Candy Canes and Cadavers

by Angela K Ryan

  “William,” Connie said. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before. You killed Damian to save your job.”

  “You’re crazy! I did no such thing.”

  “Damian was going lay you off, and you had nothing to fall back on,” Connie said. “You made up that job offer in Sarasota.”

  A vein bulged from William’s forehead. “I’m better than any actor in that theatre. There just weren’t any openings.” He clenched his fists. “Damian got what was coming to him. It wasn’t enough for him to run the playhouse into the ground. He had to take the lead role in what might be our last Christmas production. When I told Damian that I wanted to play Scrooge this year, he just laughed at me. Who’s getting the last laugh now?” William pointed an index finger at Connie and Eloise. “You two can’t prove a thing.”

  “We’re going to the police right now,” Connie said. She grabbed Eloise’s hand, and the two women stepped around William to make a quick exit. William turned to lunge at them, but he froze before his foot even left the ground. All three of them stood motionless as they watched the front curtain rise. William had no choice but to walk onstage for what Connie could only guess would be the last performance of his career.

  “I’m going to call the police,” Connie said to Eloise once William was a safe distance away.

  A voice came from behind her. “I already did. They’ll be here shortly.”

  It was Dottie.

  “I saw you disappear backstage with her,” she said, pointing to Eloise. “When you didn’t come back, I decided to play it safe.”

  “The killer is William, not Eloise,” Connie said to Dottie.

  “But I can understand why you thought I was dangerous,” Eloise said. “Can you ever forgive me sending you that note?”

  “I guess I can understand why you were afraid,” Dottie said. “I may be a little too fanatical when it comes to my favorite actors, but I’m not a gossip.”

  Dottie returned to the lobby to be there to meet the police and escort them to Connie and Eloise.

  It felt like a strange dream as Connie watched the first half of the show hoping the police would arrive before the intermission. She breathed a deep sigh of relief when Dottie and Zach arrived backstage with only a few minutes to spare. Then Dottie returned to her station to tend to her intermission responsibilities.

  When William exited the stage and found Zach standing with Connie and Eloise, he shook his head. “Detective, these women are nothing but busybodies. I’m sorry they wasted your time.”

  Members of the cast and crew were scurrying about all around them.

  “Is there a place we can talk in private?” Zach asked.

  Judith, who had been watching the production from the other side of the stage, made her way over when she saw Zach arrive and insisted on joining them.

  William led them to his dressing room - the same room where Damian was killed.

  Connie and Eloise explained everything they had discovered, as well as their earlier conversation with William when he admitted to killing Damian.

  “These women are crazy,” William said to Zach. Then he looked at Judith. “Honey, they can’t prove any of this.”

  Judith began to tremble, and tears streamed down her cheeks. When she finally composed herself, she made eye contact with each person in the room. “They can’t prove it, but I can. William, the cyanide in the garage? The antacid you purchased before the play? And the lies. You asked me to tell the police that you were with me when Damian was poisoned. I convinced myself that it was okay, because there was no way my husband could do such a thing. But…” she sobbed. “Why, William? Why did you switch the bottle of antacid that Rick had bought? Wasn’t it enough to kill Damian? Did you have frame Rick, too?”

  “I did it for us. For our future. We were never so happy as we have been in Sapphire Beach, and Damian was going to take that away from us. And without Rick, I’d have had seniority.”

  There was a knock on the dressing room door. “Five minutes ‘til curtain, William.”

  “Thanks, five,” William replied somberly. He looked at Zach with pleading eyes. “Can I finish my performance?”

  Zach was silent for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Can’t you let him finish the sake of the playhouse?” Connie asked. “It would be a shame to cut short the Christmas Eve performance.”

  “Okay,” Zach said. “But I’ll be waiting for you when you finish.”

  Zach accompanied William back to the stage while Connie followed a short distance behind. Eloise stayed with Judith to comfort her.

  As Connie watched William give the performance of a lifetime, she couldn’t help but be struck by the irony. He was pouring out his heart in the role of Scrooge, a character who learned that greed and selfishness don’t pay off in the end. Yet what greedier and more selfish act could there be than taking the life of another?

  Chapter 20

  Early Christmas morning, Connie awoke to the sound of two three-year-olds in Rudolph-the-Red-Nosed Reindeer pajamas tugging on her arm and a tired Gianna smiling in the doorway. “They blocked their eyes as they walked through the living room to get to your bedroom, but there’s no more holding back this tidal wave,” she said laughing.

  With a shot of Christmas-fueled adrenaline, Connie jumped out of bed and scooped the twins into her arms. “Let’s go see what Santa brought you two little monkeys,” she said, carrying them to the living room where Gary, her parents, and Grace had already assembled.

  The children’s excitement turned into awe as they took in the scene before them.

  “Look,” Gary said, holding up a plate of crumbs and carrot stubs. “It looks like Santa and the reindeer ate the treats we left for them last night.”

  Hannah and Noah stared wide-eyed at the crumbs. Then they scanned the toys under the tree, and with expressions of amazement, looked at their parents.

  “Look at the toys Santa brought you. You must have been good children this year,” Gianna said, while Gary recorded the scene with his phone.

  As Connie watched her niece and nephew explore the gifts under the tree, the previous day’s events at the playhouse seemed like a distant memory. The morning flew by, and by the time Gary and Greg assembled a few toys for the twins to play with and everyone showered and got ready, it was nearly time for company to arrive.

  Connie and Gianna went to work preparing appetizers, while Jo made the lasagna. Once the stuffed mushrooms, spinach pastries, and tomatoes with basil and mozzarella cheese were heating in the oven, they sat by the tree to wait for the others.

  The Millers were the first to arrive. Emma proudly carried a pink frosted cake that she made herself. “Can I tell them now, Mom?” Emma asked, unable to contain her excitement.

  Elyse smiled broadly. “Go ahead, honey.”

  “I made this cake so we could celebrate that Victoria is now officially my little sister.”

  Elyse and Josh beamed with pride as Emma announced the news.

  “It’s the best Christmas present we could have received,” Elyse said, slipping her arms around Josh’s waist.

  “That is so kind of you to share your celebration with us,” Jo said as she placed the cake on a counter with the wine and other desserts. “I can’t wait to taste it.”

  Stephanie arrived next, followed by Zach.

  Within no time, Connie’s home was bustling with Christmas activity. Gary selected a Christmas playlist, and everyone gathered in the living room to enjoy a glass of wine and some appetizers while the children played and the lasagna finished baking. The lights on the Christmas tree they had decorated together reflected off the gold garland and provided a festive ambiance. Even Ginger seemed to be enjoying the day, as she relaxed in the sun by the sliders and chewed on a rawhide bone she received for Christmas.

  Jo smiled at warmly at Ginger, but then her gaze turned more serious as it settled on the crystal blue waters beyond the double slider.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” Greg sai
d to his wife.

  “I still can’t believe that Judith had to turn in her own husband,” Jo said.

  “Yes, she was in a no-win situation.” Greg cast a mischievous grin Connie’s way. “Let me ask you… if your husband was guilty of a crime, say breaking and entering at night, for example, would you turn him in?”

  Connie couldn’t help but laugh as she remembered hiding out with her father in the boardroom at the administrative offices of the Sapphire Beach Playhouse.

  Jo winked at her husband. “Never.”

  Josh shot Zach an amused glance. “I don’t even want to know,” he said.

  “When I first met Judith in my shop a couple of weeks ago, she appeared to be shallow and gossipy,” Connie said. “But you have to admire her for doing the right thing when it counted.”

  “I never did thank you for taking care of everything last night so I could spend Christmas Eve with my family,” Josh said to Zach. “What time did you get home?”

  “I don’t remember, but it was late,” Zach said. “I didn’t want Rick to have to spend Christmas Eve in jail, so I wanted to take care of things before leaving for the holiday. Rick was a free man by the time I got home.”

  “That reminds me,” Connie said. “Sophie called this morning while I was waiting for the shower. She wanted us to know us how grateful she was that the right person is in jail for her husband’s murder. She also said that she stopped by Rick and Priscilla’s house on her way to her brother’s this morning to wish them a Merry Christmas and tell them how sorry she was for everything they had been through. The three of them got to talking about the future of the Sapphire Beach Playhouse, and Sophie is going to recommend Rick as the new permanent executive director. She said that both Rick and Priscilla had some fantastic fundraising ideas so she and Priscilla are going to work as Rick’s assistants, free of charge, so they can quickly implement Rick’s ideas, and some of Damian’s that he never had the chance to try. In light of everything that happened, she said the staff is really banning together as a family. She is confident that the Board of Directors will agree to their plan.”

  “I’m happy that we are finally seeing something positive come out this tragedy,” Greg said. “If they work with one another, rather than against each other, they might just get the job done.”

  “I have one more announcement,” Connie said. “I received an email yesterday from Dura saying that the parish will begin construction on the chicken coop right after the first of the year. The local families said it was an answer to their Christmas prayers.”

  “That’s fantastic,” Gianna said.

  “And that’s not all. Since Damian purchased so many pairs of earrings, Dura and her pastor agreed to name the project in his memory. They’re calling it The Damian Pritchard Chicken Coop.”

  “That’s a beautiful way to honor his memory,” Zach said.

  “His generosity means even more, since it came at a time when he and Sophie were struggling financially,” Connie said.

  “Speaking of candy cane earrings, did you ever figure out who the earring belonged to that was found near Damian’s body?” Gianna asked Zach. “It clearly wasn’t William’s.”

  “Yes, we figured that out early on. It belonged to Sophie. She thinks she lost it when she discovered her husband’s body and fell to her knees. But with the shock of losing her husband, she didn’t even realize it was missing until we asked her about it later that night.”

  “And what about Stevie?” Jo asked. “Did Sophie or Stephen ever find out that Stevie is Damian’s son?”

  “We never told them,” Zach said. “There was no reason to.”

  “I think that was a wise decision,” Jo said. “Stevie seems like a happy little boy. Why ruin that?”

  “Exactly,” Zach said. “It should be Sophie’s decision when and how much to tell them.”

  The oven timer sounded, indicating that Christmas dinner was ready, so the group moved to the dining room table. Connie, Gianna, Elyse, and Stephanie made quick work of slicing and serving the lasagna and putting the meatballs, sausages, and salad on the table.

  After Greg prayed the blessing, Jo said, “Let’s not talk about murder over Christmas dinner.”

  Connie wholeheartedly agreed with her mother. Christmas was a day to be contemplating the joy and wonder of the season, not the selfish and greedy act of one man. As Connie looked around the table at so many of the people she loved and cared for, she wished this meal could last forever. The only thing missing was the company of those no longer with them.

  Connie felt Zach’s warm gaze and turned to face him. He smiled and took her hand beneath the table, as if he had been reading her thoughts. He leaned closer and whispered, “It’s like we were saying on our date: perfect joy is only for heaven.”

  Connie squeezed his hand. “Yes, but this is pretty close.”

  The End

  Books in this Series

  Vacations and Victims (Free Prequel)

  (Meet Concetta and Bethany in Vacations and Victims, the Sapphire Beach Prequel)

  Book 1: Condos and Corpses

  Book 2: Surf, Sand and Skeletons

  Book 3: Piers, Pliers and Problems

  Book 4: Candy Canes and Cadavers

  Book 5: Snowbirds and Suspects

  Coming in January 2020!

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Angela K. Ryan, author of the Sapphire Beach Cozy Mystery Series, writes clean, feel-good stories that uplift and inspire, with mysteries that will keep you guessing.

  When she is not writing, Angela enjoys the outdoors, especially kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, snowshoeing, and skiing. She lives near Boston and loves the change of seasons in New England, but, like her main character, she looks forward to brief escapes to the white, sandy beaches of southwest Florida, where her mother resides.

  Angela dreams of one day owning a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel like Ginger, but isn’t home enough to take care of one. So, for now, she lives vicariously through her main character, Connie.