Merry Buried Christmas

by Lyndsey Cole

  “A gun was underneath.” Leona’s voice was barely audible. “I’m worried it’s the murder weapon; that someone planted it there when Danny was out today. Annie, remember how Randy said we should leave this murder stuff alone or trouble might find us?”

  Annie nodded.

  Jason looked at Annie, his jaw tensed, and worry etched his expression.

  “I think trouble has found us and I don’t know what to do about it.” Leona chewed her lower lip nervously.

  “Did you touch the gun, Leona?” Annie asked. Her voice was calm but her brain was about to explode.

  “No. But it’s still in my car.”

  “If someone planted it, they probably want it to be found. Maybe they’ll call the police anonymously and tell them where to look for it. We’ve got to get rid of it.” Annie pushed her chair back from the table. Before she had time to stand, a loud knock sounded at the door.

  Five pairs of eyes moved as one to the door.

  Roxy jumped off the couch and barked furiously. The two cats scattered up the stairs.

  Blue lights flashed outside in a strobe effect.

  “This is bad,” Annie said, more to herself than anyone in the room. Her mind swirled with possibilities. None were good.

  Jason walked to the door and pulled it open. Slowly. “Good evening, Detective Crank.” His voice hissed out as cold as ice.

  18

  Detective Christy Crank smiled at Jason . . . if a slight mouth twitch counted as a smile. Her eyes remained hard as she quickly scanned the room. “Ah, there you are, Leona. Danny told me I’d find you here.”

  Annie put her hand on Leona’s arm sensing she might be tense and ready to pounce at Christy. “We’re in the middle of dinner. Leona could stop at the police station in the morning if you need to talk to her.”

  “That won’t be necessary.” Christy walked to Leona and handed her a piece of paper. “A warrant to search your car.”

  “My car? Whatever for?” Leona’s eyebrows scrunched together.

  “Enjoy your dinner, everyone,” Detective Crank said, ignoring Leona’s question. She turned around and walked outside.

  “I’m going out there, too.” Annie leaped up from the table.

  “That will only annoy Christy,” Jason said.

  She shoved her feet into her boots, grabbing her jacket with one hand as the other reached for the doorknob. “I really couldn’t care one bit. I’m suddenly in need of some fresh air. This is our house and our property and I have every right to stand outside if I want to.”

  Leona followed right behind Annie. “I’m with you. I want to know exactly what they find and what they say.”

  There was no doubt that everyone in the room knew that Christy would find the gun. What they didn’t know was who it belonged to or how it ended up in her car.

  It was only a few minutes after Detective Crank returned outside that Annie and Leona stood in the cold air watching the activity.

  They inched closer and closer until Detective Crank barked at them to stay out of the way. They stopped. Annie felt the hairs in her nose freeze when she breathed the cold air in. It was invigorating and helped to cool off the adrenaline rush.

  “There’s something,” Christy’s partner said, pointing to the floor behind the driver seat.

  Detective Crank bent down and, with a gloved hand, she lifted a gun off the floor. She turned toward Leona. “Is this yours?”

  Leona shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”

  Annie was impressed with Leona’s voice. It was hard to lie without letting any tremble or pause creep into the words. Leona’s voice was strong and sharp. Maybe even a bit too defiant.

  Detective Crank slid the gun into an evidence bag. She approached Leona. “Is it Danny’s?”

  “No. Danny is not a gun person.”

  Detective Crank cocked her head. “And yet, it’s in your car.”

  “That is puzzling,” Annie said. “Did someone tip you off? Maybe that’s the person who put it there. Did you consider that? Randy Berry threatened us today. Have you looked carefully at his gun collection?”

  Detective Crank scowled. “He threatened you? How come you didn’t report it?”

  Annie shrugged. “I thought he was full of hot air, but now . . .” She let her words trail off so Christy could fill in the blank herself.

  “He has an alibi for the time of the murder,” Christy added.

  “So he says.”

  “You seem to know an awful lot, Annie.” Christy lowered her voice and stepped closer. “What other bits of information have you uncovered while you annoyed people in town with your questions?”

  Annie clenched her jaw and refused to let Christy taunt her into saying something she would regret. She made a calculated decision as Christy let the bag with the gun swing between her thumb and forefinger. If she told her what she’d heard, maybe Christy would take the pressure off Danny. With the pressure off Danny, Leona could focus on her wedding. A win-win for everyone.

  “Do you want to come inside?” Annie watched Christy’s face. There was a slight spasm in the muscles next to her eyes. Christy was doing some calculating, too.

  “Okay. I’ll finish up out here and get this commotion out of your driveway. I could use a hot cup of coffee when I get inside to take the chill off. Is that too much to ask for?”

  Annie nodded agreeably. It wouldn’t kill her to be accommodating. A happy Christy made for a better possible outcome for Leona and Danny.

  Annie and Leona retreated back inside where anxious faces waited for an update.

  “She has the gun. Not that any of us could have had a second of a doubt that she’d find it. But,” Annie looked at Leona, “Leona handled the gun ownership questions well.” Annie hooked her jacket over a hook on the coat rack. “Christy is coming in for coffee.”

  Leona went directly to the coffee machine, measured the coffee, added the water, and flipped the switch on. “I may as well sweeten up her coffee with some Christmas cookies.” She looked around the room. “Does anyone mind sharing with the detective?”

  “Don’t go crazy and offer the best ones, Leona,” Camilla said as she examined the selection of beautifully decorated sugar cookies, molasses crinkles, cookie bars, and pretzel hugs. Camilla picked up one of the pretzel hugs. “Give her some of these.” She wrinkled her nose. “Who eats pretzels with chocolate?”

  “What are you talking about?” Leona protested. “The kids all love those hugs, and they’re super simple to make. They fly out of the café by the dozens.” She chose a couple of each type of cookie for the tray she had prepared with mugs, sugar, and cream. “Besides, Camilla, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you eat a whole cookie. You take a bite and hide the rest somewhere.”

  Camilla’s mouth dropped. “You noticed that? It’s not that I don’t love your baking, it’s just, um—”

  “You always count the calories,” Leona finished for her.

  “I guess you’re right.”

  The door opened and Detective Crank let herself in, shutting the door behind her with only a small puff of cold outside air following her inside. She patted her pink cheeks and kept her police parka on. With her nose upturned slightly, she sniffed the air. “Ahhh . . . just what I need.”

  Jason added wood to the fireplace which crackled and flamed pleasantly.

  Leona set her artfully arranged tray of cookies and coffee on the dining room table.

  Mia finished washing the last of the dinner dishes and Camilla bit the head off of a Santa sugar cookie.

  Annie poured coffee and handed a mug to Christy. “Is your team all done with Leona’s car?” She hoped that was enough of an opening to get Christy talking.

  “Yes. We’ll trace the gun and analyze it for fingerprints, and I have something else I’d like you to look at.” Christy pulled a Ziploc bag out of her pocket. “This was in Heather’s hobo bag. Do you recognize it, Leona?”

  Leona studied the contents of the bag. “It’s jewelry,
but it doesn’t look familiar to me.”

  “Jewelry?” Camilla moved closer. “Let me see that.” Christy handed the bag to Camilla.

  “I don’t believe it. This looks like the remnants of the necklace that was stolen from my shop yesterday. I called you about it. Whoever took it pried the opal and diamonds out. See?” She looked at Christy. “Only the gold chain is left.”

  Christy shrugged out of her bulky parka and sat at the table. “Something is going on between all the thefts and Heather’s murder and I need to be filled in on all the little details.” She picked up a pretzel hug. “Yum, my favorite.”

  Annie looked at Camilla who wrinkled her nose at Christy’s dessert choice.

  With Christy settled in with coffee and cookies, Annie made herself comfortable at the table, too. “I found out some interesting background on Heather.” She poured herself a cup of coffee and waited for Christy to bite.

  “Why was she in town, anyway?” Christy asked.

  Annie rested one elbow on the table. This was going to be more of a chess match with Christy than a quick game of checkers. “Well, according to Randy Berry, she came back to settle some scores.”

  It was obvious, when Christy choked on her mouthful of coffee, that this wasn’t the answer she was expecting. “What about your open house and seeing Danny?” the detective asked Leona.

  Annie shrugged, bringing Christy’s attention back to her. She certainly wasn’t going to tell Christy that Heather wasn’t planning to see Danny. That was a tidbit that was better left unsaid. No one else spoke as they waited for the next round in the conversation.

  Christy broke the silence. “Okay. What gossip did you hear about Heather?”

  Annie felt a spurt of anger at Christy’s attempt to goad her. She squashed it. “What I heard is from a reliable source and I don’t think it’s gossip.”

  “Okay. What did you hear?”

  Annie licked her lips. “Before I get to that, what about the items in Heather’s hobo bag? Did she steal them or pay for them?”

  “Olive, from Gently Used Boutique, claims Heather layered clothes under clothes in the dressing room and walked out without paying,” Christy said. “Without a receipt, I can’t verify one way or the other what actually happened.”

  “And since Olive prefers to be paid with cash, it makes it harder to trace purchases,” Annie mentioned.

  “She doesn’t take credit cards?” Christy asked, obviously shocked at that revelation. She pulled out her notebook and jotted down something.

  “Nope. What about any other businesses on Main Street reporting Heather stole from them?” Annie was feeling like she had the upper hand in this conversation with the detective, which was highly unusual.

  “Well, Brian at the Kozy Koffee Stop said Heather stole tips and didn’t pay for her meal. Again, without a receipt, I can’t verify that claim either.”

  “You need to talk to the waitress. She gave me a different version of tips. As a matter of fact, she said they are almost nonexistent,” Annie said, more than slightly annoyed that Christy didn’t figure this out on her own.

  “That’s no surprise,” Leona huffed. “The food is inedible.”

  “The waitress wasn’t there when I stopped by.” Christy jotted more in her notebook before she looked back at Annie. “What does all that have to do with your interesting background information?”

  “Everything.” Annie sat back in her chair. She hoped she had set the stage well enough to make Christy take her information with more than a grain of salt. “In a way, it doesn’t really matter if Heather stole that stuff or not, it’s the claim that she stole it that’s important.”

  Annie waited for that to sink in.

  “Heather, Brian, Olive, and Randy all knew each other when they were younger.” She leaned toward Christy. "I heard that Heather wasn’t exactly a model citizen, but what is important is that many years ago, Brian, with Randy standing by silently, gave her a hard time about her mothering skills. They bullied her. So, when she said she came back to settle some scores, it could mean she wanted to get even for how they treated her.”

  Christy was busy taking notes and remained silent, which Annie took as a good sign.

  “And another thing,” Annie added, “Heather threatened to call the Board of Health on the unsanitary conditions at Brian’s Kozy Koffee Stop.”

  This got Christy’s attention. She stopped writing and raised her eyebrows, making her tight ponytail bob up in the back.

  “I heard from a reliable friend that,” Annie leaned forward, “Olive and Heather used to be best friends.”

  “Used to be,” Christy repeated.

  “Right. Until they both fell for the same guy . . . Danny’s dad. So, what does that tell you?” Annie asked. She preferred Christy come to her own conclusion about this tidbit.

  “It tells me that Heather won that contest. Are you suggesting that Olive held a grudge for all those years, accused Heather of stealing clothes, and then murdered her over that and a love rivalry from the past?”

  “I’m suggesting that you need to ask some people in town a lot more questions and find out what really happened. Apparently, a lot of emotions surrounded Heather Davis’s visit and I don’t think it was in an I’m-so-happy-to-see-you kind of fuzzy-feeling way.” Annie sat back and crossed her arms.

  Now it was up to Detective Christy Crank to do her job and find some answers.

  19

  All the pent-up tension and moments of silence that surrounded Annie and Christy’s conversation burst free as soon as the door closed behind the detective.

  Questions flew at Annie from every direction.

  She held up her hands. “Okay. What’s first?”

  “Where did you get that information about Heather?” Leona asked.

  “I visited Thelma before dinner. She remembers everyone from when she was a teacher and followed their lives even beyond their schooldays. I think Heather stood out in her memory because of the bullying.”

  “That’s terrible. I wonder if Danny knows.”

  Annie shrugged. “But Thelma did say that whatever people think of Heather, she did something right because Danny turned out so well. She thought you’d agree with that, Leona.”

  Leona nodded. “Yeah. Good point. Maybe my idea of inviting her to the open house wasn’t so bad, it was the rest of it that turned into a disaster.”

  “So what now, Annie?” Jason asked.

  “I hope I redirected the detective enough to get her looking in the right direction for the killer and away from Danny.”

  “Brian or Olive?” Leona asked.

  “And don’t forget Randy. He dropped a lot of dirt about Heather when we were in the wagon with him, but as soon as Leona said we planned to keep digging, he made that threat. He was in town all day. Maybe he planted the gun in Leona’s car,” Annie suggested.

  “But why my car? That doesn’t make sense. I wasn’t in town the day Heather was murdered. Why try to send the police in my direction?”

  “Who was driving your car in town today?” Annie asked.

  “Danny.” Leona’s face fell.

  “Right. Someone saw him get out and jumped to the conclusion that it was his car, dropped the gun inside, and dusted their hands clean of the murder weapon.”

  “I guess that could be a possible explanation. But what about Camilla’s necklace chain from Heather’s hobo bag that Christy showed us? Is all of this connected?”

  “My poor necklace.” Camilla sobbed, a bit overdramatically, but she managed to pull herself together quickly and jabbed her finger in the air. “Hey, maybe the necklace and the beaded clutch are somehow connected.”

  “But where does Heather fit in with that?” Annie asked.

  Camilla shrugged. “She liked jewelry and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

  Leona stood and moved to stand in front of the fire. “Annie, remember how we heard Olive and Liz arguing when we were in the dressing room at Gently Used Boutiq
ue? Heather must have been in the dressing room too if she layered those clothes under her own clothes. Maybe she heard something then and used the information to try to blackmail Olive.”

  Annie paced across the living room. “That’s possible, or it could all be a coincidence . . . like Camilla said, Heather was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We have to back-track for a minute and follow the trail that Heather came to town to settle some scores. If Brian, with Randy as his silent partner, bullied her for years like Thelma remembers, what would she do to them?”

  “It was Randy’s idea to invite her to stay with him. Did he have an ulterior motive?” Leona asked.

  “He told us he got along with her until this visit. Why invite her just to stir up all those old issues?” Annie wondered.

  “When he talked to me about Heather, I think he expected her to be coming for the open house. Maybe he decided to extend her an invitation to keep her nearby so he could keep an eye on her,” Leona said.

  “But why would she agree to stay with Randy in the first place? Was it her only option?” Annie wondered.

  “Maybe it was her way to get close to Brian if he was the bigger tormentor. Stay at Randy’s house but look for Brian. As far as we know, she didn’t do anything to Randy except shun his advances, according to what Wade said. Or, maybe she just used Randy’s house as her base to get her revenge on the people in town that she still held a grudge against,” Leona said.

  “Okay. So, for the moment, let’s assume she had nothing against Randy. What was her plan for Brian?” Annie asked.

  “She went to his café and threatened to call the Board of Health. Maybe that was her way to settle an old score with him.” Leona drummed her fingers on the table. “That would certainly be some serious revenge for his past bullying.”

  “Which gave him a huge motive to kill her and stop her from making that phone call. I’d say Brian has the strongest motive at the moment. He came to the Black Cat Café to complain about her stealing tips which put him near the Lake Trail where she was waiting to meet someone. He could have followed her to her car in the parking lot.” Annie used utensils on the table to map out the scene and traced her finger from the Black Cat Café to the Lake Trail to Heather’s car.