Page 40 of Christmas in the Shadows

Her breathing was heavier than she wanted as she started the engine and turned the heat on.

Everything is okay, she reminded herself. No one is in the car with me. I’m going to be fine.

If only she believed those words. She had too many thoughts going through her head to let her guard down.

Several minutes later, she started down the road. She’d given the situation a lot of thought this morning, and she had a couple of possibilities on how she might start finding out some answers.

Her first stop would be at Holly Woods, a gift shop owned by a woman named Diane Woods in the downtown area of Holly Ridge.

Sofia Smith, the girlfriend of one of the school’s football players, worked there. Sofia had always liked Chelsea, and Chelsea liked Sofia. The girl was also pretty chatty, the kind who couldn’t keep a secret.

She seemed like Chelsea’s best bet for finding out any information.

Several minutes later, Chelsea found a parking place on the street of the historic downtown area. Holiday flags hung from the streetlamps, and evergreen circled every pole in sight. A banner stretched across the street, welcoming everyone to town. Many of the storeowners had decorated their windows for Christmas, and on weekends in December carolers walked around town singing.

Holly Ridge really was a great place to live.

Usually.

Chelsea hurried inside the store.

She spotted Sofia right when she walked in, and relief swept through her. She hadn’t been 100 percent sure the girl would be working today, but she suspected she would be.

Sofia was petite with long, dark hair and a quick, easy smile. She seemed to dance everywhere she went, almost like a Disney princess might.

Chelsea paced to a display of gourmet popcorn and waited for Sofia to finish helping another customer.

She was rewarded a few minutes later when Sofia spotted her and bounced toward her.

“Ms. Lennox. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I just thought I’d look for some last-minute gifts. I hear this caramel corn is really tasty.”

Sofia’s eyes widened. “Everyone loves it. I think it would make a great gift.”

“Wonderful. I’ll take two then.”

She grinned. “I’d be more than happy to ring you up.”

“So, how are you?” Chelsea started as they walked toward the register. “Anything new?”

The other employee was helping another customer, so this was a great time for Chelsea to talk to Sofia. She only hoped they had enough time.

Sofia shrugged, pausing before slipping around the corner. “I’m trying to work some extra shifts so I have money to buy everyone Christmas gifts. My mom says I’m old enough to use my own money this year.”

Chelsea nodded. “Sounds wise. And what is Alex up to today?”

Alex Moulton was the school’s star quarterback and a person of influence among his classmates. Chelsea, however, wasn’t sure if he used that influence for good or bad.

“He and his friends are doing some training,” Sofia said. “They’re trying to stay in shape so when football season starts up, they’ll be ready to win the state championship again.”

“I have to say, I don’t know a lot about football, but the team was pretty impressive this year.”

“They were thrilled to do so well. Alex really hopes he’ll be recruited for a D1 school. It’s his dream.”

Chelsea leaned against the counter and tried to sound casual as she asked, “Say, has Alex been okay lately? He hasn’t seemed like himself in class.”

Something raced through Sofia’s gaze, and Chelsea knew there was more to this.

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