Deadly Days of Christmas, page 11
“Thanks, Janie. I’m just going to wander for a little while and look at all the treasures.” And there were lots of treasures.
She found pretty little trinket boxes with pink jeweled, old-fashioned telephones on top and placed one for each of the dispatchers into her little shopping basket.
As she walked around the store, she felt herself relaxing like she hadn’t in the past few weeks. Seeing all the unique and fun things the store offered, along with the cheerful Christmas music playing overhead, fed her soul.
She found most of the presents she needed but unfortunately found nothing right to buy for Mac. What did you buy for a man who seemed to want for nothing, a man who had no hobbies and was a workaholic?
From Janie’s she stopped into the coffee shop and had a mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream. She sat at a window seat and people-watched as she enjoyed the hot drink.
She now couldn’t imagine why she’d ever wanted to move away from this small town. Her parents had teased her and said she’d eventually tire of the big city and want to come home. She wished she had come home sooner. She wished it hadn’t been their deaths that had brought her back.
And she desperately missed her younger sister. Lily had been three years younger than Callie. She’d been the typical pesky little sister, but despite her peskiness, the two had been very close. And now she was gone forever, thanks to a drunk driver. Callie shoved these sad thoughts away.
It was after four when she finally returned to her house. It had been a successful shopping day even though she hadn’t found a gift for Mac.
As she made herself dinner, big fluffy snowflakes began to fall outside the windows. She ate and watched them fall, glad that she was inside the warm confines of her home for the night.
After eating a bowl of soup and a salad for dinner, she went upstairs and changed out of her jeans and blouse and into a soft fleece jogging suit. She went back downstairs and into the living room. She turned on some Christmas music and then sat on the floor next to the sparkling tree to wrap the presents she had bought.
Several times throughout the day she’d thought about calling Mac to see how things were going, but she’d decided not to. Surely he would have called her if anything with the case had broken loose and she didn’t want to bother him by contacting him.
Once the presents were all wrapped, she built a fire in the fireplace, made herself a cup of hot cocoa and then curled up beneath a soft blanket on the sofa.
Holiday music continued to play as she stared into the flames that danced in the fireplace. Once again thoughts of her parents and the sister she had lost intruded into her head.
She had so many happy Christmas memories with them and as she sipped her hot drink, she allowed those remembrances to play freely through her mind.
Tears filled her eyes and she swiped at them angrily. She had sworn to herself that she wouldn’t grieve for them, but rather she would celebrate them.
As memories of her family slowly ebbed away, thoughts of murder filled her head. She hoped the killer was behind bars by Christmas. She wanted to celebrate the holiday with no thoughts of murder in her brain. And she wanted Mac to be free of the stress and weight this killer had placed on his shoulders.
She finished her drink and then leaned back and closed her eyes and let the music wash over her. She had definitely needed today to refresh and recharge. She was now eager to get back to work tomorrow. And she was definitely eager to see Mac.
She was just about to get up and head to bed when one particular Christmas song played. Her eyes snapped open and her heart began to beat a rhythm of excitement. Was it possible?
Could it be an answer to some of their questions about the murderer? She threw off her blanket and hurried up the stairs to where her computer was on a desk in her bedroom.
For the next half an hour she did some research and jotted down her findings in her notebook. When she was sure of what she had, she called Mac.
He answered on the first ring and she didn’t even give him a chance to greet her. “Mac, can you come over to my place right now?”
“Callie, it’s almost ten o’clock and there’s two inches of snow on the ground. What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to go into it over the phone. Please come here... It’s important. I swear you won’t be sorry.”
“This better be good,” he replied and then with a muttered goodbye, he hung up.
Immediately doubts began to fill Callie’s mind. Was it good? Had she found a clue to the case or was she only deluding herself? Could she be wrong? She grabbed her notebook and headed back downstairs. She desperately hoped she was right because if she was, it would be the first thing that made sense in this whole horrendous case.
* * *
AFTER HEARING THE forecast for six to eight inches of snow, Mac had been in contact with all his deputies. Tonight they were all on traffic duty. There were always the fools who thought they could drive through the snow, fools who found themselves stranded on the side of the road or crashed into another vehicle. If they got eight inches of snow the whole city would shut down and the only vehicles moving would be the snowplows.
The last thing he needed was to be heading to Callie’s house, but there had been a simmering excitement in her voice that definitely had him curious.
He was so used to having her around almost every minute of every day and he hated to admit that he’d missed her presence next to him today. In fact, it bothered him that he’d missed her as much as he had.
It made him want to gain more distance from her. And yet here he was in the middle of a stalled murder investigation on a snowy night rushing to her home.
When he pulled up in front of her house, the lights from the tree sparkled outward and reflected beautifully on the new fallen snow. Even though he was curious as to why she had called him here, he was reluctant to go inside because he knew he might like being in her space.
He pulled up in her driveway and parked and wondered again why she’d called him here. “Only way to find out is to go inside,” he muttered to himself.
He got out of the car and approached the front door. The snow was coming down even faster now. Before he could knock on the door, she opened it. “Mac, come on in.” She opened the door wide enough for him to step inside.
She looked beautiful and comfortable in a soft pink hoodie and matching jogging pants. She led him from the foyer into a large living room. A fire snapped and popped in the fireplace and everywhere he looked there were Christmas decorations. It was exactly the way he’d imagined it to be...exuding warmth and invitation. He shrugged out of his winter coat and laid it on the top of the beige overstuffed sofa.
“So, why am I here?” he asked.
“Please, have a seat.” Her eyes sparkled with what appeared to be excitement as she gestured him to the sofa. She joined him there, sitting so close to him he could feel her body heat.
“Are you going to tell me why I’m here?” he asked.
“Absolutely. I think I’ve figured something out about the murders. Mac, it’s not about the birds.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve been trying to figure out what the birds meant and we’ve believed the murders were somehow about the birds. Now I don’t believe the birds mean anything other than a manifestation of trauma.”
“I don’t understand. What’s changed your mind?” Mac looked at her quizzically.
“‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’... Do you know the song?” she asked, that shine of excitement still in her eyes.
He frowned. “Not really... Isn’t it something about five golden rings?”
“Before you get to the golden rings there are colly birds and French hens, turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree,” she replied.
She reached out and took both of his hands in hers. “Four colly birds... They are blackbirds, Mac. I looked it up. Three French hens...three chickens. Then there’s two turtle doves, which was two pigeons, and finally a partridge, which is like a big quail. The murders are not about the birds, Mac. They’re about Christmas. Somehow, I believe thoughts of Christmas triggered our killer. Somebody out there hates Christmas as much as you do and that’s how we’ll find him. He’s following the song.”
Mac tried to digest what she’d just said. Was it possible she was right? Was it possible the birds weren’t what was driving the murders, but rather it might be something traumatic that had happened at Christmastime that had triggered the killer?
An edge of excitement danced through him and he squeezed her hands. “Maybe this is the break we’ve been waiting for.”
“It’s definitely a new path to investigate,” she replied. “We’re really going to find him now, Mac.” To his surprise she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I swear we’re going to get the bastard,” she whispered into his ear.
He needed to distance himself from her. He couldn’t think when she was so close to him and yet even as he processed that thought his arms enveloped her.
She’d brought him a new lead to follow, but it was getting late on a snowy night and there was really nothing that could be done tonight about it.
He loosened his arms from around her as she reared back from him. He thought she intended to move completely out of his arms, but she stopped moving backward and suddenly her lips were right in front of his.
“Mac.” She said his name softly and with what sounded like a deep yearning.
“Yeah?” he replied, just as softly.
“Are you going to kiss me?” Her eyes were sparkling blue pools that he could drown in.
“I might.” A white-hot desire seared through him, a desire he’d been fighting against since last time he had kissed her.
“When will you know if you’re going to?” Her tongue made a quick dash across her upper lip as if in anticipation.
That single evocative action broke him. “I know right now,” he murmured just before his mouth took hers.
It wasn’t a soft, tender kiss; rather it was something hot and wild as their tongues immediately swirled together. She tasted faintly of chocolate and a fiery desire.
Her arms tightened around his neck as she leaned into him. Her full breasts pressed against his chest and, despite the danger alarms that rang in the back of his head, his arms encircled her and pulled her even closer against him.
The kiss seemed to last forever and yet didn’t begin to satisfy the ravenous hunger in his soul for her. He ended the kiss only to slide his lips down her slender neck. He felt half-dizzy with his desire for this woman...for Callie...and he consciously refused to listen to any more alarms that went off in his head.
“Mac,” she whispered softly and once again he thought he heard a deep yearning for him in her voice. She leaned back just enough for her fingers to go to the top button of his shirt.
He sucked in a deep breath as her gaze held his. Blue fire...and he felt himself falling mindlessly into her flames. She unbuttoned his first button and then leaned forward to kiss the bare skin she’d uncovered. Another button...another kiss. More buttons unfastened until she could push his shirt off his shoulders.
She unfastened his gun belt and took it off and laid it on the sofa next to them. She then leaned back from him and pulled her hoodie over her head, exposing a pretty pink bra and full breasts he definitely wanted to touch. She stood and reached out a hand to him.
Someplace in the back of his mind he knew if he took her hand wonderful things would happen...things he would probably regret. But right now, regrets were the last thing on his mind.
He was lost in Callie, lost in her scent, her warmth and the sweet essence of her very bright soul. He placed his hand in hers. She pulled him off the sofa and led him to the throw rug in front of the fire.
He pulled her into his arms, loving the feel of her bare skin against his. Their lips once again met in a searing kiss that rivaled the heat cast out from the fireplace.
When the kiss ended, she sank down to the rug and pulled him down along beside her. “Mac, I want you to make love to me,” she said, her voice low and sexy.
All thoughts of anything else fled his mind. His blood surged through his veins and his want...his need...for her was the only thing in his head. Still, he tried to maintain some semblance of himself.
“Callie.” He reached up and gently pushed one of her curls away from her face. “I’ve told you I don’t want a relationship.”
“I just need to know, do you want me?” Her gaze held his intently. “Do you want to make love with me right now in this moment, Mac?”
“There’s nothing else I want to do more right now,” he replied honestly.
She smiled at him, that beautiful smile that toasted his insides even more than they already were. “Then what are you waiting for?”
He gathered her into his arms once again and as they kissed, his hands stroked up and down her back and then finally stopped at her bra fastener. Her heartbeat mirrored his own, fast and frantic. In his haste to unhook her bra, his fingers became clumsy.
After a moment or two of fumbling, she reached behind her and unhooked it. She shrugged it off her shoulders and suddenly he was holding her warm, full breasts in his hands. Her nipples were pebbled into hard peaks and as he ran his thumbs across them, she moaned.
His lips followed his hands. He licked and sucked as she writhed beneath him, torching his desire even higher. Her fingers clutched at his shoulders as she continued to moan with her pleasure.
She suddenly rolled away from him. In one graceful movement she took off her pants, leaving her in a wispy pair of black panties.
“Now you,” she said half-breathlessly.
He didn’t hesitate. He first took off his shoes and socks and then shucked his khaki slacks, leaving him clad only in his black boxers.
The flickering light from the fire loved her features, painting them in a soft golden glow. He gathered her into his arms once again and it wasn’t long before her panties and his boxers went the way of their other clothing.
He held her against him, her bare skin warm and inviting against his own. She shifted to his side and once again his tongue teased the tip of her breasts at the same time his hand caressed down her hip.
He was fully aroused and ached with his need, but before he let himself go, he wanted to give her as much pleasure as possible. As his hand moved toward her very center, she rolled over on her back and parted her legs to welcome the intimate touch.
As he dipped his head to taste her lips once again, his fingers danced over her moist and heated skin. She moaned once again and rose up to meet his touch. He quickened his pace as she reached down and grabbed his hard length. He pushed her hand away, afraid that he would lose it too soon.
And then she was there. He felt the shudders that raced through her as she cried out his name over and over again. She fell back against the rug, panting as her eyes gleamed with gratification. That gratification lasted only a moment and then she reached down to encircle his shaft once again. “Take me, Mac. I want to feel you inside me.”
Her words nearly broke him. He moved on top of her and hovered there, momentarily staring deeply into her eyes. The blue depths bewitched him, shining not just with sexual eagerness, but something deeper and even more captivating.
Slowly he entered her, groaning with the exquisite pleasure that instantly overtook him. Her warmth surrounded him tightly and immediately he began to stroke in and out of her. She gripped hold of his buttocks, urging him to move faster and faster.
He complied and felt himself quickly reaching his climax. Thankfully before he did, she moaned, her muscles all tightened and then with a shuddery sigh she melted.
That was all it took for him to reach his limit. His climax exploded from him, quaking through him with a force that left him weak and boneless.
When it was finished, he collapsed alongside of her, waiting for his panting breaths to return to normal. Beside him, Callie was breathing unusually fast and seemed to be waiting for her normal to return, as well.
She finally rolled over to face him and placed her hand on his chest. “You are so beautiful, Mac,” she said in a half whisper.
He smiled at her. “Thanks, but the real beauty in this room is you.” He tried not to focus on the regrets that were already forming in the back of his head. He ran a hand through her soft blond curls and released a deep sigh. “I probably need to get up and get out of here.”
“Why don’t we get up from here and go upstairs to my bed.” She cuddled closer against him. “It’s probably still snowing outside, Mac. There’s nothing more you can do tonight. Spend the rest of the night here with me.”
Oh, it was so tempting. She was so damned tempting. Gracefully she got to her feet and once again she held out her hand to him. And once again he knew that if he took her hand he’d be breaking all the promises he’d initially made to himself where she was concerned.
Still, he took her hand and stood. In for a penny...in for a pound, he thought. Besides she was right; there was nothing he could do about the investigation tonight. She put on her panties and he pulled on his boxers and grabbed his gun from the sofa and then together they went upstairs.
Her bed was covered in a peach-colored spread with matching accent pillows. Floral pictures hung on the wall. The top of the dresser held bottles of perfumes and an earring stand.
The room looked feminine, but also as equally warm and welcoming as the living room had been. “There’s a bathroom right here,” she said and pointed to a doorway in the bedroom. “And there’s another one right down the hallway.”
“I’ll head to that one,” he said.
Once in the bathroom he washed himself off and then pulled his boxers back on and stared at his reflection in the mirror over the sink. “What are you doing, man?” he asked his reflection. But the man in the mirror had no answer.
