Midnight Before Christmas

by William Bernhardt

  He took the Western exit and wove through the heavy traffic. There was an Asian restaurant, The Snow Pea, just a short hop from the Cowboy Hall of Fame. It would be the perfect place for lunch.

  He pulled his pickup into the parking lot and turned off the ignition. “How’s this look, champ?”

  Tommy glanced up at the front of the restaurant and shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “You like Chinese, don’t you? Stir-fry?”

  “Fine.”

  “If there’s something else you’d rather have-”

  “No. This is fine.” He opened the car door and slithered out of the car. Carl followed.

  The restaurant was decked out in glittery silver and gold tinsel. There was a Christmas tree in the corner with presents (probably empty) artfully arranged beneath. Muzaked carols played through overhead speakers. What was that one? Carl gritted his teeth. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” He was learning to hate that song.

  They found a table and ordered. Carl went for the lo mein noodles; Tommy finally selected the spicy chicken with peanuts. They got Cokes from the dispenser and sat down.

  “This probably isn’t very Christmassy,” Carl said. “We’ll do better tonight.”

  Tommy looked up. “I thought I was spending tonight with Mommy. And Frank.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “That’s what she told me we were going to do.”

  “Uh-huh. And what did she tell you I was going to do on Christmas Eve?”

  His son looked at him blankly.

  Carl’s hand tightened around his fork. Damn that woman and her poison. Damn her and her lies. Damn her and what she had done to this family.

  He had hoped they could at least get through Christmas, at least spend the day together, before Tommy went back to his mother. But now he saw that was impossible. The woman had done her venomous work too thoroughly. He had no time, no alternatives, no choices left to him.

  He would prove to her that he wasn’t a total loser, that he could accomplish something. This time he would finish the job. He would finish what he had tried to do before. He would prove to his ex-wife that he wasn’t a failure at everything.

  Then the conversation would be over. Permanently.

  7

  “He was always abusive,” Bonnie said in a hoarse whisper. Her hands drummed nervously against the passenger door of Megan’s Toyota. “Verbally. He could be so cruel. And when he lost his temper … well … sometimes he hit me. Hit me hard. But that was nothing compared to what happened toward the end.”

  Megan kept her eyes on the road. “What happened?”

  “He was getting into trouble with his superiors on the police force. Drinking too much. Basically, he was destroying his life, and he knew it. So he took it out on us.”

  “You mean-”

  “You know what I mean. Me and Tommy.”

  Megan nodded grimly. They were cruising through the parking lot at Penn Square Mall, hoping to bring in a long shot. It was just possible that Carl would bring Tommy toy-shopping here, and that Bonnie might recognize the pickup. They had already called the police, who had promised to do everything they could, but given the circumstances-that Tommy hadn’t been gone long, that he was with his father, that it was Christmas Eve-that probably wouldn’t be much. Bonnie had nearly collapsed with hysteria; Megan had promised they would do everything they could think of to find the boy themselves.

  “Did he … hit Tommy?” Megan asked.

  “He tried once. The night before I finally left him. I’ll never forget that night. He came home livid, seething with rage. And stinking drunk. He was striking out at everything within reach. Tommy did something-I don’t even remember what. Didn’t matter-it was just an excuse. Carl reared up his fist and”-Bonnie covered her face with her hands-“I just thank God I was there. I pulled him out of the way. Told him to go to bed.” Her lips pressed tightly together. “Of course, after I did that, you can guess who became Target Number One.”

  “He beat you?”

  “Not at first. At first we just shouted insults at each other. I told him I was going to divorce him. He didn’t care. But then I told him I was going to take Tommy away from him. That’s when he went ballistic. Screaming, hitting. Said he would never let anyone take his son away from him. Said he’d kill him first.”

  Megan’s stony demeanor was rapidly fading. “What did he do then?”

  “Then he became violent. Physically violent.”

  Megan swallowed. “How violent?”

  Bonnie’s eyes took on a glassy, fixed cast. “Like you wouldn’t believe. I–I had heard stories about women-about-” She took a deep breath. “About battered women. But I never imagined. He hit me in the face-blackened both eyes. He cracked a collarbone. Bruised my arms, legs, breasts. Bleeding. I was a mess.”

  Her head sunk low, as if the shame of the memory still haunted her. “I felt like I’d been crippled, in every way you can imagine. I just lay there on the floor in the living room, whimpering, barely breathing, unable to move. Finally, I guess it wasn’t fun for him anymore, punching an inanimate object. He ran off, probably to some bar. I can’t tell you how relieved I was. I–I really thought he was going to kill me.”

  Megan kept staring straight ahead, trying not to react. “And that was when you left him?”

  “Actually, no. Pretty pathetic, huh? No, even after that, I didn’t have the guts to make the move. I just lay on the floor for what seemed like an eternity until I heard Tommy coming down the stairs. He was still awake, you see. He’d seen the whole thing. I was so ashamed.” She covered her face with her hands.

  “Was he … upset?”

  “He was very subdued. Amazingly mature, all things considered. He knew I was hurt. He kept saying, ‘Come on, Mommy. Let’s go to the hospital.’ So I finally pulled myself together and went to the hospital. That’s when they told me I had a fractured collarbone.”

  “And that’s when you decided to leave him.”

  Bonnie let out a laugh, a small bitter laugh. “No, not even then. Not even then.” She raised her head, wiping her eyes clear. “Truth is, I didn’t know what to do. Didn’t have a clue. So we went home. Carl wasn’t there, so we both went upstairs to our rooms. I collapsed on the bed, fell asleep. Didn’t wake up for twelve hours.”

  “You must’ve been exhausted.”

  “I was.” There was a long pause. The tremble returned to her voice. “But when I woke up, Carl was home. With Tommy.”

  Megan shook her head, too horrified to make an intelligent comment. “What did you do?”

  “At first, nothing. It seemed innocent enough. They were sitting at the breakfast table together, eating cereal. Carl didn’t appear drunk. He wasn’t raving or lashing out. I had a headache like you wouldn’t believe. So I poured myself some juice and sat at the table with them.”

  “As if nothing had happened.”

  “That’s exactly right. As if he hadn’t tried to obliterate me the night before.” She took a deep breath, tried to steady herself. “Tommy was about to take his first bite before I noticed.”

  “Noticed… what?”

  “There was something powdery all over his cornflakes. And it wasn’t sugar frosting, either. It was rat poison.”

  Megan’s foot slammed down on the brake. “Rat poison?”

  Bonnie nodded. “You see, he had meant what he said. Every word of it. If he couldn’t have Tommy, no one could. And the thing is … the thing is …”

  Her body began to quiver, consumed by anguish and fear. “The thing is …” she repeated, her voice choking, “he said the same thing this morning.”

  “Eat your food,” Carl said.

  Tommy pushed the spicy chicken with peanuts away. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Here, I’ve got a little something that will make it especially good.” He poured a dark liquid over the food, then stirred it in. “You’ll really like this. I want you to eat every bite.” He looked steadily into Tommy’s eyes. “
You understand me? Every single bite.”

  8

  “Please hurry,” Bonnie said. She was practically edging out of the car seat. “I have the worst feeling about this. We have to hurry.”

  But Megan did not accelerate. They were negotiating the densely packed parking lot at Quail Springs Mall, and high speed was not an option.

  “Don’t you hear me?” Bonnie’s voice was becoming shrill in its desperation. “We have to hurry!”

  Megan stopped the car. She had hoped to postpone this discussion as long as possible, but the truth was, Bonnie was practically over the brink. Her fear was making her irrational.

  “Bonnie, listen to me. I know how frightened you are. But the fact is, we’ve cruised every parking lot we could think of-”

  “Don’t you understand? He’s insane! He’s going to try to kill my Tommy! We have to hurry!”

  “Bonnie, listen! There’s no point in hurrying unless we have somewhere to hurry to!”

  Bonnie fell silent. Megan seized the opportunity.

  “We’ve tried every mall. We didn’t find him. Even if he was at one, he would’ve left by now. We have to come up with a new plan. Can you think of anywhere else they might go?”

  Bonnie shrugged. Megan could see she was trying to regain control, trying to put her brain back in order. “I don’t know where he lives now.”

  “And neither do the police. What else?”

  “He has a cellular phone he carries. He gave me the number.”

  “And you called it. No answer. What else?”

  Bonnie shrugged helplessly. “I–I don’t know …”

  Megan glanced at her watch. “It’s about lunch-time. Is there someplace special they might go for lunch?”

  Bonnie’s eyes darted around the small car, as if the answers might be written somewhere on the upholstery. “I don’t know.”

  “Think, Bonnie. Think. Does Tommy have a favorite place?”

  Bonnie continued shaking her head.

  “McDonald’s? Burger King? Split-T?”

  “No, he doesn’t like any of-” She froze abruptly. “Oh, my-it’s Christmas Eve! I didn’t even think.”

  “What? What is it?”

  “Christmas Eve. It’s a special day.”

  “Right. Major holiday. Santa Claus and ho-ho-ho.”

  Bonnie shook her head. “More than that. It’s our wedding anniversary. We were married on Christmas Eve. Nine years ago today. No wonder he’s flown off his rocker. He must’ve remembered.”

  “You were married on Christmas Eve?”

  “Right here in OKC.” She snapped her fingers. “And after the ceremony, we ate at The Snow Pea.”

  Megan did a double take. “The Chinese place?”

  “Right. The one on Western. I know it seems crazy, but I just wonder if-”

  She didn’t even have to finish the sentence. Megan had already thrown the transmission into Drive. The car lurched forward as she began weaving her way out of the overcrowded parking lot.

  Now at last they had someplace they could go in a hurry.

  “Tommy, I want you to eat your food.”

  Tommy folded his arms across his chest. “I’m not hungry.”

  “Just a few bites, then. For me.”

  Tommy looked away, sullen-faced. “Mommy says I shouldn’t eat when I’m not hungry. She says it starts a bad habit.”

  “That’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Your mother. She always comes between us.”

  “She just doesn’t want me to get fat. Like this kid in my class, Jerry Douglas. He’s a real tub, and-”

  “She can’t even allow me one little bit of pleasure, can she? Can’t give me one last moment of peace with my son.”

  Tommy didn’t answer.

  Carl leaned across the table. “Listen to me, Tommy. I’m your father. I held you in my arms when you were just a baby. I was there the day you were born. I’m your friend.”

  “Does Mommy know where I am?”

  The question caught Carl by surprise. “She … knows you’re with me. I’m sure of that.”

  “Does she know where I am?”

  “Well … in general. She may not know precisely-”

  “Are you kidnapping me?”

  Pound, pound, pound. The kid kept pounding him with questions. He was almost as bad as his mother. Was there no escaping them? “Tommy, what are you saying? You’re my son.”

  “Fathers kidnap their sons sometimes. I read about it in the Weekly Reader. Is that what you’re doing?”

  Carl pressed his hands against the table. “All I’m doing right now is having a nice Christmas Eve lunch with my son. The only problem is, you’re not eating!”

  Tommy sank back in his chair.

  “So eat already, would you? It’s important!”

  “Why?”

  “It-” He checked himself. “It just is, all right? So eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  Carl swelled with rage. He reached across the table, grabbed Tommy’s spoon, and shoveled up a heaping spoonful of chicken with peanuts. “I’m your father, Tommy. You’re supposed to do what I say. Do you understand me? So you will eat your dinner.” His eyes twitched. “If it’s the last thing you do.”

  9

  “Eat!” Carl shouted. “Eat!”

  Tommy pushed his plate away. “I don’t want to. You can’t make me!”

  “You’re my son!” Carl glanced around the room. They were beginning to attract the attention of the handful of other patrons, as well as the Asian woman behind the cash register. “Do as you’re told!”

  “I’m not going to!”

  “Don’t be a bad boy, Tommy!” He grabbed Tommy by the neck and jerked him forward, pressing the spoon against his lips. “Eat!”

  “Don’t do it, Tommy!”

  Carl’s head jerked up. God in heaven-it was Bonnie! Bonnie and some other woman he didn’t know. Somehow they’d managed to find him.

  He dropped the spoon. It clattered to the floor as he leapt out of his chair.

  “Someone please help!” Bonnie cried. “Someone arrest him! Call the police! They’re looking for him!”

  “Bonnie-baby-”

  “Grab the food!” Bonnie lurched forward and pushed the plate away from Tommy. “Tommy, did you eat any of it? Did you eat anything?”

  “No, Mommy. I-”

  “Oh, thank God.” She threw her arms around him and hugged him close against her chest. “Did someone call the police?”

  Carl saw that the woman behind the register was talking quietly into the phone. “Bonnie, you can’t do this. I was just having lunch with my son. It’s Christmas Eve!”

  “You sick creep, you were trying to kill him. Would someone please arrest him!”

  Carl pushed away from the table and grabbed Tommy by the shirt. “I’m taking the boy with me.”

  “Like hell,” Bonnie answered.

  “You can’t stop me,” he growled.

  “What are you going to do? Beat me up again? Fracture my collarbone?”

  Carl’s face twisted. “What? Bonnie, it doesn’t have to be like this!” He saw one of the other diners, a large heavyset man in his early thirties, inching forward. He knew he had to move quickly or he would encounter some serious resistance. “This isn’t over, Bonnie. Not by a long shot.” He turned quickly and fled out the front door.

  Megan tried to stop Carl as he rushed past, but he knocked her out of the way without even breaking his stride. She pushed herself back to her feet, but by the time she had raced outside, Carl was speeding away in his red pickup. She did manage to get the license-plate number, though: XAU-208. She scribbled it down on a scrap of paper, then ran back inside the restaurant.

  “Did someone call the-” She stopped. Bonnie was cradling her son in her arms, pressing him against her chest.

  “Oh, God,” she kept murmuring under her breath. “Oh, thank you, God.”

  A nod from the woman behind the counter told Megan the police were on their
way. She plopped herself into the nearest chair, suddenly exhausted. She leaned forward and laid her head on the table.

  She would have to pull herself together before the police arrived. Someone had to bring them up-to-date, and she could hardly expect Bonnie to do it. The police had to understand what was happening. Even if Carl was an ex-cop, they had to try to find the man. Before he returned.

  She was glad they’d found Tommy before it was too late. But her elation hadn’t made her forget what Carl had said before he bolted out the door.

  This isn’t over, Bonnie, he said.

  And as Megan stared into the man’s steely eyes, she knew he meant it. She knew this wasn’t over.

  She knew he’d be back.

  10

  Megan assured Bonnie they were perfectly safe in her office. Security guards controlled the access to the elevators, and security cameras were everywhere. But it didn’t seem to matter. No matter what she said, Bonnie continued to cling tightly to her son.

  “I’m just so relieved,” she kept murmuring, over and over again. “So grateful.”

  Megan couldn’t help but smile. She was relieved, too. The whole time they had scoured the parking lots, she had known in her heart they were chasing a long shot of the tallest order. She did it mostly just to calm Bonnie, to make her feel as if they were trying. She had never in a million years expected it to bear fruit. When they finally did manage to track down Tommy, and just in the nick of time, it seemed like a miracle of the highest order.

  Miracle. Now that was a funny thought. Especially from someone who didn’t seem to believe in much of anything these days.

  Speaking of miracles, Jasper had finally settled down in the corner of her office. When she had first come in with Bonnie and Tommy, he had gone into attack mode. What exactly he thought he was going to do to them wasn’t clear-drool them to death, maybe. At any rate, Megan had fed him, calmed him, and hooked his leash around her desk lamp. For the moment, he seemed content. When the occasional inevitable expulsions of gas were released, Bonnie simply pretended she hadn’t heard. And Tommy … well, it was nice to finally see the boy crack a smile.