Finding Christmas Read online

I let out a sigh that seemed to freeze in the frigid air. “Thank you so much. I’m afraid this costume doesn’t offer a lot of protection against the elements.”

  I settled onto a stool and began to ask him questions about the town and the festival. It appeared I had his full attention, which was good, because the camera happened to catch Shredder going over the wall. Fortunately, the guard was looking at my cleavage and not the monitors then. When I saw Shredder head toward the back of the large house, I launched into a hilarious story that should have earned me an acting award. I hoped it was funny enough to keep the man’s interest until Shredder got inside.

  After a few minutes, I saw a shadow on the monitor that showed the kitchen. If no one was home, as the guard claimed, I had to assume Shredder had made it inside and the shadow belonged to him. I hoped he’d hurry up and get out of there; to be honest, I’m not that naturally charming. Keeping the guard from checking the monitors for much longer wasn’t going to be easy, and I wondered whether Shredder realized there were cameras focused on the house; he’d shown up on screens two more times.

  Just then, the guard turned around and glanced at the screens.

  “I don’t suppose you have a bathroom I could use? I really, really need to go.” I wiggled around just enough to sell it, I hoped.

  He turned back to me, looking uncertain. “I probably shouldn’t let anyone inside.”

  “I get that, but I really have to go. You can come with me if you’d feel better about it.”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let you use the bathroom on the first floor.”

  I said how very appreciative I was as he grabbed his jacket. He glanced at the way I was dressed and offered it to me. “You need this more than I do.”

  I gasped as Shredder’s image flashed across the screen. Luckily, the guard was still looking at me.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine,” I answered. “My stomach is just a little rumbly.”

  “We’d better hurry.” He opened the gatehouse door and gestured for me to precede him. Now I just had to hope we wouldn’t run into Shredder while we were in the house. Using the bathroom might not have been the best idea, but it was the only thing I could think of to get the guard away from the monitors.

  I stalled as long as I could in the bathroom before the guard and I started back to the gatehouse. I hoped Shredder was almost done inside; I was running out of ideas to distract the guard. Just as we entered the gatehouse, I got a text from Shredder, letting me know he was clear.

  “Problem?” the man guard asked as I looked at the phone.

  “It’s the tow truck driver. He’s going to be another hour. Maybe I should just text a friend to pick me up and worry about the car later.”

  “Might be a good idea.”

  I texted Shredder to come pick me up. When he honked the horn a short while later, the guard seemed to buy that Shredder was the friend I’d texted and didn’t ask any questions. He was probably too happy to get rid of me to care.

  “I take it you didn’t find Rigby?” I asked when Shredder and I were on our way.

  “He wasn’t in the house. I suspected as much when I realized there was only one guard, but I needed to be sure.”

  “Did you know there were security cameras in practically every room? I almost died when I saw you flash across the screen.”

  “Damn. They must have a double-blind system.”

  “Double-blind?”

  “One set of cameras in plain sight, which I avoided, but there must be a second set that’s hidden. I should have known. I feel like I’m really off my game lately. First Rigby gets nabbed right out from under me, and then I fall for the double-blind thing.”

  “Having cameras in plain sight make good camouflage for hidden cameras. I’d never think to look for a second set of cameras. It’s genius really.”

  “It’s a common enough strategy I shouldn’t have been fooled by. I’ll need to be more careful in the future.”

  “Did you find anything that could help us at all?” I asked.

  “Maybe. There were men’s clothes in the closet of one of the guest rooms in a size I imagine would fit Askar. And there was an address jotted down on a notepad next to the landline, and a copy of an email on the nightstand with instructions to the Santa parade that’s held at three o’clock this afternoon. We should go. Perhaps Askar will be there. In the meantime, we’ll check out the address on the notepad.”

  I looked at the time. “Let’s go back to the inn to walk Yukon before we go out again. He’s been cooped up for most of the morning.”

  Chapter 14

  We took Yukon for a quick walk, then got back in Shredder’s rental and headed north. It was a beautiful sunny day that was supposed to warm up to a downright mild temperature. It would have been fun to spend the entire day at the Santa Festival, but what we were doing was more important.

  “Do you think Askar has Rigby stashed somewhere else around here?” I asked as the scenery whizzed by.

  “I don’t know. The photo of Askar in front of the Santa house is the only lead I have. One of the Santas I spoke to last night said he saw Askar in town that morning, but he wasn’t sure where he was staying or if he planned to be around for the entire event. The fact that there was no sign of Rigby in the house seems to indicate that if Askar is still around, he has Rigby stashed somewhere else.”

  “Are you sure Askar even has him?”

  “No. The ransom demand at least made it appear it came from Askar. There’s always a possibility he’s being set up. The more I think about it, the more I wonder if that isn’t actually the case. It doesn’t make sense that he’d be hiding out in a town he’s known to visit at this time of the year if he was holding someone captive.”

  “I agree with that.”

  “If we don’t find Rigby at the address I lifted from the notepad, I’m going to call my superiors to discuss the situation in more depth. Things aren’t sitting right with me.”

  When we arrived at the address, we found it belonged to another large house with a barn that must house the horses that were in the pasture just beyond it. The property was impressive, but there was no guard at the gate. Shredder drove past it slowly, then back again. Eventually, he pulled off the road and stopped to consider what to do.

  “What do you think?” I asked at last.

  “There are cars in the front, so I have to assume there are people on the property. The house looks much like any other; nothing stands out as being a red flag, although there’s a large metal building that looks like a warehouse beyond the barn. It could just be storage for hay or farm equipment, but I’d like to check it out to satisfy my curiosity.” Shredder looked back at the property. “Maybe you could play damsel in distress again. Knock on the door and tell them your car broke down and that your cell is dead. Ask to use the phone. Meanwhile, I’ll head through the woods to the back of the property and take a look inside the building.”

  “Okay, but no elf costume this time.”

  “That’s fine. I’m going to disable the car in the event that someone decides to check out your story, then head out. Wait five minutes before going up to the house.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”

  I waited five minutes as instructed, then grabbed my jacket and headed on foot down the road toward the house. I entered the property via the long private drive, knocked on the door, and waited. When no one answered, I knocked again, rang the doorbell, and waited. Still no answer. Despite the cars in the drive, the house seemed to be deserted. Maybe someone was in the barn. I knocked on the door one more time, calling out as I did so. “Hello? Is anyone home? My car’s broken down and I need to use a phone.”

  I waited yet again, but there was no response. I decided to check the barn. I walked across the snow-covered drive and entered the barn through a side door. “Hello,” I called out. “Is anyone here?”

  Again, there was no answer. I noticed a large door on the side of the barn was open,
which would allow the horses in the pasture to come in if they wanted. I supposed they were enjoying the sunshine and unusually warm temperature.

  After I left the barn, I headed around the building toward the back, where the building Shredder had said he wanted to check out was located. “Ah ha,” I said aloud, and headed that way. I walked around the building until I found an access door, which was unlocked. “Shredder? Are you here?” I called out. The warehouse was huge, reminding me of the metal buildings used at the state fair. A quick glance confirmed that it was mostly empty. There were walls of stacked bales of hay that seemed to be placed strategically around the huge open space, but other than that and a blue and white flag directly in the center, there didn’t appear to be anything inside.

  I continued inside and was steps away from the blue and white flag when I heard a voice, “Don’t move.”

  I stopped and looked around. “Shredder?”

  He appeared from just to my left and slightly behind me. “It seems the building has been mined.”

  “Mined?”

  “I found evidence of land mines surrounding the flag when I first looked in. From the hay bale bunkers and the flag in the middle, I’m assuming this warehouse is used for war games. If that’s the case, the land mines are dummies used as part of the simulation. The thing is, I’m not a hundred percent certain my hunch is correct.”

  “You think I might be standing in the middle of live mines?” I screeched in a high, squeaky voice.

  “Probably not, but until I’m a hundred percent sure, I want you to remain absolutely still.”

  I looked down at my feet and swallowed hard. “I don’t see any mines.”

  “If you look closely, you’ll see trip wires and pressure plates that have been camouflaged, but not that well. Just stand still while I figure out what to do.”

  Okay. Take a deep breath. Don’t panic. Panic never helped anyone. “Why didn’t you warn me before I got this far?”

  “I didn’t see you. After I poked my head in here, I headed to the back of the house. By the time I notice you’d come in this direction, you were already through the door. Now stand perfectly still. I’m going to slowly make my way over to you. When I get there, I’ll take a closer look. In the meantime, don’t move.”

  I nodded. “I won’t move. I promise. But hurry. Wait, don’t hurry. Take your time. I’m fine. Really.”

  Shredder began to move toward me. I focused on my breathing. Slow breath in, slow breath out. Shredder was a pro. He must have done this, or something like it, millions of times. Right? I thought about asking, but I decided I didn’t want to know.

  I watched as he stepped over trip wires and navigated what looked to be a random path as he made his way toward me. Once he was by my side, he again warned me not to move, and then he slowly bent down. I held my breath while I waited to hear what he had to say next.

  “There’s a trip wire just in front of you to your left. As long as you don’t move your left foot forward, you should be fine with that one. I see a pressure plate behind you to your right. You missed that one narrowly.”

  “So you’re saying as long as I stand here and don’t move for the rest of my life, I should be fine.”

  “Basically.” Shredder chuckled.

  “Oh my God, did you just laugh? I’m probably going to die right here in the middle of this building and you’re laughing?”

  “I’m sorry. And you aren’t going to die. As I said, I doubt the mines are real, but just in case they are, I need you to keep doing exactly as I say.”

  I nodded. “Okay. What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you to slide your left foot toward you. Don’t lift it off the ground. Just slide it about six inches.”

  “Okay.”

  “And Harm, when I say six inches, I mean six inches. No more. Okay?”

  I took a deep breath. “I got it. Slide my left foot six inches.”

  I slowly slid my foot as Shredder had instructed. I’d never been good at spatial equivalencies, so I hoped that wouldn’t bite me now. When Shredder told me to stop, I almost jumped, but I didn’t.

  “Okay,” Shredder said. “That was good. Now I want you to take your right foot and lift it off the ground. Lift it straight up. Don’t slide it or drag it, just lift it. Once you have it well off the ground, step back at least eighteen inches with that foot only and keep it planted.”

  “Got it.” I took another breath.

  “You’re doing fine,” Shredder said. “Almost there.”

  I stepped back, then froze. “Okay, now what?”

  “Transfer your weight to your right leg so you can lift your left foot off the ground. What I want you to do is to bring your left foot next to your right foot without dragging it along the ground.”

  I had to smile at that. It was a nervous smile, but a smile nonetheless. “It just occurred to me that all those hours I spent playing Twister with Chloe as a kid was training for this moment.”

  “I guess it was.” Shredder smiled back at me.

  By the time my feet were side by side on the ground, I was certain I was going to throw up.

  “One more step,” Shredder said. “Take your right foot and step directly to your right. Move your foot about a foot. Once your right foot is planted, move your left foot next to it. Don’t move forward or backward at all. This is a parallel step. Got it?”

  “I got it.”

  I did as Shredder said. Once I was in the clear, Shredder pulled me into his arms for the longest and tightest hug I’d ever experienced.

  “I did it,” I said when Shredder finally pulled back. “We did it.”

  Shredder hugged me again.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  Shredder went outside and came back with a large rock. He tossed it onto one of the pressure plates. There was a loud bang and a puff of dust, but nothing even close to a deadly explosion. “It looks like the mines are dummies, as I suspected.”

  It was then that I noticed a very large man walking toward us with a very large rifle in his hands. “It looks like we’re busted,” I said under my breath.

  “The two of you know this is private property?” the man asked.

  I had no idea how to respond, so I looked at Shredder.

  “I’m sorry,” Shredder said. “My name is Chris Stone and this is my wife, Claudia. We were on our way to Tinseltown for the festival when our car broke down. We hoped to use your phone to call for a tow, but when we knocked on the door to the house, no one answered.”

  “We saw the cars, so we figured someone might be around, so we checked out the barn,” I added.

  “Which is when I noticed the metal building,” Shredder continued. “I’m afraid my curiosity got the better of me and I went over to check it out. I’ll pay for any damage.”

  The man narrowed his gaze and paused, as if trying to decide what to make of us. “I guess there was no harm done. I thought I heard the doorbell, but I was in the basement and not expecting anyone, so I didn’t bother to answer. If you still need to use the phone, follow me back to the house.”

  “We’d appreciate that very much,” Shredder said.

  I fell into step next to him and walked to the house next to the man, who was still clutching his rifle.

  “What’s up with that building anyway?” I asked. “Not that’s any of my business, but I’m curious.”

  “War games.”

  I lifted a brow. “War games?”

  “I’m part of a group that participates in role-playing games. We divide up and use paint guns instead of real ones and pretend to have battles. During the summer months, the games begin outdoors with two teams each intent on getting in to the warehouse and capturing the flag. The mines, which provide a loud bang but are basically harmless, are part of the experience. The whole thing might sound silly to you, but it’s actually a very demanding simulation that challenges a man both intellectually and physically.”

  “It doesn’t sound silly at all,” I said, then gla
nced at Shredder. “At least not any sillier than dressing up as Santa and his elf, which is what we were on our way to do.”

  The man chuckled and showed Shredder to the phone. He made his call and then we thanked the man and went back to the car.

  “Do you buy all that?” I asked after Shredder called the tow company back to cancel the pickup. I’d asked Shredder why he hadn’t just faked the call to tow company, and he’d said it was best to stay true to our story in case the man checked his phone records.

  “It may seem odd, but war games are fairly popular. He has an elaborate setup, but if you have the time, money, and interest, why not go all-in and build an elaborate field of battle?”

  “I wonder why this address was on the notepad in the house where you think Askar might be staying.”

  “Maybe he or whoever owns the house is into role-playing,” Shredder answered.

  “Maybe. Of course, if Rigby really isn’t in the house, we’re back to square one.”

  “I wish we could have gotten a look inside,” Shredder said. “It didn’t seem like the sort of place one would keep a prisoner, but the man admitted to hearing you ring the doorbell and ignoring it, and he admitted to being in the basement. I wonder what he was doing down there.”

  “Do you think that’s where he has Rigby?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’d like to figure out a way to find out.”

  We headed directly to the inn when we got back to town. We needed to be at the parade in less than an hour, but I thought both of us needed to regroup.

  “I sort of feel like we’ve been led on a wild-goose chase,” I said after I kicked off my boots and curled up in front of the fire.

  “I agree. It’s as if this entire trip has been nothing but a huge diversion.”

  “Diversion from what?” I wondered.

  Shredder creased his forehead. “I’m not sure. I feel like a dog chasing his tail, and I don’t like it in the least.”

  “Do you think the photo of Askar was faked?”

  “No. He’s been seen in town. I think he is or at least was here, and it’s possible someone snapped his picture. I’m beginning to wonder if the ransom demand was faked, however.”