The Santa Claus of Mystic Springs: Mystic Springs Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series: Book Four by Marple Mona

Author:Marple, Mona
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

9

Sage

Patton suggests we should go for a walk, and I can’t stay in the house in this funk all day so I agree. It’s started to snow again and I’ve always been such a big kid when it comes to snow.

“It really upset you watching the video, huh?” He asks as we head towards the centre of town.

I shrug. I don’t want to keep thinking about it. “It was just hard. I guess you’re used to seeing things like that?”

“Not really,” he admits. “When I was Sheriff, people weren’t recording everything like they do nowadays. The whole idea of emergency response is different now. It’s not the journalists who feed the news to the world, it’s the regular Joe at the scene with a Twitter account or a smart phone.”

“But you went to scenes like that one, surely?”

“I dealt with all kinds of things, Sage, but I wasn’t there to see the things happen,” he glances down at the street, which is covered over with snow, “I’ve never seen a person get killed in front of me before.”

“I didn’t…” I say, silently scolding myself for not realising. Sure, he was Sheriff, but he was Sheriff of a relatively small and peaceful town, not someone on the front line in a war zone. In fact, I wonder if he ever dealt with a murder while he was alive. Even if he had, he’d have attended after getting the call telling him what had happened. He’d go in there knowing roughly what to expect. The echo of the gunshot would have long since faded, the blood may have already dried. I’ve been so wrapped up in what I witnessed at the show, I haven’t given a thought for anyone else.

“Where are we headed?” Patton asks in an obvious bid to change the subject. That’s fine by me.

“How about Abe’s? See the lights?” I suggest. I love how over-the-top the department store’s Christmas lights are each year.

“Sounds good,” he says. We’re nearly there anyway, our wanderings leading us towards the lights and music. We may have no appetite for food and no money to buy things, but we’re trained to go towards commercial activity.

“Look at the crowd!” Patton exclaims as we approach. It’s easy to see Abe’s up ahead. Every inch of the building’s façade is covered with lights, which turn on and off in sequence so that the front of Abe’s creates a looping light show. Christmas songs play out and the lights dance in rhythm with them. It’s nothing short of magical.

As we get closer, though, we see that none of the crowd are looking at the lights. The crowd that had appeared to be enjoying the show are all, instead, looking down at the ground. Several people are crying. Others appear to be saying silent prayers. Several are talking in urgent whispers on cell phones.

“Law enforcement coming through,” Patton calls, holding his badge high above his head. With his other hand, he grasps hold of me so we stay together as the crowd parts for us.

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