CRIMINAL CHRISTMAS: A Set of 8 Holiday Suspense Stories, page 28
Gavin texted back. “Shit. Fell asleep. What?”
Jamey started running through the trees before he saw the orange flames from Pops house across the field. “Gavin!” he shouted, flying through the snow towards the burning house.
****
Tina woke with a start. Something was wrong. As sure as if she got a phone call from Jamey, she knew. Sitting up in bed, she grabbed her phone texted her husband. He’d have his volume off, but the vibration on. She waited. Nothing, so far. Then she texted Gavin the same message. “Something is wrong. I feel it.”
Nothing. They’d get her text when they next checked their phones. Propping herself up on pillows, she tried to pull in more information besides a sense of dread, but she couldn’t. She walked down the hall to the guest room and gently eased the door open. Pops was snoring. She only needed to see that Jamey or Gavin hadn’t phoned him or texted. And that Pops wasn’t in pain.
She let herself out of the room and went downstairs to check on the twins, and then her mother. Back in her bedroom, she watched the rise and fall of Kai’s chest. At least in this house everyone was fine. What was happening in Carnation? She sat down on the bed wrestling with the idea of making that forty minute drive to Pops’ house. She couldn’t leave Kai. Dialing Jamey’s number, she whispered pick up pick up, but he didn’t.
Jamey and Gavin were capable. She had to remind herself of that fact. They couldn’t both be lying dead somewhere. Tonight’s mission was a stakeout to see if anyone left the house, then they’d follow them. They were both big men, certainly able to wrestle Amy and Max to the ground. They were probably busy. Probably following someone over to Pops house. They’d call her when they checked their phones.
But the longer she sat there, the longer she worried about what was going on. Finally, she phoned the Carnation Police and asked if they’d had any calls to come to the Dunn house on River Drive. “My husband isn’t picking up his phone and that’s very unusual.” She expected to hear from the cop who’d pulled Christmas duty that it was the middle of the night and no one was talking on the phone at this hour. Instead the man said, “Just a minute, let me check something.”
When he came back on the line, he said, “We got a call that the firetrucks were on their way out there, and we sent a cruiser.”
“How long ago?” Tina asked.
“About ten minutes,” The police said.
Tina hung up and ran down the hall with the baby monitor to tell her mother what was going on and to listen for Kai.
She left for Carnation.
****
By the time Jamey reached the house a raging fire was burning on the back deck, and on its way in to the kitchen through the same door that had been tested last night. He’d dialed 911 as he ran, then upon reaching the fire, had to make a quick decision. A week earlier, he’d installed two hose lines in the garage that were kept unfrozen and ready for a moment like this.
Gavin ran up, huffing and puffing. “Sorry Jay, I fell asleep.”
Jamey yelled over the blaze’s noise. “Grab a hose!” He had to try to keep the fire from reaching Pops’ kitchen before the firefighters got here.
The two brothers pointed their garden hoses at the back door’s blaze and tried to douse the area to keep the fire from going any further into the kitchen. The smell of gasoline told Jamey how it had caught so quickly, and spread this time.
He heard the sirens in the distance and willed them to hurry. If he and Gavin could keep the fire from spreading into the house too fast, they might rewrite history tonight. Or at least change the premonition that the house would go up in flames.
Pops was miles down the road, safe at Liz’s house.
Two fire engines rushed down the driveway and up to the house, stopping right by the charred back deck where he and Gavin stood. The firefighters could see what needed to be done. Until the Carnation fire department got their hoses pointed at the house, Jamey and Gavin stayed firm. The crackle of wood burning, the smell of smoke, the heat, the brightness of the blaze, all added up to make Jamey madder than hell. He couldn’t wait to go next door to see those psychos arrested. This time he had evidence. He saw someone running back from the house while Gavin was passed out in his snowbank.
By the time the firefighters got their hoses pointed at the fire and were working on the blaze, Jamey saw Pops truck pull in to the driveway. What the hell? He’d been talking to the Fire Chief about the neighbors, when the truck screamed down the driveway and came to a halt just behind the second fire engine. It had to be Tina. Pops wouldn’t drive like that even in the worst emergency.
He was right. Tina threw open the door and ran to him. “You okay? What happened?”
“They set a fire, without us seeing.” He didn’t want to lead with the fact that Gavin fell asleep. His brother already looked so despondent. This was his childhood home too.
“I woke up and knew something happened.” Tina never looked so good to him standing there in her pajamas and coat with the wind of the fire blowing her hair from her face.
He hugged her to his side. “They’re trying to keep it from spreading into the house. The deck is gone. Probably the back wall of the kitchen.”
“Damned them,” she said. “Everyone is still asleep on Mercer. Pops is fine,” she said, looking up to him. “Maybe that witch gave him a real cookie.”
“That’s good. Kai, okay?”
“I woke Mom and gave her the baby monitor.”
The fire was almost out now, but Jamey could see that the back wall of the kitchen was burned through in many places. Charred timbers had crumbled to the ground, the back door long reduced to ashes. So many thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts of Amy, for one, his disappointment in Gavin, the Christmas presents under the tree in the front room. The twins expected to come back to this house in a few hours to open presents. “Not looking good for the morning.”
“That’s okay. The girls had a blast tonight at Mom’s. Don’t worry about that.” Tina hugged him to her. “I can take all the presents in the truck and they’ll be happy to see double the stack they already have.”
The Fire Chief needed to talk to him now that the emergency was over. Police too.
Once they’d determined that Jamey had a very good idea who lit the fire, the Chief left and Jamey helped Tina load the presents into the back of Pops’ truck. He kissed his wife deeply and lovingly before she left. “I’ll try to be there soon, but I need to make sure that Amy and Max get arrested.” He and Gavin planned to board up the kitchen, as soon as they found lumber.
“Don’t let them skip town.” Tina knew what needed to be done. “See you when you get to Mercer. Be safe, okay?”
He would, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be knocking on Max and Amy’s door with the police to accuse them of arson. And insanity.
****
Tina got back to the Mercer Island house before dawn and unloaded the bag presents by the tree. The twins looked like they’d been wrestling each other for covers and bed space on the pull out couch. All was well in the house, and Tina finally took a deep breath. In her room she found her mother sleeping in the bed with Kai tucked in the crook of her arm. It was Christmas morning and her mother was sleeping with her grandchild, something Tina thought she’d never see. Tears threatened. She took in the beautiful sight of her son’s effect on his grandmother. Kai wouldn’t have woken crying and her mother wasn’t doing this to console a weepy baby. She wrote a note to tell her mother she was back from Carnation and sleeping in the master bedroom.
Wake me when Kai wakes you. Kristina
She thought to take her baby with her, let her mom sleep in, but didn’t want to rob her of the pleasure of waking up to the happy little baby in her arms. The guest room digital alarm clock read 4:30 and Pops seemed to be sleeping peacefully. For now, he still he no idea what had happened.
As long as Max and Amy were arrested tonight, Tina could relax. She’d asked Jamey to keep her informed, knowing he was headed to the Clancy house--Jamey, Gavin, and the police officer who was ready to ask some questions.
With her cell phone on the pillow beside her, Tina lay down in her mother’s bed and thought about how the next few hours would go down. Hopefully her husband wouldn’t do anything illegal and would let the local law officers handle the arrest. And hopefully, there was enough evidence to incriminate Amy and Max. On her end, it was important she pull off Christmas morning with the twins, Pops, and her mother, seeing that’s what Jamey wanted the most after everyone’s safety. She’d given the twins a warning about rising too early, but whether they listened to that or not was anyone’s guess.
At 6:42, her cell phone rang. “Jamey?”
“Hi Darlin’. I’m at the police station in Carnation. It’s a long story but we finally got Amy in for questioning. Max is here too.”
“Are they under arrest?”
“Not yet, but it’s looking good, at least for Amy. Both of them are sticking to the story that they had no idea what was going on, but the police searched the house and Amy had matches in her coat pocket and a burn mark on her coat sleeve. It’s hard to tell if Max was in on it, or only Amy.” Jamey sounded exhausted. “It’s up to the police now. They’re trying to get the lab report sped up on the cookies and ham.”
She had to think that would help. “What should I do? Still try to have Christmas here?”
Jamey chuckled. “Yes, if you can. I’m headed back to the house with Gavin now to put up some tarps and lumber until we can board off the kitchen. Someone will have to redo the back wall. The girls will want to know if their room was damaged and tell them it was not. Also, tell everyone that we might be able to sleep in Carnation tonight if I work all day boarding up the hall to the kitchen but there won’t be a big Christmas dinner there with the current state of the kitchen.”
Tina had seen the damage. She could figure out dinner if the girls were desperate to come to Carnation. Even if they brought all the food cooked and ready from her mother’s place. “All is good here,” she said wearily.
“You are a good Mom--to all three kids. Tell the girls I’m on my way as soon as I can get there. At least for a few hours, until I have to come back to the police station.” Jamey sighed. “I don’t want Amy and Max to get away.”
Tina either. “If those two are at the station, I feel like I should go sneak into their house, see if I can find anything.”
“I’m pretty sure there’ll be a search warrant today. I’ll let you know. I have to call Carrie now to tell her that the girls are safe in case she hears about Pops’ house. It’s a small town.”
She knew. “I love you, Jamey Dunn.”
“Love you,” he said, then hung up.
Chapter 10
The acrid stink of charred wood hung in the air when Tina and Jade opened the door. Tina’s arms were heavy with a box of food for their Christmas dinner, but her first few breaths had her doubting they could stand the smell.
“P.U.” Jade said, then she ran down the hall to the kitchen that hadn’t been boarded off after all.
Tina followed Jade into the room that was supposed to be cut off from the rest of the house. Jamey, Gavin and several kind-hearted neighbors and friends had worked all afternoon boarding up the damage done to the back wall where the fire invaded. Although the charred wood was on the outside of the boards and blue tarps had been hung for insulation, the smell was still a vivid reminder of the neighbors’ attempt to ruin Pops’ family homestead.
Tina’s mother entered the kitchen with the second box of food. She shook her head. Tina waited for her to say something about how they should have stayed on Mercer to have dinner in a beautiful house instead of dragging three children and all the food back here to Carnation. But her mother simply took off her coat and said, “It’s not as bad as I thought. We can definitely work with this, Kristina.”
At that moment, Tina loved her mother as much as she ever had in her entire life. She kissed her Mom’s cheek. “I love you, Mom.”
Pops and Jamey blew in to the room, Kai in Jamey’s arms. “How long until dinner?” he asked. “I need to take a shower.”
Elizabeth put her box on the counter, took Kai, and waved him off. She looked at Pops lovingly. “Not too bad in here, right Alan?”
This was the first time Tina had ever heard her mother use Pops’ real name. Hiding her grin, Tina turned to the oven. The room was chilly, but Jamey had set up several borrowed space heaters and soon the room would be warm with help from the stove. “We could have cooked here, looks like,” Tina said. “Pops, do you have any scented candles to help with the smell?”
“Hey, don’t insult this macho man by suggesting I keep scented candles around,” he said. “But I do have some lovely Winter Pine air freshener upstairs.” They laughed at the silly way he said “Winter Pine,” and Pops left the room to get it.
Jade and Jaz followed Pops up the stairs to see that their room hadn’t been damaged. The fire had barely touched the outside wall of Jamey’s bedroom, he’d told her, but hadn’t burned through. If they could endure the smell, they’d sleep in Carnation tonight. Tina pulled the playpen to the center of the kitchen and nodded for her mother to set Kai inside. Let’s put the food in the oven to stay warm and then set the table. She was really getting the hang of this domesticity.
The twins had made a table centerpiece with fir boughs for this occasion, which helped to create the ambience that the neighbors had tried to eradicate. They’d have Christmas dinner at Pops’ house regardless of the fire. Jamey had asked the police to hold Amy for the full twenty-four hours if there was any doubt in their minds to her guilt. They’d agreed and were hoping the lab report would come back on the food. Christmas day was not a good time to get results downtown.
When Jamey came downstairs, fresh and showered, he whispered that the police called and Max was spending the night in the police station waiting room, Amy in custody. “Good news,” he said. “No neighbors tonight, except maybe Nester, who hasn’t heard yet that he has angina.”
****
When Tina told Jamey she wanted to go next door to see if she got a clue, Jamey didn’t like the idea and told her so. “It’s kind of risky with me trying to convince the cops to hold Amy overnight. It looks like I wanted to break in.”
“Only if we get caught,” she said, handing him a stack of dishes to load into the dishwater.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “And you’re not planning on getting caught.”
“I’d love to find something more than the singed coat to convince the cops Max and Amy set Pops’ house on freaking fire.” Tina’s face hardened with anger.
Jamey was angry too, but had more confidence that the cops would see they had enough evidence to make the arrest. “Okay, let’s go over there after we put Kai to bed. Your mom and my dad can listen to the baby monitor.”
After eating steamed plum pudding and warm sauce, a tradition in Tina’s family, everyone at the Dunn house was stuffed with food. Jamey had loosened his pants before dessert and there was no relief for him now until he started digesting. He hadn’t wanted to overeat, especially if they were breaking into houses after dinner, but his plan to go easy hadn’t worked and he now felt uncomfortably full. Tina had barely eaten. Probably stress and nerves. When she was hyper-focused on something, she tended to not eat.
While Pops read the twins the Christmas Story in the front room, and Elizabeth put all the food away, Tina put their tired son in his bed. Jamey took the opportunity to let the dog outside for a pee. It was crisp and cold, and a clear sky revealed thousands of stars. He ventured down the front stairs. The moon was so bright it appeared to glow. No lights on at the Clancy place. He dialed the police station and confirmed that the newlyweds were still there. “I just want to assure my family that they don’t have to sleep with one eye open,” he told the officer on duty..
“I bet,” the man said. “We’ll hopefully get that search warrant tomorrow.”
Tina joined him outside, and let Harry back in the house. “Mom knows what we’re doing. She thinks we’re crazy,” Tina said. “I told her to tell Pops and the girls we were going out for some fresh air.”
Once at the Clancy house, Jamey used his soldier moves to gain entry, and then let Tina in through the front door. They had flashlights and didn’t want to turn on any overheads just in case. Within ten minutes they’d found nothing on the first floor that they could hand over to the police, and continued upstairs to the top floor. Right away they noticed the door to the widow’s walk nailed shut with two boards. Sloppy work, but nailed firm. A theory began to develop. With her hands on the door, Tina concentrated on drawing in the story of why access to the widow’s walk was now boarded off. Jamey watched his wife closely. He got nothing from the door. Tina’s eyes closed and she let out a long sigh.
Finally, he whispered. “Tina?” She looked eerie, otherworldly. “You okay?” He touched her coat sleeve.
“There’s a ghost,” she said. “I feel her. She’s been manipulating Amy.” Tina moved away from the door and leaned against the wall, her eyes darting back and forth. “She’s trapped on the other side of this door. She’s angry she can’t get through.” Tina’s eyes landed on the staircase to the lower floor. “Let’s go, Jamey.” She took his hand and they hurried down to the second floor, bypassed that landing, and rushed to the first floor, and out of the house.
Outside, Tina still pulled him away from the house, across the field, and he followed her lead. When they reached the wire fence dividing the two properties, she finally stopped. “That was terrifying. Oh, my God.” She clung to him and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“You’re okay now. What happened?” In the distance, he heard a dog bark down the road.
“The ghost, or spirit, or whatever the hell that was.” Tina shivered. “Mrs. Clancy. It’s got to be Mrs. Clancy, or what is left of her. Whatever it is, I’ve never had a feeling like that before.” She held tightly to him.
