by P. Creeden
Merry Without Malice
The 12 Mysteries of Christmas, Book 12
P. Creeden
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
8. Chapter 1 Preview of Holly in Hiding
9. Chapter 1 Preview of Murder on Valentine’s Day
About the Author
Also by P. Creeden
THE 12 MYSTERIES OF CHRISTMAS series:
IN THE NICK OF TIME by Susette Williams
GABRIEL’S SECRET by Alexa Verde
GUARDING CANDY KANE by V.B. Tenery
MURDER: UP ON THE ROOFTOP by Tina Dee
JOY IN JEOPARDY by Lynette Sowell
HOLLY IN HIDING by P. Creeden
STARR WITNESS by Susette Williams
NOELLE ON THE RUN by Alexa Verde
GOLDEN BELLES ARE WRINGING by Gina Conroy
DEATH BY FIGGY PUDDING by Tina Dee
DANGER FOR GLORIA by Lynette Sowell
MERRY WITHOUT MALICE by P. Creeden
Merry Without Malice © 2018 P. Creeden
Edited by Cassie Hess-Dean
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
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Merry Without Malice
Merry thought she'd take her grandchildren to see the parade of lights display in town, but she can barely get them to pull their eyes off their smartphones. When she looks around, almost everyone is filming the lights display instead of enjoying the experience right now. But a sudden scream breaks the jovial atmosphere. One of the spectators has been stabbed. When the police detective turns out to be her own son on his first case, Merry discovers clues to help him solve the crime.
Chapter 1
Merry loved when her grandchildren came over to visit, but there was one thing she couldn’t understand. Did children no longer play outside? She watched her two grandchildren, Colin and Kaitlyn as they sat on the couch, each on their own device. Colin played video games on his portable game player while Mary watched music videos on her smartphone.
The children were both towheaded—blond with blue eyes, much like their father had been when he was their age. Their mother had dropped them off early that afternoon, so she could spend time shopping in Boulder with some of her friends. Their father, the newly promoted detective, had to work the evening shift. Of course, Merry offered to watch the ten and twelve-year-old.
She gazed out the window at the fading light. The setting sun shined outside off the inch of snow that still packed on the ground. Some of it had melted during the heat of the day, but not much. Areas were already refreezing, but she’d had her son, Jeremy drop some rock salt on the areas where they needed to walk. Outside of the footprints that went along the sidewalk, there were no other imprints in the snow. No snowmen. No snow angels. The children had only stepped outside long enough to make it from the car to the house. And from the door, they only made it to the couch.
Merry frowned, looking at them. At twelve, Kaitlyn still had a bit of chubbiness to her cheeks. She had dyed her hair that popular purple hue on the bottom half and tried to behave as though she’d transposed the numbers of her age. But with none of the responsibilities that came with being an adult, the reality of true maturity remained a mystery to her.
As for ten-year-old Colin, he didn’t talk much, even when Merry asked him a question. In all the years that they’d spent at grandma’s house, Merry had hardly heard him say more than “Hello, Gramma,” or “Thanks, Gramma.”
For a while, she half-wondered if he might be a bit slow. But according to her daughter-in-law Adrienne, the boy was a straight-A student. She chalked it up to Colin being shy. Regardless, when they were over at her house, she tried her best to make sure the children were comfortable and fed.
While making dinner, she made a decision. The twosome still remained on the couch, slouched down, each in their own little world. Merry cleared her throat “Have you guys seen the lights display in town yet?”
Kaitlyn peered over her phone and met Merry’s eyes for a half moment before sliding her gaze back down to the small screen. “We’ve driven by it a few times.”
“During the day? You haven’t walked it? It’s a totally different experience when you walk it.” Merry persisted, her hands fisting on the dishrag she held in her hands.
Kaitlyn frowned and shrugged but didn’t look up again.
Colin didn’t say a word, making Merry wonder if he’d heard at all.
Anger welled up in Merry. She frowned and raised her voice. “Put down the electronics.”
Both children looked over the devices, their eyes growing a little wide. Honestly, it was probably the first time Merry had raised her voice with either of the children, but she’d thoroughly had enough.
“Dinner will be ready in five minutes. You both will put the electronics away, wash up, and help set the table. We will have dinner in a peaceable way, and then we’re going to walk through the lights display. We are a family. We should spend time together as family and make memories. In ten years, you won’t remember what level you got in your game or what boy you liked best in that boy band of yours, but you’ll remember this evening spent with your grandmother, walking through a winter wonderland of lights.”
Kaitlyn sighed and leaned forward. “Is all that really necessary, Gramma?”
Merry blinked.
Colin laughed.
A wide smile spread across Kaitlyn’s face. “Boredom, Gramma. When there’s nothing else to do, Colin plays games, I watch videos. But if you’ve got something for us to do, we’re happy to do it.”
Merry blinked again, wondering if there was a catch. All this time, if she’d wanted them to get off the devices, she’d just had to give them something better to do? She was certain she’d asked them if they wanted to play in the snow or play a board game, and always got half-committal shrugs in response. Maybe it wasn’t just that she was offering to give them something to do. Maybe it was because she was offering to do it with them, and had forcefully demanded that it happen?
Regardless, as she watched the kids get up and help set the table, happiness spilled over in her heart.
“Isn’t it too cold out here for this?” Colin asked, forcing a blink out of Merry.
They had only walked two blocks away from the house, crunching through the patches of snow occasionally found on the sidewalk. Around them, a light breeze blew now and then, but only enough to bring color to their cheeks, not enough to give them frostbite. All that was left of the sun was a bit of glow on the western horizon.
She’d made sure the kids were bundled up sufficiently, forcing Kaitlyn to wear a hat, even though the child worried about messing up her hair. Merry couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Somewher
e in the process of growing up and gaining maturity, people learned to worry less about how things looked and more about how they functioned. Nothing taught that more than going out into the crisp night air for an event that would take an hour or two.
Her purple mitten-covered hands clapped together, and she picked up her pace. “If we walk briskly, we’ll stay warm. Keep up, children.”
Behind her, she heard the grunts and heavy breathing of the children as they made their way down the main thoroughfare. Lights shined on the sidewalk from the café as they passed, and she turned back toward the kids. “When we’re done with the display, we’ll stop in for some hot chocolate. Sound good?”
“Can I get cider instead? Chocolate causes pimples.” Kaitlin’s eyes sparkled as she looked inside the café.
“Sure, cider is fine.”
“I like hot chocolate,” Colin said, his nose buried in his black and white knit scarf. The boy’s hands were shoved deep inside the pockets of his green down jacket.
Merry smiled and went back to facing the front. This was fun. Maybe she needed to be more direct with the kids from the beginning. She’d spent too much time trying to be the good grandma, the nice one—especially since she knew that their parents were having trouble at home, and the last thing she wanted was for her daughter-in-law to decide that she was mean to the children and keep them away from her out of spite. But maybe she’d been overthinking things. The children seemed to respond better when she was direct rather than subtle.
Kaitlyn pulled her smart phone from her pocket, pulled off her gloves, and began running her thumbs across the screen. Merry pulled the phone from her hands. “No. Not tonight. You were supposed to leave this at home.”
Blond and purple curls peeked out of the knit cap on Kaitlyn’s head, the red in her cheeks nearly matching the color. “But Gramma…”
“Don’t ‘but Gramma’ me. You can have it back after the lights display. We’re making memories.”
After letting out an overly dramatic sigh, Kaitlyn crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes but kept walking forward. Merry took it as a win. The kids didn’t seem enthusiastic about the venture, but they were going without too much fight. That was enough for Merry.
They walked over the rise past the café and when they reached the top, the lights came into view. People milled about, both local and visitors stood in the display and walked through the lights that were strung and on bows overhead and on both sides of the street. Camera flashes added to the sparkling wonder.
“It’s pretty, right?” Merry asked, clapping her mittens together.
“Pretty,” Colin agreed, a wide smile across his face.
“It’s alright.” Kaitlyn’s arms were still folded over her chest, but her eyes were fixed on the display, and there was a twinkle in them.
Merry grabbed Colin’s hand.
“Let’s go,” she said as they started down the hill. Kaitlyn followed close behind and they began their walk through the multi-colored lights. There were reindeer on bows where each reindeer lit individually making it appear that they were jumping over the street where the crowds walked. Santa’s helpers sat on the sides making toys and the hammer would light up in two positions to make it look as if it moved up and down. The lights display stretched for a full mile and crowds from all over came to see the charming creative show.
The crowds were thin as the Christmas show had started its first showing. Music and voices carried across the lights display from the big white tent midway through. Breath formed clouds of fog around Merry’s head as they walked, but their pace kept them from getting too cold.
She noticed someone filming and stopped the children from going in front of the camera. Instead they detoured slightly and went behind the filmmaker. All around them, people were filming and taking pictures of the display. Merry shook her head. How many of them would actually ever look at those pictures again? Instead, they were ruining today’s experience by trying to view them through a tiny digital screen instead of taking it all in with their own eyes. A sad state the world had fallen into in her opinion.
But in all her sixty-two years, she didn’t remember any time when people were so wrapped up in their picture taking that they forgot to experience life itself. She and the children walked along, watching the display, and Merry peered at her watch to check the time. They’d missed the seven o’clock showing of the Christmas play, but maybe they could catch the eight o’clock one. It was just after seven twenty. Could she keep the kids occupied for another forty minutes?
A scream pierced the air and Merry pulled the kids closer to herself. A small crowd formed around an area of the lights display nearby. Some of the people turned their cameras and phones on the man who lay there.
“What’s going on?” Kaitlyn asked, and pulled herself from Merry’s grip, in order to peer through the crowd. “Gramma, I think it’s a dead body.”
Colin gripped harder to Merry’s waist as her breath hitched. “Dead?”
Chapter 2
Merry frowned as thirty-five years of working as an emergency room nurse’s instinct came into play. “Stay back here children. I’ll check to see what’s going on.”
The children nodded, Kaitlyn taking hold of Colin’s hand.
A murmur went up through the crowd, but at least they were mostly keeping their distance. Merry stepped forward, trying to get control of the situation. “Everyone, step back three steps. Give the man some space.”
She wasn’t sure the man was dead or alive at this point, but he’d need some air if he was just unconscious. Then Merry noticed the blood pooling around the man’s body, seeping into the snow, turning everything crimson. She knelt next to the man and pulled off her mitten. With her fingers, she worked to find the man’s pulse on his neck. His skin was still warm to the touch and by the way the blood ran from his body, she guessed the murder had only just happened minutes ago.
She called to a man who wore an event volunteer shirt standing nearby. “The man is dead. Be sure to get with security and try to keep the crowd here until the police arrive. We want to keep the culprit in the area.”
“Gramma, there's a plastic bag next to the body.”
Merry frowned and looked up, finding her granddaughter pointing. “I told you two to stay back.”
“We are. We're not close enough to touch anything.” Kaitlyn peered toward the body still, her eyes wide with peaked curiosity. Merry half-wondered if the child would be videotaping or taking pictures right then if she'd still had her phone.
“I don't know if this is the best place for you two.” Merry stood. “This isn't something that you should be looking at.”
Kaitlyn frowned. “People die, Gramma. We both understand that.”
Merry shook her head and frowned. What choice did she have? She’d rather the children stayed nearby if there was a murderer around. Maybe kids really were more mature these days. They seemed like it at times. Trusting her grandchildren to stay with each other and behave, she bent down to continue examining the body.
He was a white male about five feet, ten inches. His hair was a bit shaggy and sandy-colored. He lay on his back, his hands not far from his sides, and his head turned. It would almost seem as though he’d been unconscious before falling. He hadn’t seemed to try to catch himself at all. After examining all his exposed skin, she found two marks on the back of the man’s neck. That wasn’t what killed him though. In order to cause the amount of blood pooling around the body, it would need to be a knife or gunshot wound. They hadn’t heard any gunfire, but then they hadn’t heard the man shout either. She started to open the man’s jacket to look for a wound when she was interrupted.
“Excuse me, Ma'am.” A heavy-set man had on a blue shirt with a security badge on it approached. “Are you a doctor?”
Merry eyed him and then pulled her shoulders back with authority. “No, sir. I'm an emergency room nurse. I was walking through the display with my grandchildren. Have the police been notified of the s
ituation? Are you setting up more barricades and finding men to help the guards to keep everyone restricted to the area?”
There were already some barricades set up on both sides of the display naturally, and on the street both before and after the display to keep cars from driving down this section of Mistletoe Avenue from the hours of 6 pm, when the sun set until 9 pm. The first Christmas show went on in the tent at 7 pm and then showed again at 8 pm. There were always three or four security guards around, which wouldn't be enough to keep a crowd of this size under control, but maybe they'd be able to recruit a local boy or two for help in keeping the crowd back while they waited for the police.
The man rubbed the back of his neck and cowed under her glare. “Yes ma'am. We're working on it. And yes, the police have been notified.”
In the distance, Merry could hear a siren wailing. Good. She wasn't sure who would be working this case, but butterflies fluttered in her stomach when she worried that it might be her own son. He'd not been working as a detective for very long, and Merry worried that a murder might be a bit over his head. The last thing he needed was to be jumping into the deep end so soon.
The unmarked police car pulled up and her son, Jeremy, stepped out of the passenger seat. He wore a brown suit with his badge attached to his belt. When the security guard at the barricade let him in, she waved him over in her direction.
“Thank you. I'll be sure to find him and return his phone,” Kaitlyn said from behind her.
Merry turned around, finding Kaitlyn with one of her gloves pulled off and her right hand swiping across a smart phone's screen. Merry's stomach fell. “What are you doing?”
