Page 45 of Christmas in the Shadows

“It’s the room on the left after you get past the doors.” She buzzed them through the locked doors.

Chelsea and Tex stepped into the dimly lit waiting room. Chelsea’s gaze went right away to Lindsey, Mikey’s mom.

The woman was a former classmate who’d gotten pregnant with Mikey at fifteen. She’d had to drop out of school and get her GED. She now worked at the hospital doing insurance claims, which was one of the reasons she’d been able to get here so quickly.

Though they were the same age, Lindsey had aged ten years in the past hour. Her eyes were red with purple circles beneath them. Her chin-length brown hair hung limply. Her skin was pale and blotchy.

“Chelsea . . .”

Without missing a beat, Chelsea pulled Lindsey into a long hug. “How’s Mikey doing?”

“I don’t know anything yet. I just know they’re doing surgery.” She sniffled. “I just don’t know what I’ll do if something happens to him. Christmas . . . it will never be the same.”

Another sob escaped, and Chelsea held Lindsey tighter.

When Lindsey pulled away, her gaze drifted behind Chelsea, and she blinked. “Tex?”

“It’s been a while.” He nodded stiffly. “I’m sorry about Mikey.”

Tex and Chelsea sat on either side of the devastated mom.

Lindsey wiped beneath her eyes with a crumpled tissue as she shook her head. “I knew something like this was going to happen.”

Chelsea stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“Something’s been going on with him. With that entire football team. Then I found some pills.”

Everything went still around her. “What kind of pills?”

“I’m not sure. Mikey said they weren’t his, but they were in a bag that had been stuffed between his mattress and box spring.He flushed them down the toilet before I could do more research and begged me to forget I’d seen them.”

“What else did he say?” Tex asked.

“Nothing. So I decided to question some other people at school. But whenever I speak up, I keep hitting roadblocks. I’m shushed. People treat me like I don’t know what I’m talking about, and I don’t appreciate it. I’ve stayed silent for far too long.”

“Who have you tried to talk to about it?” Tex asked. “Who are these people you mentioned?”

“Who haven’t I tried to talk to about it? I’ve talked to the coach. To Steve, the athletic director. To Markus, the principal. They all act like I’m out of my mind. Then they talk about how wonderful it is that the team won the state championship and how all the students will have a bright future because of it.” She frowned and shook her head. “It makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t even know who else I can talk to.”

Chelsea exchanged a look with Tex. “Maybe we can help you. But let me ask you something first. Has there been anything strange happening to you since you raised these questions?”

Her gaze widened. “Now that you mention it, I guess. I mean, I tried to dismiss it. To pretend like I was just reading too much into these things. But someone stole the catalytic converter from my car. Then a small fire started in my shed—thankfully it was quickly put out before more damage could be done. Then there’s been this feeling that I’m being watched.”

Chelsea had more questions she wanted to ask. More she wanted to know.

But just then, more people flooded into the room. Lindsey must have okayed it.

One of those people was Anna. A few other teachers were there also.

But the football players were the ones who caught Chelsea’s attention. Almost the entire team had shown up.

Chelsea’s lungs tightened. Any conversations they were about to have would have to wait.

CHAPTER 16

Tex wasn’t going anywhere. This was exactly where he wanted to be. In the room with the football players.

He glanced at them. They seemed like your typical jocks with their broad shoulders and built-in camaraderie.

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