In a few minutes, they were rolling in the snow, all soaked and still tossing snow and laughing.

Morwenna was vaguely aware of the crunch of footsteps on the snow; she was still startled when a deep, loud angry voice called out.

"Hey!"

They all paused, rolled and looked down the slope. A tall man in a Virginia State Police uniform and parka was heading up toward them.

"Hey!" he shouted again. "Stop right there, all of you. Don't move. You're harboring a murderer!"

Chapter 6.

Stunned, half-frozen in the snow, Morwenna stared at the newcomer.

He was a tall, well-muscled man of about thirty, or thirty-five, dark-haired, with fierce dark eyes and a rugged-looking face.

He could have been a cop...

He was in uniform...

"Get up, Gabe!" he said, striding over to stand above Gabe, Morwenna and the kids where they were tangled together in their snow brawl.

Gabe stood, staring at the newcomer. "He isn't a cop," he said evenly. "He has the clothes because he stole them off me. He isn't a cop, and I'm not a murderer, and he isn't even a murderer."

Morwenna was vaguely aware that the door to their house had opened and closed.

Genevieve was clinging to her pants. Connor was just staring wide-eyed.

Shayne walked the few feet to the men. "All right, let's sort this out here," he said. "May I see your credentials? Are you armed?"

The man's eyes flickered for a minute, and then seemed to gleam with an angry fire. "My sidearm was lost when I grappled with this escaped convict. Trust me, he's dangerous. I need to take custody of him now."

"He's lying," Gabe said. "He's the convict. The thief."

The door to the house burst open and Mike, followed by Bobby, came bursting out of the house.

Mike had his shotgun, and it was aimed at the two strangers in their midst.

"All right, what the h.e.l.l is going on here?" Mike demanded.

"I'm Officer Luke DeFeo of the Virginia State Police," the newcomer said, his voice filled with authority. "You've been deceived by a criminal, a convicted killer."

"That's a lie. He's the con. You found me half dead in the snow because we wrestled when I was trying to bring him back to justice. He stole my clothing, and gave me his," Gabe said. "You have to believe me. This man isn't a murderer, but he could prove to be the most dangerous man who ever walked into your lives."

"Don't be ridiculous! Put that gun down. You can see that I'm the cop!" Luke DeFeo said. He started walking toward Mike angrily.

But a.s.sistant District Attorney Michael MacDougal was no man's fool. Morwenna was proud when her father c.o.c.ked the shotgun and said, "I have d.a.m.n good aim. You stay right where you are. Now, can either of you prove what you're saying? Let's see some ID."

"Look at what I'm wearing!" DeFeo snapped.

"I can see what you're wearing," Mike said. "And you may well be a cop, but this fellow has been with us for a lot of hours now, and we're all alive and well, and it seems that things are appearing in our house rather than disappearing."

Morwenna felt the little angel against her neck. It wasn't studded with gems, but it was still a nice piece. He had given it to her.

Suspicion crept into her mind. Had he taken it off someone else? Maybe someone now lying dead in the snow.

"You leave him alone!" Genevieve said, leaping up with the agility of a child and running to DeFeo. She gave him a hard kick in the shin.

DeFeo let out an angry yell, and almost reached for Genevieve.

"My sister!" Connor cried.

"You touch my daughter, and I'll kill you, cop or no!" Shayne announced. "Genevieve, get over here."

Genevieve obeyed without a murmur.

"Connor, you, too," Shayne said.

Gabe and Morwenna stood, dusting snow from their bodies, staring, and watching and waiting.

"You're going to find yourself under arrest for aiding and abetting a criminal," DeFeo said.

"Let's see your credentials," Mike said firmly.

"Hey, you can see I have a badge."

"And I'll see some ID, too," Mike said firmly.

DeFeo scowled. "I don't have my wallet-I lost it in the tussle with the con you're protecting!"

"If you have no real ID, I have no real proof. No one is going to intimidate me," Mike announced. "If I know one thing, I know the law. And I know that we don't have any way of knowing which of you is telling the truth. So-you. Yeah, you, Virginia State policeman. Raise your arms. Bobby, see if he has cuffs. And if he does, put them on him."

"Yes, sir! Yes, sir, Dad!" Bobby said, and sprang into action.

Morwenna had never seen her brother Bobby as the tough-guy type, and then again, she'd never seen lifesaving Shayne threaten someone's life. But then, his children had been threatened, and now Bobby was ready to spring to the fore.

"If your son touches me, I'll see that he does jail time, too," DeFeo warned.

"And if you touch my son, I'll blow your head off," Mike promised.

Bobby walked straight for DeFeo. "Listen, buddy, if you're legit, and we all wind up at a police station looking like fools, we'll take our chances in court," he said.

"You're risking your lives!" DeFeo said, standing still as Bobby found the cuffs he did have hooked to his belt and slipped them around DeFeo's wrists. "I'm telling you, he's the criminal. If you hold me against my will, he'll find a way to kill me, and slaughter you and your whole family in your beds!"

"We're not taking any chances," Mike said. "We're not taking chances-with anyone. I'm going to disbelieve both of you-until we learn the truth. Morwenna, get in the house. I have good nylon rope in the pantry. I want Gabe tied up, too."

Morwenna stared back at her father, blinking.

"Morwenna!"

She looked down at Gabe, stunned to realize that they really didn't know. If Gabe was a crook, he could be d.a.m.n good at deceiving people. It felt as if the cold suddenly swept through her. Why wouldn't he have killed them last night?

Because he'd wanted his turkey, that's why.

Gabe looked up and said calmly, "Get the rope, like your father says. Keep us both tied up, and away from the house. Keep your family safe."

"But, Daddy," Genevieve began.

"Hush," Shayne said softly.

"Connor, Genevieve, come with me, please," Morwenna said, and hurried into the house. Stacy was standing in the parlor, looking out the window, her face knit in a worried frown.

"Morwenna?"

"That guy showed up, saying Gabe is a crook, and that he himself is a cop," Morwenna explained briefly.

"I was so worried when I saw your father get the shotgun. I tried the phone again, but that and the computer are still down, too. We've got electricity, but the television is all static. Morwenna, what are we going to do?"

"Keep them both tied up until we can get help," Morwenna said.

"We're on a mountaintop!" Stacy said.

"Mom, Dad has it covered. Besides, we have cars," Morwenna a.s.sured her.

Morwenna hurried back out, disturbed to see that her mother had come out to the front without even bothering to put on her coat. Though she had locked the door behind her, with the children inside.

She rushed by her, though. Gabe was standing a distance from Luke DeFeo. He offered his hands to her as she approached him.

"Behind his back!" DeFeo said. "Like you did me!"

"Wait!" Stacy said. She walked forward into the group. "One of these men is a criminal, and we really don't know what kind of criminal. But one of them isn't. And we're not breaking any arms or starving either of them. Tie their hands in front. We have the shotgun, and there are five of us adults here-we can watch them."

Shayne walked over to their mother. "Mom, we can't know how long until the phone and computer are back up, and it looks like we might have more bad weather coming in. We have to make sure that these guys are secure."

He pointed to the sky; it had been so blue.

Now, gray clouds were hovering. Strange gray clouds. Morwenna couldn't tell if they were coming from east or west, north or south. But they seemed to be converging over their house.

"We'll take turns watching them," Stacy insisted.

Gabe lifted his hands.

"Secure, Morwenna!" her father called.

"Yes, sir."

Gabe didn't move. She was close to him. The subtle scent of the cologne she had given him seemed to sweep around her. She looked at him. His eyes remained steady, green and open.

She looked down and tied his hand securely in a clove hitch. Her father, still keeping an eye on Luke DeFeo as Bobby recinched the metal cuffs, walked over to see that she had tied the knot correctly. He nodded his approval.

"Now what?" DeFeo asked. He let out a sigh. His voice changed to something that was just weary. "This is ridiculous, honestly. You all need to help me. You seem like a nice family. I don't want you running into trouble. If you don't see what's going on here soon, you will face jail time, and you've just afforded yourselves a miserable day. You're going to spend your Christmas staring at the two of us. I would have taken this wretch back to justice!"

"And how were you going to do that?" Mike MacDougal asked him, his words barking. Morwenna imagined him in a courtroom. Her father, she knew, often managed to get people to say things they had surely never intended to say. "You came by foot."

"I'd have walked the b.a.s.t.a.r.d down the mountain," DeFeo said, his tone angry again. Then he seemed to gain control. "Look, you've all been fooled. You don't know what you're dealing with here."

"That's right," Shayne said quietly. "We don't know what we're dealing with here."

"And there's no way in h.e.l.l anyone is walking anyone down the mountain," Stacy said. "It's a hard trip at best-hours walking in spring. There is weather coming in again."

"That's right, and you should let me handle it. We'll be out of your way in a moment," DeFeo pleaded.

"So...what now?" Morwenna asked.

Mike looked at the sky. "It may clear up soon enough," he said. "I can't tell right now exactly what the weather is going to do, but I think it would be foolhardy to try to reach even the village right now. Looks like we'll have to hold tight for a while."

"The garage and the shed," Stacy said. "You've got to keep them separated, and out of the wind. As soon as the weather clears, we'll get them both down to the tavern. They must have a way to reach some kind of help there."

"Bobby, you're on watch with Gabe. Shayne, you take DeFeo. The toolshed is empty. I brought the shovel and anything else anyone could use as a weapon into the house once we had a guest in the house," Mike said, glancing toward Gabe. "Shayne, you keep the shotgun. G.o.d knows what someone could find in the garage. I'll spell you in thirty minutes. Morwenna, you'll take over for Bobby."

Morwenna nodded. Neither of the men offered resistance as they were brought, handcuffed, to their respective places, Mike behind them both.

Morwenna looked up. The sky was darkening, and it couldn't have been later than ten in the morning.

As her father walked back to the house, he said, "I guess we'll have turkey later, Stacy. As soon as we can, we'll head down to Scott's Tavern with these two men."

Stacy started to walk into the house, and then she paused, looking at her husband. "The cemetery is on the way," she said.

"Stacy, we've got a criminal on our hands, and-depending on which man you believe-one of them might be a murderer."

Stacy straightened her shoulders. "The weather is going to be iffy all day. The cemetery is on the way to the village. It will only take a minute or two."

"Stacy," Mike said, "we could walk all the way and get rid of these two guys-"

"Mike! There's no guarantee that we'll have any communication when we reach the village, and no guarantee that there will be someone there who can watch them. This may remain our burden until we can get help up the mountain. The cemetery is on the way-we're going to stop briefly. We can keep the shotgun on them for one minute while we say a prayer. I'm still saying my Christmas prayers over my family's graves!"

With that, Stacy walked firmly into the house. Mike followed, but the door slammed in his face. He turned and looked at Morwenna and the kids. "All right, so the cemetery is on the way. How ridiculous is all this? One of us will stand with the shotgun trained on the two of them, and we'll say a prayer-in a graveyard. Christmas!"

He didn't say it, but Morwenna could almost imagine that he did.

Christmas! Bah, humbug!