by Kacey Gene
“You do look--” but Jennifer’s words stop because Chris throws the entire bowl of pudding in her face. It coats her hair, her eyes, and she can feel it running into her ears.
“Who looks ridiculous now, huh?” Chris says, and she can hear him toss the bowl to the ground.
Jennifer shakes her head like a dog shakes off water. Pudding flies everywhere, but she doesn’t care. She focuses her stare on Chris, and she sets her mind to one goal: She needs to get them all out of here and away from this psychopath.
And that’s when she sees them.
The vat they’re behind is lifted off the ground, and Jennifer is stationed far enough away from it that she can see the floor on the other side. And on that floor are four golden paws, four little yellow paws, and two feet covered in shiny brown shoes.
Jake, Jennifer thinks. He’s here. She doesn’t know how he found them, and she doesn’t care because he just tipped the scales.
Jennifer almost smiles as she sees Jake’s feet and the dogs’ paws move around the vat toward where she and the others are being held hostage, but then she sees a shadow coming up behind Jake’s feet. No, Jennifer realizes. It’s not a shadow. It’s another pair of shoes -- these, though, are black boots, almost like combat boots, and they’re slowly and quietly heading straight for Jake.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Into the Pudding Pool
Jennifer knows she only has two options: 1. She can yell out and warn Jake, but that will blow his cover. 2. She can keep quiet, but that means Jake will get attacked by the person in the black boots. Either way, she loses.
As her mind jumps back and forth, she intently watches the combat boots take another step closer to Jake. They’re right behind him now. Jennifer knows she has to make a choice.
Taking in a deep breath she yells, “Watch out,” but then she sees the combat boots stop. The person is standing right behind Jake, maybe only a few feet away from him. But then Jake’s feet point directly at the combat boots and nothing happens. There’s no struggle. No scuffle. And the dogs seem to be perfectly calm.
That can only mean one thing: Whomever is in those boots is working with Jake; they’re not out to get him.
Jennifer looks up, seeing that Alexa and Chris are eyeing her like she’s the crazy one in this situation.
“Watch out,” she yells again, “because I’m going to fight back.” Jennifer says to cover up her outburst. To make it more convincing, Jennifer thrusts around in her chair, making it bang against the floor.
“Well, I’ve had just about enough of that,” Chris says, and motions for Alexa and the other two men to pay attention. “Start the machine,” he says, and the two men and Alexa move over to a wall that has a giant lever on it. One of the men muscles the lever up while Alexa pushes a combination of buttons.
A creaking that sounds like thousands of rusty hinges being opened in unison fills the room, and then the sound of a huge motor echoes through the warehouse. Jennifer sees the floor in front of her shake, and then she sees a section of the floor retract into itself. The floor opens up and below it is a giant pool of pudding.
“This is something I had installed special,” Chris says, seeing everyone’s eyes bulge in surprise and fear.
“It used to be a water reservoir, you know, in case of fires,” Chris says, “but I quickly realized that I didn’t care if this place burned to the ground, so I replaced the water with pudding. And now, it’s the place I put people I don’t ever want to see again, like…” Chris eyes Jennifer, then Junior, then Wendy, and then Wendy’s dad, Bobby. “Like, you.” Chris points directly at Bobby.
Looking over at Alexa and the two men, who are still stationed by the wall, Chris yells, “Go turn the paddle on.” The three of them scurry off to obey his orders.
Jennifer pretends to watch them, but she’s really looking for Jake’s feet, the combat boots, and the sets of paws. But, they’re not there anymore. She looks all around her, but there’s no one.
“Wait,” Jennifer says as Chris moves over to Bobby, who has sweat pouring down his face and is pleading under the tape that’s across his mouth. He also keeps his eyes on Wendy, who has tears running down her face.
“What is it, my little detective?” Chris says, but he doesn’t sidetrack his mission. He grabs hold of the back of Bobby’s chair and starts dragging him toward the pudding pool. Wendy thrashes in protest, but Chris ignores her.
“You don’t have to do this,” Jennifer says. She doesn’t know what else to say.
“Of course I do,” Chris says. “I have to tie up my loose ends if I want to get away with murder. Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” Chris says, eyeing Jennifer and shaking his head at her. But then he pauses. “Although, it doesn’t matter what loose end I tie up first. Are you volunteering to go first?” he asks with a crooked smile.
“Yes,” Jennifer says. “I want to go first.”
Chris immediately releases Bobby. He moves straight over to Jennifer. “Well, then, since this will be your last moments in life, I am going to give you something only Santa can give you.”
“And what is that?” Jennifer asks, glaring at him.
“A Christmas wish, of course,” Chris says. “Tell me anything that you want, but remember, I never was a real Santa Claus since Robert Diamont didn’t find me suitable, the old geezer, so I only grant wishes that I want to grant.”
Jennifer thinks through all of the things she could ask for. Of course she wants to ask for Junior and Wendy and Bobby to be set free, but she knows Chris will never grant her that. Nor will he grant Jennifer her own freedom. In fact, she’s not sure he’ll give her anything she wants, but as she looks at his tapping foot and smirky smile, she knows there’s one thing he can’t resist.
“Tell me how you did this,” she says.
Chris raises his eyebrows. “A clever Christmas wish,” Chris says. “And one I’m willing to grant.”
He comes up right in front of Jennifer, and sits down on the floor. “Story time,” he says, putting his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands like he’s an innocent child. He looks so ridiculous in the large red velvet suit with white puffy cuffs and a Santa hat slanted on the side of his head, but he doesn’t seem to care in the least. Although, he does rip off his beard before he starts talking.
“I’m going to give you the quick version,” Chris says, “because I really want to see you struggle and drown in that pudding pool.” He says this last part matter-of-factly. “But, you have been a good girl following the trail of clues I left for you, so…” Chris says, and then he launches into his explanation.
“Number one: See that man Bobby over there?”
Jennifer looks at Bobby who has his back to them because of the way Chris pulled his chair.
“Yes,” Jennifer says.
“Well, he and I had a deal. You see, he had his father’s will. You know the ‘Great and Powerful Will of Robert Diamont,’” Chris says theatrically. “But neither Bobby nor I wanted that will to ever see the light of day. I mean, can you believe that Robert Diamont left everything to those derelict orphan boys?”
Jennifer looks straight at Junior, who has been so frightened that he hasn’t moved a muscle. But by the way he leans toward Chris, she knows he’s listening and heard loud and clear that Robert Diamont left his fortune to the Society of Santas.
“Now don’t go getting your hopes up,” Chris says to Junior. “I plan on putting you in the pudding pool next, and no one is ever going to find the true will of Robert Diamont. And that, my dear,” he says, looking back at Jennifer, “is all thanks to you.”
“Me? How did I-- ” Chris holds his hand up to Jennifer’s mouth and muffles her words.
“I’m telling this story, my little detective,” he says. “One more interruption and into the pool you go. Understood?”
Jennifer nods.
“I planted all the clues to throw you on a trail that was not easy to follow and was also dead wrong. You know thos
e coveted A Christmas Carol books?” Chris asks. “They were fake. Those were Alexa’s from when she was a kid. But she and I planted the idea of them being so valuable in Wendy’s and John’s and then your head,” Chris says pointing to Jennifer. “Made the whole thing up about them being gifts from Robert to the Santas.”
“What about the code and--”
“Ah, ah, ah. What did I say about interrupting? That’s your last warning,” Chris says. “The code inside the books was planted by me, so it would lead all of you dummies to the stacks and stacks of pudding printouts I knew were in Fred’s building because…” Chris pauses and looks at Jennifer. “Do you want to finish the sentence? I know you want to finish the sentence.”
He’s taunting her, and Jennifer hates being taunted.
“Okay, pouty, I’ll finish the sentence. I knew those stacks were there because Fred is, well was, my brother. So now I’m assuming that you informed the police, and they’re looking for a will on those pudding printouts. Am I right? Come on, tell me I’m right,” Chris says.
“You’re right,” Jennifer answers him in full monotone.
Chris jumps to his feet and smacks his hands together. “I knew it,” he says. “So, you see, I set up everything -- from the license plate with that teacher friend of yours, who is a real dunce by the way,” he says behind his hand, “to making Bobby’s idiot of a brother, John, believe he could reprint those books and sell them for thousands of dollars each. All to lure you here and have my tracks fully covered.”
“But why?”
“Why?” Chris yells. “Let’s see, there’s the money, there’s the power, oh, and there’s the money and the power. You see, the will those police officers are going to find leaves Diamonts to me -- the son Robert always wanted as his own. Oh, and just for fun, I have Fred’s will in that building as well. You know, the will that leaves all his buildings to me.”
“You killed your own brother for a building?” Jennifer says with judgment on every one of her words.
“Ah, ah, ah,” Chris says. “Not a building, but four buildings. Four buildings that are each worth millions of dollars. And, I didn’t kill Fred. I’m not a total monster,” Chris says, scoffing at her. “My beautiful accomplice Alexa killed Fred,” he says, looking around the warehouse. “Actually, where is she? And, why isn’t the paddle on yet?”
As if his words are magic, a cranking sound reverberates throughout the warehouse and one of the arms centers itself above the pudding pool. And then, the paddle on the end of it begins to spin. Faster. And faster. And faster. It doesn’t make much sound, but its speed is terrifying.
“Perfect timing,” Chris says. “Story time is over.” He grabs ahold of the back of Jennifer’s chair and starts dragging her straight toward the pudding where he’s not only going to dump her and drown her, but he’ll put that paddle in and destroy her.
“Wait. Wait,” Jennifer yells. She pleads for him to stop. She’s run out of logic because all of her reason has been replaced with total and complete fear. All she can do now is beg for her life.
“I wouldn’t do that.” The voice comes from above them, and Jennifer would recognize it anywhere.
Finally, her chair stops moving. Chris looks up and sees what Jennifer sees. Jake has Alexa at the edge of the catwalk that is at the top of the steel vat, and he’s holding her over the side.
“Well, hello, Lieutenant,” Chris yells. “I was hoping you would join us.” Then he leans down and whispers in Jennifer’s ear, “Saves me a trip of having to find him and then kill him.”
“Let them go,” Jake says, “Or I let Alexa go.”
“No you won’t,” Chris says, keeping his eyes closely on Jake, but Jennifer lets her eyes wander, knowing that she needs to find an escape.
And that’s when she sees Erin -- in her black combat boots and police uniform. The dogs are right next to her, and they’re all peering around the vat that’s next to Junior, Wendy, and Bobby.
“Let them go, Gailey,” Jake says.
Chris brushes Jake off with a hand gesture. “I know a bad guy when I see one,” Chris says, “because I look at one every day in the mirror. You aren’t a bad guy. You won’t kill Alexa.” And just like that, Chris resumes dragging Jennifer to the pudding.
She’s only a few inches away from the edge when Chris stops. He moves from behind the chair to right in front of Jennifer. He puts his hands on the sides of the chair and says, “I want to see your face as you go in.”
The panic inside Jennifer breaks open and it feels like glass runs through her veins. Everything on her body is alive with worry.
“Bye, bye, my little detective,” Chris says, standing up and placing his foot on the front of Jennifer’s chair. With one push, she’ll be a goner.
Jennifer closes her eyes and waits to feel the thick, gelatinous substance consume her like quicksand. But when she closes her eyes, she hears something. It’s the sound of nails scraping across concrete. The sound of paws running across a hard surface.
She opens her eyes and sees the golden retriever, Lucy, running straight at Chris. And Eb is right behind Lucy.
Chris has his back turned, so before he can give Jennifer her deathly push, Lucy leaps into the side of Chris and knocks him straight into the pool of pudding. The dogs surround the pool and Jennifer can hear the heavy slapping of the pudding that’s taking place from Chris’s flailing.
“Help,” Chris yells. “I can’t swim. At least, I can’t swim in pudding. Help,” he yells, but everyone on this level is taped to a chair. And that’s when the paddle starts to descend. Chris looks up, knowing that the paddle is on a censor. The more he moves, the worse this will be, but if he stops moving, he’ll drown.
“Please. Someone turn off the switch,” he says, still flailing in the goopy pool. He looks out at Junior, Wendy, and Bobby. They’re all literally stuck to their chairs. And the paddle is getting closer. Now it’s only a few feet above him and the spinning creates a wind that Jennifer feels against the back of her head.
Erin steps out from behind the vat. She runs over to the pudding pool and reaches her hand out to Chris. She squats and in one full motion, she lifts Chris out of the pudding. The paddle stops.
“Oh, thank you,” Chris says, about to scramble to his feet, but Erin throws a pair of cuffs on his wrists and kicks his feet out from under him. Chris slams against the ground hard.
“Lucy, Eb,” Erin says, and the two dogs circle Chris. “Stand guard,” she says. Lucy growls and shows her teeth. Eb watches Lucy and then does the same. “One move, and I let them loose on you,” Erin says.
Chris is frozen. Erin pulls her zip ties from the side pocket of her pants, and she zips Chris’s ankles together.
“Alexa,” Chris yells. “Alexa.”
Jake and Alexa appear, and Jake also has the two other men who were accomplices. They’re all in cuffs, and suddenly there are red and blue lights streaming through the windows of the warehouse.
“Looks like our back-up just arrived,” Jake says to Erin. “Can you zip these three?” he asks, and Erin does just that.
“You okay?” Jake asks, coming over to Jennifer.
“How did you find us?”
Jake rips the tape off that’s keeping her trapped to the chair. “I didn’t,” he says, “they did.” He nods to the dogs, who are circling around Chris. “They followed your trail here the whole way.”
“Go help the others,” Jennifer says, seeing that Junior, Wendy, and Bobby are all shaking and crying in fear.
Jake runs over to the other three and cuts them free. Wendy immediately runs to her dad who throws his arms around her and picks her up in a giant hug.
Junior looks over at Lucy and Eb like a proud father. “Come here, you two,” he whistles to them, and both of the dogs put away their growls. Lucy gallops over to Junior, but Eb doesn’t. He looks at Jennifer, who still has her wrists bound with tape.
Eb walks over to her and jumps up in her lap. After a quick lick to the face, he p
uts his teeth on the tape around her wrists and starts chewing. He chews her free, and with those free hands, Jennifer picks up Eb and covers him in kisses.
Chapter Thirty-Six
A Different Sort of Present
No matter how many times she showers, Jennifer can’t seem to get the smell or feel of pudding off of her. As she leans into the mirror in her bathroom and applies mascara to the ends of her lashes, the events from last night flash in her memory.
The cops arrived. Alexa, Chris, and their two male accomplices were taken into custody. Jake’s dad called, saying that Sharb found the will -- after dozens of hours and hundreds of paper cuts. That’s when Jake broke the news to his dad, and Bobby Diamont produced the actual will of Robert Diamont, which he had locked away in his study at home.
And just as Chris said, Robert’s will leaves everything, his building and all his money, to the Society of Santas. Fred’s will was also found, but it had been found two days ago, by Sharb. He didn’t tell Jennifer or Jake that when he went back to investigate Fred’s house, he found Fred’s will among his books.
That’s why Sharb thought Junior was guilty. Junior’s fingerprints were on the pudding launcher, Sharb found pudding remnants in Junior’s truck, and Fred’s will gave Junior a motive.
Sharb thought the next time he’d see Junior, he would behind bars, but seeing as neither Jake nor Jennifer are pressing charges for the pudding vandalism, the next time Sharb sees Junior, it will be when Junior is running the Society of Santas and Ebenezer’s Home. And he has a partner to help him. Wendy.
After their near-death experience, Wendy’s dad -- who is facing a hefty fine for hiding Robert’s will -- really reprioritized his values. He no longer has any issue with Wendy dating Junior.
