Geri Krotow - Her Secret Christmas Agent

Bryce looked at Nika. He didn’t have to say anything; she understood the grim expression on his face.

“I’ve got it, Bryce.” She stood. “Mitch, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chapter 4

Nika waited for the sun to set and changed into her regular clothes. She laughed to herself—her usual taste in clothes was far less hip than what she was wearing as a student. As a high schooler she made sure she’d picked the brand names favored by teens, as well as the colors. Her normal look was jeans and either T-shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts or turtlenecks, depending upon the season, all in muted, more natural shades.

As long as she was working undercover at Silver Valley High School she had to be very careful about being seen too much in public in her regular adult clothes. She was fairly confident that her demeanor as a student didn’t come close to resembling how she looked in everyday life, but she didn’t want to take any chances.

The thing was that if any of the students discovered she was a cop, they’d assume she was there to bust a drug ring. Prescription painkillers were traded frequently in the high school. SVPD had discovered the sellers were using their earnings to buy heroin. There were other officers working that case, however.

Her mission was to help bring down the True Believers, aka New Thought. To do that, she had to find out which students and families were undermining the open, accepting atmosphere of SVHS. The threats against the Rainbows was typical of the kind of bigoted sentiment the True Believers had fostered decades ago as they’d recruited vulnerable citizens into their evil fold.

Nika considered it fortunate that she lived in a town-home neighborhood just outside the Silver Valley school district, so she had little chance of running into any of the teens in her neighborhood.

She made use of her automatic garage-door opener as she pulled her mother’s small SUV into the cleared space, grateful for the ease with which she was in her kitchen and eating dinner after her first full day as a “senior” in high school.

Her doorbell rang and she checked the peephole before she let in her best friend and neighbor, Ivy Shaw.

“Hey. I just sat down to eat. Want some leftover shepherd’s pie?”

Ivy’s dimples accented her scheming grin. “I wouldn’t want to look like I came by to eat and not spend time with you...”

“Get in here.” Nika walked back to the kitchen table and Ivy followed. “Help yourself. There’s Chardonnay in the fridge if you want it.”

Ivy looked at Nika’s glass of water. “Aren’t you having any?”

“Nope. I’m on a case and I have to be supersharp in the morning.”

“Anything you can talk about?”

“Nope.”

“Oo-oh, that means it’s a good one. Will I hear about it at some point?”

“I hope so, once we get the bastards.”

They both laughed. Nika appreciated that Ivy understood her need to keep a lot of her work at work until her cases were solved.

“How was work for you today, Ivy?”

“The usual. The little ones are so excited about the holidays. I have a display of all of our winter and holiday-themed books and the kids love sitting in the cozy corner and reading.” Ivy was the Silver Valley Elementary School librarian. “Of course, we had a few parents complain that we were being bigoted by including nontraditional Christmas and holiday stories, along with the more traditional, expected fare.”

“You can’t please everyone.”

“The fact is that we have such a diverse community and the kids are so much more accepting of the different cultural celebrations than the parents are.”

“Are there any parents in particular who have been giving you a hard time?” Nika tried to not look too obvious. She ignored the twinge of guilt that she was pumping her best friend for information that might lead to an arrest. Ivy would understand.

Ivy pulled her plate from the microwave and sat across from Nika. Her supercurly blond hair accentuated her sparkling blue eyes and she was pursing her lips the same way she did when she pondered the ins and outs of a romantic comedy.

“There is one mother who has been the most vocal this year. She stirred up some trouble last year when we acquired a children’s book about how boys and girls could have the same jobs. She came into the library yesterday again, all fired up. Her youngest is in second grade, and she has a daughter who’s a high school senior. I had her when she was little, too.

“The family was normal then, and Megan used to volunteer in the library, stacking books. She was fun to be around, always joking. I couldn’t believe she was the same woman who stomped in yesterday, wearing a drudge dress down to her ankles. It was as if she’s completely let herself go. Her hair is long and straggly, and she acted like she was on drugs or something. It was scary.”

“What was her chief complaint?”

“That we had taken the real meaning out of the story of Christmas. That we were unaccepting of people who lived a true belief.”

True belief. True Believers!

“What did you say her last name was, Ivy?”

“I didn’t. It’s Donovan, Megan Donovan. Why?”

Donovan. Could this be Amy Donovan’s mother?

“Just wondering.”

“Sure you are.”

Ivy grinned but knew not to ask for more. She respected Nika’s work and knew Nika would share what she could when she could.

Nika sipped her water. “Ivy, for once I wish I could tell you about my job while it’s happening. Please know you may have just helped me work out something that otherwise would have gone unnoticed until it’s too late.”

“Are you sure you’re not in any danger with your current case? I mean, I know you’re in danger all the time. But are you doing something more scary than usual? Whatever Megan Donovan is involved with, it’s pretty frightening to make her go from a gal you and I would hang with, to some kind of religious wing nut.”

Nika grinned. “I love the scary, and no, this isn’t that interesting in terms of dangerous. Although, nowadays we have to be prepared for everything to turn dangerous, right?”

“Yes.” Ivy sighed. “It used to be a lot simpler when I started teaching.” She ate some more. “These plates are so cute. I love snowmen.”

“I can’t help myself at Christmastime.” She’d set the table with snowman placemats and a snowman lamp glowed from the far kitchen counter.

“It’s always so festive at your place. I love it. But, more importantly, what’s with the big grin, Nika? Is there a handsome man involved in this secret case of yours who you haven’t mentioned? Another guy you’re going to love and leave?”

“Maybe. But he’s way too high maintenance—he’s brilliant, hot and probably has his share of women kissing his feet. And why would he go out with someone he had to see at work the next day? Besides, you know what happened the last time I got involved with someone I was also working with.”

“You can’t judge them all by one state trooper, Nika.” Ivy’s expression bordered on pity and Nika cringed.

“It’s not the job. It’s the kind of guy. I don’t need another alpha type in my life. I’m alpha enough!”

They both laughed and clinked their glasses.

* * *

The next day Nika made it a point to sit with several of the chemistry gang at lunchtime.

“Why are you coming to school if you don’t have to?” Neel ate his sandwich as he asked her, his mouth full of wheat bread and lettuce. Nika hadn’t missed the lack of manners with teenagers in her adult life.

“Yeah, if I were you, I’d stay home and goof off for the year. Or at least get a fun job until college starts next fall.” Jeffrey spoke over a pile of nachos he’d topped with jalapeños.