A Christmas to Remember: Prologue

Prologue

December 25, 2010

It was dark, cold and slick on the roads that night. There had been a mist like rain all day that seemed to keep everything damp and cold. Even though the snow had not yet started, the weather man from Richmond had been predicting all week that Virginia would indeed see a white Christmas. But that fancy Richmond man was being met with skepticism seeing as Christmas was almost over and not a speck of the white stuff had been seen all day.

For most in the Kings Mountain area, snow was not a highly anticipated event. Snow often meant being cut off entirely from the outside world, so it was a relief to the residents of Kings Mountain, Virginia, that snow had not shown up at all that day.

None of this mattered at all to Michelle King as she gripped the steering wheel tight with her left hand. Snow, or the lack of it, wasn’t even on her mind as she reached around the passenger seat for her purse. Once her hand brushed against the leather bag, she smiled and started reaching around in her purse in an attempt to find her pack of cigarettes. She frowned as her hand seemed to grasp everything but her cigarettes.

Michelle let out a frustrated sigh as she grabbed her purse and threw it in her lap. The car swerved slightly on the dark road as her attention was diverted to the bag. She lowered her eyes for a brief moment and she saw her pack of cigarettes lying on the bottom of her purse. Michelle smiled in satisfaction.

“’Bout damn time!” She said to no one. The car swerved again. She reached in her purse just as the blare from another car came screeching by her window. Michelle immediately put both hands on the steering wheel as she attempted to straighten out her car. Her eyes went wide and she gave a nervous giggle. Her grip tightened on the wheel for just a moment as she tried to breathe through the pounding of her heart.

She blinked her eyes rapidly and shook her head slightly trying to clear the buzz that surrounded her brain.

“I should not have had that last martini.” She once again said to no one. She gave a nervous little giggle at her statement. She shook her head again, and noticed that there were little white flakes dusting her windshield. Her face broke out into a huge smile. Michelle had always loved snow.

Remembering that she had originally wanted a cigarette, she looked down into her purse again. Seeing the pack, she reached her left hand in and grabbed it, flipped the lid open with her thumb and slid one out with her teeth. Throwing her cigarettes down in her purse and flinging her purse back into the passenger seat, Michelle stretched her hips out and started using her left hand to dig around in the pocket of her jeans to find her lighter.

The car started swerving again as she struggled to maintain control of the car while she dug through her pocket. Finally wrapping her fingers around the lighter, Michelle yanked it out of her pocket and brought it up in front of her face. She focused her eyes on the road, making sure that no one was directly in front of her before she turned her focus to the lighter that was in front of her face. She flicked the button and watched as the flame burst to life. She used her lips to push the cigarette towards the flame, inhaling deeply once the cigarette was directly over the flame.

Once she was satisfied that the cigarette was sufficiently lit, she let go of the button and the flame died out. She tossed the lighter into her purse and pushed down on the button that let the windows down. She reached up for the cigarette with her left hand; resting the cigarette between her fingers she blew the smoke out of the window. She shuddered slightly at the chill that took over the car through the open window.

Michelle took another drag of her cigarette, blowing smoke out of the window yet again. Feeling the chill, she started looking around her car for her jacket. She turned to check the passenger seat and then she craned her head, looking in the back seat via the rearview mirror. The car swerved again.

Michelle put both hands on the steering wheel, straightening the car out again. She rolled her eyes at her inability to do multiple things. She was normally much better at multitasking.
“Must be the alcohol.”

The silent response was deafening. “And there I go talking to myself again.” Michelle rolled her eyes. “I’m such a fuckin’ nut job.”

She took another drag from her cigarette and relished in the warmth the smoke gave her as it invaded her lungs. She blew the smoke out, enjoying the taste in her mouth. She smiled and her eyes drifted closed, the rush of nicotine mixed with the buzz of the alcohol she had been drinking all afternoon and all night gave her head a pleasantly fuzzy feeling. She sighed as her head nodded forward, her senses starting to fade out.

The car swerved again. The blaring horn from the oncoming driver wrenched Michelle from her dozing and her eyes went wide with terror. She flung both of her arms out to grasp the steering wheel, dropping the cigarette on the floor of the car as she did so. The lights were bright, blinding her as she attempted to correct her car. Her only instincts were to jerk the car away from the oncoming lights as hard and as quickly as she could.

Michelle turned the wheel all the way to the right, jerking the car across the road. The speed of the car and the sudden jerk caused her car to lose its balance. Michelle screamed at the top of her lungs as her car flipped over the guardrail that edged the road. Her car was plunged into darkness as it rolled down the hill, throwing Michelle around like a rag doll in a washing machine.

The world was spinning in front of her eyes as leaves, rocks, and trees rushed passed her in a kaleidoscope of terror.

Dear God, help me. Was the last thing Michelle thought before the entire world went black.


Jason Parker was sitting in his living room, drinking a cold beer and watching some crappy Christmas movie when the phone rang. He frowned and looked at the clock. It was 11:00 p.m.

“Who the hell is calling this late at night?” Jason asked aloud, not caring that his company was in the other room and couldn’t answer him.

He reached for the phone and picked up. “Hello?” He asked lazily. He took a quiet sip of his beer.

“Parker, you’d better get your ass up of your couch and down to the station.” The gruff voice on the other end of the line said bluntly.

“Fuller?” Jason asked. “What the hell is going on?”

“There’s been an accident. You need to come quick.” Robert Fuller said. There was a tension in his voice that Jason had never heard before.

“Fuller.” Jason said, sitting up straight. He placed his beer on the coffee table, his whole body was on full alert. “There is something you’re not telling me. What the hell is going on?”

There was a moment of silence. “There’s been a car accident down the mountain a ways.” Fuller said, his voice was quiet. Quieter than Jason had ever heard it. “Car flipped over the rail and rolled down the hillside.”

Jason’s jaw clenched. “Tell me who.”

There was another moment of silence. “Jason, it looks like Michelle’s car.”

“Damn it!” Jason yelled out as he flung himself back into the couch. “When? Where is she? How is she? Damn it, tell me, Fuller!”

“Jason, I don’t have any other information! I just got the call myself. They think it’s Michelle’s car.” Fuller said. “Just come down to the site. You need to be here.”

“I’ll be there soon.” Jason said as he hung up the phone. He rested his elbows on his knees, cradling his head in his hands for a brief moment. “Damn it.” He muttered under his breath.

Jason stood up and reached for his boots. “That woman really knows how to be the center of attention, no matter what the situation is.” Jason said to himself. He was going have some severe words for her when he saw her again. “I’ll be she got into a little fender bender after too many martinis.”

“Ma!” He called out to his mother in the next room. “I just got a call, I gotta head out for a bit. I’ll be late, so don’t wait up for me.”

Jason rolled his eyes. So much for my quiet night.


Robert Fuller stood at the top of the hill, bathed in the flashing blue lights of his squad car. His face was set in a deep frown as he looked at the scene that lay before him at the bottom of the hill. The car was easily recognizable. Not many people in this area drove a BMW, especially not one with a custom paint job in cherry red.

Flashing yellow lights caught Fuller’s attention and he saw the wrecker heading towards him. He nodded towards the driver as he got out of the truck.

“What’s goin’ on, deputy?” The driver asked as he gave a suppressed cough. He breathed in hard. It was obvious his nose was stopped up. He struggled to quiet his breathing.

“Bad accident, looks like it’s Michelle King’s car down there. It’s pretty recognizable.” Fuller said, a slight hint of sadness in his voice.
The driver gasped audibly. “Nah, shit. Ya serious?” He asked. The disbelief was evident in his voice and on his face.

Fuller nodded and didn’t say another word. He looked around sadly as the flashing red lights of a fire truck and an ambulance came to a rapid stop right next to his cruiser. A couple of paramedics jumped out of the ambulance as a fireman stepped down from his truck. They crowded around the mangled guardrail as the paramedics slowly made their way down to the overturned car.

Fuller held his breath as he watched them. He prayed for the first time in forty five years for a miracle. He prayed that what he knew was down there was really what was down there. He squeezed his eyes shut, preparing himself mentally as best he could for what he knew was about to happen.

The sirens of the emergency vehicles faded from his head as focused on his prayer. He opened his eyes and looked down at the paramedics who had made it to the edge of the car. One of them looked up at him with sad eyes and shook his head slowly.

“Fuck.” Fuller hissed. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

He heard a car drive up behind him and come to a stop. Fuller took a deep breath and tried to calm the nerves that had suddenly jumped started his heart. Fuller turned around to look at Jason Parker as he got out of his car, slamming the door.

“What the hell did she do now?” Jason asked, obviously annoyed. Fuller felt a tightness in his chest. Parker was going to regret those words.

“Jason.” Fuller said quietly. Jason sensed the tension and heard the edge his voice. It stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Fuller?” He questioned softly. “Where is she? Where is Michelle?”

Fuller didn’t have to turn around to see that the paramedics were bringing Michelle back up the hill. He watched Jason’s eyes go wide with fear and then shock as she watched the covered stretcher move towards the ambulance. He noticed the change in Jason’s demeanor almost immediately.

Fuller saw the subtle body movements in Jason and he stepped in front of the younger man as he lunged towards the paramedics.

“Jason!” Fuller said harshly. “Stop it! Stop!”

“Where is she?” He cried out. “Where the hell is she?”

Fuller was a tough man who had seen more than his share of pain and sadness in the world. He had somewhat grown accustom to that aspect of life, but watching Jason Parker lose it this way was something he never thought he would have to see. Jason pushed against him, trying to get past him. Desperation and fear were radiating off of him so strongly Fuller could practically feel it enveloping him as well.

“Jason, there’s no use.” Fuller said softly. He tried to speak quietly and softly in an attempt comfort the man who was now weeping right in front of him.

Jason shook his head as his body started trembling. “No.” He whispered, his voice cracking. “No.” The pain in his voice was tangible.

“Jason, there’s no use. I’m so sorry.” Fuller repeated himself. “Michelle King is dead.”