I bit the corner of my lip. “I suppose you’re right.”
My mother looked at me. “Of course, I am. I’m your mother. Besides, the Christmas season only comes around once a year.”
“I can’t argue with that,” I said.
“Good,” Luke said. “Who has time for arguing anyway when there are mashed potatoes to devour?”
Chapter Two
The drive home that evening was a scenic one. Everyone in the neighborhood had their Christmas lights turned on. In addition, when I looked into the living-room window of each house that we drove by, I was treated to the sight of an elaborately-decorated Christmas tree.
The holiday spirit was alive in town square as well. As David and I came up on Main Street, my eyes really lit up. How could they not when there was a twenty-foot-tall tree directly in front of me? And what a sight it was. This year’s tree was the biggest and most impressive yet.
Not to be outdone, each of the businesses lining Main Street all had festive window displays. As far as I was concerned, those decorations were dazzling enough to warm even the coldest of hearts.
The longer we drove, the more impossible it became not to have Christmas on my mind. That was fine by me. After all, this was my favorite time of year.
I knew my husband felt the same way. His brown eyes were so wide as he stared at the lights that he looked like a little kid. That was saying a lot, considering how he was a tall muscular man in his fifties.
While my husband was tapping into his inner child, I found myself having a sudden craving.
“You know what I could really go for?” I asked.
“More of your mother’s Christmas cookies?” David said.
I chuckled. “Look who has dessert on the brain.”
“Can you blame me? Those cookies were terrific.”
“If you liked them so much then why didn’t you take a few extra for the road?”
“I was trying not to go too overboard on the sweets. Talk about a mistake. I’m kicking myself for stopping at two cookies.”
“If you’re really that desperate for more, you could always turn around and head back to my parents’ place.”
He scoffed. “Come on, Sabrina. I do have some dignity.”
“Dignity is overrated when it comes to dessert.”
“Are you saying that because you secretly want more cookies as well?”
I shook my head. “Actually, right now, I have a craving for an eggnog latte.”
“You want a latte? At this hour? Are you planning on staying up all night?”
“On second thought, just a glass of eggnog would probably be just fine.”
“I wouldn’t turn down a glass.”
“Is there anything you would turn down right now?”
“Hey, do I tease you when your taste buds are out of control?”
“You sure do.”
“I suppose you’re right,” David said. “I might have to reconsider that from now on.”
“You can make that one of your Christmas gifts to me,” I said.
“I’m going to be honest with you. I’ve already gotten you plenty of gifts.”
My eyebrows rose. “Such as?”
His nose scrunched. “Nice try. But if I told you what they were, they wouldn’t be a surprise.”
“In my defense, when this town surprises me, it isn’t usually a good thing.”
“Trust me. In this case, it will be.”
I folded my arms. “Are you really going to leave me in suspense about my presents?”
David avoided eye contact and just stared at the road. “How about we get that eggnog?”
“Sure thing,” I said.
Chapter Three
The next morning, I headed over to my family’s coffee shop to meet up with two of my best friends. Normally, we all ordered regular lattes before discussing the latest developments in our lives. That particular day, we switched things up a little and added a little seasonal flair to our morning routine. Shannon Marlowe and Kelly Hogan each had eggnog lattes. Since I had a cup of eggnog the night before, I decided to order a peppermint latte. It was safe to say that we were all happy with our drink orders.
Kelly, in particular, wanted to rave about her latte. My blue-eyed, full-figured, blond friend was as happy as could be. “This is so good.”
“It really is,” Shannon said. The petite redhead then bit the corner of her lip. “It’s a shame that it’s seasonal.”
“There’s a reason for that,” I said.
“True. You have to make room for pumpkin-spiced drinks at some point,” Kelly said.
“You know it. Pumpkin spice does not play well with others,” I joked. “It certainly doesn’t want to share space with eggnog or peppermint.”
Kelly laughed.
Meanwhile, Shannon looked off into the distance. “I still don’t see why we can’t just order these drinks all year round.”
“Shannon, we go through this every year. You wouldn’t want to drink an eggnog latte in the dead of summer, would you?” I asked.
Shannon scratched her chin. “I suppose you’re right.”
While Shannon and I were busy talking about flavored lattes, Kelly’s focus turned elsewhere.
“Not to distract from your scintillating discussion about summer eggnog lattes, but I just have to mention this before I forget. The holiday decorations that you put up in the café this year are just so cute,” Kelly remarked.
I couldn’t agree more. I also couldn’t take any credit for them. The Christmas trimmings lining the coffee shop had not been put up by me.
“You have Vanessa to thank for those,” I said.
While I oversaw the big-picture matters at Daley Buzz Coffee Company, Vanessa Hargrave managed most of the day to day things. This café was lucky to have her. She was great at her job.
“I will thank her,” Kelly said. She then scanned the coffee shop. “Where is she?”
“She’s actually out of town right now,” I said.
“Where?” Kelly asked.
“At a spa with some of her friends,” I said.
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Wow. That sounds amazing.”
“I’ll say. Talk about an early Christmas gift to herself,” I replied.
Shannon scratched her chin. “I should book a trip like that next year.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah. It’s a shame it’s too late to do it this year.”
“It sure is. Things are busy, busy, busy at my sandwich shop,” Shannon said.
“Same with my crystal shop,” Kelly said. “As a matter of fact, things could stand to get a little less hectic.”
“I wouldn’t count on that happening,” Shannon said.
Kelly shook her head. “No. If anything, things will probably get more hectic—both professionally and personally. Especially since I haven’t finished my Christmas shopping yet.”
Shannon’s eyes widened. “Wow. You’re really living on the edge.”
Kelly groaned. “Don’t remind me. I’d really like a day off to finish my shopping. Instead, I’m going to put in a full day of work at the crystal shop before rushing off to the mall and fighting off holiday traffic.”
Shannon grimaced. “You’re going to brave the crowds at the mall? Yikes. I’ll pray for you.”
“Thanks,” Kelly said. “I have a feeling that I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
Chapter Four
It turned out Kelly wasn’t the only stressed-out resident of Treasure Cove. Over the next few hours, a number of other customers came into Daley Buzz needing some coffee to take the edge off of their morning. My heart went out to them. It was always difficult to see people struggling. But that was especially true during the holiday season.
Unfortunately, for some people, the entire run leading up to December 25th was as frantic as could be. In rare cases, things didn’t even quiet down when Christmas Day arrived. That was a real shame. Everyone deserved to have a good holiday. That was why I said a quick littl
e prayer for each of the struggling customers that I came across.
A little after nine o’clock, my thoughts turned elsewhere. I had work to do. Since Vanessa had taken a few days off, there was some paperwork that required my attention. As you could imagine, I dreaded filling out sales reports. But they were a necessary evil. So, I began to prepare a second latte to give myself the energy I would need to crunch numbers for the next few hours.
Before I was able to take a sip of the latte, however, my cell phone rang. I reached into my back pocket, pulled out my phone, and checked the caller identification screen. Surprisingly, the call was coming from Vanessa Hargrave.
How odd.
I wondered what she was calling about. As far as I knew, she was still on her trip. The rare times I left town, the last thing I had an interest in doing was to check-in at work. Of course, there was another possible reason for this phone call. One that gave me chills. What if something awful had happened to her?
I hated to think about it, but it wouldn’t be the first time I had gotten bad news over the phone. Or during the holidays, for that matter.
Before I got ahead of myself, I decided to just answer the phone and hope for the best.
“Vanessa, how are things going?” I said.
My friend sounded panicked as she replied, “Sabrina, you need to come quick.”
“Why? What’s going on?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you when you get here,” Vanessa said.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“At Jeff’s house,” Vanessa said.
I was surprised by her answer. I figured she was still at the spa. So, for her to be calling from her boyfriend’s place with such a concerned tone in her voice, gave me serious pause.
I got a terrible feeling in my gut. “What’s wrong?”
Vanessa’s voice cracked as she replied, “Please, just come over here right now.”
“All right,” I said. “I’m on my way.”
***
I hopped into my car and barreled over to Leonard Drive. A few minutes later, my sedan pulled up in front of Jeff’s mint-colored Victorian-style house. I would have parked in the driveway, but there were already two cars there. I recognized both of them. One was a red sedan belonging to Jeff. The other was a white sport-utility-vehicle, which Vanessa owned.
I parked on the street, got out of my car, and ran up the driveway toward Vanessa, who stood next to the house’s detached garage. My brown-haired, forty-one-year-old friend, looked terrible. Meanwhile, Jeff wasn’t anywhere in sight.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Vanessa said.
I stared into Vanessa’s hazel eyes. It was then that I realized my full-figured friend was shaken to the core.
“Will you please tell me what’s going on?” I asked. “Where’s Jeff?”
Vanessa pointed at the doorway to the garage, which was wide open. “Go in and see for yourself.”
I took a few steps over to the doorway and peered inside the garage. My eyebrows rose as I spotted Jeff Donaldson’s body on the ground beside the vintage car that he had been restoring. My natural instinct was to run over to the body and check for a pulse. When I saw a bloody gash on Jeff’s head, however, it became clear that he was already dead.
If the sight of the gash wasn’t horrifying enough, a bloodstained wrench was on the ground beside the body.
***
It took a few seconds for me to be able to say word to Vanessa. I was too shocked to do anything but stare at the body. Besides, my pulse was racing like crazy. Thankfully, after focusing on my breathing for a number of seconds, I was able to calm myself down. Just as I was finally getting my heart rate under control, Vanessa broke the silence between us.
“It’s so terrible,” Vanessa said. “I can’t believe he’s really dead.”
“Neither can I. What happened here?” I asked.
Vanessa shook her head. “I don’t know.”
My nose crinkled. “I’m confused. When you say you don’t know—”
She cut me off. “He was like this when I got here.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I came up the driveway, saw that the side door to the garage was open, and walked over there. When I looked in the garage, I spotted Jeff’s body on the ground.” She took a deep breath and opened her mouth again, but no words came out.
I waited a few seconds for a response, but none came.
“You don’t have to say a word.” I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a hug. “I’m so sorry this happened. I know how terrible it is to lose a loved one.”
She took a deep breath before responding, “Sabrina, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I know you’re devastated. So, I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you go take a seat in my car? I’ll call David and let him take things from here.”
As I pulled out my phone, Vanessa shook her head. “No. Don’t call David.”
I squinted. “Why not?”
“I mean, don’t call him yet.”
My nose scrunched. “You’re confusing me. Why wouldn’t you want me to call him?”
“Because there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Vanessa opened her mouth again, but no words came out.
“Take your time. You don’t need to rush anything.”
She took a deep breath and untied her tongue. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I guess I’ll just come out with it. Jeff was cheating on me.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“I know. I couldn’t believe it either. But it’s the truth.”
“With who?”
“Her name is Cheryl McGrath. She works at a bar on the southeast end of town.”
“Jeff cheated on you with some random bartender?”
Vanessa grimaced as she nodded.
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“So am I,” Vanessa said. “I was so angry when I found out. I wanted to throw things across the room. I wanted to…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
While Vanessa was pouring her heart out, my body tensed up. A bad feeling began to form in my gut.
“Vanessa, is there something else you aren’t telling me?” I asked.
“The spa retreat I went on, I booked it after I found out that Jeff had been unfaithful to me. I wanted to get out of town. To process my emotions. And to take my mind off of how heartbroken I was.”
“Did it work?”
She nodded. “It did. Getting out of town did wonders to clear my head. As a matter of fact, I almost didn’t want to leave the spa.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Unfortunately, no vacation can last forever.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
“That said, by the time I made my way back home, I discovered the strength to start my life over—without Jeff. Honestly, the only reason I came over here this morning was to get my stuff back from him. Instead, I ended up discovering his body.”
“Talk about a crazy turn of events.”
Vanessa took a deep breath. “You’re telling me. And yet, as nutty as my story may sound, it’s the truth.”
I stared deep into her eyes. “Vanessa, are you worried that I doubt your story?”
“I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I know how far-fetched it sounds. But it’s the absolute truth,” she said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I was incredibly angry at Jeff for breaking my heart. But just because he was unfaithful to me doesn’t mean that I wanted him dead.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but Vanessa was desperate to get another thought out.
“Please tell me you believe me,” she said.
I stared deep into her eyes and saw no signs that she was lying. “Of course I believe you.”
“Good.” Vanessa breathed a huge sigh of relief before continuing, “Anyway, I just wanted you to know all of that before you called your husband.”
I gave her another hug. “Thank yo
u for being truthful with me.”
Chapter Five
After finishing my conversation with Vanessa, I called David and broke the crazy news to him about Jeff’s death. As expected, my husband hopped into his car and rushed right over.
While I waited for David to arrive, I took one more look at Jeff’s garage.
I was glad that I did.
Near the doorway, I spotted something very interesting on the ground. It was a matchbook with a very distinct logo on it.
What a find.
After all, there was no doubt in my mind that this matchbook had come from Tipsy McCallan’s Sports Bar. That was notable for a number of reasons. Chief among them was the fact that Cheryl McGrath worked at that bar.
As I processed that news, my husband arrived on the scene. He was joined a few minutes later by a forensics team, the medical examiner, and a number of deputies.
The medical examiner immediately took a look at the corpse while the forensics team dusted the entire crime scene—including the matchbook and the bloodstained wrench—for fingerprints. Meanwhile, David took a statement from Vanessa about discovering the body.
Thankfully, after taking Vanessa’s statement, the balding middle-aged medical examiner, Walter Jameson, was ready to share his initial findings. According to Walter, Jeff had died sometime between nine and ten o’clock the night before.
As part of standard protocol, David called up two of Vanessa’s friends to confirm that she was truly at the spa during the time that Jeff was murdered. Much to my relief, both of Vanessa’s friends were able to verify her alibi. That meant she was officially in the clear.
***
While a deputy drove Vanessa home, David and I got back to work. By that time, the forensics team had some findings to share with us. Unfortunately, none of them were good. They weren’t able to pull any fingerprints from wrench. Nor the matchbook. Or the doorknob leading to the garage. My best guess was that the killer had worn gloves. If that was the case, forensics wouldn’t be able to do much to help us. But the team continued their work, anyway, hoping to get lucky.
Sabrina Carlson Cozy Mystery Anthology Page 17
