Page 59 of Sleigh My Heart

“I got home about ten? So let’s look for him around then and track backward.”

Nick nodded and got to work. “Here. I have him on the premises at nine-forty.”

She leaned in to follow Junior’s image as Nick switched from camera to camera. They tracked him from job to job back to six-forty. “Where is he going there with the tool bag?”

“To his car.” He switched to yet another camera, and it showed Junior getting out of his vehicle and further back to him, driving into the lot.

“Man, you really do have this place locked down with surveillance.”

“You’d be surprised what we catch on video. Kids sneak off to a dark corner and think no one sees them.”

Like in a sleigh in the storage room? The question almost slipping out. But from the look on his face, Nick was thinking the same thing.

“Thank God they didn’t have all the high-tech security when we were young. My dad would have arrested you on the spot.”

“I would have been more worried about your mother. Irene would have shot me.”

“Mom always liked you. You might have gotten a frypan to the head, but she would have made your favorite cookies afterward.”

“I’ve always loved Irene. Your mom is the best.”

He spent a lot of time at the Swenson house, between his mom’s work schedule and then after the accident. A heavy weight blanketed her chest at the memory. She pushed it off and turned to the screen. “Can we find out when he left?”

Nick scrolled back through the video.

“There. Five-forty-five.” Her brows crunched. “Dinner break?”

Nick scrolled forward to the part where Junior exited his car. “He has a white bag. He throws it in the trash as he walks toward the mall.”

“Can you zoom in? It looks like fast food. Who takes almost an hour to go through a drive thru?”

Nick blew up the image until they could see the yellow arch on the bag. He turned his gaze to her.

“Thanks.”

“So, with Jonny Staniski dead and Cliff Garmen in the wind, are you thinking Junior could have something to do with it?” Nick didn’t give his opinion, just watched her.

Michelle shrugged. She needed to go through all the evidence with Jim, figure out if the vandalism was attached to it, and if Nick’s father’s hit-and-run tied in. “I’m not sure. He had the opportunity. It’s dark by that time of evening, so my neighbors might not have seen him.” She bit her lip. “I don’t know, but I can’t take him off the list.”

She needed to see if he had red paint. He most likely did, as a maintenance guy at the mall.

“And do it all in a week so we can get the sleigh back by the festival. That reminds me I have to go pick up my father today. They’re releasing him from the hospital.” Nick’s broad shoulders slumped.

She almost asked if he had a backup Santa plan. Knowing Nick, he did, but from the stressed look on his face, it wasn’t a good one. Instead, she changed the subject. “How’s he doing? Does he need someone to stay with him?”

“I’ll find out all the particulars when I get there. He may be moving in with us for a few days until he’s back on his feet.”

“Have you found someone else to play Santa?” So much for avoiding the subject.

Nick ran his hand through his hair. “All the local Santas that come from the agencies are booked. I have an ad running in the paper and on social media, but it’s not looking like any takers… at least none that don’t smell like they’ve downed a fifth of booze. Let’s just say, no one’s lap I want my kid sitting on.”

Michelle eyed him up and down. “Well, you could always have a little padding and a beard.”

His brows flattened. “You know my feelings on Santa. It was bad enough being Santa’s kid my whole life. Remember ninth grade?”

She chuckled. She and Nick played elves when a couple of the mall employees came down with mono. “You looked good in tights.”

He growled.