by Lyndsey Cole
While the steaming hot water in the shower pounded on Annie, she relived the events from the night before. And she didn’t like what she remembered.
Leona was way too anxious about impressing Mrs. Delaney. Her business didn’t depend on getting hired for that event, did it? What else was going on that Annie didn’t know about? Never mind Cookie Snow and Charlene Abbott’s obvious dislike, or more accurately, their loathing of Nelson. What was behind that? It couldn’t only be his obnoxious behavior because of his drinking.
Annie wondered if Charlene and Nelson had some baggage from their marriage. Cookie wanted to embarrass Leona in front of Mrs. Delaney, but was that her only motive at the party? Maybe that was just the frosting on her cookie.
Jason peeked behind the shower curtain. “Almost done? Or we could just tell Paul we can’t make it.” Jason’s voice was filled with a hopeful expectation.
“We should go. It’s not good manners to cancel at the last minute.” Annie wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip between her fingers. “We’ll still have the whole afternoon to hang out.”
“You sure know how to disappoint a guy,” Jason said with a sad puppy dog pout. He held a towel out for Annie. “I’ll take Roxy out for a quick walk while you get dressed.”
Annie dried her curls, pulled on her favorite worn-in jeans, a dark green turtleneck sweater, and warm wool socks. She pulled her silver strawberry necklace to the outside of her sweater and surveyed the final look. She smiled at her reflection and reminded herself how lucky she was. Leona wasn’t guilty of anything except being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once that was cleared up, she could get back to the important business of being Mrs. Jason Hunter.
One last shake of her head and she was good to go.
Chapter 6
Annie and Jason bundled up with warm winter gear for the walk to Paul Ames’s house. Annie looped her arm through Jason’s and matched his gait as they made their way along the Lake Trail. Her breath formed little clouds with every exhale and her nose tingled with each inhale of the cold, crisp air. Her stomach rumbled loud enough to be heard over the crunch of the icy crystals under their boots.
Jason chuckled. “I’m glad you brought your appetite. Paul’s quite a good cook. He has a fantastic garden every summer and freezes plenty of veggies to get him through the winter.”
“You’ve known him a long time?”
“Yup. He’s had his place here on Heron Lake for as long as I can remember. One late summer afternoon, when I was ten, he caught me stealing some tomatoes.”
Annie snorted. “I bet you got a tongue lashing or worse. Did he make you weed his garden in punishment?”
“Nope. He made me the most delicious BLT sandwich I’d ever had. On homemade bread.”
“Really? The best? What made it so good?” Annie asked. Just the thought of summer’s ripe tomatoes made her stomach beg for food.
“Well, those ripe tomatoes were juicy and super-flavorful. I guess that was the secret. He actually felt honored that I wanted a fresh tomato so badly that I risked getting in trouble for it. He wasn’t mad at all and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“You must be one of the few then. I’ve heard plenty of people that steer clear of Paul Ames.”
“He’s blunt and opinionated and has no trouble expressing his views. Lots of people don’t want to hear it but it doesn’t mean he’s wrong, he just doesn’t have a very tactful delivery. I’ve learned not to give him an opening or he’ll dig in and get under your skin.”
Great, Annie thought. Why was she exposing herself to this man who she had gone out of her way to avoid because of what she heard about him? Right, he was Jason’s friend so she promised to meet him. “I’ll let you do the talking and I’ll do the eating,” Annie said. It might not be a hard promise to keep since, if the food was as delicious as Jason suggested, her mouth would be too full to talk.
She looked up at Thelma Dodd’s house and was pleased to see Thelma waving from her porch. “We have to visit Thelma later today. I think she gets extra lonely in the winter. We can bring her some of Leona’s Christmas cookies.”
“Maybe that will keep her occupied enough to forget about her crossword puzzle,” Jason moaned. “I’m not sure I’m up for that adventure.”
“Hey, I’m coming with you to Paul’s house. Fair is fair.”
Beyond Thelma’s house, Jason guided Annie up a well-shoveled path to a shingled house tucked under towering pines. “Paul’s house is small and cozy and he prides himself on all the undeveloped land that still surrounds him. His gardens are on the two acres on the other side, between his house and the next one.”
“Who owns the next house?”
Jason hesitated.
Annie turned her head to look at Jason. “You don’t know?”
He wrapped his arm around Annie’s shoulders and pulled her close. “I do. Cookie Snow owns the next house.”
Annie stiffened. “Don’t tell me you’re friends with her too.”
“As a matter of fact, I’ve known Cookie for a few years and she’s a decent person.”
“How—”
Jason put his finger gently over Annie’s lips. “Before you say anything, I’m not happy how she treated Leona last night. You know that Leona and I have been friends forever. I’m just saying, until Cookie’s behavior at the party, I thought she was a decent person so I’m not sure what’s going on with her.”
The walkway from the Lake Trail to Paul’s house was completely free of any snow or ice. The mounded snow along the path was perfectly vertical.
“Does Paul clean his walk with a blow torch?” Annie asked.
“Paul’s a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his property,” Jason explained. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he has heating pipes underneath.”
The front door of Paul’s cottage opened. A man filled the doorway, an impeccable Santa figure, Annie thought. He didn’t need any stuffing. Or a fake beard.
“Hurry on in out of the cold. I have coffee ready, my special Kona coffee,” Paul said as he stood to one side so Jason and Annie could squeeze past him. “What took you so long to walk over? I thought you’d never get here. Still enjoying your vacation?” He wiggled his eyebrows and Annie bit her tongue to keep her rude reply corralled.
“We left the vacation at the beach, unfortunately,” Jason answered. “Now we’ve moved on to enjoying coffee together in the morning, if we’re fortunate enough not to have any unexpected visitors.”
“Or an old friend begging for company on a cold winter morning?”
Annie smiled but remained silent as Paul obviously directed his question in her direction.
“Okay, then, how about I start you off with coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. I just slid the popovers into the oven and it’ll be thirty minutes until they’re ready.” He held his hand lightly on Annie’s back and guided her toward his table with his offerings.
She was impressed. For a man, he went all out and created a beautiful table with china cups and saucers for the coffee, which was waiting in a silver coffeepot. A set of small silver spoons, each with a different design on the top of the handle, was nestled in a small silver container.
Annie reached for a cup but Paul beat her to it. He poured and handed the cup, on a saucer, to her before he poured one for Jason and then himself.
“You’re coffee pot is stunning,” Annie said as she delicately touched the embossed flowers in the silver.
“A treasure I inherited from my mom which I don’t use often.” He stared at the pot as if he was lost in a memory. “I’m glad you noticed it. And these silver spoons?” He held up the container of small spoons. “Easy souvenirs to bring home from her many trips.” He picked one spoon out of the container. “This one has a tulip design from her trip to Holland. It was something small she collected to remember where she went.”
Annie selected a spoon with a windmill on top. “This must be from that trip, too.”
“Yes. It was
a favorite destination.” He took a step toward his living room. “Let’s get comfortable while we wait for the timer. I want to hear all about your Hawaiian vacation.”
“What a lovely room, Paul,” Annie exclaimed. “You have the perfect view of the lake through the trees the way you’ve trimmed branches. You’ll have to come over and help us figure out what to cut and trim since our view is getting overgrown.”
Jason chuckled. “We’ve only been home for less than forty eight hours and you already want to start making changes? I’m afraid to leave on my business trip. I might not recognize the place when I get back,” he teased.
“I’d love to help, Annie. We’ll wait till Jason is gone. Once it’s cut, he can’t put it back.” Paul grinned.
Annie relaxed into a cushy chair and a big, fluffy orange cat jumped in her lap. “Oh! You surprised me. And who are you?” she said as she stroked the silky fur.
“That’s Elvis. He thinks he owns the place and you’re in his favorite chair. Don’t worry, he loves to share.” Paul laughed as Elvis turned around and kneaded Annie’s lap before he made himself comfortable.
Jason sat on the couch and sipped his coffee.
Paul sat across from Annie with his legs crossed and his coffee on a small table next to his chair. “Was Hawaii all you hoped for?”
“It was fantastic. Have you ever visited?” Annie gushed. The memory was still so fresh she imagined a warm breeze tickling her hand but it was Elvis’s breath.
“No. I stick pretty close to home with Elvis and my gardens.”
“We had a wonderful time. Now I need to move forward instead of wishing I was still enjoying the warm sun and beach instead of the cold and snow.”
Paul laughed. “Yes, a dramatic change for sure.”
Annie set her coffee down and inched forward in her chair. Elvis raised his head and looked at her but stayed on her lap. “It hasn’t just been the weather that changed dramatically. You missed the disastrous Christmas party last night.”
Paul’s face drooped. “I feel terrible that I cancelled at the last minute and poor Nelson got roped into my Santa roll. I can’t imagine how Charlene is coping with his death.” His eyes blinked several times and Annie couldn’t help notice they were about to overflow.
“As a matter of fact, Charlene was quite upset with Nelson last night. He got his hands on some liquor and he was drunk and rude. Are you good friends with them?” Annie asked.
Paul waffled his hand back and forth. “I don’t know that I would say good friends. I see more of Charlene than I did of Nelson. She lets me use their land next door for gardening and I keep my beehive and chickens there, too. If that land ever goes on the market, I’ll be the first to make an offer.”
The kitchen timer rang shrilly. Paul pushed himself out of his chair. “The popovers are ready. Enjoy the view while I take a minute to get everything on the table.”
Annie waited for Paul to walk into the kitchen. Then she whispered to Jason, “I thought Paul owned all the land around his house.”
“I thought so, too, since he gardens there. I guess it doesn’t matter who owns it unless it goes on the market.”
“Right. And with Nelson dead, maybe Charlene will decide to sell. I heard Cookie say last night that she wanted to talk to Nelson about his lot but I didn’t know it was this lot she was referring to.”
Chapter 7
Paul had magically transformed his table by the time he called Annie and Jason to join him. Santa plates, red cloth napkins, and a potted poinsettia plant gave the breakfast feast a festive atmosphere.
He stood behind one chair and pulled it away from the table for Annie. His steaming popovers filled the air with a mouthwatering aroma.
Annie’s initial reluctance to meet Paul melted as fast as the butter on top of the hot popovers. He was a charming host, had impeccable manners, and his food made her stomach jump with joy.
“Help yourselves. I have homemade blueberry jam, wildflower honey, or strawberries from last summer’s garden for the popovers.”
Annie’s recent thoughts of all the drama from the Christmas party flew out of her head as she pulled an airy popover from the pan. “This all looks delicious. Jason told me you’re an excellent cook but I had no idea what to expect. And your presentation is beautiful.”
Paul smiled. “Thank you. Jason and I have been friends for many years. He, ah—”
“I already told Annie about my stealing your tomatoes. No secret you have to worry about revealing,” Jason said with a smile as he added strawberries and blueberry jam to his popover.
“Good. I didn’t want to accidentally share an embarrassing moment from your youth. And what I wanted to say is that I’m hoping that you, Annie, and I can become friends, also.”
“So this,” she waved her arm across the table, “is all a big bribe?”
“I’d prefer to call it a carrot.”
“Whatever you want to call it, it’s working.” She took a second popover since the first disappeared in only three bites. She noticed Jason wink at Paul when he thought she wasn’t looking. The two must have conspired or else how would Paul have known that popovers were one of Annie’s favorite breakfasts? Seeing as he tried so hard to impress her, the least she could do was keep an open mind instead of letting gossip turn her against Jason’s friend.
A loud knocking on Paul’s door made them all turn their heads.
Paul frowned. “I’m not expecting anyone else. Excuse me for a second,” he said as he rose from his chair.
A cold blast of wind seeped around the dining room table when Paul opened the front door.
“What are you doing here?” Annie overheard, even though Paul kept his voice low.
She looked at Jason who had a better view of the doorway. He whispered, “I think it’s Charlene.”
“Let me in, Paul. We need to talk.”
Annie focused every bit of concentration on hearing the words. What did they need to talk about? Nelson’s murder?
“I have company, Charlene.”
“I don’t care. Someone killed Nelson and you need to help me figure it out before the police come back. That Detective Crank just got done questioning me and, for all I know, she thinks I poisoned him. I tried to point them in Leona’s direction since it happened at her café and he ate her cookies.”
Annie pushed up from her chair and it fell backwards with a crash. Jason wasn’t quick enough to stop her from storming to the door.
“Listen, Charlene. You’re the one who told me your husband could freeze to death for all you care.” Annie clenched her fists and glared at Charlene. “And wasn’t it you who promised him it would be the last time he’d embarrass you?”
Charlene stomped into Paul’s house and headed straight toward Annie, her face red and fierce.
Jason held Annie with one arm wrapped around her waist and tried to pull her back.
Paul stood holding the door while the frigid air cooled the room but it didn’t do much for the raging tempers. He finally pushed the door closed and turned slowly to face the women engaged in a staring contest. “Well, should we sit and figure this out instead of throwing wild accusations around?”
Annie wiggled away from Jason’s grasp and had her coat on. She wrapped her scarf around her neck. “Thanks for the delicious breakfast, Paul, but I’ve lost my appetite. And, don’t worry, Charlene, but I’ll be sure to point the police in your direction with the comments you made last night.”
Annie pulled the door open and left without checking to see if Jason was following or not.
He was. She heard him jog to catch up to her quick pace by the time she reached the Lake Trail.
“Paul will keep an open mind about everything,” Jason said.
“I doubt it. He needs to keep Charlene on his side so he can keep using her land. Those two are cooking up something and it won’t be good for Leona. Detective Crank noticed all the holly and holly berries decorating the café, and if that’s what was on the cookie that N
elson ate, she’ll be going right after Leona.”
“You don’t even know what Nelson died from yet. Are holly berries even poisonous?”
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out. And find out what else could have killed him. We need to be prepared and stay a step ahead of the police.” Annie stopped and stared into Jason’s eyes. “Charlene Abbott didn’t seem to care one bit that her husband was dead just now. And Cookie Snow was certainly out to make Leona look bad last night so she could get hired by Mrs. Delaney for the Christmas Eve gala.”
“That’s a pretty flimsy motive for Cookie. Focusing on the land next to her house that Charlene and Nelson own makes more sense. And they both had ample opportunity but there were a lot of other people at the party. Can you think of anyone else who had a motive? Charlene and Cookie were so outspoken, maybe the killer was quiet and subtle so he or she didn’t get noticed.”
“Good point. We need a list of everyone we can remember that came to the party last night and look for connections to Nelson.” Annie resumed her fast pace, partly to get back to Cobblestone Cottage, but mostly to warm up after standing in the cold December air.
As they stomped the snow from their boots on the front porch, Annie turned to look at their view. “Can we do some trimming to clear the low branches away? Paul’s view was framed by trees but they didn’t interfere with his view of the lake.”
“Sure. I’ve been a bit neglectful of that sort of maintenance but I have someone who you can call and tell him what you want done. I’ll trust that you won’t have him clear-cut.”
Annie smacked Jason’s arm. “Give me a little credit, please. I love the trees, but getting rid of dead stuff and low branches will be a big improvement, and you know it, Mr. Hunter.”
“Yes, Mrs. Hunter. Anything you say, dear.” Jason turned Annie toward him and wrapped his strong arms around her. “Maybe a nice quiet rest of the morning? Just the two of us?”
“Maybe,” she murmured into the warmth of his coat.
Jason opened the porch door into their living room and the smell of cinnamon and vanilla almost knocked them over.
