Candy Canes & Corpses

by Abby L. Vandiver

  The poem underneath it read:

  On the twelfth day of Christmas,

  Twelve drummers in a row.

  An ardent bay shall lead the way.

  Just follow and you’ll know.

  Tess stared at the pop-up then read the poem again. She turned the page, looking for the rest of the clue, but there was nothing there except the inside of the back cover. It was the end of the book.

  “Oh, come on!” Tess said and scrunched her face up. ‘“An ardent bay shall lead the way?’ What the heck does that even mean?”

  “I haven’t a clue,” said Char. “And there’s nothing else?”

  “No!” said Tess, frustrated. “Arrgh! Don’t do this to us, you stupid book.” She leaned her head back on the couch. “Now what do we do?”

  “Where’s your computer?” said Char.

  “In my office.”

  Char got up and a few seconds later returned with Tess’s laptop. She set it on the coffee table and typed “Ardent Bay” in the search bar. A moment later she sighed and said, “There’s a software development company called Ardent Bay. Other than that, all that comes up are bodies of water.” She looked over at her. “This one has me stumped.”

  “What does ardent even mean?” said Tess.

  Char clicked on the dictionary and said, “It means passionate, enthusiastic, eager . . .”

  This last clue had been no help at all, but Tess knew she couldn’t give up now. She let out a breath and said, “We have to figure this thing out.”

  “But how?” said Char.

  Tess shrugged. “What do we know for sure?”

  “Well, we know that Max Dovelin Senior had something against Rachael. We just don’t know what.”

  “Good. Write that down,” said Tess.

  Char pulled up a blank Word document and said as she typed, “And we know that Mr. Walker was at the farm at the same time as Rachael.”

  “And that they had an argument,” added Tess.

  “Don’t forget, Merle was there, too,” added Char and typed the information.

  “Yes, but what reason would he have to kill her?” said Tess.

  Char shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just putting everything down.” She thought for a moment and said, “We know Rachael went to the boxing ring and sparred with Gabe, the owner . . .” She paused. “You know, it was pretty clear that the guy didn’t like Rachael’s boyfriend. Maybe he didn’t get that cut over his eye from sparing with her like he said he did. Maybe he got it later in the day.” She looked at Tess. “He could have followed her out to the farm.”

  “It’s possible.” She nodded to the document. “Put that down. What else?”

  Char typed it on the page then said, “According to the gal from Leaper’s Dance Academy . . . What was her name?”

  “Melody.”

  “According to Melody, Rachael went to the yoga studio afterwards and talked to the owner.”

  Tess put her finger up to her lips and tapped it, thinking. Suddenly, she arched her eyebrows. “The red paint under Rachael’s fingernails. Melody had red paint on her hand.”

  “Max drives a red car,” said Char as she typed. “And so does Merle.”

  Tess looked at the document then let out a frustrated breath. “That’s not much to go on.”

  “What about Mr. Bentley?” said Char.

  “What about him?”

  “He was pretty clear about not wanting Rachael to have the spot next to him. Maybe he did it.”

  “Maybe, maybe, maybe.” Tess leaned forward, lowered her head and shook it. “This is pointless. We’re never going to figure it out.”

  Char put an arm around her friend’s shoulder and said, “Think of this as a pot of stew.”

  “A pot of stew?” said Tess wrinkling her brow as she looked at her.

  “Yeah, we’ve got all the clues, now we just need to let them simmer for a bit.”

  For the rest of the afternoon, Char helped Tess unpack the remaining boxes and put everything away. Every time Char tried to talk about the case, though, Tess said, “Not now, it’s still simmering.” And since Tess didn’t want to talk about Detective Curtis, either, the conversation had become limited.

  Tess was okay with the silence. It allowed her to think about things. The bad part is that it allowed her to think about things like Howard, and how much she missed him. And the house and what a big undertaking the renovation was going to be, and that buying the place had probably been a very big mistake.

  What have I done?

  “You want to go with Charlie and me to the Christmas parade tomorrow evening and then out to dinner?” said Char, cutting into Tess’s thoughts. She had been putting a box of books away on the shelves that flanked the fireplace.

  “What time does it start again?”

  “Five o’clock.”

  Tess shrugged and then mumbled, “Sure, why not.”

  Char put the last book on the shelf and said, “You know, maybe we aren’t supposed to solve Rachael’s murder.”

  “Then what was the point of all of it?”

  Char shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe all we were meant to do was find her, which we did.”

  Tess shook her head. “It just doesn’t make any sense. I mean, why make us go to all that trouble if it leads to nothing?”

  “I don’t have an answer for that,” said Char. She moved over to the boxes of Christmas decorations. “Where do you want me to put these?”

  “Just put them by the stairs. I’ll take them up to the attic later.”

  “I thought you were going to decorate the place?”

  “That means I’d have to go out and get a tree, and I just don’t feel like it right now.” She moved over to a box of CDs and started putting them away in one of the cabinets. “I’ll do it next year.”

  Hours later after everything was all put away—except for the boxes of Christmas decorations and ornaments that Char had purposely left in the living room—she put her coat on and said, “I better get going. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay,” mumbled Tess. “Thanks for your help.”

  Char tilted her head and said, “You know, maybe the book was trying to-”

  “Aah,” said Tess, cutting her off, “still simmering.”

  “Okay,” said Char, “just making sure.” She was just about to leave when the doorbell rang.

  “Will you see who it is?” said Tess. “And if it’s someone selling something, tell them I’m not interested.”

  A moment later, Char said, “Uh, Tess, I think you better come here.”

  Tess walked out of the living room and into the foyer. She stopped abruptly and said, “What are you doing here?”

  Detective Curtis stood at the door with a crooked smile on his face. “I thought you could use a little Christmas cheer, so I brought you this.” He reached over and pulled a Christmas tree bound with twine from the side of the house and said, “I hope you don’t already have one.”

  “No, she doesn’t,” said Char, opening the door wider for him. She looked back at Tess and smiled. “Maybe that stew is finally done simmering. I’ll call you tomorrow.” And then she hurried out the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Thanks to Char, it didn’t take Tess and the detective very long to set up the tree in front of the large living room window and decorate it. And by the time he left, Tess was feeling much better about things. She had managed to get him talking about the case without him even realizing that she and Char were still meddling. He told her that he’d stopped by Mr. Walker’s office and talked to him.

  “There’s something not right about Mr. Walker’s story,” he had said to her. “Believe me, I’ve been in this business long enough to know when someone is lying to me, and that man is hiding something.”

  Now, as Tess sat in her leather chair, drinking some cinnamon tea out of her candy cane mug and staring at the twinkling tree lights, she felt motivated again. She pulled the old book out from under the couch wh
ere she had stashed it when the detective showed up and began slowly flipping through it, rereading each poem and scrutinizing each pop-up, looking for anything she might have missed.

  After she was finished, she walked over to the bookshelves next to the fireplace and slipped the book in the last open spot.

  “Rachael,” she said quietly as she ran her finger over the leather spine, “I promise you, I won’t give up. I’m going to keep looking until we find your killer.”

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  The following day, Tess spent the morning and part of the afternoon at her office. Since the dog sitter was busy and she hadn’t had time to fix the fence yet, she brought Goober with her.

  From her office window, she watched as tractors pulling floats, various marching bands, and riders on horses walked by and gathered at the end of Main Street, preparing for the Annual Christmas parade that would begin in a couple of hours.

  Skye walked into Tess’s office dressed in tight black yoga pants with a long red sweater. She glanced out the window and said, “Are you going to the parade?”

  “Yeah, I’m meeting my friend, Char, and her husband,” said Tess. “You?”

  Skye flashed her a mischievous smile. “Mm-hmm.”

  “Let me guess,” said Tess. “You’re going with Mr. Walker.”

  “Actually no,” said Skye. “I’m going to be watching him lead the Fife and Drum Corp.” She pointed out the window at one of the riders dressed in a red and white uniform sitting on top of a brown horse with a black mane and tail. He seemed to be having a hard time controlling the animal. “That’s him over there.”

  Tess turned around and stared out the window. “Where?”

  “You see that bay over there, the feisty one that’s acting up?”

  “The what?” said Tess.

  “The bay horse over there . . .”

  Tess looked at the horse, rearing its head and eagerly prancing from foot to foot, as though it couldn’t wait to get started. A moment later she sucked in her breath and said, “Oh my God, an ardent bay. It’s a horse!” She grabbed Goober’s leash and her purse. “I gotta go.”

  “I’ll see you there,” yelled Skye, but Tess was already gone.

  As Tess rushed out of the office, she grabbed her phone from her purse and dialed Char’s number. While she waited for her to answer, she turned left and hurried the three blocks down the sidewalk toward the parade participants.

  “Hey, Tess,” said Char after she picked up. “What’s up?”

  “Where are you?” said Tess.

  “We’re at Wheaton’s. Why?”

  “I need you ASAP,” she said out of breath.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m following the ardent bay,” she said, excitedly.

  “The what?”

  “The ardent bay! It’s a horse, Char. The clue was referring to a bay horse.”

  “Oh, my God. Really?”

  “Yes!” said Tess. “Meet me at the beginning of the parade route. It’s at the end of Main Street by my office.”

  “We’ll be there in five,” said Char.

  Tess quickened her pace, almost pulling Goober behind her. When she got to the end of the block, she stopped and stared at the menagerie of people, animals, and floats, chaotically milling about.

  She saw Gabe standing by the Golden Gloves float. Next to him, Melody seemed to be touching up Leaper’s Dance Academy float with red paint while Duke hammered on a loose board. To the side of them, Tess noticed Mr. Bentley with a small red-lacquered box tucked under his arm. He was talking to a young girl dressed in an evening gown with a pageant sash as she adjusted the diamond tiara on her head, the same one Tess had seen in the jewelry case.

  Right behind them, Tess noticed Mr. Dovelin sitting in the back of a beautifully restored, red and black, model T, convertible. Max junior sat behind the wheel, but he was turned in his seat, facing his father. The two were talking, but by their facial expressions and hand gestures, the conversation appeared to be heated.

  Tess watched as Mr. Walker dismounted his feisty horse, led the animal over to the beautiful young girl wearing the tiara and began talking to her.

  Someone on a loudspeaker said, “Listen up, people. It’s time to start lining up. I need our Grand Marshal up at the front of the line, followed by the Fife and Drum Corp, and then the floats.” There was a pause. “Has anyone seen the Grand Marshal, Mr. Dovelin?”

  “I’m here,” yelled Mr. Dovelin.

  Max junior turned back around in his seat and cranked the engine, grinding it. When it backfired, Mr. Walker’s horse reared up, causing those closest to the animal to scatter, inadvertently sending paint, tools, and other items flying.

  The horse bolted toward a parking lot that was designated for the parade participants.

  “Someone grab the reins,” yelled Mr. Walker as he ran after the horse.

  Tess watched as the others scrambled to their feet and joined in on the chase, trying to corner the frantic animal. She was about to go help them when Goober began sniffing something on the ground several feet in front of her.

  “Whatcha got, boy?” she said, walking over to him.

  She bent down, picked it up and looked at it. Her eyes migrated toward the small crowd still trying to capture the frightened horse. She looked back down at the item in her hand, scrutinizing it more closely. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she said, “Oh, my gosh!” She pulled the phone from her pocket and dialed.

  “Detective Curtis speaking,” he said a moment later.

  “Where are you?” said Tess.

  “I’m at Hannigan’s. Why?”

  “I need you to meet me at the end of Main Street where they’re lining up for the parade.”

  “Why? What’s going on?” he said.

  She looked down at the item in her hand, her eyes bouncing over to the group of people still trying to corner the animal, and she said, “Because I think I might know who killed Rachael Warren.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Less than five minutes later, Detective Curtis, Char and Charlie stood next to Tess and Goober. As they crossed the street to the parking lot, Tess handed the item to the detective and told him her suspicions.

  He looked at it and said, “I need more than this to arrest someone on suspicion of murder.”

  “But it’s all we’ve got,” said Tess, looking over at the group of horse wranglers. The animal had been cornered next to a blue pickup truck with temporary license plates.

  “Easy, boy,” Tess heard Mr. Walker say as he slowly walked up and took hold of the reins.

  “That could have been a real disaster,” said Gabe as he and Melody started to walk back to their floats.

  “I’m just glad we got him,” said Duke as he opened the driver’s door of the blue pickup, ready to hop in.

  “Excitement’s over,” said Mr. Dovelin to his son. “Let’s get this parade going.”

  Tess watched as everyone began to disperse. Knowing in her gut that the killer was getting away, she said, “Detective Curtis, you have to do something.”

  Suddenly, Goober pulled free from Tess’s hand and ran toward the blue pickup truck. “Goober, no!” yelled Tess, running after him. “If that horse kicks him, it’ll kill him.”

  Goober stopped to sniff Duke’s shoes then jumped into the cab of the truck.

  “Hey, get out of my truck,” said Duke. He reached in as if to grab him, but Goober started growling and barking. Duke looked over at Tess. “Get your dog out of my new truck. He’s gonna scratch the seat.”

  “I’m sorry about that,” said Tess, trotting up. She tried to get Goober out of the truck but he had pushed himself up against the passenger’s door. “Maybe I can get him from the other side.”

  “No, I’ll get him,” said Duke. He reached in again, but Goober snapped at him and started barking again. “Get out of my truck, you mutt!”

  “I’ll get him from this side,” said Tess as she walked around to the passenger’s side.”


  “No!” said Duke, adamantly.

  “I’ll get him,” said Detective Curtis, walking up.

  Duke moved in front of him, blocking the doorway and said, “No one’s getting in my truck.”

  “Step aside,” said Detective Curtis.

  “Not happening,” said Duke.

  While the two continued their stand-off, Tess quietly opened the passenger’s door and got Goober out. She was about to close it when she saw something red sticking partially out from under the seat.

  “Step aside or I’ll have you arrested,” said the detective.

  “On what grounds?” said Duke.

  Tess held up a pair of fancy German wire cutters with a custom red and silver grip and said, “How about murder?”

  Duke looked over at her and said, “Are you out of your mind, lady? Those don’t prove anything.”

  Detective Curtis pulled the red carpenter pencil from his jacket pocket, held it up and said, “Maybe not, but you see these fingernail grooves in the paint here? I’ll bet they’re a perfect match with the paint found under Rachael’s fingernails. Ms. Langley told me how you always keep it behind your ear. I suspect Rachael grabbed it when you were strangling her.” He reached over and pulled the collar of Duke’s black turtleneck away from his neck, revealing a series of deep scratches. “I’m sure the lab results will also confirm that in addition to the paint under Rachael’s fingernails, there was your DNA.” He pulled a set of handcuffs from his belt. “Duke Granger, you are under arrest for the murder of Rachael Warren.”

  “Wait! You can’t do this to me,” yelled Duke. “I have rights!”

  “You’ll have plenty of time to tell it to the judge,” said the detective as he forced Duke onto the ground and slapped the cuffs on his wrists.

  A few minutes later, while Detective Curtis loaded Duke into the back of a squad car, Max junior walked up to Tess and said, “Ms. Langley, Detective Curtis told me you were the one who found Rachael’s body.” He looked over at the squad car, watching it as it pulled away, then he looked back at Tess. “I owe you a debt of gratitude.”