In The Bleak Midwinter: A Special Agent Constance Mandalay Novel Read Online Free Page A

sure it was still there, but so far it hadn’t escaped.
Even so, it made his heart thump a bit faster each time he repeated
the motion and felt the container clutched tight in his grasp. He
wasn’t exactly sure if that was because he was afraid it might be
gone, because of what it meant, or a combination of the two.
    “… st what we need, right? More of the
white stuff. It’s four-oh-eight P.M. and time for some more holiday
music to help you get into the spirit. In fact, here’s one to go
with that forecast. You’re listening to Rockin’ Ronnie on K-I-M-O
FM.” Following immediately behind the announcer’s voice, the first
notes of Let It Snow rang from the car radio’s
speakers.
    “Damn,” Skip muttered aloud then shook his
head. He clicked the ignition to off and pulled out the key.
    Daydreaming had distracted him and he’d
missed the weather again, just like earlier. Couldn’t very well
blame Ronnie for that one, no matter how much he might want to. Oh
well, judging from his words and song selection, apparently more
snow was still in the forecast, so that much hadn’t changed. Odds
were Clovis would have the latest report anyway. She usually
did.
    Deputy Carmichael climbed out of the patrol
car once again, this time without hesitation. He locked it out of
habit then pushed his hat down on top of his short crop of brown
hair. It didn’t do much for his ears as far as the cold was
concerned, but he could live with that. He took a moment to adjust
his belt before starting across the small parking area at the back
of the building that housed the town jail and sheriff’s office.
    Another glance at his watch told him he was
still flush with time before his shift started, so he considered
going ahead and having a cigarette now. Sheriff Morton had banned
smoking inside—a side effect of being a reformed nicotine addict
himself.
    Stopping near the back door Skip reached
inside his jacket and withdrew a pack of reds from the inner
pocket, then tapped one out across his index finger. After tucking
the filter end between his lips he dug around for his lighter.
Absently shoving his hand into an outer pocket he once again felt
the small box and paused. After a moment of introspection he
snatched the unlit cigarette from his mouth, pushed it back into
the pack, and stowed it, then popped a peppermint into his mouth
instead.
    He wanted to talk to Clovis before her shift
ended, and besides, he would probably end up smoking half a pack
later. He always did whenever he was out on patrol. It wasn’t
because of an addiction so much as it was just something to help
him escape the boredom without being too distracted.
    After all, this was Hulis. It’s not like
anything ever really happened here.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 3
     
    4:01 P.M. – December 22, 1975
    Bremerton’s Dime Store
    Hulis Township – Northern Missouri
     
    ALL Merrie wanted right now was to be
at home.
    No… That wasn’t really true. She wanted way
more than that.
    She not only wanted to be at home, she wanted
to be warm, next to the fireplace, with hot chocolate and a book.
And, she wanted it to be yesterday. She wanted more than anything
for today to just vanish. She wanted for it to have never, ever
happened.
    And, her list didn’t stop there.
    She also wanted something back that had been
taken from her. She wasn’t sure exactly what that something was,
but she could feel the emptiness inside where it used to be, so she
knew without a doubt that it was gone. And she was certain that he had taken it.
    She didn’t just want these things, she was wishing for them. In fact, she had been wishing hard on them
for hours now. But so far, wishing hadn’t worked out any better
than wanting.
    Still, out of all those things she wanted and
wished for so desperately, right now, at this very moment, she
would settle for just being home. And, the sooner they were
finished here, the sooner that could really happen, which is
exactly why she was standing before the