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

by Willow Monroe

  But Ross had already ended the call.

  Chapter Twelve

  Gemma awoke the next morning feeling a little lost. Both Nick and Ross were out of town for a couple of days which really shouldn’t have been any big deal. But the return of the shoplifting incidents really made her nervous.

  And over the next few days it grew worse. Several more people reported missing merchandise, including Bill and Edna. For some reason that was particularly upsetting to Gemma. She knew how hard Edna worked on her designs and how proud she was of them. Security was obviously beefed up with the young men on Grady’s ‘security team’ patrolling the areas even more often.

  Most of his ‘team’ were young men who looked to be straight out of high school. She doubted they had very much experience in security or anything else but hanging around malls. Mostly, they stood around, laughed and joked and flirted with girls who were shopping. Oh, they straightened up when the saw Grady coming or when one of their walkie-talkies squawked to life, but Gemma had a feeling that they were all pretty much on their own

  On Monday night, Gemma was working alone at the kiosk. She’d talked to both Nick and Ross during the day. They were both busy at their offices playing catch up after having been out of town. Nick was hard at work on a new story. Ross was putting together a report to give to the Chief, hoping to placate him until after Christmas.

  Holly and Mitch were at the law office Christmas party where a big announcement was rumored to be in the works. Something to do with an offer of a partnership to one very lucky, very hard-working young attorney. And Gemma had a feeling Holly and Mitch would be making another big announcement soon after that. Maybe on Christmas day. She was so happy for them, as well as Nick.

  Ah, Christmas. It was but a week away and everyone seemed to be in the spirit. Including the endless stream of children who waited to talk to Santa every day.

  She was watching two little boys wrestling on the floor much to the chagrin of their mother when she saw Edna approaching.

  “Gemma, would you mind watching our kiosk for us while we go grab something to eat,” Edna asked.

  “Sure, it’s really slow tonight. I’ll keep an eye on things,” Gemma said happily.

  Purely out of boredom, Gemma locked her kiosk and went over to Bill and Edna’s, unlocked it and stepped inside. It felt kind of magical being surrounded by all those sun catchers. The way the colorful glass reflected the light and shone down on her made her feel like she was standing inside of a rainbow. Or maybe a church with those beautiful stained glass windows.

  Then she looked up and saw someone at her kiosk. It was a young couple and it looked like they’d just left the gym. That seemed to be their target customer so she locked up Bill and Edna’s and hurried back to her own kiosk passing Santa and his elves as they headed for dinner. The children ran along behind him making him look like the pied piper. Suddenly, Gemma felt like the guy at the hot dog stand who ran across to the Mexican eatery and put on his sombrero. The idea made her laugh.

  She was right. The couple made a fairly large purchase and just as she was carefully making note of it in Holly’s sales notebook, she looked up to see one of the security guys pocketing one of Edna’s sun catchers. At first she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Then when she saw him reach for a second sun catcher, she knew. She knew she had to put a stop to it right then and there.

  Looking around to see if there was anyone to help, she discovered she was alone. Where had all the children gone? Where was Santa and the elves? And then she remembered passing all of them as they headed to the opposite end of the mall where the high school was setting up for their annual Christmas variety show.

  “Hey,” she shouted. “Hey, you!” Anger boiled up inside of her. She’d seen the kid hanging around their kiosk as well and was sure this was their thief.

  The boy froze with a sun catcher in one hand and he remained rooted to the spot as Gemma dashed through Santa Land feeling as sure footed as a gazelle in her high heeled boots. Was he smiling at her? Gemma wasn’t happy until she had a hand full of the boy’s jacket.

  “How dare you steal from these people? We’re going to your boss with this right now,” she snarled.

  He was taller than her and probably stronger but he didn’t put up a fight. Was he that scared or just shocked into silence? Gemma drug him into that narrow dimly lit hall that she hated. Keeping a firm grip on her thief, she pounded on the door to Grady Jackson’s office praying he was inside.

  “Come on in, Roger. I’m just about ready to bag up our haul for toni...”

  Gemma stood there staring at what looked like Santa’s workshop. Grady’s desk was filled with merchandise, sweaters and jewelry and perfume and lingerie. She spotted a ring from HealthGems. She spotted several of Edna’s beautiful sun catchers and her white hot anger boiled over.

  “You! You were in on this the whole time,” she snarled, both fists on her hips. “You and your crew of bandits,” she said, glaring at Roger.

  Grady laughed. Literally stood there boxing up stolen merchandise, laughing at her. “You’re done for the night, Roger. Get out of here.”

  “I’m calling Ross...”

  Before she could even react, he was across the room, slamming the door shut and blocking her exit. “You’re not calling anyone.”

  “That’s what you think,” Gemma snapped and started at him, claws bared.

  “Ah, Jeez!” he laughed at her again, easily caught both wrists in one hand and shoved her into a nearby chair. “You think I’m going to let you get in my way?”

  “You can’t keep me in here,” Gemma said, lunging at him again.

  Again, he caught her and shoved her back into the chair.

  “They’ll come looking for me,” she sputtered, getting to her feet.

  “It will be too late,” he said, his voice suddenly quiet as a gun appeared in his hand.

  Gemma froze.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Ross and Nick arrived at the mall parking lot at almost the same time. They parked, one on either side of Gemma’s car, got out of their own vehicles and eyed one another in the darkness.

  It was Ross who broke the silence. “Have you tried to call her?”

  “All evening. At first it rang and rang, and now it just goes to voice mail,” Nick told him.

  Ross heard worry in his voice. “Her car is still here,” Ross stated the obvious.

  “Good work, detective,” Nick scoffed. “That could mean a couple of things. Maybe it wouldn’t go into gear again and she just hitched a ride with Holly. I don’t see her SUV anywhere.”

  “Or?”

  “Or she’s still inside,” Nick said.

  Both men stood there in the dark, looking at each other over the hood of Gemma’s car. The wind whipped around them, blowing a light snow. It looked like they might have a white Christmas after all. The weather was always unpredictable in this part of the state. Several shop owners came out of the mall, calling Merry Christmas to each other, laughing and making plans for the holiday. Someone drove by with what sounded like sleigh bells on their vehicle.

  “She’ll be out in a minute,” Ross said, leaning against the fender and crossing his arms over his chest. It didn’t look like he planned to go anywhere any time soon.

  “Yeah. I’ll just wait. She really doesn’t like us hovering over her all the time,” Nick told him. “Since her parents died and we, well, we broke up, I’ve tried not to smother her.”

  “She’s an independent lady, that’s for sure,” Ross said, smiling as he remembered her going with him to see Rosalie McLear.

  “With a big heart,” Nick added.

  They stood there in silence for a little while, each man seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

  This time it was Nick who broke the silence. “Hey, isn’t that Bill and Edna Chambers?” he asked.

  Ross stood up and looked in the direction Nick was pointing. “Yeah, let’s go see if they’ve seen Gemma.”

  They
both started in the direction of the older couple, trying not to run.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Chambers,” Ross called out just as they were climbing into their car.

  “Well, hello, detective,” Edna Chambers said, giving him that wide, welcoming smile that endeared her to so many people, including her customers.

  Bill Chambers frowned at his wife and then turned to face the two men. “Can we help you?”

  “We were just wanting to know if Gemma is still inside,” Nick cut in before Ross could answer.

  “Actually, we don’t know,” Edna said, coming around the car to join her husband.

  “You don’t know?”

  “We asked her to watch our kiosk while we went to get something to eat but when we came back she was nowhere to be seen,” Edna said, reaching for Bill’s hand.

  “You haven’t seen her since you got back from dinner?” Ross asked, in full detective mode now.

  The elderly couple shook their heads.

  “Has her business partner, Holly Blake, been here?”

  They shook their heads again. “We haven’t seen her since early afternoon.”

  “So no one has been in the HealthGems kiosk all evening?” Nick asked. "Gemma would never leave it completely unattended unless something drastic happened."

  “Right and someone is stealing again,” Bill added, glaring at Ross. “What do you plan on doing about that, officer?”

  “First, let me locate Gemma and then I’ll look more closely into the matter,” Ross promised.

  “Gemma may have been right about McLear not being the thief,” he muttered to Nick as they left the couple. The men went straight to the entrance closest to the HealthGems kiosk. At nine-forty-five the place was unofficially closed but, thankfully the doors weren’t locked. They ran straight to the kiosk, which was still a beautifully lit and glowing island in the semi-darkness. Nick leaned over the counter as far as he could.

  “Her coat is still here,” he announced. “She usually locks her purse inside that little door there.

  It looked locked up tight to Ross and he chewed on his lower lip while trying to decide what to do next. “Let’s check the restrooms.”

  “Good idea,” Nick said.

  One man went one way, one went the other. They checked every bathroom, even the men’s rooms. They had already been cleaned and it looked like the cleaning crew had already left for the night.

  Back at the kiosk Ross found Nick shaking his head. “Did you check this one?” he asked pointing to the restroom that was closest to the kiosk.

  “No,” Nick said.

  They both started toward the narrow dimly lit hall that led to a single bathroom.

  “She hates this bathroom,” Nick told Ross just before they reached the door.

  “I can see why,” Ross said.

  Ross opened the door and called Gemma’s name. It echoed back at him. He waited a few minutes and they both stepped into the well-lit space. There were four stalls and the men went to opposite ends to begin their search. They found nothing except a pristine bathroom.

  Back out in the narrow hall, Ross realized they were standing right beside Grady Jackson’s office door. He turned the knob only to find it locked. He knocked on it politely and waited for a response.

  Nothing.

  “He has to be here somewhere,” Nick said, wishing he could just rip the door off the hinges to see if Gemma was inside.

  Picking up on Nick’s impatience, Ross pounded on the door with his fist. “Jackson, are you in there?”

  Nothing.

  “Okay, let’s go see if there are any other cars left in the parking lot,” Ross said, with the sinking feeling that they were quickly running out of time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gemma almost cried when she saw two shadowy figures enter the mall on the screen behind Grady’s desk. Even though she was tied to the chair, she might be able to get out of this situation with Jackson - maybe. He had put the gun down and was watching the screen as well. But with three of them surrounding her, she didn’t stand a chance.

  The two men on the camera headed in the direction of her kiosk and Gemma closed her eyes. If they really wanted to get to the merchandise, they could easily break the glass. They were going to lose everything. Poor Holly had worked so hard. The future had looked so bright just hours earlier. And then she recognized one of the men.

  "Nick," she breathed his name before she thought,

  Grady turned and gave her that cold little smile. "As soon as your boyfriends leave I'll lock that front door and we can continue."

  “You’ll never get away with this,” Gemma told him, trying to keep her voice from trembling.

  “Oh, I think I will,” he said with a little smile again. “I’ve managed to fly under the radar for a while now. By the time they find your body, in the morning, I’ll be halfway across the country.”

  Gemma looked at the screen again and the men were nowhere in sight. Grady pressed some keys on his keyboard and a grid appeared, giving them a view of each of the bathrooms. Nick and Ross were searching for her. A few more clicks and they were looking at HealthGems kiosk again. Nick and Ross reappeared and seemed to be talking.

  What she thought had been military bravado had been nothing more than evil. Gemma kept her eyes on the screen, holding her breath. The men disappeared again but now she could hear them, their voices muffled by the thick concrete wall.

  Just before Gemma screamed, Grady slapped a hot, sweaty hand across her mouth so hard she saw stars. Grady was behind her now, the barrel of the gun pressed into her temple. He was squeezing her face so hard she could barely breathe.

  "One sound and I'll kill you right here, right now," he hissed in her ear. "And they'll be next."

  “She hates this bathroom,” she thought she heard Nick say.

  “I can see why,” Ross answered. The door squeaked open and she heard him call her name.

  Her scream came out as nothing more than a whimper. She heard Nick and Ross come back out of the bathroom. Heard the door knob turn and rattle. Then she heard a polite knock.

  “He has to be here somewhere,” Nick said.

  Someone pounded on the door. “Jackson, are you in there?” That was Ross. He sounded as impatient as Nick.

  Grady Jackson squeezed her face so tight with his fingers she had trouble breathing. He pushed the gun deeper into the skin on her temple.

  “Okay, let’s go see if there are any other cars left in the parking lot,” Ross said.

  Gemma’s heart sank as she listened to their footsteps moving away. In just a few moments, she saw the two shadowy figures which she knew to be Nick and Ross on the screen again. They were moving toward the same entrance where they’d entered the mall.

  “Good girl,” Grady said, when the door closed behind them. “Now, you wait right here until I get back. Then we’ll go visit Santa Land.”

  Even as he left the room, she began struggling with her bonds. The zip ties held firm. Gemma watched him swagger to the doors where Nick and Ross had just left and lock them securely. She knew she was truly alone with him now. She watched as he took his time moving from one door to another making sure it was locked. Finally, she hung her head and wept openly.

  When Grady returned to his office, he didn’t immediately untie Gemma. Instead, he adjusted the view of one of the cameras with a few clicks of the mouse and Santa Land came into focus. He manipulated the camera a few more times until it was blurry, just vague images of Santa’s big chair, the plastic reindeer and poinsettias. Then he put on a green elf hat.

  “Gotta blame this on somebody,” he explained when he saw Gemma watching him closely.

  “Ralph the Elf?” Gemma asked.

  Without another word, Grady untied her from the chair but kept her in an iron grip while he led her out to Santa Land. When they reached the brightly colored carpet tiles, he flung her away from him. With her hands still tied behind her and unable to break her fall, she landed hard on her bottom.
>
  Confident that she wasn’t going anywhere, Jackson took a seat in Santa’s big chair and crossed his legs.

  “Now what?” Gemma asked, moving to a sitting position. Without moving her head, she searched for a weapon as best she could. The closest thing she came to was a plastic reindeer. Then she remembered Santa had been clutching a plastic antler in his hand.

  “Let’s see. Maybe you were so distraught over finding Santa that you killed yourself,” Jackson murmured, tapping his chin with the gun. “One shot to the head and the gun in your hand. Kind of cliché but...”

  “They’ll see someone on the camera,” she reminded him.

  “Oh, yeah, that’s right,” he said, as if he had forgotten.

  Even in the dimly lit area, Gemma could see his eyes glittering as cold as glass.

  “Then maybe it was the elf,” he suggested. “Yeah, that grumpy elf that wanted Santa out of the way all along.”

  “Why would he kill me?”

  “Same reason he helped me kill Santa,” he said with a little grin. “You stumbled onto our lucrative little venture here in town just like he did. We can’t have word getting out that the elves and the security guards are all in on the shoplifting ring.”

  Gemma had inched closer to the reindeer, her thoughts spinning as she waited for just the right moment. His statement brought her up cold. “All of you?” she asked, completely surprised.

  Grady nodded. “Yep, every evening we ship our take for the day out to our buyer in Richmond. He deposits cash into my bank account and I disperse it to my men. Roger, the young guy you caught tonight, it was his first night with us. I don’t suspect he’ll have another. Especially after that stupid elf spills his guts to your boyfriend, Ross.”

  Gemma was stunned that something this sinister could be going on in her quiet little home town mall.

  “It’s kind of a win-win situation,” Grady continued.

  “How so?” Gemma asked, she had no idea if she could stop him with the reindeer but she had to try something.

  “Your boyfriend, Ross, will be the hero when he solves the crimes including Santa’s murder. Your other boyfriend, Nick, will have his front page story. By Christmas I’ll be in Mexico.”