Deadly as the Driven Snow

by Agnes Alexander

  Chapter Three

  The power went off sometime during the night. I know because I woke up at five-fifteen and my nose was cold and Jason snored gently. I didn’t move because I felt he needed his rest and I feared I’d wake him. When he finally got home last night, it was after ten. He was wet again, visibly chilled and hungry. He’d missed dinner, and asked if he could have some of the hot stew. It took three bowls before he began to warm up. He took a hot shower, and at eleven-thirty we climbed into bed, holding each other for warmth. I remember his feet were like ice when we went to bed, and I wondered if they’d ever get warm again. This morning, I slid my foot close to his to see. They had warmed up.

  The world was silent, with the exception of falling limbs and twigs and the crackling ice as a slight breeze occasionally blew, sending slivers to the ground. I tried to be as still as I could because I knew if I woke Jason, he’d insist on getting up and building a fire. I wondered if I could slip out of bed and get it built before he woke up.

  I slid over to the side and he stirred, but didn’t wake up. I waited a minute and moved closer to the edge and managed to get my feet on the floor. As quietly and as quickly as I could, I grabbed my fuzzy robe and slippers and left the room.

  I went down the hall by feel and made it to the sofa in the living room without knocking anything over or making any loud noise. I’d left candles and matches on the coffee table and I felt around until my hand closed on them. I struck a match, which made it easy to light a couple of candles. I moved to the fireplace and opened the damper. Jason had warned me not to light the fire he’d laid without opening it. I remembered. I struck a match to the paper and kindling. In a minute, it blazed up. I let it burn for a few minutes then laid a couple of dry logs Jason had pointed out on top of the blaze. In a short time, it caught. It wasn’t long until I had a roaring fire in the fireplace. I wouldn’t go back to bed and leave it burning, so I sat in Jason’s oversized recliner and pulled the comforter I kept on the sofa around my neck.

  It wasn’t long until I heard him coming down the hall. “I woke up and you were gone.” He yawned and glanced at the fireplace. “You did a nice job.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled at him. “I tried to be quiet, so you could sleep. I know you needed it.”

  “I couldn’t go back to sleep when I woke up and you weren’t there. Since Thanksgiving, I haven’t been able to sleep very well without you in bed with me.”

  “It’s nice of you to remember our wedding day.”

  “Problem is. I’ve got to remember Thanksgiving comes on a different date each year, and it won’t always be our anniversary.”

  “At least you’ll be able to get close to the right date.” I smiled and scooted over. “Want to snuggle?”

  “Sounds like fun. I’ll be right back.” He went down the hall. In a minute, he returned with a couple of blankets and our pillows.

  He put the fire screen across the front of the fireplace, then joined me in the big chair.

  “This is kind of nice,” I said, as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “It’s very nice.”

  We talked a little, dozed a little and just lay quietly part of the time. At seven-thirty, we decided we’d try some of the coffee we’d put in the thermos the night before.

  “I’ll get it.” Jason started to get up.

  “Let me,” I said, grabbing his arm. “I know where I put everything we could fix to eat without electricity.”

  “If you insist.”

  “I do.” I stood and glanced at him. “Okay, we’ve got cereal and milk, boiled eggs, fruit and juice, and peanut butter and jelly on cold bread. What will it be?”

  “How about a boiled egg, some juice, and a piece of chocolate cake?”

  “And I thought I ate funny things at the same time.”

  The coffee had stayed fairly hot. I poured us each a cup. While Jason ate his strange breakfast, I ate a bowl of corn flakes. I topped it off by eating a peanut butter cookie with my coffee.

  “Jason, you don’t have to go back out there this morning, do you?” I asked as he stood to put another log on the fire.

  “Not for a while. I don’t think there’ll be much activity today. Most everyone is iced in. Only the foolhardy will risk going out.”

  “Good,” I said. “I don’t want you putting your life in jeopardy for someone who doesn’t have sense enough to stay inside on a day like this.”

  Before he could answer, his cell phone rang.

  I knew our snuggling was over for the day when he said, “Where did it happen? I’ll be there in a little while.”

  “What was that about?”

  “It seems our visitor yesterday wasn’t the only one shot and thrown out of a car. A man just found a body in a field off Highway Sixteen.”

  Chapter Four

  I spent most of the morning huddled in front of the fire. I read a little and called to check on Mom and Dad.

  “We’re doing fine, June. The power if off, but we have a fire going, and the living room is cozy. The kids are having a ball.”

  “I’m glad April got there. She would’ve had it rough without a fire at her house.”

  “You’re right. We’re glad Larry brought her over.”

  We chatted for a little while, then Mom ended the conversation as she does about every time we call, “I’ll talk to you later, honey. Give Jason our love.”

  I hung up and thought about the wonderful relationship Jason has with my parents. I was glad, because my family had always been a close one. It didn’t take long for Jason to fit right into the Calendar Clan. Of course, the fact that Jason had no family of his own in the area also helped him become one of us so quickly. His closest relative was his brother in Texas. Ken is twelve years older than Jason, and has a wife and family of his own. Though we did promise to visit him someday, we knew it would be a while before we saw him again.

  I thought of Mom and Dad’s cozy living room. They could shut all the doors and the fireplace would make the entire room feel warm and inviting. I knew they would be fine.

  Of course, I appreciated my fireplace, too, but our house was built differently. Our living room, dining area, and kitchen were all one big room. Though I had closed all three bedroom doors, the only place really warm was directly in front of the fireplace.

  At eleven-thirty, Jason called while I was in the middle of a romance novel.

  “Have you had lunch, honey?” he asked.

  “No, but if you’ll come by, I’ll put something together.”

  “I’m coming by, but don’t fix anything.”

  “And why not?”

  “I’m working with Allen today. We found a little restaurant open. It had a generator, so they cooked. We’re going to get a hot meal and we’ll bring you one. Anything particular you want?”

  “As long as it’s hot, I really don’t care. Will you bring some coffee?”

  “I sure will.”

  I put another log on the fire and looked around to make sure the house looked neat and in order. I knew Jason liked it neat, but my reason for making sure everything was in place wasn’t him today. I hadn’t seen Allen Ledbetter since high school, and I wanted to make sure he was impressed with Jason’s house.

  It was close to one o’clock when I heard the car pull in and stop in the back of the driveway. I knew Jason would come through the back door because of his wet boots, so I went to the mud room and waited.

  When I opened the door, he handed me a big white plastic bag with restaurant to-go boxes in it. He bent to take off his boots. Allen followed his lead.

  “Hello, Allen,” I said. “It’s been a long time.”

  “It sure has. How are you, June?”

  “I’m great.” I set the dinners on the cabinet and took the two thermos bottles he handed me. “I’ll get this on the table for us.”

  “I’m impressed,” Allen said as he came in and took a seat at the table. “You’ve put out plates and silverware and everything. I figured we’d eat ou
t of the boxes.”

  “I don’t mind eating out of a box once in a while, but I prefer eating with real flatware.”

  “She has her own ideas, Allen. Most of the time, I just go along with it.”

  I was surprised when Jason leaned down and kissed me. “Hi,” he said.

  “Hi,” I said back.

  Allen just stared as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  Jason said a quick blessing and we opened the boxes to transfer the food to our plates.

  After I took my first bite, I said, “Oh, this is good. You guys cook well.”

  “I’m glad you like it,” Jason said. “I appreciate you adding to it, too.”

  “You haven’t changed a bit since high school, June,” Allen said. “You’re still as slim and as pretty as always. Jason is a lucky man.”

  “Thank you, Allen.” I turned to my husband. “See what he says? You’re a lucky man.”

  “I know that.” Jason winked at me. “You tell me often enough.”

  I playfully bopped his arm. “Seriously, Allen,” I said. “I’m the lucky one. After all the mean things I did to Jason in school, I’m surprised he took a chance on me.”

  “You were pretty rough on him at times.”

  “That’s all in the past. She’s mighty good to me now.” Jason turned to me and changed the subject. “How’s your morning been?”

  “Okay. I spent most of it on the sofa huddled in a blanket and reading. How was yours? Was the body they found identified?”

  “No. It was just like the man we found in our yard. Shabbily dressed and no ID on him.”

  “That doesn’t give you much to go on, does it?”

  He shook his head and looked at Allen. “I don’t remember if you know it or not, but June was a PI in Greensboro before she moved back to Edison. She likes to keep her hand in on cases like this one.”

  “Hey, that’s neat. I’m surprised you left Greensboro.”

  “She might not have if she hadn’t been shot during a drug raid. She came back here to recuperate. We might not be together today if that hadn’t happened.”

  “Really?” He looked at me. “You must have been living an exciting life since high school.”

  “Not really.” I changed the subject again. “What have you done since school, Allen? Are you married?”

  “Yes, I’m married. Do you remember Gwyn Warrick? She was a year behind us in school.” When I nodded, he went on. “We’ve been married for almost two years. She works in an insurance office in Wilkesboro. No kids yet.”

  I couldn’t see Gwyn Warrick married to Allen. He was kind of a playboy in school, and if I remembered correctly, Gwyn was a mousy young woman who wore horn-rimmed glasses and outdated shirt-waist dresses. Of course, I didn’t say this to Allen. I asked, “Do you live around here?”

  “Just off Sixteen. In fact, our house is where the body turned up today. It’s going to freak Gwyn out when I tell her.”

  I wondered why she didn’t already know, but I didn’t ask. I turned back to Jason. “Did you pick up any other clues about the victim?”

  “We think it was related to our visitor. He’d been shot in the head and thrown from a vehicle. He must have still been alive, though, because he wandered into the field and died there. We’re not sure if it was from the bullet wound or if he froze to death.”

  “How horrible!”

  “They say it isn’t such a bad way to go,” Allen volunteered. “I think you just get numb and then go to sleep. Of course, you don’t wake up.”

  I shuddered. “I think it would be awful.” I didn’t want to think about it. I stood. “Would you guys like more coffee?”

  They both held out their cups. “Boy this hot meal is good,” Allen said. “We had to eat pork and beans last night because Gwyn was too tired to cook. Then the power went off and this morning we had cereal. What have you two been eating?”

  “When she heard it was going to be bad weather, June cooked up some things we don’t mind eating cold. Deviled eggs, fruit salad, some cookies and the best chocolate cake you’ve ever eaten.”

  “I wish Gwyn would think to do things like that. She didn’t go to work today because of the weather.” He shook his head. “Of course, she doesn’t have electricity to do any cooking.”

  I looked at Jason. “Would you like a piece of cake for dessert?”

  “Of course. Why do you think I was bragging about it?” He winked.

  I got up and cut a piece for each of them. I warmed their coffee, too.

  “Boy, Jason,” Allen said. “Your wife takes good care of you.”

  “She sure does, and don’t think I don’t appreciate it.”

  “He takes good care of me, too.” I sat down and reached over and touched Jason’s arm. “This big lug, here, saved my life last spring. If he hadn’t come in and rescued Toby and me from Steve Middleton, I don’t know what would have happened.”

  “Yeah, I remember when Jason solved that one. He did a good job.”

  We chatted about the arrest last summer, then Allen said, “I guess that’s when the two of you got together.”

  “Pretty much,” Jason said. “We spend a lot of time together, because June helped me solve the crime.”

  “I’m impressed.” Allen grinned. “Maybe she can help us with this one.”

  “She might,” Jason said. “She has some good ideas sometimes.”

  We chatted about different things, and at two o’clock, Jason and Allen left. I put some more wood on the fire and got back in my comfortable position on the sofa. I couldn’t get back to my reading. I kept thinking about the two men who had been shot, and wondering why someone was committing such hideous crimes. I also wondered why they’d chosen this awful weather in which to commit them.

  Chapter Five

  The sun came out in the afternoon, and I knew the storm was over. But we still had to contend with the power outage and wait for the ice to melt off the roads and power lines. They’d already called off school for another day. Jason came home about seven. Again, he carried two to-go boxes from the restaurant. This time he’d brought country-style steak, black eyed peas, and rice with gravy. He also had the thermos full of coffee. It was all delicious, but we decided to keep half the coffee for morning.

  After we ate, he went out to bring more wood from the shed in the back yard. I put our dirty dishes in the dishwasher and threw the to-go boxes in the trash. As I took the trash to the back door, I noticed a light flash in Mrs. Goodman’s house, which was not only separated from ours with the Leland cypress, but also a good six or seven hundred yards away. The light lasted only seconds, then it was gone.

  I waited until Jason got to the porch with an armful of wood, then said, “I don’t know if it means anything, but I saw a light in Mrs. Goodman’s house. Isn’t she still in Florida with her daughter?”

  “She’s supposed to be. I ran into J.T. the other day and he said she was still gone.” He looked in the direction of the house. “I don’t see anything.”

  “It lasted only a few seconds. Then it went off.”

  “Maybe I better go over there and check.” He started across the lawn.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. I opened the door to the laundry room and looked in the cabinet above the dryer. I took his gun from the top shelf where he puts it when he comes in from work. “Take this,” I said, and handed it to him.

  “Let me have the big flashlight, too,” he said.

  I handed it to him. “Be careful.”

  I closed the door, went back into the kitchen and looked out the window, but it was dark outside. I couldn’t see a thing. I began to get cold, so I walked to the fireplace to warm up. After a few minutes, my legs warmed through the sweat suit I had on, so I picked up a throw and put it around my shoulders. I walked back to the kitchen window and saw a light in Mrs. Goodman’s house. It was brighter than the first light and I figured it was Jason’s flashlight.

  In a little while, I saw two figures exit the front door,
come across the yard and stop at the patrol car. Jason opened the back door and put the person in the back seat. He came to the door and stepped inside.

  “I found a man camped out in the house. I don’t think he’s been there long because things inside didn’t look to be in bad shape. I’ve arrested him, and I’ve got to take him in.”

  “Who is he?”

  “I don’t know. He’s so highly intoxicated he’s not making much sense. I don’t think he knows who he is or how he got there.”

  “Oh, Jason. Can’t you call somebody to come pick him up?”

  “I could, but I won’t do that.”

  “I know.” I sighed. “You don’t want to drag your men out on a night like this, either. Just be careful.”

  “I will.” He leaned down and kissed me. “You lock up tight and I won’t be gone long. I don’t think any of his buddies are around, but you never know.”

  “I’ll be fine. Just hurry back.”

  “I’ll be back before you miss me. Keep the fire going.”

  “I will, and I’ll miss you, even if you’re only gone a few minutes.”

  “That’s what I like to hear. My woman wants me home with her.”

  “She sure does.”

  “I promise. When I get back, I won’t go out again.”

  “Good. Do you want me to call J.T. and let him know someone was in his mother’s house?” I made a face, but I couldn’t help it.”

  He chuckled. “I know he’s not one of your favorite people, so I’ll call him when I get to the station.”

  “You know me too well. Thanks, honey.”

  “No problem.” He chuckled again. “By the way, did I tell you J.T. told me he was seeing Sadie Middleton?”

  “Heavens, no. As silly as Sadie is, I can’t see her with J.T. She must want a man pretty bad.”

  “Of course, after Steve, I guess even J.T. is an improvement.”

  “I don’t know if I agree with that or not. A guy in prison might have one up on Mr. Goodman.”

  “You sure don’t cut him any slack, do you?” I didn’t answer, and he leaned down and kissed me again before he went out the door.