Death by Figgy Pudding

by P. Creeden

  Just then Diane stepped out of the kitchen into the night air only to be stopped by the sound of her cell phone ringing. She turned around and headed back inside with a smile on her face.

  Maple grinned as well. "You see. There's Jeb, calling to let us know that Scott's got the medication. You ladies, go ahead and enjoy the sleigh ride with your families.

  Just seeing the sisters relax made Figgy feel better. Kris and Colin helped both their grandmothers into the sleigh and offered them blankets for their laps as well. Figgy and Merry sat with their backs facing the driver. The children sat across from them, playing and talking together just as though they'd known each other for years. Though the blankets were far from enough for the weather, once they got moving, the laughter and warm feelings they felt from the company drew them in and helped them to overcome the cold. After a short bit, Merry and Figgy led the children in songs and the children had a great time changing the words to suit their comedic needs. They laughed so hard that it echoed across the lake as they circled it about.

  The whole sleigh ride usually took about forty-five minutes, but time flew past, as things often did when having fun. Then, as they rounded the bend back toward the inn, the children stood up, peering over the front of the sleigh. Jessica pointed. "What's that?"

  Figgy frowned and stood up as well, turning around to see what the children could be pointing toward. The shining of flashlights poured light beams through the night, and over the sounds of the sleigh bells and hoof beats, they could hear voices calling out, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

  "What's going on, Grandma?" Kaitlyn asked, worry tinging her voice and making it a bit higher than normal.

  Merry answered, "We're not sure yet, sweetheart. I'm sure we'll find out as we get closer."

  Her eyes met Figgy's. A knot formed in Figgy's stomach. The feeling of relief they'd had earlier gave way to the anxiety they'd been feeling since the young man had left the kitchen area. The phone call that Diane had answered before they left might not have been the confirmation that they'd assumed it was.

  "I think they are saying 'Scott.' That's what it sounds like." Kris still stood on the middle of the sleigh, leaning a bit to the side.

  "Sit back down, children. We need to remain seated to stay safe. What Merry said is true. We'll find out what's going on when we get there. It won't hurt us to be in the dark for just a few more minutes."

  Jessica gasped. "There's someone in the lake."

  None of the riders in the sleigh had been looking in the direction of the water, since they'd all been looking the way the flashlights were carrying. The sleigh driver pulled the horses to a stop. The man stood and scratched his head, peering toward the lake. Figgy found herself drawing to her feet as everyone else did to peer out into the water. There was a sharp drop off only a few feet off the path here and it was nearly ten feet down to the lake below. It hadn't been cold enough for a good solid freeze of the water, so only a thin layer of ice had formed over top. The ice layer broke and a person lay half-in and half out of the water.

  "It is a body." The sleigh driver jumped from his seat and stumbled to the edge.

  Merry grabbed her cell phone and started dialing. "I'm calling my son."

  Figgy found herself climbing down as well, peering over the edge, beside the sleigh driver. He held an arm out to stop her. "Don't take another step. It's not safe. This is where the man fell."

  Tears clouded Figgy's vision as she looked up at the sleigh driver. He was Maple's husband, whom she'd only met one other time. Probably the last time she went on a sleigh ride. He had a grey and brown beard and thick, bushy eyebrows hanging over top his serious brown eyes. The children gasped and shouted from behind her, and she spun quickly to face them. "Don't come any closer, children. This is the scene of an accident, they are going to need it as pure as possible. Back up into the sleigh, everyone."

  She did her best to herd the children back into the sleigh, but the feeling didn't get any better. There was no possible way for them to get down there and help him if he was still alive. But the man hadn't moved in the few minutes they'd observed him. Things didn't look good. But Figgy couldn't help but wonder. Why had the man come all this way? The place where he fell was at least a hundred yards from where the ladies from the inn were searching. A hundred yards from where he should have turned to head toward town. Instead, he was on the wrong side of the path and in the lake. Things just didn't add up quite right.

  Chapter 5

  Once the children got back into the sleigh, Merry hung up her cell phone and met eyes with Figgy. "Jeremy's on his way."

  Figgy nodded. It was good that her son was a detective. He'd make this first priority. "I'll give Thomas a call, too. The fire department is definitely going to be involved in this rescue or recovery."

  Merry nodded.

  The snow began to fall lightly. This time it was more than just a flurry. One of the horses began pawing its hoof impatiently, and the sleigh driver returned to pat him on the neck and settle him back down. He looked toward the children with a worried frown on his face. "We really should get everyone back where it's warm. But it's also best that someone stay here and watch the scene of the crime until the police arrive.

  "Ho! George! What's going on?" Maple's voice called out to them. She was approaching with a flashlight in hand and both Alice and Diane in tow.

  George waved back but didn't step toward them. His voice was deep. "Why didn't you tell me what was going on? You all shouldn't be out here in the snow. Someone should have called me, so I could come back and help. Someone should have called the police."

  Red tinged the cheeks of the ladies from the inn. Whether the color was from the man's scolding or from the wind on their cheeks, it was hard to tell. Maple shook her head as they got closer. "We didn't want to trouble these patrons. This small thing shouldn't stop the last ride of the season."

  George's frown deepened. "Well, this isn't a small thing. I'm afraid I have some very bad news. We've found Scott."

  The three ladies stopped dead in their tracks, only a few yards away. Their brows collectively scrunched in confusion. Finally, Alice asked, "What do you mean that you found Scott?"

  A slow shake of George's head was the only answer she needed.

  She spun around and buried her face in Diane's shoulder. Her body shook with sobs.

  For a moment, no one seemed sure of what needed to be done. The two sisters stood there, embracing their niece while George stood with the horses. The children had settled into a solemn quiet in the sleigh, while Figgy and Merry stood just on the outside, watching everything. The snow continued to fall around them in earnest. Then Merry's phone rang, breaking the silence.

  "Hello," she answered, right away. After a moment's pause, she looked up at everyone. "We'll be right there and lead you back here to the body."

  She answered a few more quick questions before hanging up the phone and looking at Figgy and George. "It was my son, Jeremy. He's at the inn now and is unsure which way he should go."

  George nodded. "I'll take the sleigh and the kids back. Maple, I should go ahead and take Alice and Diane with me. Alice shouldn't be here to see Scott in this state. He's better off remembered as he was. Diane, you should go with her and help her through this. If either Merry or Figgy wouldn't mind staying with Maple?"

  "I'll stay," Figgy volunteered.

  Merry nodded firmly. "I'll go with the children and meet with Jeremy, too. We'll all stay at the inn until things are a bit more settled down."

  "That sounds like a good plan. Diane, help Alice aboard." George took hold of the reins and mounted the driver’s portion of the sleigh.

  Merry, Diane, and Alice joined the kids in the sleigh. They passed two of the blankets toward Figgy and Maple. Diane had tear stained cheeks when she said, "Keep these with you two. Stay warm."

  Figgy thanked her and wrapped one of the blankets around herself. Maple did the same. Then George shook the reins. The horses started off,
and before long the bells were ringing again. Only this time, they sounded a little less cheerful to Figgy, and a little more mournful.

  Once the silence surrounded them again, Maple broke down. Sobs racked her body and tears flowed down her cheeks. She'd obviously put up a front of strength for the sake of her niece, but now that Alice was out of sight, Maple allowed herself to fall apart a little. Figgy wrapped an arm around her neighbor's shoulder. "I'm so sorry all this has happened to you. It's an awful situation."

  She shook her head but continued to cry for several minutes before getting a hold of herself once more. "I didn't really like him. I admit it. I didn't want him and Alice to remain a couple, but this..."

  Figgy patted maple's shoulder. "It was an accident. This wasn't your fault."

  But even as she said the words, it didn't feel quite right. How could they be so sure it was an accident. There were odd things going on here. Figgy shook her head at herself. She shouldn't have been having thoughts like that. She wasn't a detective, even if she loved reading mysteries and watching crime TV shows. This was a job for a real detective--she was just a housewife. This was best left to someone like Jeremy, Merry's son. Still, she couldn't help but let her eyes wonder around the scene, looking for a clue. The thoughts in her mind pinged around of their own accord, and soon she found she had more questions than answers.

  Before long, they saw the beams of flashlights approaching once again. George and Jeremy returned together on foot, leaving the children in the care of Merry, and Alice in Diane's capable hands. Once they got closer, Figgy noticed a deep frown on George's face. When his eyes met hers for a moment, she called him on it. "What's going on? You look perplexed."

  He blinked and shook his head. "Oh, it's not much, but there was snow shoveled against the sign that points to the path to town. It’s just inside the tree canopy, and high enough up that it wouldn't have been covered by the stuff falling naturally. I guess it's possible that a hard wind could have dropped some snow from the trees over top, but it just felt like someone might have done it on purpose."

  "Really?" Figgy's eyes widened. "So that's why Scott ended up way over here instead of turning toward town?"

  George cleared his throat, his eyes darting toward Jeremy. "Like I said, though. It doesn't mean that there's any foul play involved. It could have happened naturally."

  Jeremy nodded, his hands in his pockets as if the idea was no big deal. Then he knelt and peered over the edge. He stood back up and then investigated the woods from his point of view.

  Maple wrung her hands. "It looks like he just slid down the cliff from here. All the snow in this area is scraped away and the dirt exposed."

  Jeremy's eyes met hers. "That's what it looks like."

  "Could it be an accident?" George asked, drawing closer.

  Figgy stepped forward and stood in front of the couple, gesturing for them to step away. "We should really give the detective some space. He needs room to do the best job--"

  She slipped on a slick patch of ice and fell to the ground before finishing her sentence. Maple gasped, and both Jeremy and George tried to catch her, but it didn't help. Her rear hit the ice hard enough to send a shock wave through her body. Her teeth chattered in response. Pain surged through her pelvis, and for a moment, she saw stars. Then the pain subsided just a bit.

  "Are you okay? Stay where you are for a moment and assess how you feel if something feels broken, don't move." Jeremy laid a hand on her shoulder to keep her from trying to stand right away.

  She shook her head, wiggled her toes and tried to move around a bit. The scariest part of the fall was that she was less than three feet from the edge of the lake when she fell. For the first time she could truly see how the young man could have fallen to his death. "I think I'm okay."

  George offered her a hand. "Let me help you up. Slowly now."

  Figgy took the hand and let him pull her to her feet. Then she realized the detective was scraping his foot along the ground in a straight line toward the trees. They all watched him for a second. Figgy tried to walk forward, but each step sent pain through her hip. It didn't feel broken, but it was going to hurt a lot, for sure.

  "What are you doing, detective?" George asked.

  "There's a large patch of ice here. Seems to be about four feet wide and starts nearly at the cliff before it goes all the way to the trees. This is a narrow area in the path, too."

  George nodded. "Yes, there's little more than a foot to each side of the sleigh when we pass through this area."

  "That's why Jessica could see the body below from the sleigh as we passed through." Figgy's eyes widened.

  The detective nodded. "It also explains why the victim took the path close to the edge of the cliff instead of staying near the trees in this section of the trail. Does this kind of ice affect the horses or the sleigh?"

  George shook his head. "Not really. They might slip a little on their footing for one step or so, but the horses each balance each other, and even the harness keeps them balanced.

  "So, this patch of ice could have been here all day?"

  "It's possible."

  Jeremy met eyes with each of them. "I'm beginning to feel that this may not have been an accident at all. Look. Here comes the fire marshal."

  Relief flooded Figgy at the sight of her husband heading her way. She took a few steps toward him but felt the ice under her feet and froze once more. George and Marple continued forward to greet Thomas and the two firefighters who were with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jeremy bend down again near the edge of the cliff, where the young man had fallen. Figgy knelt beside him. "Do you see something interesting?"

  The detective's eyes met hers. "The only snow I found on the patch of ice covering the most of the area was newly fallen, but the stuff nearest the edge was packed here purposefully, as though someone wanted the victim to think it was safe to walk here, but the ice here at the edge is thicker, and there were rocks set in the area to make the person slide directly toward the cliff. There's also something else interesting about the ice."

  "What's that?"

  "I keep finding these little seeds in the ice. I don't recognize them from the area, and they wouldn't be a part of the local fauna because it's mostly just pines around here."

  Figgy squinted her eyes at what the detective pointed to. Then she saw them too. The small golden seeds still occasionally had some dark brown pulp around them. She gasped. "They're fig seeds."

  The detective's brows furrowed. "What's the significance of fig seeds?"

  She swallowed past her tightened throat. "The inn is the only place around I know of that serves figgy pudding, and they even offer a seedless variety."

  Emotions swirled in the man's eyes as he stood and offered Figgy a hand to help her stand as well. "Then the vessel used to spread the water in this area came from the inn?"

  Slowly, Figgy nodded. "It would seem so."

  "Then without a doubt, this was no accident. It was murder."

  Chapter 6

  While Thomas and the crew worked to pull up the body, the detective asked that Figgy, George, and Maple return to the inn with him for questioning. He hadn't yet told the others about the possibility it was murder but had only confided that small fact with Figgy. She caught herself biting the cuticle on her thumb more than once because of her nerves. The last thing she needed was bloody thumbnails. She pulled her hands away, formed them into fists, and shoved them in her pockets.

  The warmth of the kitchen embraced Figgy as she stepped inside. Kris stood up the moment he saw her and came running over with tears in his eyes. Jessica rushed over at the same time. Both grandchildren embraced her hard. They knocked the breath out of her when they first struck her. Pain shot through her hip again as she caught herself. "Ow. What's wrong guys? Why are you both being like this?"

  Jessica pulled back, her brow still furrowed as she met eyes with Figgy. "You've been gone for nearly an hour. We were worried."

  Kris continued t
o cling to her as he set his chin on her chest and looked up into Figgy's eyes with tears still streaming down his cheeks. "Somebody died, grandma, and--" he choked on a sob, shook his head and then buried his face in her chest once more.

  "I'm fine. You both worried for nothing. Your grandfather is down there right now. He's recovering the body." She tightened her hold on Kris. The children had already suffered so much loss--their father stationed in a foreign country during the holiday, their mother rejecting her family for a new one, and now for the first time, they were faced with the very real loss caused by mortality, and they worried for their grandparents. Tears stung the backs of Figgy's eyes as well, not for her own mortality, but for the sadness the children were carrying around with them. It had surfaced in the fight Kris had earlier that day, and this whole incident rubbed salt in the wound.

  Salt didn't feel good in a wound, but it did help fight infection. Salt aided in healing a wound, and maybe realizing the gross reality of mortality in this sad way they'd had to deal with on the sleigh ride, maybe it would help heal the wounds the children were carrying as well. Figgy could hope for something good to come out of this terrible situation.

  The detective cleared his throat and raised his voice. "If I could have everyone's attention? Let's all sit around the table so I can tell you our findings and ask a few questions."

  Figgy sat next to Merry, who patted her hand as she took a seat. Kris continued to cling to her, taking the chair on her other side. Jessica also seemed to want to stay close, taking the seat on the other side of Kris. Merry leaned in toward Figgy. "The children will be okay. This is a hard thing to deal with."

  With a nod, Figgy squeezed her friend's hand and accepted her comforting words.

  Then Jeremy began. "Let me start by asking what the victim's name was and each person's relationship with him."

  "He's my boy--was my boyfriend," Alice said, shutting her eyes tightly after speaking as though she was battling the tears from coming through again and staining her cheeks further. She sniffed.