Good Tidings (3 page)

Mary nodded. “Okay, Joey, but I’ll want to work with the police on this one. Do you have any problems with that?”

Joey paused. “No, I guess you can talk to them.”

“
That’ll be helpful.”

“
But you can’t tell my mom you’re working for me,” he said, “Promise?”

“
Yes, I promise.”

Joey shrugged. “I don’t think she’d understand, seeing that I’m dead, you know.”

*****

Police Chief Bradley Alden tromped through the knee-high snow drifts and made his way across Galena Avenue to Main Street in downtown Freeport. The snow was still coming down with incredible velocity. His small department had already been overwhelmed with calls about fender-benders throughout the city and he knew it was only going to get worse when the sun set and the slush turned to ice on the roads.

He actually wished all he had to deal with were people who forgot how to drive in the snow. That was understandable. But what he could never understand, and what had hit too close to home, was the newest case his department had received.

He shook his head, remembering the distraught and terrified mother whose child had been snatched in the midst of holiday shoppers. Having a wife and unborn baby girl snatched from his life eight years earlier, he understood some of the anguish she was experiencing.

With the help of the local FBI office, the Freeport Police Department had a good description of the kidnappers and had already sent an AMBER alert throughout the tri-state area. The mother had been left in the very capable hands of Family Services. Bradley didn’t think he was a coward, but the panic in the mother’s eyes triggered his own gut-clenching response and he knew he couldn’t remain objective. He needed to pull himself out of the situation and get back to something normal.
Of course
, he thought with a chuckle,
a call from Mary O’Reilly was usually anything but normal.

Mary.

He ran his hand through his snow-crusted hair. He still didn’t quite understand how he felt about her. She was intelligent, courageous, funny, caring and sexy as hell. But she was also slightly loony, stubborn as a mule and claimed she could communicate with ghosts.

To be fair, he had actually been with her to witness two unique “encounters.” But he still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that there were such things as ghosts. The next thing you know, some fat guy in red, driving a flying sleigh, will show up giving out gifts. He shook his head. Maybe he was going nuts along with her.

She had been fairly vague on the phone. Not unusual for Mary. She needed him to come down to her office to meet with a special client. Well, at least he hoped that this time her new client had his head on straight…literally.

The bell over the door jingled as he entered her office. He smiled. Although he enjoyed sneaking up on her, the bell he’d installed a few weeks ago did a good job.

The smells of the holidays met him as soon as he walked through the doors. He glanced around and then smiled at Mary who was seated behind her desk. “Nice job with the decorations.”

She smiled back and his stomach tightened a little.

“
Thanks,” she said. “I think it turned out pretty good.”

He unbuttoned his jacket and hung it on the coat rack in the corner of the office. “I hate decorating,” he admitted. “Mostly because I’m not good at putting the lights away neatly the year before and I end up with one massive knot of red, green and white.”

He shrugged. “I actually end up throwing the whole mess away and buying new ones.”

Mary shook her head. “You know,” she advised, “If you just take the time to put them in their individual boxes when you take them down, it makes next year’s decorating so much easier.”

Bradley couldn’t quite figure out why there seemed to be a wicked smile hiding behind that statement.

“
Thanks for the advice,” he said, looking around the room again. “Didn’t you want me to meet someone?”

Mary nodded and motioned to an additional chair placed on her side of the desk. “Come over here and sit next to me.”

Bradley did as requested and once he was seated, Mary took his hand in hers. Instantly he saw the young boy sitting across from them.

“
Bradley Alden this is Joey Marcum, my newest client.”

Joey looked skeptical. “Can he see me too?”

Mary nodded. “Yes, as long as we are in contact with each other, he can see you.”

“
Marcum… I had a call this morning involving a Marcum,” Bradley said, his heart clenching. “A child was kidnapped. Was that…?”

Joey interrupted. “No, not me. My baby brother. I’ve been dead since summer.”

Bradley mentally shook himself. He still wasn’t used to talking to people who mention dying like other people talk about going to the gym. “That’s right,” he said. “I remember the child was an infant.”

Joey nodded. “Yeah, that’s why you need my help,” he explained. “So we can get him home for Christmas.”

“
Joey, I can’t promise your brother will be home by Christmas,” Bradley explained. “It can take months and sometimes even years to find a missing child, especially an infant.”

Joey shook his head. “Yeah, most of the time,” he said. “But they ain’t got me helping.”

“
But, Joey,” Bradley said. “As much as you would like to help, you are only a little boy.”

“
Not so little,” Joey argued, “I was six when I died.”

“
Still, you’re only a six-year old boy,” Bradley replied.

“
A six year-old
ghost
,” Mary interjected. “Joey, how can you help us find your brother?”

“
I can visit him,” he explained. “That was the deal when I died.”

“
The deal?” Bradley asked.

“
I was worried because he wasn’t gonna have a big brother to protect him, so I talked to God and I got to be his guardian angel.”

“
What do you mean, visit him?” Mary asked.

“
I can go where he is,” Joey said, “Then I can tell you stuff.”

“
Where is he now, Joey?” Mary asked.

“
I’ll see.”

Joey’s image faded in front of them.

“
How does this kind of thing work?” Bradley asked, turning to Mary.

Mary shrugged. “This is new to me too,” she said. “I never knew guardian angels were real.”

Bradley smiled. “This from the lady who talks to ghosts.”

Mary laughed. “Yeah, weird, huh?”

Bradley shook his head, his smile turning wistful as he studied her face. “Not weird at all,” he said, “How was your Thanksgiving?”

“
It was loud, messy and I ate so much I thought I was going to explode,” she said, “In other words, it was great! I wish you had come along.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, it sounds like it was fun,” he admitted. “But most of the guys have families and I thought they should be home on Thanksgiving, so… I worked instead.”

“
You have a family too, Bradley,” Mary said. “If you would just…”

Bradley was relieved when their conversation was interrupted by Joey’s reappearance. He still wasn’t ready to talk to Mary about his missing wife and child. He wasn’t ready to ask a “ghost hunter” to go looking for them.

“
What did you see?” Mary asked Joey.

“
He was in a van and he was crying,” Joey said, tears pooling in his eyes. “They were on a highway. The old lady was in the middle seat, sitting next to him, trying to feed him from a bottle. He hates bottles.”

“
Was there anything else you could see around you? Could you read any of the signs on the highway?” Bradley asked.

“
Signs?” he asked.

“
Sometimes there are signs showing which road you’re driving on,” Mary explained.

“
And sometimes, if the car has a GPS, they are on the screen too,” Bradley added.

She turned to her computer, letting go of Bradley’s hand. Joey instantly disappeared. Bradley placed his hand on her shoulder and Joey reappeared to him. Mary turned, surprised at the contact, and then realized what he was doing. “Sorry, forgot,” she said.

She Googled “Interstate Road Signs” and found the image she was searching for. She clicked on the familiar red, white and blue badge-shaped sign. “This kind of sign, Joey,” she said. “It usually has a number on it…knowing that number would be helpful.”

Joey nodded and then faded once again.

*****

They sat in silence for a moment, then Dean Martin started to croon suggestively “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

“
Stalker music,” Bradley said.

“
What?” Mary asked, surprised.

Bradley shrugged. “So, this guy has this girl trapped in his house and he won’t let her leave. Total stalker.”

Mary turned and, because of their earlier position, found herself encircled in his arm. Bradley immediately dropped his hand from her shoulder. “Sorry.”

Mary didn’t even notice.

“
He was concerned about her,” Mary argued. “He wasn’t stalking.”

Bradley snorted. “Oh, yeah…concerned. Are you really that naive?”

“
Naive? I don’t think so. I think I’m just not suspicious of innocent gestures.”

“
Innocent gestures?” he asked. “That song is filled with innuendos.”

Mary shook her head. “You’re wrong.”

Lifting his eyebrows, Bradley stared at her for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Mary smiled. “No probably about it.”

Bradley shivered noticeably. “Mary, are you cold?”

Casually lifting his arm, he placed it back behind her shoulder and pulled her closer. “It’s pretty chilly outside,” he remarked.

Mary found herself pressed up against his warm and solid body. She inhaled a whiff of his scent.

Do they add pheromones to cologne,
she wondered silently,
because…well…damn!

She needed to get out of this cozy arrangement before she did something they would both regret.

“
Um, Bradley, I need to finish my decorating.”

Did she just imagine it, or did Bradley’s arm tighten?

“
I saw that bunch of mistletoe on the desk,” he said, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively. “I could help you hang it.”

What the…? Oh. Duh!

Mary couldn’t believe she nearly fell for his ploy.

So, Mary are you that naive?
Oh, Mary, you’re right.
Oh, baby, it’s cold outside.
What a jerk!
Well, two can play at this game.

Mary snuggled against Bradley and smiled up at him, batting her eyelashes. “You’re right, it is cold in here,” she gushed, “and you make it much warmer.”

She toyed with the top button of his shirt. “Much warmer.”

Bradley eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed slightly.
So, she thinks she’s got me figured out.

“
I could make it even warmer,” he whispered seductively. “We could test the mistletoe, to be sure it worked.”

“
Oh, Bradley,” she sighed and turned her head away.

He slowly slid his hand up from her shoulder along the back of her neck and threaded his fingers into her hair. He applied gentle pressure and Mary turned her face to look at him.

Her mother had always warned her that if she crossed her eyes her face would freeze like that - but, in this case, she felt the risk was worth it.

Bradley choked. “Mary,” he snorted, “you have the most beautiful eyes.”

Mary laughed and met his mirth-filled eyes.

The heat hit them both at the same time.

Mary’s breath caught and, no matter how loud her inner voice screamed a warning, she couldn’t pull away. Her body tensed in anticipation and her heart beat increased.

Bradley felt his heart race. He swallowed and tried to find a reason, any reason, not to bend down and kiss her lips. Unlike Mary’s, his inner voice was encouraging him all the way.
Go for it, dude!

Mary felt his fingers tightened slightly against her neck. His breath feathered against her cheek as his face drew closer to hers.

“
It’s the number ninety,” Joey announced as he suddenly reappeared. “Does that help?”

Mary and Bradley jerked back, like two children caught with their hands in the candy jar.

“
That’s very helpful,” Bradley said, dropping back against his seat. He let his hand slide to Mary’s shoulder.

Joey looked carefully at the two adults across the desk. “You weren’t going to kiss or something, were you?” he asked. “That’s gross. Police guys don’t do stuff like that!”