Chapter 21 #3
“My father considered the day an abomination. He said there was no justification for it in the scriptures and that it was associated with pagans and devil worshippers.”
“Modern day Christmas is a culmination of many different folklore tales and religious festivals, but it’s fun to celebrate it. It’s a time for goodwill and love.”
He looked at her skeptically.
“You’ll get used to it,” she laughed.
They walked contentedly down the street together until they reached Baileys’ store. Pushing the door open to a merry jingle of bells, they found sweet little Mr. Bailey decorating a Christmas tree.
“Why does he have a tree indoors?” Theo whispered.
“It’s a Christmas tree,” she replied. “Just go with it, it’s tradition.”
“Olivia, dear.” He spotted her and climbed painfully to his feet.
“Are you alright, Mr. Bailey?” Olivia asked in concern.
“Just the old knees playing up, and my back is not what it once was.” He smiled as he caught sight of the wriggling ball of fur in Olivia’s arms. “Well, who do we have here?”
“This is Beau.” Olivia held him out so Mr. Bailey could pet him.
“My goodness, he looks just like your Truman, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does,” she replied quietly. “I guess I’m just sentimental.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” He patted her hand affectionately. “Well, what brings you by today?”
“Beau was a bit of an impulse, and I don’t have any supplies for him,” she replied. “I was hoping you might stock what I need.”
“Certainly.” He beamed. “We have a whole pet range. What exactly are you after?”
He picked up a basket and handed it to Theo and beckoned them to follow him.
“I need bowls, food, treats, a leash, and some chew toys before I lose every pair of shoes I own.”
“Goodness,” he laughed.
He helped her pick out a food and water bowl in bright blue. She also got him a bed and several padded cushions, treats, food, and toys.
“We carry a nice range of collars as well.” He handed her a blue one that matched his leash. “If you want a tag, we have some temporary ones, and we also have a made-to-order range, which are very popular.”
She pulled the price tag off the collar and added it to the basket before wrapping the collar around Beau’s neck.
“We’ll take a temporary one for now, but I’d like to order a more permanent one.”
Nodding, he picked up a catalog from a nearby holder and pulled his reading glasses from his shirt pocket, flipping them open and slipping them onto his nose.
“We have a rather nice silver one in the shape of a bone, which you can have his name engraved on. Or you can go with a circular or oval shape.”
“Actually, I like the bone-shaped one.” Olivia peered over the edge of the page.
“Excellent choice.” He beamed. “Is that everything then?”
“I think so.” Olivia nodded, glancing over to Theo who was laden down with everything. “Is there anything else, Theo?”
His eyes brightened. “Have you any more of Liddy Mayberry’s strawberry tarts?”
“Enjoyed that, did you?” he chuckled.
“Enjoyed it?” Olivia rolled her eyes. “I barely got any of it.”
“I know the feeling.” He patted his rounded belly. “Unfortunately, I think we sold the last tart yesterday, but we have a lovely chocolate fudge cake.”
“Now you’re talking.” Olivia smiled. “We’ll take it.”
“Alright then.” Mr. Bailey smiled. “Let’s ring all this up for you.”
By the time they left the store, it was getting on for mid-morning, and Beau was beginning to whine.
“We really need to feed him before we go anywhere else,” Olivia told Theo as they approached the car.
Theo nodded, and as Olivia popped the trunk, Theo loaded the bags, rummaging through them to pull out the food bowls, a bag of dried food, and a bottle of water. While Theo fed him, she pulled out his new leash and removed the tags.
A sudden chill ran down her spine, followed by the strange feeling of being watched.
Turning to glance at the street behind her, she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Rolling her shoulders, she tried to shake the uncomfortable sensation.
Locking the trunk, she moved around to where Theo was crouched down beside Beau.
“I think he’s done.” Theo tapped out the bowls to make sure they were empty and placed them inside the car, taking Olivia’s keys and locking it.
“Come on then, Beau.” She smiled as she bent down and clipped the leash to his collar.
They barely got two steps down the street before Beau flopped down on the sidewalk. Rolling himself up in the leash, he laid on his back and began chewing on it.
Laughing at him, Olivia lifted him up and untangled him.
“Theo, walk a couple of steps ahead until he gets the hang of it.”
Theo set off as Beau watched with interest. Wriggling frantically in Olivia’s arms, he watched Theo walk away.
“Okay, boy.” She set him down on the ground. “Where’s Theo? Go find him.”
Happy to play the new game, Beau scrambled after Theo, dragging Olivia by his leash.
They made it to the bank mostly without incident, if they discounted Beau getting tangled around a streetlight and nearly tripping up several people.
A quick stop to show Theo how to use the ATM and they headed to the coffee shop with Theo almost as excited as Beau.
“God, you two are cute.” Olivia picked Beau up as they headed inside and up to the counter. Theo deeply inhaled the strong aromatic scent before throwing her a smile.
“I’ll have a vanilla latte,” Olivia told the woman behind the counter. “Theo?”
“I don’t know.” He frowned. “What do you think?”
“Knowing your sweet tooth, a caramel macchiato would probably go down well.”
“A caramel…” He turned back to Olivia.
“Macchiato,” she repeated helpfully.
“Yes.” He smiled at the woman. “One of those please.”
They waited patiently while the barista prepared the drinks. Olivia watched as Theo took out a bill and handed it to her, kindly telling her to keep the change. The woman’s eyes widened and after checking he was sure, gave a flustered thank you.
Sipping her latte, Olivia wandered outside, closely followed by Theo. She placed Beau back down on the ground as Theo took a sip of his coffee and almost purred.
“What?” She smiled as he stared down at his cup.
“Perhaps I should get another one to take home?”
Olivia laughed and slipped her arm through his. “I think one is quite enough for now.”
Tugging him gently away from the shop, she glanced at him after a moment. “You know you gave the woman in there a fifty for two coffees?”
He shrugged. “Her husband has just lost his job. Things are tough for them at the moment.”
Olivia stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. “How do you know that?”
“I see things, you know that.”
She studied him slowly.
“Did you have had a dream about her?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Sometimes I see things, but other times, it’s like the information is there in my head, waiting.”
“That’s how you knew things were tough for her and her husband?”
He nodded.
“It was very generous,” she murmured, and stretched up on her toes impulsively pressing her lips to his.
Beau went nuts and started barking, running in circles around them and jumping up, trying to get in on their embrace. Laughing again, Olivia handed Theo her latte and bent down to untangle Beau’s leash from their legs. When she looked up, Theo was taking a sneaky sip of her coffee.
“What?” he said innocently. “I just wanted to try a little.”
“Hand it over.” She shook her head. “Or I won’t have any left.”
He dropped his arm around her shoulders as they headed back to her car. Draining the rest of his macchiato, he dropped the cup in the trash and scooped Beau up.
Olivia moved round the car to the driver’s side, but as she went to open it, she frowned. The door was unlocked. She could’ve sworn she saw Theo lock it. She shrugged to herself. Maybe he just didn’t do it properly.
Opening the door, she went to climb in, but noticed a book on her seat.
Reaching in with trembling hands, she turned it over to look at it.
It had been her favorite as a child; her father used to read it to her almost every night.
The feeling of being watched once again prickled between her shoulder blades, and she turned around.
Vaguely aware of the door clicking closed behind her, her eyes swept across the road to the opposite sidewalk to where a familiar man stood watching her calmly.
Her heart gave a solid thump in her chest, and her eyes suddenly filled with tears. A maelstrom of emotions crashed through her, from hate and anger, through confusion, to longing and love.
Her father watched her with unreadable eyes.
She didn’t know what she’d expected; she’d spent the last two decades hating him for what he’d done.
In her mind, he was cold and cruel and twisted, but standing there in the middle of the street, the years fell away, and he was the man she had loved.
She took a step toward him and flinched at a sudden horn blaring, followed by a loud screech of tires.
Theo grabbed her and yanked her back, she stumbled losing her balance. Falling heavily against him, Theo helped to steady her but Olivia barely paid him any attention. Her frantic gaze scanned the sidewalk, but her father was gone. Her heart pounding wildly while Theo checked her for injuries.
“Olivia?” He shook her to get her attention. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” she breathed out heavily. “I’m okay.”
“Christ, Olivia, what were you thinking?”
Her eyes were raw and filled with pain as she lifted her gaze to his. “I saw my father.”
“Where?” he asked as her gaze tracked mutely back to the opposite side of the road. He scanned the surrounding area, but he didn’t actually know what Charles Connell looked like. “Is he still here?”
She shook her head silently.
“Come on,” Theo pulled her in close, his eyes still darting around warily. “Let’s get you home.”
Olivia slid into the driver’s seat, watching mutely as Theo skirted around the car and slipped into the passenger seat.
“Do you want me to drive?” Theo asked as she turned to look at him blankly. “How hard can it be?” His lips twitched with the ghost of a smile.
She laughed weakly as the worst of the shock began to fade, and scrubbed her hands over her face.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.” She sighed. “No... I don’t know. It just took me by surprise. I guess I expected him to look different, but apart from the gray hair, he just looked like my dad.”
“Do you want me to call Jake?”
She shook her head. “We’ll call him later. Let’s just go home.”
Taking a deep breath, she started the car and reversed out carefully.
Beau was burrowed into Theo’s lap and watched her quietly with big brown eyes, as if he sensed something was wrong.
She didn’t even bother to check if she was still being tailed by the police, she just knew she was tired and emotionally wrung out, and all she wanted was to go home.
She turned into her drive with relief, but it was short-lived. As she pulled up to the front of the house, she could see something was wrong. Switching off the engine, she climbed out slowly, and a hot ball of misery filled her throat and tears filled her eyes.
Her porch was covered in shots of what could only be egg, and scrawled across her front door, in giant, grotesque red letters, was the word murderer.