“I have never believed in ghosts,” Hope said. “But I’ve learned to keep an open mind about many things. You never know … there might be some truth in those old scary stories.”
“My grandmother swore by ghosts, but then she swore by a lot of things that aren’t true. She used to say there were witches around here, too. No one believes that either.”
Hope led Carol into the attic. Outside, dusk was rapidly turning into night. Soon the stars would shimmer in the sky.
“This is cozy,” Carol said. “Your own little office. I bet this is where you grade your papers.”
“That’s right.” Hope led the way to the place where she’d hidden the elf. She reached under the floorboard and produced the small box. “Here you go. Take a look at it.”
“I never would have found it.” Carol took the box from Hope. “That makes for a nice hiding place.”
Hope followed Carol to the desk, where the woman carefully opened the box and pulled out the old elf.
“Doesn’t look like much, does it?” Carol asked.
“Looks old. And to tell you the truth, I hadn’t begun to research it. For all I know, it’s just some little doodad that someone grew fond of.”
“The old things are always the best,” Carol said. “I have to say those blinking lights you used to have on your porch were really pretty.”
“You saw the blinking lights?” Hope asked.
“I did. You know, when I came over to apologize. When the principal made me apologize.”
“Oh,” Hope said. “But you came during the day, the lights weren’t on.”
“You’re mistaken. They must have been on because I do remember seeing them.”
Hope stared at Carol, and suddenly a wave of anxiety washed over her. She knew who had killed Clive. She looked Carol in the eye, and she didn’t like what she saw.
“You’re right,” Hope said. “Silly me. I remember now. I turned them on early because they really were pretty lights.” She gestured to the door leading to the staircase. “All ready to go?”
Carol shook her head. “I don’t think so.”
“But you have the elf. It’s yours. I mean, it belonged to Clive, so you get it.”
“It’s not the elf. It’s the lights,” Carol said. “You figured it out. The only time I could have seen the lights was Christmas Eve, the night I followed him here. The night I killed him.”
Hope watched as Carol carefully set the elf on the desk.
“What are you talking about?” Hope asked. “I thought Patton Boney killed Clive.”
“Please,” Carol said. “Don’t treat me like an idiot. As Clive used to say, I’ve stepped in it, and now I have to clean it up.”
“I don’t quite get it.” Hope edged toward the door.
“Oh, I think you do, and since you do, I may as well admit it. Yes, I followed Clive here Christmas Eve. He closed the Culpepper early. Then, he proceeded to get wasted, probably summoning up the courage to come here and ask for the elf back. I didn’t know about the elf. I followed him because I was sure he was on his way to be with you. I caught up with him on the porch, and well, I sort of lost it. We fought a little, but he was drunk. I grabbed the lights and wound them around his neck. Then, I pulled tight, very tight, and I kept pulling until he stopped moving.”
Sweat beaded on the woman’s forehead. She smiled and stepped between Hope and the door.
“I had never done anything like that before. I ran. I mean, no one saw me. And Clive had his share of enemies. I just went home and went to bed … after a couple shots of whiskey. When the police came, I played dumb because I really didn’t know about the elf. The police focused on you, especially when I told them I thought you and Clive were having an affair. Sorry about that.”
Hope looked about for something to use as a weapon. She was no match for Carol in a fair fight. Hope needed an edge.
“Now, I have to do something about you,” Carol said.
“The police know I have the elf,” Hope said. “If you kill me and show up with it, they’ll know it was you.”
“Good point. I guess I’ll just have to hide it. If I don’t cash in for a year or so, that’s fine with me.”
Carol pulled off her coat and dropped it on the floor.
“Think for a minute,” Hope said. “You’ve been all through this house. You’ve been shedding DNA everywhere. They’ll know.”
“Oh, I won’t deny I was here,” Carol said. “I’ve already been here once, and they won’t know when the DNA and prints were left. Nice try.”
They stared at each other, and Hope steeled herself for a fight. She was not going to just roll over.
“We can make this easy,” Carol said. “I do have to strangle you, I think. I mean I could blungeon you to death, but that would be messy. I might pick up some of your blood. Not a good thing. So, if you’ll just stand still.”
“Not a chance,” Hope said. “Nothing about this is going to be easy.”
Carol shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Carol lunged, and Hope managed to bat away Carol’s grasping hands. For a few seconds, it was an even fight. But most battles went to the strongest, and this was no exception. Carol slapped Hope so hard, her ears rang. Then, Hope felt Carol’s hands. The fingers wrapped around her throat.
“Max,” Hope rasped. “Max.”
“I’m afraid there’s no Max here,” Carol said. “Just me and you.”
The lights winked out.
“What the…?” Carol said.
The THUD came just before Carol’s fingers fell away from Hope’s neck.
Hope heard Carol hit the floor.
Gasping, still panicked, Hope leaned against the desk, as the lights popped back on.
Carol was on the floor, her head bleeding, but definitely alive.
Max stood by the light switch.
“What did you use?” Hope asked.
He pointed to the laptop on the desk.
She smiled. “You took your time.”
“I’m sorry for that.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re more than welcome, Mrs. Herring. Oh, I took the liberty of bringing up your phone. I thought you might want to make a call.” He grinned.
Hope looked at the phone on her desk and laughed.
19
Hope stood at the front door as Carol Thomas was wheeled out. Wait until I tell Cori about this, she’ll never believe it. On second thought, yes, she will.
“Are you certain you don’t want to go to the hospital?” Detective Robinson asked.
“I’m sure,” Hope answered.
“There’s some bruising on your neck.”
“It will go away. Besides, we have pictures of the bruises.”
“You know you were pretty lucky. How did you think to use the laptop?”
“It was the only thing within reach.”
He smiled. “That’s the way it usually goes. Your Christmas lights were the only thing within reach for Carol, your laptop for you.”
With distaste, Detective Robinson looked into the living room where the elf object lay on the coffee table being photographed by a law enforcement officer. “Funny how these things manage to cause so much trouble. I’m surprised no one ever threw that thing out.”