AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Which was about what I thought might happen. “Does that mean more time in prison?”
“It depends on whether the D.A. wants to open an additional case against her.” The police chief stopped himself there, as if he’d just reminded himself of who he was talking to, and that he shouldn’t be chatting so chummily with me. I’d thought that maybe the holiday season might have mellowed him a bit, but apparently not. “Anyway, just thought you’d like to know. Merry Christmas.”
And he headed out the door and let it bang shut behind him. The customers who’d been browsing in the store looked over at the sudden jangle of bells, but otherwise, no one seemed to have paid too much attention to the exchange.
I could only be glad of that. The last thing I wanted was to dodge awkward questions for the next two hours.
Luckily, everyone seemed intent on wrapping up their holiday shopping, and so I did my best to put the whole Miriam Jacobsen mess behind me. I was only peripherally connected to the situation, anyway.
Of course, that didn’t stop Josie from calling at exactly five minutes after five. No doubt she’d heard the news through the Globe grapevine but wanted to get it from the horse’s mouth.
“Did Miriam’s nephew really tell you she was embezzling from the Chamber?” she asked, not bothering to waste any time with a greeting.
“Pretty much,” I said. Not for the first time, I wondered if she had spy cameras mounted in the store, since she’d managed to call at the precise moment when the last customer had departed and I’d just finished locking the door. “The D.A. has been notified, I guess, so we’ll just have to see what happens next.”
“Well, at the very least, the police should seize the funds Beth Faulkner found inside baby Jesus,” Josie returned with a sniff. “That’s our money, after all.”
“I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of it,” I said. “But I assume there has to be a full investigation first.”
“By which time that money will probably have been spirited off to a shell company in the Cayman Islands,” she said.
Although that lugubrious observation might not have been too far from the truth, I had to hope that Chief Lewis had acted quickly on the information Jack Faulkner provided, and so there really wouldn’t have been enough time to spirit all that cash out of town.
“I think it’s going to be all right,” I replied.
“Is that a prediction?”
“Just a feeling,” I told her.
A faint sigh whistled through my iPhone’s speaker. Then Josie said, “Well, I suppose I should just be glad that baby Jesus is back where he’s supposed to be. Hopefully, there won’t be any further shenanigans.”
“I think we’ll have a very peaceful Christmas,” I said.
Wishful thinking? Maybe. But I’d always been someone who hoped for the best.
“I won’t keep you,” she said next. “I’m sure you had a very busy day. Have a wonderful holiday!”
She hung up then, while I reflected that she hadn’t said word one about Calvin’s and my engagement. But then, I hadn’t told anybody yet except my mother, and although Calvin had probably spread the news amongst his family members, they weren’t the sort of people to go gossiping outside the San Ramon tribe.
And even if my customers must have noticed the new ring on my finger, it was just enough unlike your standard engagement ring that maybe they hadn’t even recognized it for what it was.
After shutting off the lights in the store except the one in the back entry that I left on all the time, I dragged myself upstairs. Calvin and I hadn’t made any concrete plans for dinner, although I had a feeling he was probably going to suggest takeout in order to give me a break. Which was fine by me. As much as I loved cooking, I thought I was ready to put my feet up and let someone else do the work for one evening.
No sign of Archie when I entered the apartment, and I tried not to sigh. It seemed he wasn’t quite ready to forgive me for getting engaged to Calvin.
Almost as if my thoughts had been a cue, my phone rang from inside my purse.
“Hey, Calvin,” I said. “I just got in. What time are you coming over?”
“Well, about that….” He paused, and I could hear in the background the chatter of voices and the happy shrieks of what sounded like a bunch of little kids playing.
“You’re not coming over,” I said. Although part of me was disappointed, some other part couldn’t help being just a teeny bit relieved. I was so darn tired, I doubted I would have been very good company.
“I can if you need me to,” he responded at once. “It’s just that Anna really wants me to stay, and everyone’s brought over food, and it’s just turned into this sort of impromptu family party.”
While I couldn’t help being somewhat cheered by his obvious willingness to leave his family and newborn niece to be at his fiancée’s side, I didn’t think that sort of sacrifice was necessary. “No, it’s fine,” I assured him. “I’m really wiped out, so I’m fine with putting my feet up and just crashing for the night. But I cracked the case of the baby Jesus thief.”
“Really?”
