Mistletoe is Murder

by Kathy Cranston

  And she was berating the other person. That was obvious even without sound. Her body language was unmistakable. She was waving her arms and gesturing wildly. Jessie shook her head. She’d witnessed her friend’s mercurial temper before, but never like this.

  “The other person is David Fairway, in case that wasn’t obvious.”

  “Where did you get this? Isn’t that Lottie’s store?”

  He nodded. “Yup. David made an official complaint about her immediately after this encounter. We picked up the memory card from her camera last week.”

  “Wow,” Jessie said, shaking her head.

  The chief rearranged some papers on his desk. “Still think there’s no clear suspect?”

  Jessie stared at him. Chief Daly was a fair man. She usually agreed with him, but she couldn’t on this. Whatever about the video, it just didn’t seem like the Lottie she knew.

  “She’s hotheaded, sure,” Jessie stammered. “But… this? Hiding in the shadows and then murdering him in cold blood? I saw her yesterday morning. Her main concern was that her oven had broken before the turkey was ready. She’d need to be a monster to pretend everything was okay, knowing she was going to murder that man. And another thing: how did she get in without being seen?”

  “Maybe she saw her opportunity.”

  “No,” Jessie said firmly. “No. Remember? She said she’d ducked out and called one of her suppliers. She wasn’t in the café.”

  “To your knowledge.”

  “Yes… But…We can check with the suppliers.”

  “Already done,” the chief said, handing her a printed report.

  Jessie took it and skimmed through it. Ray Clintock, the owner of the company, had confirmed to Officer Kendall that he had indeed spoken to Lottie Benson at around one thirty the afternoon before. “I don’t understand,” Jessie said, frowning. “They’ve confirmed. What more do you need?”

  Chief Daly took the paper back. “This doesn’t rule her out. They were only able to confirm they spoke to her around one thirty. She could have hurried to the café, slipped back out, waited a while and then arrived back making a big deal about how she’d just been at home. How do we know she didn’t call them from her store?”

  “But she…”

  “Tell me this, Jessie,” Chief Daly said, leaning over the desk. “How long was he locked in that bathroom?”

  Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know. I heard a strange noise but I thought it was nothing and carried on eating. It was some time later when I went to find you and then heard that groan. You heard nothing while you were in the bathroom?”

  “No,” he said. “I’m still waiting for the coroner’s report, but you were at that meal. He could have been in there for an hour. We don’t know how long it was before we found him.”

  “But the noise—”

  “Doesn’t tell us anything.”

  Jessie sighed. She hoped that coroner’s report would provide the key to clearing Lottie’s name, but she doubted it would. Something else needed to be done.

  “Jessie,” the chief said. “I know it’s hard. Believe me. There have been times where I’ve had to put friends behind bars. It happens. It’s not nice, but the important thing is justice. Now, it wasn’t mentioned in David’s report, but a witness claimed that David threatened to run her out of business if she tried to contest the rent increase. I know Lottie just as you do. But unfortunately, being put in a vice like that…” he shook his head. “It does funny things to people.”

  “She was worried about the future of the business,” Jessie said faintly. “As the years go by she has to work harder and harder to get customers as they go to the large grocery stores. How much did he want to increase her rent?”

  “Twenty percent.”

  “Wow,” Jessie gasped.

  “I know. I’m not saying it wasn’t greedy. I think he saw those letters from the development company offering all this money for Main Street properties and thought he could squeeze some more money out of his tenant.”

  “Wait,” Jessie said. “Does he have other tenants? Maybe somebody else had the same issue with him and…”

  The look on the chief’s face made the glimmer of hope disappear.

  “No, Jessie,” Chief Daly said quietly. “Unfortunately Lottie was the only one.”

  Chapter 10

  Jessie’s mind was still in turmoil when her phone buzzed and woke her early the next morning. She felt around on top of the nightstand and held it up in front of her bleary eyes.

  “Chief Daly,” she muttered. “I thought I was the one who was supposed to call you at all hours and wake you?”

  He didn’t laugh. “Jessie,” he said soberly. “Look, I wanted to call and let you know what’s happening. We’ve taken Lottie in for questioning. Do you want to come and observe?”

  “What?” Jessie said, sitting up too quickly. How had she not seen this coming?

  “You heard me,” he said with a sigh. “I know it’s not easy, Jessie. But you’ve been through it before.”

  Jessie shook her head and tried to shake the unease from her mind. “I know, but it seems different this time.” She thought back to all the times she’d been involved in investigations. Sometimes her friends had been implicated and she had even found herself on the wrong side of the interview table on one occasion.

  But this was different.

  And she knew why.

  “I know,” she said grimly. “I know how bad it looks. But I just can’t believe she’d do something like this.”

  “Well, that’s what we’re going to try and establish, Jessie. Will you come along?”

  “No,” Jessie said, wanting to shuffle back under the comforter and pretend this had all been a dream. “I don’t feel right about it. She’s my friend and I don’t want to invade her privacy.”

  Chief Daly sighed.

  “Look, Jessie. I’d like to think I’ve gotten to know you well since you moved here. You’ve certainly helped me out a lot in that time. I…” he stopped and exhaled. “I don’t want you to lose faith in the cops here. I think it would be a good idea if you got involved in the investigation. That way you’ll be able to see we’re following due process. I know she’s your friend, but sometimes our friends do bad things.”

  “Sometimes people find themselves the fall guy for somebody else’s actions,” Jessie snapped. “She left to make a phone call. How could she possibly have known she’d need to track her every step in case she needed an alibi? That supplier has probably been getting hundreds of calls a day from stores and restaurants. It’s possible they’re not being as specific as they might have been at another time.”

  “I know all that, Jessie,” Chief Daly said. “And that’s why I want you to get involved. We’re going to look into every available lead. Lottie is my friend too. Don’t you think I want to see her cleared of this?”

  Jessie’s heart sunk on hearing those words. “Oh no, Chief. You don’t mean you’re going to have to remove yourself from this investigation?”

  “No,” he said thoughtfully. “That would only happen in the case of it being a close family member or someone who might be seen to have an undue influence over me. I couldn’t possibly do that for every investigation involving a Springdale resident. I’d be better off retiring if that was the case.”

  Jessie sighed with relief. The last thing she wanted was somebody coming in from outside who wouldn’t take Lottie’s character into account.

  That was the problem, Jessie knew. Her friend was so direct and blunt in the face of confrontation, that she might do her case more harm than good. But the chief what she was like.

  “Okay, I’m coming down,” she said.

  ***

  Jessie nodded to Officer Stanley, who wordlessly released the door that led to the interview room. Jessie walked inside and went to the observation room. Her heart grew heavy at the sight of Lottie, sitting across the table from the chief in trackpants and a slouchy sweater.

  Jessie shook her hea
d. She knew it was a possibility that they’d all been wrong about the strong-willed butcher. She just hoped not.

  “Ms. Benson,” Chief Daly said. “I’d like to ask you some questions about David Fairway.”

  Lottie nodded.

  “You knew the victim?”

  “Yes,” Lottie said. “He owned the building where I have my store.”

  “How would you describe your relationship with him?”

  Lottie shrugged. “A business relationship. I had very little to do with him outside of contacting him if there was a leak or something. He’d come to inspect the store every six months or so. Sometimes I’d pass him in the street and say hello, but that was it.”

  “And have you had any recent conflict with him?”

  Lottie’s expression hardened. “Chief, why are you asking me questions you already know the answer to?”

  The chief sighed. “I need to ask you these questions for the record. Can you confirm? Any conflict?”

  “Yes,” she said, running her teeth over her bottom lip. Jessie found that she was biting her nails out of stress. The impression Lottie was giving off was one of aggression and anger. Jessie was thankful that the interview wasn’t being recorded on video, just audio.

  “Go on.”

  “Yes. I had recent conflict with him.”

  The chief’s back was rigid. Jessie could see this was hard for him.

  “Can you elaborate?” the chief said slowly.

  Lottie nodded. “He proposed putting my rent up by twenty percent. I told him he was a greedy fool and that it was completely unjustified.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He laughed. He said…” she stopped and cleared her throat. “Look, Chief. You’ve got all of this information already. I told you this before.”

  “Tell me again,” Chief Daly pleaded. “Come on. For your own sake.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lottie asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. “How is sitting here repeating myself going to do me any good?”

  Jessie closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Please, Lottie. Just answer him. Come up with some alibi that you forgot up to now. Demand an attorney.

  That was another thing that rankled Jessie. When she first arrived, she had almost stormed out to ask why her friend didn’t have an attorney. Then she’d realized. Lottie wouldn’t have wanted one. On principle.

  This was bad. Real bad.

  “Please answer the question, Ms. Benson.”

  Lottie sighed. “Fine. Okay. I told him he was greedy; that I could barely afford the rent as it was. He shook his head. He laughed.”

  Jessie saw her friend’s fists clench on the interview room table and she felt even more hopeless. She knew Lottie. Her friend had a quick temper… and one of the sweetest, most generous souls Jessie had ever seen. But a jury wouldn’t pick up on that. They’d see an aggressive woman with a motive to murder the man who had threatened her livelihood.

  Jessie sat forward. She’d need to get to the bottom of this. But how would she do that when all roads seemed to point to Lottie?

  Chapter 11

  “Hi Mike,” Jessie smiled, wiping down the counter.

  Mike grinned back. “Hey, Jessie. How’s business?”

  “It’s been slow today,” she said, shrugging. “But I guess that’s to be expected. People are busy shopping and spending time with their families for the holidays.”

  “Why don’t you guys do the same?” he asked, eying the fresh cranberry and white chocolate cookies that Bee had just placed on the counter.

  Jessie shook her head. “I don’t know. It feels like this place is such a huge part of the town, you know? I don’t want to close in case somebody comes along wanting coffee or treats and finds the place locked up. I know Aunt Bee feels the same.”

  “You’re both workaholics,” Mike said, shaking his head.

  Jessie laughed. “Like you can talk, Mayor Stevens. I think you spend more time in that office of yours than you do at home.”

  “Yeah,” he grinned. “You’re right about that. It’s just one thing after another. And I’m not even talking about the murder. Those property developers are back, pushing to get the land they own rezoned.”

  Jessie frowned. “Really? I thought they’d gone away. I’ve heard nothing. We’ve had no letters urging us to sell up; nothing.”

  “Yeah well,” he said, looking grave. “That might be about to change. Apparently, they’ve been putting pressure on the mayor over in Glenvale for months. That might be the reason we haven’t heard much of them over here.”

  Jessie took a fresh cup off the pile on top of the coffee machine. She didn’t need to ask Mike his coffee order. He always got the same thing.

  “So,” he said, leaning against the counter and watching her as she ground enough beans for his double-shot latte. “You’ve spent so much time in here I was thinking I should cook dinner for us both. You know, let you put your feet up and stay out of the kitchen.”

  Jessie grinned and switched off the coffee grinder. “Sure. That would be great. I missed you at the Christmas party.”

  He shrugged apologetically. “Sorry. The function at city hall was arranged before yours and I couldn’t wiggle out of it.”

  Jessie swatted her hand. “I know that. A homemade dinner will more than make up for that.”

  He grinned back at her. “Homemade, huh? I don’t think I made any mention of it being homemade.”

  “Tough,” Jessie laughed. “There aren’t many options for takeout around here.”

  “I was thinking,” Mike said. “I could pick up one of your lunch specials and heat it up in the microwave and—”

  Jessie grabbed a dishtowel and swiped it at him, almost knocking over his coffee cup as she did so.”

  “I’m kidding,” he laughed, holding up his hands. “Of course I’m kidding.”

  Jessie smiled. They had come a long way in the past few months. Jessie had had a private crisis about the relationship when she felt like she should have been pining for him while on vacation. She had come very close to ending their relationship, but then they had gone out for a date night and she’d had the time of her life.

  Luckily, Aunt Bee had sensed the fact that something was up. Her advice was typical Bee: Jessie you silly fool, you want to pine for each other? You think being dependent on each other for your happiness is a sign of a healthy relationship? Nonsense. Are you happy? Because that’s the only thing that matters.

  Jessie hadn’t needed to think about her answer. She was happy. And she was also enjoying the freedom to spend time with her new friends in Springdale. She and Mike both had busy lives, and she realized that it was fine if she wasn’t pining for him night and day—at thirty-seven, she was past that stage.

  “Here you go, Mike,” she smiled, sliding the cup carefully across the counter.

  “Thanks.” He leaned on the counter and rubbed his face. There was nobody else in the café—if it wasn’t the holidays, the café would have been teeming with people at that time. “You know, Jessie. I wanted to run an idea past you.”

  “Sure,” Jessie said, glad to keep chatting. All the turkey and eggnog over the past few days had drained her desire to do the essential but laborious tasks around the café, like washing the floors and cleaning down the counters.

  “I was thinking of running for congress,” he said, watching her closely to see her reaction.

  “Wow,” Jessie managed, almost dropping the milk jug she was in the process of stowing away. “Wow. That’s… fantastic.”

  “Really?”

  Jessie forced a smile. The truth was, the idea had hit her like a freight train. It was one thing being content with only seeing each other a couple times a week, but living hours away and only seeing each other a couple times a month if even? Jessie gritted her teeth. She couldn’t tell him that, of course—she couldn’t put a downer on something she knew he’d be perfect for. He loved his role as Springdale’s mayor and he was extremely good a
t it.

  “Yes. I think you’d be great. You’d really get things done.”

  He smiled and swatted his hand.

  “It’s true. I think you could do great things for this district.”

  He smiled. “Thanks, Jessie.”

  Jessie sighed. Of course she was excited for him, but she’d miss him like crazy. He was the first person she called when there was something she needed to talk through. And this was one of those times where her mind was all jumbled up—she had spent the whole night awake, trying to figure out how to prove Lottie was innocent.

  “What’s wrong?” Mike asked, looking alarmed. “If you don’t like the idea, please just say so.”

  Jessie shook her head. “It’s not that,” she said quietly. “It’s this thing with Lottie.”

  Chief Daly had tried to keep the case as quiet as possible, but Mike, as mayor, would have been updated on the investigation.

  Mike smiled sympathetically. “Obviously I can’t comment on the case, but it must be stressful. I know you two have gotten close. How is she?”

  Jessie remembered her visit to the police station that morning. “She’s in good spirits,” she said with a sigh. “But I can’t help but think that’s because it hasn’t yet sunk in for her. Once she realizes this is serious…” Jessie shuddered.

  “I know for a fact that Charles is doing everything he can. He’s not just going to throw the book at her without a good reason.”

  “That’s the thing,” Jessie said, shaking her head. “It looks like an open-and-shut case. She was gone around the time of the murder. Her alibi is shaky. Although…” Jessie paused. Phone records. She could check with the chief and see if they’d had any luck in getting the supplier’s phone records.

  “I see the cogs are starting to turn in your mind,” Mike said wryly.

  Jessie smiled at him. Sometimes it seemed like he knew her better than she knew herself. She’d miss him if he moved to DC, but they’d find a way. She’d make sure of it.

  “Yes, maybe,” she said, reaching for an order pad and quickly scribbling down a reminder to go find the chief when the café was closed for the day.