Home for the Holidays

by Terry Spear

  “Hell, you’re not serious,” Tom said.

  “Yeah, I know. Unbelievable. It’s bad enough that those men had to die down here, but to think it was deliberate? Everyone in the pack will be furious, but I’ll discuss more of it later.”

  “You found him?” Tom sounded surprised Peter would know all this if he hadn’t located Rollins and learned it from him.

  Peter glanced up at Meghan as she was climbing out of the mine. “Uh, no. None of us have located him. Let’s just say Meghan has some insight into the matter.”

  “She’s seen some of the ghosts.”

  “Yes, a couple of the miners. They saw Rollins headed this way, but they don’t know if he left or not.”

  “We’ll keep searching.”

  “All right. Just be on the lookout in case he’s still running around down here and could be armed and dangerous.”

  “I wish I had Meghan’s…insight,” Tom said.

  Peter let out his breath. “Yeah, I’ll keep in touch. Out here.” He guessed if her ability could help solve criminal cases, that was a good thing. He still had a hard time really envisioning she could speak to and see ghosts. He joined Meghan outside the mine.

  “What did Tom say?” Meghan asked.

  Peter suspected she wasn’t as interested in hearing if Tom had found any evidence Rollins was down here as she was in knowing what Tom thought about her abilities. He was Darien’s youngest triplet brother and somewhat sensitive to sightings.

  CJ joined them after that.

  “Tom said he wished he had your talent. It could make our job much easier.” Peter paused before he added, “I feel the same way.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on it. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. I feel bad for the spirits who are stuck where they died and can’t find their final resting place.”

  “I guess you’re right.” It was bad enough seeing people die, but to have to witness their spirits left behind? Then again, if someone had been murdered, the spirit could tell him right then and there who did it. Couldn’t it? Maybe not if they hadn’t known the person. Peter was drawing sketches of criminals to try to locate them, and he thought how bizarre that would be, to draw the face of an assailant from the recollection of a ghost. But next time he had a murder case he was working, he wouldn’t hesitate to see if Meghan could help him with it.

  * * *

  Meghan still couldn’t believe how patient Peter had been with her when she was certain he was anxious to go after Rollins and make sure the bastard couldn’t attack her like he had attacked Bill.

  When they arrived at the inn, she wasn’t sure whether Peter was going to drop her off so he could get back to his work or continue helping her.

  He kissed her before he escorted her inside the inn, no holds barred. He pressed her back against his car and held her face in his hands, his warm mouth sweeping across hers, his tongue licking the seam, and then she parted her lips to accept his intimate touch.

  She wrapped her arms around his buttocks and pulled him tight. She couldn’t feel his arousal because of their coats, but she had the sudden urge to tease him just a little. She opened his coat and hers and then pulled his heated body against hers, rubbing and loving the hot and hard feel of him. His hands slipped up her sweater, and he caressed her breasts. She moaned, enjoying the feel of his warm hands against her breasts.

  “You’re so beautiful, Meghan.” His breath was frosty mist in the cold air.

  She smiled up at him and then kissed him again, their tongues tangling and lips sliding against each other. “So. Are. You.”

  He cleared his rough throat and kissed her cold nose. “Your sisters are most likely watching us.”

  “And whoever’s here still guarding them, making sure we’re not the bad guy.”

  Peter chuckled. “Hopefully, no one is shooting videos this time.”

  “Not my sisters, and the guys wouldn’t dare do it either.”

  Peter wrapped his arm around Meghan’s shoulders and walked her to the entrance of the inn. As soon as he opened the door, both her sisters quickly moved away from the windows, but not before she caught them at it. Not that she was surprised. Wolves were innately curious creatures when it came to wolf relationships and particularly because she was their sister. They were dying to know if Peter and she were ever going to become mated wolves. Of the three sisters, she could be the most impulsive, but at other times, she was extremely cautious. Especially where relationships were concerned. She’d even been slow to warm up to Bill. After she had dated him for six months, she’d finally told him about Rollins, and that had been the end between them.

  “How did it go with Alvin?” Laurel asked. “Did you see him?”

  Trevor had stationed himself in the lobby, while Jake returned to the sitting area in the back of the inn to guard the women.

  “Chrissy has been quiet, waiting for word from you about Alvin,” Ellie said quietly.

  “I did manage to speak with him,” Meghan said.

  Immediately, Chrissy appeared in the lobby. “He’s alive?”

  “He…he died in a mining accident six months after you died,” Meghan said. Then she relayed everything Alvin had shared with her.

  As soon as Meghan mentioned the locket he’d gotten Chrissy for Christmas, Chrissy touched her throat. “I want to see it.”

  “It’s…it’s buried with you at the cemetery.” Meghan was afraid Chrissy would burst into tears.

  Instead, Chrissy folded her arms. “I never got to see it. I want to.”

  Meghan turned to Peter. “How difficult would it be to exhume Chrissy’s body so she can see her Christmas locket? The ground’s probably frozen.”

  Peter shook his head. “Alvin’s parents paid for a tomb for both their remains, their son’s, and a wife, should he have one. Alvin paid for Chrissy to be entombed there. I’ll check with Darien and Lelandi, though.”

  Chrissy smiled.

  Peter called it in to Darien and updated him on the situation with Rollins being their former pack member. “Okay, thanks, Darien.” Peter said to Meghan, “Are you ready to go to the cemetery?”

  “Yeah.” She glanced at her sisters. “You’re okay with me not staying here to help run the inn?”

  “Are you kidding?” Laurel said. “We need this resolved.”

  “Okay.” Meghan told them about the Frasers and wanting to run by there after she did this for Chrissy and Alvin, if it wasn’t getting too late by then.

  “Take all the time you need,” Laurel said.

  “Thanks.” Meghan and Peter headed outside to his car.

  “Because of you, we have a lead on where Rollins has been staying,” Peter said, and after he got her door for her, he climbed into the driver’s seat. He seemed glad she’d helped in that regard. “Besides taking this bastard down, I want to help in whatever way I can in assisting these men—and Chrissy—to find the peace they deserve.”

  Meghan was surprised Peter would get behind her on this. And she was glad. “How many died in the mine?”

  “We’ve lost twenty-three men. Well, twenty-two. Scrapper was listed as one of the men killed in the first mine collapse. The two survivors said no one got out but them, according to a newspaper account back then, Brett said. They had missed one of the bodies, figuring he had fallen down a shaft.”

  “So his body was the only one not recovered.”

  “Correct. During the second tunnel collapse, the men were even deeper in the mine.”

  “How awful. Your offer to help means the world to me.”

  “I just wish I could really be a help to you and that you didn’t have to repeat everything the ghosts said.” Peter drove her to the cemetery where Darien was having men meet them.

  She hoped this would finally work to release Chrissy from their world.

  * * *

  Three men were wearing
their wolf coats while standing guard as others opened the coffin inside the tomb.

  Inside the coffin were the skeletal remains and the locket Chrissy had worn in death. Meghan moved in closer to look. Peter wondered if Chrissy would suddenly appear for her here. This whole day had been pretty bizarre. Though he had to admit that was one thing that made Meghan so interesting. She was totally unpredictable.

  He wasn’t sure what she hoped to do. He’d asked Meghan, but she’d said they never knew until they investigated the situation further.

  “We should take her locket with us,” Meghan finally said as the snow continued to fall.

  Peter felt as though he’d quickly been immersed in a class titled Ghostly Encounters 101.

  “Can we take the locket with us?” Meghan asked Peter again.

  “She has no other relatives who would object. If it helps her, I’d say go for it.”

  “Okay, we’ll take it back to the inn right away and return it to her coffin when we’re done,” Meghan said.

  Peter put the locket in a plastic baggie and then drove them back to the inn.

  When they entered, the bagged locket in Meghan’s hand, Laurel fetched one of Chrissy’s empty Victorian boxes from the library where they’d kept it for decoration, and they carefully placed the locket inside. Peter hoped this wouldn’t backfire when Chrissy saw the shape the locket was in.

  Laurel opened her mouth and said, “Chrissy—” Before she could say anything further, Ellie stopped her.

  “Some of our guests have returned.”

  “Upstairs?” Meghan asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We’ll see if she’ll meet with us downstairs,” Laurel said.

  Both she and Meghan went downstairs with the box, and Peter followed behind them, hoping this would help send Chrissy to her final resting place once and for all.

  Chapter 9

  Normally, Meghan would have been manning the front desk by now if it hadn’t been for all this ghost business.

  Meghan called out to Chrissy as Laurel set the box on the bed in Chrissy’s old room. When there was no sign of Chrissy, Meghan thought she wasn’t going to make an appearance. Suddenly, Chrissy was standing next to the bed, staring into the box, her hands clasped together, tears filling her eyes. “It’s the most beautiful locket I’ve ever owned. Tell Alvin thank you. I remember it from the shop.” She pointed to her dresser. “I have Alvin’s gift in there.”

  Meghan’s heart sank. The furniture from the basement rooms had been in storage, and when the sisters purchased the inn, Darien had given the furniture to them. The dressers were empty for their guests’ use. She didn’t know what had become of Chrissy’s things.

  “The drawers are empty,” Meghan finally said.

  “Oh, I know. It’s behind it. Or underneath. I can’t remember.”

  Meghan was about to get on her hands and knees, but Peter asked what she needed.

  “Chrissy says she might have put something underneath the dresser.”

  Peter got down on his hands and knees and reached under the dresser. He felt around and then tugged at something, finally freeing a large envelope, and handed it to Meghan.

  Feeling elated, Meghan glanced at Chrissy.

  “Yes, yes, that’s it.”

  “Do you want me to open it?” Meghan asked, being respectful of Chrissy’s wishes.

  Getting to his feet, Peter said, “Yes.”

  The ladies all laughed.

  “Yes,” Chrissy said.

  Meghan opened the envelope and pulled out a men’s handkerchief, a beautifully hand-embroidered wolf in the woods and Alvin’s initials on one corner.

  “It’s beautiful,” Laurel said.

  “It is,” Meghan agreed. “Did you want me to give the gift to Alvin?”

  “With his card,” Chrissy said. “I guess I put it behind the dresser.”

  Laurel and Meghan began to pull the dresser away from the wall, but Peter hurried to put his back into it.

  A handmade Christmas card in an envelope was taped to the back of the chest.

  To my love, Alvin, Merry Christmas, Chrissy.

  A hand-drawn Christmas tree and doves decorated the card.

  “You did this artwork?” Meghan asked. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you. Yes. He loved my artwork. And my embroidery. I had made his mother pillowcases with the same wolf and forest embroidered on them. He loved it so much he kept them after she died. I wanted to make something for him that he could carry close to his heart.”

  “He will love the card and gift,” Meghan said, Laurel agreeing. But Meghan knew she couldn’t really give them to him. And what would she do with them afterward? She sighed. Then she had a thought. They could bury them with his body, just like the locket would be buried again with Chrissy’s. She hoped Darien would be agreeable to having his men open another coffin, but she had to share the gifts with Alvin first.

  “Will you give it to him? Now? Please?” Chrissy begged. Her eyes were full of tears again. “He loves me. I love him. He’s shared his Christmas gift for me. I want him to have my Christmas gift for him.”

  No way did Meghan want to return to the mine again right now, and she figured no one else would want to accompany her there either, again. “Yes, I will. Tomorrow. It’s getting late.”

  “What about your locket?” Laurel asked.

  “You said I am wearing it? Then that’s where it belongs.”

  “Do you want me to run you by the cemetery?” Peter asked.

  Meghan was glad Peter seemed to realize how important this was to them. She said, “Yes. I’ll return to the mine tomorrow.” What if she couldn’t see Alvin right away? She could pretend she saw him and tell Chrissy he loved the gift and card, but unless Meghan was protecting a ghost’s feelings, she didn’t lie to them.

  They went upstairs and joined Ellie and Trevor in the lobby. Meghan told Ellie what Chrissy wanted. “Is it okay with you if I leave again?” Meghan asked Ellie, since she was supposed to be manning the desk now.

  “Yeah, go ahead. You’ve started the dialogue with Alvin and the other miner and Chrissy. Laurel and I will help when we can.” Ellie glanced at Laurel as if she should have asked her first.

  She was the oldest sister, by ten minutes, and they were used to her making a lot of the decisions, though she always wanted their input.

  Laurel agreed. “That’s the way we do this. They seem to be willing to talk to you, and as long as that works, that’s what we need to do.”

  “I told them we’d all help,” Meghan said.

  “And we will, when you need us.”

  Meghan knew her sisters were glad they didn’t have to take this on right away.

  * * *

  When Peter returned Meghan to the inn, he got a call from his deputy Trevor, telling him they might have found some fur left by a wolf that had no scent. “Okay, I’ll join you,” Peter told him. Then he said to Meghan, “Dinner tonight, if I don’t get held up with the business with the rogue wolf?”

  “I’d like that.”

  If it got too late, he’d have to cancel. He kissed her and then took off for old Bastion’s place. The wolf had no family. When he died, no one in the pack had wanted the old farmhouse because repairs or renovations would be too costly, and so it had sat as a weathered old building, looking the worse for wear every year that went by. It reminded Peter of his own old homestead and how the pack needed to knock down the old buildings that hadn’t been used in years. The pack always reclaimed the land when the taxes weren’t paid.

  Peter soon reached the old place and met up with some of their men, searching for any other signs of a wolf they couldn’t identify by scent. Using flashlights, the men who didn’t shift moved in a line to look for any clues. Peter and another couple of men stripped and shifted to cover more territory and kep
t their noses to the ground, trying to find a trace of Rollins’s scent. And then he found it. Some of the hunter’s concealer must have rubbed off on the wolf’s feet, and Peter could smell a hint of him. The scent glands between Rollins’s toes had given him away.

  His heart thundering with excitement at the prospect of the hunt, Peter barked to let the others in the vicinity know that he’d found something. He could have howled, but his wolf’s voice would have carried too far. Even his bark could be heard a distance from here. If the wolf was nearby, he would be aware they’d caught on to him. Still, Peter needed to ensure he had backup before he proceeded.

  He continued to move in the direction the wolf had taken and heard the river nearby. Disheartened that Rollins could be washing away his scent in the water, Peter hoped the wolf would leave another trail they could follow once he left the river.

  Several of the men joined him at a run, and then they headed for the river. The wolves swam across while the lupus garous who hadn’t shifted split up and continued searching alongside the river, downstream and upstream. Peter hadn’t gone far when he smelled that the wolf had taken a dump. Wolf scat sat in a pile near some rocks, and the wolf had kicked snow back with his hind feet to cover it, but then he had headed back into the river.

  They searched for hours and finally gave up. Wolves could trot five miles per hour, searching for food for thirty miles a day, but with methodically looking for clues, they didn’t go that far. They must have gone ten miles in either direction alongside the river when Peter called off the search.

  It was late when he got home and called Meghan. He was afraid he’d woken her. “Hey, sorry about not getting together with you tonight.”

  “No problem. Trevor kept me posted as to what you all were doing. I’m just glad everyone is safe. I can’t believe Rollins would leave wolf scat anywhere you might be searching for him.”

  Peter chuckled. “When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Can I pick you up tomorrow to return to the mine to look for Alvin?”