The Christmas Clause Read online

  Deep in my heart, I was sure that it was this connection that had led to her death. Maybe I should have done more to warn her that digging around in the past of Grant Thomas, or Grant Tucker as it might be, could only lead to trouble for everyone involved. Maybe instead of watching her from afar, I should have confronted her about the envelope I’d delivered to her when we first met. An envelope she’d told me contained a copy of the file Sam Denton had built on the man I was certain was my father. Denton must have known his life was in danger because he’d given a copy of his file to a friend for safekeeping. The friend knew about Star’s situation and had decided to send it to her after Denton’s death.

  I turned onto the narrow road leading to my cabin. The file had concerned me from the beginning, but Star had assured me that she’d locked it away in her safety deposit box. She’d told me she hadn’t read it after she’d opened it in my presence on the day I delivered it and had no idea what was in it. I didn’t know what sort of evidence Denton had managed to dig up, but apparently, it was damaging enough to cause someone to decide to end the life of both the PI who’d built the file and the woman who’d currently been in possession of it.

  Chapter 2

  “Are you okay?” Tony asked when Tilly and I arrived at the cabin.

  I guess he must have heard about the shooting from Mike, or perhaps Mike’s wife, my best friend, Bree, had called him because he seemed to know exactly what was going on before I filled him in.

  I nodded. I knew I should say something more, but my throat felt tight, and I was sure the tears would begin to flow if I didn’t do everything in my power to hold them at bay.

  Tony opened his arms, and I stepped into them. He held me for a moment before he spoke. “I was going to suggest we pick up dinner on the way out to my place, but I guess we should wait here for Mike. How about an omelet?”

  “An omelet sounds good,” I answered, tightening my hold around his waist. I took a deep breath and stepped back just a bit. “I’m going to change out of my uniform, and then we can talk.”

  “Okay,” Tony said. “I’m going to feed the animals while you do that.”

  I kissed him quickly on the cheek and then headed into the bedroom, where I slipped into a pair of jeans and a pale blue sweatshirt. I pulled my long hair off my face, secured it with a band, slipped on a pair of thick wool socks, and headed back to the kitchen. I found Tony cracking eggs into a bowl.

  “Do you want cheese in your omelet?” he asked.

  “Yes, please. And olives and tomatoes if we have them.”

  “We do.” Tony crossed the room to the refrigerator. “Mushrooms?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  He took out a knife and cutting board and began to slice the vegetables.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that I was sitting in front of Star’s house when you texted,” I said, jumping right in. “I’m not sure why I didn’t tell you, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve spent quite a lot of time watching her lately. I guess I knew it was wrong. Creepy, even. So when you asked, I lied about what I was doing.”

  “Why were you watching her?” Tony asked as he began dicing a tomato.

  I blew out a breath. Why had I been watching her? “I guess after she told me what she had found out about her birth parents, and I realized that she might very well be my half sister, I was pretty messed up. I was angry and jealous, which made me slightly obsessed, but most of all, I was worried.”

  Tony stopped what he was doing and looked at me. “We did talk about the fact that knowing about your father’s past might put her in danger, so I understand being worried, but jealous?”

  “I know this is going to sound crazy, and I feel like I literally might be crazy for even feeling this way, but it really bothered me that my dad might have had a child before Mike and me.”

  Tony returned to his dicing. “I guess I understand that.”

  “And not only was I jealous that Dad might have had a daughter before he had us, but I was really upset that he’d abandoned her. I know none of this makes sense, but I guess the knowledge that Dad abandoned Star when she needed him most played into my own feelings of abandonment after finding out that he faked his own death and left Mike and Mom and me to fend for ourselves.”

  Tony handed me a glass of wine, but he didn’t respond.

  “Add to that the fact that I knew that looking for my father could put Star in danger, and I found myself obsessing over her actions, her whereabouts, her safety. Really, every little aspect of her life,” I continued.

  Tony turned on the stove and slipped a pat of butter into a heavy pan. “So, you began stalking her.”

  I nodded. “Yes, I guess I did.” I could see he was hurt that I’d kept that piece of information even from him. I supposed I didn’t blame him. He’d helped me every step of the way and had never once seemed judgmental. “I not only began stalking her, I actually dug gum from her trash and had her DNA compared to mine.”

  “And?”

  “And we aren’t sisters.”

  Tony raised a brow. “Really. I have to admit that I was pretty much convinced you were after everything we’ve discussed in the past.”

  “I’m still convinced that it was my father who surrendered her to the church, but I suppose there must have been a different reason why he was traveling with Star’s mother when she was born. Maybe they were friends, or maybe he was supposed to protect her from whoever shot her. I’m not sure we’ll ever know the answer to that question unless, of course, it is contained in the report that Star stashed away for safekeeping.”

  Tony poured the eggs into the preheated pan.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I’d been watching her, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the DNA test I requested,” I added. “I had no reason to keep either from you. I don’t even know why I did.”

  “I’m not mad,” He began layering in the cheese and veggies. “I understand how hard this whole thing has been on you, and it does appear that you were right to be concerned for Star’s safety.”

  “So you agree with me that her death is most likely related to the fact that she was digging around in her past?”

  Tony crossed the room and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of grated Parmesan. “I do think that her digging around might have led to her death, but there are a lot of other reasons someone might have wanted her dead as well.”

  “Like what?”

  “Maybe she was shot by a scorned lover or an old business partner. Maybe the shooter was after the same antique clock she was bidding on and wanted her out of the way. I know the odds are that she was indeed killed because of her research into her past, but I think it might be a mistake to focus exclusively on that as a motive and not to at least consider other options.”

  I shrugged as I picked a petal from one of the red carnations on the table. “I guess it is possible that there could be other reasons that some mysterious guy would simply pull up in front of Star’s house and shoot her while she stood helplessly in the doorway. I’m sure Mike will be all over the various possibilities once he has a chance to catch his breath.”

  “I suppose we can talk to him about it when he stops by.”

  “If he doesn’t kill me for not telling him what I now realize I am going to need to share with him if he is to have all the information he needs to conduct a thorough investigation.” I groaned. “He is going to be so mad.”

  Tony set the salt, pepper, and Parmesan on the table. “I agree that he is going to be mad, but he is also going to be hurt. I guess you should be prepared for the full spectrum of emotions when he finds out you’ve been lying to him.”

  Leaning forward, I rested my head on my arms. “I know. And I do feel bad that I’ve been keeping things from him, but if I’m perfectly honest, I’m not sure I would do things any differently even if I could go back and change things.” I sat up and looked at Tony. “Mike was in the hospital clinging to life when Dad came to visit. There was no way
I was going to bring him in on what was an emotionally charged encounter at that point. And then, as time went by, it seemed awkward to tell him. And when I found out that Star might be our half sister, I was so stunned I wasn’t sure what to do with that information. I knew that the knowledge that we might have a half sister would put Mike over the edge. It put me over the edge, and I’m not nearly as reactive as he is. I know I need to tell him now, but I’m really not sorry that I didn’t tell him then. I’m sorry that he is going to be hurt by the decisions I made; I’m just not sure they were the wrong decisions to have made at that time.”

  Tony cut the omelet in half and slid it onto two plates. Then he added toast and handed me one of the plates.

  “And your mom. Don’t you think this might be a good time to bring her into this? If Star did die because of what she found out about your father, it is eventually going to come out that your father is alive.”

  I sliced off a piece of egg. “If we have to tell her to ensure her safety, we will, but unless it really becomes an issue, I’d rather not. If she knows Dad is alive and has, in fact, been alive all these years under an alias, it will hurt her deeply. I don’t want her to be hurt. Besides, she has been over-the-top stressed out ever since she found out that the event planner for Christmas on Main resigned, leaving her in charge of everything.”

  Tony topped off both our glasses of wine. “What happened with that anyway?”

  “Apparently, the woman they hired to oversee the event got an offer that would pay her more money, so she took advantage of the Christmas Clause, which stated that, due to the high demand for her services over the holiday, she’d be allowed to terminate the contract she had with the committee, as long as she did so two weeks before the event.”

  “That’s crazy. Why would the committee have signed a contract like that in the first place?”

  “I guess no one read the fine print. Or if they did read it, they either didn’t understand it or weren’t concerned that it would become an issue. Either way, the event planner has left town, and Mom and the rest of the committee are scrambling to get everything done.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe we can help.”

  “I’ve already volunteered us,” I informed the man I loved. “I think we should both plan to be available for the holiday parade next weekend, the carnival, and Christmas on Main the following weekend.”

  “I’m happy to do what I can.” Tilly and Titan both jumped up and ran to the door. “It sounds like Mike is here,” Tony announced.

  I pushed my half-eaten omelet aside. It was probably best not to have a full stomach as I faced the inquisition I knew was coming.

  “It’s going to be fine.” Tony squeezed my hand as he reached for the door to greet Mike.

  I knew it wasn’t going to be fine, but I had very few options at that point, so I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the fireworks I knew were inevitable once Mike found out that I’d actually seen and spoken to Dad but had neglected to share that bit of information with him.

  Chapter 3

  Saturday, December 7

  “Rough night?” Tony greeted me with a mug of coffee as I stumbled from the bedroom.

  “You know it was. I’m sorry I kept you awake with all my tossing and turning.”

  “It’s okay. I understand completely. Last night was rough. I expected Mike to be mad and even hurt, but I hadn’t expected him to be as angry as he was.”

  I poured a dollop of cream in my coffee and sat down at the counter. “I’m pretty sure he is never going to speak to me again. He wouldn’t even listen when I tried to explain why I hadn’t told him about Dad’s visit and why I’d wanted to be sure Star was our half sister before I brought up that situation.”

  “I think he feels as if you have treated him like a child. As if you are somehow managing his life by deciding what information he should and should not have access to.”

  I guess Tony had a point. That was exactly what I had been doing from the first minute I’d found out that our dad hadn’t died all those years ago as we’d been told. I supposed that was what I was doing with Mom at this point as well. I really hadn’t been trying to hurt Mike, but my attempt to protect my big brother had done just that.

  “Should I call him?” I asked.

  Tony sat down across from me. “I wouldn’t. I think you might want to give him the weekend to get over his anger.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Though I do feel that we need to act on what happened to Star before the trail goes cold.”

  “Mike is the cop here,” Tony reminded me. “It is his job to find Star’s killer.”

  “I know it is his job, but he doesn’t know everything we do. I tried to tell him about Star’s mother and her relationship with our father, but I could tell that he stopped listening once I brought up the fact that I’d seen and spoken to Dad but hadn’t thought it important to inform him of his visit.”

  Tony sat quietly for a moment. I suspected he was trying to work things through in his own mind. Finally, he spoke. “Mike is a good cop. Eventually, when he is ready, he’ll come to you to get the rest of the story. But I really think we should let him take the lead on this. Before all this happened, we’d planned to go out to my place to cut down a couple of trees. We were going to decorate and generally relax before the holiday events that are coming up for the next two weekends take up all our time. I think we should do that. Mike will call us when he’s ready.”

  I wanted to argue, but I knew Tony was right. Besides, Tony’s big computers were out at his place. I was still trying to get my thoughts straight, but I suspected that before the weekend was over, I’d have Tony and his hacker know-how digging for information that might lead us to the person who’d shot and killed an innocent woman for allowing her curiosity to get the better of her.

  ******

  “Is this one too tall for your living room?” I asked Tony as we tramped through the forest with the dogs on our heels.

  “It would fit, I think, but it is going to be too heavy for the two of us to carry. The thing must be twenty feet tall, and it’s full, with a pretty thick trunk. Perhaps we should either look for something smaller or something closer to the road that we won’t have to carry so far.”

  I supposed Tony had a point. We’d hiked through knee-deep snow up a fairly steep hill to find this tree, but I hadn’t stopped to consider the fact that if we found the perfect tree on the hill, we’d need to carry it back through that same knee-deep snow to get it back to the truck.

  “Maybe we should have brought a sled,” I said. “We could have hooked the dogs up to it and let them pull it down the hill.”

  “A good suggestion for next year.”

  I ran my hand over the branches of a tree that was only six feet in height but full and shaped nicely. “This would be a nice one for the cabin.”

  Tony walked over to where I was standing. He repositioned the ax he held over his shoulder. “I agree; it’s a nice tree. Maybe we can get the tall one we saw near the road for my place. It wasn’t quite as full as the trees up here on the mountain, but the branches were dispersed evenly, and we won’t have to carry it far.”

  I nodded. “I think that one will be fine for the living room in your house. Let’s get a small one for the bedroom as well. It would be pretty to snuggle up in your big bed in front of the fire while the tree lights twinkle and the snow falls outside the window.”

  Tony leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips. “Now, that sounds just about perfect.”

  I found myself smiling. “It does sound pretty perfect, doesn’t it? In fact, let’s get a small one for both bedrooms.”

  Tony confirmed one more time that this was definitely the tree I wanted for the living room of the cabin, then handed me his backpack while he took the ax to it. By the time we’d lugged the six-foot tree down the snowy hill, I was exhausted and doubly happy that we hadn’t decided to try to manage the twenty-foot tree I’d point
ed out.

  “Should we drop the small trees off at the cabin before we head back to your place?” I asked.

  “They will be fine out on the deck. We’ll decorate the trees at the lake house this afternoon and then head back to the cabin tomorrow afternoon. We’ll pick up a pizza tomorrow to eat while we decorate.”

  “And tonight?”

  “Tonight I have a meatball and pasta soup ready to reheat. I have fresh greens and a loaf of bread from the bakery. It should be an easy meal to assemble when we’re ready.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  And it was. I’m not sure how Tony accomplished it, but he managed to get me to forget about Star for one day and enjoy the kickoff to the season. We’d decorated the house, played with the dogs in the snow, shared a wonderful meal by candlelight, and were talking about watching the holiday movie I’d seen advertisements for all week when Mike called to speak to Tony. I think it is important to emphasize that he’d called Tony, not me.

  “What’d he want?” I asked after Tony hung up.

  “He had some questions about the envelope that you’d told him that Star had in her possession, which seems to have been what started this whole thing.”

  “Don’t you think he should have asked me about the envelope since I was the one to deliver the package to Star in the first place?” I asked with irritation.

  “Do you know anything about the envelope other than what you already told him?”

  “No,” I admitted.

  “Then I suppose he figured there wasn’t a good enough reason to extend an olive branch to you at this point. He’s still pretty mad.”

  “I know.” And I also knew I deserved his anger. “What else did he want from you?”

  “He wanted me to see if I can get into any records that Sam Denton may have left anywhere on the internet. Even if he or someone else deleted the files, I might be able to find traces of what at one time existed.”