All for a Little Christmas

by Olivia Hardin

  “She’s inside with Officer Lipton and Father Bertaut. There was a statue stolen from the church this morning. A statue of the Christ-child.”

  “Hmmm.” I chewed on that a minute, bringing my hand up to my new beard and stroking it. “Guess I’ll go on in there and see what’s going.”

  “Mommy’s in there,” Michelle told me, walking right up to me with big trusting blue eyes. “Can I come?”

  “Oh, baby, Officer Guillory has work to do.”

  I shook my head and put my hand out for the little one. She clasped my big finger with a beaming grin. “Nah, she can come along. Besides, I’m not an officer anymore. I’m retired.”

  While I walked with the little one, I had the feeling she was wrapping her little fingers around my heart. Tough guy, eh? I chided myself.

  “Well, hello there,” Hope exclaimed as I entered the church. Little Michelle let go of my hand and ran to her momma, letting the woman lift her up into her arms. When Eva turned and looked at me, I was mesmerized by her. Her blue eyes widened as she assessed me from top to bottom.

  She looked good, even in a plain black pant suit with a very modest button-down beige shirt underneath. I suspected she tried to downplay her feminine traits for the job. When we’d gone out for coffee, it was usually after she’d been on duty. She would leave the jacket behind and open up the top few buttons on her shirt. I would testify in a court of law that the hints of sexy tan skin she teased were enough to drive any man wild.

  So intent was my attention on Eva as she walked away with Father Bertaut that I didn’t realize Hope was moving in close to hug me. She wrapped her arms around my waist and leaned in to brush her cheek against mine.

  “I wanted to go see you after the trial, you know.” She smiled as she stepped back, heaving Michelle up to adjust the girl’s weight. “Van thought it wasn’t a good idea, at least not until my probation was over. Then we moved, and things got so busy. But I wanted you to know how much we appreciated what you did. If not for you …”

  My grin was sheepish, and my cheeks felt heated. Tough guys don’t blush. “Don’t mention it, Mrs. Rawley. How is Van, anyway?”

  Her defense attorney was an out-of-towner, which could have proved bad for Hope. Our local judges didn’t care for big-city Dallas attorney pushing their weight around. But Van had charisma and was impressive in the courtroom.

  “Oh, well, he and Kay were married earlier this, year you know.”

  “Lucky SOB.” I shook my head, remembering the attractive blonde attorney he’d had by his side in the courtroom. She’d also just happened to be Brennan Rawley’s cousin.

  “I think he’d agree with that assessment.”

  We both turned when we heard footsteps, and my eyes clashed with Eva’s again as she and Father Bertaut approached. I still had a smile on my lips, and it only got a little wider as she headed straight for me.

  “Guillory, glad you could come out.”

  “Good to see you too, Lipton. So I hear we’ve got another kidnapping.”

  I winked at Hope, then we all said our goodbyes as she left the church. “So what have we got?”

  Eva slapped her pad against her palm. “We’ve got a person of interest, so to speak. Father, do you know where we could find Collins? Where does he work?”

  The padre frowned, slipping his hands into his pockets. “He doesn’t work, not for about a year now. Got hurt in the oil field. The last I heard, he was staying at the men’s house. You know, the one out west of here.”

  I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest. “I know where it is. The one the Salvation Army used to run?”

  “That’s it. It’s privately operated now. I can’t recall the name of it.”

  “Thanks, Father,” Eva told him with a smile lovely enough it warmed my insides. “We’ll let you know what we find. C’mon, Guillory. Might as well put you to work.”

  I followed her out of the church, then we paused just the other side of the door. She glanced left and stared at my green Jeep a minute, then turned right where her black car was parked. Finally, she pointed at mine.

  “You want to drive?”

  “Hell, yes, I do.” I took the lead and headed to the left. “I make it a point never to be a passenger where a woman’s behind the wheel.”

  She snorted, her clipped steps behind me getting a little quicker and louder. “You’re a pig, you know that?”

  “I’ve been told that a time or two.”

  I waited for her to get into the passenger seat and buckle her seat belt. I made a point of adjusting the mirror so that I could use it to take a few extra seconds to look at her. I wasn’t being a creep about it, either. I knew her top was buttoned up good and I wouldn’t get a glimpse of any cleavage. No, I was watching the way the sunlight was playing on her dark locks and how she chewed her lip when she didn’t think I was watching.

  “So why am I being brought in on this case, exactly? I thought I taught you enough you could handle a little petty theft.”

  She cut her eyes to me and grinned like a cat that ate the canary. “It’s Christmas Eve, Guillory. Any minute I’m going to get called out on a priority. Baby Jesus needs to be back in his manger before services tonight.”

  “Ah.” I raised my head and dropped it slowly. “So I get to waste my holiday tracking down a two-bit thief, is that it?”

  She elbowed me. “What else would you be doing? Do they make frozen Christmas dinners?”

  “Geez, Lipton, you’re such a smartass. Also, that hurts. I do have some cooking skills you know.” Even as the words left my mouth, I remembered the turkey and dressing meal in my freezer. I’d been saving it especially for tonight.

  “Well, maybe we’ll get lucky and find our man and the statue of the child in time, and then you can put those skills to work and make me some dinner.”

  Chapter 4

  So I’d all but invited myself over to his apartment. The pregnant pause after I’d said the words made me nervous. But he was driving so I told myself that maybe he was just concentrating on his direction of travel.

  It wasn’t that the man wasn’t attracted to me. He totally was. And I’m not being a narcissist about it, either. There were plenty of men out there who didn’t want me, but Robert Guillory wasn’t one of them. Countless times, I’d seen his eyes linger on my boobs. I’d even caught him in the coffee shop window watching my ass as I walked ahead of him.

  But it wasn’t just attraction. There was some mutual comfort we shared. In those times we’d met outside of work, we’d connected. When he’d stared into my eyes as I’d talked about my big family down in South Texas, he wasn’t just listening, he was absorbing. And the day he’d told me about how awful his marriage had been and how it ended, I knew he’d shared something he didn’t tell a lot of people.

  But for some reason, the guy was fighting these feelings every step of the way. I was tired of waiting. I was ready to progress things to the next level. The call today from Hope Sheffield Rawley was the excuse I’d been looking for to call him.

  “You do know that we’re never going to find baby Jesus in time for Christmas, right? I mean, even if this guy Collins took it, he hocked it somewhere. By the time we find him, haul him in and get him to cough his guts up, the pawn shops are going to be closed.”

  “Don’t you have any faith at all left in you, Guillory? I mean, if anything, I thought the Sheffield case would remind you of a time when you did have a little positivity in that hard-boiled brain of yours.”

  He mumbled something that sounded a lot like a curse, then put his foot on the gas to ensure he made the light up ahead of us. I glanced at the speedometer and side-eyed him. “Also, I am on the job, you know. You’re speeding.”

  He edged his foot off the accelerator and looked over at me, a lop-sided smile playing on his lips. “Yes, ma’am.”

  The men’s home, formerly the old Salvation Army shelter, was a rundown building that had seen better days. When Guillory swung the door open, it squealed in p
rotest. Inside was in a similar state of disrepair, but there were Christmas decorations everywhere. Greenery followed the bannister up to the second floor, and a tree about seven feet tall stood in the foyer. There were men’s voices singing off-key holiday songs coming from an anteroom to the right of the front desk.

  “Hiya.” The balding man there greeted us, reaching to push his glasses up on his face. “What can I do for you two?”

  “We’re looking for Douglas Collins. Does he stay here?” Guillory asked, leaned against the desk and scanning the room instead of making eye contact with the guy.

  “Yeah, he sure does. You friends of his?”

  I had my badge in hand and I flashed it for him. “Police officer. We need to talk to him. Is he here?”

  “Is he in some kind of trouble? I hope he’s not. It would be really bad timing.”

  Guillory looked him in the eye. “Why’s that?”

  “Well, we put on a Christmas program every Christmas Eve. Doug plays the piano for us. The guys are in there practicing right now, but they’ll sound really good tonight when he plays with them.”

  “This is just a routine investigation,” I assured him, slipping my wallet back into my pocket. “Is he here?”

  “No, he’s gone right now. Said he’d be back in a few hours.”

  I walked to the doors where the men were singing, glancing inside. “Where’s his room?”

  “Upstairs. You need to check it out? I’ve got a key.”

  I shook my head. “We don’t have a warrant.”

  Guillory spoke next. “Do you know where he went? It’s real important we talk to him.”

  “No, sir. I don’t have no idea. We don’t keep tabs on the guys. This ain’t a halfway house.”

  When I looked again, I saw that Guillory was giving him the cold, dead look. It was something that was almost mythical to the people on the force. It always seemed to break a perp down. The front desk fellow was looking really nervous about now.

  “Really, I don’t know where he is. I hope he’s not in any trouble, though.”

  “Why would you think he might be? Has he been before?”

  I approached them again, putting my hands into my jacket pockets as I waited for the guy to answer Guillory’s question.

  “Well, he had some hard times. All the guys have. He did some time, I think. Something about breaking into houses or something. But that was a long time ago.”

  “How long?”

  “Way before he got here. I don’t know nothing about it really. Just rumor.”

  We left my card with the guy after he gave us a few leads on where we might find Collins. After grabbing some coffee, Guillory and I started searching. Hours passed and though lots of people knew Collins, no one seemed to know where he was. I was feeling pretty dejected when my cell phone rang.

  “Lipton here.”

  “Hey, Eva. Where are you? I’ve got a call I need you to look into.”

  Chapter 5

  I could see the way Eva’s expression fell that the call wasn’t the one she wanted. Her eyes got that disappointing look a kid gets on Christmas when there aren’t any more presents to open. She walked away from me, juggling her phone against her shoulder while she took notes on her pad. When she walked back, it was with a sad smile.

  “I’m guessing you’ve got to run.”

  “Yep, another theft. This one at the mall. Want to tag along?”

  I considered that while we approached my Jeep. Finally, I shook my head, “How about I drop you off at your car and then keeping looking for Collins? Maybe I’ll turn up with something.”

  Her face turned radiant. “Why, Guillory, you do have a little of that positivity in you, don’t you?”

  I wanted to smack her. No, I wanted to kiss her. That would shut her up. Instead, I turned on the ignition and drove her back to the church. After she got out, I leaned over with my arm on the passenger seat and watched as she walked to her car. She had a very shapely backside, and I couldn’t help but admire it. When she dropped her keys and bent over to pick them up, I groaned.

  Keeping her at arm’s length was getting harder and harder. Literally.

  She drove off, and I went on searching. But an hour and a half later, I was no closer to finding Douglas Collins than Eva and I had been together. I stopped at a burger place and grabbed a meal, mulling things over as I stuffed fries into my face. When my cell rang, I answered it on speaker phone.

  “Herwo.” My mouth was still full.

  “Let me guess. Burger, French fries and a Dr. Pepper.”

  I swallowed down gulps of soda. “Hey, Lipton. Any luck?”

  “He’s at the shelter, and I’m on my way there.”

  “I’ll beat you.”

  I could hear her huff into the phone. “You don’t even know where I am. I might be just down the street.”

  “Mark my words, Lipton. I’ll be there before you will.”

  I started the engine and hit the road. I was about ten miles from the men’s home, which would be about fifteen minutes under most circumstances. I glanced at the dashboard clock. 7:17. I vowed to be there by 7:27.

  My Jeep pulled into a parking space up front just seconds before Lipton’s drove up beside me. The clock read 7:25, and I laughed as I turned to gaze at her. Her eyes were narrowed, and there was an annoyed smirk on her face. I wanted to rub my thumb across those drawn lips just before claiming them with mine.

  I was so caught up in those thoughts that I didn’t even realize she’d exited her car and walked up to my window until she rapped her knuckles on the glass. “You coming or what, Guillory?”

  Douglas Collins was a simple looking man of fifty-four, though he looked at least sixty-five. He was sitting in the lobby area, a newspaper open in front of him. His pants were tattered at the hem, and his socks were both dark, though one had more of a black tint than blue like the other. He had almost no hair left on his head, but what he did have was combed straight back.

  I knew his exact age because Eva had handed me his rap sheet before I followed her into the men’s home. He’d had five charges of theft and burglary, only two of them convictions. In total, he’d served about four years in prison. But all of that had been nearly ten years before. Had he gone back to his old ways?

  “Mr. Collins, can you tell us what you did today?” Eva asked, after introducing herself to him. She stood over him, probably to appear as imposing as possible.

  “I was around.” He folded his arms over his chest, hugging himself as if seeking protection.

  “C’mon, Collins.” I shouldered into his line of sight where I could be a damn sight more imposing than Eva.

  He reached up a shaky hand and rubbed it over his face, pursing his lips and refusing to say anything.

  “Did you go Christmas shopping?”

  His eyes made a darting motion back and forth, and the muscle at his temple twitched. Still, he didn’t speak a work.

  “I understand you aren’t working anymore, Mr. Collins? What did you do for a living?”

  “You know so much,” he huffed, turning to the side to avoid looking at us.

  I cocked my head at Eva, frowning like a bear. She took a deep breath and nodded her head up and down. “Okay, Mr. Collins. Let’s go down to the station so we can talk.”

  "You can’t arrest me. I have to play tonight. I can’t go.”

  “She’s not arresting you,” I told him. “But we need some answers, and you don’t seem to want to give us any here. Maybe you’ll be more willing to talk downtown.”

  He was shaking his head, though the movement was small enough it looked more like a shudder. “I don’t know how to tell you. How to say it.”

  Eva and I both took a step back, and she gently motioned for him to sit again. He did, holding his knees in and then wrapping one arm about his middle. As I watched him, I knew instantly we were barking up the wrong tree. Whatever it was that Collins was afraid of, it wasn’t anything to do with a stolen baby Jesus.

 
; “Jimmy said I could borrow it,” he told us, licking his lips and looking out behind us where his friends were starting to gather for the men’s home Christmas party. “He said if I needed it to come tell him.”

  “Okay.” Eva spoke in a soothing voice as she sat down in a chair across from him. “What happened then?”

  “He didn’t answer the door. I just needed to borrow it a little while. They were selling bags of those specialty nuts down at Market Street. Two for one. You know the ones. Cinnamon and sugar or some with honey. The guys here all like those nuts. I didn’t want to miss the deal, so I took it. The keys were in it.”

  “A car?” I blurted, starting to make a little sense of what he was saying.

  “I don’t have a lot of cash. But I like to give the guys all something. Two for one, so …”

  Eva dropped her head into her hands a moment, then brushed her fingers through her hair. When she looked back at Collins, she leaned in to force his eyes to connect with hers. “Did you bring it back? Jimmy’s car?”

  “Yeah, didn’t he say I did? I should’ve known he’d call the cops. He was pretty mad I took it without asking.”

  Chapter 6

  I was back in Guillory’s car, my mood sour as he drove me back to the church. I’d made a quick call to the station just to be sure Collins’ friend Jimmy hadn’t actually made a report of car theft. There was nothing, so we let the man get to his Christmas piano playing. He’d hugged me before rushing to join his friends.

  My cheeks were still burning from that. It never failed that when I was trying to maintain professional police decorum, some person would hug me and I’d go all gooey inside. I only hoped Guillory hadn’t noticed it.

  Now we were sitting in the parking lot, and I could tell he was just as reluctant as I was to break the news to Father Bertaut. Finally he turned to me.

  “Did I tell you I called some pawn shops?”

  My head was down, and I shook it a little, then peered out into the darkness. “I did, too, while I was waiting to interview the guy we picked up at the mall. I guess you had no luck either, huh?”