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“Mike went out looking for him.” In her hand, Therese held a battered radio. “He keeps checking in but there’s no sign of Liam.”
Lucas had to appreciate how hard the woman was fighting to hold it together. She was one of the few teachers who taught in the Hamlet school, and knew better than most how to keep calm. It had to be fucking hard, knowing her son was out there in the snow—and that he probably wasn’t alone—but she was trying. Staying home in case Liam came back, letting her husband and her neighbors search, Therese looked like she wanted to run off and find her son.
But she couldn’t. And the biggest reason was that Liam wasn’t her only child.
Sylvester turned to her, drawing her attention his way; he wore his authority as sheriff as easily as he donned his badge. “My deputy said there was a witness. I’d like to speak to her before we join the search parties.”
“Yes, Sheriff. Of course. It was my… my daughter. Annabelle. She’s Liam’s twin, and the one who came to get me when he was taken.”
“Where is she now?”
“My sister has her inside. She doesn’t really understand what’s going on and I didn’t want her to worry about her brother.”
That’s right, Lucas remembered. Therese had two sisters, one that was older, and another who was a bit younger. He watched as Therese said something to her older sister. Emily ran for the house, joined a few minutes later by Kathryn. Holding tightly to her aunt’s hand, Annabelle Johnson danced delightedly through the snow, kicking it up as she hurried toward her mother.
Once she was in reach, Therese swooped her up in her arms and gave her so tight a squeeze that the little girl protested.
“Ow! Too tight!”
“I’m sorry, baby.” The woman’s voice was thick with unshed tears. And Lucas knew he was right. She was holding it together—barely—for the sake of her other child. “It’s important, though. I need you to tell the sheriff what you saw before.”
“Okay, Mommy.”
Pigtails bobbing, the little girl pushed against her mother before shimmying down the length of her body. Therese took the hint; while it was obvious she was hesitant to let go of her child, she lowered Annabelle to the ground and set her on her feet.
Annabelle, Lucas noticed, was wearing hot pink sneakers that lit up as she clomped over to Sylvester.
Ever so gently, she slipped her tiny hand inside of Sylvester’s much darker one; the pale cream shade of her knitted mitten stood out against it. Then, with a tug and an impatient “Come on,” Annabelle pulled Sylvester away from the curb. She stopped when she got to the side of the house.
She used the hand not holding onto the sheriff’s to wave at the closed window. The curtains were drawn, the shade halfway up. Lights from the interrupted party filtered out, reflecting off the snow.
“Me and Liam were inside, right? It’s a party and Mommy and Daddy said we could stay up late. But then we looked outside and guess what we saw?”
Lucas wasn’t so great with kids. He never had been. As a doctor, he could fake it. Standing here, knowing that the locals waiting with Therese were watching him, expecting him to pull of a Christmas miracle made him antsy.
Why were children so damn small anyway? They were so… breakable.
Luckily, Sylvester knew what to do. With a bright smile on his normally serious face, the sheriff asked, “What’s that?”
“Santa Claus!”
“Santa, Annabelle?”
She nodded. “Yup! He was walking around the back and Liam said he wanted to make sure we were getting presents. Santa didn’t have his sleigh, but he had a big car, and Liam said maybe they were inside. So he went to look.”
“And then what happened?” Sylvester asked gently.
The little girl shook her head so fast, she nearly whipped Sylvester in the thigh with her pigtails. “I told him not to.” Turning around, looking for her mother, she said, “I told him not to, Mommy.”
“It’s okay, baby. Go on. Tell the sheriff what else you saw.”
“Liam told me to wait inside and then he went out to Santa’s car. He… he went inside, even though I told him not to. But then I saw Santa again and he got in his car and Liam didn’t come back.” Annabelle looked for her mother again. “Where’s Liam, Mommy? I want to find out about my presents.”
Therese let out a small sob, but kept her voice in control all the same. “He’s… he’s gone for a ride with Santa. He’ll be back soon.”
Annabelle huffed and kicked at the drift of snow that piled up under the window. “Lucky.”
6
