Candy Canes & Corpses

by Abby L. Vandiver

  Clark Bingham admitted that he hadn’t the heart to shoot Bean at the time, because he knew she was the study dog. The miracle dog that had been cured of cancer by Greely’s breakthrough work. But after she helped bring all the evidence in, I was told that he had mumbled more than once that he wished he had.

  The sheriff, to my surprise, investigated everything I had deduced and was the one who told the prosecutor that he changed his mind about who committed the murder.

  I never found out why he jumped to the conclusion that Joe had committed the murder, but after that November election it didn’t matter anymore—Joe Lanese got elected sheriff in a landslide.

  And old, scraggly Mr. Greely turned out to be a genius—one that often fought demons. As a brilliant geneticists with a PhD and MD to his credit. He knew how to isolate genes study them to find the defects and then turn them around. It was as easy as snow falling on the ridge for him to develop a seed to grow Christmas trees in alkaline soil and a cure for lymphoid cancer in dogs. Sadly though, it was a mind lost long before the bullet that took his life. He suffered from a mental illness and was slowly deteriorating and it had led him away from his work and to the ridge. It also had led him to reconnect with his son.

  And because of him, Richard, Bean and I got the best Christmas presents ever.

  THE END

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  Yuletide Murder by Sonia Parin

  YULETIDE MURDER

  A Deadline Cozy Mystery

  by Sonia Parin

  Copyright © 2018 Sonia Parin. All Rights Reserved.

  This book is intended for personal use only and may not be reproduced, transmitted, or redistributed in any way without the express written consent of the author.

  Yuletide Murder, A Deadline Cozy Mystery is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la la la la la! Eve Lloyd, this will be a Christmas to remember.” Eve smiled. Her first Christmas at the Seabreeze Inn and they would have the place to themselves. She had made the executive decision a few weeks ago.

  There had been a tentative booking from a couple wishing to get away from their family and when they had called to confirm, she had offered them a package deal with a considerable discount for the following year. The couple had complained and had accused her of dishing out unsolicited advice. How dare she suggest they should be nicer to their family!

  “Ho hum,” Eve said under her breath and stepped back to admire the boughs of holly she’d intertwined around the banister.

  She wanted the festive season to be about gratitude, family and friends. She had a lot to be grateful for. Mostly, she had set her mind on finally relaxing and spending some time gearing herself up for a bright new year full of optimism and fresh starts.

  On her last visit to Rock-Maine Island, she had only intended staying long enough to get her act together and her life back on track. Then her aunt, Mira, had suggested she stay on for a while. Several months down the track, and despite a few glitches, she had become the proud owner of her own inn.

  “I think that’s one la too many,” Mira said from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Are you sure?” Eve ran the tune through her mind. Unconvinced, she sang the first line again, holding up a finger for each la. “My count is correct. Are you about to suggest I’m singing out of tune?” Eve thought she heard Mira murmuring something about decking something other than the halls.

  “What’s the point of decorating the house when we’ll be having Christmas at the inn?”

  “It wouldn’t be Christmas without a few baubles around,” Eve said. “This puts us in warm-up mode. That reminds me, I need to take a box of ornaments to the inn.”

  Mira grumbled under her breath.

  “Mira! Is your book giving you trouble?” She knew Mira had extended the deadline for her current historical romance book because she’d been having trouble with her mad innkeeper, a character, more or less, inspired by Eve.

  In her youth, Eve had spent all her holidays with Mira and she’d never noticed her being a Grinch.

  “Don’t mind me. I’m… I’m…”

  Eve strode down the stairs, one slow step at a time. When she reached the bottom, she sat down on the entrance hall bench and patted the space beside her. “Sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”

  She really wanted this to be the best Christmas ever. That morning, she had turned the page on her calendar and had read the underlined message she’d written several month’s back.

  Make this the best Christmas ever!!

  She must have had a reason for writing down the reminder. Although, it actually sounded more like a command. She’d even underlined it. Heavens, she’d actually added several exclamation marks; something she knew Mira would frown upon. She had no trouble hearing Mira scolding her and saying there were other ways of conveying the idea of a character speaking with emotion.

  Mira sat down and clasped her hands together. “If you must know, I’m cross with David.”

  Ah! David Bergstrom, the retired detective they had met on a cruise a few months back and her aunt’s love interest.

  “I thought he sent you a basket full of apologies for not being able to join us for Christmas.” David hadn’t skimped. The basket had been filled with exclusive gourmet treats, including some peppermint flavored candy canes.

  Mira sat back and fumbled inside her pocket. “This is so unlike me, I’m actually more upset with myself for making such a fuss.” Drawing out an envelope, she handed it to Eve.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it.”

  A feeling of trepidation swept through Eve. Drawing in a breath for courage, she lifted the flap on the envelope. “It’s a Christmas card.” Eve put her thinking cap on. Since meeting David, she’d found him to be quite considerate and attentive, an old-fashioned gentleman, but he was a man. What could he have written on the card to make Mira so upset? Her stomach tightened with worry. Mira only ever grumbled about her fictional characters, while real people who caused her trouble were dealt with a suffer no fools attitude or at least a certain degree of indifference.

  Eve drew t
he card out and read it.

  Not from David.

  The card had been sent by his daughter. She wished Mira a warm Christmas and expressed her regret for not being able to finally meet her as planned because…

  Eve’s shoulders slumped. “Oh, I see.”

  “Yes. His daughter is staying on in London and spending Christmas there.”

  London…

  David’s daughter worked there but she always came home for the holidays. And David had told Mira he couldn’t make it to their Christmas lunch on the island because his daughter had made plans to fly him down to Georgia so they could spend the holidays with her husband’s family.

  David had lied.

  “I’m sure there’s a mistake,” Eve suggested. “Perhaps this is a last-minute change. Maybe he’s flying to London.”

  Mira gave a slow shake of her head. “No mistake and no change. His daughter posted the card a month ago. I spoke with David last night and he said he’d be out of phone range until he arrived in Georgia. He’s pretending he’s going away and he’s spent a whole month lying to me about it.”

  “Oh… I see.” Eve had a good mind to wring David’s neck.

  Mira gave a slow shake of her head. “I can’t help feeling disappointed. He seemed… He was…” Mira surged to her feet. “I should get back to my writing.”

  “Cookies and hot chocolate?” Eve offered.

  Mira stopped.

  Eve saw her shoulders ease down a notch.

  “Hot chocolate with tiny pink and white marshmallows?” Mira asked in a small, vulnerable voice.

  “Yes. Of course.”

  “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

  Yes, she would definitely wring David’s neck. Eve waited until Mira closed the door to her study to mutter a few colorful words under her breath, all of them with exclamation marks!

  ***

  “The halls are decked with boughs of holly. One way or another, we are having a happy Christmas,” Eve murmured and searched inside the kitchen cupboard for the mini marshmallows Mira enjoyed so much.

  She had made the hot chocolate from scratch, pouring hot milk over fine Belgian velvety smooth dark chocolate. After a few minutes, she stirred it to make sure the chocolate had melted. Before adding the marshmallows, she poured her secret ingredient. “One teaspoon of brandy for the mug and… one for me.”

  Savoring the brandy, she wondered if she should contact Jack.

  Detective Jack Bradford had been working hard to clear his workload for Christmas. He might know a single police officer facing Christmas alone. Being the festive season, one needed to be openhearted and inclusive, sharing goodwill and love with all creatures great and small, or some such thing...

  Having a new face around might take Mira’s mind off David.

  Eve shook her head. Knowing Mira, she would throw herself back into work and eventually emerge from her writing cave feeling refreshed and ready to put it all behind her.

  She set the mug down on a tray and arranged some cinnamon cookies on a festive plate decorated with Christmas garlands. Noticing only a few marshmallows left in the packet, Eve searched the cupboard for more but they were all out.

  They were bound to need the instant comfort treats over the next few days, Eve thought as she took the tray into Mira’s study.

  She found Mira stooped over her desk twirling a pen, her eyes not blinking as she stared at the computer screen.

  Eve set the tray down. “I’m going into town to do some shopping. Is there something I can get for you?”

  Mira dropped her pen and sat back. “I have to be honest with you. A part of me wants to ask you to cancel Christmas but that is nothing but self-indulgent nonsense.”

  Yes, and it would have been a big ask, Eve thought.

  Mira snapped her fingers. “There. I’m over it. Bring back some cheer. That’s all I want.”

  “Okay. I can do that.” Eve cocooned herself in her winter coat and boots and set out to find some cheer to bring back as well as some tiny pink and white marshmallows.

  ***

  “What do you mean you’re all out of marshmallows?” Eve stared at the empty shelf space which should have been overflowing with packets of marshmallow. After all, they were in the midst of marshmallow and hot chocolate season.

  The store owner, Bert Carlton said, “They sold out.”

  “When?”

  “Half an hour after the bridge collapsed. News spread like wildfire and people rushed into town to stock up on anything they could get their hands on. As you can see, the locusts could not have done a better job of clearing out the place.”

  “The bridge? Collapsed?”

  “Eve!”

  Swinging around, Eve saw Jill heading toward her, her Labradors, Mischief and Mr. Magoo, sitting patiently by the door. “Jill. Who’s looking after the inn?”

  “We don’t have any guests,” Jill said. “I left Samantha working on the website.”

  Samantha Beckett had previously worked at the local bookstore, Tinkerbelle’s, once owned by Abby Larkin who had also owned the house Eve had turned into an inn. When Abby Larkin had decided to sell her bookstore, Mira had snatched it up as an investment. When Eve had opened her inn, she had headhunted Samantha to work as her front desk manager, but Samantha still picked up a few hours here and there to help Mira out. She’d launched her career as a front desk manager during an impromptu lunch at Eve’s inn when Eve had been forced to entertain a newcomer to the island. When one of the guests had suddenly died, Samantha had shown her true mettle by remaining calm. They might be closed for the holiday season, but Eve liked having someone onboard all the time. If not Jill, then Samantha.

  “Have you heard the news?” Jill asked. “Of course, you have. Otherwise, you would not have come into town. I was heading out to Mira’s house but thought I’d see the bridge for myself first. At least, what’s left of it.”

  Eve snatched her woolen hat off her head. “Would someone please explain?”

  “The Stevensons are putting on a big shindig for Christmas,” Bert informed her. “They have a massive tree. Bigger than the one at Rockefeller Center.”

  Jill nodded. “Everyone’s been talking about it.”

  And yet, Eve hadn’t heard the news. Then again, she’d been so busy at home and at the inn… “Wait. The Stevensons? I thought they were cash poor.” A while back, her childhood nemesis, Charlotte McLain, had hired the Stevenson’s house to hold her wedding which had turned into quite a disaster.

  Jill shrugged. “I guess the tide has turned for the Stevensons.”

  “They have about a dozen guests from the mainland,” Bert continued. “Anyway, they hired a cherry picker so their decorator could put up the ornaments on their massive Douglas Fir.”

  “Fancy hiring a decorator to do your Christmas tree,” Jill said.

  According to Bert, the cherry picker had made it into the island just fine but when it had crossed over again, the old bridge had collapsed.

  “Luckily, the driver bailed out just in time,” he said. “He escaped with a few bruises, mostly to his ego.”

  “This is the same bridge I’ve been driving over every other day for the past year?” Eve exclaimed. “How could that happen?”

  “Probably wood rot,” Bert suggested. “It’s very old. A couple of months ago, the town put in a request to have it restored, but it got lost in red tape.”

  Eve’s eyes widened. “Are you saying we’ve been risking our lives?”

  “Not really. There’s a weight limit. I guess the cherry picker driver just ignored it.”

  “So, how long will it be until it’s fixed?” A week? A month? A year? Eve gasped. “Jack is coming for Christmas lunch.”

  “We might be lucky and get a ferry sent out, but probably only for emergency purposes,” Jill said.

  ***

  “I have a fully stocked pantry but I’m missing a few items,” Eve told Jack as she packed the few groceries she’d managed to get in her car. “It’
s not the end of the world, but the fact I can’t get marshmallows is annoying. I have a good mind to drive out to the Stevenson’s house and give them a huge piece of my mind.” Eve heard Jack chuckle. “Well, I’m glad you find this amusing. How exactly will you be getting here?”

  “I’ll work something out,” he said. “I’m sure there’ll be a ferry.”

  “That’s what Jill said.” Eve heard her name called out. Turning, she saw Jill and her dogs approaching.

  “Thank goodness you haven’t left yet,” Jill said. “My car battery died. I should have known something was wrong. I had trouble starting the car this morning.”

  Eve groaned. “What’s that they say about disasters coming in threes?”

  “Why? What else happened?” Jack asked.

  “I’ll tell you when you come for Christmas lunch.” The pause she heard had Eve frowning. “Jack?”

  “Yes?”

  “Please tell me you’ll do everything you can to get here. I know it might be asking too much, but this is our first Christmas together.”

  “I’ll be there,” he assured her. “Even if I have to helicopter my way in.”

  Eve nibbled the tip of her thumb. “Could you do me a favor and bring some marshmallows, please. The tiny ones. Not the large ones.” Pressing her phone to her ear, she thought she heard a commotion in the background. “What’s going on?”