Detective Parker still had no leads on the missing evidence, and Holly was no closer to figuring out who or what to believe about any of the past months’ events. She dragged through the motions teaching her class until they were dismissed for Christmas break, then huddled in her living room like a hermit, replaying her memories of time spent with Matt. Every couple of days, she called Paige for updates on the search for Zoey, but no one had heard from her.
A series of snowstorms hit Morgan Hollow just before Christmas, blanketing the mountains with a thick layer of snow and ice and giving her an excuse to hide out at home when Jana or Kim called asking her to have lunch.
Finally, after a few days of moping and procrastinating, she retrieved the boxes of Ryan’s files, salvaged from the basement and only slightly smoke-and water-damaged, and buried herself in Matt’s case.
As Matt had suggested, she found little in Ryan’s file that contradicted Matt’s version of what had happened the night Jill died. Ryan’s case, it seemed, had been based largely on Matt’s “confession” the night of Jill’s death and other circumstantial, though highly incriminating, evidence. Ryan had focused on Matt’s fingerprints on the gun, the condition of the upended room that suggested a struggle, and testimony of family friends that detailed the problems Matt and Jill had had in their marriage.
One afternoon, her third straight day of reading legal briefs and tedious testimony, she found a handwritten note Ryan had exchanged—perhaps in court?—with a colleague. Ryan had not been able to explain why no gunshot residue had been found on Matt’s hands, but, to her dismay, Ryan had glossed over that inconsistency at the trial.
“Ryan, how could you?” Acid and disillusionment roiled in her gut. “You ignored key evidence? What happened to upholding the law?”
She couldn’t discount that evidence of Matt’s innocence so easily. While it disturbed her to think of Ryan railroading a conviction against Matt to advance his career, she found printouts of e-mails from Ryan’s boss, pressuring him to win the high-profile case at all cost.
She glanced across the room to the portrait of her and Ryan that was on the mantel, and she addressed his image. “Is that why you went after Matt so aggressively? To save your job?” She sighed and shook her head. “That doesn’t excuse anything. You were dealing with a man’s life, his future, his reputation! Didn’t that count for anything?”
But the jury still found him not guilty. They believed him and his lawyers over me. I didn’t win, she imagined Ryan contending.
“That doesn’t change the facts of what you did. That trial and the repercussions ruined his life!”
The house phone rang, jarring her out of her one-sided argument with Ryan.
She picked up the cordless receiver and checked the caller ID before answering. The display only read, “out of area.” She considered ignoring the call, but on the off chance it was Detective Parker with news about the missing documents for Ryan’s case, she punched the talk button.
“Happy early birthday, sis!” Zoey’s lilting voice sang.
“Zoey!” Holly clenched the phone tighter, as if she could bring her sister closer by squeezing the receiver with all her might. “Thank God! Where are you? We’ve all been worried sick!”
Zoey gave a dramatic groan. “I’m fine. I’m with Derek, and I’m safe.”
“Define with Derek. Where is that on a map?”
“If I tell you, you’ll just tell Dad, and he’ll try to force me to come home and…well, I can’t do that.”
“Why not? Zoey, Dad is a reasonable guy.” Zoey interrupted Holly with a snort of disagreement, but Holly continued, undaunted. “If you’d just sit down with him and talk your differences out. Heck, I don’t even know what your fight was about, but it couldn’t be worth giving up your family and hiding out God knows where.”
“You can say that, because Dad never tried to bribe your boyfriend into leaving you.” Bitterness dripped from Zoey’s tone.
“He did what? No, Zoey, you must have misunderstood! Dad would never—”
“Throw his wealth and power around to get his way? Holly, that’s all Dad does. That’s how he built Bancroft Industries. But I won’t let him dictate my life the way he’s dictating Paige’s.”
Knowing her sister’s tendency toward hyperbole, Holly ignored most of Zoey’s histrionics. But her comment about Paige niggled. Holly had picked up on a general discontent when she’d spoken to Paige and wondered if Zoey had any insight. “How is he dictating Paige’s life?”
“Hello! She doesn’t love Brent! She’s marrying him because Dad wants her to, because it’s good for Bancroft Industries. Brent is Dad’s heir apparent as CEO when he retires next year, and he wants control of the company to stay in the family.”
“But Paige has never told me—”
“Of course she hasn’t said anything, even to you. She’s doing her martyr-for-the-family act again. The good girl doing exactly as she’s required. Well, it was killing me to see her throw her happiness away with that stuffed shirt. If she wants to do Dad’s bidding, she can, but I want no part of it. And I especially didn’t want Dad meddling in my love life.”
“So…what happened with Derek?”
Zoey harrumphed. “Dad hated the fact that Derek didn’t have a steady income or a white-collar job.”
“What does Derek do?” Holly held her breath. There was no telling what kind of guy Zoey had gotten involved with.
“He’s a professional poker player, and he’s very good. His winnings are enough for us to live off of…most of the time.”
“And the rest of the time?”
“My savings get us through for now.”
Holly’s heart sank. No wonder her dad was upset. Zoey’s situation reeked of a shyster using her sister to support a gambling addiction.
“I’d get a job, too,” Zoey was saying, “but we’re on the road too much, traveling from one tournament to the next, so it isn’t practical.”
Holly bit her tongue to keep from saying something she knew would upset her sister. Zoey wasn’t communicating with the rest of the family, and Holly didn’t want to do anything to cut off the line of communication she had with Zoey—one-sided though it was. “Promise me something, will you? Stay in touch with me from now on. No more communication blackouts like the past few weeks. You really had us worried.”
Zoey mumbled something Holly took as assent, then chirped, “Enough about me. How’s that hunky roommate of yours? If I know you, you’re planning a big Christmas together. Am I right?”
The mention of Matt lodged a sharp shard of pain in her heart. “Actually, no. Matt moved out. I’m supposed to spend Christmas with Jon, Jana and Robert.”
“Whoa, back up. Why did Matt move out?”
Holly considered brushing the question off, but before she knew it, she was spilling the whole sordid story to her sister. When she finished, Zoey was unusually quiet. “Hey, are you still there?”
“Mmm, yeah, I’m just wondering what the problem is. You’re incredibly attracted to this guy, he made you happier than you’ve been in more than a year, your instincts tell you he’s a good person, a man of character and intellect and compassion, but you kicked him out of your house? I don’t get it.”
Holly grunted her exasperation. “How am I supposed to trust him again? He lied to me!”
“Because he didn’t want to hurt you! In fact, from what you just said, he was painfully honest about some rather intimate and difficult parts of his life—including giving you the truth about his connection to Ryan when you asked him about it. Can’t you give him credit for that? Given all you know about him and the difficult position he was in, can’t you understand what he did and why?”
Holly shook her head, knowing Zoey couldn’t see her action, then argued, “Even if I could, how do I know he’ll not betray me in the future? How do I know all the things Robert suspects about Matt aren’t right? What if he did seek me out for revenge against Ryan? What if he did try to kill me in the
fire? What if he—”
“Oh, give me a break! You don’t really give any of Robert’s theories credence, do you?”
“He’s a cop. Why shouldn’t I trust his instincts?”
“He may be a cop, but, remember, I’ve met the guy. He always struck me as a selfish, arrogant blowhard.”
“Zoey!”
“Sorry, Hol. I know he’s Ryan’s brother-in-law, but I never liked the jerk.”
“Even if he’s a bit much at times, I know he has my best interests at heart. If he doesn’t trust Matt, maybe he has good reason.”
“And maybe you have a better reason to trust him. You know Matt. You know his heart. You’ve always had spot-on instincts about people, and you knew from the start Matt was trustworthy. You would never have hired him or let him move into your home if you hadn’t been sure, deep in your soul.”
Holly rubbed her temple and sighed. “But I—”
“Don’t doubt your instincts now, Holly.” Passion filled her sister’s voice. “Don’t doubt what you’ve seen to be true about him in the weeks you’ve spent together. He made a mistake but for all the right reasons. You have to forgive him and give your relationship another chance! Don’t throw away your shot at happiness because he couldn’t bring himself to broach a touchy subject as soon as he should have.”
Holly sagged back on the sofa. Leave it to Zoey to appeal to the bottom-line emotional issue. The crux of the issue wasn’t that Matt had keep an explosive secret from her. The real question she faced now was could she forgive him? Could she justify losing him from her life over his mistake, when in every other area he’d proven trustworthy?
“That still doesn’t settle the question of who started the fire and why. He has to be the lead suspect, because his fingerprints were on the gas can. He was the only one here with me.”
“That you know of. Someone could have been hiding in the barn. Or come and then left again. Or…who knows! Don’t convict him on circumstantial evidence.”
Holly’s thoughts jumped to the files she’d been reading regarding Jill’s death. So much of what Ryan had tried Matt on had been circumstantial. But she believed in his innocence in Jill’s death, didn’t she?
“I’ll think about what you’ve said, Zoey, but…I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“BeBeing wrong about him and being hurt again. On the other hand, I’m scared of losing him, too. I could love him.” She plucked at the loose thread on her sofa, and her admission arrowed to a vulnerable place in her soul. She sighed her resignation. “It would be so easy to give him my heart.”
“So do it! Follow your heart! Don’t analyze this to death like Paige would.”
She gave her sister an ironic laugh. “There is a balance, you know, between Paige’s overthinking and your impulsiveness.”
“Ahem, I prefer to think of it as my spontaneity and zest for life,” Zoey said with a theatrical expansiveness.
“And I love your zest for life, squirt.” Using her sister’s childhood moniker brought a lump to her throat. “Don’t ever change.”
“Never. I promise. Look, I gotta go. Have a happy birthday tomorrow and remember I love you.”
“You, too. Stay in touch. Or at least answer your cell when I call from now on.”
“I will. But don’t worry about me. I’m okay. I’m happy.”
Holly disconnected the call and sat in her living room, staring into the fireplace as evening darkness gathered outside. Zoey’s optimism and encouragement served as a counterbalance to Robert’s voice of gloom and doom regarding Matt.
Don’t throw away your shot at happiness.
Was that what she’d be doing if she didn’t give Matt another chance?
Or was Matt the consummate actor, deceiving her on all levels? Could he really be responsible for killing Ryan? Was she the next target in his plot for revenge?
Christmas Eve morning, the overcast skies and light snow matched Holly’s mood following her restless night’s sleep.
“Happy birthday,” she told her reflection glumly in her freshly renovated bathroom. The completion of the project should have buoyed her spirits, but without the two men she most wanted to share the pride of completion with, Ryan and Matt, she could muster little enthusiasm. Before she dressed for the day, she did find some pleasure in the hot bubble bath she took in the claw-foot tub. The warm water and scented soaps soothed her tense muscles and helped calm the whirlwind of thoughts replaying fruitlessly in her head.
Her parents called to wish her a happy birthday, and she had to work to hide the emotion in her voice. She didn’t want to upset her folks when there was nothing they could do to resolve the uncertainty she faced about Matt, about Ryan’s unsolved murder, about the arson in her basement. She told her family about her talk with Zoey, reassuring them she was safe. She swore up and down she hadn’t learned anything about her sister’s whereabouts other than that she moved from town to town too much with Derek to get a job.
Paige was next to call and the conversation was much the same. Except that Paige reiterated her decision to postpone her wedding until Zoey came home. If Paige was upset by the decision to delay the nuptials, Holly didn’t hear it in her voice, lending credence to Zoey’s theory that Paige didn’t really love Brent. In fact, Holly would swear Paige sounded relieved to have more time before her wedding.
Holly blew her bangs out of her face with a puff. Like she needed something else to worry about! Zoey and the possible swindler. Paige’s reasons for marrying. Ryan’s murder. The fire. Matt’s lies….
Holly made herself a piece of toast and some coffee and went to the bay window of her kitchen to watch the snow falling. Any other year, she’d be thrilled to be having a white Christmas. She still loved to build snowmen and make snow angels and have snowball fights, but without anyone to share it with, the snow was simply…lonely. Lovely but lonely.
She pictured the kids from her class playing in the snow with their friends and mustered a smile of appreciation for their sake. When she finished her breakfast, she bundled into her coat and boots to head out to the barn with fresh food and water for Magic and her kittens.
The kittens were balls of furry energy now that loved to play in the shelter of the barn but would scamper back to their bed, mewling for their mother, if they strayed too far from home base. This morning, the kittens were huddled close to each other and their mother, bracing against the icy drafts that seeped through the barn walls.
Holly took one look at the cold kitties and her heart melted.
“Okay, if you promise to behave, you may come inside.”
Magic watched warily as Holly scooped the wiggly kittens in her arms and clicked her tongue for Magic to follow her inside. Magic trotted behind her, following her babies’ mewls.
Inside, Holly set the kittens up in a corner of the kitchen with a litter box, towels for a bed and plenty of food and water. She shut the kitchen door to keep the cats contained. As she passed through the entry hall on her way upstairs to change clothes before going over to Jana’s for gift wrapping and her birthday dinner, she heard the scuff of feet on her front porch.
Through the door’s window, she saw a shadowy figure. Even without opening her door, she recognized the height and broad-shouldered build of the man outside.
Matt.
Her breath hung suspended in her lungs while conflicting emotions battled inside her. Pleasure and anticipation of seeing him warred with the lingering anger, hurt and suspicion. When he knocked, she moved stiffly to open the door.
Wearing only a thin jacket, Matt stood with his shoulders hunched against the cold. His cheeks were ruddy from the icy temperature, but his blue eyes held the ever-present warmth that never failed to trigger a soul-deep answering heat within her.
“Hi.” His eyes searched hers tentatively, measuring her mood. “Is this a bad time?”
“Not really. But I have to leave soon to go to Jana and Robert’s.”
He nodded. “Oh. Well, I won’t k
eep you.”
She scanned the front lawn, saw tire tracks in the snow but no vehicle. “How did you get here?”
He held up his thumb. “Hitched. Young guy home from college gave me a lift.” He dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box tied with a blue ribbon. “I just wanted to give you this.” He extended the tiny package to her. “Happy birthday.”
Holly’s heart kicked, largely because of the effort he’d gone to in order to bring the present. “You remembered.”
His cheek twitched in a grin. “It’s a pretty easy birthday to remember considering it comes the day before a major Christian holiday.”
She looked at his offering and hesitated. “Matt, you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“Don’t start that. Just take it.”
Holly opened Matt’s gift with trembling fingers. The ribbon fell away, and she lifted the lid of the small box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, lay a small wooden bird with outstretched wings. A metal loop was affixed to the bird’s back so that it could be suspended.
She stared at it, speechless for a moment, until Matt reached for the wrappings. She handed the box to him so she could more closely examine the figurine.
“It’s beautiful. It looks like—”
“The dove in your stained glass,” he said at the same time she said, “the bird in my stained glass.”
She lifted a corner of her mouth. “So the resemblance is intentional.”
“Absolutely. It’s an ornament for your tree. I made it from the piece of the trunk we cut off when we put your tree in the stand.”
Holly sniffed the bird, savoring the pine scent of the smoothly sanded wood.
“I hope it, like the window, will remind you that you have an inner strength that will pull you through anything.” Matt’s voice dipped low and reverberated through her. “You can survive even the darkest times if you have faith and hope, and you’ll find your wings again.”
Her breath caught, and emotion clogged her throat. For several seconds, she could only stare at Matt through tear-puddle eyes. “And you?”
The Christmas Stranger Page 17
