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"It's Christmas, Laila. It's a time for secrets so just let it rest at that," said my mother.
I had to be satisfied with that answer, happy with it or not. I reached for a sample from the table when I heard Dad coming in the back door. He was talking with someone. It took only an instant to recognize the voice who answered with the familiar laugh. Daniel? I looked out the window expecting to see his car. The driveway was empty except for Dad's SUV. Stomping of feet, and then Dad and Daniel walked into the kitchen.
"Merry Christmas, Laila," said Daniel. Response from me was frozen until he leaned in and kissed me. That was enough to melt me.
"Did you drive all the way down here from Pennsylvania? What about spending Christmas with your family?"
"Questions, questions," said my Dad. "I picked him up from the airport."
"You flew down here on a plane?"
"How else would he fly?" asked my Dad. Always the joker, I thought.
Daniel grinned from ear to ear. "I was getting tired of phone calls, hopped on a plane and here I am." I looked at everyone. I was the only one without a broad smile on my face. I was still in shock. "I can't say it was a pleasant flight," said Daniel.
My eyes questioned him. "I didn't look out the window at the clouds because for most of the trip, my eyes were closed tight. There are probably permanent knuckle prints on the arms of my seat." He chuckled. His eyes glistened like the lights on the Christmas tree. "I've been celebrating for the last ten days with my family. They were happy I decided to come down here to see you. Of course, I wanted to meet your parents, too."
"We arranged it all when Daniel called and told us what he wanted to do," said my mother.
"We couldn't wait to meet him. You have quite a man here, Laila. His fear of flying is more than we knew until I picked him up," said my dad.
"You'll have to put up with me on the flight back to West River, Laila. That is, if you are willing to sit next to a mummy-like figure," said Daniel.
"I won't mind at all. You will be fine," I said. "What about your car still in Pennsylvania?”
"My brother is driving my car back to New York. He has no qualms about flying back home again once he delivers my car." He grinned at me. "We're different that way."
Daniel's bravery touched me. I couldn't wait to talk with him alone. But the party would be in full swing in just a few minutes. He followed me up the stairs to the guest room. He kissed me again just before coming back down to greet more than just a few guests. Connie almost gushed when she met Daniel. No holding back with Connie. "He is so handsome, Laila."
Daniel took it all in stride as usual. The party was getting into full swing. I had a good time, but couldn't wait to spend a few minutes alone with Daniel. Once the party ended, we cleaned up remnants of the celebration and Daniel sank into the couch next to me. We had a lot to talk about. Neither was ready for sleep. We told my parents good-night. Their smiles were plastered for the rest of the night, at least.
I reheated more cider. Daniel stoked the fire ag
ain with a new log. I took his hand and pulled him from the couch. We looked through the large window, beyond the hanging wreath and watched snowflakes filter down from the sky.
"Look at that, Daniel. It looks like Pigeon Forge will have a white Christmas after all. That's my proof to you it really does snow down here."
"Yes, it does. Now I believe you when you say it snows in the south."
Chapter Thirty One
The day after Christmas, Daniel appeared more relaxed about getting on a plane. Once we settled in he was ready to talk more. He couldn’t get his mind of the case of Frank’s murder.
"Laila, I have a lot to tell you about Jared Freedman and Frank Duvall," said Daniel. "Frank was an all-around bad guy. He was expert at blackmailing. I think he found how easy it was with Cassie and started making it his new career."
"How did you find that out?"
"Donald told me when I called him. I wanted to make sure it was over for you and that you were safe. He told me they had the right man behind bars. I can't tell you how much that reassured me." Daniel's concern was genuine. "Jared was more than a little angry when he found out that Frank heard what he was doing. The friction between them escalated."
We both accepted cokes from the Flight Attendant. Daniel picked up his thoughts again.
"Frank took on the Santa façade to meet rich parents. Can you believe that? When he paid extra attention to a child who was disruptive and crying, he comforted parents, too. It didn't take long for him to cultivate a relationship away from the Santa gig," said Daniel. "He got invited to their homes to dress like Santa for guests. He picked rich ones and learned of affairs outside the marriage and other things he could hold over them." Daniel paused before he continued. "He then started the blackmailing scheme, and his new career."
I told Daniel that would explain where Frank had been in his Santa suit the night he came into the bar. Joe had said he was more than a little tipsy when he came in.
"I felt sorry for Joe. He paid the price for his illegal insider trading," I said. "I do remember the Chief telling me, confidentially, that there weren't too many people sad about Frank being murdered," I said. "He looked long and hard at Steven. I was determined to clear your friend, mainly for your sake. That led me to Jared and the rest is history."
"Yes, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. The Chief told me that Frank had blackmailed quite a list of people. Thankfully Jared rose to the top of the list quickly. Frank was adept at fooling so many people.”
