Cozy Christmas Murder

by Summer Prescott

  The woman let out a sob, and Autumn stepped back quickly as she rushed out the door. She recognized the doctor; she had been arguing with one of the officers earlier. Justine didn’t even glance at her as she rushed towards the front door, trying desperately to keep her composure until she was outside.

  “Can I help you?” a tired voice asked. She looked up to see the director of the assisted living home, Nicholas Holt. He ran his hand across his face, sighing. He looked exhausted.

  “Sorry, no, I was just on the way out.”

  “Autumn, isn’t it? You’re related to the Ottos?”

  “Yes, I’m their niece,” she said.

  “Were you here when the cook collapsed?”

  She nodded. “It was horrible. I wanted to help somehow, but there wasn’t anything I could do.”

  “Can I talk to you for a moment?”

  She hesitated, thinking of the familiar comfort of her house, but then agreed. She followed him into the office, where he shut the door behind him.

  “I already gave my statement to the police,” she said.

  “I know. I’m sorry, but I just want to ask you something.” His eyes darted to the wall behind her. She turned and saw a row of hooks, from which hung various keys.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “As I’m sure you know, he wasn’t carrying his EpiPen with him,” he said. “We have epinephrine here that is prescribed to some of our other residents. Of course, it is against policy to give a prescription to someone it doesn’t belong to, but in this case, the use of someone else’s EpiPen would’ve saved his life. We keep the drugs in the medicine closet, and the key stays in here. When I came in here after the police left, I found the key to the medical supply closet hanging where it always is, but Justine swore to me and the police that when she went to find the keys, they were missing. I was just wondering if you saw her at all during what happened, and if you might remember what she was doing.”

  “I don’t think I saw her,” she said. “I know that she was visiting with my aunt right before this happened, but I don’t know what she did when the cook collapsed. I wish I could help you more. Everything just happened so quickly, it’s all a blur. Why? Do you think she was lying about the key?”

  “I don’t know if she was lying, but I do know that she was mistaken. The key is hanging right there. When she told me what happened, I thought they might have been stolen and I rushed over, but here it was.” He shook his head. “I almost wish that she was right, that someone had stolen the key, because the alternative is that she killed a man because she panicked.”

  Autumn stared at him. He shouldn’t be telling her this. He hardly knew her, but she understood that he was in shock too. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could say something that might clear matters up, but I can’t. I did see her arguing with one of the police officers earlier, but I don’t know what she was doing before that.”

  “Unfortunately for her, there will be an investigation. She’s only worked here for about a year. I personally don’t think she meant to do anything wrong, and I hate to see her go through a criminal investigation right after all of this, but there’s no way around it. I have to do what is right by my residents, and if she loses her mind in a situation like this, then she’s not the right person to work here. We’ll have to find another doctor. I can’t take the chance of this happening again, and risk someone else suffering for it.” He gave her a tight smile. “Sorry. I’m sure you want to get out of here. I guess I just needed someone to talk to. Don’t mention what I said about Justine, okay? She’s going to have a hard enough time as it is, without any rumors being spread around town.”

  “Of course,” Autumn said. “I won’t say anything. I hope you get everything figured out. For what it’s worth, this place has been great for my aunt and uncle.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “You don’t know what that means to me. I started working here because I wanted to make a difference. I’ve seen what happens in some homes that aren’t run correctly, and it’s not pretty. We may not be a huge facility, but I try hard to make sure that everyone gets good care, and that we have employees that are passionate about what they’re doing. Feel free to come see me if you ever have any complaints, or just want to talk.”

  She let herself out of the room, thinking about what he had said. It hadn’t crossed her mind until now that the cook’s death might not have been an accident. Now, as she thought of the empty EpiPen case, she began to wonder. It didn’t make sense that he would carry the empty case around with him without getting a refill. Had someone stolen his prescription from him just before he died?

  CHAPTER FIVE

  * * *

  After the worst weekend of her life, Autumn was still feeling down Monday morning. She had to be at the grocery store by ten, but part of her wondered, what was the point? Maybe she should just quit now, and use the next month to job hunt.

  She knew that she would never do that, though. Jeb was a good man, and she didn’t want to let him down. She didn’t know how she would face the employees that morning. Should she tell them before Christmas or not? Witnessing the cook’s death the day before had chased that predicament from her mind, but now it was back full force. She didn’t know which choice was the right one. To tell them, or not to tell them?

  She decided not to mention it that day. Looking at the cheery faces of her employees, it was hard to even think of breaking the news to them. She could always tell them tomorrow, or the next day, or the next, and let them enjoy the coming holiday season for as long as they could. She didn’t want to burden anyone else with the knowledge that she had, not until she had to.

  After work, she drove straight to Asheville’s one coffee shop, the Cocoa and Coffee Café, where she was supposed to meet her best friend, Alicia. Alicia had worked at the store with Autumn, but had left the year before after she had gotten married. She had started working out of her home, making and selling jewelry, and hoping for a baby, a life that Autumn envied. Alicia was a perpetually cheery person, always optimistic, and she was just who Autumn wanted to talk to. If anyone would have answers to her problems, it would be her.

  The snow had continued overnight, but had stopped early that morning. The roads in town had all been plowed and salted, and she winced as the car in front of her made slush splatter onto her windshield. She would have to take the vehicle through the car wash sometime that week. All of the salt on the Michigan roads in winter was terrible for vehicles. She had already found two small rust spots on her car, and didn’t want to find anymore.

  She pulled in the parking lot and shut off her engine, grabbing her purse off of the passenger seat before getting out. It was a cold day, but not windy. The coffee shop had Christmas lights up and in the window hung a banner that wished passers-by a happy holiday. The sight of the decorations helped cheer her up a little. She had always loved the entire Christmas season, though once the holiday was over, she knew that the rest of winter would be a long, dreary wait until spring.

  Alicia was already there, sipping a coffee and scrolling through her phone. Autumn ordered a peppermint mocha at the counter, then walked over and joined her friend.

  “There you are,” Alicia said, looking up and beaming at her. “I didn’t even see you walk in.”

  “Have you been here for long?”

  “Not too long,” she said. “I was expecting the roads to be worse, so I got here early. How are you? On the phone, you sounded like you had something on your mind. Did Brandon finally pop the question?” She peered at Autumn’s hand, looking for a ring.

  “No,” she replied, sighing. “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. He dumped me.”

  “No.” Alicia stared at her. “What happened? I thought the two of you were doing well.”

  “I thought so too,” she said. “It turns out, we weren’t. He gave me the whole, it’s not you it’s me speech, and said he wanted to be friends, but that’s all.”

  “He’s a jerk
,” her friend said decisively.

  Autumn smiled slightly at that. “Just a couple of days ago, you were talking about how he was the best guy I had ever dated, and I needed to hang on to him.”

  “Well, now he’s a jerk. You can do better. Besides, you weren’t really in love with him, were you?”

  “What do you mean? Of course I was.”

  Her friend shook her head slowly. “I don’t think you were. I think you liked him, and maybe loved the idea of what you might have together in the future, but I don’t think you were ever really in love with him. Not like I am with Rory. You never talked about him much unless I asked, and you know I can’t shut up about my own husband. And when we went on that trip last year, you didn’t seem to miss him at all. If Rory left me, I would be a complete wreck. But looking at you, well, it doesn’t look like you were up all night sobbing into your pillow.”

  “It’s not just Brandon,” Autumn said. “So much else happened too. This weekend was just so insane. I’ve hardly had time to process it all.”

  “What else happened?” her friend asked.

  “Jeb is going to close the store,” she said softly. “Ever since the One-Stop Supermarket opened up, I guess he just hasn’t been making any money off of it. It’s closing in January.”

  “Oh, Autumn, that’s horrible. What are you going to do? Where is everyone going to work?”

  “I have no idea,” she said. “And the thing is, I’m the only one that knows. He told me because he knows I support myself off of this job. He’s planning on telling everyone else after the holidays – rather, he wants me to do it for him – so they will be able to enjoy this time with their families.”

  “That’s not right,” Alicia said. “They should know. Even if it’s just a part-time job for most of them, that doesn’t mean they don’t need the money.”

  “I know,” Autumn said. “He said I can tell them sooner if I want to. I just… I don’t know. I don’t know if I should or not, and it’s driving me crazy. Then, of course, there’s what happened at the assisted living home…”

  “Are your aunt and uncle okay?”

  “Yes, they’re fine, thank goodness. One of the cooks that works there had an allergic reaction to something, and he died.”

  “Wow,” Alicia said, sitting back. “That’s terrible.”

  “I know. And that’s not all. I looked in the pocket of his jacket for his EpiPen, and I found a case, but there were no syringes inside. It was empty. And there’s the whole thing with the doctor and the keys…”

  “What are you talking about? What doctor, and what keys?”

  Autumn shut her mouth, realizing what she had let slip. She had promised Nick that she wouldn’t tell anyone but Alicia was her best friend and wouldn’t tell anyone else.

  “Autumn?”

  She sighed. It was out of the bag now, anyway. “Don’t tell anyone, but the doctor that works there claims that she couldn’t find the key to the medicine closet where they keep the other EpiPen’s, but when the director went to look for the key afterward, it was hanging in its usual spot. He thinks that she missed them in her panic, but it was a mistake that cost someone his life. He’s firing her.”

  Alicia’s eyes were wide. “That’s insane. Your weekend sounds like it was a disaster. I’m so sorry. That poor doctor. Can you imagine how guilty she must feel?”

  “I know,” she said. “It’s like everything imploded. I don’t know what they’re going to do until they can hire someone else. The other cook is on a two-month long leave. Her daughter was just born.”

  “They’re looking for a new cook, and you’re looking for a job,” her friend said.

  “I can’t work there,” Autumn said, laughing. “I like to cook as a hobby, but I don’t have any actual training or experience.”

  “I doubt they care,” Alicia said. “You could volunteer just for the holiday season. Then if you do well enough, you might be able to stay on long-term. This could be a way to make your dream come true. You’ve always wanted to have a restaurant.”

  “It’s not exactly a restaurant,” she pointed out. “But maybe I will offer to volunteer. I’m not going to quit my job at the grocery store yet, so I can’t work there full-time, but I could stop in and make dinners, especially if someone showed me the ropes. With Brandon leaving me, I could use something to keep me busy until after the holidays.”

  “I’m sure things will start looking up. I mean, they couldn’t really get much worse, could they? And about Brandon, I think it’s a good thing that he left. You want to be with someone you really love. To make a marriage work, there has to be something special there. It’s better to not get married at all than to marry the wrong person.”

  Autumn gave her friend a grateful smile. What she was saying sounded a lot like what her uncle had said, and she thought that it was probably true. She wanted to get married, but she wanted to do it right. The truth was, she probably hadn’t been as in love with Brandon as she thought she was. She would just have to keep believing that there was someone else out there for her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  * * *

  “Thank you for doing this. You don’t know how much it means to them. To all of us, really.”

  Autumn smiled at the young woman who was leading her to the kitchen. She had been tasked with showing Autumn around the kitchen and explaining the instructions for the meals.

  “I feel so bad for what happened,” she said. “Benson’s death must have been a shock to everyone. I know the staff here has full schedules, and trying to make meals on top of that must be hard. My aunt and uncle love this place, and it’s been great for them, so I’m happy to help however I can.”

  “Mr. Holt is already gathering applications for the position, but he probably won’t hire anyone until the new year. The holiday season is just so busy, and not many people are looking for jobs a week or two before Christmas. Not permanent ones, anyway. It’s hard to find someone who wants to work for the salary that we can offer, most of the really skilled cooks can make a lot more money running their own restaurant, and he also doesn’t want to hire someone who’s just looking for an easy job. Cook Benson actually wanted to volunteer his time here, but Mr. Holt insisted on paying him.”

  “Do you know if the police figured out what happened?” It had only been a few days since the man’s death, but life at the assisted living home had to go on. The residents still needed care, and they needed to eat. While Autumn wasn’t a highly trained cook, she had always enjoyed cooking, and unlike the staff members who had been pitching in in the kitchen for the past few days, she would be able to dedicate her time here without letting other responsibilities go by the wayside.

  “I have no idea,” the young woman said, shaking her head. Her name was Natalie, and to Autumn she looked like she was just out of high school. “One of the nurses quit, and another staff member left as well, because they think he was killed on purpose. I don’t know where the rumor came from, but I’ve heard people saying that it’s the doctor who did it.”

  She lowered her voice for the last sentence. Autumn frowned. The only person that she had mentioned anything to was Alicia, but her friend wouldn’t have told anyone here. That meant the news of the doctor’s administrative leave must have spread faster than expected.

  “What have you heard?” she asked, wondering how much the young woman knew.

  “Just that she’s the one that was supposed to get the keys to the medicine cabinet, but she never got them. I know it sounds far-fetched – why would she want to kill Cook Benson? – but at the same time, everyone that I’ve spoken to that was there the day it happened seems to agree that she ran off to get the keys and never came back. I don’t know what to think, and I guess it’s not any of my business. I’m just here to take care of the residents.”

  “You’re right, it’s not something that we need to figure out ourselves. Better to leave that for the police. Right now, I’m more concerned about learning my way around this kitchen.�
�

  That was the truth. The assisted living facility’s kitchen was much larger than she had remembered, with a cold, almost industrial feel to it. Everything was made out of stainless steel, and it was nothing like her warm, inviting kitchen at home.

  “I helped the cook a couple of times,” Natalie said. “That’s probably why they asked me to show you around. There are thirty residents here, but on the holidays, we have a lot more people because families come to visit. Christmas is going to be pretty busy, so you will probably want to get some helpers too.”