rested his bulk on one of the folding chairs that had been used for the
simple, brief burial ritual. Jason Archer had occupied the agent’s
every waking moment for over a month and yet the two men had never met.
That was often the case in his line of work; however, this time the
emotions wending their way through the veteran agent’s psyche were far
different. Sawyer knew he had been powerless to prevent the man’s
death. And yet he still felt crushed that he had let the man’s wife and
little girl down, that the Archer family had been irretrievably
destroyed because of his inability to get at the truth in time.
He covered his face in his hands. When he removed them some minutes
later, the tears still glimmered in his eyes. He had successfully
completed the case of a lifetime, yet he had never felt like more of a
failure. He stood up, put on his hat and headed slowly toward his car.
Then he froze. The long black limo was parked at the curb.
It had come back. Sawyer watched the face peering out from the limo’s
rear window. Sidney was looking at the fresh hump of dirt in the earth.
She turned her head in Sawyer’s direction as he stood there trembling,
unable to move, his heart pounding, his lungs heaving, and wishing more
than anything else on earth to be able to reach into that cold soil and
return Jason Archer to her. The glass slid back up as the limousine
drove away.
The night before Christmas Eve, Lee Sawyer rolled his sedan slowly down
Morgan Lane. The houses along the street were beautifully decorated
with lights, wreaths, all-weather Santa Clauses and their trusty
reindeer. Down the block a group of bundled-up carolers was performing.
The area was in a festive mood, all except for one house, which was dark
but for one light on in the front room.
Sawyer pulled into the Archers’ driveway and got out of his car.
He was dressed in a new suit, his cowlick plastered down as much as it
could be. He pulled a small gift-wrapped box out of the car and walked
up to the house. His gait was a little stiff; his ribs were still on
the mend.
Sidney Archer answered his knock. She was dressed in dark slacks and a
white blouse, her hair flowing down over her shoulders. She had gained
some weight back, but her features were still gaunt. The cuts and
bruises had healed, though.
They sat in the living room in front of the fire. Sawyer accepted her
offer of cider and looked around the room while she went to get it. On
the side table was a box of computer disks with a red bow on top. He
put the box he had brought with him on the coffee table, since there was
no Christmas tree to put it under.
“Going somewhere for the holidays, I hope?” he asked as she sat down
across from him. They each took a sip of the warm cider.
“My parents’. They’ve got the place fixed up for Christmas. Big tree,
decorations. My father’s going to dress up like Santa. My brothers and
their families will be there. It’ll be good for Amy.”
Sawyer looked over at the box of disks. “I hope that’s a gag gift.”
Sidney followed his gaze and briefly smiled. “Jeff Fisher. He thanked
me for the most exciting night of his life and offered me free computer
advice in perpetuity.” Sawyer then eyed the small, damp towel Sidney had
brought back with her and placed on the coffee table. He slid the
present across. “Slip this under the tree for Amy, will you? It’s from
me and Ray. His wife picked it out. It’s a doll that does a bunch of
stuff, you know, it talks and pee-pees–” He abruptly stopped and looked
embarrassed. He took another sip of cider.
Sidney smiled. “Thank you very much, Lee. She’ll love it. I’d give it
to her now, except she’s asleep.”
“It’s better to open presents on Christmas anyway.”
“How is Ray?”
“Hell, you couldn’t hurt him if you tried. He’s already off the