Mystery, Snow, and Mistletoe

by Wendy Meadows

  He ushered her into his study, a cozy wood-paneled room warmed by the crackling fire burning in the hearth and scented by the pine boughs of a handsome Christmas wreath that hung over the mantle. “Phyllis stopped by yesterday and added a few things to her wedding vows. Are you here for the same reason?”

  Brenda was momentarily taken aback. “There is so much to think about when it comes to this wedding,” she replied. “I had no idea so much was involved. But of course, vows are uppermost…or, they should be…”

  From her flustered manner, Reverend Walker intuited that she had none prepared. He smiled at her reassuringly. “My dear, not to worry. I have taken care of that for you. The words I have written just have to be approved. You can add to them, if you wish, as Phyllis did.” He handed Brenda a sheet of paper from his desk and Brenda read them over.

  “I couldn’t have written any words more meaningful,” she said. “Thank you, Reverend. I’m so grateful to you. But vows aside…I have something else to discuss with you. Phyllis told me that more than anything she wishes that her brother could be here for her wedding. Did you know Patrick?”

  Reverend Walker invited her to sit down in a worn but comfortable armchair. “I knew him and Phyllis quite well. She mentioned him to me when she was here yesterday.”

  “Was he an easy man to get along with?” Brenda asked. “By that I mean, did anyone have anything against him to cause him to vanish?”

  “Patrick was well-liked on the whole. His sister is driven by hard work and doesn’t seem to let up, as you have found out. On the other hand, Patrick tended to be lazy, which led to somewhat of a careless attitude at times.”

  Brenda asked for clarification. Reverend Walker told her that Patrick riled some people with his outspokenness. “He spoke his thoughts before thinking about how the receiver would take his words. He didn’t hold down jobs long, either. He was a pretty good worker as long as he liked what he was doing, but soon moved on.”

  Reverend Walker told her Patrick had worked in the local library for a while. She knew Mrs. Perch, the librarian, and made a mental note to visit with her. She jerked her head up when Reverend Walker mentioned Patrick had worked for Edward Graham, the town lawyer.

  “Did he like working for him?”

  The Reverend shrugged. “He seemed to like the field of law. In fact, he held onto that job longer than any other. It was the last job he had in town before he just disappeared. You might want to talk with Matthew Wilkins, who owns the little grocery store in town. He liked Patrick and mentioned once how hard he worked stocking the shelves at night and other odd jobs there. It was a good job for him because his apartment was downtown near the grocer, nearby there.”

  “Did he live in that apartment long?”

  “I don’t recall exactly, but long enough to think of him as always there. I don’t remember him living anywhere else, since I came to know him, anyway.”

  Brenda thanked him for everything and headed back outside into the cold winter day. She glanced at her watch. She had time to grab a light lunch at Morning Sun Coffee and think things over. The more she learned of Patrick Lindsey, the more she wanted to help find him. She felt Phyllis’ life would be complete if that happened. What better gift for her best friend and most loyal employee?

  Molly greeted Brenda warmly when she came in. She wiped her hands on the edge of her apron and carried two hot drinks to Brenda’s table. “I’m going to take a short break. I hope you don’t mind if I join you.”

  Brenda invited her to sit down. “How well did you know your uncle?”

  Molly grinned, she could tell when Brenda was working on a case. “Patrick Lindsey is my only uncle, so I know you are asking about him. I loved him. He was a lot of fun and always joked around with me a lot.” Her eyes grew sad. “I wish we knew where he went. I always wondered if there was foul play of some kind. I just wish I knew what happened to him. My mother still grieves over the loss.”

  “It sounds as if you think he isn’t alive.”

  “I don’t want to think that, but why hasn’t he come home?”

  Brenda asked her if she had seen Patrick just before he vanished. Molly told her he had come into her shop, had his usual breakfast and chatted for a while. “He was happy,” she said. “It was a Saturday in July. The sun was out and he mentioned how refreshing the sea breeze felt that morning. Your uncle was in here that morning, too. Randolph liked Patrick. They talked about the court case Patrick was fighting.”

  This shed new light on the subject. Brenda leaned in closer to Molly. “What was the court case about?”

  “He had a case against Lady Pendleton. He was in great spirits, he told Randolph he had won the case. Lady Pendleton had raised his apartment rent to an exorbitant amount. He wasn’t the only one, but he fought back. Edward Graham’s good friend from nearby Oceanside took the case, because of course Lady Pendleton retained Edward as her lawyer. Conflict of interest, you know.”

  Brenda nodded. She accepted a refill. A group of customers walked into the shop. Brenda wanted to find out more about Molly and Bryce but that would have to wait. Molly excused herself and left to help with the sudden crowd.

  Brenda walked back to her bed and breakfast to get her car. She called William Pendleton and asked if she could meet with him for a few minutes. He agreed and she left for his mansion.

  William, as jovial as ever, invited her inside. A carafe of hot tea and one of hot coffee waited for her to decide. She chose the hot tea this time and reached for a thin slice of frosted pound cake. As they sat down to eat, she looked around and saw a number of wooden crates and cardboard boxes sitting around the room. She looked questioningly at William.

  “I’m cleaning out today,” he said. “As you can imagine, most of this stuff is meaningless to me. Priscilla was the collector, not me. So I am making room for the love of my life. Phyllis doesn’t need to live around all of this stuff Priscilla seemed to cherish.” He looked up from his cup of steaming coffee and smiled. “What brings you over to see me today?” She started to apologize for interrupting his task when he waved away her words, saying, “Please, it’s a relief to get away from it all for a while. What do you need?”

  If everyone didn’t already know how tedious Lady Pendleton was during her marriage to William, terrorizing the townspeople with her outrageous and capricious demands for ever-increasing rents, Brenda would have felt nervous bringing up the subject. But she knew William would understand, especially if it was a matter dear to Phyllis’ heart.

  “I have been trying to trace Patrick Lindsey’s whereabouts. Before Lady Pendleton passed away, Patrick Lindsey fought her in court over the matter of a rent increase. Molly told me she saw him the day before he disappeared – he was elated he won, and she had never seen him as happy as he did that Saturday morning when he came into the shop for breakfast. Something must have happened between that morning and the next one.”

  Brenda took a bite of her cake and then a sip of her tea, taking the opportunity to gather her courage before continuing. But luckily, William spoke first.

  “And you are wondering if my late wife had anything to do with his disappearance.” William waved his hand at her when she started to explain. “Don’t think I haven’t wondered about that myself, though I cannot recall anything that would point to her guilt. Priscilla wasn’t an easy woman, even though she had everything this world had to offer her. She was selfish and never satisfied. She certainly didn’t enjoy losing a court battle. We all know that rarely happened. Edward Graham was her puppet in her despicable real estate dealings for many years, though I try to understand his position…he simply caved to her every wish to keep his position, and because he thought he could stop her from being even worse if she marched out of town and hired a big corporate law firm. She had immense power, as we all know.”

  Brenda nodded, thinking back to her brief encounters with Lady Priscilla with a shudder. “I promised Phyllis I would look into it. It would mean everything to her to have her
brother back here for the wedding. She is so happy with you, William. I know your lives together will be wonderful.”

  She stood to go when the doorbell rang. Without waiting, Phyllis walked in. William kissed her lightly on the cheek. “What have I done to earn the presence of two such beautiful women at once?”

  Phyllis laughed and told him he was lucky indeed. Brenda explained to her friend that she was investigating the disappearance of Patrick. Phyllis hugged her tightly and with tears in her eyes, she thanked Brenda.

  “Those three boxes there have holiday decorations in them, Brenda,” William said as she turned to go. “Priscilla bought them but they’ve never been used. Some are fall decorations, and every other holiday you can think of. If you can use them, feel free to take them home with you.” He summoned someone to help and the boxes were soon loaded into her car. “I know you will get to the bottom of this, Brenda,” he said. “Let me know if I can be of any help. I have no clues right now, only some hunches. I don’t like to think my late wife was a part of it, but we never know, do we?”

  Brenda climbed into her car and turned the key in the ignition, when William approached her window. She opened the window, curious at the unreadable expression on his face. “You may want to look though those boxes before storing them. I know you are busy with Christmas and the wedding but take a look inside them,” he said, and then waved goodbye as he walked back to the shelter of the front door.

  Brenda drove away, anxious to get home and delve into the boxes. She wondered what William hinted at and was sure something of great interest to her waited inside. When she arrived home, she drove around to the back of the bed and breakfast and noticed it seemed strange to see fewer cars parked in the guest spots. In the back, there were several employees’ cars, and she parked next to them, planning to carry the boxes inside and inspect them right away. She couldn’t get William’s parting words out of her mind.

  Chapter Four

  Memories

  There was a lot to think about in regard to Patrick Lindsey’s disappearance. His lawyer must have been a good one to win over Lady Pendleton. From Lady Pendleton’s fierce reputation and their few unfortunate encounters, Brenda understood how that wouldn’t have sat well with her. She decided to pull into the garage behind the bed and breakfast, knowing there was more snow on the way and how much she disliked having to shovel her car out. Brenda walked through the back door of the bed and breakfast. She waved to Chef Morgan and went through the hallway that led to the front desk. A familiar, masculine voice reached her.

  “You look pretty today, Allie.” Bryce Jones leaned a little too close to Brenda’s reservationist. The young girl blushed and looked up at her boss.

  “What are you doing here, Bryce?” Brenda asked.

  “I’m taking my break. I was hoping for some hot coffee for a hard-working detective.”

  “You are welcome to a cup of coffee in exchange for helping me unload some boxes from my car.” Brenda turned and smiled to herself. She had the feeling Bryce didn’t want to tear himself away from her pretty teenage employee.

  Bryce winked at Allie and followed Brenda out to her car.

  “What did you bring home this time?” he asked, hefting the first box from the trunk. She raised her eyebrows. “I mean, this one is heavy. Is there gold in it?”

  “I wish,” Brenda said. “It’s just unused holiday decorations from the Pendleton home. William is cleaning out before Phyllis moves in with him, and offered them to me. I want to take them to my apartment so I can go through them before storing them away.”

  When the last box was set inside Brenda’s door, Bryce asked Brenda if she had anything else that needed done. She told him she planned to bake some cookies and jokingly told him he was welcomed to help her. To her surprise, he agreed enthusiastically.

  “You look surprised, Brenda,” he said with a chuckle, “ but I used to do a lot of cookie baking with my mother. It was my way of getting to eat the dough. My favorite ones were any that had chocolate in them. She would always scold me that raw cookie dough wasn’t healthy, but I’d do it anyway when her back was turned.”

  They chatted together as they went back down the stairs to the kitchen. The original brick flooring of the kitchen was intact, though treated to resist stains these days, and it shone under a freshly dried coat of wax. The chef gave a last swipe with her mop in front of the stove. She was getting ready to leave for a couple of hours before returning in time to cook the evening dinner. Morgan waved to Brenda as she left, knowing that she didn’t have to tell Brenda where to find everything.

  Brenda gathered the ingredients while instructing Bryce where to find the mixing bowls and measuring utensils. At her direction, he retrieved several cookie sheets from the lower cabinet of the long woodblock table.

  “I think we’re ready to get started. I’ll start with oatmeal raisin and you can do the chocolate chip ones. Just don’t eat all the dough so we’ll have enough.” Brenda passed him a recipe card and set the oatmeal raisin recipe card in front of her, though she hardly needed to read it, she knew it so well.

  “I figured you’d want to make some plain ones we could decorate.”

  “That’s coming. I want at least three dozen sugar cookies so they can be decorated.”

  They got busy and for the first few minutes they worked without words. Brenda was impressed that Bryce really did know how to bake cookies. He read the recipe once and easily followed it until two cookie sheets were covered with the results.

  “I know you want to ask about Jenny and me,” Bryce said as they worked.

  It was true Brenda was curious, but she had decided she didn’t want to get involved in the bizarre turn of events in the relationship. “I’m curious of course, but you don’t have to explain things to me.”

  “I made a fool of myself, truth be told,” he said. “I don’t know what I was thinking turning to Molly. Jenny is a wonderful girl and my true love. Molly is very sweet, and attractive, too, but I’ve come to regret my bad behavior.”

  “Shouldn’t you be explaining this to Jenny?”

  “I plan to have a good long talk with her soon. I went to her shop to find her yesterday, and got out a few awkward words, but she was very busy. Everyone is ordering their Christmas flowers from Blossoms. Her employee who usually works in the afternoons went home sick so she was alone.”

  “I have to admit I’m baffled as to how it all came about. You and Jenny seemed meant for one another. What in the world happened that you decided to suddenly switch partners like that?”

  Bryce slid the two cookie sheets into the oven and set the timer. He wiped his hands on a nearby dish towel and sighed before he answered her. “Pete and I have been close friends ever since I moved back here from Brooklyn. He was the first to suggest I date Molly and see how it went. At first the girls were doubtful, but later Jenny told me she found Pete attractive enough to give it a try. So before we knew it…we had switched.”

  Brenda didn’t respond. Bryce Jones was known to be the biggest flirt in history around Sweetfern Harbor. Pete Graham was known to be a town gossip but he was otherwise level-headed. Something inside her told her the events had happened the other way around.

  “Why would you leave Jenny? More than once we’ve heard you declare your love for her in. Was it all fake? This wasn’t all your idea, was it, Bryce?”

  His eyes grew wide. “It was all Pete’s idea. I’m guilty for going along with it, it’s true. But Jenny agreed to try it out, too.”

  Brenda was bothered by his explanation. She hoped to get to hear Jenny’s side of the story in private soon. Perhaps the young girl had felt pressured and did not want to admit that to her father, but she might say it if Brenda let on that she understood the situation. The timer chimed just then, and Bryce donned oven mitts to take out the sheets of delicious cookies. A mouth-watering aroma filled the kitchen.

  Brenda suggested they take a platter of the cookies to the foyer area and a tray into the sitting ro
om. Though the rooms weren’t all booked, there still were a handful of guests around.

  “I’ll carry them out,” Bryce said. “Don’t forget you have one more tray in the oven.” He looked at the timer. “It looks like another five minutes and they’ll be done. They sure taste good,” he said.

  Brenda didn’t miss the twinkling eyes and was even more convinced the young detective could win anyone over just by his charm and good looks. “Thanks for your help. After you put those trays out, come back to the kitchen and pour yourself another cup of coffee to go and take a few cookies with you.”

  “I will,” Bryce said. “I’m on duty tonight at the police station. It will keep me awake.” He laughed and when he came back from dropping off the trays, he told Brenda he would leave through the back door. He grabbed two chocolate chip cookies from the tray on his way out.

  “He sure is good-looking,” Allie said, appearing in the kitchen door. She appeared ready to physically swoon. “If my mom would let me date older guys, he’d be my pick.”

  “He’s already taken, Allie,” Brenda said. “Besides, one day you’ll find your own dream man, someone meant just for you.”

  She took the last tray of cookies out to cool and told Allie she was going up to her apartment until dinner time. Once inside her door, she pulled the first box over to her easy chair. Then, after preparing a cup of tea, she settled down to look through its contents. Just then, a knock on her door interrupted her.

  “Come on in,” she called out. Her father Tim Sheffield walked in and looked lovingly at his daughter. Brenda offered him hot tea or coffee.

  “If you have coffee, I’ll take a cup.”

  He observed the large boxes stacked near the door and the one Brenda had obviously just opened. He held something behind his back until they settled in her comfortable living area. Brenda asked what he was hiding from her.

  “I have your wedding gift. Every bride has to have something old, right? I thought this would please you.” Tim held a familiar gold-leafed box that once set on her mother’s dresser. He opened it and pulled out a pearl necklace that gleamed softly in the winter light. “I bought this pearl necklace for your mother. I saw it in an antique shop and knew it was something she would like to have. It’s from 1953. She loved pearls. I thought that you’d like to have it now, unless you didn’t intend to wear a necklace on your wedding day.”