Margaret Daley - The Yuletide Rescue

“Good. When I’m not so tired, I want to go through Jeremiah’s house and see if I can tell if anything is missing. His big-screen TV is still here.”

David’s forehead scrunched as he frowned. “Too large to steal while a storm is dumping tons of snow on Anchorage?”

Bree shrugged. “You’d think a burglar would want it. It’s only a couple of months old. Did you see how they got in?”

“Back door was jimmied.”

“Is the lock broken?”

“Yes. I stepped out on the deck and noticed footprints leading away from the house, but the snow will fill them soon, even the ones on the covered stoop. Didn’t see any coming to the house. They looked about the size of my boots. Twelve. I took a picture of them on my cell phone, although I don’t know if that will help much.”

“Only one set of footprints?”

“Yes, but like us earlier at the wreck site, one person could be using the other’s footsteps. They weren’t neat impressions. I’d usually say no one would be crazy enough to be out in this snowstorm, robbing people, but after what’s happened here, anything is possible. There are some loose two-by-fours and a toolbox in the utility room. I could put them up across the door.”

“I’d appreciate it if you would. I don’t know when I can get a locksmith out here to change the lock.”

David headed toward the kitchen with Ringo following. “I can do that for you. One of my hobbies is carpentry. When I’m not running Northern Frontier, I like to make pieces of furniture.”

“You’re a man of many talents.”

When Bree came into the kitchen, the disarray, worse than the living room, stunned her. Torn boxes of food were emptied on the floor and counters. The refrigerator and freezer remained open; the contents had been gone through. Anger festered in the pit of her stomach. She curled and uncurled her hands.

David disappeared into the utility room. When he emerged with the boards and hammer, he stopped near her. “I haven’t disturbed anything, but I think it’s okay if you shut the freezer and refrigerator. The rest I think the police should see.”

She turned toward him. His image blurred as tears flooded her eyes. She’d been trying not to think of what had happened over the past twenty-four hours, but suddenly it all crashed down on her.

David leaned the wood against the table and put the hammer and nails on it, and then he enveloped her in an embrace. “I’m sorry this happened on top of everything else. It’s hard to take in.”

“He was family to me. He was always here if I needed something. I...” Her mind went blank with grief. Numb, she couldn’t even express how she was feeling.

His arms tightened about her as she cried against him. For a few moments, she didn’t feel so alone. Jeremiah was her last tie to her parents. In the past years she’d gone through three losses: first her dad, then her fiancé and finally her mom. And now Jeremiah. Death surrounded her, even in her job. Everyone she loved died. Suddenly it seemed too much to bear. Tears continued to flow from the depth of her soul, and the whole time David sheltered her, his hand stroking her back.

Slowly she pulled herself together. She never fell apart in front of people, especially someone she’d just met. She stepped away, swiping her fingers across her face. “I don’t usually do that. As a doctor, I’ve seen my share of death.”

“Having served in several war zones, so have I, but you never get used to it. With my last tour of duty, all that death started really getting to me that I couldn’t do my job the way I should. I knew then I had to retire.”

“And now you’re heading a search and rescue organization. That doesn’t seem like you’re getting away from death.”

“A lot of the times we find people alive. That makes up for the ones we can’t reach in time. I feel like I’m making a difference, doing something positive.”

“But you didn’t while serving?” Although she’d seen death as a doctor, more often she was able to help someone heal.

“There’s little positive about war. I saw a lot of destruction. A man can only see so much before it starts changing him.”

Bree swallowed at the pain echoing in his voice. A shutter fell over his features. Did something happen to him during that last tour of duty? She knew some veterans who had served in war zones and most were silent about their experiences.

The urge to comfort him, as he did her, compelled her forward. She reached out, clasping his hand. “When I can’t help a patient anymore and have to stand back and watch them die, I put them in God’s hands. There comes a time when only He can do anything. Jeremiah is with Him now, and that does console me.”

David’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “I’d better get this door fixed so you can go to sleep and I can go home.”

Bree watched David nail the two-by-fours across the door frame. With his coat off, she admired his well-proportioned build. She could see him working with wood to create a piece of furniture. He’d said he’d served twenty years in the air force, so she guessed he might be around forty. He was attractive with strong features, a small cleft in his chin and short black hair. But what really caught her attention were his smoky-gray eyes, like the clouds as a storm moved in.

He glanced over his shoulder at her and gave her a lopsided smile. Caught staring at him, she looked away. Her gaze fixed on the mess.

She hated standing in the middle of the chaos; she wanted to clean up. She hoped the police found some evidence pointing to who had done this. Coupled with the guys at the lake, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something nefarious was going on. Jeremiah lived a quiet life, spending time with her when she was in town or with his small group of friends, mostly pilots and outdoorsmen.

“I’m through. If someone really wants to, he could get in, but that’s true of most places unless there’s high security.” David walked into the utility room and put up the hammer.

Bree looked again at what some determined person had done to Jeremiah’s house, as though he was searching for something. But what? The most expensive item Jeremiah had in his home was the TV. A shudder rippled down her spine. “What’s going on here?”

“I suppose it could have been teens trashing a place for fun. Did Jeremiah have a run-in with a teen lately?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been gone for a month. When I talked with him, he didn’t mention any problems. In fact, he was upbeat as if everything was going great. He didn’t say anything about feeling bad, either. I know heart attacks can strike suddenly, but sometimes there are signs.” She remembered her conversation with Jeremiah right before he had his heart attack. “Of course, I might be the last person he would say anything to. He thought I was a mother hen when it came to his health.”

“You see what happens when people don’t take care of themselves. Ready to go?”

“Just a moment. I need to get the cat food, litter box and Ringo. He’s going home with me.” Bree found the carrier in the utility room as well as the food. “The litter box is in the bathroom.”

“Yeah, all over the place like everything else.”

Bree checked the floor by the washing machine and spied a twenty-pound bag of litter. While she grabbed a liner, she asked, “Can you get the empty box? I’ll fix up a fresh one at my place.”

After gathering the items she needed and Ringo, she left a couple of lights on to give the illusion someone was at home. When she stepped out into the driving snow, she tramped toward her house with David right behind her, carrying the box with the litter and food bags in it.

Inside the warmth of her place, she released Ringo, who shot out of the carrier and raced up the staircase. “He likes to lie on my coverlet.”