by Kathi Daley
I wasn’t sure, but I suspected that if there was someone out there intent on destroying Christmas, the Santa House wouldn’t be the only casualty we’d see.
Chapter 2
Thursday, December 12
By the following morning, we had the answer to the question as to whether Tom or the Santa House itself had been the target of the arsonist. During the overnight hours, the big tree in the park used by the community as the island’s Christmas tree had been cut down, the reindeer that had been hung to span Main Street had been shot down, and the manger scene in front of Saint Patrick’s had been vandalized.
“It looks as if we have a Grinch on the loose,” Tara said to me as we shelved the order of new books that had arrived.
I glanced at the Christmas Village Tara had been lovingly collecting and displaying ever since we’d opened the store. “Do you think whoever is doing this is finished, or do you think that he’s only just gotten started?”
Tara bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. I hope he or she or whoever is doing this is finished doing whatever they feel needs to be done.”
“Let’s just go with the generic ‘he’ for now,” I suggested in an attempt to simplify things. “I know we don’t know if the vandal is a he or she, but saying he or she every time feels cumbersome.”
“Okay, then, I hope he is done doing whatever it is he feels he needs to do. We are lucky there haven’t been more deaths. If this guy continues wreaking havoc on the town, who knows who might end up getting in his way?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I still can’t believe Tom is gone. He gave so much to this town. In my mind, Tom is the reason we even had the Santa House. He was playing the role of the jolly man in red for decades.”
Tara let out a slow breath. “Yeah. What happened to Tom wasn’t fair. We need to figure out who did it.” She looked at my still-unnamed cat, who I’d brought into the bookstore with me today. “Have you had a chance to meet with Tansy?”
I shook my head. “She didn’t answer when I called, but there was a note on the door of Herbalities letting everyone know that she and Bella were on a retreat. The note indicated they’d be back today, so I’m hoping I’ll catch them either at the store or at home later.”
Herbalities was the store Bella and Tansy owned together. In addition to medicinal herbs, they sold creams and lotions and offered fortune-telling services. They had never admitted to actually being witches, but based on what I’d observed over the years, there was no doubt in my mind that they were the real deal.
Tara picked up the empty box she’d been unpacking, crushed it, and headed into the backroom with it. A few minutes later, she emerged with a box of mugs, which she set out on the display table. Coffee Cat Books was best known for its coffee and specialty beverages, which could be sipped while our customers hung out with the cats in the cat lounge, but we did a pretty good business selling books and novelty items as well.
“The town is hosting a holiday craft fair this weekend, and of course the following weekend is the big Christmas on the Island event. I wonder if we should cancel at least this weekend’s event until someone can get a handle on what’s going on,” Tara said.
“It would be up to the event committee to cancel the craft fair, and I don’t see them doing that. The event is being held in the community center. That’s just one building to protect. I’m sure Finn is all over getting extra security set up for the weekend.”
“I guess it would be sort of hard for someone to sabotage the event now that everyone is watching for it. But the Santa House burned to the ground right there in the middle of town while dozens of people milled around.”
“The small explosion that ignited the fire must have been set up on a timer,” I suggested.
“Do you know that for certain?” Tara asked.
“No. I’ll stop by to talk to Finn after I walk down to Herbalities to see if our resident witches have returned. Do you want me to bring us some lunch?”
“Maybe a sandwich from the Driftwood. If you do talk to Finn, you might ask him about the food vendors who have been hanging out in the park and near the ferry terminal all month. While it might be hard to sabotage the community center with all the extra security, Finn can’t hire security guards to protect everyone selling hot cocoa or roasted chestnuts.”
I set the small Santa House Tara had ordered for our village in the middle of the miniature town square after I’d unpacked it. My heart squeezed in protest as I thought of Tom once again. If there was a Grinch out there trying to ruin Christmas, I was going to find and stop him before anyone else got hurt.
Once Tara and I had finished unpacking the delivery we’d received that morning, I pulled on my coat, hat, and gloves and headed down the street. I hoped that Bella and Tansy would be back. I suspected the cat who’d shared my nap was a Tansy cat, but until she confirmed that or he did something simply amazing, I had no way of knowing that for certain.
When I arrived at the store, I found the door unlocked, so I let myself in. The shop looked to be empty, so I called out, “Tansy. It’s Cait.”
“Cait,” Tansy said, gliding down the stairs from the overhead storage area. “I’ve been expecting you. Did Jingles find you okay?”
“I assume Jingles is the cat who shared my nap yesterday?”
She just smiled.
“I guess you’ve heard what’s been going on during the course of the past twenty-four hours.”
“Of course, dear. Come in. We’ll chat for a minute before you have to leave to meet up with Jingles down at the marina.”
I frowned. “I left Jingles at Coffee Cat Books.”
“Where he is safely sleeping. For now.”
“Do you know who killed Tom?” I asked.
“The truth is not mine to find. Trust your instincts and trust Jingles to help you navigate the twists and turns on the road toward the truth you seek.”
Twists and turns. Great. Why was it that the road to truth was never just a straight shot? “Is there anything at all you can tell me about Tom’s death? Anything that will help me narrow in on the person who did it?”
“I sense pain. Deep, abiding pain that is so overwhelming as to pierce the veil of reality. Find the source of that pain, and you will find the individual you are looking for.”
Leave it to Tansy to be vague. “Will there be other victims? Is there something I can do to prevent others from dying?”
Tansy paused. Eventually, she spoke again. “There will be distractions along the way. Other paths that you might be tempted to choose. But these paths will only serve to take you away from the killer you seek.” Tansy took me by the hand and led me to the door. “Hurry now. There is one thing you must do before your journey begins.”
Before my journey began? That sounded time-consuming, and I already had so much on my plate. Not that I had a choice. If Jingles and I were destined to find Tom’s killer, that was exactly what I was going to do.
I hurried back down the sidewalk toward the marina. Tansy had said that Jingles would meet me there. I guess I had to assume that she knew what she was talking about. I’d just turned the corner where the main thoroughfare lining the downtown section of Pelican Bay met the wharf when I saw the smoke. “Oh, no.” I took off at a run. The marina was mostly empty at this time of the year, but there were still a few diehard fishermen who kept their boats at the dock year-round. The smoke was coming from the boat belonging to Chappy Longwood, an old, weathered fishing captain who’d worked the waters surrounding Madrona Island since before my brothers were born. Chappy’d been a regular at O’Malley’s since there’d been an O’Malley’s, and my brothers gave him lunch every day on the house, so I hoped he was at the bar and not on his boat.
I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Finn’s number.
“Cait,” Finn answered.
“Chappy’s boat is on fire. I’m on my way to see if he’s there. Call the fire department. Hurry.”
As I ran down the wharf past Coffee
Cat Books, I noticed Jingles just up ahead. I ran faster. The fire looked small at this point, so I figured if Chappy was on board, I had a good chance of getting to him before it was too late. Chappy had adopted Cosmo, one of the magical cats I’d worked with previously. I hoped he was okay as well.
When I arrived at the boat, I didn’t even stop to think; I boarded and looked around. Neither Chappy nor Cosmo seemed to be on board, so I found a hose and began siphoning water from the sea to extinguish the small fire someone had set on the deck of the old boat. It didn’t take long to extinguish the pile of objects someone had decided to burn. The pile included an old Christmas stocking, a wooden Santa statue, and a box of assorted tree ornaments. It wasn’t a lot, but I was willing to bet it was all the ornaments Chappy had. I was also willing to bet they meant a lot to him.
I could hear sirens in the distance as I pulled out my phone and called Danny. “Are you at O’Malley’s?”
“I am.”
“Is Chappy there?”
“He is.”
“Is Cosmo with him?”
“He is. What’s with all the questions?”
“There’s been another fire. It was on Chappy’s boat. I got there shortly after it was ignited and managed to get it put out before it did any real damage.” I looked down at the smoldering Christmas decorations. “Finn just pulled up. Don’t let Chappy come back to the marina on his own. I don’t want to give the guy a heart attack.”
“I’ll come with him. Is the boat still livable?”
“Yeah. The fire was actually confined to a small pile of his belongings. I don’t think there is any damage to the boat itself. After what happened at the Santa House, Finn is going to want to take a look around to make sure there aren’t any additional charges set to go off, so you might want to stall. Let Chappy finish his lunch and then tell him.”
“Okay.” I heard Danny blow out a breath. “If you are still on that boat, get off. Like you just said, we don’t know if the fire you extinguished was the only charge that was set or if there is a much larger kaboom just waiting to happen.”
Chapter 3
Chappy showed up with Danny by the time Finn had confirmed that there were no additional explosives on the boat and it was safe to board. I felt so bad for the poor guy. He didn’t have much, and I knew he really cherished what he did have. Finn didn’t want Chappy staying on the boat until the guys from the crime lab could go through it with a fine-tooth comb, so Aiden, who had a much larger apartment than Danny’s tiny place over the bar, offered to let him and Cosmo stay with him. I really did have the best brothers! Of course, my sisters were pretty awesome as well.
“What time is Cody coming back to the island?” Danny asked after we’d all been told we were free to go.
“He’s coming on the last ferry.”
“Maybe we should get together later to try to figure out a strategy. I know that Finn is all over this, but you are the one with the magical cat.”
Danny had a point. One of the reasons the gang tended to get involved in Finn’s cases was because he didn’t have any full-time help on the island, and as Danny said, I did usually have a magical cat who, if history served, would probably be the one to provide the clue we needed to figure out what had happened.
“It’s gotten harder to meet now that you have the bar, Siobhan and Finn have Connor, and Cody and I have Sammy, at least temporarily,” I said.
“Aiden can cover the bar. I covered lunch, and this will be a weeknight in the off-season. Maggie and Michael are at Finn and Siobhan’s, so maybe they would be willing to watch Connor. We can meet at your cabin, and you can put Sammy to bed.”
“I suppose that will work. As long as Maggie and Michael don’t have plans. I’ll check with Siobhan and call you to let you know if our plan works for them. I’ll invite Tara and Cassie as well. I assume you’ll bring the beer.”
Danny nodded.
“Okay. I’ll stop by to pick up a few pizzas, and I’ll text Cody to let him know what we are doing.” I thought about my cozy little cabin, where so many of the Scooby meetings had been held. I was really going to miss it once the move was complete and I turned the keys over to Cassie. When Cody asked me to marry him, I’d really wanted to, but I wasn’t sure I’d been ready for all the changes that came along with the change in marital status.
After speaking to both Finn and Chappy, I picked up Jingles and headed back to the bookstore. The cat lounge was empty today because I’d found homes for every single feline entrusted to my care other than those that were truly unadoptable, so I let Jingles nap on the sofa in the otherwise empty lounge.
“I miss the cats,” Tara said.
“I’m going to pick up a vanload from the kill shelter in Seattle this weekend. I was going to do it this week, but somehow it didn’t work out.”
“How many permanent residents do you currently have at the sanctuary?” she asked.
“Eight. They are happy and comfortable, but they are still aggressive to most humans and to other small animals, so I don’t think they are ever going to be suitable for permanent homes. There was a time when we couldn’t keep up with the influx of cats brought to us, but things have changed, and we actually have very few drop-offs now.”
The Harthaven Cat Sanctuary had initially been the brainchild of my Aunt Maggie when she’d lived on Madrona Island. Our mayor at the time had made it his personal mission to free the island of our feral cat population, and had made it legal to get rid of the cats by any means possible, including extermination. Maggie wanted to create a space where the cats could safely and comfortably live out their lives, so she’d used her own money to build the sanctuary. Now that Mayor Bradley was gone and Siobhan was mayor, it was no longer legal to kill cats. Most of the island’s residents simply let them be unless they became a real problem, so the number of cats dropped off at our doorstep had decreased dramatically.
Maggie had left the island after marrying the love of her life, so Siobhan, Cassie, and I took care of the cats. We could continue to take care of our permanent residents until they passed of natural causes and then shut the place down, but all three of us felt that what we did was important, and I did have this nifty cat lounge, which helped us place the cats entrusted to us, so when things got slow I went to the mainland and imported cats in need of rescue.
“It seems like your Christmas kitty is the lazy sort,” Tara commented.
“He does seem to enjoy napping.”
“I guess he feels that he deserves a nap after saving the day.”
I frowned. “Maybe, although I’m not so sure he saved the day. Tansy told me about the fire. Well, that isn’t exactly true, but she did point me to the marina. It occurred to me that given the fact that the cat didn’t actually lead me to the fire, maybe there was another reason for him being there, so once I put the fire out and turned things over to Finn, I watched him to see what he would do.”
“And…?”
“And he led me to this mistletoe. It was left on a table.”
“Maybe it was Chappy’s,” Tara suggested.
“I asked him, and he said it wasn’t. The cat was pawing at it, which makes it seem important. I have no idea why the person who set the fire on the boat would leave mistletoe behind, especially if he was expecting the boat to burn, but I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t exactly what he did.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe the mistletoe is some sort of signature.”
“What good is leaving a signature if it would have burned up along with the boat?”
Tara was right. Leaving something behind made no sense. Still, I had a feeling that that was exactly what the guy had done. “I wonder if anyone noticed mistletoe at the scenes of the vandalism that didn’t result in complete destruction.”
“I suppose you could ask Finn.”
The big tree in the park had been cut down, the reindeer that had been hung to span Main Street had been shot down, and the manger scene in front
of Saint Pat’s had been vandalized. If the vandal had left something behind at those scenes, perhaps the item left behind had survived.
“I never did stop by to speak to him or to pick up our lunch. I’ll go now. By the way, Danny and I discussed having a Scooby meeting tonight after Cody gets back. He said Aiden would handle the bar. Are you in?”
“Always.”
“I’ll call Siobhan to check with her, but if Maggie and Michael can watch Connor, we’ll have it at the cabin. Danny is bringing beer, and I’ll grab a few pizzas.”
The local sheriff’s office where Finn kept his desk was just a few doors down from the Driftwood Café. I figured I’d stop by to chat with him if he was back from the incident at the boat, and then grab the sandwiches. If he wasn’t back in his office yet, I supposed I could wait to speak to him that evening, provided he was able to come to our sleuthing meeting, which he wasn’t always able to do.
“Oh good, you’re here,” I said as I walked in through the front door.
“I’m actually on my way out. What’s up?”
“First of all, there is a Scooby meeting tonight at my place: six o’clock, beer and pizza provided. Second of all, did you find mistletoe at the scene of any of the vandalisms?”
Finn looked surprised. “You know, we did. Both Mary and Joseph were holding mistletoe when I responded to the vandalism of the manger at Saint Patrick’s, and there was a pile of mistletoe on the stump where the Christmas tree in the park once stood.”
“And the reindeer that were shot down?”
“I didn’t notice mistletoe there, but I wasn’t specifically looking for it. Why do you ask?”
I held up the mistletoe Jingles found on the boat. “This was on Chappy’s boat. If the boat had burned, as it was supposed to, the mistletoe would have burned as well, but it didn’t, so it was there to find.”
“Why would whoever is doing all this leave mistletoe behind?” Finn asked.
“I don’t know. It seems ritualistic. I would say that whoever is doing this wants the mistletoe found as some sort of a signature, but with both the Santa House and Chappy’s boat, the person shouldn’t have had any expectation that it would survive the fires.”
