Jingle Buried Cookies (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 9)

by Lyndsey Cole

  “You know that’s what we always have here. Now, what’s really on your mind?”

  “I heard, through the grapevine, that you and Jason spent time with Camilla and her new best friend, Officer Mark Reynolds.”

  “I guess it wasn’t Camilla that told you that news or she would have already filled you in on what Mark told her.”

  Leona sat quietly for a change.

  “What do you know about John Elmwood?” Annie asked.

  “He’s a genius when it comes to all the plants growing in the woods. A lot of people steer clear of him but he’s as harmless as a kitten.” Leona set her mug on the counter. “Why? What’s he got to do with anything?”

  “Charlene made a complaint that he was lurking around her house before the Christmas party.”

  Leona rolled her eyes. “Lurking? It always seems like he’s lurking wherever he goes, but not in a bad way. It’s just his observant personality. But still, what’s that got to do with anything?”

  “Officer Reynolds had to question him, and John said he was glad that Nelson is dead, he was a bad guy. Now, John is a person of interest, at least that’s what Camilla told me.”

  Leona jumped off her stool. “That’s absurd.”

  Annie held up her hand. “There’s more. You know how you said he’s a genius when it comes to all the plants around here?”

  Leona nodded. The color was beginning to drain from her cheeks.

  “He knows all the poisonous plants.”

  “They think he could be the person that poisoned Nelson?”

  “It looks like it.”

  “Impossible.” Leona pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand. “John doesn’t even kill a mosquito that’s sucking his blood. When he’s riding around town on his bike, he always stops and buries dead animals in the road. He couldn’t have killed Nelson any more than I could have.”

  “How do you know so much about him?”

  “I dated his older brother twenty years ago. John used to take us for these incredible hikes in the woods and tell us what all the plants were. He was a walking encyclopedia.”

  “Maybe he changed,” Annie wondered out loud.

  “Maybe, but I haven’t ever heard of him doing anything mean to anyone or anything. He mostly just keeps to himself.”

  Annie got eggs, milk, cheese, and frozen hash browns out, putting everything on the counter. “I bumped into him yesterday.”

  Leona was bent over digging a pan out for cooking the eggs. She straightened and the pan clanked against the counter. “You bumped into him? Where?”

  “When I was walking Roxy, she ran into the property next to Paul Ames’s house and I followed her. John was there.”

  Leona set the pan on the biggest burner and pushed Annie out of the way. “I’ll make breakfast. I need something to keep myself busy.” She cracked a half dozen eggs into a bowl. “John must have wanted to talk to you or he would have stayed hidden.”

  “Roxy found him but, at any rate, he told me that he saw Nelson hugging Cookie Snow and she didn’t like it.”

  Leona whipped the eggs with a fork, added a splash of milk, and waited for the pan to heat up. “So we’re back to Cookie and Charlene having a motive. They both wanted Nelson out of their lives. If there was only enough evidence to link one of them to the murder. And in case you have any doubt about it, I’d prefer it to be Cookie, for obvious reasons.”

  The hash browns sizzled on the hot pan.

  Annie’s stomach rumbled.

  Leona worked efficiently, as always, preparing breakfast for the two of them. “Where’s Jason? He’s not still in bed is he?”

  Annie laughed. “No, he had a client to see. He’ll be gone all day. Now it’s back to normalcy for us instead of the nice slow, relaxing pace we enjoyed on our vacation.”

  Leona stacked the hash browns on a plate and added the eggs to the pan. Annie got out plates and silverware. She loved how she worked so well with her aunt, anticipating her moves like a well-choreographed dance.

  When the food was ready, Leona filled up the two plates. There was still plenty in the pan. “This is really too much for us.”

  A knock on the door made both women turn simultaneously.

  “Are you expecting someone?” Leona asked.

  Annie shook her head as she went to open the door. Since when had her home become the Grand Central Station of Catfish Cove?

  “My name is John.” He stood in the open doorway.

  “Would you like to come in, John?”

  “John would like that.” He stomped his boots on the mat before he stepped inside.

  Annie closed the door.

  “John Elmwood,” Leona gushed. “I haven’t seen you for too long. How’s your brother?” Leona hugged John who remained stiff and didn’t return Leona’s embrace.

  “John’s brother is good. John found this.” He held up an empty gin bottle.

  Annie lightly held John’s arm and guided him to the table. Leona had already added a third plate with the remaining eggs, hash browns, and a cup of coffee. “Would you like to have breakfast with us, John?”

  John nodded and sat. He shrugged out of his coat but let it rest all bunched up behind him against the back of the dining room chair.

  They ate in silence. Leona and Annie gave each other glances, shrugs, and raised eyebrows but kept their patience about grilling John about the empty bottle.

  Once his plate was all but licked clean, John set his fork and knife neatly on his plate and folded his hands in his lap. He remained sitting with a straight back, legs together and feet flat on the floor.

  “Where did you find that bottle, John?” Annie asked with what she hoped was a casual tone.

  “John found it outside the Black Cat Café.”

  “This morning?”

  “John followed Daryl yesterday. He dropped it and John picked it up. It was Nelson’s bottle of gin.”

  Annie stacked the breakfast plates and carried them to the kitchen. She returned with the coffee pot. “Anyone want a refill?”

  Leona held up her cup but John put his hand over his cup. “John needs to go.”

  “We’re glad you stopped by. Do you know where Daryl found that bottle?” Annie asked.

  “John thinks it fell out of your coat pocket. John saw it in the snow but Daryl picked it up before John could get to it. Daryl is a bad guy.” John stood, removed his jacket from the chair, and pushed the chair under the table.

  “Who gave that bottle of gin to Nelson?” Annie held her breath, hoping John could provide the link to Nelson’s murderer.

  “Nelson drank the gin. Nelson is dead.”

  “Yes, at the Christmas party, but who gave it to him?”

  “John doesn’t know.”

  Leona quickly put a box of Christmas cookies in a bag and handed it to John. “These are for you. You like cookies, don’t you, John?”

  “Thank you. John likes cookies. John didn’t like Nelson.”

  “That was weird,” Leona said after Annie shut the door behind John Elmwood. “Why do you think he brought that bottle here?”

  Annie ran her fingers through her curls. “He said I dropped it so I guess he’s returning it to me? I have the somewhat unsettling feeling that John Elmwood is keeping an eye on me which I hope turns out to be a good thing.”

  “I don’t see how it can hurt.” Leona slipped her coat on. “I’ll be in the apartment cooking up soup to freeze in the off chance I can ever open the café again.”

  “Good idea.” That gave Annie some alone time to pay Cookie Snow a visit.

  Chapter 19

  Annie was thankful there was an open spot to park on the street in front of Cookies ‘n Dreams. Her ankle was still sore and if she could baby it by using the ace bandage and not walking on it too much, it would continue to improve. At least, that was what she told herself.

  A bell tinkled when she opened the front door and a blast of freshly baked bread aroma filled her nose.

  “I�
�ll be right with you,” Cookie’s voice sounded from a back room.

  Annie rarely came into Cookies ‘n Dreams since the Black Cat Café supplied everything Annie could need. Besides, it made her feel like a traitor to Leona if she bought something from Cookie even if Leona didn’t make that particular item.

  But today was different since she was determined to get information, and a purchase might be what could break the ice.

  “Okay, how can I help you?” Cookie pushed through the door separating the retail area from the work area. Her face turned to stone when she saw the customer standing at the counter. “Oh, it’s you. I can’t imagine you’re here to buy anything from me, are you?”

  “What makes you say that, Cookie?” Annie asked. What she really wanted was for Cookie to talk and offer some crumb that Annie could follow.

  Cookie rolled her eyes. “You aren’t exactly on my side, now are you? You’re always right behind Leona, taking her side no matter what the evidence shows.”

  Annie looked into the glass display cases. She needed the distraction to keep from blowing her fuse at Cookie’s needling comment. “I’d love to try a half dozen of your apple streusel cupcakes. I have an elderly neighbor that can’t get out in the winter and she loves sweets.”

  “You must be talking about Thelma Dodd. She’s a nosy old biddy and her son is no better. I have no use for either of them. She’s always watching out her window at everyone that walks by on the Lake Trail.”

  Annie felt her mouth drop open. “Of course she watches the Lake Trail. She’s house-bound for the most part and enjoys the view.” Don’t flatter yourself by assuming that you’re the center of everyone’s attention, Annie didn’t add. Did this woman like anyone besides herself?

  Cookie folded a box. She put a plate on top of the display case. “Try a piece if you want to. I don’t leave the samples out when I’m working in the back. Kids come in and take everything.”

  “Isn’t that what samples are for?” Annie couldn’t help responding as she tried a sample that had extra frosting. “Delicious. Is that cream cheese frosting?” She licked her fingers.

  “Yes, with real maple syrup mixed into the cream cheese.” Cookie neatly arranged six cupcakes in the box, folded the top over, and taped it closed. The tape had her shop name, Cookies ‘n Dreams, in red with green clouds in between each repetition of the name, all on a gold background. “Anything else?” Her voice was a hair friendlier from her initial greeting. A very fine hair.

  “Actually, there is.” Annie surveyed the shop. Christmas lights, laurel, holly, and pine cones decorated the front windows, and pots of poinsettia plants were arranged at each end of the display case. “Are you aware that some of the plants you have in here decorating your shop are poisonous?”

  “Listen, Annie Fisher—”

  “Actually, it’s Annie Hunter.”

  Cookie waved her hand dismissively. “Fisher. Hunter. Whatever. I see where you’re headed. Don’t come in here and think you’re going to start accusing me of poisoning Nelson Abbott. The guy was a total creep but it doesn’t mean I would poison him.”

  “He liked you, didn’t he?” Annie tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. “And you were trying to get him to sell you that piece of land next to your house. Leading him on maybe? Behind his wife’s back? I think he was putting pressure on you to give him something in return.”

  Cookie clenched her jaw. Her grip on the box of cupcakes tightened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed. “I would never get involved with a married man.”

  “Actually, I do know exactly what I’m talking about. Someone saw you and Nelson together.”

  “Mrs. Dodd?”

  Annie laughed. “No. It doesn’t matter who, does it? The truth hurts, and when Detective Crank hears about this cozy relationship you had with Nelson Abbott, don’t doubt for a second that she’ll be searching your shop for evidence. Maybe even shutting it down.”

  “You’re bluffing.”

  Annie smiled and kept her eyes on Cookie.

  Cookie looked away. Her self-assured façade crumbled. “I didn’t want Paul Ames to buy the land. It’s bad enough that Charlene lets him use it as if it’s his own property. I couldn’t wait to own the land and tell him to get his garden and chickens off. I swear, he kept a rooster just so it would cock-a-doodle-do and wake me up at the crack of dawn.”

  Annie let herself enjoy the moment.

  “But I didn’t kill Nelson. Why would I? I wanted to buy the land, and now that he’s dead, the deal’s off.”

  “How was he able to sell it behind Charlene’s back? Wouldn’t she have to sign all the papers, too?”

  “He owned it. I think he inherited it from his parents or something like that. It was a real point of contention between Nelson and Charlene. I didn’t care anything about their dispute, I only wanted the land. Charlene confronted me at the Christmas party about the deal I had with Nelson and I thought she was going to go after me right in front of everyone. Fortunately, her sleaze-ball of a husband managed to cause a scene which got Charlene off my back. But now, I’m sure Charlene will never sell it to me. Paul Ames will get what he’s always wanted.”

  “That’s interesting. Did you know that Charlene was about to serve Nelson with divorce papers? I suppose that would have tied up the sale of the land.”

  Cookie was completely caught off guard with that tidbit of information. “That would have been better for me than having him dead. Most likely, he’d get the property and she’d get their house. Just my guess.”

  “But it wouldn’t get Nelson out of your life.”

  Cookie rang up the sale. “Is that all?” Her voice returned to ice.

  “What about Daryl? Would he try to protect you from Nelson’s advances?” Annie knew her needling was getting under Cookie’s skin. She had to find the right spot to make her lose control.

  Cookie put Annie’s money in the cash register and slammed it closed. “Listen, keep Daryl out of this. He never knew anything about Nelson. I was handling it fine on my own.”

  Annie held the box of cupcakes, cradling it against her chest while she held her phone. “Did Daryl know about your cute trick to sabotage Leona’s cookies or did you do that all on your own, too?”

  “I. Did. Not. Kill. Nelson. Abbott. Those berries did exactly what I intended— make Leona look bad in front of Mrs. Delaney.” Cookie’s hand covered her mouth and her face drained of color as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “Get. Out. You aren’t welcome in my store, Annie Fisher Hunter.”

  Annie held up her phone. “Thanks. That went straight to my answering machine. Detective Crank’s gonna love to hear your confession.” She turned around and reached for the door.

  “Wait.” Cookie chewed on her fingernail. “Tell Leona I won’t cause any trouble. I’ll call Mrs. Delaney and tell her I can’t fit her Christmas Eve gala into my schedule if you promise to erase that conversation. The last thing I need now is for the police to start an investigation.”

  “Done. I’ll delete it after the Christmas Eve gala to keep you honest.” Cookie Snow must have a lot of skeletons hidden in her closet if it was that easy to get her to agree to back off of the gala, but now wasn’t the time to be sidetracked with more drama.

  Cookie nodded. “One more bit of information. If I cared at all who killed Nelson, I’d be looking more closely at Charlene. Find out what she was really going to gain with him dead. That threat of divorce may have been a distraction away from her real intentions.”

  If her ankle wasn’t so sore, Annie would have jumped up in celebration once she was on the sidewalk. A small celebration, but still, one less problem on Leona’s plate.

  And a new reason to make a visit to Charlene Abbott.

  Chapter 20

  As Annie walked across the end of the driveway next to Cookies ‘n Dreams she saw John, on his bike, approaching straight at her. She jumped out of the way. John looked at Annie just as a truck pulled out of the drivewa
y, clipped the back wheel of John’s bike, and sent him flying through the air.

  The truck careened down the street as Annie watched, paralyzed momentarily by fear.

  Annie rushed to check if John was injured once she recovered from the shock of seeing a hit and run accident, dreading the worst. His bike lay twisted against a street light and John was face down with one leg bent at a horrible angle.

  He groaned.

  Annie let herself breathe; at least he was still alive.

  She crouched next to John. “Don’t move. I’m calling an ambulance.” She cradled his head off the slushy sidewalk as she dialed 911 and explained the situation as calmly as possible. Then she called Leona, hoping she would know how to get in touch with John’s family so they could come help him. With her bum ankle, Annie could only do so much.

  Cookie poked her head out the door of her shop as Annie listened to Leona’s phone ring and ring and ring. “I heard a crash. What happened?”

  “Who was parked in your driveway just now?”

  “I don’t know. It’s supposed to be for my use only.”

  That was a non-answer if she ever heard one. “Well, whoever it was just hit this bicyclist and left.” Annie turned away from Cookie.

  Leona finally answered her phone.

  “Leona? Someone just hit John Elmwood in front of Cookies ‘n Dreams. An ambulance is coming. Let his mother know.” Her words came out fast and crisp.

  “Are you staying with him?” Leona asked. “He’ll need someone to explain what happened.”

  “Yes. I’ll follow the ambulance.”

  “I’ll meet you at the ER.” Leona disconnected.

  Annie waited. Her heart was still thumping in overdrive. If John hadn’t come when he did, making her jump away, the truck would have hit her instead of John. Was she the target? Did John put himself in danger for her? Or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?

  What was only five minutes felt like hours as the seconds crawled with each of John’s moans.

  The ambulance arrived and the EMTs carefully moved John. The siren screamed as they raced for the hospital.

  Annie had one more call to make before she left for the hospital. “This is Annie Hunter, I need to speak with Police Chief Tyler Johnson, please.” Annie waited while a recording in the background warned about driver safety. She jiggled her leg impatiently.