Excerpt of
A Holiday Mystery at Jenkins Cove:
CHRISTMAS DELIVERY |
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Prologue
Christmas Eve, 13 years ago
Wind
howled along the Chesapeake and drove a stinging wall of snow at Simon
Shea, virtually blinding him. Somehow he made it off the road and into
the woods, where the unusually fierce winter storm abated some.
Dropping his duffel bag, he stopped for a moment and leaned against the
trunk of a pine to catch his breath. He could hardly move, could hardly
think, what with weather conditions that threatened to ruin his
carefully made plans.
Even in the woods, the wind haunted him, moaning and rattling
ice-covered tree branches overhead. Geared up to get free of Jenkins
Cove—to get away from his drunk of a father, from his cold, bitter
life—he had to do it tonight.
Thank God, Lexie
was coming with him.
That’s all Simon had been thinking about since convincing her to
run the night before, as they lay together, snugged in their wooded
shelter, his angular body protectively wrapped around her soft one:
being with her...starting a new life together...waking up happy with
her in his arms every morning. Knowing he and Lexie would be together
for the rest of their lives was the best Christmas present in the world!
She’d hesitated at first and he’d understood her arguments. They
were awfully young to go off on their own. She hadn’t finished high
school yet. And what about college? But Simon had sworn that he would
protect her and provide for her and find a way for her to do everything
she ever wanted. She’d smiled at him then—that crooked,
heart-wrenching, only-for-him smile that made him fall for her in the
first place—and he’d known everything was going to be all right.
He’d better get going. Didn’t want to be late. Didn’t want to
scare Lexie into thinking he’d gotten cold feet. They were to meet
behind the church at half past midnight, would start their new life
together on Christmas morning.
Picking up the duffle bag, he decided to stay off the main road
and take the shortcut through the woods into town. Luckily he knew them
like the back of his hand. Every path, every detour around danger.
There were a couple of swampy areas that locals stayed away from. They
could trap a man, suck him down and bury him alive. Not much different
than living with Rufus Shea, Simon thought, fighting guilt that he was
leaving his old man alone. He just couldn’t take it any more—couldn’t
take being caretaker to a drunk who’d given up—not when he could start
a decent life with Lexie.
Simon was so engrossed in thoughts of their future, that he
didn’t at first hear the approaching sounds until they exploded through
the trees.
A series of shouts raised the short hairs on the back of his neck
and made his pulse jag. He stopped dead in his tracks. What the hell
was going on?
He looked around in confusion...caught blurred movement through
the trees...zeroed in on a kid flying through the woods.
As if his life depended on it.
Another teenager, younger than him, Simon thought, heart thumping
against his ribs now. Snow dusted the mop of curly pale hair. The kid
was dressed oddly—thin leather jacket, ripped jeans, thick-soled
shoes—not equipped for this weather. No one Simon recognized.
Still, something made him call out to the terrified kid. “Hey!
You need help?”
But the kid threw a fast, panicked look behind him,March 15, 2008
kept running until a whine shattered the quiet. Then he led with his
chest, head and arms flung back as his body snapped into an impossible
arch before he fell first to his knees, then face forward onto the
snow-covered ground.
Not knowing what to do—should he see if he could help the kid,
who wasn’t moving, or run for town?—Simon hesitated a moment.
His mistake.
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