4 The Ghost of Christmas (9 page)

Authors: K.J. Emrick

The pieces of the puzzle began to click together in Darcy’s mind. “Who was her fiancé?” she asked.

Jon frowned and shrugged. “Beats me. That wasn’t something the personnel files listed.”

Darcy bit her lip and hoped Jon would take what she had to say with the same trust he had shown her the past few days. “I uh…I communicated with Roger again. Now, before you say anything, we both know it was important and I had to do it and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you ahead of time but we’re both working so hard to figure this out and we had to know.” She was frantically twisting the antique silver ring around and around her finger as she spoke.

She stopped when he took her hands in his and held them still. “I get it,” he said softly. “I damn sure am not happy about it, Darcy, but I get it. We’ll talk about it later. Just tell me what you found out.”

Darcy swallowed, knowing he wouldn’t be satisfied until they had talked more. She promised herself to have a long talk with him as soon as all of this was figured out. For now, she had to tell him what she knew. “I saw Roger and Rose kissing and then being caught by someone. Right here in the station all of those years ago. I think whoever caught them was the one who killed Roger.”

“So who would know who Rose was engaged to?” she asked.

He smiled, standing up and stretching his back out. “The police officer’s best investigative tool of the twenty-first century, that’s who.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Why, the internet, of course,” he explained. “Come with me.”

A few minutes later a website for public records gave them the information they needed. Rose Abbington had been engaged to a man, and they had gone so far as to obtain a marriage license.

They read the name together. Darcy gasped.

Rose had been engaged to Leo Hanway.

***

Darcy had last seen Leo Hanway as he was loaning his tools to the volunteers building the stage for the pageant. In Darcy’s mind, it all made sense. The “accident” that had nearly killed Jon and her could easily have been staged by someone like Leo Hanway who had a background in construction. Now that she knew Leo had been engaged to Rose Abbington and had seen her and Roger together, that added up to motive.

“I understand why Hanway would kill Roger,” Jon said to her. “But why would he want to attack me? That I just don’t get.” They were on their way to Leo Hanway’s house right now to talk to him about the murder of Roger August twenty years ago.

Darcy had thought about that very question too. “He was in the town square when I began asking questions about Roger. He actually told me he didn’t know Roger August. So, obviously he lied, but he must have thought we were getting close to uncovering the truth. Attacking you was probably his way of making sure no one ever found out what he did.”

“You mean, attacking us,” Jon pointed out. “He had to know you’d be right there with me.”

Darcy had thought of that, too. Maybe she had been the intended target all along.

It didn’t take long for them to reach Leo Hanway’s house over on Miller Drive. When they knocked on the door Leo Hanway answered, opening it just a crack. He peered out at them through the small opening. “Jon. Darcy. What is it?”

Jon leaned closer to Leo’s face in the doorway. “We want to ask you some questions about the night of the Christmas pageant.” He didn’t specify which one.

No sooner had he said that than Leo slammed the door closed. They could hear him running back into the house. Jon turned to her with a look that clearly said “here we go again.”

Thrusting his shoulder against the door once, and then again, Jon forced it inward and they took off after Leo. At the back door to his house they caught him, pulling him back inside by the scruff of his neck and both arms even as he thought he was free and clear.

“Ow! Stop it!” Leo screamed and squirmed as Jon held one of his arms behind his back, twisting painfully. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone!”

“Sounds like an admission to me,” Jon said. “Leo Hanway, you are under arrest for assaulting a police officer and an innocent bystander, who also happens to be my girlfriend.”

Leo slumped against Jon’s grip, knowing he was beaten. Darcy waited for him to look her in the eye, then said, “We have some questions about the murder of Roger August, too.”

***

At the police station Darcy and Grace were waiting in the main office. Jon was in the interrogation room with Leo Hanway.

“So now maybe Roger can rest in peace,” Darcy said. She had been filling Grace in on the whole story, including the ‘haunted’ Santa suit.

“What a way to spend Christmas Eve,” Grace said.

Jon came into the office and stood next to the desk where they were sitting. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving it mussed and out of place. “Is everything all right?” Darcy asked.

“As fine as it can be, I suppose,” was Jon’s answer. “He confessed. He discovered that Rose and Roger were having an affair and was so upset that he decided to kill Roger. His first attempt was the night of the Christmas pageant. He dropped a sandbag from the stage on him but it only injured his leg. When that didn’t work he snuck into Roger’s house on Christmas Eve and shot him in the back. Roger never saw it coming.” Jon sat down on the other chair across from Darcy. “He also confessed to attacking me and you, Darcy. He got scared when he thought that we were getting too close to solving the case and panicked.”

“He confessed to all that?” Grace said with surprise.

“Yeah, solving this case was easy in the end. He didn’t even try to pretend it wasn’t him. He told me he doesn’t have a lot of time left. Cancer, apparently. Rose Abbington died a few years ago and he’s got no reason to keep it inside anymore, I guess. He’s very sick and was grateful just to get this off his chest. People are like that, sometimes. He did seem honestly sorry about attacking us, if that means anything.”

“So, no haunted Santa suit, then?” Grace asked with a smirk.

“No,” Darcy agreed. “No haunted Santa suit.”

***

It was late when they reached Darcy’s house and they headed straight upstairs to the bedroom. They collapsed onto the bed both too exhausted to even bother with changing out of their clothes.

“So,” Jon said, his voice thick with coming sleep, “explain something to me. Why were you having such a hard time contacting Roger’s ghost? What was standing in your way?”

Darcy rolled into him more. “Like I said, I think someone didn’t want us to know the answer. Someone, a spirit, was trying to block my efforts and that made communicating with Roger more difficult.”

“What? Who?”

“The person who loved Roger but had secrets of her own to keep. I figured it out when you told me Leo had said Rose Abbington had died. That was a piece of the puzzle we didn’t have. Rose was having an affair with Roger. She wouldn’t want that to come out. At the same time, she might have still felt something for Leo, too, and not wanted him to get in trouble.”

“Wow,” Jon said to her. “I guess true love extends even beyond the grave.”

With her head on his chest, she sighed. “Of course it does.”

Darcy was about to close her eyes when something caught her eye in the corner of the room. She tugged on Jon’s arm. “What?” he mumbled.

“Roger has returned,” she said as she pointed at the ghost shimmering in the corner. Something was different about him. His ghost seemed calmer and more peaceful. His scowl was replaced by a beaming smile and there was a glow to him that hadn’t been there before. The cold that he had always brought with him wasn’t there this time, either.

Darcy started to explain what was happening to Jon but he put a hand on her arm to stop her. “I can see him,” he whispered. There was wonder in his voice.

“Thank you so much for what you did for me. Now I can rest in peace,”
Roger said. That was all. When his ghost vanished the clock struck midnight.

Darcy turned to Jon and said, “Merry Christmas.”

He was still staring at the place where Roger had been standing. He slowly turned to look at Darcy. “How did I see him?”

“Welcome to my world,” she said, snuggling down under the covers with him.

***

Darcy slowly opened her eyes as excitement filled her from head to toe. It was Christmas. She jumped out of bed and smiled when Jon complained in his sleep. Smudge lifted his head to glare at her for being up so early and taking away part of his warmth. It seemed that she was the only one interested in starting the day.

She rushed over to the window and looked out to find that it had snowed through the night. A sigh escaped her lips at the sight of the wonderland outside of her window. Thick snow covered everything and the tree branches were hanging low under the weight of it. The morning shone clear and bright. The mists were gone again. For now.

This day was going to be the best Christmas ever, she just knew it. She spent a few moments thinking about the night before when Jon had seen Roger’s ghost. That had been a true gift. He would never doubt what she could see now. Not after seeing Roger for himself. She truly felt that their troubles were behind them at last.

She took a quick shower and headed back into the bedroom to dress. She found Jon awake and looking out of the window. “It snowed overnight,” he said, happy and a little drowsy still. His hair was sticking up at all angles and he looked adorable. Smudge was nowhere to be seen now and Darcy figured he was probably in the kitchen already waiting for his breakfast.

Jon came over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Merry Christmas Darcy,” he said as he lowered his head to kiss her lips.

“Jon,” she laughed, “I’m naked!”

“Oh, how scandalous,” he teased.

He was so nice and warm and she snuggled in closer to him. They stood like that for a few minutes and then she said, “Come on we need to get ready. Grace and Aaron will be here soon.”

“Spoil sport.” Jon grinned at her and then sobered. “About last night…”

“Roger’s ghost. I know.” She shook her head as she picked out her clothes. “I don’t know what to tell you, Jon. It was real, I can tell you that. And, I can tell you I’m very happy that it happened. Let’s just call it a Christmas miracle and leave it at that, okay? At least for now.”

Jon nodded. “I can do that. I could help you get dressed, too, if you want?”

She laughed as he made a grab for her. “Go get showered,” she squealed, happy to be with the man she loved on this magical Christmas day.

***

The fire flickered and danced in the fireplace as Darcy, Jon, Grace and her husband Aaron all sat around Darcy’s decorated Christmas tree. There was a lot of laughter and joking going on as they exchanged gifts.

“Wow, thank you so much for this book Darcy, I’ve been looking forward to this one.” Aaron smiled at her as he flipped through the pages of the latest spy novel. Grace was trying on her new boots from Aaron and was walking backwards and forwards in front of him pretending she was in a fashion parade.

Jon handed Darcy a brightly wrapped gift and said, “I hope you like this.”

She ripped the wrapping away and sucked in a breath when she found a rare copy of one of her favorite books, Mansfield Park. “Oh my, Jon…” She looked at him watching her. “This is so…I have no words to describe how much this means to me. Thank you.” She leaned into him and kissed him. “I love you,” she said in a low voice that only he could hear.

His face broke into a beautiful smile as she handed him his gift. “Merry Christmas Jon.” She’d been dying to give this to him.

He ripped the paper off the small box and slowly flipped the lid off. He stared at the contents for a moment and then looked up at her shaking his head. “Is this what I think it is?”

“What do you think it is?” She said teasingly. By now Grace and Aaron had stopped their fooling around and were watching with interest.

Jon took the end of the ribbon that was inside of the box and pulled it out slowly to reveal a brand new shiny key hanging from the end. He laid the key in the palm of his hand, almost reverently, and stared at it.

“Is this…?” he tried to ask. “Are you…?”

Darcy was amused at his surprise. “Yes, Jon. I’m asking you to move in with me.”

She squeaked when he hauled her into his arms.

“I love you so much Darcy.” And then they were kissing each other passionately and the world disappeared.

Until Grace said, “About time.”

A loud crashing noise had them pulling apart in alarm. Darcy turned to find that her Christmas tree was sprawled across the floor with decorations spewed everywhere. And there sitting on top of the upturned tree was Smudge looking very pleased with himself.

The four of them looked at each other before breaking out into laughter. Smudge may have accepted Jon being part of Darcy’s life, but he wasn’t above reminding them that he was the center of attention.

Darcy picked him up from the tree and held him in a tight hug. “Merry Christmas to you, too, Smudge.”

The End

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