Read White Christmas, bloody Christmas for Free Online

could be wrong with him," she replied, shaking her head.
    There in front of the warm Christmas Day fire, Grandpa Joe continued to cry. They began to wonder if he would ever be able to stop...
    At around two-thirty p.m. that afternoon, the news came that Charlie Lawson's entire family had been found shot and bludgeoned to death in their home. Strangely, as soon as Grandpa Joe had heard what had happened, he was able to stop crying.
    Wiping a last tear from his swollen eyes, he said to Leonard, "We need to go over there and see if we can help."
    "Okay, Grandpa," agreed Leonard. "We'll ride over there and see what's happened. I'll go pull the car around. Effie, you and Grandma stay here. I don't want you going over there. It could be dangerous. And, lock the doors when we leave-just in case."
    The Joe Lawson home was located near the town of Mayodan which is about thirteen miles from Walnut Cove. Under good conditions, it wouldn't have taken long to make the trip to Charlie Lawson's home, but with the dirt roads frozen and packed, the travel that day was difficult. They arrived at the murder scene, however, without incident.
    -60-

    Once there, they joined the already large crowd of people who had gathered at the scene. They could see many men and boys cautiously stalking the surrounding fields and pastures near the house with-guns poised and ready in nervous hands.
    "They're saying the bodies of Fannie and all the children have been found but, has anyone found out where Charlie is yet?" asked Leonard of a man standing nearby.
    "No, not yet," the man answered. "Some people are saying Charlie must of been the one who killed 'em and he run off or something. Some people think we're gonna find Charlie murdered around here somewhere, too. To tell you the truth, I don't know what to think."
    "Yea, I know what you mean. This is about the worst thing I've ever seen or heard tell of. I just can't believe something like this has happened."
    Leonard looked over at his grandfather. Grandpa Joe said nothing. He just stood there in the deep snow, his collar turned up against the icy air. There was nothing to say. He simply looked out over the horrible scene through his swollen, red-rimmed eyes. It was all so sad—so very, very sad...
    -61

    before and added some kindling wood. In a short while, the kitchen grew warm,and Fannie began to plan the morning meal.
    In the front part of the house, Charlie Lawson stirred from their bed, pulled on his clothes and checked the fireplace fire. As his wife put on the coffee to brew, he went outside and gathered up an armful of wood to rebuild the fire.
    As the house grew warmer and the inviting aroma of country ham and eggs wafted upstairs, the Lawson children began to stir. The Lawsons had an overnight guest for Christmas that year—Stella Lawson's older brother, Sanders, had spent Christmas Eve with the family and had decided to stay overnight.
    There were no Christmas decorations in the house that morning—no Christmas tree or gifts. This Christmas morning was different than those in years past. This morning, the family awaited Charlie's Christmas "surprise" that he had been promising for several weeks.
    Although this was a much less than cheery Christmas morning, Marie was optimistic. Tonight, Charlie Wade Hampton was coming in his car to pick her and Arthur up and drive them to the Christmas program at Palmyra Church. Charlie Wade had a way of making her feel safe and happy, even when things were going very wrong.
    She hummed her favorite Christmas songs to herself as she stirred up the ingredients for a special Christmas raisin cake. The kids deserved it, she thought to herself. This certainly had not been a very happy holiday season for them. While the cake baked, she decided what she would wear that evening and brought out her best Sunday coat and draped it over the chair beside the chest of drawers. The smaller children chased each other around the house and amused themselves much as they did