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Wham?

The stress and worry that had driven them from the city was all but forgotten. They had gotten settled in. Bryce found the guest room bed far more comfortable than his own fold out. They had enjoyed the Christmas Eve service at the church where Veronica grew up. She had walked him around town to show him her dance school and all of the highlights of her childhood.

Charles and Marella seemed to genuinely appreciate the books he’d wrapped up for them. He was glad he’d left the gift basket at home. It would give him something to nosh on when they got back to the city.

“You took all of these pictures?” Charles had marveled at the compilation.

“Yes, sir. I’ve been thinking of doing another one.”

“Have any ideas of what you’d like to capture this time?”

“I was thinking it was too cold to go traipsing around shooting pictures but I have to agree with Veronica. The snow really does make everything prettier. Maybe I’ll do a book on snow in the city or a before and after collection.”

“Before and after?”

“Yeah, take a picture with the snow and then go back when it’s warm and get the same shot without the snow.”

“That could be interesting. Are you going to be alright up here for a week?”

“Sorry?”

“Ronni says you sell stuff on your website.”

“Yes, photography gear and accessories. I hit the thrift stores and then clean stuff up if it needs it. I scheduled some time off to avoid holiday shopping crowds. Some of the stuff is pretty profitable once you polish it up a bit. I’ll be okay til we get back. I get royalties for those books once in a while, too.”

“How is she doing?”

“Doing?”

“With her auditions and everything.”

“Oh, from what I’ve heard she’s still waiting for callbacks. The holidays are kind of difficult for job hunting, I think.”

“But you think she’ll be able to…”

“Absolutely. I’ve been to two of her auditions and she is amazing. It’s a numbers game, as they say. She’s really plugging away and going to auditions for all kinds of things. Off-Broadlane musicals, dance companies of every kind. Yeah, she’s totally on top of it.”

“Seems strange she’d suddenly drop everything and come home for the week.”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“It might be better if she…”

Charles raised a hand the size of a dinner plate. “Bryce, if she was going to tell me, she would have done so by now. What’s going on?”

Bryce took a deep breath and closed his eyes before releasing it. “There is a guy in the city who calls himself Krampus.”

“The thing from Germany? It’s kind of like an Anti-Santa.”

“That’s the name he gave himself. This one is just a nut. He’s been a nuisance for the last eight years. This year, he started killing people.”

“That’s why Ronni came home? She knew there was crime in the city.”

“Well, this guy has been running a Twelve Days of Christmas theme since he started. Last year, he was tossing milk at women. This year, he’s just straight up killing them.”

“Dancers.”

“Nine Ladies Dancing. He killed a woman on Sunday night at a charity dance marathon.”

“That’s horrible! What kind of psycho kills someone for dancing for charity?”

“I know, right?”

“What has this to do with Ronni?”

“She was his first target. We were about to go into the building where her audition was being held and wham.”

“Wham?”

“A giant Santa bag with two hundred pounds of coal drops ten floors right where she’s standing. Luckily, I pulled her out of the way in time.”

“I wonder why she thought she couldn’t tell us about this.”

“I imagine she didn’t want you to be worried. The first one was basically random.”

“First one?”

“Well, when he failed to get her the first time, he tried again farther uptown.”

“But that wasn’t random.”

“No, sir. The second bag had a tag with her name on it.”

“That’s when you pulled up stakes and came here.”

“No, that was last week. The police assigned her a bodyguard.”

“What kind of bodyguard can protect you from two hundred pound bags of coal?”

“A superhero. She’s one of the Sentinels.”

“Ronni had a superhero bodyguard to keep her from being murdered by a guy called Krampus who drops two hundred pound bags of coal on people? And she couldn’t tell us this because she didn’t want us to be worried?”

“That’s it in a nutshell.”

“Dinner conversation is gonna be plenty interesting tonight.”

“I think I’ve already said too much.”

“No, Bryce. I appreciate your honesty. I’m glad you were able to fill in the gaps for me.”

“She’s going to kill me, isn’t she?”

“She might pitch a fit.”

“That’s not good. I’ve seen a couple of those already. Makes ground zero at Tunguska look like a picnic.”

Charles laughed hard enough to bring tears to his eyes. “If you’ve seen that and you’re still around, we might just need to start looking for an engagement ring.”

“We’re not even officially going steady.”

“You said you love her.”

“Yes, I do. Very much.”

“She told me she loves you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, hasn’t she told you?”

“Well, she texted me a heart-u but she hasn’t actually said it to me.”

“Boy, that girl is a real piece of work.” Charles shook his head. “Don’t you worry. She loves you every bit as much as you love her. She’s always been one for dragging her heels on important matters.”

“Luz said as much.”

“Oh! You met Luz? How’s she doing?”

“She’s great. Her place is nice and she does her best to keep Veronica in line.”

“Ha ha, that takes a good bit of doing. Good for her. She’s a treat.”

“Yes, she’s trying to get Mary Christmas to teach her how to do magic.”

“Mary Christmas? That’s who was watching out for Ronni? Luz must be in heaven. She’s been a Mary Christmas fangirl since before she was out of diapers.”