Christmas Haven. Hope White

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      She strolled past him onto the sidewalk.

      As he watched her step to the curb and glance across town, he realized he needed to solve this case fast so he could put her on a ferry and send her to Seattle before he lost touch with reality and started dreaming again.

      Dreaming of a charmed life with his high-school sweetheart.

      Julie had wondered if leaving him would cause Morgan’s bad-boy tendencies to surface. When Mom told her Morgan had joined the service, earned his college degree and returned to become police chief, Julie figured he’d moved on and conquered the darkness.

      Sitting across from his desk, she realized something else had changed: Morgan had become a master at closing himself off. It was as if he flipped a switch from charismatic chief to hardened detective. He was hyper-focused on solving the case the Seattle P.D. had been unable to get traction on. Not because Morgan was worried about Julie, but, she guessed, because he wanted to solve it so he could keep his citizens safe, and get Julie out of his life.

      He hated her that much.

      “Andy Trotter was a dealer? Of what?” he asked, leafing through a file.

      She felt guilty showing him the boys’ personal files but she knew he was right: the more information he had, the better chance he had of piecing together some answers.

      He glanced up, waiting for a response. His eyes grew dark blue and intense. Cold.

      “Crack cocaine, mostly. Some heroin,” she said.

      “Which means he worked for some pretty bad people. But the kid was homeless? Didn’t dealing give him enough money to live?”

      “The kids get addicted themselves and end up spending their money on their habit.”

      He fingered a sheet of paper. “I realize dealing drugs can be deadly, but why abduct a kid?”

      “I didn’t see Andy being abducted. He just disappeared.”

      “Tell me about Dane’s abduction.” He leaned back in his chair and tapped a pencil on his desk.

      He was in cop mode, questioning her like any other witness.

      “I was going to one of the flophouses Dane frequented. When I turned the corner, I spotted two men shoving him into the back of a van. I called out—”

      “You what?” He leaned forward.

      “Instinct, okay?”

      “Did they see you?”

      “I’m not sure. Anyway, I dialed 9-1-1 and watched the van tear off. I’ll never forget the sound of Dane’s voice screaming to let him go.”

      “Did it sound like he knew them? Did he call them by name?”

      “I’m not sure.”

      “Think, Jules. Close your eyes and replay the scene in your head.”

      With a sigh, she did as he asked. It had been a cool, blustery day in Seattle, and when she’d turned the corner she was fastening the top button on her coat.

      Dane cried out, snapping her attention to the alley. She froze at the sight of two men practically ripping off Dane’s jacket to subdue him as he kicked and screamed.

       Damn it, let me go! I didn’t do it, Henson. I didn’t do it!

      Julie snapped her eyes open. “Henson, he called one of the guys Henson.”

      “Good. It’s a start.” He picked up the phone.

      “Who are you calling?”

      “Detective Beck. You remember Ethan? He’s a Seattle cop.”

      “Oh, right.”

      She wished she would have known that before. She always liked Ethan, one of the Three Musketeers, as they’d called themselves growing up. Ethan and his friend Jake would vacation in Port Whisper every summer, and Morgan always looked forward to seeing them. As teenagers Morgan and Julie saw less of the guys from the other side of the water. She was glad Morgan had kept in touch with Ethan.

      “I’ve got a name,” Morgan said into the phone. “Henson. Yeah…no…” He glanced at Julie. “I doubt it. Sure, thanks.” He hung up and eyed Julie. “He’s going to look into it. In the meantime we need to figure out a way to keep you safe.”

      “What about my mom?”

      “Need to keep her safe, too.”

      “She’ll want to lock me up and not let me go back to Seattle.”

      “Is that so bad?”

      “Look, I know you love it here, but—”

      “All I’m saying is, a few weeks off or even a month away from your work could be a good thing. I can see it’s sucking the energy out of you.”

      “I was fine until Andy disappeared and Dane was abducted.”

      Morgan quirked a brow.

      “What?” she said.

      “How long have you been at this?”

      “Six years.”

      “When was the last time you took a vacation?”

      “Last spring.”

      “Really? Where’d you go?”

      She hesitated and he smirked.

      “Omaha,” she snapped.

      “For a vacation?”

      “Okay, fine. I went for a conference.”

      “I rest my case.”

      “I wish you’d get off my case.” Probably because he was right. Her job was sucking the life from her and she didn’t know what to do about it.

      “Let’s talk about your safety,” Morgan said. “We should get you out of your mom’s house.”

      “What? No.”

      “It’s temporary. You can stay at Dad’s place. I’ve been working on it.”

      “No, I couldn’t—”

      “Sure you could.” He scribbled something on a piece of paper.

      “Mom won’t agree.”

      “She will when we explain the situation.”

      Julie sighed. “I hate involving her in this.”

      “Too late, you already have.”

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