| "Hey girlie---tomorrow's Christmas," John said, hobbling over to where Amanda was sitting. "Seems like a hollow promise this year, don't you think?" she replied from her spot by the window. "Not at all. We've got each other. We've got beautiful children. Aunt Jessica is here and the good Doctor. What more could you need?" "John, I want to understand," she told him, but stopped short and continued her trance, watching the snow fall softly outside her window. "Amanda, I'm trying to make you understand, but I don't know what you want to hear." "I just want to know why you're putting your life at risk like you are. I want to understand why you're so willing to die and leave Christine and I here to mourn you." She turned her head away from John and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't lose you, John. I don't know what I'd do. I don't know how I'd pick up the pieces of my life and move on, because I don't think there would be any pieces left. I love you." Her face was moist from her tears when John sat next to her and cradled her in his arms. She clung to him. "I love you, Amanda. More than anything. But I can't sit back and allow others to get hurt. It's not because I have a death wish, or because I want to leave you. You can understand that, can't you? You wouldn't sit back and do nothing if Jessica were in trouble, would you? I do love you, but I'm not going to leave you anytime soon." Amanda slowed raised her head to look him in the eye, a single tear rolling down her left cheek. "Promise?" He gently tilted her chin up and drew her into a loving kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, content and safe in his arms. "Mom! Dad!" Christine's voice floated up the stairs. "Well, is that why we had children? I wasn't good enough at ruining the moment, eh?" John asked, grinning. "Mom! It's Aunt Jess! I think she's been kidnapped!" Christine said, running up the stairs and stopping at her parents' open door, gasping for air. * * * Jessica awoke and found herself in a large, dark room. "Seth?" she asked, her voice shaky. She couldn't remember many of the events that led her to this moment, but she was sure that she had remembered Seth by her side, and she knew that if he had tried to play the gallant soldier, as he was apt to do, he may have been hurt in whatever it was that had found her in this particular room. "Seth, are you there?" she called out again, this time summoning enough of herself to call out louder. She heard a ruffling sound to her right and then what sounded like the squeaking of mice. "I don't suppose one of you is named Seth," she remarked, more to herself than the critters she knew were keeping her company in the room. She sat up straight, blinking in an effort to adjust to the darkness. Instead, she found herself staring into a black ocean of nothingness. "Come on, woman," she told herself. "What have you gotten yourself into this time? Where are you?" The answer came from a stack of cardboard boxes falling, almost on top of her, revealing a bit of a small, dirty window. The window, though caked with dust, allowed for a pool of light to bathe the room, as if it were a soft summer day. She walked over to the sliver of light, careful not to trip over anything that might be in her path, and removed a box from it's place on top of an old wooden chest. Though the window was merely half a foot long and half a foot wide, the small room was then filled with light, allowing Jessica to recognize the objects with which she'd been occupying the room. An old wooden rocking chair sat in the corner pile, amidst other bits of old furniture probably made for pennies when originally crafted, but now worth thousands of dollars. "Of course!" she said aloud. "The attic! But still no sign of Seth," she worried. Continuing to search the room while trying to adjust to the minimal light, Jessica spotted what she thought must have been the attic door. Or at least, hidden behing a terrible large stack of giant, heavy boxes, she assumed would be the door. But there had to be another way in and out---for how could someone stack the boxes there and still leave the room? Or maybe they hadn't LEFT the room at all. Jessica suddenly became chilly and goosebumps started to appear on her arms. * * * "She's WHAT?" Amanda nearly screamed, startled for both herself and her Aunt. "She told me to drop her and Seth off at Emma Donnovan's and then go visit Sargeant Malin and pick her up in a half an hour. I did that, but when I went back, I waited for nearly a half an hour before I realized something HAD to have been wrong! There's a terribly scary looking cellar door not far from where I parked my car. I went investigating over by that and I heard noises coming from inside the cellar. They could be there," Christine said most of this quickly, and without breathing, requiring her to stop and take a few deep breaths afterward. "What are we going to do?" Amanda asked, half to herself, half to the other two in the room. "YOU are not going to worry about it," John spoke up. "We'll call Sargeant Malin and tell him all that we know." "Are you sure?" Christine asked. "I mean, what if Jessica KNEW that Sargeant Malin was in on it, and that he wouldn't be in his office?" "He wasn't in his office?" John questioned. "No." "Well, that doesn't necessarily mean he has anything to do with this," John told them. "But it means that he COULD," Amanda spoke up. "I never liked him and his...his...sneaky-ness!" "Calm down, Amanda. We don't know anything, yet." Turning to Christine he added, "Do you know if Jessica kept any notes on this? "Probably not, but I've been eavesdropping a lot, lately. What do you want to know?" "Christine!" Amanda scolded. "Well, how else am I suppose to find out what goes on around here? Nobody ever TELLS me!" "Okay you two, enough," John interrupted. "Now, what do you know, Christine?" "Well, for starters, Charlotte Plank stopped by the other day to tell you how much money had been taken from the union accounts. Jessica asked her not to tell so that if anyone DID know the exact amount, we would know who to investigate further. Although, I guess now we know, anyway..." "Do you remember the amount, Christine?" "Yeah, two---" "No, no. Don't tell me," John interrupted. "Just remember it. I'll call a meeting of the union members." "Emma Donnovan's not going to be there..." Amanda suggested. "She will if she doesn't want to be suspected." "But what do we do between now and the meeting?" Christine asked. "Something could happen between now and then!" "We'll look for anything Jessica may have written down or alluded to--maybe she did something without even knowing," John said, starting to get up. "Oh, no you don't," Amanda said, gently sitting him back down. "You sit tight. Christine and I will look around." "Amanda, I--" "YOU, are going to sit there and recover. Christine and I are quite capable of searcing for anything Jessica may have left behind." "Hey, what about all the stuff I've heard?" Christine asked. "You stay here with your father and make sure he sits there," Amanda said, turning to leave. "Amanda---,"John started. She turned to face him. "Thank you." She smiled a sparkling white, ear-to-ear smile at him and hummed her way down the hallway. * * * A groan from the direction of the door landed on Jessica's ears. "Who's there?" she tentatively called out. "In you go," a voice said as the door opened, despite the heavy boxes, and a figure was pushed into the room, falling on the floor and remaining still. The door slammed shut, and Jessica jumped. The figure on the floor simply lay there, unsurprised and unaffected by the loud banging of the door and the key turning in the lock. "Seth?" Jessica asked, frightened, making her way toward the figure. No response. "Seth!" she called out, falling to her knees at his side. "Seth, what have they done to you?" Clear pools collected in her eyes, and she had to force herself to focus. She gently rolled him over and lay her head on his chest, listening for a heartbeat and trying to keep the tears from spilling onto her cheeks. "I shouldn't have let you come with me. Now both of our lives are in danger." The pools in her clear, blue eyes over-flowed and spilled, making multiple paths down her cheeks and creating a few large, wet spots on Seth's, now tattered and torn, shirt. * * * "Now, if I were Jessica, how would I hide clues?" Amanda asked herself aloud, making her way to Jessica's room. But a search through Jessica's belongings proved fruitless. "There has to be SOMETHING," she continued, another glance toward the closet. * * * "Sargent Malin! Where have you been?" John asked, the telephone receiver to his ear. Christine sat, silently, eyes wide, staring at her father, trying to listen. "Why can't you be like Grandma and have the phone turned up so loud I can hear it across the room!" she whispered to her father. John gestured to her to be quiet, and she quickly calmed down. "Jessica's been kidnapped," John said calmly into the phone. A short pause. "Sometime this afternoon. Christine dropped her off at Emma Donnovan's and when she went back to get her, she never came out...well, no she didn't go in and check; she's got more sense than to confront a criminal by herself!...I really think you need to get your people on this...Her salary? Probably the same as mine...No, no it's not much. What are you getting at, Sargent?...Jessica asked about it?" "The mercedes!" Christine shrieked. "Dad! It HAS to be her!" "One minute, Sargent," John said, pulling the phone away from his ear. "What are you talking about, Christine?" "Emma Donnovan and her new mercedes! Even with your salary added to Mom's we could never afford that! And that huge Victorian she has---it had to have been expensive. Where did she get the money? Where else? The union funds! Jessica decided last minute that she wanted me to take her there! Right after a silver mercedes almost ran into us!" Christine was speaking quickly again, and this was the first chance she had to take a breath. "Sargent do you and your men have plans for this evening, say, around 8?" John said, picking up the phone again. * * * "A ha!" Amanda exclaimed, pulling a folder from it's place on the shelf. "The police files..." She skimmed over them in search of anything Jessica may have made notes next to. "Why can't you EVER make notes, Jess?" "Mom!" Christine said, jumping onto the bed. "Did you find anything?" "No. I'm afraid not. Any ideas?" Amanda questioned. "Well, we figured out whodunnit. Emma Donnovan. But then, I guess that was pretty obvious. Anyway, that's where all the money's been going. But now she's got Jessica. Do you think she'd...?" "I don't know, Christine. You know, I'm not too sure about her. I mean, I believe she could take the money. But theft is one thing. Murder is quite another. I'm wondering if maybe she didn't have an accomplice." "But who?" "I'm not sure." A moment of silence passed between the two. "Did you find anything there?" Christine asked, indicating the files Amanda was holding. "No. I was hoping Jessica would have made notes or something." "Where's the other one? I'll help." "What other one?" "The other folder. I'm pretty sure Sargent Malin let Jessica bring home two folders of information about everyone in the union." "That's the only one here," Amanda said, rummaging through the other things on the shelf. * * * Jessica still sat in the attic, Seth's head resting in her lap, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Seth, can you hear me?" she whispered, desperately, again. He seemed to move, but, she was unsure of whether he had actually moved, or if it was just a hopeful hallucination. "Seth, please. You've just got to wake up!" She slight shifted her position and leaned against one of the heavy boxes piled against the wall, oblivious, now, to the rats and other creatures sharing the house. * * * "What do you mean, 'That's the only one here!' There's GOT to be another one. It had all the information about the teachers from Dad's school in it!" Christine told her mother, excitedly. "It's probably important---it's GOT to be there!" "It's not here, Christine. Calm down, though. We'll find it. It's got to be around here somewhere," Amanda suggested. A short ring of the phone caused both Amanda and Christine to jump, and then stand in the middle of the room, frozen. "Who could that be?" Amanda asked. "What if it's Jessica?" Christine said, turning to run to her parents' room, Amanda close at her heels. "What if it's Sargant Malin telling us that they FOUND Jessica..."Amanda suggested, and they both stopped, frozen in the hallway. "Hello," they heard John answer, "Magnall Residence." "Who is it?" Amanda asked, as they entered the room to see John on the phone. "Shhh!" Christine suggested, cupping a hand to her ear. "Why, yes, Doctor Savage, he's staying here...he did?...No, he's not here right now. Can I take a message for him?...oh?...Well, yes, I will have to report that...How did you?...Oh, well, I couldn't ask a magician to reveal his secrets. Thank you, Doctor Savage; I'll let him know." John hung up the phone and glanced up to see the puzzled expressions on the faces of his wife and daughter. "I suppose you want to know what that was all about," he grinned. "No, not all," Christine suggested sarcastically. "Doctor Savage? Is it about Jessica? Is she all right?" Amanda asked. "No, now, girlie. Those are all very good questions. I'm just trying to decide whether or not I should share this information with you." * * * "Jess?" Jessica awoke to a voice that sounded familiar, but distant. "Jess, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Seth asked, looking at up her. Jessica thought for a brief moment that it had all been a dream. That horrible Victorian Mansion. Being locked in the attic. Seth, poor Seth, arriving in the attic, beaten and barely breathing. She yawned, quickly, and then she silently lectured herself for falling asleep for any length of time. She was over-whelmed by relief that Seth was all right, and feeling terrible for dragging Seth into the mess she had gotten them into, and, she was afraid, wouldn't be able to get out of. "Seth! Seth, you're all right!" she cried, now fully awake, and gently kissing his forehead. "I'm so sorry! Not just that I fell asleep, but...but that you've been drug into this, and you're obviously hurt terribly, and I feel as though it's all my fault and I..." Jessica's run-on sentence, a rare occurence, prompted a response from Seth. "Shhhhhh. Stop," Seth told her, holding his hand to her mouth, as though she needed a gesture as well. "Woman, do you honestly think I'd let you go through all this alone?" "But I didn't THINK before I just drug you into something dangerous...it was terribly irresponsible and I..." "You didn't drag me into anything---except the city of Chicago." "But I..." "Could you STOP talking and listen to me for five minutes?" Seth asked her, struggling to sit up. "I chose to come with you. I chose to protect you. I chose to fight back. You, even as stubborn as you are, couldn't have stopped me. They were after YOU, Jessica. I had to do something." Seth, sitting up, painfully, by this point, leaned against one of the heavy boxes and pulled Jessica close to him, where he held her. "How could you do that for me, Seth? Look at you! You...you've been nearly killed! There's no excuse for that!" "I didn't do it for you, Jessica. I did it for me. Because if I hadn't, they would have killed you. And if they'd have killed you, I would have had to have begged them to kill me, too. I couldn't get out of here without knowing you were at my side." "Oh, or I Seth!" Jessica cried, gently hugging him. "I love you, Jessica," he told her, kissing the top of her head, which was now buried in his dislocated shoulder. "I love you, too, Seth," she replied, her tears forming more dark spots on Seth's shirt. * * * �Then he has to be the accomplice!� Christine practically screamed when John had finished relating to them the information he received during the phone call. �We have to find him!� �Whoa, calm down, Christine,� Amanda insisted. �Where would we start?� �Well, we can�t just SIT here!� Christine wailed. �We could start by calling Sargeant Malin,� John interjected. �Well, let�s do it, then!� Christine suggested anxiously. �Are we sure he�s not involved, though?� Amanda added. �I mean, how does all this happen under his nose?� The three sat in silence for a moment, debating the possibilities on their own. �We�ll have to chance it,� John finally declared. �He�s our only hope.� * * * �What do we do from here, Jess?� Seth asked when she had finished crying, and his hands were tightly holding hers. �I don�t know, Seth,� she answered sadly. �I just don�t know.� She laid her head on Seth�s shoulder, again, her forehead creased in thought. �Come, now, Jess, cheer up.� �I can�t help it, Seth. What are we going to do? Why isn�t anyone looking for us? And if they are looking for us, how are they going to know where to look? Christine left us here, of course, so it would be logical to look here, but what if they already have and since they didn�t see us, they assumed we�d gone somewhere else on our own?� �Calm down, Jess. They�ll find us,� Seth said smugly. �How do you know, Seth? How can you be so sure?� �Don�t think I haven�t learned anything from you, Jess,� he grinned. �Seth! What have you got up your sleeve?� Jessica asked, the sparkle returning to her eyes. �How else do you find someone?� He paused to give Jessica a chance to answer, but she merely looked, wide-eyed at him, her eyes becoming brighter by the minute. �I left clues, of course!� * * * �Did you check Emma Donnovan�s?� Sargeant Malin asked, as Christine, Amanda, John and he were standing around in Jessica�s room. �Are you insane? They could just take us all as prisoners and we�d just vanish from the face of the earth!� Christine exploded, rather loudly. �Calm down, Miss Magnall. We have to start somewhere.� The Sargeant turned to Amanda. �Would she have left any clues as to her train of thought? Written anything down anywhere?� �I�m not quite certain, Sargeant. I mean, she was usually investigating on her own, and I don�t think she took notes. She has a wonderful memory.� �What about the guy who came here with her? Doctor�Hazlitt?� �Seth!� Christine interjected. �He had all those files, remember? I wondered why Aunt Jess didn�t have them! What if he was making notes in the margins or something? We shoul---� but her last few words were lost to them as she left the room, presumably moving to Seth�s room. The tiny contingent that was left followed her down the hallway. �Have you looked in his room, yet?� the Sargeant inquired. �Well, yes,� John replied. �But we didn�t find anything. Actually, the girls were in the process of doing that when I got the phone call I told you about.� �Ah, yes!� Sargeant Malin interrupted. �My guys should be apprehending Mr. Tsuckerman as we speak. How was it exactly you come across the information about his green card?� �Well, it was the strangest thing. We got a call from Doctor Savage. Apparently he did his residency under Seth, and so Seth called in a few favors of him. One of those favors was to see if he had patient files for Tsuckerman. Anyway, when Doctor Savage typed the name into his computer, well, he got the alert about the non-existent green card.� �So, would it be fair to say that Doctor Hazlitt suspected him?� the Sargeant asked. �I don�t know. It�s possible,� John suggested. �But not having a green card and being an accomplice of a murderess gone kidnapper isn�t exactly the same thing. The two could be completely unrelated.� �So, you�re saying they may have been doing checks on everyone and�that�s just the only problem they found?� �It�s possible.� �Jessica�s very thorough,� Amanda finally spoke up. �She wouldn�t leave out anything.� �Then where�s all the information?� Malin asked. �And specifically the missing file�� John mentioned. �It�s not like there are THAT many hiding places around here, Dad,� Christine added. �And where has he been in the house that he would know well enough to hide something?� Amanda asked them all. �No where, really,� Christine began. �I mean, he and Jess spent most of their spare time here playing chess!� She stopped immediately after the word, �chess�, and froze in place. �Of course! The chessboard!� She turned on her heels and ran toward the stairs. �Christine!� Amanda called after her. �Where are you going?� �To retrieve the missing file!� she called, running down the stairs. * * * �Remember the file we had that led you to the conclusion about Emma and her accomplice?� Seth asked Jessica. �Yes. But how�?� Jessica stuttered. �I made notes in the margins,� Seth declared. �So now what?� Jessica asked him, relaxing a bit. �Now, we wait,� Seth told her, kissing the top of her head and then leaning his head back against the wall, his arm still tightly around Jessica. * * * �Christine what on earth are you talking about?� Amanda asked after catching her breath when she finally arrived downstairs. �Remember how Aunt Jess wrote me that letter about the chess board she bought for Seth at some�auction?� �That auction in New Orleans?� John asked. �Right!� Christine sat next to the chessboard and pulled it onto her lap, examining it. �It was when I was reading that Nancy Drew book, remember? The one with all the secret passageways and hiding places?� �Every Nancy Drew book ever written,� John mumbled. �Anyway, she told me that she had bought Seth a chessboard years prior to that in New Orleans. She solved a murder there with Harry McGraw.� She continued to turn the chessboard different directions and examine the sides. �And there was a secret hiding place in it that played a key role in that mystery.� �Didn�t they find some sort of hidden papers or something?� Amanda asked, trying to recall the story. �I don�t remember. It�s not important,� Christine responded. �The important part is HOW did they get it open?� �Well, how do you know that�s the one?� John asked. �Why wouldn�t it be?� Christine asked him. �She said it�s Seth�s favorite.� �She�s got a point,� Amanda added. �But how did they get it open?!� Christine yelled, frustrated. * * * �Perfect,� Emma Donnovan said into her telephone. �Yes, they�re still up there. I don�t think they�ve realized yet that they could get out if they just looked around�Have you heard anything, yet?�You will NOT!�Because if you do, I�ll turn you into the police. Don�t think for a moment that I won�t. You stay there and mind the phone! And notify me the minute you hear from them!� She slammed the phone into its cradle. �Now, to head to that union meeting.� * * * �Is there a button on the side or something?� Sargent Malin asked, crowding in with the others around the chessboard. �What about tapping a series of spaces?� Amanda suggested. �It would take all day to figure out which spaces!� John told her. �And what order to tap them,� Sargent Malin. �Would you all just BACK UP?� Christine yelled, frustrated. But as she said it, she grabber the chessboard by the King�s spaces and a drawer popped out. Amanda gasped, and Christine stood there, dumbfounded. �Looks like you found it, Christine,� John chuckled. �What�s in it?� Sargent Malin asked. �It�s some kind of�note�� Christine said, digging in the drawer for the piece of paper. �What kind of note?� Amanda asked. Christine silently read the note and dropped both the note and the chessboard to the floor. �What, Christine?� John asked. �What is it?� Sargent Malin spoke up. �It�s�a ransom note,� Christine told them. �A random note?� Amanda asked, concerned. �From whom?� John added. �The point of a ransom note is for it to be anonymous,� Christine told her father, in a tone that told him he should have already known that. �Of course, but, who COULD it be from?� he asked her. �Well, I DID leave her at Emma Donnovan�s�� Christine said. �Is that too easy?� Amanda asked. �I mean, it seem like it would have to be someone else. She�s not THAT stupid, is she?� �She�s trying to keep Jessica and Seth hostage. I�d say she pretty much qualifies for idiot of the year,� Christine told her mother. �All right. Enough,� John looked at his watch. �Listen up. Here�s what I suggest�� * * * �Charlotte, do you know why this meeting was called?� Emma Donnovan asked, sitting in her chair at the meeting. �No idea, Emma,� Charlotte replied. �I heard it was because they�re going to accuse the murderer,� Eileen Williams interjected. �That�s ridiculous. One of us?� Emma asked. �It�s go to be!� Charlotte added. �Who else would know�?� �Know what?� Emma asked, after Charlotte�s sentence had trailed off. �I�d better not say,� Charlotte said, backing down. �Where�s Tsukerman?� Eileen asked. �Shouldn�t he be here, too?� �Oh! He called me,� Emma explained. �He�s tied up. He can�t make it.� �Tied up, huh?� John said, entering the room on his crutches and taking his seat, Sargent Malin behind him. �Yes,� Emma said arrogantly. �He�s flooded with grading finals. He�s put it off, again, and so he has to get it done.� �But tomorrow�s Christmas! Surely he�s not planning on working, then?� �That�s why he has to work tonight,� Emma explained, smoothly. �Are you sure it�s homework he�s working on?� John asked. �He�s not�guarding prisoners?� �And just what are you suggesting, John?� Emma asked him. �Only that Jessica Fletcher and Seth Hazlitt are missing, and they were last seen going into your house.� �Well, yes, there were there this afternoon, but, they left shortly after they arrived. They called for a taxi and drove God knows where.� �I don�t think so,� John said. �I think you know exactly where they are. Because I think they�re somewhere in your house.� �Well, you�d be hard pressed to prove it,� Emma stared coldly at him. �Is this why we�re all here?� Charlotte asked. �Because Emma has Jessica Fletcher?� �No,� John told her. �Actually, we�re here to discuss how much money has been stolen from the union funds.� �Are we still on that,� Emma mumbled. �That two million is old news.� �Who has it?� Eileen asked. �Where is it?� Charlotte Plank asked. �Wait a minute,� John began. �Those are all very good questions. But I have one for you all, first.� �What?� Eileen asked. �Does anyone, besides Charlotte, know the exact amount of the stolen money?� John asked, slowly. �Wasn�t it 400,000?� Eileen asked. �That�s what I heard!� Someone else added. �Me, too!� came another voice. �No,� Emma said. �It was two million.� �Good guess,� Charlotte told her. �It was you all along, wasn�t it?� Eileen asked Emma. * * * �Seth, are you all right?� Jessica asked after she had paced the floor for a while. �Of course. Why wouldn�t I be?� he asked her, but she could tell it was laborious for him. �Seth, you�re lying to me.� �Jessica,� he paused for a breath. �I�m�perfectly fine. Why don�t you take a nap? Pass the time faster.� �Seth, I don�t want to take a nap. I want to make sure you�re okay. Is there anything I can do?� �I can�t ignore that fire in your eyes, Jess,� he admitted. �Truth is, I may have broken a rib or two.� �Oh! Seth, and you�ve been holding me for hours. I must have been leaning right�� �Jessica, not another word,� he told her, again putting a finger to her lips. �Do you really want to help?� Jessica nodded. �Good,� Seth chuckled. �Then come over here, sit down next to me, and go to sleep.� But just as she was sitting down, they heard loud yells coming from downstairs, and soon banging on the door to the attic. �Jessica?� Amanda called. �Aunt Jess?� she heard Christine say. �Seth?� Christine popped her head up through the floor of the attic and saw the pair leaning against one of the boxes and motioned for her mother to follow her up. �I didn�t think we�d make it in time!� Amanda said, finally making her way up to the attic. �Did you bring a doctor?� Jessica asked. �Why? What�s wrong?� Amanda asked, concerned. �It�s Seth,� Jessica told her. �He might have a broken rib.� * * * �Oh, don�t be so na�ve, Eileen,� Emma told her. �We�re all in the same boat, here. We�re all teachers. We all work for peanuts. I�m not going to do it, anymore. It�s too much work for not enough money. And being under appreciated by those ungrateful little brats! We spend our entire lives working to give them an education. To help them succeed. And what do we get? Nothing. Barely enough money to live on and the piece-of-crap satisfaction of knowing we�ve �helped a child learn�. I�ve had it. I�m out of here.� She got up to leave the room and was met at the door by Sargent Malin. �We found your prisoners about a half an hour ago. And that Tsukerman guy was more than ready to talk to us, and it�s all about you. I don�t imagine it�ll be long before he tells us how it was all your idea and you forced him to co-operate.� * * * �I�m so glad you were able to handle it, Amanda,� Jessica said, giving her niece a hug once they had gotten home and Seth�s rib taken care of. �I�m happy to help. That is why I became a nurse,� she chuckled. �Still,� Jessica told her. �It�s extra nice that we don�t have to spend the rest of Christmas Eve huddled around Seth in a hospital room.� �Christmas Eve?� Amanda asked. �Jessica, look at that clock!� �12:05,� Jessica said aloud. �Merry Christmas, Amanda!� �Merry Christmas, Aunt Jess,� Amanda told her through a yawn. �You sure you�ll be all right staying up for a while? You�ve been through a lot, you really should go to bed.� �Oh, I�ll be fine, just a bit longer. I�m still quite awake from today�s scare.� �Well, don�t stay up too late. We�ll have to get up early to open presents. Christine has come into my room every Christmas since she was 3 to wake me up and tell me to open presents.� �Aww! That�s so sweet,� Jessica said. �Until you find out that she jumps on the bed screaming at 4 AM, insisting we open the presents.� �Well, perhaps this year, she�ll give you an hour or two respite,� Jessica chuckled. �Nice thought, but I highly doubt it,� Amanda joined in her laughter. �Good night, Aunt Jess.� �Sweet Dreams,� Jessica said, hugging her niece. �Pleasant nightmares!� Amanda yawned, walking to her room. * * * �I�m glad you let Aunt Jess sleep, Christine,� Amanda told her daughter as Christmas ripped open another present. �Well, I figured she�d been through enough. Besides, she was asleep in a chair next to Seth�s bed, holding his hand, so I didn�t want to disturb them.� She paused after she said this. �What do we do with their presents?� �We could go leave them at the foot of Seth�s bed,� John suggested. * * �How ya feelin�, Seth?� Jessica asked, seeing Seth awake as she walked back into the room after her shower that morning. �Just fine, Jess,� he told her, starting to sit up. �No, don�t get up,� she told him, rushing to his side. �Woman, give it a rest. I�m fine,� he restated, sitting up. �Merry Christmas, Seth,� Jessica grinned. �Merry Christmas, Jess,� Seth said, taking her hand. |
| Come Spend Christmas with Murder: Part 3 |
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