Two Miles to Heaven

-Chapter 17- «Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas...»

-"O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining, it is the night of the dear Savior's birth..." she started singing while tucking me in bed, her voice sounding more angelic than ever.

I slowly closed my eyes at the sound of the words magically flowing out of her lips, quietly un-tightening my hand from hers as she continued singing while caressing a few strands of my hair.

-"Truly He taught us to love one another, His law is love and His gospel is peace..."

I was wearing my favorite PJ's where a lot of food-related patches were scattered everywhere, from dusty donuts to multicolored ice cream scoops. The feeling of someone running their fingers in my hair is quite soothing and really satisfying for me. It made tiny shivers run through my whole body so I gently smiled at her, slightly opening my eyes to get my 'goodnight' kiss from my mom.

She leaned on, looking at all the features in my face before putting the warmest kiss on my forehead. I was about to fly away to the dreaming world, softly closing my eyes again when I heard a loud din, coming from my parents' room.

It was my father. He came home and he started beating her...

---

That's when I swiftly opened my eyelids, looking around me. It is the same 'mourning' dream that I make, every December 24th.

New York looks like a giant bride today as an enormous veil of white snow covered the whole city. The stores had their multicolored ornaments wrapped on their window shelves with a fine smooth garland hanging on their wooden doors. There was a hint of chocolate smell lingering in the streets where you could find candy stands all over the place. Some people were rushing to buy the fir trees that were still on sale because they were too busy working, this week.

I was sitting at the Bluestone Lane coffee shop, at the Upper East Side, where I was warming up my hands with a cup of hot chocolate, taking a sip from time to time while looking around, waiting for someone.

It has been a month since Patricia got arrested for being an accomplice to the murder of Elizabeth and we still haven't found out who was the real killer.

Though, I started thinking that maybe Alice's killer is not the same as Elizabeth's. Maybe, he took advantage of slashing an "S" on her belly to make it look like it was the same person who did it, to confuse the police.

It can be a significant theory because we still don't know what links the two murder cases.

-"Merry Christmas, Mr. Montgomery!" A man announced as he took a seat next to me, smiling.

Eric Finn, Patricia's husband, looking exactly like how I imagined him.

Grey hair, bright baby blue eyes and many wrinkles aligned on his forehead.

He was wearing a Tom Ford plaid suit from the Fall/Winter collection that matched the color of his hair, accessorized with a tie that matched the color of his eyes.

A typical ensemble of a very wealthy man whose wife is a stayed-home prostitute mom.

-"Merry Christmas as well, Mr. Finn." I replied, smiling back at him. "You seem very... Enchanted for a man whose wife is in jail."

-"What can I say? I'm a man who has a certain reputation to preserve." He retorted, ironically, while playing with his very expensive ring. "Don't worry, I'm getting her out of there very soon."

-"How so?"

-"Let me tell you something, Mr. Montgomery. Clearly, you're not from here but in New York, money is the solution to all problems. You'd be surprised of what people can do for the ones they love."