Yuletide Peril

“Eleven.”

“Where has she attended school?”

“The elementary school in Willow Creek. I’m Brooke’s guardian.”

Janice seemed young to be the guardian of her sister. Lance wondered if their parents were dead.

“We can probably find everything we need to know from her records when they arrive.”

“I’ll have them transferred right away. When does school start?”

“August twenty-fifth.”

“That will give me more than a week to finish my work and move. I noticed there’s a motel where we can stay for a few days until I settle on something.”

Glancing through the window behind Lance, Janice saw Brooke and Taylor shooting baskets on the playground, and she felt compelled to confide in him. She wouldn’t start a new life by concealing the ugly things in her past.

“Thanks for not asking questions, but there are things about us that you should know, things you won’t find in Brooke’s records.”

Janice’s mouth was tight and grim and her long-lashed green eyes smoldered with bitterness. Still staring out the window, she explained. “The reason I’m Brooke’s guardian is because our parents are in prison. They’ve been alcoholics and drug addicts as long as I can remember. They illegally traded their welfare benefits for money whenever they could. When their welfare payments stopped because they wouldn’t work, they started stealing to support their addictions.”

Janice paused and closed her eyes. Those days were a nightmare she wished she could forget.

“They were caught robbing a convenience store and sent to prison. Brooke was placed in a foster home and I was sent to the Valley of Hope.” She looked directly at him. “Do you know what kind of place that is?”

Lance had heard of the Valley of Hope, a reputable institution that ministered to at-risk children and teenagers. He couldn’t envision Janice Reid as an at-risk teenager. At a loss to know how to comment, Lance said, “Yes.”

“I was fourteen and Brooke was four when that happened. I left VOH when I graduated from high school, got a job and saved enough money to prove I can support my sister. Uncle John’s legacy also helped to convince the Department of Health and Human Services that I’m a fit guardian.”

Janice’s hands moved restlessly and she clenched them in her lap.

“I’ve prayed that this inheritance was the end of our troubles and that Brooke and I could have a home together here.” She looked at Lance quickly, hopefully. “How will people in Stanton react to us when they learn that our parents are in prison?”

Lance leaned forward in his chair and placed his elbows on the table. The compassion in his dark blue eyes lessened the tension Janice experienced when she talked about her parents.

“Stanton residents are no different from people the world over. Most of them will accept you, believing you shouldn’t be blamed for your parents’ actions. Others will mistrust you.”

“It doesn’t matter for me, but Brooke is a timid, trusting child. I don’t want her hurt.”

“I can understand that all too well,” he said. “Taylor’s father served three years in prison, and it’s been rough for her. Dale was sent to prison because he’d embezzled funds from the local bank, although he’s always asserted his innocence. Linda, my sister, had divorced Dale before this happened, and she and Taylor moved in with me.”

“Then Brooke and Taylor should get along all right.”

“I’m sure of it. Taylor seems happy-go-lucky, but she loves her father, and she feels sorry for him.”

“When I inherited this house, and a fair amount of money, I thought it would be good for Brooke and me to start a new life. I intended to go to college while Brooke was in school. Now I’m not so sure, but since I’ve put my plans in motion, I’ll give it a try. I’ve been working at SuperMart in Willow Creek, and since they have a store here, I can work part-time if I have to. If the house isn’t worth renovating, I’m sure I can sell the property. Considering that it’s within the city limits, it should bring enough so I can buy another house.”

“Actually, the city limits run through your property, so it’s hard to tell what part is within the city. But it should sell if you put the property in the hands of a reputable real estate agent, and I can recommend one to you. Or Loren Santrock can advise you. He’s the town’s leading attorney.”

Janice heard Brooke’s voice in the hallway, and she took a small notebook from her purse and wrote down her cell phone number. Standing, she said, “We’ll have to leave now, because I want to get back to Willow Creek before dark.”

She tore the sheet from her notebook and handed it to Lance. “I don’t have a phone in my apartment, but you can reach me on my cell if you need to contact me.”

Lance walked to the car with Janice and Brooke, and he stood on the sidewalk and waved goodbye. He had observed many things about Janice during their meeting, but he was struck by the fact that she hadn’t once smiled. Had her miserable childhood and the responsibilities she’d had to assume for her sister taken all the gaiety from her life? Janice would be a beautiful woman if laughter erased the grimness around her mouth and pleasure brightened her eyes. Fleetingly he wondered what could bring about such a transformation.

As they left Stanton behind, Brooke immediately voiced her excitement about the school and her new friend.

“I like Taylor,” she said at once. “Her parents are divorced, and Taylor and her mother live with their uncle. Taylor wants her uncle to get married. She thinks if he has a wife, her mother will move out, and they can go back to live with Taylor’s dad. I told her that you weren’t married, either.”

Janice slanted a curious glance at her sister. “Is there a connection between those two statements?”

“Well, it would be neat if you’d get married, Janice. We could have a dad in the house like other people. And Taylor said her uncle is a really nice man.”

“I’m sure he is, but I doubt he’d appreciate having his niece find a wife for him.”

“Did you like him?” Brooke persisted.

Janice felt her face get warm, and she said, “Oh, let Lance Gordon find his own wife. Marriage isn’t in my plans for the future. Tell me about the school.”

“It’s awesome. There’s a great big computer lab, a gym and neat classrooms. The school takes two or three field trips every year. The sixth graders usually go to Washington, D.C. I love it already.”

Janice chatted with her customer and automatically scanned the items the woman placed on the counter. She’d already turned on the closed sign at her SuperMart checkout station. Janice had long ago convinced herself that she could stand anything for five more minutes. She tried to send that message to her back and feet, so they’d hold her erect until she received the customer’s money and sacked her purchases.

“We’re going to miss you, Janice,” the woman said sincerely. “You’re my favorite clerk.”

“Thank you,” Janice murmured with a catch in her voice. She’d made many friends at the store during the past three years. She would miss them, and she hoped she wouldn’t regret her decision to move.

Somewhat apprehensive of the big change a move to Stanton would make in her life, Janice walked quickly to the office to clock out of the store for the last time. She wanted to avoid any last-minute goodbyes to delay her because she still had a few things to do before she could leave Stanton.

Her co-workers had surprised her with a farewell party the night before and had given her a television, complete with DVD and VCR. She appreciated this evidence of their friendship, but the gift meant that she must rent a small U-Haul trailer to move her belongings, because there wasn’t room in her car for a television. She was pleased with the gift though, for it would be enjoyable for Brooke to have a new television to watch.

Her intention to slip out of the store without notice was thwarted, however, when her supervisor called, “Here’s a letter for you—came in today’s mail.”

Janice took the letter, thinking it must be a card from one of the employees who’d missed last night’s party. She stuck the envelope in the pocket of her jeans and waved a general goodbye to her co-workers as she hurried out of the store.

Janice made her first stop at a garage, and she sat in the car while the mechanic attached a trailer hitch to her car. Fidgeting over this inactivity, Janice remembered the letter in her pocket.

The wrinkled envelope had no return address, and the postmark was smudged. Letters containing hazardous materials came to mind. She’d heard warnings on television about opening an envelope or package if it looked suspicious. She discounted the idea that an insignificant person like herself would be targeted for a terrorist’s attack, but she decided to be cautious. She stepped outside the car, held the envelope at arm’s length, and opened it with a nail file. No white substance was evident, and she concluded that the message was harmless.

Unfolding the single sheet of paper, she read it and stared in horror at the words.

If you know what’s good for you, stay away from Stanton.

Stunned by the message, Janice staggered to the car, her rapid pulse thudding in her forehead. Slumping in the seat, fearful images built in her mind and her stomach quivered with terror. What kind of prank was this? What difference could it make to anyone if she moved to Stanton?

After the first wave of fear, anger replaced Janice’s distress and she rationalized the situation. This letter had probably been sent by her father’s relatives still living in the Stanton area. Was this their way of telling her they were angry because the Reid property had passed to her?

Janice’s stubborn streak was stronger than her fear. She set her jaw and muttered, “They can like it or lump it! I’m moving to Stanton.”