Christmas Peril. Margaret Daley

quavered, “are okay.” If you don’t count having someone hunting us. “I can’t tell you anything else. I’ll get back to you later. Thanks, Trey.” She clicked off the cell before she told him something that could give her location away. What if the person who had killed Bryan had gotten to Trey?

      Don’t trust anyone. That included her friends and the police in Crystal Creek.

      She turned off the cell, realizing if she was on it long enough they could trace her through the GPS in it. Half the time she didn’t have it on because she left it off at work and often forgot to switch it back on. Now all she wanted to do was throw it away, as though the assailant had come through the connection to touch her with evil. She shuddered.

      “Mommy, I’ve got my books. I’m ready to go. Sara wants to take us by the police station to meet Harriet and her blue cat.”

      “Her cat is at the station?” Annie stuffed the cell into her purse and rose, smiling as Sara made her way to her at a slower gait than Jayden.

      “Yeah, isn’t that cool? Sara said she’s the station mouser.”

      Fifteen minutes later they entered the police station. The instant Annie saw Caleb, her heartbeat increased as though she’d been given a shot of adrenaline. His gaze latched onto hers and didn’t release it.

      He disengaged himself from a conversation with an older woman at the back of the station and sauntered toward them, coming around the counter, his eyes sparkling with pleasure. “What brings y’all by here?”

      “Jayden said something about wanting to see Harriet’s cat, and I told her Samson stays at the station when she’s here.” Using her cane, Sara moved toward her friend. “Jayden, Samson’s usually in his basket near Harriet’s desk.”

      Her daughter trailed behind Sara. The second Jayden saw the cat she stooped next to the large wicker basket and touched the blue-gray animal. Its loud purrs resonated through the room. Jayden grinned and stroked her hand along his back over and over.

      “I hope you don’t mind us visiting like this. Are you busy?” Annie swiveled toward Caleb.

      “I was just taking a break for lunch.”

      “It’s almost two.”

      “I was busy this morning. We had some vandalism last night.” He leaned against the counter, placing his elbow on its top.

      “Have you found out who did it?”

      “I’ve narrowed it down to a specific group of teenage boys. Their antics won’t last much longer.”

      “What did they do?”

      “Took the ornaments off the town Christmas tree.” One corner of his mouth lifted.

      “And broke them?”

      “Thankfully not. They left them carefully on the ground all around the tree.”

      Annie chuckled. “Where do kids come up with things like that?”

      “The mayor wasn’t too happy.” Caleb shoved away from the counter. “C’mon and meet Harriet and Samson.”

      “I was thinking I needed to rescue her from my daughter’s endless questions.”

      “You kidding? Harriet is loving this.” He gestured toward the woman with short brown hair and a huge smile on her face.

      “Yep, every ornament was on the ground. It took me and some others most of the morning to redecorate the tree. I think Caleb should post guards around it.” Harriet peered at Annie as she stopped at the side of the desk near her daughter. “You must be Sara’s cousin, Annie.” The woman took Annie’s hand and pumped her arm.

      “I’ll see you tonight,” Caleb whispered close to Annie’s ear. “I have to pay a visit to one of the boys I think is responsible for the mess in the town square. But first I’ll have to deal with the mayor again. He just came in.”

      Caleb strode toward the middle-aged, stocky man whose dark gaze lit upon Caleb. The town leader’s beet-red face attested that his anger was still present. But Caleb’s calm demeanor slowly eroded the man’s wrath until he let out a deep breath and followed Caleb into his office.

      Maybe she could tell Caleb what happened in Florida. Maybe he could help her figure out what was going on and what to do about it.

      But as she, Sara and Jayden left to finish their errands, another police officer entered the station. Annie almost ran into him when she opened the door. She quickly sidled away. Although dressed in the same blue uniform as Caleb, this man brought to mind Bryan’s warning not to trust the police. As much as she wanted to trust Caleb, she couldn’t.

      While Sara was reading to Jayden in the living room and the stew was in the Crock-Pot, Annie stepped outside onto the back stoop. Although the temperature was a little above freezing, she relished the crisp air, the perfectly still wind. The sun sank below the tree line, a rosy hue tinting the few clouds in the sky.

      The line of fir trees along the back of Sara’s property caught her attention. She strode across the yard to get away from the house. She didn’t want anyone to overhear her as she made a call. She withdrew her cell from her pocket and called information to find out the police department number in Crystal Creek.

      When someone answered, she said to the woman on the other end, “I’m calling about a break-in at my apartment a few days ago.”

      “Just a moment please.”

      “Can I help you?” a deep, baritone voice asked a minute later.

      “This is Annie Coleman.”

      Before she could continue, the man said, “We’ve been looking for you. Where are you?”

      “I’m on vacation. Have you found out who broke in?”

      “No. Do you have anyone angry at you? Your valuables seemed to still be there, but they were destroyed. Television smashed to pieces, pearl necklace broken and scattered all over the floor. It was more vandalism than a robbery.”

      Because Bryan’s killer was looking for something. “When I return I’ll come see you. Thanks.” She clicked off quickly, praying she hadn’t made a mistake by calling them. She’d kept hoping they might have a clue to who had trashed her apartment. Now she realized that that was wishful thinking.

      She turned at the sound of the back door slamming closed and a yelping dog. A big, black mutt bounded toward her with Jayden not far behind. Annie braced herself, but a few feet from her, the dog skidded to a stop.

      Her daughter halted next to the animal and threw her arms around him. “Isn’t Ralph great? He can even do tricks. Caleb showed me.”

      At a much more leisurely gait, the police chief approached, again dressed in casual jeans, a blue T-shirt and an open sheepskin coat. “Your daughter wanted to show you Ralph.”

      “Will you show Mommy how he can roll over?”

      “You can get him to by pointing your finger and making a circle in the air,” he said with a grin.

      Jayden squared her shoulders and inhaled a deep breath, then drew a circle. Ralph performed the trick while Jayden clapped.

      Caleb retrieved a rubber ball from his coat pocket. “He loves to fetch. Do you want to throw the ball for him?”

      “Yes!”

      As Caleb gave the toy to Jayden, Annie’s throat closed at the excitement that brightened her child’s face. She ran a few yards, winding up her arm, then lobbed the ball as far as she could. Ralph shot after it. It bounced several times and landed by the back door. Her daughter ran after the dog.

      “I’m gonna have to get her a dog. This will cinch it.”

      “Kids should have a pet. It teaches them responsibility and how to care for something other than themselves.”

      “Thanks