by Becki Willis
“And you noticed the break-in when you first got home?”
“Yes. I left the celebration early, so I could wrap gifts. I declare, Allen Wynn is as bad as a child when it comes to snooping around for his Christmas presents! I bought him a really nice watch this year, so I hid it somewhere he would never suspect… out in the shed, where we’re hiding the boys’ gifts. I went out to get it so I could wrap without him here, and that’s when I discovered someone had broken in.”
Madison sent Brash a sharp glance. Marilyn Bashinski had purchased a watch for her husband. Coincidence? Or connection?
His tone remained calm and steady, but Madison recognized the glint in his dark eyes. “Was the watch taken?” Brash asked.
“No. I had it well hidden, tucked inside my gardening glove, and the glove inside my gardening box. They only took the obvious things.”
“Can you tell if any of your wrapped gifts are missing from under the tree?”
Mitzi stopped her pacing and practically fell onto the couch. She looked despondently at the tree and shook her head. “I don’t think so. As you can see, I haven’t done much wrapping yet.”
“So nothing was taken from inside the house?”
“It doesn’t appear they came inside. Officer Perry is outside now, looking for signs they tried to get in.” She wrung her hands in distress. “Who is doing this, Brash? Things like this just don’t happen here! We’ve always been such a safe community.”
Weariness showed in Brash’s face. Frustration and exhaustion weighed down his sigh. “I completely agree. But no community, no matter how small or how closely knit, is immune to crime. People move in, people travel through, and they bring their thieving ways with them. But I can assure you, Mitzi, we’re working on this, and I am determined to find the culprits.”
Madison knew Brash viewed the crime wave as a personal assault on his peacekeeping skills. She knew it was more than an issue of pride. This hit on a more vulnerable level, making him question his own abilities as a lawman and defender of the people. And when he hurt, she hurt.
None of those insecurities showed on his handsome face as he set his pen to paper. “So, let’s go over this, one step at a time. Tell me everything.”
Mitzi tossed her hands into the air once again. “What more is there to tell? While Allen was playing Santa Claus, someone else was playing the Grinch!”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Once Allen returned from his Santa duties, Brash and Madison talked with the couple at length. Afterward, Madison went home and shut herself inside her office for the evening. With the Angel Tree and parade checked off her to-do list, she could devote her attention to the Christmas Crimes. The silly term had stuck, and she now found herself referring to the case as such.
Filling in for her, her parents took charge of the Cookie Campaign for the busy Saturday night. Charlie was in his prime, visiting with old friends and chatting with every person who drove up. Happy strummed Christmas carols on her ukulele and sang in her whispery soft voice. A few friends from school joined Bethani, Blake, and Megan in handing out bags of cookies and Christmas cheer.
Madison was surprised to see Miley Redmond among the teens gathered on her lawn. Not only was she Barry’s daughter, but she had long been a thorn in Bethani and Megan’s adolescent sides. Madison had encouraged the teens to be more understanding of the other girl’s plight. Perhaps, she told them, Miley’s attitude was the result of an unhappy home life. Her mother was in and out of drug rehab and the teen lived with her father, a busy banker who had recently divorced his fourth wife and who spent paltry little time with his only child. After the events of the summer that emphasized how little Miley’s parents appreciated her, Madison thought she detected a softening in her daughter’s attitude toward the less fortunate girl. Miley had money, but that was a pale substitute for friends and people who genuinely cared.
With a pleased smile that Bethani and Megan were at least trying to be more compassionate, Madison turned away from the window. The festive atmosphere out on the lawn was a bit distracting, but she was determined to work on her case. Brash depended on her.
Taking a cue from the police chief, she pulled out her own whiteboard and her lists, and studied the similarities. There were scant few connections.
The victims had little in common. The Bashinskis were both teachers. Vanessa Hutchins worked at the pharmacy, Larry was an accountant. Reggie Carr worked as a car mechanic, and Mona didn’t work at all, at least not outside the home. Mitzi was also a teacher, and Allen was a businessman. Reluctantly including herself in the count, she noted that she was a single mother who owned a (very) small business, Bethani a high school student. The other motorist robbed, Ted Berlin from Riverton, was a cattle buyer for a packinghouse. Only two of the couples attended the same church, and all ran in different social circles. She and the Wynns had the strongest connection and it was tenuous, as best.
The only other connection she found was weak, and it still didn’t link all six cases together. Victims from two of the burglaries were teachers. That in itself seemed suspect, until she considered the fact that The Sisters Independent School District was the largest employer in the towns. A fourth victim had a shopping altercation with two other teachers within the district, and Bethani attended The Sisters High. She even had Mr. B as a teacher. Yet the whole school tie-in seemed irrelevant. For the life of her, Madison couldn’t see how the school could be the common denominator.
Still, she underlined it as a possible connection.
After chasing down the names of Bunco players and recent visitors to all the homes, she found little of promise. One of the players was a teacher, another was Allen Wynn’s sister-in-law. The Avon representative dropped a delivery off to Mitzi but left it on the front porch. Three of the victims had package deliveries from the same carrier, but further investigation showed only two of those had the same deliveryman. There was the faintest of connections with the cuckoo clock. Like Ted Berlin, the clocksmith lived in Riverton. After coming to Juliet to change out Vanessa’s cuckoo, the older man dropped by to visit his distant relative, Syd Bashinski. The man, however, was over seventy and walked with a slow and painful gait. He came with a stellar reputation and no ties to anything remotely unlawful, making him an unlikely person of interest.
With so few people on her POI list, Madison concentrated on the presents stolen. Perhaps that would yield better clues.
It was difficult to know which of Mona Carr’s reported losses were bogus, and which were real. Madison worked off the assumption that anything priced over fifty dollars was suspect. As she whittled down the lists, she found a few similarities that seemed worth pursuing.
Vanessa and Mona both made purchases at Victoria’s Secret.
Ted Berlin, Mitzi, and Mona had purchased sporting equipment, just as she had.
Vanessa, Mrs. B, and Mona, if believed, shopped at Premium Jewels. Mitzi had also shopped there, but her jewelry purchases were still safely nestled beneath her tree or, in the case of the watch, hidden inside her garden glove.
All the victims had purchased some sort of small electronics and/or a game device.
All had shopped in the Bryan/College Station area. Again, not surprising, given the college town offered the largest selection of stores—not to mention the only shopping mall—in the area.
The robberies had even been conducted in different manners. Two homes, one vehicle, and one outbuilding were burglarized by forced entry. Two vehicles were robbed on the same road; one while the motorist was outside the vehicle, one while the driver (much to her dismay) was still inside. Three deeds by daylight, three by night.
Madison dutifully underlined all the common factors, noted their rate of occurrence, and studied the final list, pathetic though it was.
Twirling an invisible mustache, she mimicked Sherlock Holmes playing Clue. “It was the teacher, using a diamond-studded game controller, in College Station.”
She dropped the playful attitude and blew out
a defeated breath. “Who am I kidding? It could be anyone, using any method of entry. But one thing is for certain. It happened right here in The Sisters. And with Christmas just one week away, time is running out.”
***
“The twins and I are going shopping,” Happy announced the next afternoon. “Would you like to come with us?”
It was on the tip of Madison’s tongue to refuse. She had a long list of things to do. Yet how often did she get the opportunity to go shopping with her mother? It would be three generations, out for a day of fun.
“Sounds fun,” she decided.
“Great. Blake’s already chosen where we’re eating for dinner. Ready in five minutes?”
“Five minutes? But—” She bit her tongue and nodded. “Sure, Mom. Five minutes is fine. Let me get my purse.”
Not for the first time, Madison secretly wondered if she were adopted. She had inherited none of her parents’ spontaneity. While they acted on their impulses, Madison gave careful thought to her course of action. Going shopping meant making lists, gathering her meager stash of cash and coupons, changing into comfortable shoes.
Yet here she was, still dressed in her church clothes and the most uncomfortable pair of shoes she owned, headed to the mall, with no list in sight. Sure, she had her little Christmas notebook in her purse, the master list with shopping ideas and little check marks above the items already purchased. But she hadn’t decided which stores to visit or plotted her shopping strategy. She hadn’t even checked the weekly circulars to see which store offered the best deal. She said as much, as they neared their destination.
“It’s called store apps, Mom,” Bethani chided with a roll of her eyes. “Sign up for email blasts and text alerts, and you’ll get all the latest sales on your phone. Here, hand me your phone and I’ll put some in for you.”
“To all your favorite stores, I’m sure.”
The teen smiled sweetly. “The more money I save you, the more you can buy for me.”
Madison tossed her own mother an exaggerated look, but she was smiling. “See what a thoughtful daughter I have? Always thinking of others.”
“She has a point, Maddy. Today’s world is online.”
“Says the woman who lives in the jungles of Africa.”
“It may not be quite as primitive as your father makes it out to be,” Happy confided. “We do have a few luxuries in the village where we live.”
“Speaking of my father… Dad seems to be enjoying himself now that he’s home. I thought he was going to stay outside all night visiting!”
“He might have, for all I know. I finally gave up and went on up to bed,” her mother sighed. “I suppose he’s making up for lost time. We were in quarantine for what seemed like forever, you know, when we first left Africa. He’s glad to be back among people again, particularly ones he hasn’t seen in so long.”
“He’s always been in his prime when surrounded with people. Blake takes after him, I’m afraid. He’s in the drama club at school and quite the performer, just like Dad.”
“I can hear you, you know,” her son said from behind the wheel. Madison had allowed him to drive on the way into town, promising the return honors to his sister. Having only recently turned sixteen, their driving skills were still new and evolving.
“Good. Then you’ll hear me say slow down. Again.”
“There’s such a thing as impeding traffic, you know. I could get a ticket for going too slow.”
“Not at this speed, you won’t. Besides, we’re almost to the exit for the mall.”
Once inside the crowded stores, Madison wasn’t sure how much shopping they were actually accomplishing. With four of them browsing together, their interests were pulled in different directions and different stores. Blake wanted to stop at every snack kiosk they came to. Bethani was drawn to every clothing store. Shopping for one another was impossible.
“Ooh, look, my phone just binged,” the teen said, flashing her screen toward her mother. “TossUp is having a sale. Up to sixty percent off! And look at that top, isn’t it the cutest?” She pointed to the outfit in the window.
“How did your phone know we were in front of the store?” Madison frowned.
“Again, it’s called store apps, Mom.”
“I think it’s called Big Brother,” she muttered.
She looked confused. “The television show?”
“No, the book. The all-seeing eye.”
“You know… the internet!” Happy chirped. “And you’re right. That top is the cutest! Come on, Bethi-boo, let’s go check it out.” Hooking her arm with her granddaughter’s, the two sailed into the store before Madison could further protest.
After an hour of chaos, Madison finally gave in and allowed the twins to go off on their own, telling them to check back with her in an hour.
“I’ll text you,” Bethani promised.
“Fine. Have you seen Happy? I swear, she’s worse than you kids, wandering off on her own.”
“I saw her over by the shoes, talking to some guy,” Blake offered. He used the bottom of his yogurt cone to indicate the direction.
“What guy? A sales clerk?”
“I don’t think so. See you later. Beth and I have shopping to do!”
“Great,” Madison muttered beneath her breath. “My gift will be a rubber ring from the arcade. Because if I know my son, that’s exactly where he’s headed. Now to find my mother…”
She wandered through the department store until she spotted her mother’s long hair and distinctive flowing skirt. Sure enough, she was engaged in a lively conversation with a large man that Madison didn’t recognize.
The closer she got to the man, the more surprised she was. He had rough features, exacerbated by the silvery scar slashed across his left cheek. His head was shaved clean and when he turned, Madison saw a crude tattoo at the back of his neck. Something about it screamed prison. Alarmed, she picked up her pace and hurried toward her mother.
She thought the man might be panhandling, taking her mother for an easy mark. He had bulging biceps beneath his too-short shirtsleeves. Tattoos ran the length of his muscled arm, some more professionally inked than others. To her surprise, her mother laughed at something the man said.
“Mom? I wondered where you had gotten off to.”
“Oh, hi, Maddy. I just ran into an old friend and was catching up.”
Friend? More likely someone from her outreach program, Madison thought.
“Tom, I don’t believe you’ve ever met our daughter. Maddy, this is Tom Haskell, an old friend from back when your father was a croupier. Tom, Maddy.”
“Why, Maddy, you are just as pretty in person as you were on TV,” the behemoth of a man said.
Something about his smile made her distinctly uncomfortable. It wasn’t the chipped and broken teeth, evidence of having had one fight too many. It wasn’t the way his bottom lip rippled from the effort, poorly healed from being busted so often. No, the look in his eyes made Madison uncomfortable.
Look? she questioned. It was more of a leer. Like he knew something about her, something secretive.
She knew her smile was stiff when she said, “thank you” with little sincerity. “Mom? Are you done shopping?”
“Well, no, Maddy, I’ve been visiting.” Her mother was clearly aggravated at her rude behavior, subtle though it was. “Tom and I have both been away for years and were catching up.”
Madison tried, for her mother’s sake. “Oh? And where are you from, Mr. Haskell?”
“Like your parents, I’m a traveling man,” he said evasively. “I’ve just recently moved back to the Navasota area.”
“I told Tom he really must come for supper one night,” Happy prattled on. “Your father would get a kick out of seeing him again, after all these years!”
“I’m sure he would,” Madison agreed. She touched her mother’s arm. “I don’t mean to rush you, but our day is slipping away. We have dinner reservations in an hour.”
“Reservati
ons? What are you talking about?”
“Blake made them,” she said hastily, knowing her mother would not object to anything either of the twins might do.
An indulgent smile touched her mother’s face. “Ah, I’m sorry, Tom, but my grandson is at that age. A bottomless pit that must be fed.”
“I understand, Allie. No need to apologize. Don’t forget to tell Charlie I said ‘hey.’”
“Of course not! And I’m serious. Come over for supper some night, we’d love to have you. Wouldn’t we, dear?” She turned to her daughter for confirmation.
Maddy’s smile was tight, but she managed. “We’ll set something up after the holidays. Do you have his number?”
“I gave him yours,” Happy said, oblivious to the evil eye she earned from her daughter.
“It was very nice to meet you in person, Maddy,” Tom Haskell said. “I feel like I already know you.” There seemed to be a touch of laughter in his voice, but she could have imagined it. She reluctantly took the beefy hand he offered.
“You have a Merry Christmas, Mr. Haskell.”
All but shooing her mother forward, Madison put as much distance between them and the man as possible.
“Madison Josephine, what was all that about? You were absolutely rude to that man! What has gotten into you?”
She ignored the questions and asked one of her own. “How do you know that man, Mother?”
“I told you, we knew him back in the day.”
“The man is obviously a criminal, Mother.”
“A criminal? What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you see those tattoos? The ones that looked more like ink blobs? That’s because they are. Those were prison tats.”
“One, you don’t know that for certain. And two, if he’s out of prison, then he’s served his time and made his amends to society. Everyone deserves a second chance, Madison,” she chided.
“And you don’t know that he’s made amends!” she hissed back. “For all you know, he broke out of prison.”
