O'Christmas Town: Christmas Novellas by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781718085534
Google: VXmjugEACAAJ
Amazon: 1718085532
Publisher: Independently published
Published: 2018-08-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THREE

The last Saturday of September dawned unusually fine. Unwilling to waste such a glorious day, Alex packed his tackle box and fishing pole onto his motorcycle and headed to Chena Lakes. The leaves were already off the trees, but snow hadn’t yet fallen. It usually came a week into October and harkened the quick decent into days with minimal light.

He spent eight hours in a rented boat, caught three fish, cooked two of them for lunch, and gave the third one away to strangers at the park. A perfect day, and one that made him regret his time at Fort Wainwright was coming to an end. In a few more weeks, though, he’d be glad he was heading to the lower forty-eight by January.

As long as he unraveled the mystery of Milo Poplovich’s daughter first.

He’d thought about different ways to convince someone at the First National Bank of North Pole to tell him who was sending the cashier’s checks. Each option either ended in failure, because it was none of his business, or him lying. He also couldn’t use his Military Intelligence connections to dig into either Olga or Violet Poplovich. They were civilians. He’d already dug up everything he could on Milo Poplovich. To dig further was a waste of time. Besides, using army resources on what was a personal manhunt was as improper as lying to get a bank employee to reveal a customer’s identity.

Violet was the key.

On his way home, he drove past the library. Her car was in the parking lot. There was no electrical plug hanging out her front grill. What was she waiting for? She’d been in Alaska for at least a month, and winterizing her car should have been her first priority. Was it possible she didn’t know she needed an engine block heater to keep her oil from freezing during the harsh sub-zero temperatures?

Alex leaned into the turn and parked his motorcycle near her blue Chevy. He checked to be sure he hadn’t missed a cord, noted her balding tires, and marched into the library. If she didn’t have a plan for winterizing her car already, she’d have one before he left the building. A single woman unprepared for dangerous weather was a disaster waiting to happen.

Violet was in the basement, where the volunteers had written letters, but now the room was crowded with children sitting on the floor and most of the parents standing along the windowless walls. Violet sat in a chair at the far end holding a large book with full-page pictures, the smile on her face as bright as sunshine.

He remembered how she loved telling her mother stories so much she became a librarian. A story she told him with a pinched expression that dulled the radiance currently lighting her face.

Guilt bowed his head.

He’d put that tense look on her face—with his straight talk that Brad warned would lead to trouble. Only by seeing the glow now, did Alex comprehend how much he’d hurt her that day.

A little boy squirmed free and ran to Violet.

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