Page 4 of Sleigh My Heart

“Do you have video in the area?” This could be a quick case if they had surveillance footage of the theft. If not, the window of opportunity just got bigger.

“No. We have outside cameras and hall units, but none in the storage room.” His eyes roamed her form… assessing. That move from most guys would get her creep-meter pegging, but not Nick. His relaxed pose hid his tightly coiled muscles, no doubt. His look didn’t hold the slightest bit of sexual attraction.

Bummer. The man was still hot-as-sin and even though she’d sworn off men after the last guy her mom pushed at her, the woman in her wouldn’t mind a little boost to her ego. A smirk, a brow jet, a groin shift, something to show he was still as affected by her as she was by him.

Move on, girl. She pulled out her tablet to take notes. “We’ll need to see any footage from the surrounding areas from the date you last saw the item to today.”

He nodded. “I’ll have that for you by end of day.”

“Good. Can you describe the missing item?” Now, she was totally messing with him. She not only knew the sleigh, she knew where it was. But being part of a crime, she didn’t think they’d have it back by Christmas.

“It’s my sleigh.” Mr. Jolley jumped up. He wrung his hands as he paced the small area. “It’s tradition. I always ride in on my sleigh for the festival.”

Michelle eyed Mr. Jolley. He was more than a little invested in playing Santa. The persona had always been a part of him, but from the look of him, his attachment to the sleigh had the man’s stress level climbing to that of addicts looking for their next fix.

“Dad, can you give Officer Swenson and me a few minutes?”

She stiffened. So much for the friendly reunion. Formal it was. His posture was stiff. Did someone starch his boxers? Because it’s not like she broke his heart. He did the breaking. That she remembered clearly. He couldn’t handle the thought of her becoming a police officer. Like going into the Army was safer. She gave an internal snort.

Well, fine. If he wanted to keep it all business, she could do that. She turned to Nick. “Mr. Jolley, I have to inform you I believe we found your missing sleigh.”

“That’s wonderful,” Russ Jolley exclaimed from the door to the office.

Nick’s forehead scrunched. “Your eyebrow is doing that thing. What aren’t you telling me?”

“What thing?” She touched her finger to her brow. She forgot how well he knew her. They had grown up together, played together, and eventually, did other things together. She thought he was the man she’d marry and have kids with. Instead, she became a lonely workaholic. It was probably for the best. She could barely keep her cat alive, like she had time to nurture a relationship. “The sleigh was found in an alley off of Industrial Boulevard. It’s part of an active crime scene.”

Nick dropped his head in his hand and muttered some curse words before composing himself. “When can we get it back?”

Direct and to the point. That’s the Nick she remembered. “I can’t say at this time. Could you show me where the sleigh was taken from?”

Nick nodded, cut on his heels, and clipped down the hall. Michelle smiled and gave a finger wave to Mr. Jolley—uh, Santa, as they exited the office.

Taking two steps to his one, she rushed down the long, heated hall to her left. It brought chills to her arms. The last time she’d been here, it had been with Nick, but then the starch in his shorts was the kind that lit her girly parts with delight.

“In here.” He touched his badge to the black box beside the door.

No signs of forced entry. Huh. “Who all has access to this room?”

“Maintenance, security, and Mr. Silver.”

“I’ll need a list?”

Nick inclined his head—a subtle yes. Standing in the open doorway, he waited for her to enter.

Careful not to brush against him, she slipped by. Too bad, she didn’t hold her breath. Mmm.

The storage room had to be twice the size of her apartment, and four times as cluttered. Shelves lining the walls held boxes marked with labels for every holiday and sale the mall had throughout the year. The creepy Easter bunny stood in the far corner of the room watching them. “You guys still have that thing? It always gave me the willies.”

“You and half the town.”

The Silver family had owned the mall for fifty years. And not much had changed in that time. Oh, they changed a few things here and there, but one thing that never changed was the Christmas festival. The sets grew more elaborate over the years, but it had always been more of a town celebration than just a marketing event for the mall.

The one thing that had changed was standing right in front of her. “And how long have you been working here?”

“September.” He surveyed the contents of the warehouse.

Three months. How had she not known? Ashwood wasn’t that big, and her family was an integral part of the gossip train in town. Being a police family, they had the skinny on all the comings and goings. So how did they miss this six-foot-four coming?