Mall Santa Murder: A Cozy Christmas Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 1)

by Willow Monroe

  Detective Ferguson knocked on the door and they heard the sounds of children laughing and little feet running through the house. Finally, the door cracked open and Gemma could see a slice of Rosalie McLear’s pale face. She looked nervous.

  “Mrs. McLear, I’m Detective Ferguson,” he said by way of introduction. “I hate to bother you at a time like this, but could we come in and talk to you for a moment?”

  Without a word, she opened the door and allowed them inside. It was blessedly warm in the small, dark house. There were as many toys in the living room as in the front yard.

  “Please, sit,” Rosalie said, pushing toys off of the sofa as they picked their way through a pile closer to the door.

  They sat side by side and Rosalie took a chair across from them.

  “Sam was the perfect guy to play Santa, you know that,” she said. “He was always late with his child support, but he made sure the children had plenty of toys.”

  Gemma smiled at her. Santa’s ex-wife was wearing the same jeans and sweat shirt she’d had on that morning. Her black hair stuck out in all directions and her eyes looked red and swollen. The little girl Gemma had seen crying at the mall, Sam’s step-daughter, crawled onto her mother’s lap and stared at them with big eyes.

  “We’re so sorry for your loss,” Gemma said softly.

  Rosalie looked at her for the first time. “You’re that lady from the mall with the jewelry.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You’re the one who found him,” she added.

  “Yes, ma’am. After you left I tried to get him up so another child wouldn’t find him like that. That’s when...”

  Rosalie nodded and swallowed hard. “Are you one of his girlfriends?” she asked.

  “Me? No, ma’am,” Gemma answered.

  “I’m surprised. He liked ‘em young and pretty,” she added.

  “Mrs. McLear, could we just ask you a few questions?” Detective Ferguson said, as if trying to get the conversation back on track.

  She nodded slowly and stroked the little girl's hair.

  “Do you know of anyone who would want to kill your husband? Did he have any enemies?” he asked.

  Rosalie barked out a sharp little laugh. “Only about half the husbands in town, for a start. He liked ‘em married, too,” she added, looking at Gemma.

  While the detective was making notes in his pad, a question popped into Gemma’s head. “Do you remember the other day when you came to the mall? You had an argument,” Gemma reminded her.

  Rosalie shook her head. “We were always arguing. That’s why I divorced him. Well, one of the reasons.”

  “You were in front of my kiosk and he said he had a plan. Then he took you aside to, I guess, tell you about his plan.”

  Rosalie McLear nodded. “Yeah, I remember.”

  Do you remember what that plan was?” Gemma felt Ross shift forward, waiting expectantly for the answer. They were sitting so close that Gemma could feel the phone in his pocket vibrate.

  “Oh, he had a plan alright,” she said, holding the little girl on her lap a bit tighter.

  “Did it have something to do with robbery?” Ross asked.

  Rosalie took a deep breath and shook her head. “He wanted to go to Santa school.”

  “Santa school?” Ross and Gemma said at the same time.

  She nodded. “He had enjoyed the weekend so much, he wanted to be Santa year round.” When they didn’t respond, she explained. “You know - visiting sick kids in hospitals, bringing food and clothing to orphanages, that kind of thing.”

  Gemma had no idea there was such a thing as Santa school. Now she saw the man who played Santa in a whole new light.

  Rosalie McLear stood up abruptly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a funeral to plan and, after that, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  Chapter Seven

  “She didn’t do it,” Gemma said once they were back in the car.

  “Calling on all of your experience as a detective or is it just a hunch?” Ross Ferguson asked, a little smile on his face.

  “She loved him,” Gemma said, ignoring his teasing.

  “Yeah, that was pretty obvious,” he agreed. “But people still sometimes kill the people they love.”

  Gemma nodded and then said, “The elf is too small.”

  “He could have had an accomplice?” he argued.

  “Like Bill Chambers? He was pretty angry when he thought Santa was stealing from him.”

  Ross seemed to think about that for a moment as they sat there staring out at the swirling snowflakes. His phone buzzed insistently in his pocket. “Let me get you back to your car and then I have to get to the office. The chief is calling non-stop,” he said as he put the car in gear and pulled away from the sad little house.

  “I guess we don’t get many murders around here, so he’s probably eager to get it solved,” Gemma mused, her mind still going over the suspect list.

  “Not many,” the detective agreed. “But he wants this one solved before he goes on his Christmas vacation and he’s riding my butt to get it done.”

  Gemma was stunned. “This investigation is being pushed so the chief of police can go on vacation?”

  Ross shrugged and nodded. “The first forty-eight hours is the most important, anyway,” he reminded her.

  “Still...”

  Then Gemma’s cell played Jingle Bells in her pocket. Before answering it she saw that she had a slew of missed calls.

  “Gemma, where are you? We’ve been looking all over.” It was Nick and he sounded frantic.

  “I’m with Ross,” Gemma answered without thinking.

  “Who?”

  “Ross Ferguson. I went with him to...”

  Nick repeated her answer and she heard Holly groaning in the background.

  “Why are you with him? Does he have you in custody?”

  “No...”

  “Should we call Mitch?”

  “No. Listen, Nick,” Gemma said, closing her eyes while she waited for Nick and Holly to calm down. “My car wouldn’t go into drive. Ross came by and I tagged along with him when he went to talk to Mrs. McLear.”

  “That’s what scared me so bad. Your car was still here and you weren’t,” Nick seemed calmer now.

  “And you didn’t answer your cell phone,” Holly said from somewhere close by.

  “I know. I left my purse in the car and just now saw that I missed a lot of calls,” Gemma explained.

  Silence.

  “Guys, I’m almost there now. I’ll be right in,” Gemma said and ended the call.

  “Sorry you had to hear that. They’re a little over protective since my parents died last year,” Gemma explained.

  Ross smiled. “It’s good to have people looking after you.”

  “Sometimes they smother me to death, but they mean well.”

  “You say you and Nick are friends?”

  “We’ve been friends since first grade.” She didn’t feel like going into her ever changing relationship with Nick.

  Ross just smiled at her and winked, a heart stopping sight if she ever saw one. “Should I drop you off in the front then?” he asked.

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  They were quiet until she opened the door to get out.

  “Hey, Gemma,” Ross said, leaning across the seat.

  For a split second she thought he was going to kiss her. She didn’t know whether to be scared or excited.

  “Be careful,” he said. “No investigating on your own.”

  Gemma laughed. “I promise.”

  “And after all of this is over, I’d like to tinker with that old Subaru of yours see if I can figure out what’s wrong with it,” he offered.

  “You work on cars?”

  “When I have time,” he said with a smile that deepened the dimple in his cheek. "It's a hobby."

  Gemma was suddenly a little disappointed that he hadn’t kissed her.

  “Now let me get back to work, and hang onto my card. If yo
u need me or think of anything I should know, give me a call.” He repeated his instructions from that morning.

  “I will. And thanks,” Gemma said, stepping out into the cold wind.

  Grady Jackson was standing just inside the glass doors when Gemma stepped inside. He was the last person she wanted to see right now. “Your friends have been looking all over for you,” he said.

  “I know. I talked to them,” Gemma told him.

  “I didn’t know you were friends with Detective Ferguson,” he said, following her toward the kiosk where Nick and Holly waited impatiently.

  “I’m not. I mean, I just went with him to talk to Mrs. McLear,” Gemma explained and then wondered why she was telling him this. “I was worried about the little girl.”

  He nodded.

  They passed Santa Land, which was quiet, but at least the crime scene tape had been removed and Ralph the Elf was tidying things up.

  “New Santa on the way?” she asked.

  Ralph puffed out his chest. “Yeah, management wanted this buttoned up pretty quickly,” he said.

  “The bottom line,” Gemma answered, trying to keep the disgust out of her voice. A man died in this spot just hours earlier and everyone acted like it was no big deal. Just clean it up and move on. The show must go on.

  Bill was doing a brisk business in his kiosk and Gemma remembered she hadn’t had the chance to ask Ross more about his other suspects.

  Nick hugged her and then held her away at arm’s length with both hands on her shoulders. “You scared us half to death.”

  “I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to scare you - or you,” she added, looking at Holly and gently removing herself from Nick’s grip. “I guess I just didn’t think.”

  “I have to go back to the paper,” Nick said, calming down somewhat. “I’ll come back by later this evening.”

  “Okay,” Gemma felt strangely relieved that he was leaving.

  “Well?” Holly asked after he had gone.

  “Well what?” Gemma asked, although she could tell by the look on her friend’s face that that question had a thousand meanings.

  “Ross? You’re on a first name basis so soon,” Holly teased.

  Gemma shrugged.

  “I’m not sure which upset Nick the most, the fact that he couldn’t find you or when he found out you were with the detective,” Holly said.

  “It was purely innocent,” Gemma told her friend. “And Nick was just worried that I had been arrested for something.”

  “So are you on the list of suspects?” Holly asked.

  “Probably. We all are, at least for the moment, but I know Mrs. McLear, Santa’s ex-wife, is off the suspect list.”

  “She had an alibi?”

  “She was in love with him,” Gemma said as if that made all the difference in the world.

  Holly looked skeptical.

  “Have we been busy?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

  “A little. I’m ready for a break,” Holly said.

  “Could I run to the ladies room real quick? I promise I won’t be long,” Gemma asked.

  “Sure, the closest one is right there,” Holly pointed at the narrow hall just off to the right.

  Gemma knew that was the closest one but she avoided that bathroom whenever possible. It was dark and narrow and she had to go right past Grady Jackson’s office to get to it. For some reason, that unnerved her. Not that she was afraid of him, she just didn’t like the fact that his office was that close to the restroom - it struck her as creepy, somehow. Pushing her worries aside, she took a deep breath and headed in that direction.

  The door to Jackson’s office was closed and she was relieved, hoping he was out in the stores watching for shoplifters. Surely, they hadn’t given up on that just because Santa had been killed. There was no way the old man could have stolen anything. Where would he have hidden it? And then she remembered what they had found in his locker. Could they have been planted there to make it look like Santa was a thief?

  Suddenly, the office door opened and Grady Jackson filled the hall. “Did you need something?” he asked.

  “No, I was just...” Gemma finished her sentence by pointing at the restroom door.

  He stared down at her for a moment and then turned and marched away.

  Chapter Eight

  Mall traffic picked up in the evening after everyone got off work and they made a few substantial sales. Both women were amazed, pleased and so very excited that their fledgling business was being so well received in this, their hometown.

  “Imagine if we were in New York or LA?” Holly said, her dark eyes glittering with excitement.

  Gemma barely heard her. She was looking at the children, very quiet children, lined up to talk to the new Santa and sit on his lap. Ralph the Elf was there, smiling placidly, pacing back and forth, hands behind his back. The children were standing in a perfectly straight line and the whole scene seemed subdued and somewhat strange.

  “Ladies,” Bill Chambers said as he approached.

  “Looks like you’ve been busy,” Holly said to the older man.

  “Yes, I just called Edna to tell her how well things went today,” he said with a chuckle.

  “They didn’t go well for Santa,” Gemma cut in, watching him closely for a reaction.

  “That’s true but, dear, what did you expect?”

  “I expected him to live through Christmas,” Gemma said. “And so did the children.”

  “He was a thief and a drunk. Did you know he was here doing community service for a shoplifting?” Bill asked.

  Holly just shook her head. “I had no idea.”

  Gemma kept quiet. Bill had been there early that morning alone.

  “Where’s Edna?” Gemma asked. “I haven’t seen her all day.”

  “Oh, she wasn’t feeling well this morning, decided to stay home. I came in early to get some bookkeeping kind of things done. The weekend was a bit much for her,” he said with a nervous little laugh.

  “That’s right, you were here when I found him,” Gemma said, as if the thought had just come to her.

  “Yes, I was,” he said and then looked at his watch. “Well, I guess I’d better run. See you ladies tomorrow.”

  “That was weird,” Holly said.

  “Didn’t he act suspicious to you?” Gemma asked.

  Holly shook her head. “No, not until you started giving him the third degree.”

  “Oh, please,” Gemma said, wondering why her normally suspicious friend was suddenly so trusting. “He’s been ranting all weekend about how Santa was a thief. It’s entirely possible...”

  “Leave the investigating to the police,” Holly said, cutting her off. “Don’t be sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong. It could get you into trouble.”

  By this time the mall was completely closed down. Buttoned into their coats, they locked up their kiosk and walked toward the doors to the main entrance. One of the security crew would eventually see them on the cameras and come to let them out. As they stood there staring out into the dark parking lot, Gemma thought it seemed darker than usual, as if some lights were missing or something. Had it always been this dark or was she just now realizing it?

  Suddenly, Gemma didn’t feel so safe in her tiny little town at all. She thought about calling Nick, but that was silly. He’d brought their sandwiches around supper time and then said he was going home to work on a story for the paper.

  Unfortunately Jackson was the only security left in the building. He let them out and then securely locked the door behind them. Shivering with more than the cold, Gemma started her car and let it warm up a bit. Holly was waiting, her big SUV idling close by to make sure she was safely on her way. Thankfully, her car went into drive on the first try. She tapped her horn to let Holly know all was well and then watched her friend drive away until the red taillights disappeared into the darkness.

  Gemma was home within fifteen minutes. Her house even seemed darker than usual, and she promised
herself that she would leave some lights on at least through December when she was out so late. She hadn’t even left a porch light on, which was just dumb. Gathering up her courage, she made sure she had her house key in her hand and then got out of her car. Her high heels made little tapping sounds on the walk which sounded so loud that she caught herself trying to tiptoe.

  Using the flashlight on her phone, she found the door knob easily, pushed the key into the lock and turned it. The phone in her hand vibrated and blared out the Jingle Bells ring tone she had downloaded on Thanksgiving Day. Gemma screamed, dropped the phone, picked it up and dropped it again, her hand was shaking so badly.

  “Hello,” she said, while getting inside the house and quickly locking the door behind her.

  “Gemma, I was just checking on you,” the male voice on the line said.

  “Who...who is this?” she asked, reminding herself that she needed to start checking her caller ID on a regular basis.

  “Ross. Ross Ferguson,” he said.

  Once he said his name, Gemma recognized the voice. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. Her knees were so weak she barely made it to the nearest chair where she collapsed.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.

  “Yeah, I’m just a little bit jumpy,” she said, turning on a lamp by the sofa. It cast a warm glow over the room. “I guess the day has shaken me up more than I realized.”

  Ross chuckled. “Too much detective work for you for one day?”

  Gemma laughed softly her, mind wandering to an image of him. Sitting in the semi-darkness with his voice right in her ear was nice. The Christmas tree stood bare next to the bank of windows on the opposite side of the room, almost mocking her.

  “Have you made any headway on the case?” she asked, forcing her thoughts back to reality.

  “Not really, but don’t you worry about that,” he said. “Make sure your house is locked up tight and try to get some sleep.”

  “I will,” Gemma promised, stifling a yawn with one hand.

  “And leave the detective work to me,” he added.

  “I will,” Gemma said again.

  “Um, one more thing,” he said. “I’d like to take you to lunch tomorrow. You know, kind of a thank you for helping me out today.”