Christmas Peril: Merry Mayhem / Yule Die. Margaret Daley

closed the magazine she was reading and placed it in her lap. “I heard you at the door. Did you know Jayden is already reading? She loves books ’bout as much as I do.”

      “You really have enjoyed having them here, haven’t you?”

      “I didn’t realize how until today. When they first came, I sensed they were lost and looking for something. Well, at least Annie. But so was I. These past few days have brought me back to life. So yes, I’ve enjoyed them being here. I’m so glad she decided to visit me.”

      “Did she ever tell you why she suddenly decided to come see you?”

      “No, other than she’d always had fond memories of the couple of times she had when she was a child. Especially that last visit, when she and her family came at Christmastime.”

      “She told me her husband was dead.”

      “Husband? She said that?” Sara’s wrinkles deepened on her forehead.

      “Well, not in those words. I asked about Jayden’s father.”

      “Annie has never been married.” Sara leaned forward in her chair. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I’m concerned about Annie. I think she’s in trouble. Earlier today when I asked why she didn’t wear a wedding ring, she told me she’d never married the man who fathered Jayden. I’d thought that first day she’d come the name you used to introduce her was her married name, so I didn’t say anything. But her real last name is Coleman, at least that was it when she was ten.”

      Caleb inhaled a deep breath and held it. This was what he’d come for, to find out what was going on with Annie, but he didn’t want to hear that she was in trouble. He wanted to be wrong about his gut feeling that something was wrong with her. “Did you say anything about it to her?”

      “No. Every time I start asking about what she’s been doing she manages to change the subject as quickly as possible. I think my question about the wedding ring threw her, or I’m not sure I would have gotten that much information. Something’s not right.”

      “Are you worried about yourself?” He hated asking that question because his gut told him Annie wasn’t someone who would hurt Sara, but he was a cop and Sara was a friend. He had to ask.

      Sara chuckled. “Absolutely not. I’m a good judge of people, and I see a woman who is hiding something because she’s afraid. I catch glimpses of fear in her eyes every once and a while. For instance, yesterday in town a car backfired. She went deathly pale, grabbed Jayden and shielded her. It took her several minutes to calm down, although she tried to hide her fright at the sudden sound. And right after that, Annie was talking on her cell in the library. Her face went pale, and she dropped the phone.” Sighing as though relieved she finally shared her concerns, she sat back.

      “What do you want me to do?”

      “Do some investigating like they do on TV? See if you can find out anything? Most people don’t leave home, drive halfway across the country and show up on someone’s doorstep they’re not even sure is still alive or living where they used to. What made her leave Florida?”

      “I’ll see what I can find.” After hearing what Sara had discovered, his concerns spiraled upward and alarm bells pealed loudly in his mind.

      “You said something about bringing Ralph down this evening. Come for dinner, too. Annie is planning spaghetti. We’re eating at six.”

      “Sold.” He came to his feet. “I best be going. See you later.”

      Outside he paused and drew in a deep breath. What kind of trouble could Annie be in? First thing he would do was drive by the library and get her license plate number and find out where she lived in Florida.

      He drove to the library, jotted down her number and then left, not wanting to hang around and have her find him there. He went to his office and ran her tag number. After discovering she lived in Crystal Creek, Florida, he placed a call to the police there.

      “This is Caleb Jackson, of the police department in Christmas, Oklahoma. Can I speak to your police chief?”

      When the man came on the line, Caleb explained who he was and asked, “Are there any outstanding warrants for a Annie Coleman. She lives in Crystal—”

      “I’m familiar with who Annie Coleman is.”

      Caleb straightened in his chair. “You are? How?”

      “Someone broke into her place a few days ago and I’d been trying to locate her ever since. She finally called me yesterday afternoon and told me she would handle it when she got back to town.”

      “Do you know who did it?”

      “No, but they destroyed just about everything in her apartment. It appears to have happened late Saturday night or the early hours of Sunday morning. Is she in any kind of trouble there in Oklahoma?”

      “No, not with the police.” When Caleb hung up, he couldn’t shake the warning bell going off in his mind. What was Annie into?

      He decided to make a call to a friend on the police force in Orlando. Maybe he could dig around and find out what kind of trouble Annie was in? Because everything pointed to a woman on the run. Why?

      When Don answered, Caleb took a few minutes to catch up with what was going on with him, then Caleb said, “I have a favor. I need you to find out what you can on Annie Coleman. She lives in Crystal Creek. There was a break-in at her apartment, but from what the police say it sounds like someone that is angry with her or looking for something. They tore her place apart.”

      “Will do. It may take a few days because I’ve got a tough case I’m working on, but on my first day off, I’ll go to Crystal Creek and do some poking around. Talk with her neighbors. Where she works. I’ll even check in with the local police and see if there are any new developments on the break-in.”

      “Thanks. I owe you.” Caleb’s hand lingered on the phone after he returned it to its cradle. Lord, whatever problem Annie is having, let it be one I can help her with.

      FOUR

      On the computer at the library after searching on the Internet for twenty minutes for information on Nick Salvador, she found an article in a Florida newspaper about him being indicted for murder several years ago. She went through the archives of later issues until she discovered what the verdict in the Salvador trial had been.

      She stared at the screen. Terror seized her. He had been acquitted of the murder charge, but the reporter noted that a key witness had never showed up to testify. He’d disappeared. She ran a name search on the witness but didn’t find anything pertaining to him. Was he dead? Or living somewhere else?

      She pictured something like that happening to her. For a second, panic gripped her. She quickly looked around the library, her heartbeat rapping a mad staccato against her ribs.

      “I’ve got my books,” Jayden said, cradling her doll against her chest.

      Annie cleared the screen and turned toward her daughter, forcing a smile to her mouth while inside terror still ruled. All she wanted to do was grab her child, hug her tightly and find a way to vanish. Next time she came she would have to research ways to disappear without a trace. There was no way she would risk going back to Crystal Creek now.

      “Ready?” Clutching her five books to her chest, Jayden rocked back on her heels.

      “Yep, let’s go check these out. I need to get back to Miss Sara’s and cook dinner.” She’d come back tomorrow and do some more searching. She still didn’t have any idea what was going on. Maybe the thugs who had trashed her apartment had found whatever they were looking for. What if they weren’t looking for an object but for her, because Bryan had called her and she’d overheard some of what happened to him?

      On Monday afternoon, Annie grabbed her jacket and hurried into the hall upstairs. She’d promised her daughter