seconds of answering Dixon’s face went from cocky and confident to panic.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“What’s wrong?” Rebecca sat forward. The mall noise had amplified. Somewhere behind them a PA system was announcing Santa’s arrival.
“That was my granddad.” Dixon’s face had gone white. “They just took Nanna to the hospital. She may have had a heart attack.”
“Oh my God, Dixon.”
“You want us to go with you?” Patrick was already pulling on his jacket.
“Yeah, I guess,” Dixon said, trying to stand but stumbling over the backpack at his feet. “Oh crap.” He pivoted around trying to look beyond the crowd. “I promised Chad and Tyler.” He picked up the backpack with a pained look and dropped it on the table as if the weight of it was suddenly too much.
“Don’t worry about it,” Rebecca said, grabbing the pack, surprised at how heavy it was but sliding it up over her shoulder as if it were no problem. “I just need to walk around with it, right?”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Now go.”
“How will you get home?”
“Patrick and I will figure it out.” She gave Dixon a onearmed hug, all she could manage with the awkward weight of the backpack.
He handed her the iPhone and she tried to wave him off, but he insisted, “No, a deal is a deal.”
They watched him disappear into the crowd as a family of four took over their bistro table. She and Patrick made plans to meet by the Gap in an hour. Rebecca’s mind was on Dixon’s grandmother while she stopped at the restroom. She had known Mrs. Lee since she was a little girl. She always treated Rebecca as though she were a member of the family, this time even giving Rebecca their daughter’s old bedroom.
“I know it’s a bit outdated, but I couldn’t bear to change out the wallpaper,” Mrs. Lee had told Rebecca as she showed her around the room, explaining that daisies had been her daughter’s favorite.
Rebecca was clear across the food court by the time she realized she had forgotten Dixon’s backpack hanging on the restroom door. She swore under her breath as she turned around, hurrying back to retrieve it.
She saw Chad and hoped he didn’t notice her. He was headed in the opposite direction. She was watching him when the explosion happened. Everything moved in slow motion. She was paralyzed by a flash of red-and-white light engulfing Chad’s body. The sound of the blast reached her ears just as glass shattered and fire erupted.
An invisible force knocked her completely off her feet. She felt hot air lift her. Pressure crushed against her chest. She slammed back down to the floor with a rain of metal and glass and wet debris showering over her, stinging her skin and scorching her lungs. She couldn’t move. Something heavy lay on top of her. Pinning her down. It hurt to breathe. She could smell singed hair.
When she opened her eyes the first thing she saw was an arm ripped apart and lying within a foot of her. For a panicked second she thought it was her own until she saw the green dragon tattoo splattered with blood.
It looked like it was snowing, glittery pieces floating down. Rebecca closed her eyes again. Through the moans she recognized Doris Day’s voice, singing, “Let it snow…”
And then the screams began.
Chapter
2
Newburgh Heights, Virginia
Maggie O’Dell slid a pan of stuffed mushroom caps into the oven then stopped to watch out her kitchen window. In the backyard Harvey entertained their guests, leaping into the air to catch his Frisbee. The white Labrador retriever was showing off. And her guests were humoring the big dog, laughing and chasing him through the fallen leaves. Three adult professionals acting like kids. Maggie smiled. Nothing like a dog to bring out the inner child in everyone.
“This is all quite an accomplishment,” her friend, Gwen Patterson said, trying to point with her chin while her hands stayed busy chopping onion.
At first Maggie thought her friend meant the spread of munchies the two of them had prepared. It was a feast that looked more like a cocktail reception than a college football big-screen marathon. But Gwen wasn’t talking about the food.
“I mean getting us all here together,” Gwen explained. “All of us in one place without a crime scene…or a corpse.”
“Yes, but there’s free food and beer,” Maggie said. “That’s usually enough.”
“True.” Gwen smiled. “You never did tell me why your brother couldn’t make it.”
“Guess he got a better offer,” Maggie said, relieved that her back was to her friend. She didn’t want Gwen to see the disappointment. It was best to keep things light. No big deal. Her psychologist friend would poke and probe if Maggie wasn’t careful. “Hey, I can’t expect to drop into his life and have an instant relationship.”
She risked a glance over her shoulder only to see that her instinct was right. Gwen had stopped chopping and was watching her.
“There’s always Christmas,” Maggie added, trying to sound positive when she knew it was a long shot. She hadn’t even brought up the subject with him. One rejection per phone call seemed sufficient.
“Do you think we have enough food?” Maggie wanted off the subject. This was supposed to be a day for relaxation. No stress. Just watching college football with friends, sharing a beer and some killer salsa.
“This is plenty,” Gwen reassured her and went back to chopping.
Maggie stood with hands on her hips, assessing the island countertop that showed off trays and platters of finger foods. She had never thrown a party before. She didn’t attend many either. In fact, she rarely invited guests to her house. Funny how getting an extended warranty on life had a way of making a person do things she thought she’d never do. Less than two months ago Maggie and her boss, FBI assistant director Kyle Cunningham had been exposed to the Ebola virus. Maggie had survived. Cunningham hadn’t been so lucky.
“I don’t know if we have enough. I’ve done a couple of road trips with Racine,” Maggie said, trying to ward off the memories of being confined to an isolation ward and the helplessness of watching her boss go from a vibrant leader and mentor to a skeletal invalid sprouting tubes and lifelines. She closed her eyes, again keeping her back to Gwen as she grabbed onto the counter, pretending to survey their spread.
Keep it light, she reminded herself. Relax. Breathe. Enjoy.
“You’d never guess by looking at Racine but she can put away a pile of food.”
As if summoned, Julia Racine came in the back door, her short spiky blond hair tousled, her sweatshirt sporting a few dry leaves, a smudge of dirt on the knee of her blue jeans. The scent of fall trailed in with her. She looked more like a punk rock star than a D.C. homicide detective.
“Your
