Five Finger Christmas

by Brandon Barrows

About the Author: Brandon Barrows is the author of several novels, most recently STRANGERS' KINGDOM. He has published over seventy stories, selected of which are collected in the books THE ALTAR IN THE HILLS and THE CASTLE-TOWN TRAGEDY. Visit www.brandonbarrowscomics.com

Excerpt

The man on the monitor was small and balding, wearing a dark-colored shell coat several sizes too large for him. Four days before Christmas, calling the store crowded was an understatement, but unlike most of the shoppers, he wasn’t in any hurry. He moved through the store slowly, his head casually, but almost constantly, moving, as if he was trying to take in every inch of the place and everything it held. I had to keep switching cameras, and sometimes change an individual camera’s position, to keep track of him, but I managed. Since one of the floor managers called the security office, saying the man gave her a bad feeling, I hadn’t let him leave my sight for more than a few seconds.

The man stopped at a display of stocking stuffers—mostly electronic gadgets that didn’t work as advertised. They were all small, but a few were pricy, and each had a good mark-up. They practically flew off the shelves this time of year. He unzipped his coat and flapped the open halves, like he was hot. He probably was, with all the warm, moving bodies in the place.

The little man leaned close to the gadgetry, as if inspecting the fine print on one of the packages. When he did, the flaps of his coat draped across part of the display. His hands went into his coat pockets, so deep they were almost up to the elbow. Then he withdrew his hands, straightened, and moved on, zipping his coat as he went.

I lifted the walky-talky from the desk. “Mr. Cadshaw, you there? Over.”

“Go ahead, Ben. Over.”

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