“Let me go!” a tiny voice growled from around the corner. “Let me go, Bam Bam!”
A prickle of foreshadowing raced down my spine just before I turned the corner. There stood Sam Autry, holding the little monster upside down by the ankle.
CHAPTER 5
Christmas Crusader Unmasked
Sam Autry was a sight to behold this early in the morning, in the Mistletoe Elementary School no less. He was wearing worn jeans and equally worn work boots, as well as a professional but sporty quarter zip with a pocket logo that said Holiday Brights, wrapped in cartoon Christmas Lights. The kid was swinging punches at a grinning Sam, while Sam easily dodged all the violence.
“Lose something?” His low voice was taunting, smug.
“Why are you holding that . . .” Delinquent? Heathen? Anarchist? “child like that?”
“This is Brody,” Sam explained. “He’s my nephew.”
I met Sam’s twinkling green eyes. “Ah. That explains the mischief.” I had only run for a few seconds before I caught up to Brody Perkins. Why did I suddenly feel lightheaded and sweaty?
He lifted Brody higher, so they were closer to being eye-to-eye. “What mischief, nephew?”
I knew the blood was probably rushing to his little head by now, but the boy’s jaw squared, and he folded his arms across his upside-down chest. His floppy hair, wrangled by gravity, hung in staticky waves toward the floor. “She murdered Mrs. B.”
Sam chuckled as he flipped Brody around and landed him on his feet, his big hands clamping down on Brody’s shoulders to lock him into place. “She didn’t murder Mrs. B, ding dong. You saw the baby over the weekend when your mom took you over there.” To me he said, “Sarah and Delia are best friends.”
Brody growled.
Sam put his hands on either side of Brody’s face and forced him to look at him. “You need to be nice to Ms. Haden.”
“Why?” Brody asked through smooshed cheeks.
“Because I like her.”
Misunderstanding his uncle’s attempt at kindness, Brody said, “Ewww.”
Panic sizzled through my body, zapping all the important organs that should be working on an escape plan but were instead trying not to laugh at how cute and naughty Brody Perkins was.
Sam looked at me and winked. Panic turned to apoplexy, and I accidentally died on the spot. I wasn’t the murderer. Sam Autry was the murderer.
He looked back at his wiggling nephew. “Yeah, ew. But if you stress her out, she’s never going to say yes to a date with me.”
Brody stared at me with bug eyes, his eyebrows lost under the flop of his blonde hair. “You want to go on a date with Bam Bam?”
Sense slammed into me from the back. Like a gust of wind intent on knocking intelligence back into my fuzzy head. I narrowed my eyes at Brody. “Your uncle is Bam Bam?” He nodded, face still squished. “No, no I do not want to go on a date with Bam Bam. But I would like to go back to class. Are you ready?” I held out my hand, not sure if he would take it, but needing to do something productive.
Sam released Brody’s cheeks, tousling his hair and knocking his glasses askew. “You need to be good, B. No more evil sub propaganda, okay?”
Brody did not look convinced.
Sam squatted down to his level and met his defiant gaze with one of his own. “Calling someone a murderer is not funny. It’s mean. Are you a mean kid?” Brody shook his head, finally looking a little guilty. “And is it fair your class has to wait for Ms. Haden to come get you before they can learn something today?” Brody shook his head again, his mouth pressing into a frown. “And Christmas is right around the corner, dude. Do you want to get put on the naughty list?” His frown turned all the way upside down.
“A little harsh,” I whispered.
Sam looked up at me from where he knelt on one knee and wrinkled his nose at me. “Priorities, Holly.” He turned back to Brody. “Now, go on and be good.”
Brody leaned in and whispered, “Do you really want to go on a date with my teacher?”
Sam leaned in too, dropping his voice not nearly quiet enough. “I do.” He put his hand up and covered his mouth as if telling Brody a secret I couldn’t know. “I even want to kiss her.”
Brody broke out into uncontrollable giggles. “Okay, Bam Bam,” he said through bouts of laughter. “I’ll put in a good word for you.”
