Free A Cold Christmas by Charlene Weir

and got up to drop it in. She plopped back into the chair and rubbed her eyes. “Did you see the movie Psycho? ”
    Susan nodded.
    â€œWell, I wouldn’t any more have had an affair with Tim Whatever than I would with that guy.” Snatching another tissue from the box, now on the table, she dabbed at her nose.
    â€œWhy would he have been here when no one else was here?”
    Caley started to get angry, then let it go, as though it required more energy than it was worth.
    Susan threw questions at her and Caley simply let them hang in the air. She stuck with her story that Holiday had been in the house only twice.
    Zach came to the kitchen door and glared at Susan. She told Caley to go back to bed, smiled at Zach and said, “I’m afraid you might see a lot of me until this is cleared up.”
    In the pickup, Susan got out her notebook. Shanky’s Furnace and Air Conditioning was located at Tenth and Harvest. She buckled the seat belt and turned the key in the ignition. Caley claimed the victim had been in her house twice and Pauline Frankens said she’d seen him go in at least six times. Somebody was lying, and Susan didn’t think it was Pauline.
    *   *   *
    Even furnace repair wasn’t immune to seasonal decorations. Silvery garland trailed around the door and licentious elves danced across the glass.
    A bell tinkled as she went inside. It was dim and cramped, with cluttered shelves of odd-looking things that she assumed were either furnace or air-conditioning parts. The place smelled dusty, as though last summer’s air still hung around. In the rear was a Dutch door with the top half open and the bottom half topped by a counter. In the lighted office behind, an overweight man puddled over the edges of the desk chair he sat on. He struggled up, waddled over, and propped himself on the counter. “What can I do for you?”
    â€œAre you Mr. Shanky?”
    â€œNope. Name’s Johnson, Fred Johnson. Bought the place from Shanky when he decided to retire and move to Florida. That’ll be twenty-five years come March. Never bothered to change the name. Would have had to change the sign too. It’s an old business. Customers like to come back to a place they know.”
    â€œHow many employees do you have, Mr. Johnson?”
    â€œGot me five. All good men. One of them been up to something I should know about?”
    â€œYou had a call on Saturday from Caley James. She wanted someone to fix her furnace.”
    He consulted a ledger on his desk. “Right as rain. Any problem?”
    â€œTim Holiday went to fix it. Why did you send him and not someone else?”
    Fred scratched his head. “Yeah, I remember. He said she was a friend and she’d be calling and give it to him.”
    â€œHow did he know she’d call?”
    â€œCan’t help you there. Cold as it is, we’ve been having a lot of calls.”
    â€œI need Holiday’s address.”
    Fred closed the ledger, came back to the counter, and rested his arms on it. “You mind telling me what this is all about?”
    â€œI’m sorry to tell you, Holiday is dead.”
    â€œGoldarn!” Johnson shook his head. “What a terrible thing, and right at Christmas. What happened?”
    â€œHis address, Mr. Johnson.”
    Johnson consulted another ledger and read the address out to her. She jotted it down. “How long has he been working for you?”
    â€œTwo months.”
    â€œWhere had he been before?”
    â€œThat I can’t tell you right off. Got it filed away with his references.”
    â€œDid you check the references?”
    â€œNaw. I know a good man when I see one. A cold winter like we been having, I hired him right up and glad to have him.”
    â€œWas he a good worker?”
    â€œOne of my best. Never griped about after-hours jobs or weekends. Never wanted time off for this and that.”
    â€œMs. James said he was