“I had a bad feeling.”
Brad scanned the snowy white street lined with cozy shops. Pine Snow was a poor town, but the town was home and felt like a warm hug. Even though the town was poor, the peoplewho called Pine Snow home worked hard to keep the shops and homes clean, cozy and welcoming. “I did some checking on Sandy Winchell...” Brad told Candy what Detective Maddening had discovered about Sandy. “I ordered Haley to leave you alone, Candy. It seems to me like you have enough on your plate without my sister pestering you.”
Candy could hardly believe her ears. Had Sandy tried to end her own life? Goodness. Candy had no idea. “Do you think—”
“Haley will listen? No. She has a friend who works with the FBI. She threatened to call her friend.” Brad groaned. “You might want to expect a call from Agent Rita Drakes.”
“Rita Drakes?” Candy asked. The name sounded familiar. “Wasn't she the girl who was arrested for trying to set the high school library on fire when she was a freshman?”
“Same girl and now she works for the FBI. Ironic, isn't it?” Brad shook his head again. “Rita was the only girl Haley could ever get along with. After she was allowed back in school, those two became close friends. When Rita moved away in her junior year, Haley kept in touch with her.”
Candy closed her eyes. Instead of seeing cozy Christmas lights and hearing the sound of laughing children, she saw a dark cloud appear over the island she now called home. All Candy hungered to do inside of her heart was buildChristmas Toy Island. Instead, it seemed like Haley Huntington was going to ensure Candy's dream was shut down before the first toy could be made. “Brad, is there anything you can do?”
“I'll keep a close eye on my sister,” Brad promised. “In the meantime, just fly under the radar, Candy. Haley is a pest, and when she teams up with Rita…well, you get the idea. Two spiders in one web is far more dangerous than one.”
Candy did get the idea.
The Grinch was alive and well.
Chapter 2
Brad's statement about Sandy resonated through Candy's mind like howling winds roaming through an abandoned building. Abandoned buildings were lifeless, cold, and forgotten. Had Sandy seen her life as an abandoned building, something that was doomed to be filled with night creatures or even worse, torn down? “The poor girl. I knew there was more to her past, but I never imagined that.”
Candy was sitting in the library. Peppermint had created a warm fire in the cobblestone fireplace, and strings and strings of cozy Christmas lights were glowing and dancing. The Christmas decorations filling the library hummed soft carols, and all the Christmas trees were alive. The toys hanging from the towering ceiling were sleeping peacefully. The library truly felt like a dream that had drifted from the North Pole and was now resting inside of the castle Candy called home. Sadly, Candy could no longer enjoy the library.
How broken was Sandy? How cruel was Haley? What about Ralphie? Was there a dark shadow haunting Ralphie's past? Then there was Marty. If God had brought Sandy to New York—to Christmas Toy Island—to be protected and loved, then whatabout Ralphie and Marty? “I don't know,” Candy whispered. Her thoughts wandered to Chris Carols. Chris was such a sweet and intelligent man. Charming, funny, caring, and honest, so many wonderful qualities gleamed from the man. But, was the man broken? Were his smiles hiding a painful past?
Before Candy could answer any of the questions attacking her worried mind, the door to the library opened. Sandy walked through the door carrying a donut in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. “Uh, like, Candy, that purple sweater...like, the snowflakes are cute and all, but purple isn't really your color.”
Sandy was wearing a plain, long dress. She looked pretty, of course, Sandy was very pretty—but depressed. “Betty told me the same thing. I like the color purple, but perhaps purple isn't my color.” Candy tried to sound casual as Sandy closed the library door. “Is the snow falling?”
“The snow is falling so heavy you can't see your hand in front of, like, your face and all,” Sandy answered. “Looks like, you know, we're stuck inside all day. Like, that's cool with me because I wasn't up to going out in the cold.”
“Oh?” Candy saw a door open. “Are you feeling okay, honey?”
Sandy walked over to a chair. She plopped down with a heavy sigh. “Candy, like, I can't quit thinking about that woman at the grocery store. Like, her eyes really creeped me out. I saw cruelty in her eyes.”
“I see...” Candy carefully studied Sandy. The library was warm and toasty—and blessedly quiet, but Candy could hear the winds howling outside. She knew the snow was falling in heavy streams. The purpose of asking Sandy about the snow was to get a feel for how the young woman was feeling. “I agree that Haley is not a kind woman. In fact, Haley is probably the only woman in Pine Snow that people have a sour taste toward.”
“I can't blame anyone for, like, not liking that awful woman.” Sandy took a bite of a coffee donut. She was more upset than hungry. She liked to munch on something when her heart was filled with worry. “That woman reminded me...of, like, well...my mother. Totally lame.”
“Your mother wasn't very nice to you, was she, honey?” Candy asked as carefully as possible.
“Like, no way,” Sandy answered with a heavy sigh. She took a quick sip of coffee. Candy noticed that when Sandy became upset, she needed to hold onto something. “My mother was...lame.”
“Honey, may I ask you a personal question?” Candy spoke in a loving but direct voice. Sandy tensed up a little. “You don't have to answer me, and if my question makes you feel uncomfortable, I'll back away. I feel that I need to ask you the question that's weighing on my heart.”
“Well...like, sure, okay. I know you don't mean any harm.” Sandy nodded the way a little girl nods her head when she's asked to eat a piece of broccoli.
Candy drew in a deep breath. “Honey, did your parents ever abuse you?” There. Candy asked. Now she had to wait for either a bomb to explode or tears to start falling.
Sandy's eyes dropped, and she sat silent for what appeared to be a very long time. “Like, did you talk to Dr. Goldstein?” Sandy finally asked in a low whisper.
“Who is that, honey?”
Sandy slowly raised her eyes, and Candy spotted tears. “Dr. Goldstein was a nice man who took care of me when I was put, like, in a mental home. I, like, figured that because you are my employer and all, you might run a background check on me.”
“No, honey, I didn't run a background check on you. However, Brad Huntington, the Chief of Police in Pine Snow,talked to a Detective Maddening in Los Angeles. Detective Maddening did take a peek into your past.”
