Eggnog Cream & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 12

by Susan Gillard

  Dave looked at Heather as if the idea of only one donut was ridiculous.

  “You’re lucky you’re getting any,” Heather said, giving the animals a portion of a donut. “Your waistline is rivaling Santa’s, pup. I need to be stricter about your snacks.”

  Dave wagged his tail happily as he ate his favorite food.

  “But I can’t say no at Christmas,” Heather said, giving them another small treat.

  “Can you say no to us?” Lilly teased.

  “You can’t quite do the puppy dog eyes like Dave can,” Heather teased back. “But how is the tree decorating coming along? We need to be finished before our friends come over for the movie. I promised them they’d see a beautiful tree.”

  Lilly and Nicolas licked the traces of powdered sugar from their fingers and set to work with the tree. Dave wasn't quite finished seeing if he could get some more donut bits from his human best friend, but Cupcake allowed herself to be interested in the tree in their living room again. She batted at a low hanging branch.

  “We better put any breakable ornaments at the top,” Lilly said. “That way it will be harder for Cupcake to break any and she won’t end up on the naughty list.”

  “That’s a great idea,” Heather said.

  They started picking up ornaments and deciding where to place them on the branches. Heather liked reminiscing about what each ornament meant. Some came from a store and were chosen for their bright colors, but others held more meaning. There was an angel that she had inherited from her grandmother. (She had also inherited her skills at making donuts based on the recipe book that her grandmother had given her, but that wasn't something that she could hang on a tree!) There was an ornament shaped like a white dog that looked an awful lot like Dave that Amy had found for her. Eva and Leila had knitted her some small stocking to hang on the tree too.

  She also loved that Lilly had created a hand-made ornament of a snowman for her this year. Heather happily hung it on the tree, thinking about how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family.

  Her mind wandered as she thought of her family and she began to wonder where her husband was. Ryan should have been home by then. Was it possible that he was being called in to investigate a case? He was a detective on the Key West Police Force and would be the first one called to the scene. She hoped that no one would spoil the holiday season by committing crimes.

  “This has been a lot of fun,” Nicolas said. “But I wasn’t expecting to go to the beach and then decorate a Christmas tree.”

  “That is a perk of living someplace tropical,” Heather said.

  “I was surprised when I came in and saw an evergreen tree,” Nicolas admitted, as he hung up a snowflake. “For some reason, I thought it might be a palm tree!”

  They all laughed.

  "By getting a plastic tree, we were able to get the traditional look," Heather said. "And we thought it might be less temptation for Cupcake so that she wouldn't get herself into trouble."

  Cupcake stopped pawing at the tree to give them a look that clearly said, “Who, me?”

  “We will have to build sandman instead of a snowman though,” Lilly said.

  They were just finishing the tree when Amy and Jamie arrived. They lived in the home above the Shepherds, so it was a short trek for them. They brought Miss Marshmallow, the prissy white dog that they were fostering, with them.

  "Hi Nicolas,” Jamie said. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Is this your new dog?” Nicolas asked.

  “No,” Amy and Jamie said quickly at the same time.

  Heather stopped herself from rolling her eyes. Amy and Jamie had been fostering the dog since she had been without a home during a murder case they were investigating. They denied that they were going to adopt the dog themselves, but Heather had not seen them take any action to get someone else to adopt the dog.

  “We’re just fostering her,” Jamie said. “Until we find her real forever home.”

  “And how is that search going?” Heather asked.

  “Well, we can’t find her a home right before Christmas,” Amy said. “Too many people try and get pets as Christmas gifts without realizing the lifelong responsibility it really is. We don’t want to hurt her self-esteem if someone tries to return her.”

  “Sure,” Heather said.

  Amy ignored Heather’s disbelief and set Miss Marshmallow on the floor. Dave bounded over to her, eager to impress the pretty dog. She still gave him some attitude but did follow him over to sniff the tree.

  Amy and Jamie complimented the tree. They were just deciding on which holiday classic they should watch that night when Heather’s phone rang. It was Ryan.

  “I was starting to wonder what was keeping you so long,” Heather said.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt the holiday movie night, but we could use you and Amy on a case,” he said.

  "Don't tell me," Heather sighed.

  “There’s been a murder,” Ryan said.

  Heather told the others as soon as she hung up. Jamie agreed to watch the kids and animals. Then, Heather and Amy hurried to get to the crime scene.

  “It doesn’t seem like ho, ho, ho for us this time of year,” Amy said. “It’s all go, go, go.”

  A Present of Murder

  Heather and Amy arrived at the house of the murder victim. The location was prime real estate facing the beach, but now his porch was covered with crime scene tape. One house next to him looked abandoned. The other house had some activity. A woman with curlers in her hair was peeking through the blinds to see what was going on.

  Heather sighed as they walked up the steps on the porch.

  “What’s wrong?” Amy asked. “Besides the murder. Or is it the murder?”

  "I do wish I were home with my family sipping cocoa instead of being called to a crime scene, but if we can help, then it's worth our being here. And I always hate when someone is killed, but it somehow seems worse at Christmastime,” Heather said.

  "I know what you mean," Amy agreed. "His neighbor has twinkle lights up, and his decorations are now caution tape."

  "He doesn't have any decorations up," Heather said, noticing. “Maybe he doesn’t celebrate Christmas.”

  "It doesn't look like he was celebrating much of anything," Amy said, pointing out a sign. It warned solicitors, pollsters and Girl Scouts from approaching his property. It used some colorful language to keep them away.

  “Thanks for coming,” Ryan said when he saw them.

  “We always want to help when we can,” Heather said. “So, what happened here?”

  “The victim’s name was Ben Grimes,” Ryan said. “He was an older man that lived here alone. The medical examiner will let us know more when he finishes the autopsy, but so far, he believes that he died this afternoon. There are some indications that he was poisoned.”

  "Are there any remnants of what he was eating?” Heather asked.

  “There’s some fruitcake on his table,” Ryan said.

  “Fruitcake?” Amy asked. “Do people still eat that?”

  "Not everyone eats donuts all the time," Heather replied.

  "There's other food in the house, but this looks like a fast-acting poison," Ryan said. "I had a thought about how this could have happened, but I want to wait until the medical examiner confirms it before I jump to conclusions."

  “Is there something else that you haven’t told us?” Heather asked.

  “Well, Mr. Grimes had a cut on his hand,” Ryan said. “It looks like he might have been headed to the bathroom sink, and… Why don’t I show you?”

  He led them further into the house. There was an outline on the floor where the body was removed.

  Ryan's partner Detective Peters was kneeling next to something shiny on the floor. He stood up when they saw him. He was a young detective who was always eager to prove himself, but who still doubted his instincts at times.

  "I'm glad you called them in," Peters said. "I wouldn't want a murderer to be on the loose for Christmas
. And so, we don't really have that much time."

  Heather nodded. “We’ll work as fast as we can.”

  "Did you find anything?" Ryan asked.

  “Yes,” Peters said, happily. “I think I did.”

  He hurried over to the shiny thing he was looking at when they joined him.

  "What is it?" Amy asked.

  “It looks like a candlestick,” Heather said. It was an ornate bronze piece with flourishes in its design. It was about six inches tall.

  “Right,” Peters said. “And Shepherd – I mean, Ryan Shepherd – I mean, sorry. I know you both same the same name.”

  “That happens when you get married,” Ryan chuckled.

  “I don’t want to be confusing,” Peters said. “But, detective, I think your hunch was right.”

  Peters took a pen out of his pocket and lifted the candlestick so they could see the other side of it. One part of the flourishes on the candlestick was sharpened, and there was blood on it.

  “You think the poison was administered this way?” Heather asked. “It entered his bloodstream through this cut and not through something he ate.”

  “I didn’t think the recent cut on his hand was a coincidence,” Ryan said.

  “So, he was killed with a candlestick but not hit with it?” Amy asked. “That changes the game of Clue.”

  "But how did the killer know that Ben Grimes would pick up the candlestick?” Heather asked.

  “He does live alone,” Ryan said. “It would be unlikely that someone else would have picked it up.”

  “So, did the killer come to this house and alter his existing candlestick?” Heather asked. “How did he know that Mr. Grimes definitely would pick it up?"

  “Maybe it’s something he would set up for Christmas?” Peters suggested.

  “He doesn’t have anything else up,” Amy said.

  “Are you saying that this wasn’t his candlestick?” Ryan asked.

  “It was just a thought I had,” said Heather. “Do you see any matching candlesticks in the house?”

  “I don’t think I saw any,” Peters said. “But maybe we should doublecheck.”

  They began looking around the house, without finding any other candlesticks. However, Heather did find something else of interesting in the house: a box and torn red wrapping paper.

  Ryan and Peters joined her, as she revealed her find.

  "No. There are no matching sticks," said Ryan.

  "I don't even see any sticks," said Amy. "Or candles."

  “So, the murder weapon was given to him?” Peters asked.

  “I think so,” said Heather. “And I think it was delivered in this box.”

  “It was a gift,” Ryan said. “Wrapped in that red paper. The box is the perfect size for the candlestick. The killer gave him the murder weapon as a present.”

  “That’s a really mean gift,” Amy said. “No chance there’s a card, is there?”

  They searched and found the card that had fallen. It had a Christmas tree on it with silver and gold decorations. Inside it said, “Believe in the spirit of Christmas.”

  “It’s not signed,” Peters said, frowning.

  “That’s all right,” Heather said. “I think I might have an idea who sent this.”

  “You know who the killer is?” Ryan asked.

  “I think,” Heather said, knowing how crazy it sounded. “That Santa was the killer.”

  Station Notes

  “Write down the suspect description as having a cherry nose and belly like a bowl full of jelly,” Amy said.

  “I have to admit that this whole thing sounds ridiculous,” Ryan said.

  He and Peters were at the police station the next morning with Heather, Amy and a box of Eggnog Cream Donuts.

  “I know,” Heather said. “But it’s not really Santa Claus we’re looking for. It’s the Key West Santa who was using his good deeds for a cover.”

  “Put down that he was last seen at the North Pole,” Amy joked.

  “Are we sure it was him?” Peters asked. “Maybe someone was just pretending.”

  “That is a good point,” Heather said, thinking about it. “There was an article in the paper that day about this secret Santa. It doesn’t give the killer a lot of time to put his plan into action to match the gift giver’s M.O. but it is possible.”

  “Lots of stores are selling red wrapping paper,” Ryan said. “But the toxin that was used to kill him might be more difficult to obtain.”

  “If we can determine where the killer got the poison, maybe we can discover who the killer is,” Peters said.

  “That’s what I’m hoping,” Ryan said. “The medical examiner agrees that it was a toxin that entered the victim’s bloodstream through the cut on his hand that caused his death. However, more tests need to be run to determine exactly what this toxin is.”

  “Our first case here used jellyfish toxin to kill a woman,” Heather said.

  “We can check that as a potential cause,” Ryan said. “But it might also be something manufactured by man.”

  “Of course,” Amy said. “People have come up with a ton of poisons. I’d prefer they came up with desserts instead. And never mix the two.”

  “If we can’t trace the toxin, can we find out anything from the box and wrapping paper?” Heather suggested.

  “Unfortunately, not,” Ryan said. “The only fingerprints found on the candlestick, the box, and the wrappings are the victim's."

  “Then, the killer was being careful,” Heather said.

  Amy picked up another donut. “Santa Claus can get into houses by coming down the chimney, and he never leaves prints."

  Heather took another donut as well and pondered what they knew so far. “I think we should find out as much as we can about the Key West Santa. We need to determine whether he committed the crime or if it was a copycat.”

  “What do we know about him so far?” Peters asked.

  “So far, just what the paper said. Someone is delivering gifts to people on the island that are wrapped in red paper,” Heather said.

  “He gave a gift to our friend Bernadette,” Amy added.

  “We should find out who else he gave gifts to,” Ryan said.

  "Great idea," said Heather. "Then we can see if there's a pattern to the gift giving and if Ben Grimes fits into that pattern."

  “Exactly,” Ryan said.

  “We can visit the newspaper office,” Heather suggested. “The reporter who wrote the story already did some legwork on it. Maybe she even knows everyone who received a gift.”

  Ryan nodded. “And I also want to find out anyone else that could have had a motive for killing Ben Grimes.”

  “What do we know about him besides that his present was the worst gift ever: murder,” asked Amy.

  "He moved here after he retired,” Ryan said. “It doesn’t seem like his job could have any bearing on his death. He retired twenty years ago.”

  “Any family?” asked Heather.

  “Distant relatives on the mainland,” Ryan said.

  "It took a long time to track down the correct next of kin to inform about his death," Peters said. "I don't think it was them."

  "The killer was probably someone on the island,” Heather said.

  “Like Santa?” asked Amy.

  "Like someone who he had a problem with and would want to kill him," said Heather. "I bet talking to his neighbor would be a good start for finding out more about him."

  “She did seem like a nosy neighbor,” Amy said. “She was very interested in what was happening last night. Then again, I might be interested if a crime scene were unraveling next door to me.”

  “Especially because Eva and Leila live next door,” Ryan joked. “Could you imagine those two as criminals?”

  “Only if it were stealing donuts,” said Heather. “And only if they were very desperate.”

  “I think I might visit Donut Delights tomorrow,” Peters said. “I want to pick up some of these delicious donuts to bring to my fam
ily for the holidays.”

  Heather suspected that this was only partially true and that he really wanted to see if her assistant Janae was working that day and if any mistletoe was part of the shop’s décor.

  “That would be nice,” Heather said, casually. “I think Janae will be working then.”

  “How about that?” Peters said, equally as casual.

  “Ryan, Miguel,” a voice said.

  Heather turned and saw Chief Chet moving towards them. He was the most laid-back police chief that Heather had ever met. He had always insisted that they call him by his first name, making him “Chief Chet” instead of “Chief Copeland.” Today, he stretched it by calling the other detectives by their first names too.

  However, under his novelty baseball cap proclaiming support for the “Reindeer Games” and his necklace of colored lights, Chief Chet looked concerned.

  “How is this new case coming along?” he asked.

  “We’ve found the murder weapon, but need to determine what the exact toxin is,” Ryan said. “We also need to find out who had a motive to kill the victim.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you get back to work,” Chief Chet said. “But I want this one solved by Christmas. I can’t have killers running around while kids are looking for Santa.”

  “They might not want to this year,” Amy muttered, and Heather nudged her friend with her elbow.

  "Do you think you can solve it?” Chief Chet asked, throwing down the challenge.

  The investigators all nodded. Chief Chet smiled and left, after taking one of the Eggnog Cream Donuts for himself, of course.

  “We better get to it,” Heather said.

  The Nosy Neighbor

  “I wish the reporter could have seen us a little earlier,” Heather said.

  “Really?” Amy asked. “I would have thought that you’d say something about how it gives us the perfect amount of time to see Ben Grimes’s neighbor before we meet her.”

  "I normally would be thinking along those lines," Heather said. "But I have to admit that I'm just thinking about how we're missing making popcorn garland with Eva and Leila and the kids. I'm sorry. It makes me feel selfish to be thinking about what I'm missing out on when the victim is going to be missing out on everything now."