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Children ran and squealed as they hurried to gather behind the stage.
A sudden stillness in the air made the hair on the back of Ellie’s neck prickle, and she looked at the sky and saw the shadow of a storm on the horizon.
Across the street, she spotted Shondra and Crooked Creek’s other deputy, Heath Landrum, combing the surroundings.
She’d never expected a serial killer to haunt the area, but she had dealt with more than one the past year. Her finger automatically stroked her chest where the maniac, the Hunter, had carved his name into her skin.
She’d had plastic surgery to repair the tissue, but she still woke up screaming sometimes, as if she could feel the blade carving into her.
She forced the memory away as the angels climbed the stage and began to sing. This evening was about having fun and celebrating.
Nothing bad could happen tonight.
Two
He watched the little girls giggle and chatter as they gathered on the stage. Their glittery angel wings glowed beneath the white Christmas lights, their faces the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
His breath quickened. He knew he wasn’t supposed to be here. It was dangerous for him. Dangerous for them.
But the draw was too strong. When he’d seen them practicing last week, he’d stood beneath the shade of a live oak and been mesmerized. On the stage now, a cherub-faced child’s curly dark hair bounced as she grabbed a little blond’s hand and they hugged excitedly. A cute redhead with freckles tugged at her angel wings, and the girl with the big red bow beside her waved at her mommy in the audience.
He knew the little girl with the brown curls. She lived down the street from him. He’d been watching her ever since he’d moved there. She was funny and precocious and had sky-blue eyes that lit up when she laughed.
During the summer, he’d watched her singing as she picked flowers in her backyard and ran through the sprinkler. Last week, through the window, he’d seen her skip into the den in her fuzzy red and white pajamas and gobble down a snowman sugar cookie as she hung the ornaments.
The woman on stage motioned that it was time to begin, and the girls quieted. Then ‘Silent Night’ began to play on the piano and the little angels started to sing, their soft voices heavenly to his ears.
He tugged his hat low over his head, staying behind the lamppost. So far no one here recognized him. Or knew what he’d done.
What he was.
He had to make sure they never did.
Three
Honeysuckle Lane, Crooked Creek
Friday, December 20
Lara Truman normally loved the holidays. But last night after the Christmas pageant, she’d had a migraine, and this morning her head was pounding so bad she felt nauseous. Still, she’d promised her five-year-old daughter she’d bake cupcakes for the school party today, and she couldn’t let Ava down.
Being a single mom was challenging. But Ava deserved a supermom, especially since her so-called father had checked out to be with his new girlfriend. Yesterday, Lara had spent the afternoon sewing sequins on the angel wings for Ava’s costume, and last night she let her daughter stay up a half hour later when they got home from the pageant because she was too excited to sleep.
She wanted a puppy this year, had been begging for it for months. Ava’s father had refused to get a dog, but now that he no longer lived with them, she’d decided to honor her daughter’s wishes. After all, the little girl had taken the separation hard.
“Mommy, mommy, mommy!” Ava sang as she skipped into the kitchen with her neon-green backpack slung over her shoulder. Her brown ponytail bobbed up and down, her red headband glittering with sequins. “Today’s the party!” Ava squealed, her blue eyes full of joy. “We’re having pizza!”
“I know, honey. Don’t forget the book you’re supposed to take for the children’s hospital.” Ava’s teacher had asked each family who could afford it to donate a wrapped book.
Ava dunked her finger into the bowl where Lara had mixed the batter earlier, then licked it. “Are you bringing the cupcakes to school?”
“Yes, they’re in the oven now.” Lara rubbed her temple. Her migraine was slipping into full mode, her vision blurring. A quick check of the clock, and she realized it was time to walk to the bus. The aura that came with her migraine made her dizzy, reminding her to take her medication or she’d never make it through the day.
Ava ran her fingers over the shiny sparkles on her holiday sweatshirt, which boasted a felt tree with twinkling lights. Ava had wanted them to dress alike so Lara had handsewn the tree and added colorful felt ornaments. A smile curved her mouth, knowing that one day Ava would balk at the two of them wearing matching outfits. She’d secretly been tickled to do so.
“It’s gonna be so much fun today!” Ava clutched her favorite stuffed bunny beneath her arm as she ran into the living room. “I can’t wait to get to school.”
Lara nodded, but the smoke alarm suddenly trilled as smoke seeped from the closed oven door.
