Candy ignored Haley. She focused on packing the groceries she had bought. Sandy, on the other hand, refused to hold her tongue. She spun around and pointed a sharp finger at Haley. “Like, why don't you leave us alone already!” she yelled through the snow. “Candy isn't doing anything wrong. I was about to end up on the streets and she paid for me to fly to New York and work in her toy factory. So, like... leave us alone!”
Haley simply grinned as heavy snow covered her hair. “Is that so...well, I'll see if you're telling the truth, girly. In the meantime...I'm going to go have a talk with my brother. Bye for now.”
Candy watched as Haley walked to her jeep. The woman crawled into the jeep, buckled up, waved, and then drove out of a snowy parking lot, leaving a pair of tire tracks in her wake. “Ignore her, Sandy.”
“She's worse than Ralphie,” Sandy fussed. “Oh, who, like, cares and all. The snow is falling hard and we have to, like, totally get home before the roads become impassable.”
Sandy helped Candy load the groceries and then returned the two grocery carts back inside. While Sandy returned the grocery carts, Candy warmed up her jeep. As she did, her phone rang. Betty was calling. “We're just now leaving.”
“You better because another storm front is moving in. The last plow is going to run in one hour,” Betty warned. “Did you remember to get Snowball his dog treats?”
“I did.”
“Uh, oh...” Betty read trouble in Candy's voice. “What happened?”
Candy quickly explained about her encounter with Haley. “Haley is digging into everyone's past, Betty, and she's making it seem like we're part of some type of criminal organization or something.”
“Oh, that woman was always a pain...” Betty fumed. “How dare she insinuate I was involved in my husband's death.”
“I have a bad feeling Haley isn't going to leave us alone. She's after a major story, and I'm afraid she's willing to distort the facts in order to get the story she wants...uh, here comes Sandy. I better go. We'll talk more when we get back to the island.” Candy put her phone away just as Sandy opened the passenger side door.
“Mr. Lipstien gave me a free cookie,” Sandy explained as she crawled into the jeep. “Peanut butter...my favorite.”
“That's nice, honey. Now buckle up. We have to hurry and get back to the island.”
Candy carefully drove out of the grocery store parking lot and found the snowy two-lane road. She aimed her jeep west and tried to gain a little speed. The roads were slippery and cold, and Candy was forced to slow down and travel at a safe speed.
“That's right, run...I'll find you.” Haley grinned as she watched Candy drive away. As soon as Candy's jeep was out of sight, she drove out from behind a closed shoe store and headed back for town. She called her brother on the way. “Brad, this is your sister...listen, I just know that Candy Baker is up to something. I bumped into her at the grocery store...no...I wasn't following her...you should have seen how scared she became when I began questioning her. She's up to something...the facts say so.”
Brad Huntington was sitting in his office munching on a donut and watching an old hockey game on a little black-and-white television he liked. He was a few years older—and wiser—than his sister. Everyone in Pine Snow liked and respected Brad—even though he was a little heavy around the waist. “Haley, leave Candy Baker alone. That woman has never bothered a soul.”
“But Brad, she's up to something, I tell you, and I'm going to find out what, even if I have to get the FBI involved. Do you want that?”
Brad sighed. “No.” Brad knew once his sister set her mind on a story, she wouldn't stop—no matter the cost. “Look, keep the FBI out of this...and I'll do what I can.”
“Terrific. The first thing I want you to do is find out what you can about Sandy Winchell from Los Angeles.” Haley grinned as she told Brad about Sandy. “It's not going to be a Merry Christmas for Candy and her group of criminals after all...”
