Murder in the Elfth Degree: A Camellia Cove Cozy Mystery Book 2 (A Camellia Cove Mystery)

by Jessica Preston

  Murder in the Elfth Degree

  By

  Jessica Preston

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  Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places,

  events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright 2015 -All rights reserved.

  All rights Reserved. No part of this publication or the information in it may be quoted from or reproduced in any form by means such as printing, scanning, photocopying or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  The Bad Elf

  Chapter 1

  Kim put the last cookie on her display table. The green, white, and red frosting made a beautiful swirled wreath pattern. Then she set up her Pembrooke Bakery sign next to the display and sighed. She had just enough time to grab a latte before the Christmas shoppers mobbed the mall.

  “Where did you learn to do that?” Betts appeared from behind a potted palm tree.

  Kim smiled. “I didn’t learn. I just tried it, and it worked out.”

  Betts surveyed the table. “Do you have any other colors besides green and red? What about fuchsia?”

  Kim laughed and pointed to the next table. “This table’s mine, too. I have all my usual cookie varieties on sale over here.”

  Betts descended on the table. “Oh, good. I’ll have a quick Chocolate Cherry Bomb, and then I have to run.”

  “Where are you going?” Kim asked. “I thought you planned to help me today, and this is the first I’ve seen of you.”

  “I know I said I’d help you,” Betts replied. “But Tanya Morris had a cancellation. She begged me to help her out, and I can’t let her down. You can handle the cookie end of things without me. You always do. Here’s two dollars. Now I gotta go get into my costume.”

  “Costume?” Kim repeated. “What costume?”

  Betts made a face. “Never mind. I’ll see you later.”

  Kim grabbed her by the arm. “Not so fast, Zorro. You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on. Tanya is organizing the children’s program today with the gift raffle and the Christmas carols and the pictures with Santa Claus....” Kim stopped in mid-sentence. “Don’t tell me you’re dressing up as Santa Claus.”

  Betts glanced around the mall crowded with vendors’ stalls and early shoppers and twinkling lights. Burt Baccarat sang over the loudspeaker. Betts dropped her voice to a husky murmur. “Don’t you tell a living soul about this, Kim. If I find out you told anybody, we’re finished. Do you understand me? I’ll never be friends with you again if you breathe a word to anyone. I don’t care how good your cookies are. I’ll never speak to you again.”

  Kim gasped. “You know you can trust me, Betts. We’ve been friends long enough. I wouldn’t tell anybody anything you didn’t want me to. Your secret is safe with me.”

  Betts stared up and down the mall with wild eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. “I’m not dressing up as Santa Claus. I’m going to be one of the elves.”

  Kim stared at her. Then she snorted with laughter. “You—an elf?” She choked on her laughter.

  Betts narrowed her eyes at her and hissed through gritted teeth. “What did I just say? You better stop laughing this instant or you and I are done. Do you hear me?”

  Kim bit back her laughter and pulled herself together. “I’m sorry, Betts. I shouldn’t have laughed. It’s just that you don’t strike me as much of an elf.” She snickered some more, but she stopped when Betts frowned again.

  “I’m not much of an elf,” Betts replied. “I’m six-foot-two, two hundred and twenty pounds. It wasn’t my idea to be an elf. It would make more sense for me to dress up as Santa, or Mrs. Claus. But Tanya had a cancellation. She’s already got a Santa and a Mrs. Claus, and she needs another elf. That’s the only reason I’m doing this.”

  Kim threw back her shoulders. “I’m sorry for laughing, Betts. You’ll make a good elf.”

  “It’s the spirit of the season,” Betts went on. “This program is for the children. That’s why I’m doing it.”

  Kim nodded. “You’re the soul of Christmas, Betts. I should know better than to question you. Oh, look. Here comes Tanya.”

  Betts gasped and whirled away. “I gotta go. I’ll see you later.” She gave Kim a quick hug and smudged cookie crumbs on her cheek. Then disappeared around a corner near the bathrooms.

  Kim straightened out the cookies on her display table and laid out her brochures on her wedding and event catering prices. At that moment, Tanya herself hurried over to her table with a clipboard tucked under her arm. “Hello, Kim. Your display looks amazing. I can’t wait to try your cookies.”

  Kim faced her. “Thank you, Tanya. You’re still planning to bring the kids over for free samples after the caroling, aren’t you?”

  Tanya checked her clipboard. “That should be around eleven o’clock. I hope you don’t mind giving your cookies away for free.”

  “Not at all,” Kim replied. “I’m always glad to have people sample my cookies, and I have packs of a dozen to sell if they like what they try. But this program is to make the children happy, and that’s what I’m here for.”

  Tanya beamed at her. “Wonderful. Now I better go make sure my Santa and all his crew are ready and in their places.”

  Over Tanya’s shoulder, Kim spotted Betts coming out of the bathroom with her elf costume on. Kim almost burst out laughing again. Betts caught her eye and tripped over a bauble on her pointed slipper. She topple to the ground and her pointed hat fell off. Kim caught sight of a flailing arm and a leg over the back of a marble bench.

  Tanya turned to leave, but Kim caught her by the arm before she could Betts in trouble.. “Oh, by the way, Tanya, I was wondering if I could ask you a question about something....”

  Tanya frowned at her, but at least her back was turned toward Betts. “What is it? I really have to go.”

  Kim thought fast. “Would you mind if I...you know....if I ran into the coffee shop over there and got a latte before we get started? It will only take a minute, and then I’ll be back at my table when you come with the children.”

  Tanya pursed her lips. “You have an hour and a half before I bring the children anywhere near your table, Kim. If you want a latte, go get one. Now I really have to go.”

  Kim’s spirits sank when she spotted her mother Candace headed her way from the other end of the mall. Candace paid no attention to Tanya. She charged right up to Kim and her voice boomed through the mall. “I’m glad to see you doing something for somebody else for a change instead of money, money, money all the time.”

  Tanya disappeared into the crowd. Kim sighed. “Merry Christmas to you, too, Mom.”

  Candace set her fists on her hips and scowled at the table full of cookies. “I just don’t know what’s got into you lately. You used to be such a giving, caring person. But ever since you went into business fo
r yourself, all you care about is earning another almighty dollar. I liked you better when you were helpless and depressed.”

  “Thanks a lot, Mom. Thanks so much for the vote of confidence.” Kim bent over her display tables, but everything was in order. She had nothing else to do but wait for the program to start.

  A crowd started to gather at the other end of the mall, so Kim tagged along behind them. Why not see the festivities while she waited? She could follow the crowd back to her own table and do her promotional song and dance when they got there. That gave her all the excuse she needed to walk away from her mother, but she wouldn’t get that latte after all.

  To her eternal disappointment, her mother fell in at her side. “Nobody understands the meaning of Christmas anymore. I thought you were different, Kim. It’s such a shame everybody turns it into a commercial event. We might as well cancel Christmas if that’s the way it’s going to be.”

  Kim didn’t answer. What was the point? She concentrated on the program starting.

  Up ahead, the choir broke into song. A reverent hush fell over the mall. Candace stopped talking, and even the music on the loudspeaker stopped to listen. Dulcet tones rose and fell over the heads of the throng, and peaceful tranquility filled Kim’s heart. The music almost made her believe in peace on Earth and goodwill toward men and all that stuff.

  She climbed onto a concrete planter to see better over the crowd. The choir stood on a tiered stand with their sheet music in their hands. Their mouths opened and closed in unison, and their harmonious strains echoed to the vaulted ceiling. Kim smiled, but then she caught sight of the Santa Claus display to her right.

  Actually, Tanya’s wild gesticulations caught her attention. She stood nose to nose with Mrs. Claus, and her cheeks glowed beet-red. Even from behind the crowd, Kim heard her voice shouting over the music. “Where is he? He should have been here half an hour ago. Yes, I see one of the elves is missing, too. I don’t care about one more elf, but we can’t have Christmas without Santa Claus.”

  Kim noticed Santa Claus’s empty chair for the first time. Betts was nowhere in sight, either. Mrs. Claus mumbled something Kim didn’t catch. Under the costume, Kim recognized Mrs. Wright, the kindergarten teacher. She wore her signature wire-rimmed glasses and her shoulders slanted at an odd angle from her bad leg. Tanya ranted and raved into the poor woman’s face. Before long, the whole crowd watched her outburst instead of listening to the choir.

  All of a sudden, the choir came to the end of their opening number, and the singing died away. Tanya didn’t notice at first and kept on bellowing at full volume. “This is an outrage! He’ll never work in this town again. I’ll report him to the Department of Labor for this. Do you know how much this event is costing me? You better get in there and find him or you’re out of a job, too.”

  Her own voice rang off the mall’s concrete walls. Her threats and shouts echoed all the way down to Macy’s and back to Tanya. She stopped in mid-gesture when she heard her own voice and glanced over her shoulder. Every set of eyes stared back at her, and her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

  Tanya opened her mouth again, but this time, no sound came out. At that moment, a shrill scream ripped through the mall and set every nerve on end. A gasp rippled through the crowd. A woman with her moppy hair wobbling on top of her head waddled out of the side hall from the direction of the men's bathroom. It was Mrs. Hawkins, Doctor Tucker’s secretary. She closed her eyes and cried out at the top of her lungs. “He’s dead!”

  Kim spun around, and everybody else did, too. “Who’s dead?”

  Mrs. Hawkins waved her hand back the way she’d come and screamed in hysterical panic. “He’s dead. He’s lying on the bathroom floor with a plastic bag tied over his head and his hands tied behind his back.”

  A few more people screamed, and mothers pushed their children away from the woman like she was death itself. Tanya stood stock still and stared with her mouth open. Her clipboard hung from her hand. Kim stepped forward. “Show me where he is.”

  The old lady shook her head. That’s when Kim realized her mop of blue-rinsed hair was really a wig. It dangled from her head by one bobby pin. If she shook her head one more time, it would tumble down over her eyes. “I can’t show you. He’s in the men’s bathroom.”

  “How did you find him, then?” Kim asked.

  “My son Timothy told me he was in there,” Mrs. Hawkins replied. “I only stuck my head in the door and saw his feet sticking out of the stall. Then I came here.”

  Kim pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Sit down over here. I’m calling the police.”

  She hit speed dial and Aaron Walker answered. “To what do I owe the honor of your call?”

  Kim snickered. “Sorry, Charming. I hate to burst your bubble, but you better come down to the mall. There’s a dead guy in the men’s bathroom with a plastic bag over his head, and his hands are tied behind his back.”

  A car door slammed on the other end of the phone. “I’m on my way.”

  Chapter 2

  Aaron sat on one side of Mrs. Hawkins and Kim sat on her other side. She hyperventilated and waved her hands toward the bathroom. “Are you sure Timothy is all right?”

  “Timothy is fine, Mrs. Hawkins,” Kim replied. “He’s in the toy store with the other children.”

  “Can you tell me exactly what happened when Timothy told you about the man in the bathroom?” Aaron asked.

  “I was waiting outside the bathroom for Timothy to come out,” Mrs. Hawkins replied. “He came out and told me there was a man fallen down in one of the stalls. He said the man looked like he needed a doctor. I peeked in and saw his feet sticking out under the stall door.”

  “How did you find out he had a bag over his head?” Kim asked. “Did Timothy tell you that?”

  Mrs. Hawkins shook her head, and the last bobby pin holding her wig in place came loose. The wig slumped into her face, but she pushed it up onto her head again. She did it so fast, she must do it all the time. She didn’t even think about it, and she showed no sign of embarrassment. She didn’t notice Kim and Aaron watch her do it. “He didn’t tell me. I don’t think he saw the bag, but I did. I could see it under the side of the stall from where I was standing.”

  Aaron stood up. “We’ll take a look.” He jerked his head at Kim to indicate she should go with him.

  Kim bent down and gave Mrs. Hawkins’s hand a squeeze. “You can get Timothy and go home now. Thank you so much for your help.”

  Kim inched toward Aaron. “What do you think?”

  “I think it’s not every day Santa Claus gets murdered right before he gives the good children their presents for the year,” Aaron replied. “It sounds to me like someone’s getting coal in their stocking.”

  A chunky figure in a bright green hat and suspenders and curled-up green slippers shouldered through the crowd. “What’s going on?”

  Before Kim could answer, Tanya charged over and leveled the finger of judgment at Betts. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You were supposed to be on the platform half an hour ago. This is an outrage.”

  Betts shrugged, and the bell on the point of her hat tinkled. “You don’t have to yell about it. I don’t see what the big deal is. No one is on the platform, especially not Santa Claus. I’m doing you a favor here. You could at least be civil about it.”

  Aaron looked up from typing notes into his phone. “Santa’s dead.”

  Betts’s head whipped around. “What?”

  Aaron put his phone away. “Simon Cox was found dead in the men’s bathroom. He was supposed to be on the platform half an hour ago, too, but he wasn’t there. Someone found him dead in the bathroom with a plastic bag over his head and his hands tied behind his back.”

  Betts wrinkled up her nose. “Eww!”

  “You said it, girl,” Kim chimed in.

  Tanya pointed at Betts again. “You’re the only person who wasn’t here at the time. Everybody else in the whole mall was standing aro
und listening to the choir. You’re the only person who could have killed him. That’s the only explanation for why you weren’t here.”

  “What about it, Betts?” Aaron asked. “How do you explain the fact that you weren’t out here on the platform where you belonged? Can you tell us where you were at the time of the murder?”

  Betts snorted. “Come on, Aaron. You know I didn’t kill him. You can’t seriously be thinking that I....” The expression on his face made her stop in mid-sentence.

  “I have to ask, Betts,” Aaron replied. “Tanya is right. You’re the only person here who was unaccounted for. If you can’t verify where you were, I might have to ask you to come downtown for questioning.”

  Betts’s mouth fell open, but she couldn’t speak. Kim stepped forward. “Come on, Aaron. You know Betts couldn’t do something like this. Someone else must have snuck into the men’s bathroom and killed Simon. We have no way of knowing who was in the mall. Anybody could have hidden until the crowd came here to hear the carols and then ambushed Simon when nobody else was around.”

  Aaron turned to Betts. “You still haven’t explained where you were. If you don’t tell me now, I have no choice but to think you’re hiding something.”

  Kim interrupted again before Betts could answer. “I saw Betts at ten-thirty in front of my display table. She went into the women’s bathroom, down the other service hall, to change into her costume. I saw her come out at about nine-thirty while I was talking to Tanya.”

  “So that gives her half an hour to kill him,” Aaron pointed out.

  “Not necessarily,” Kim argued. “Simon was found dead at ten-thirty, but he could have been dead long before that. If Betts killed him between ten minutes to ten and ten-thirty, she would have been on the platform at ten-thirty the way Tanya wanted her to be. She would have hurried out of the men’s bathroom as fast as she could to make herself as visible as possible after the fact so no one would connect her to the murder.”