Winter Festival Murder

by Linnea West

  Tilly giggled as I slurred my way through my teasing. We had gotten into our family's private living room where my parents were sitting. They had been watching television until I came in, but that went out the window as I loudly greeted my mother. She looked disapproving, but that may have been more because people saw me stumbling out of the Loony Bin. My father simply rolled his eyes. He had been a bit of a wild child in his youth, so while he didn't judge us when we went out to have a little fun, he didn't exactly like us stumbling back home.

  "I'm just going to get Tessa to bed before I go home to get my other children in bed," Tilly said.

  "You're such a great mom," I said, which was not just the alcohol talking. "Your kids are so amazing and it is because you are so amazing."

  Tilly pushed me into the bathroom with instructions to brush my teeth. She smiled as she did it, obviously still amused. I was glad she wasn't annoyed with me because I certainly wouldn't have the patience to deal with a drunk sibling. I suppose that having children had stretched her patience level.

  When I came out of the bathroom, I shuffled to my room to find my bed covers pulled back and my pajamas ready to be put on. Tilly was actually tidying my room, which seemed to be like a motherly compulsion she had picked up. She let me dress myself, sticking around to make sure I could get my pajamas on without tipping over onto my nightstand.

  As I climbed into bed, Tilly pulled the covers up to my chin and kissed my forehead. In that moment, I felt so much love pass from her lips that I couldn't help but smile. My broken heart was being healed slowly and things like this brought the wound together just a little bit more. I tried my hardest not to wonder if Max's broken heart was being healed the same way.

  I drifted off to sleep with visions of purple and yellow outerwear swirling around with visions of Peter and snow sculptures mixing in.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The junior high football field had been converted into a snowman building competition space. The city had used the snow they plowed on some of the streets to bring to the field to bump up the amount of snow that was available for all of the entrants.

  Clark and I pulled up to the parking lot and surveyed the scene. It was only lunchtime, so the children were all in school still. The field was filled with adults which seemed like a funny contradiction since it was a snowman competition, but the children would have their own competition on Saturday when they were out of school. Clark had been lucky enough to get a substitute teacher for the afternoon so that we could enter the competition.

  We sat in the car and plotted out where we wanted to make our sculpture. From the parking lot, we had an eagle eye view of the field where people were already starting to set up. There were ten more minutes until the competition actually started, which was just enough time to pick a spot and schlep all of our stuff out there.

  After a bit of a conference, we picked a spot out a little further from everyone else, but not too far away from the giant pile of extra snow. We would need to bring a lot of snow for what we were planning. In fact, we had a wheelbarrow in the back of the station wagon for just that purpose.

  Clark loaded the wheelbarrow with some buckets and things while I grabbed our bag of supplies. We had some red food coloring and spray bottles to make the temperature part of the thermometer we were making. I'm not sure what our snow sculpture would look like at the end, but I knew we would have some fun.

  As I walked through the competitive field, I saw so many people getting ready. Of course Ronald had staked off a large area for himself and he was shuffling around inside the enclosure. When he spotted me, he waved at me enthusiastically.

  "Hello Tessa," Ronald called. "I'm making a replica of downtown Shady Lake. I'll be excited to see what you and Clark come up with."

  "When the competition is over, we will have to come see," I said.

  Ronald smiled and continued to scurry around. I wasn't really sure how he wanted to get that done in the two hours allotted, but I'm sure he would do his best. I knew his grumpy wife Melinda wouldn't be helping, but I figured she was somewhere nearby. She didn't let Ronald get too far away from her during things like this. I just assumed she was sitting in their warm car up in the parking lot, scowling down at the masses.

  I looked around and saw Rich setting up his area. I gave a shy wave and he gave me a sad smile. I wondered if that meant Charlie was still being held by the police, but I didn't really want to ask him about it. Donna was also happily getting ready with the rest of the radio station crew. I tried to wave to her, but she didn't see me. I was glad to see her look so happy after how upset she had been last time I saw her.

  Clark had gone on ahead with the wheelbarrow and he was taking things out at the spot we had agreed on. We only had a few moments to spare, so we just took everything out and got our snow building gloves on our hands.

  After a minute, an air horn sounded and we started stacking snow together. Clark took the wheelbarrow to the giant snow pile while I worked on collecting the extra snow in our area and making the basic outline of the thermometer. We first needed a giant rectangle and then we would sculpt the thermometer shape out of the top of it.

  We spent the first hour just collecting snow and piling it up. We made a rectangle shape about the size of a loveseat, but only as high as our knees. The second hour, we used a little bit more snow to shape a thermometer shape on the top of the rectangle. Then I got some water and blended it with the red food coloring to spray the thermometer with. Since it was the Below Zero Festival, only the bulb of the thermometer would be colored red.

  Clark and I were working so hard that we hardly had any time to talk except for a few times when we stopped to quickly discuss what we were doing. I actually really enjoyed the fact that we were able to work well without speaking. I frequently doubted why Clark would choose me, but working so well together showed me why he may like me. Our personalities just seemed to mesh.

  My relationship with Clark was totally different from my relationship with Max. I'd known Max for so long that I already knew almost everything about him. I knew his quirks and likes and dislikes. If we had entered this competition together, we would have worked in an entirely different way.

  Clark was different. I had only known Clark for about a year now and I was still learning new things about him all the time. This competition was a great way for me to see Clark under pressure. I was so glad to see that we could work together without getting upset at each other. We even ended up with a pretty good snow sculpture despite the pressure of time.

  When there were only five minutes left, we set to tidying up our area. We covered any of the red dye that had gone in the wrong place. Clark gathered up our supplies while I carefully tried to write "Below Zero Festival" in the snow above the thermometer.

  The final air horn blast sounded and we stepped back, pleased with our work. We weren't supposed to stay by our sculptures because they wanted the judges to judge them somewhat blind, so Clark took my hand and we wandered around to see everyone's sculptures.

  Ronald's downtown had actually turned out well. It wasn't quite how I envisioned, but it was a few large rectangles of snow that he had carved into the Used-A-Bit, The Loony Bin, and some other downtown staples. It was simple, but it was obviously a bit of a love letter to Shady Lake. I could see Ronald strutting around, quite proud of his creation. I flashed him a thumbs up and a smile filled his face.

  We continued to stroll around. The radio station had done a large, old school record player. It was quite impressive, but there had also been an entire team of people working on it so of course they could get something larger done.

  There was also a snow dragon, an upside down snowman, a snow dog, a snow cat, a snow tiger, and a random assortment of plain old snowmen dressed up as various people. Clark and I had a good laugh when we spotted a snowman dressed in a sweater vest. Snow Ronald was looking pretty good, but I was glad to see they hadn't tried to make a Snow Melinda. That would have been a bit mean.

&nb
sp; I spotted Donna again and this time she saw me. I waved at her and she started to walk towards us. This was my chance to ask her a few more questions about the medallion hunt.

  "I'll be right back Clark," I said.

  Clark nodded and wandered off towards the coffee stand with his hands in his pockets. I knew he would come back with coffee for me also. Part of the reason I'm not sure I could pick between Clark and Max if I was forced to was because they were both just so caring, even though Max was mad at me right now.

  But I turned back to Donna, who was only a few feet away now. I needed to make this count.

  Chapter Twenty

  Donna's face was red from the cold, but it looked more like makeup than frostbite on her face. She smiled a wide smile and I found myself smiling back. After finding her crying in the Donut Hut the other morning, I was glad to see this total turn-around. Donna had the kind of expressive face that made you feel what she was feeling. Today, I couldn't help but feel her elation.

  "Tessa!" Donna said. "I just saw your sculpture. You and Clark did a fantastic job on it."

  "Oh thanks," I said. "I see the radio station has gone all out on their entry."

  "We thought it would be fun," she said. "I was just glad to have something to focus my attention on."

  I grabbed Donna's sleeve and pulled her away from the crowd. We walked slowly and close together.

  "I'm glad to see you feeling better," I said. "You were pretty upset the last time I saw you."

  "Well, you could say that," Donna said. "I heard this morning that the police were arresting Charlie for Gerald's murder. I'm just glad that this whole thing can be put behind us."

  I tried not to look surprised, but I hadn't heard that Charlie had been placed under arrest. I would have to talk to Max about that to make sure it was true. Charlie did seem like the obvious choice. He was really angry about Gerald and the medallion hunt, he had no alibi, and he did have those purple and yellow mittens. I still wasn't quite sure that he was the one who had done it, but I guess sometimes it is okay to put my trust in the Shady Lake police.

  "Donna, I hope you don't mind me asking you a somewhat personal question," I said.

  She looked at me for a second, her face squinched up like she was thinking about it. But after looking around and seeing that no one was in earshot or even paying any attention to us, she nodded her head. She seemed to know what I was going to ask before it even came out of my mouth.

  "Did you know Gerald pretty well?"

  "I've thought about what I would say about this," Donna said. She started kicking at the snow with her boots. I noticed that she wore large boots that must have been men's size. "And I'm not going to lie to you. Yes, I knew Gerald pretty well. He and I used to date, a while back. We kept it really on the down low while it was happening and it was over almost before it started."

  "And he is Bobby's father, right?" I asked.

  I held my breath, hoping I hadn't gone too far or been too presumptuous.

  "Yes, he was," Donna said quickly. "But don't tell anyone. We agreed not to say anything about it. He didn't ever really want to be a father and I wanted to be a mother more than anything, so I was okay with him not being involved. But he did say he would help us financially."

  We had now wandered over to a park bench. I sat down, glad I was wearing snow pants so that the cold of the bench wouldn't seep through my clothes. Donna sat down next to me.

  "But he didn't do that, did he?" I asked.

  "He did sometimes," Donna said. "But his head was always filled with dreams. Gerald was always more concerned with things like winning the medallion hunt than he was with holding down a steady job to help me out with his son."

  I wasn't sure what else I wanted to ask Donna. She had given me almost all of the information that I had wanted from her. We sat for a little while, silently watching everyone who was milling around the competition space. Everyone was bundled up so much that they looked like little marshmallow men running around. I tried to pick out Clark, but I couldn't find him. I hoped that he wasn't looking for me with that extra cup of coffee.

  "There have been some accusations of cheating on Gerald's part," I said. "Do you think that is something he would have done?"

  "Yes," Donna said quickly. "Yes, he would have cheated. For him, it was about winning by any means. He would just see that as part of his strategy. Gerald won so many years in a row that I think it is quite obvious that he must have been cheating."

  I really hadn't expected that. I figured Donna would have denied all of the accusations and I would have been left questioning. But I think it would be pretty obvious that whoever murdered Gerald probably found out how he had been cheating. We sat again, this time I wasn't sure what to say to Donna so I was glad when she was the one who spoke up first.

  "I did love him," Donna said. "I don't want you to think that Gerald was a bad man. He could be hard to deal with and he could be selfish, but there was still plenty of things there that made me love him. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

  "I don't think it matters how good or terrible a person is, nobody deserve to be murdered," I said quietly.

  Snow started to fall, just a few flakes here and there. I was glad because the frigid cold of a Minnesota winter was bearable when paired with the magic and beauty of snow.

  One of the marshmallow men of the crowd pulled itself away from the sculptures and was heading our way carrying two cups of steaming, hot coffee. Even though I couldn't even see his face, I knew it was good ole Clark.

  "Here you go ladies," he said, handing a cup of coffee to me and to Donna. "Two hot cups of coffee for two hot ladies."

  Donna blushed and gave Clark a light slap on the shoulder. Clark could be a bit of a schmoozer, which would be a bad quality in a man if it wasn't so broadly applied. Clark was the kind of man who would sweet talk any lady, but would also help old ladies to their seats with a wink. He wasn't a flirt, just an overly friendly man. Most of the time, I found it absolutely endearing. Except when he did it to Chelsea. Then it was downright annoying because she just rubbed it in my face.

  "The judging is almost over," Clark said. "They said they are going to announce the winners in just a few minutes. May I escort you two over to the judge's stand where they will be awarding the prizes?"

  Clark stuck out both of his arms and Donna and I each accepted one of them. We strolled through the crowd, laughing and having fun looking at all of the sculptures. When we reached the judge's stand, there was a table with all of the awards laid out on top. The top three prizes each had a trophy and there were plaques for other categories.

  Tilly was there as the presenter of the awards. She was all bundled up, but she was wearing her Queen Blizzard tiara on top of her stocking cap. She gave me a little wink when she saw me, but I wasn't sure if she was trying to tell me we had won or if she was just happy to see me upright after my wild night last night.

  The plaques were handed out first. The radio station won "Best Sculpture by a Business," so Donna left us to go celebrate with her colleagues. The Snowman Ronald won "Most Creative." Ronald's won "Best Representation of Shady Lake."

  Then it came to the overall winners. Third prize went to the snow dog, who came complete with a large snow bowl filled with snow kibble.

  "Second prize goes to the below zero thermometer," Tilly read with a big smile on her face.

  I squealed and jumped into Clark's arms before we rushed to the stage together to get our trophy from Tilly. She gave me a giant hug after she handed the trophy to Clark.

  "Great job!" she whispered in my ear.

  I pulled back and laughed. Tilly was obviously trying to stay pretty impartial as she was the official award hander-outer, but I was the only winner she had given a hug to.

  Clark and I held up the trophy and he gave me a peck on the lips before we headed back into the crowd with our trophy. We passed a stink-faced Chelsea who had obviously been sent to cover the competition for the newspaper and also obvio
usly did not like the public display of affection that Clark and I had just displayed. I gave her a little smile, trying not to rub it in her face too much.

  First prize went to Ronald and his Shady Lake downtown. I'm sure every knew who had made that one, but it was such a wonderful representation of our town and it was done with such love that it had to win first place. He stood on stage with the first place trophy, his face wide with a smile.

  "Thank you everyone," Ronald said. He took a small piece of paper out of his pocket. "I had a little speech prepared just in case I won. First, I'd like to thank the judges who did a wonderful job. And I'm not just saying that because I won."

  The crowd laughed. Anyone else who tried to say that would have been lying, but we all knew that when Ronald said it, he was sincere.

  "Next, I'd like to say that all of my competitors did an amazing job. I am so proud to be the mayor of a town filled with such wonderfully talented people. Everyone give a round of applause to the other competitors please."

  The crowd obliged with a loud round of applause. I looked around and smiled, knowing that only here in a place like Shady Lake could the entire crowd be so supportive of something as small as the winner of a local snow sculpture competition.

  "Lastly, I'd like to thank my loving wife Melinda who has been here for me every step of the way. From helping me with the design during the planning stages to packing up all of the supplies I would need to make my sculpture to sitting in the car during the entire competition in case I needed moral support. I dedicate this trophy and this win to you, sweetheart."

  I scanned the crowd until I found Melinda standing towards the side. Her normally sour face was looking a bit less sour than normal, although I wouldn't have called it a happy expression on anyone else. She didn't acknowledge all of the people looking at her or the smattering of applause she was getting. She just stood and looked more frigid than the temperature.

  Ronald made his way through the crowd to stand next to Melinda and only then did she seem to warm, ever so slightly. The crowd started to break up as Chelsea took a few pictures for the newspaper of the winners with our trophies. Clark and I went back to gather up all of our supplies. Each competitor had to help encircle their sculptures with some posts and tape that looked like police tape so that hopefully they would stay intact for as long as possible.