Meltdown in Christmas River

by Meg Muldoon

  He studied me with a worried expression.

  “I’m okay,” I said softly. “Really.”

  “I’m so sorry, Cin,” he whispered, shifting his attention to the fire. “It’s all my fault.”

  “It’s nobody’s fault. It just—”

  I let out a sigh.

  “It just happened. And luckily, it’s over and I’m here and not…”

  I trailed off, feeling a blistering chill snake through my body.

  “I should have been the one keeping an eye on you all day,” he said. “I shouldn’t have put Billy in charge of something that important. I misjudged things so badly. So, so badly.”

  A deep gouge of disappointment formed between his eyebrows.

  “There’s not much I can say except that I’m sorry, Cin. I really let you down.”

  I’d been through a lot in the last week.

  I’d been the subject of gossip and ridicule. I’d found a dead body. I’d come face to face with the killer. And I’d been forced to be the killer’s getaway driver.

  I’d been able to handle it all, more or less.

  But what I couldn’t handle was Daniel blaming himself.

  “You’ve never let me down,” I whispered. “Don’t say that.”

  I let out an unsteady breath, gazing into his eyes.

  “Bad things just happen sometimes and you can’t always see them coming. If you did, you’d get out of the way.”

  He shook his head.

  I knew that for him, the explanation wouldn’t be sufficient. At the end of the day, he’d still hold himself responsible.

  “I can’t stop thinking about what could have happened to you,” he said. “And what I would have done if that creep had…”

  He trailed off, swallowing hard.

  “Cin – if I ever lost you, I don’t know what—”

  I couldn’t hear it anymore.

  I leaned over, hugging him hard.

  “You won’t, Daniel. I’m here. I’m right here.”

  He didn’t let me go until the first grays of dawn appeared out the window.

  Chapter 53

  “Do you think Utley really killed Moira?”

  Daniel took his eyes off the road for a moment to glance at me.

  I drew in a deep breath, thinking about what Kent Utley had said.

  The sun had come up red that morning, rising through pale December clouds. It cast an eerie, sinister glow over our little mountain town, and as we drove to the sheriff’s station, I felt a sensation of unease deep in my bones.

  The weatherman on the radio had said temperatures would warm up today and continue to be warmer than usual through the weekend. He predicted that there’d be flooding in Christmas River as the snow piled high on town streets began melting. He recommended people leave their suede shoes at home.

  Daniel hooked a slow right, avoiding a large puddle that was already starting to form on Fir Avenue.

  He looked over at me again – I realized that he was still waiting for a response.

  I thought about those haunting blue eyes floating behind me in the rearview mirror.

  “When I first heard his voice behind me? I knew he had done it – I was convinced he’d killed her. And I was convinced he was going to kill me, too,” I said. “But then he let me go, so…”

  I trailed off.

  So why hadn’t he killed me? If he really was Moira’s murderer, why let me go?

  I shook my head.

  No. A convicted killer shows up in town and shortly after, someone gets murdered.

  There could only be one logical explanation.

  Of course he’d done it.

  I gulped hard, looking out the window as we passed Meadow Plaza. The bulbs on the big Christmas tree were flickering, casting a cheerful glow over the snow-covered cobblestone.

  It looked cozy and festive.

  But I couldn’t seem to feel any of that Christmas spirit.

  “Any updates about the manhunt?” I asked.

  “Nothing real yet,” Daniel said. “But we’ll get lucky today or tomorrow. It’s gonna warm up here, but the nights will still be freezing in the woods. If we don’t get to him first, he’ll either freeze to death or turn up somewhere nearby.”

  I nodded, glancing up in the rearview mirror. A familiar old man in an SUV was driving behind us – watching our every move.

  When Warren heard about my ordeal, he’d assigned himself to be my very own bodyguard until Kent Utley was caught. My grandfather had camped outside our house all night, refusing to even come in for coffee this morning. He said he had to stay out there to make sure nobody tried to break in.

  Good old Warren.

  “That thing Utley said… when he mentioned the word kin. Do you think he’s really related to Moira somehow?” Daniel asked.

  I pulled my coat tighter around my waist, going over those bone-chilling words again in my head.

  “He said something like ‘she wouldn’t help her,’” I said. “And he mentioned the word ‘mom,’ too. But he wasn’t making sense. He was rocking back and forth and…”

  I trailed off.

  I was having a hard time talking about it without my throat getting thick with emotion.

  Daniel reached over, squeezing my knee.

  “Sorry, Cin,” he said. “We don’t have to talk about this—”

  “It’s okay. It’s good. They say that talking helps, right?”

  Daniel nodded. But there was an injured expression on his face, and it hurt me to see it.

  I knew he still blamed himself for what happened.

  Silence fell over the car for a long moment.

  I cleared my throat.

  “Maybe he is related to her somehow,” I said. “Otherwise, what’s he doing in Christmas River? I mean, why here? ”

  Two-hundred miles from the nearest interstate, most people didn’t end up in Christmas River by accident.

  “There wasn’t any mention of heirs in Moira’s will,” Daniel said. “Moira had a sister, but we haven’t been able to locate her and there’s virtually no record on her. Only what a few old timers told me. Apparently, Moira never spoke about her sister. But maybe this Kent Utley is a nephew. He’s about the right age.”

  Daniel pulled up into the Sheriff’s station parking lot.

  “The other scenario is that Moira could have had a secret, Cin. Something she never told anyone.”

  I furrowed my brow.

  “Kent could be her son.”

  Even as it seemed like a real possibility, I had trouble believing that upstanding Moira – the town’s worst gossip who liked to think of herself as the moral pulse of Christmas River – would have such a secret.

  “Either way, it’s something we can find out relatively easily with DNA tests,” Daniel continued. “We have Moira’s, and Kent’s is in the database from his previous crime. It just might take some time for the results to come in.”

  We parked in the station’s lot. In the side mirror, I saw Warren pull up in the parking space behind us.

  Daniel looked over at me.

  “But before then, Cin – I want you to know that we’re going to find him and put him in jail where he belongs. You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve got you. Okay?”

  I nodded.

  There was a look of determination in Daniel’s eyes.

  “Kent Utley’s not gonna hurt anybody ever again,” he said.

  I believed him.

  Chapter 54

  “No, really. Don’t come to The Junction tomorrow, Cin. You need to put you first and get better. I’ll do just fine on my own. Seriously.”

  I sat curled up in an arm chair in Daniel’s office, looking out the window, pressing the phone to my ear.

  I was regretting not opening the pie shop today. I liked being here at the station with Daniel, but there wasn’t a whole lot for me to do except sit and think about Kent Utley and Moira and whether I’d ever get that image of a murderer in my own backseat out of my mind.
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  I would have rather been making up a batch of Pear Hazelnut or Butterscotch Pillow pies right about now instead of being useless.

  “After what you’ve been through, Cin, I’m sure being in a big crowd of people is the very last place you’d want to be,” Brad continued. “So don’t feel bad about not coming. Okay? I’ll stop by afterwards and tell you how it all went.”

  He was right – the thought of going to the competition tomorrow and being surrounded by all those people didn’t sound like much fun.

  But I wouldn’t abandon Brad like that.

  He’d need me there tomorrow. He just didn’t realize it yet.

  “I appreciate the concern, but I’m fine,” I said. “And there’s no way I’m going to miss—”

  I stopped talking as I heard footsteps at the open office door.

  I looked up.

  “Sorry – do you think I can call you back in a minute, Brad?”

  “Of course. You know where to find me – elbow deep in buttercream frosting and tossing back energy drinks like there’s no tomorrow.”

  I smiled, hung up, and slipped the phone into the pocket of my fleece jacket.

  He stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. He took his hat off, fidgeting with it for a long, awkward moment.

  I wasn’t any saint. Right after Kent Utley had taken me hostage, I’d been angry at Billy for putting me in that bad situation.

  Very angry.

  But now, seeing how nervous he was, I had trouble feeling anything but compassion for the deputy.

  “Mrs. Brightman, I just wanted to say how very, very sorry I am and that…”

  Shame ran through his voice like fat in a slab of T-Bone steak.

  I could tell that he was having a hard time keeping it together.

  “Daniel told me all about it, Billy,” I said. “I know you were just trying to catch Utley before he hurt anybody. You couldn’t have known what was going to happen.”

  “But it was the wrong thing to do,” he said. “The Sheriff asked me to watch you specifically so that what happened wouldn’t happen. I abandoned my post. I failed.”

  He sucked in a deep breath, unable to meet my eyes.

  “And worse, I abandoned you, Mrs. Brightman. You could have been killed, and there I was, arresting a harmless drunk.”

  He cleared his throat and blinked his eyes several times, as if he’d just inhaled something spicy.

  But I knew it was a cover.

  Billy was about to break into tears.

  I stood up.

  “We all make mistakes, Billy. And for what it’s worth, I don’t blame you for what happened. I know that—”

  Just then, the door to the office opened. Daniel stepped in, carrying a file under one arm, looking happy about something. It seemed as though he was about to speak, but he stopped when he saw Billy standing there.

  “Oh – sorry to interrupt,” he said.

  “I was just apologizing to Mrs. Brightman for what happened yesterday,” Billy said in a hoarse voice. “And I came in because I… I had something I needed to speak to you about.”

  He uttered the last part so quietly that I could barely make out what he was saying.

  I glanced at Daniel, and then I went for my coat draped over the chair.

  “I’ll just wait outside—” I started saying.

  “No,” Billy said. “I don’t mind. You’ll know about it soon enough anyway. Everyone will.”

  Daniel’s eyebrows drew together in concern.

  “What do you mean, Billy?”

  The young deputy sniveled.

  Then he reached over his left breast pocket, unclipped the gold metal star, and walked over.

  He gently set the badge down on the desk.

  “Sheriff Brightman – I hereby resign from the Pohly County Sheriff’s Office. I’m doing this because I am no longer worthy of my appointment as a deputy sheriff.”

  Stunned silence filled the room.

  Daniel didn’t respond for a long, long time.

  Then he finally cleared his throat.

  “I know you feel guilty about what happened to Cin yesterday, Billy. But you can’t quit over it,” Daniel said in a somber voice. “You’re not the only one to blame for it, either. I shouldn’t have given you that kind of responsibility. It wasn’t fair to you.”

  “No,” Billy said, shaking his head. “It was my post – my fault. Anyone can see that I’m to blame.”

  Daniel peered into the young deputy’s face.

  “You’re a valued member of the team, son. We need you here. And more than that, I believe in you. You’re good law enforcement. One bad decision doesn’t change that. Don’t throw your whole career away over this.”

  I was surprised at the kindness in Daniel’s tone.

  Maybe he was having trouble staying mad at Billy, too.

  The young deputy looked down at the ground.

  “It’s not just about that one wrong decision,” he said. “It’s about two wrong decisions, Sheriff.”

  Billy let out a nervous cough. He looked past us out the window.

  I’d never seen anybody look so ashamed.

  “I did it, Sheriff,” he said. “I’m the one who stole that money.”

  Chapter 55

  I later found out that Daniel had come in the office to tell me that they’d found Kent Utley hiding in a hunting cabin up at Mirror Lake. Moira’s murderer had been apprehended and arrested, and was now being hauled into the county jail.

  But after Billy’s revelation, the fact that Moira’s killer had been caught didn’t feel as good as it should have.

  I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, either.

  In the years that I had known and loved him, I had rarely seen Daniel stunned by anything. But Billy’s revelation about stealing the money had sent him into a state of absolute shock. He’d been unable to say anything to Billy for a full minute after he’d confessed to the theft, and even then, it had seemed as though he had trouble finding the words.

  Daniel hadn’t seen it coming.

  None of us had.

  When Daniel asked why he’d stolen the money, Billy had given us a simple, vague, explanation.

  “Greed, Sheriff. That’s all I can tell you. Plain greed.”

  I hated thinking that anyone at the office was capable of stealing that money. But if I’d had to make a list starting with the most likely and ending with the least likely to do it, Billy would have come in dead last.

  He was always such a straightforward, honest person. Stealing like that seemed so far out of character for him.

  But there was that lesson again – the same one that I never seemed to learn no matter how many times I had a chance to.

  You might see a person every day, laugh with them, share stories with them, and think you have a good idea of what makes them tick. But when it came down to it, more times than not, you didn’t have the foggiest idea about who they really were.

  And maybe underneath that bashful, friendly façade, there was something else in Billy Jasper. Another side that he’d kept from the rest of the world until now.

  Daniel had yet to accept his resignation officially, but the young deputy had immediately been put on administrative leave following his confession. He would be subject to a thorough investigation before Daniel decided what course of action to take.

  But it seemed more like a formality than anything else. The Sheriff’s Office demanded integrity and honesty from all of its employees, and if Billy was lucky, the least of what he’d get was fired.

  The whole thing left a bitter taste in my mouth.

  I stayed in the Sheriff’s Office that afternoon, listening to the pitter-patter of rain hit the window pane. That warming trend the weatherman had predicted was here, turning the snow into fat raindrops.

  I paced the carpeted floor, peeking out the blinds every now and then, watching Daniel address the crowd of reporters who had gathered for the final news conference. From my vantage point
, I couldn’t see Daniel’s face, but I could see the faces of the TV anchors and news journalists well enough. They looked like a pack of hungry wolves, eating up every word Daniel said like a fresh kill. Marla Browning, who was standing at the very front, looked particularly ravenous as she scribbled in her notepad.

  I ran a hand through my hair, listening as Daniel addressed the crowd outside and told them what he’d already told me half an hour earlier.

  How Kent Utley had been found in an old hunting shelter by Mirror Lake. How he’d put up a fight and had come after Lt. Delgado with a knife. How she’d been able to dodge the attack and subdue him before he could hurt anybody.

  How once he’d been arrested, the deputies had found something in Kent Utley’s possession.

  Something damning.

  Moira’s wallet and checkbook.

  It put him at the murder scene and practically placed that snow shovel in his hands the morning Moira was killed. And though Moira’s little red book of gossip was still missing, it didn’t matter – the police had plenty to go on.

  “Mrs. Brightman?”

  I turned around to see Liv standing in the doorway.

  I suddenly felt a wave of guilt, remembering how I’d come so close to talking to her about that stolen money.

  Liv might have been on the unfriendly side, but that didn’t make her a thief.

  “Hi, Liv,” I said, letting the blinds drop.

  “Are you doing okay in here?”

  There was a measure of kindness in her voice that caught me off guard. The expression on her face caught me off guard, too. For a moment, I thought she might have actually been concerned about me.

  “Uh… yeah, I’m hanging in,” I said, letting out a sigh. “Sorry about having to change our coffee date to Monday.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “You’ve just been through hell.”

  I forced a sad smile in her direction. She bit her lip and lingered there for a minute.

  She seemed like she was about to say something, but then stopped before the words formed.

  I furrowed my brow as she struggled some more.

  “I, uh…”

  She let out a frustrated sigh.