Free The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans Page A

here. . . .”
    He took the folder from her. “I didn’t expect it so soon.”
    â€œThe people on it were never that far from my mind.”
    Kier opened the file and glanced inside. There were five names on the memo, each with their own page and a brief description of their circumstances. He was surprised to see so few names. He looked back up at her. “Only five?”
    â€œThink of them as the finalists.”
    â€œFinalists?”
    â€œMr. Kier, if you want a list of all the people you’ve hurt or offended, I’ll drag in the file cabinet.” Linda herself was surprised at her own forwardness. “I’m sorry. These are the ones who would keep me up at night.”
    â€œFair enough,” Kier said. He read their names aloud.
    Celeste Hatt
    Eddie Grimes
    Estelle Wyss
    David Carnes
    Gary Rossi
    â€œI put their contact information under their briefs.”
    He thumbed through the attached pages. “The first one here, Celeste Hatt—there’s no contact information.”
    â€œThat’s because I can’t locate her. But I’ll keep trying.”
    Kier continued reading.
    â€œWhen are you going to start?” Linda asked.
    Kier looked up. “Tomorrow morning. I’ll be working at home for the next few weeks, Tim knows and I expect between you and him things will run smoothly. If you need anything signed, just bring it by the house. On second thought, why don’t you just come by the house every day. Say, around four.”
    â€œOkay. Do you need anything else?”
    He closed the folder. “No, that’s all for now.”
    She turned to leave.
    â€œLinda.”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œThank you.”
    She smiled cynically. “Tell me that after you’ve seen them,” she said and walked out of his office.

    Kier opened the folder again and looked at the list. Five names. Five damaged lives. Five lives connected to his own. It was his plan to reach each of these people before Christmas and make things right. This was his Christmas list.

CHAPTER
Twenty

Eddie Grimes
    Former owner of Grimes Construction. You forced him out of business and into personal bankruptcy. His current residence: 657 Gramercy Avenue, Salt Lake City.

An inversion had settled into the valley, leaving the air brown and thick. Kier sat in his car with the heater on, Linda’s list in the folder on his lap. While visiting these people and doing what he could to make things right had seemed a good idea in theory, sitting in his car outside the home of the first of his visits cast his plan in a different light. According to Linda he had ruined these people’s lives. What kind of reception could he expect?
    He looked again at the name before him: Eddie Grimes. He didn’t need to read the file to remember the man or what he had done to him. Grimes had once owned Grimes Construction, a small but well-regarded and profitable local construction firm that was growing quickly. Grimes had bid against Kier on a large development and won the job. Kier didn’t need the work—in fact he was struggling to keep up with his own workload—but he was angry at losing the project and threatened by the success of the upstart competitor. Kier decided to squash the burgeoning company. With the information he had gathered in the project’s bidding process and his knowledge of the market, he knew thatthere was a problem with the availability of certain supplies, especially drywall.
    With his substantial cash reserves Kier bought up all the drywall in the Rocky Mountain area, enough to stock his next three projects and, in the short run, to create a regional shortage. When it was time for Grimes to order the needed material, there was none to be had in the state or any of the surrounding areas. The soonest he could find was more than thirty days out. Grimes’s project was brought to a complete standstill, costing him substantial late fees and