12 Days Read Online Free

on the east-facing trunk of the tree. “What is that?”
    “What is what?” Milt asked.
    “That. That right there.”
    Her fingertip rested just above a specific spot on the screen.
    “Can you get a close up?”
    “Hold on.”
    Milt pressed a few keys and the tree filled the frame. He and Lisa peered intently at the screen. Milt spoke first.
    “It looks like someone carved something in the tree. Some kind of straight line.”
    Lisa was silent. She pulled her iPhone from her purse, checked the battery level, and replaced it. She turned to Milt.
    “Put the piece together and I’ll look at it when I get back.”
    Milt asked, “Where are you going?”
    “West Covina. I need to get another look at that tree.”
     
    Day One: 2:00 p.m.
    Jim sat on his favorite chair in front of a 42” flat screen TV, a bottle of beer in his right hand and the remote in his left. He had been home for well over an hour and by rights, he should have been asleep, but he could not close his eyes. There was something wrong at the crime scene, he could feel it. His cop sense was burning and he just couldn’t shake the feeling. It would all flash in his mind for a brief moment; Santa, the rope, the branch and then, just as quickly, poof, it would disappear. Even more disturbing was that he could not get Lisa Klein out of his mind. He could have confiscated the camera, the Captain would have understood. He certainly did not need to make a deal for her cooperation, but he’d wanted to. It was as if her feeble attempt at extortion had turned him on.
    I’ll play along for a little while , he thought. What harm could it do? Then, another flash hit him, but this time, it was not about the hanging corpse. What did I miss? Something about the tree? He needed some sleep. Trying again to doze off, he failed and rose from his chair, finished his beer, and shut off the television. Dressing quickly, Jim grabbed his keys and left the house. That was it. There was something about that damned tree and he had to check it.
     
    Day One: 2:05 p.m.
    He did not like guns. He preferred knives. Knives made no sound, but he needed the gun today to control his prey. He needed the intimidation factor. She had beautiful hair, very rich in both texture and color. It offered a nice contrast to the slate gray hue of the Luger that was pressed firmly against her skull. The parking lot of McDermott Realty was empty on Christmas day, so no one was around to watch as he led Janette McDermott to his flatbed truck and told her to lie down in the back. Although she was reluctant, the pistol convinced Janette to do as she was told. Once she was lying in the bed of the truck, he secured the hardtop cover over the opening, putting her completely out of sight.
    Day One: 2:18 p.m.
    Jim parked his car in a spot three houses down from the crime scene. The sun was starting its afternoon descent, but it was still warm outside. When he arrived at #2347, Jim lifted the yellow police tape that formed a fifty-foot barrier around the sycamore. He nodded to Officer Stanley Kramer, who was interviewing some of the neighbors. Officer Kramer ended his conversation when he saw Jim. He had a puzzled look on his face.
    “Hey super-cop. Aren’t you off the clock?”
    “Yeah, couldn’t sleep.”
    Jim replied with a slight yawn.
    “How are you doing with the neighbors?’
    “Getting there.”
    Kramer glanced at his notes.
    “Nobody saw anything. That crazy old lady around the corner said she saw some drunk in a Santa outfit set off her car alarm late last night but by the time she got downstairs, he was gone.”
    “I took that call. But that wasn’t on Pear, It was…” Jim tried to think.
    “Peach…”offered Kramer.
    “Peach, that’s right. Alice Edwards. Her Honda Civic got bumped.”
    “You are correct, sir.”
    Kramer did his best Ed McMahon.
    Jim thought it over. What if she was legit? Crazy Alice Edwards called the cops for every public infraction, real or imagined, and was a