by Lyndsey Cole
The kitchen door squeaked behind Annie.
“I’m in a bit of a mess, don’t you think?”
Annie twirled around. “Danny, you startled me.”
“Sorry.” He shuffled in place and looked at the floor.
“Chin up, we’ll sort everything out. Does Leona know you’re up?”
“No. I heard you talking to Roxy and decided to come in here first.” He shrugged. “Do you think you really can help me get out of this mess? I know it looks bad since I was talking to my mother and a few people walked by. I’m sure someone will remember seeing me with her.”
“What did you and Heather talk about when you found her on the Lake Trail?” Annie wanted to hear all the details. It was too easy to overlook something, and even one tiny bit of information could turn out to be a key clue.
Danny shrugged. “Not much. She was surprised I showed up. She said she really messed up on this visit and had to leave town. She gave me her red bag and said she hoped I could straighten out her mess. That’s about it.”
“Did you ask her what she meant about messing up?”
“Yeah. She said I’d understand when I looked in the bag. She said she was waiting for someone else and didn’t want me around when that person showed up. She turned her attention back to the lake and that was that.”
“You left?”
“Yeah. Now I wish I hadn’t, but at the time I was too upset about how she brushed me off . . . like a few stray snowflakes. If I’d known . . .”
“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen, Danny.” Annie softened her voice, stopping Danny from finishing his thought. “Don’t let yourself go down that what-if scenario since there’s no going back to choose a different path.”
“I know, but . . .”
Annie walked to Danny and wrapped her hands around both of his arms. “No ifs, ands, or buts . . . okay?”
He nodded. “Thanks, Annie. That’s why I knew I needed to talk to you first.”
“Okay then. Let’s go in with the others now and enjoy the fire and some food. After that, we’ll have to dig into Heather’s bag and try to figure out what she did while she was in Catfish Cove for the last couple of days. Recreate where she went, who she saw, and who she got on the wrong side of. Are you ready?”
Danny gave Annie a half-grin. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Annie pushed through the swinging door. Roxy scooted through first. “Guess who dragged himself out of bed?” Annie announced as she led Danny into the living room.
Five pairs of eyes turned and everyone smiled. Leona fluttered to Danny’s side and took his hand as if he was a fragile baked soufflé ready to collapse. “You must be starving.” She led him to the side table and pointed to what she knew Danny would love the most. “I made your favorite cranberry orange meatballs.” She scooped out a big spoonful and dumped them on a Christmas plate. “It looks like no one else has tried any.” She turned and scowled. “No one likes these meatballs besides Danny?”
“Too many choices, Leona,” Annie said. “I’ll try one now.” She stuck her plate next to the crockpot and Leona dumped on a spoonful.
“Anyone else?” She raised her eyebrows. “You’re off the hook, Jason, since you’re a vegetarian, but no dessert for the rest of you if I have any leftovers.”
“Oh come on, Leona,” Mia protested. “You made enough food for the whole town and there are only seven of us, six if you don’t count Jason.”
Danny added another scoop to his plate. “Don’t push them, Leona. It means more for me, and your meatballs are even better as leftovers.”
Leona rolled her eyes. “Okay, I guess.”
While Danny ate two plates of meatballs and an assortment of the other tidbits, Annie helped herself to the top of the chocolate covered strawberry tree.
“Anyone else want any of these before I eat them all?”
Camilla, Martha, and Mia helped themselves.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Leona said. “I’ve got a batch of my eggnog in the refrigerator.” Before she pushed through the swinging door, she added, “I made it full strength, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I think it’s exactly what we all need tonight,” Danny said as he stared at Heather’s red bag. “At least, it’s what I need.”
Annie brought in seven crystal glasses from Leona’s buffet from the dining room. “This is a special occasion, so we need special glasses,” she said as she placed the glasses on the side table next to the pitcher of eggnog. She filled each glass and handed them out.
Jason raised his glass. “I want to make a toast. To Leona and Danny on this wonderful new adventure they’ve started. To a full house every night at the Blackbird Bed and Breakfast, and to satisfied guests.”
Everyone raised their glasses.
“Wait. Don’t drink yet.” Danny put one arm around Leona and held up his own glass. “I’d like to add,” he paused and looked at each person in the room, “you’re all invited to our wedding on Christmas Eve.”
Squeals from Camilla drowned out the congratulations from everyone else.
“That won’t give us enough time to do it right,” Camilla complained. She ticked off a to-do list on her fingers. “We only have two full days to find a wedding dress, send out invitations, prepare food, bake a cake, order flowers, decide on the music . . . what am I forgetting?”
“Don’t worry about any of that stuff,” Leona said. “We only want the five of you to come, so you all just got your invitation. I’ll do the cooking—a sit-down dinner and the cake. I already put my flower order in at The Enchanted Florist, and I found a beautiful antique wedding dress at Gently Used Boutique.” She rubbed her cheek with her left hand.
“Oh, Leona, that ring is gorgeous,” Camilla shrieked.
Leona smiled and looked at Camilla. “Thanks to you—the best jeweler around.”
“The only one,” Camilla added.
“That’s beside the point. It’s exactly what I imagined. You’re so talented,” Leona said.
“It took me a while to decide on the design for your ring, but at least I managed to get it right,” Danny said with a sheepish grin on his face.
Glasses clinked around the room. When the first round of eggnog disappeared, more was poured to refill the glasses.
Annie sat on the couch, enjoying her eggnog as everyone chatted and took turns congratulating Leona and Danny. She was so happy they finally made up their minds and set a date for their wedding . . . but the cloud that hung over Danny had to be cleared away. As quickly as possible.
As much as she wished they could all continue to bask in the glow of the fire and the warmth from the eggnog for the rest of the night, Heather’s red bag sat like an uninvited and extremely unwanted guest.
Annie unzipped the bag.
10
The zipper sound ripped through the living room, ending all conversation and bringing all eyes to Annie.
The merriment crashed to a halt.
“I guess it’s time,” Danny said.
Leona tipped her head back and drained the rest of her eggnog. “I’m getting another pitcher of this stuff before we take one item out of that bag.”
Jason pulled chairs closer to the coffee table so everyone could sit nearby. If they wanted to.
Mia and Martha quickly stacked the dirty dishes and carted them to the kitchen.
Annie set a small notebook and pen on the table. “Before we start, I have a question for you, Danny. Can you remember any quirks your mother had, or habits? Give us a sense of who she was.”
Danny sat on a wooden rocking chair near the end of the table. He stroked his chin and gazed into space. “She was always very deliberate when following a schedule.”
“Okay.” Annie wrote on a blank sheet in her notebook.
“And when serving food, she would always serve the items alphabetically. A meal she made a lot was, beans, meatloaf, and potatoes. We couldn’t have more m
eatloaf unless we finished our beans.”
Leona returned with more eggnog and topped off the glasses before she sat next to Danny. “Did I miss anything?”
Danny looked at Leona. “I told them about Heather’s alphabet obsession.”
Leona nodded. “Yeah, that’s weird, but I’ve convinced Danny it’s okay to have dessert before breakfast sometimes just for the fun of breaking that old pattern.”
“Anything else?” Annie prompted.
“She was still wearing her diamond necklace that my father gave her.” Danny’s eyes got a little misty before he continued. “And she had a thing for the color red. If any of you saw her around town, you could see that in her hair color. It made her stand out and she liked that, too. She always wanted to be the center of attention and she never, ever took advice from anyone.” He shrugged. “I was used to her odd behavior until I went away and realized that wasn’t normal for most people.”
Leona slid her hand under Danny’s and laced her fingers with his. “At least you turned out just fine,” she said in a tender voice.
“You’ve helped me with that, Leona.” Danny ran his fingers through his hair. “She was still wearing her favorite necklace, too. Do you think Detective Crank will return it to me?”
“I think so.” Annie put her hand on the top of the bag. “Let’s see what Heather stuffed in this monstrosity.” The first item that came out was a multi colored, but predominantly red, silk scarf.
Mia took the notebook from Annie. “I’ll make a list of everything.”
“Good. After, we can try to see if there’s some kind of pattern or connections between the items.” Annie reached in and grabbed a tattered copy of a mystery novel.
“Oh, that reminds me,” Danny said, “she loved mysteries and imagined herself as the main character in a best seller. Of course, no one thought her life was as interesting as she saw it.”
“Until now,” Leona said. “Maybe she got what she always wished for.”
The next item was a pair of red wool gloves with a price tag from Gently Used Boutique still attached. Annie showed the tag to Danny. “Is this your mother’s handwriting?”
“For Leona,” he read. “I guess so. She always did these big flourishes on the last letter of a word.” Danny looked at Leona. “She must have been planning to give this to you.”
“Pass on her love of red, which is so not my color.” Leona fluffed her hair. “Red clashes with my natural strawberry blonde color.”
Annie put the gloves on the table. “This is probably something Heather stole. Olive Morgan, the owner of Gently Used Boutique, said Heather walked out without paying for a number of items, maybe even wearing some that she stole. I can’t imagine all the clothes are in this bag so she might still be wearing the rest.”
“Eww,” Camilla said. “Do you think blood would be on those clothes? Olive won’t want that stuff back.”
“You’re right, but she’ll want to be reimbursed for them,” Danny said. “I plan to return or pay for all the stuff she stole. I don’t want shop owners in town to think I’m like her—a thief.”
“No one will think that about you, Danny,” Leona said. “You are the most honest person I know.”
“That’s why I’m worried about talking to Detective Crank. Once I tell her when I spoke with my mother, and how she brushed me off, and I have this bag of her stuff . . .” He lowered his head onto his upturned hands. “What will she think?”
“That’s why we’re sorting through her bag, Danny. There has to be something in here that will point to her murderer.” Annie said this with great confidence to ease his fears even though, inside, she wasn’t sure they’d find anything at all. She reached into the bag and pulled out a small box from Sweet Bites.
“Chocolates?” Leona gasped. “She stole chocolates?”
“She loved anything chocolate,” Danny said. “I’m surprised how much I’ve forgotten about my own mother until I see these items.”
Jason walked to the fireplace and placed another log on the embers. “Nothing you’ve pulled out of that bag so far is worth much, Annie. Do you actually think there’s something in there that will lead to Heather’s killer?”
Annie reached into the bag. “There’s only one way to find out.” She pulled out a handful of scraps of papers. “Let’s look at these later.” She handed them to her mother to add to the notebook. “Here’s a bag of something.” She held up a paper bag with the top twisted and rolled down tightly. She handed it to Leona.
Leona shook the bag and it clinked. “Sounds like money in here.” After unrolling the top of the bag, she dumped the contents on the table—a few dollar bills and quarters spilled out. “I bet this is all the tips she stole from the Kozy Koffee Stop."
“Well, Brian showed up here during the open house and I gave him fifty dollars so I guess this is my money.”
Leona scooped up the dollars and quarters and dumped them all back in the bag, adding it to the other items on the table.
Annie fished around in Heather’s bag some more. “There’s not much left in here.” She pulled out a beautiful beaded clutch bag with a tag from Gently Used Boutique.
Camilla grabbed the bag out of Annie’s hand. “This is gorgeous. She flipped the tag over. Not for sale. Darn. It says it’s an imitation beaded clutch,” Camilla read from the tag. “I’d pay Olive for this item. I love this old stuff.” She studied the bead work. “This is incredible work.”
A loud knocking on the Blackbird’s front door brought the conversation to a halt. Annie checked her watch. “It’s almost nine. Are you expecting guests tonight, Leona?” Annie asked, nervously looking toward the front door. She had a sudden suspicion who might be knocking and she hoped she was wrong.
“No. We aren’t going to open for business until after Christmas. With our wedding on Christmas Eve, we’ve decided our honeymoon will be right here at our own private bed and breakfast.”
Danny nodded in agreement. “I’ll go see who’s at the door.”
The knocking started again . . . louder.
Annie jumped up. “Wait a minute, Danny.” Annie rushed after Danny hoping to beat him to the door.
Just as she reached out to stop him, his hand pulled the door open.
“Well, I’m so glad to finally bump into you, Mr. Davis. Mind if I come in?” Detective Christy Crank blew into her cupped hands as she waited. “Oh, Ms. Hunter, what a surprise to find you here, too.”
Danny stepped to one side. “Come in, Detective Crank. We were just celebrating.”
A crease formed between Christy’s eyebrows. “Celebrating? The death of your mother?”
“No,” Annie stepped between them. “You’ve got it all wrong. Danny and Leona just announced their wedding plans.”
“Oh . . . interesting timing.” Christy stepped inside and pulled the door closed behind her. “I’d love to hear all about it.”
Annie scowled. “I’m sure that’s not why you’re here. As a matter of fact, Danny was showing us what his mother gave him this morning.”
Christy smiled and looked at Danny.
“Yes,” Annie rambled on, unable to stop the words from falling out of her mouth. “Heather asked him to take care of some, um, problems for her.”
Christy crossed her arms over her chest and leaned next to the door. One eyebrow twitched up. “Go on.”
Danny sighed. “My mother gave me her red hobo bag. I understand she stole some items from local businesses and I intend to return them. It’s really not any more complicated than that.”
“I guess I’ll be the judge of what is or isn’t complicated, Danny. Where is this bag? I’d like to see what items we are talking about.”
“In the living room. I don’t have anything to hide.”
“I’m glad to hear that, seeing as I’ve been hunting everywhere for you today and it seemed exactly like you were hiding from me.”
Danny led the way into the cozy living room. The warmth vanished as soon as Christy passe
d the threshold. Conversation trickled to a stop. All the smiling faces turned serious.
“Hello, everyone. Don’t let me spoil your festivities.” Her eyes zoomed to the almost empty pitcher of eggnog. “Oh, my favorite. Mind if I have a small,” she held up her thumb and first finger about an inch apart, “sip of the eggnog?”
No one moved.
Annie looked at the coffee table with all of Heather’s items neatly folded and lined up. Everything except the beaded clutch. She looked at Camilla who responded with a slight shrug and tip of her head.
“I’ll get a glass,” Mia finally said.
“Good. For a minute, I thought you’d all lost the ability to speak.” She crossed the room and stopped next to the red hobo bag. “Is this the bag, Danny?”
“Yes.”
Mia returned and drained the last of the eggnog from the pitcher into the glass. “Here you go.” She handed the glass to Christy.
Christy sat on the couch and sipped the eggnog. “Delicious.” She raised her glass. “I hear congratulations are in order, Leona. To you and Danny.”
Annie caught the surprised glance Leona sent her way. Why wasn’t anyone talking? It made them all seem guilty of something.
Trying to ease the tension in the room, Annie said, “There is still some of Leona’s delicious food left. Do you want a plate?”
“Oh, that would be very nice.” Christy settled back in the couch as if she was a late arriving guest planning to stay all night and enjoy the good company and delicious refreshments.
Jason added a log to the fire.
Camilla followed Annie to the side table and picked up a plate. “I haven’t had any strawberries yet,” she said. In a low whisper, she added, “I hid the beaded clutch when I heard Christy’s voice. I couldn’t bear to part with it.”
“Make a plate for Detective Crank, too,” Annie said to Camilla before she lowered her voice and directed her response so only Camilla could hear. “Good.”
