A Caffeine Conundrum

by Angela Ruth Strong

  Tandy arched an eyebrow. Two days ago Marissa wouldn’t even consider it. She’d joined in the investigation to protect her grandma’s good name. “You don’t have to. Jenn’s crime had nothing to do with you.”

  Marissa looked past her. “Right. Good.” She pivoted and marched inside the building, only slipping once in her red Ugg boots with the bows on the back. Ugg was a good name for those boots. “Merry Christmas, Kristin.”

  Today the blonde receptionist wore a headband with mistletoe attached overhead. What was it with Grace Springs residents and their outrageous headwear?

  “Merry Christmas, Marissa.” Kristin smiled then frowned at Tandy. Either she’d read her thoughts or wasn’t a fan of suspected criminals running loose.

  Tandy ducked behind the brim of her hat. Headwear did come in handy occasionally.

  “Is Officer Woodward here?”

  Tandy peeked up to find Kristin watching her through narrowed eyes. No more friendly interaction like they’d had on her first visit. “Woodward is directing traffic downtown since Main Street is closed for the fun run. Griffin is running, but he’s on call. I can get him to come straight to the station if you need anything.”

  Tandy turned to read Marissa’s expression. If it were up to her, they’d track Woodward down rather than drag Griffin back here. He wasn’t likely to listen to them in the first place, but if they kept him from winning the race against Connor this year, he’d be even more upset.

  “Huh-uh.” Marissa tucked her chin as if wanting to avoid the situation. “I’m not getting in the middle of the race between him and Connor again.”

  They saw eye to eye on the situation. Maybe her experience with competing in pageants made her more competitive than the average person.

  “We’ll find Woodward.” Marissa marched toward the door.

  Tandy followed outside then realized they weren’t headed toward the Jeep but toward Main Street. She was all for tracking down the police, but she wasn’t ready to dive into a sea of Santas. Not only was she still recovering from broken ribs, but it had been years since she’d run. She preferred to take a spinning class where the instructor gave out shots of espresso. “Can’t we drive?”

  Marissa wrinkled her nose. “We could drive down a couple of blocks, but then we’d have to park and cross to get to the town square, and there’s no guarantee we’ll even find parking. Walking will be faster.”

  Tandy grimaced but lowered Cocoa to the ground and wrapped a new red leash around her wrist. Presumably purchased with the Santa Paws costume. The little dog bounded forward. “All right.”

  But not all was right. Once they reached Main, the tide of jolly bodies carried her along until her feet had to pick up speed, her injured ribs ached, and her cheeks burned with exertion. Maybe that’s why Santa’s cheeks were always so rosy. He ran 5Ks to work off all those extra milk and cookie calories. If only someone hadn’t shoveled the roads and used a bunch of rock salt ice melt, then Marissa would have slipped by now and Tandy wouldn’t be racing to keep up.

  A Santa with holes in his earlobes jogged by. “Nice costume.” The compliment rang with Randon’s trademark sarcasm.

  “Thanks, Hipster Claus.”

  A Mrs. Claus in a short skirt and candy cane tights followed. “It’ll match the black and white stripes you’ll be wearing soon.”

  “Prisoners wear orange now,” Tandy called after Lavella. Though she should have said something about how she wasn’t going to be going to prison. Because it kind of sounded like she was burning herself.

  “Don’t let her get to you.” Marissa gave advice she was still learning to take.

  Tandy watched Miss Ohio disappear into the crowd. “I’m more offended by her dress than anything else. That’s not the same costume you offered me to wear, is it?”

  “You could have been twins.” Marissa answered without so much as sounding a little out of breath. For being uncoordinated, she certainly had good stamina, while Tandy’s lungs began to wheeze.

  Even Billie caught up with them, though Tandy didn’t recognize her at first in the curly white wig. “Tandy, I heard Greg St. James is representing you. You’ll be in good hands.”

  Billie must not really think her guilty. Either that or Billie offered more grace than anyone she’d ever met. “I know. Greg and I go way back.”

  “Really?” A GQ Santa, also known as Joseph Cross, jogged with Billie around a storm grate then gazed at Tandy. “Are you the little girl who used to spend every summer here with him?”

  “How’d you know that?” Had Tandy met Cross before in her past life? It had been a while, but Tandy couldn’t imagine forgetting someone as wealthy and commanding as Cross.

  Cross stroked his beard. “He told me about you when he bought shares in my cruise ships. He said he’d loved the river ever since building a rope swing from his tree house with a friend who visited in the summers.”

  Tandy’s feet slowed. She maneuvered toward the side of the street and onto the sidewalk in front of the old antique shop to hold her side and regroup. This was a lot to take in.

  Billie waved. “See you at the finish line.”

  Tandy waved. Greg would be at the finish line. Could there be more of a future together than that?

  What if Jenn Pierce wasn’t guilty? What if Tandy still went to prison? Then she’d have no future.

  Marissa joined her and continued to jog in place, knees high. “Did you need a break, Tandy?”

  Tandy’s heartbeat raced but not from physical exercise anymore. She looked down at Cocoa. He gazed up, tiny tongue hanging out, adoration in his dark, trusting eyes. “I’m picking Cocoa up, so he doesn’t get trampled.” She squatted down. “And actually, I’m worried about—”

  Marissa gasped. “Jenn Pierce.”

  Tandy stood. “Yes, I’m worried about Jenn Pierce.”

  “No.” Marissa pointed through the window of the shop they’d both wanted to buy. “Jenn Pierce is in there.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Marissa pulled Tandy to the side of the window and pressed her body against the cold, rough bricks to stay out of eyesight. “What is Jenn doing in there?”

  Tandy scooted slightly away. Probably so they didn’t squish Cocoa between them. “She has to be looking for the diamonds.”

  If their theory was correct this time, Jenn was going to tear the place apart until she found her stolen gems. She might even take the other things she’d stolen that hadn’t been sold yet. Things like the vase. Then what? Would she disappear? She’d have no reason to come back to Grace Springs if her mom was gone. Plus, if she fenced the stolen items, she might not need to work anymore. She could live off the money her thievery brought in.

  “How did she get in there?” Marissa spoke the question out loud. When Grandmother passed, the bank had seized her house immediately. If Virginia had willed everything to the museum, then Jenn was trespassing on their property.

  “She probably still has a key, though if we’re right about her stealing the diamonds, then she is an experienced thief.” Tandy leaned forward to peek toward the doorway. “It doesn’t look like she broke in. At least not through the front entrance.”

  Marissa’s pulse thrummed. “Why now? Why didn’t she search for the diamonds earlier? Or at night?”

  Tandy looked past her toward all the jogging Santas. “Maybe because she’s had to play the grieving daughter. Maybe because the police have finally cleared the place from being a crime scene. Maybe because now that I’ve been arrested, she thinks she’s free.”

  Lots of possibilities. Marissa followed her gaze to find a group of runners casting them curious glances as they passed. The two of them probably looked pretty goofy playing Cloak and Dagger in the middle of broad daylight at a public event. Though nobody stopped to talk to them because they had their own goals. The same as Griffin’s goal. “Or she knows Griffin is occupied.”

  Tandy clicked her tongue. “That’s it. She doesn’t think anyone is going to catch her because th
e police are busy.”

  Marissa jerked away from the wall. “We have to go get Griffin right now.”

  Tandy pulled her back. “You think I can catch up with him? He’s like Rudolph, guiding all these Santas on their Christmas run. I can’t even keep up with Billie.”

  Marissa’s chest rose and fell with shallow breaths. She was ready to dash away, dash away, dash away all. “You wait here, and—”

  “And what? Let you know when Jenn escapes?”

  Marissa frowned in confusion. “What do you want to do?”

  “You said it yourself.” Tandy pulled out her cell phone. Hopefully to call Lukey. “She’s here right now because she doesn’t think she’ll get caught. So we catch her.”

  How? It wasn’t like they could grab a big red sack from one of the Santas trotting by and use it to stuff Jenn inside. Even if they could, then what? Stick a bow on her head? Gift her to the police department? “Tandy, no. If she killed her mom, then she’s a killer who may have tried to kill us.” Chills formed on her skin, and not only because they’d quit jogging. “During the explosion on the steamboat, you weren’t the only one in the bathroom. Though nobody even questioned her.”

  “That’s right.” Tandy clenched her jaw. “Not to mention the fact that she was dating the deputy, which meant she would have also known about the kids playing pranks on the road where we ran into the rockslide. She would have known the police wouldn’t suspect attempted homicide.”

  True. But how would Jenn have known they were investigating the murder at that time? Marissa shook her head. “The only people we questioned at the point were Billie and then Mr. Cross at the retirement center, and she wasn’t there either of those times.”

  “Yes, she was.” Tandy paused, her gaze flicking to meet Marissa’s. “Remember Cross said Jenn’s aunt was crying about Virginia’s death? Someone must have gone to the retirement center to tell her aunt. And who else would have done that besides Jenn?”

  Marissa covered her mouth at the image of Jenn listening in to their conversation. She lowered her fingers to whisper over the thumping of her heart. “Then she also knew about Grandmother’s diary.”

  Tandy’s eyes widened. “She must have stolen it since she was at the police station when I discovered it was missing.”

  The pieces of their puzzle fit together to form a crime scene. Marissa gripped Tandy’s arm. She couldn’t let her new friend confront the killer. “It’s not wise to go in there.”

  Tandy pushed away from the wall. “Then we’ll do what the wise men did when warned about King Herod’s murderous intent.” She headed around the corner away from the front door. “We’ll use a different route.”

  Marissa pulled out her own phone. The wise man would have had it a lot easier if they’d simply had the use of a little technology. With a little help from Google Maps and Wikipedia, they never would have had to deal with Herod in the first place. “I’m calling Lukey right now.”

  “Great.” Tandy reached the alleyway and poked her head out. “Tell him I’m involved, and you’ll get him here with jingle bells on.”

  Marissa wanted to argue, but Tandy was probably right. That would be why she was so desperate to prove Jenn guilty. It was like she and Marissa had traded places. At first Marissa had been desperate to prove Lavella guilty to keep Grandmother’s name out of the news, but now that she’d started to feel a little more confident with who she was, perhaps due to her friendship with Tandy, Tandy had become the desperate one. Of course, she’d wrongly spent a night in jail, so she might have a better reason for her desperation.

  Tandy disappeared around the corner. Marissa gasped and scrambled forward. She peeked around in time to see Tandy pull the back door open silently.

  Marissa fumbled for her phone and swiped a trembling finger over the screen. What if she didn’t call fast enough? What if Jenn led Tandy up to the roof and pushed her off, claiming suicide? What if she cut the cord on the beautiful chandelier so it would crash down on Tandy like they did in the movies? Or worse, what if she got away with the diamonds before Lukey arrived, and Tandy was arrested for trespassing and had to go to jail again?

  Marissa held the phone to her mouth and whispered into the device, “Call Lukey.”

  “Calling Lukey,” the automated voice on her phone responded without concern for alerting a killer that she was being reported to law enforcement.

  Marissa covered the speaker with her hand and glued her eyes at the back door in case the phone had been overheard and Tandy had to run out before getting crushed by a light fixture. The alley remained eerily calm.

  There was plenty of noise behind Marissa though, with most of the out-of-shape Santas huffing and puffing their way toward the finish line. And what was that other sound? The clomping. It couldn’t really be reindeer hooves…

  She held the phone to her ear, listening to it ring while twisting around to see what was going on. She found Connor’s parents’ horse drawn carriage bringing up the rear of the run like it always did. Mr. Thomas had the best Santa costume with ruby colored velvet and actual white fur. His belly was authentic too, probably because he frequently dipped into the candy stash he now tossed to children.

  Abigail Thomas waved her direction. “Marissa, do you want a ride?”

  Oh no. Could Jenn hear her from inside? Marissa shook her head wildly, willing Lukey to pick up.

  “Okay, dear. I just thought seeing you would cheer Connor. He messaged me that he lost the race.”

  Ranger must have needed a potty stop. She would take joy from that fact later when she wasn’t worried about being the cause of Tandy getting caught. She pointed to the phone at her ear to indicate she was busy.

  Abigail nodded and returned to waving like she was in a parade as the carriage passed.

  Marissa sighed in relief. Now if Lukey would only—

  “This is Deputy Griffin.” Lukey barely got his name out between his heavy breathing. Cheering roared from the background. And Mayor Kensington could be heard over some kind of loudspeaker.

  Marissa almost wished he hadn’t won his first race, so she wasn’t pulling him away from his moment of glory. Hopefully the Ho-Ho-Holiday Trophy would make him feel better when he realized the woman he loved was only using him for his badge. “Lukey, I—”

  “What’s that? I can’t hear you.”

  Marissa gritted her teeth in frustration. “Lukey, it’s Marissa.”

  “Hi. Or should I say ‘ho-ho-ho’ now that I’m the champion Santa?”

  “Neither, listen…”

  More heavy breathing and commotion. “Are you calling to congratulate me on beating your ex? He’s going to claim that I only won because Ranger saw a squirrel right before the finish line, but that’s a pathetic excuse.” Laughter.

  “Lukey, this isn’t funny.”

  “It is to me. Maybe now you’ll stop calling me Lukey.”

  Marissa squeezed her fingers around the phone as if it would get his attention. She’d love to scream, but that would draw other unwanted attention. “Detective Griffin,” she hissed. “I am at Virginia’s shop where Jenn Pierce is currently looking for the diamonds she stole from the museum. She also killed her mother to get them back, and if you don’t—”

  “Did you say you’re with Jenn? Does she know I won the race?”

  If only he had ears as large as an elf then he could hear her over his finish line celebration. “Shush and read the text I’m going to send you.”

  She jabbed at her phone to end the call and seriously considered kicking the wall a couple of times. The kid may have beaten Connor in a race, but he still couldn’t beat Marissa in a game of Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego. She scrunched up her face at her phone while angrily typing a text about the woman of his dreams being a homicidal maniac. Then, because she was so furious, she texted Connor too. It would be interesting to see which man was faster when it really mattered.

  Now she had to wait. Or did she? She had enough pent up energy to beat Jenn in a
foot race. Might as well follow Tandy in to make sure she was still alive.

  Tandy held her breath against the stabbing sensation in her side and crawled through the jumble of old furniture and knickknacks, her knees creaking like the rocking horse she’d received for Christmas in preschool. Back before Santa accused her of murder and put her in a jail cell.

  Well, she was about to catch Santa’s girlfriend red-handed. And not just because the woman knew how to knit festive mittens. No, she wore black gloves as she systematically made her way through the merchandise, running her hands along everything from the backs of mirrors to inside clocks.

  Tandy had thought she had mommy issues, but her mom had never taken anything from her more than their dog when her parents divorced. Not that Gemma hadn’t been priceless, but Tandy wouldn’t have killed anyone over her.

  She patted Cocoa on the head. He was being good, staying with her and staying quiet. She really should have left him with Marissa. Then it would have been a little easier to get past the vintage sewing machine for a better angle to film Jenn’s illegal endeavor.

  Sinking down to her belly on the dusty floorboards behind a couple of large paintings tilted against the wall, Tandy opened up her phone’s camera app and slid the icon to record. She twisted her wrist to get a better view.

  Jenn filled Tandy’s screen, ripping open bags that had been zip tied to cover furniture and delicate items in preparation for delivery. She’d run her hand over each item then wrap them again in a new bag as if it had never been touched.

  A noise clattered from the rear of the store. The close-up of Jenn’s face showed her freezing and her eyes darting toward the back door.

  Tandy bit her lip to keep from moaning. Marissa must have followed her in. Tandy thought she’d been calling the police. With her clumsiness, she should have known better.

  Jenn lowered the dishes and scanned the empty street. Where were a thousand Santas when you needed them?

  Fur lined boots tromped Tandy’s way.