The Yuletide Rescue

by Margaret Daley

David knew the PD had a ceiling on how old a person could be to serve.

  “Just because you retired from one job doesn’t mean you can’t do something else,” he told his father.

  “Nothing else appeals to me.”

  “A security consultant?”

  “I’d rather do something different. That way I won’t yearn for a job I can’t have anymore. There’s nothing in Colorado for me.”

  David had been ready to leave the service after twenty years. Now, at forty-one, he was enjoying what he was doing, and he wasn’t financially dependent on a paycheck because of his pension and some wise investments over the years. He could do what he really wanted. “Is that why you decided to come for the whole month of December?”

  “There’s no one in Colorado, not even your daughter since she started college. I saw Melissa at Thanksgiving when she and some friends came to ski, otherwise she has been a stranger. I miss her. When is she coming for Christmas?”

  “A few days before.” She was only coming because her grandfather would be there. Otherwise David wouldn’t have seen her at all. Ever since his wife had died three years ago, and David had had to go overseas for his last tour of duty, Melissa had lived with his father.

  His father’s dark bushy eyebrows crunched into a single line. “Why not sooner?”

  “You know Melissa and I haven’t been on the best of terms since Trish died. She blames me for her mother’s death.”

  “You weren’t responsible for that, and I’ve made that clear to Melissa.”

  “Dad, I wasn’t there when Trish needed me.”

  “Because you were serving your country.”

  Tension gripped David as he thought back to three years ago when Trish had taken a lethal combination of alcohol and painkillers. He’d been halfway around the world, supporting ground troops as a B-52 pilot. Earlier, when he’d left Trish after her operation to repair her damaged knee and returned to the war zone, she’d been improving—or so she said—and had urged him to leave. If only he’d known then that she’d become dependent on painkillers, maybe she would be alive today.

  “Son, stop blaming yourself. You can’t change the past. Focus on the here and now.”

  “I’m trying.”

  “Is that why you’re working so hard when you’re supposed to be retired? You’ve made some good investments. You don’t even have to work, but then your job at the search and rescue organization is strictly volunteer.”

  “I’m only forty-one. Just because I retired from the service doesn’t mean I’m going to lie around on some beach doing nothing.”

  His father chuckled. “Well, certainly not here in Alaska. But Hawaii is only a plane ride away.”

  Too wired, David prowled around his kitchen, needing to sleep but not sure he could, even after his previous night sleeping restlessly on the couch in his office. “This volunteer job is perfect for me. I’d go crazy without it. You of all people should know what that feels like.”

  His dad held up his hands as if in surrender. “Okay. You’ve made your point. The Stone men aren’t good at relaxation.”

  David started to reply when his cell phone rang, jolting him. As he answered it, he glimpsed Chance’s name on the screen.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you,” his friend said.

  “No, Dad and I were talking. What’s up?”

  “I did some checking after we talked earlier, and I thought you might like to know Jeremiah’s emergency locator transmitter hasn’t sent a signal since the last pass of the satellite. I know you didn’t turn it off, since you were back in Anchorage by then, so who did?”

  FOUR

  The hairs on David’s nape tingled. He looked toward his dad as he answered Chance. “I don’t know. I called off the search and rescue teams on the ground. From what I understand, they were safe and back before the storm got too bad. They never made it to the site. How is the weather near the wreck?”

  “It moved through there fast, so the weather at the site has improved in the past couple of hours.”

  David thought about the white helicopter with the heavily armed men, and an alarm clanged against his skull. His gut tightened. He didn’t have a good feeling about this situation, especially with the break-in at Jeremiah’s.

  “I was hoping that you’d tell me a ground rescue team made it to the wreck.” Chance’s comments pulled David back to the conversation.

  “I suppose the transmitter could have malfunctioned after sending a signal for a while, but this makes me wonder if the men in the helicopter had anything to do with the ELT not working.”

  “Good question. One we might be able to answer when we return to pick up Jeremiah’s body.”

  “I think we need to go as soon as the conditions permit us.” From years serving in combat, an urgency nipped at David. He couldn’t shake the feeling something was very wrong with the situation—one Bree was involved in.

  After David hung up, he stared at his cell phone, the urge strong to call Bree and make sure she was all right. He glanced at his watch and noticed it had been an hour since he’d left her. She was probably in bed, and he hated to wake her up after the past twenty-four hours she’d endured, but he’d be at her house first thing in the morning if he had to cross-country ski to get there.

  “Something wrong, son?”

  David walked to the window in the breakfast nook and peeked out the blinds at the snowstorm still raging. He couldn’t see the trees in his backyard. “I don’t know. I’m probably overreacting, but the emergency locator transmitter isn’t sending out a signal in Jeremiah’s plane anymore. It was working fine earlier. I didn’t turn it off at the wreck site.” David twisted toward his dad and told him about the helicopter and the armed men.

  His forehead wrinkled, his father pushed away from the counter, his body stiff. “I don’t like this. You know how I feel about coincidences. What if Jeremiah didn’t have a heart attack? What if he was poisoned or something else that could look like a heart attack?”

  A chill swept through David. As a police officer, his dad had seen so much evil in his job. Could Jeremiah have been poisoned? “Murdered? Why?”

  “I don’t know, but if I were you, I would have Chance look into it.”

  “We’ll retrieve his body as soon as we can, and hopefully that’ll tell us what killed him.” David released a deep breath. Exhaustion clung to him. “I think I’ll call Bree and make sure she’s okay.”

  “Are you going to tell her about the transmitter?”

  “I don’t want her worrying unnecessarily. I’ll do enough for the both of us.” He turned back to the window and lifted the blinds. The driving snow still obscured his view. “If I can’t get over to see her, I don’t think anyone else can, either.” At least he hoped that was the case.

  Lord, I need You to watch out for Bree. The prayer came unbidden into his mind. He’d prayed other ones in the past that had gone unanswered. Would this one?

  “I’m going to bed. If you need me, I’m here for you. Although I don’t think you’re going anywhere for a while.” His dad nodded toward the blizzard conditions outside the window.

  David sank into the chair at the table and called Bree. He needed to hear her voice, then maybe he could get some sleep. When she answered, he sagged with relief. “This is David. I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

  “No, I finished settling Ringo into my house and putting things away. I’m tired but not sleepy. I thought I would come home and go directly to sleep, but I can’t stop thinking about what has happened, especially the break-in.”

  “Do you want me to come over and keep you company?” he asked before really thinking through how he would manage that.

  Bree chuckled. “Have you looked outside lately? Do you think anyone is going anywhere right now?”

  “No, but...” Wh
at? I’m worried someone killed Jeremiah, and you’re possibly in danger? “I don’t know what I was thinking. I doubt I could find my way even on my cross-country skis. The good news is I’ve heard the system is moving fast, so maybe it won’t be too bad by morning.”

  “I hope not. I have a ton of stuff to do.” Her voice softened. “But I imagine it’ll be a while before the streets will be cleared.”

  “I’ll let you go. We both need some sleep, but if you need anything, call me. I’ll see what I can do, blizzard or not.”

  “Thanks, but you’ve already rescued me once today.”

  “Hey, remember I’m the head of a SAR group. That’s my job.”

  After hanging up with Bree, David stood and closed the blind he’d opened. When he lay down a few minutes later, as much as he wanted to relax and sleep, his mind raced with all that had happened earlier. This was what came from having a cop for a father. He began to imagine all the bad possibilities surrounding Jeremiah’s death. He turned onto his side and pounded his fist into his pillow.

  Everyone had loved Jeremiah, he told himself. No one wanted to harm him. And Bree was a doctor. She knew what a heart attack looked like.

  But the thoughts didn’t appease him. Only seeing Bree tomorrow would do that.

  * * *

  The first thing Bree saw when she awakened the next morning was Ringo standing over her in bed, whining. He missed Jeremiah. Sitting up, Bree cuddled the white cat and scratched behind his ears. “I know. You don’t understand why you’re here and not at home. You’re stuck with me for the time being.” At least until she found him a new family.

  She hated thinking about that. If only she could take care of him, but she was gone for a month at a time with her job. Giving him one final hug, she scooted to the edge of her bed and rose, then put Ringo on the floor. He ambled out of the room while Bree walked to the window to see if the snow had stopped yet.

  White greeted her everywhere she looked. Probably an additional foot to the five or six inches that had been already on the ground. And the street out front was still packed with snow. It might be a day or so before it was cleared. Good thing she wasn’t expected at the clinic right away.

  But she needed to see to Jeremiah’s house. She had a friend who was a police officer. She’d check with her later today about the report she and David made last night. She headed to the closet to pick out something to wear.

  David. What would she have done if he hadn’t reached her at the wreck site when he had? A shudder snaked down her spine when she thought about the men in white. She would have flagged them down, thinking they were there to help her. Now she didn’t think they had been.

  Five minutes later, Bree entered her kitchen and made a pot of coffee, the whole while thinking about David. After he’d called last night, she’d actually been able to sleep for an hour or two before her memories of the ordeal intruded again. There was someone who cared. She felt as if she had a comrade in this situation—whatever that was. As a doctor, she searched for answers to what was wrong with her patients. She didn’t give up until she had a solution, but she was out of her element with armed men and a break-in.

  After pouring a mug full of coffee, she strolled toward her living room. The sound of a snowmobile disturbed the quiet. She opened the blinds to see a man dressed in black pull up close to her house. She stiffened, her hand clenching the mug. Taking a step back from the window, she tried to remember where her ammo and bear gun were. The hall closet where she’d put it after her hiking expedition last summer, she remembered.

  The man started for her porch, fidgeting with the strap under his chin. She placed her cup on the table nearby and was turning to make a run for the hallway when he removed the helmet.

  David. Her tension melted as her shoulders dropped. Weak with relief, she took a few seconds to compose herself. She was more rattled than she’d realized.

  The chimes of the doorbell filled the house before she finally moved toward the hallway. She greeted David with a smile. “I can’t believe you’re here. Come in.” Stepping to the side, she drank in the sight of him. His presence comforted her. “Would you like some coffee? You’ve got to be freezing.”

  He removed his thick gloves, then began unzipping his parka. “Not too bad. I thought about skiing here, but this was quicker.”

  “Let’s go into the kitchen. Have you had breakfast yet?”

  “I grabbed an egg and bacon sandwich but I could always eat more.”

  “Well, I can’t profess to be a great cook, but I can manage a decent breakfast.” Bree made her way toward her kitchen. She was glad to see him. Last night she’d fought with the covers and they had won. Although technically she’d slept, she didn’t feel rested. She dreamed about the wreck, the break-in at Jeremiah’s. David being here now gave her solace and soothed her apprehension.

  After pouring a mug of coffee for David, she opened the refrigerator and noticed the items that Jeremiah had stocked for her as he always did the day before she returned home from a village. Tears jammed her throat and glistened in her eyes. It was one of the many things he’d done for her over the years.

  “Bree?”

  David’s deep baritone penetrated her sorrow, drawing her back to the moment. “Thanks to Jeremiah, I have eggs, milk, cheese. Do you want an omelet?” Her words held no inflection, as if she were on autopilot.

  David came up behind her, close but not touching. “I’ll eat whatever you want. I can even help you.”

  She shook away her last picture of Jeremiah slumped in the cockpit and removed the carton of eggs. “No, you’re my guest, and, besides, I need to do something.”

  “I’m sorry. I know how important Jeremiah was to you. I’m a good listener.”

  “I’m not ready.” She withdrew the milk, cheese and bacon. “I think I’m still numb.”

  “I understand. It’s been just barely two days. My offer still stands when you’re ready. Loss is part of life but so hard on the living.”

  Amen to that. With Jeremiah’s death, she should know, having lost everyone she had been close to. There were no adequate words.

  “I appreciate the offer. Right now I’m going to focus on fixing breakfast, then making a call to the police to see when they will investigate the break-in.”

  “I can do that while you’re cooking. I know several high-ranking police officers. That’s one of the perks of heading a search and rescue organization.”

  “Great. Is there anything you can do about getting my street cleared soon?”

  David laughed. “I wish I had that kind of pull. But if you need a ride somewhere, I have room on my snowmobile.”

  “No, I’m fine today and tomorrow. I’ll use the time to clean up Jeremiah’s house. But I’m due at the clinic after that.” Bree cracked an egg and dumped it into a bowl.

  “It’s okay if you take time off.”

  She threw him a glance over her shoulder. “This coming from a man I suspect doesn’t take a lot of time off. You’re a full-time volunteer with a carpentry job on the side.”

  He pulled out his cell phone. “Okay. I admit I’m a workaholic.”

  While David called his friend at the police station, Bree cooked the bacon in the microwave, then crumbled the bits in the omelets she prepared. He wrapped up his conversation as she brought the food to the table. Bree went back and picked up the coffeepot, refilled their mugs and took a seat across from David.

  “This smells wonderful.” He stuffed his cell phone in his pocket.

  She thanked him, then bowed her head in prayer. “Lord, please give Jeremiah a hug for me. Bless this food and the man across from me. He saved my life.” When she looked up, she found David staring at her, his expression thoughtful.

  “I was doing my job.” He dropped his gaze to his omelet. “That’s all.”

  “One
I’m grateful for. What did your friend say?” Bree slipped her first bite into her mouth.

  “The streets aren’t clear, but as a favor to me, he’ll come out at the end of his shift and make out a report. Not one of his usual duties since he is a lieutenant and a detective.”

  “When?”

  “Around twelve. He’s been on duty all night.” David took a swallow of his coffee. “I thought I would stay and help clear your sidewalk and driveway.”

  “I wish I could afford a heated driveway, but I have college loans to pay off.”

  “I have one. Definitely a nice convenience. But today you have me to help.”

  He gave her a smile that warmed her insides and began to thaw the numbness encasing her from the past forty hours. “Nor do I have a snowmobile, but I have skied to work.”

  “As soon as the airport runways are cleared, I’m flying to the wreck site. Thankfully I have the coordinates because the emergency locator transmitter isn’t working anymore.”

  “It isn’t? I never turned it off. I wonder if those men did.”

  David washed a bite of omelet down with another swig of coffee. “No, it was working when we returned to Anchorage.”

  “But not now. What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. Probably nothing other than it was damaged and possibly malfunctioned.”

  Bree studied his face, void of emotion as though he were deliberately hiding what he really thought. “You think it’s something else, don’t you?”

  “Someone might have come along and turned it off. It was working until the storm moved out of the area.”

  “A rescue team?”

  “No, everyone was called off when I found you.”

  “I’m coming with you. Do you think we can go tomorrow? I’ll feel better when we recover Jeremiah’s body and give him a proper funeral. There are enough unanswered questions. With that resolved, it will be easier to move forward.”

  “Usually the airport clears at least one runway pretty fast since airplanes are one of the main modes of transportation in Alaska.”