Jessica R. Patch - Cold Case Christmas

To say she was touchy was an understatement.

Dad approached her. “I’m taking Hailey home, honey. Don’t stay here any longer than you feel you have to. I’ll have the guest chalet stocked for you.” He kissed her forehead.

She nodded at Dad and watched him climb in his vehicle. Hailey hadn’t once stepped out. Not even to acknowledge Nora was home. She didn’t handle hard situations well. Neither did Nora, but someone had to be Mom’s voice. Someone had to find out the truth.

Nora walked closer to Mom’s car. All these years, she’d been submerged. Christmas Eve used to be Nora’s favorite night. The resort and lodge was always booked with families and couples from all over the world, anticipating the renowned Christmas Eve Masquerade Ball. A glorious night decorated in red, green and gold. A nativity ice sculpture. Fountains of gold sparkling cider. Christmas music. Friends. Family. Fun.

Nora’s heart ached. Her father still put on the event as if her mother hadn’t gone missing that night. He had barely said a word about it. Didn’t push or force the investigation. Maybe he had believed the vicious murmurs about Mom.

Well, not Nora.

“Nora.” Rush’s voice came softer than moss. “Don’t go any closer. Some things can’t be unseen.”

And some things couldn’t be undone. “Do you remember it raining and being slick that night?”

“I don’t know,” he said sadly. She glanced at him, his nose red and eyes deep with compassion and pity. If only he knew how pitiful Nora was. Not two pennies to rub together. But he’d never know. No one would. It was all too humiliating.

“I don’t.” Nora had always been fascinated with weather, which was why she remembered there had been snow earlier but the temps had been mild for December. “I need to trace her steps that night and find out what time she left the party and ended up here. Someone saw or heard something. They had to have.” If she could piece together the weather from that fateful Christmas Eve, she might be able to determine if the car going into the lake was related to weather conditions or not. Her part-time work as a forensic meteorologist had her doing this often, helping insurance companies with claims.

Rush licked his lips and pawed his scruffy face. “Let me do it. Spend your time with family. Isn’t that why you’re home so early?” He cocked his head, and plumes of air trailed from his mouth.

She was here because she had nowhere else to go. When the news played and she wasn’t on-screen they’d know. “I left channel six.”

Rush’s eyebrows rose. “Really? Why?”

The cold seeped into her bones and her teeth chattered. “I’m ready for warmer weather. Going to take a job in Florida.” She hoped anyway. She ought to know in the next week or two. And right now she did want warmer weather. She was a human Popsicle.

Rush frowned. “You love mountain air. Skiing. Snowball fights.”

“I do know how to pack a snowball,” she quipped. “But people change. I’m ready for palm trees and waterskiing.” She adjusted her knit cap and rubbed her hands, her gloves not keeping her as warm as she’d like, and stared at Mom’s car. “Anything inside besides...her?”

He scratched the back of his neck. “We found a cuff link in the car, partial male masquerade mask. Haven’t checked the trunk yet, but we’ll gather the evidence, see what we see.”

A cuff link. A mask. “A man was in the car that night?”

“Seems like.” His eyes were shifty.

“What are you keeping from me?”

“Nothing pertinent to the case.”

“Promise?”

“Nora, trust me.”

She laughed humorlessly. “Last time I trusted you, Rush, you broke two women’s hearts and made me look cheap. I’m sure the whole town thinks it.” Ainsley surely spread it all over the world.

“No one thinks that, Nora, and you’d have known that if you hadn’t gotten out of Dodge at world-record speed. But that’s what you do.” He shoved a hand on his hip and heaved a breath.

Nora’s temperature rose a few degrees. “And cheating on women. That’s what you do?”

Rush’s jaw ticked. “We were kids. And I was going to tell you.”

“We were twenty-one. And you didn’t. You gave the town a new tale to spin.” But fighting about it was pointless, and Nora was cold and exhausted. “Can you find prints on the cuff link?”

Rush inhaled and rubbed his chin, then exhaled. His shoulders relaxed. “Doubtful. But I’ll try. I’ll try everything.” He held her gaze and she fidgeted. Angry at him or not, she wasn’t blind. The man was attractive. Always had been.

“How did you find the car?” It had been seventeen years. Why now?

“You remember Brandon Deerborn?”

Few years ahead of them. “Yeah.”

“His son was doing a project using Google maps and our town. Found the lake and noticed something in it. Like a shimmer, he said. He went out there, climbed a pine to check it out—fell out of the tree by the way and broke his arm...also he’s grounded for leaving without asking—and Brandon called me. Put the divers in and we hauled it out. Water was too murky to notice it at ground level.”

“Google maps. Invasive yet...” She shrugged. “He might be grounded but he’ll be a town hero.” Or maybe not. If what people said about Mom was true, there’d be a few who wouldn’t be too thrilled the Deerborn kid had found her.

Rush didn’t say anything and kept his eyes on the sky. “Storm’s coming in. But I guess you know this already.” He smirked.

She grinned, then sobered. “I’m serious about investigating. I want answers before I leave here, and I won’t bring up our past again. Better if we leave things on the personal side alone. Focus on the case.”

“We don’t have a case. Yet.” The freezing rain slacked up.

“Never hurts to ask questions.”

“Yes, it does. Sometimes.” Rush shoved his gloved hands in his pockets. “Go home. Be with your family. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

He was right. Nothing she could do tonight. She walked back to her car, opened the door when Rush called out. “Nora Beth, be careful. The roads are slick. Watch for deer.”

Her middle name was Jane, but Rush had never once used it. A little nod to Little House on the Prairie . In high school, she’d forced him to watch reruns, but there hadn’t been much Rush wouldn’t have done for her. Manly called Laura Beth . Only him. Rush had started that at fifteen. It warmed the chill seeping into Nora’s bones. “Will do.”

She climbed inside and blasted the heat. She’d regretted pushing Rush away after Mom vanished. She’d been hurt. Wanted a fresh start, to pretend she lived in a town where gossip about Mom hadn’t abounded. Where she didn’t feel shame. But coming home after college—she’d missed Rush so much it ached—she thought he might be willing to give it another chance, and if so she’d stay. And he’d done the one thing she’d worked hard to avoid—made her the subject of ugly rumors.

She drove carefully through the winding roads and spotted Mom’s favorite café. Charlee, the owner, might know a thing or two. Inside, Charlee met her with a wave. “Well, look who the cat dragged in.” Her face paled. “Sorry. Bad use of words. I heard about your mama. I’m so sorry.” She poured a steaming cup of coffee and slid it to Nora as she sat on the bar stool.

“Thanks. Did you know anything about that night? Why my mom might be heading out of town or be near the lake?”

“I wish I did, hon. I loved Marilyn, but she only let one get so close before she distanced herself.”

Nora sipped the brew and talked with Charlee until the weather picked up. “I better get on back. If anything comes to mind, call me.”