody has missed you?”
“Not with my schedule.”
Tom sighed. Another thing to address. Mia could not be left on her own. Trouble multiplied. At least if she was with him, there was a guarantee. One he’d have to explain to her mother and the principal. “Let’s go. Buzz her through.”
The girl swung her pink backpack over her shoulder and followed Norah’s instructions to the door. Tom ignored the dispatcher’s curious look.
Tom returned through the dayroom, took keys to his vehicle from the cupboard, and joined her as she came through the security door. She followed him down the hall, pink high tops neatly matched with black pants and her pink sweatshirt. The rebel changed colors.
Chief Hudson came out of the locker room and stood in the hallway, his hands on his hips. “What’s up?”
“Can you hold the fort? Take calls if need be? Everyone is sick. Cara’s out to the high school on a traffic problem. Mia may have found Santa.”
The chief crossed himself. “Thank you, Jesus,” he intoned in a quiet tone. “All I heard at the VFW last night was griping about Santa being gone. Clear her participation with her mother. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Copy, Chief. We’re out.” He led Mia though the back door to the parking lot. Would they be lucky enough to find Santa still lounging in the park?
“Wow, I’ve never seen the whole station before. Are those jail cells?” Mia’s fingernails were black instead of pink. Teenagers.
“Yes, and you’ll never be in one if I have anything to say about it.”
“My mom will beat you to it.”
He opened the passenger door for her and groaned at the book and papers stacked in the seat. He cleared the mess with a few short motions. “Get in.” He tossed the materials in his holding box in the trunk on his way by.
On the road to the city park, which was about six blocks over, he started the conversation again. “When did you see this picture online, and who’s account is it posted to?”
“I have an aide block in the library at ten forty. With Christmas break coming, not a lot of reshelving to do. I scrolled my social media and found it.”
“Who’s account?”
“Never heard of this person – Rory Golightly, but it was tagged Echo Falls so it popped into my feed.”
He stopped at a light and lifted his hand, signaling for her to hand over her phone.
Studying the picture, he noted the details he’d passed over before.
The green bench was on the right side of the gazebo.
Bright sunlight shone on Santa’s face which put the time solidly into morning. More school skippers like Mia?
Tom handed back the phone and glanced in his mirror. Another Echo Falls police car pulled in behind him. Carmen. Good. Hopefully, they were about to close this.
Mia sat with her arms wrapped around herself but couldn’t hide the interest in her eyes. “This is too simple.”
Tom noted the defensive posture. “You’ve done well. It has helped. Around here, most people who commit crimes do so on the spur of the moment. So they solve quickly. It’s the ones who take the time to plan things that we have to worry about.”
Mia tilted her head to study him. “You mean like murders and kidnappings.”
“And burglaries, too.”
Mia nodded. “That’s why we need forensics.”
“Yes. It all helps to identify and catch the persons involved.” He stopped the car in the service road at the park behind the gazebo. Mia got out before he did and zipped her coat.
They walked across the dying lawn with a cold breeze at their backs.
Santa was gone.