The Christmas Fair Killer

by Amy Patricia Meade

  ‘And Edie?’

  ‘Edie was absolutely amazing. She harbors no grudges for what happened before she and Rolly were together, and is fully supportive of me contacting our daughter, if that’s what I want. She’s also fully supportive of Rolly having a relationship with his daughter if he chooses. She said if she ever meets our daughter, she’d treat her like family, because that’s what she would be.’

  ‘Can’t ask for more than that, can you?’

  ‘No, I can’t. I’m truly blessed.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m feeling a bit like that myself.’ She smiled as Schuyler returned with her glass of warm cider. ‘I should have mentioned it while Frances was here, but I want to thank you ladies for your emergency blankets.’

  Lucinda beamed. ‘The crinolines? Yeah, Edie’s idea – she just shimmied hers off and the rest of us followed. That makes you one of the sisterhood, you know.’

  ‘I’m honored.’ Tish bowed her head.

  As Lucinda and Justin joined Frances and Ted at the buffet, Schuyler excused himself. ‘I need to get ready for something. I’ll be just a minute.’

  ‘Sure,’ Tish allowed, wondering what needed to be done at five thirty in the evening on Christmas Eve.

  Mary Jo, glass of white wine in hand, returned to Tish’s side. ‘I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know you’re going to be OK.’

  ‘That makes two of us. I’ve been given, quite literally, a new lease of life. I’m grateful to be here and deliriously happy to be out of the hospital. Although part of me is sorry that I won’t be living above the café any longer.’

  ‘Well, if you were still living here, your days of peace and quiet would be numbered. We’re trying to get moved in before the New Year.’

  ‘Yes, and I’m sorry I won’t be here for it. I was looking forward to being your roomie again. It would have been like college.’

  ‘Yeah, it would have been fun. Aside from the part where we’d be sharing our place with my two crazy kids.’ She laughed.

  ‘Hey, don’t disparage those crazy kids. I love ’em. Besides, you, Jules, and I weren’t much older than Gregory when we first met and became friends.’

  ‘That’s true. Where does the time go?’

  ‘I have no idea. I thought I had another forty years ahead of me before I considered ownership of a single-floor dwelling a desirable feature in a man. Yet here I am moving in with Schuyler ahead of schedule because I can’t do stairs.’

  ‘Aw, it will be good, though,’ Mary Jo stated. ‘He’s awfully eager to get you settled and make this holiday a special one.’

  ‘Yeah, I know. He’s been a rock through all of this. Just another reason to be thankful.’ Tish’s mind traveled to Sheriff Reade and all he did to save her life. ‘Hey, since I’ve been in the hospital, have you seen Reade?’

  ‘No, it’s like he vaporized. He always used to get his coffee and breakfast first thing in the morning, but not this week. I thought maybe he changed shifts, but he didn’t stop by in the afternoons either. Maybe he took some time off to regroup or to visit family.’

  ‘Maybe,’ Tish allowed. ‘It’s still strange, though, because he gave my number to Briony Savernake and Bonnie Broussard yesterday. They FaceTimed me at the hospital.’

  ‘Really? How are they?’

  ‘Better than I expected. Briony’s moved in with Bonnie down in Louisiana and she’s looking forward to spending Christmas with her aunt and cousins again. As fate would have it, one of Bonnie’s jobs – she has two – is as receptionist for a mental health clinic. When the doctors there heard what happened to Bonnie’s nieces, they offered free counseling to both Briony and Bonnie. So the plan is for Briony to get a job, get herself healthy, save up a bit of cash, and then return to SCAD in the fall.’

  ‘That’s awesome. I’m sure there will be some tough moments, but it’s good to hear they’re trying to piece their lives together again and that people are willing to help them. It gives me hope – for the world and for my kids.’

  ‘Kayla and Gregory are going to be fine,’ Tish asserted. ‘They’ll come through this stronger than ever. And do you know why? Because they have you as a mother.’

  ‘Now you’re making me cry again. Oh, hey’ – Mary Jo wiped at her lashes and gestured to the area in front of the Christmas tree where Schuyler stood clinking a spoon against his glass of cider – ‘it looks like your single-floor dweller is about to give a speech.’

  As Schuyler took his spot in front of the Christmas tree, Celestine walked out to the café’s side garden to relieve one of her sons from supervisory duty while her grandchildren played. ‘Go on in and fix yourself a plate,’ she directed. ‘I’ve got ’em.’

  ‘You sure, Ma?’

  ‘Positive. Your daddy and I already ate, and we have to leave for the interfaith center in less than an hour.’

  ‘OK.’ The bearded man in his mid-thirties gave Celestine a kiss on the cheek.

  ‘What’s that for?’

  ‘For Christmas. And for being a good mama.’

  ‘You nut!’ A smiling Celestine removed his baseball cap and tousled his hair as if he were a little boy again. ‘Now, get in there and eat. Oh, and make sure you have some of Augusta May’s chicken and dumplings. They’re so good they’d bring tears to a glass eye.’

  ‘I will.’ Her son trudged through the slush back toward the café.

  ‘Jackson,’ Celestine reprimanded her eleven-year-old grandson, ‘if you don’t stop pullin’ your sister’s hair, you’re getting’ coal in your stockin’!’

  As Jackson went into the corner of the garden to sulk, a silver SUV pulled into the café parking lot and stopped, engine still running, behind the row of parked cars. Clemson Reade, wearing a pair of jeans, black boots, black jacket, plaid scarf, and a few days’ worth of stubble, exited the driver’s seat and approached the front porch of the café. A festive bouquet of stargazer lilies and red roses was tucked beneath his left arm.

  ‘Hey, Clem,’ Celestine called.

  The sheriff seemed reluctant to get caught up in conversation, but he approached the garden nonetheless. ‘Hi, Miss Celly.’

  ‘Merry Christmas.’

  ‘Merry Christmas to you as well.’

  ‘Here to join in on the fun?’

  ‘No, I just stopped by to deliver these.’ He gestured toward the flowers. ‘Thought Tish would like them for her holiday table.’

  ‘Pretty. She does like the color red,’ Celestine noted. ‘It’s good to see you. You haven’t been around much these past few days.’

  ‘Yeah, I’ve been busy. I’ve had reports to file and packing to do.’

  ‘Oh? You going away for the holidays after all?’

  ‘No. I’m leaving town. I tendered my resignation as sheriff of Hobson Glen and asked to be transferred elsewhere in the county.’

  ‘Resignation?’ Celestine was flabbergasted. ‘You can’t do that, Clem. This town needs you.’

  ‘What this town needs is a sheriff who doesn’t try to pistol-whip a man in his custody. That’s what I nearly did to Sam Noble.’

  ‘You had good reason to want to do that. What that man did to those girls – what he did to Tish. It was an emotional situation.’

  ‘Exactly. I’m an officer of the law; I can’t afford to lose my head. Not only did I practically assault Noble, but I also put a civilian’s life in grave danger.’

  ‘You also saved that civilian’s life,’ Celestine argued. ‘Tish wouldn’t be alive if it hadn’t been for you.’

  ‘I shouldn’t have needed to save her life. I had a feeling this case was different from the others. I should have barred her from investigating, but the truth is I so enjoyed working with her, being with her, that I let her get involved.’

  ‘“Let her”?’ Honey, you and I both know Tish. You didn’t “let her” do anything. You could have banned her, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Tish does what she wants to do. You know that. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons you’re in love with her.’

/>   It was Reade’s turn to be shocked.

  ‘I have eyes in my head, don’t I?’ Celestine asked rhetorically. ‘It’s in your eyes when you look at her. It was in your voice when you begged her to breathe last Sunday night. You meant it when you said you didn’t know what you’d do without her. Now it seems you’re willing to find out.’

  ‘I think that decision has already been made for me.’ Reade’s gaze shifted to the café window, where Schuyler Thompson could be seen leading the crowd in a toast.

  Celestine watched the scene and fell silent.

  Reade handed her the bouquet. ‘Give these to Tish for me?’

  She nodded. ‘What about your house? You own that cute little brick cape, don’t you?’

  ‘Putting it up for rent.’

  ‘Rent? So you still might come back to us?’

  ‘Miss Celly,’ he chided with a gentle grin.

  ‘Well, it is the season of hope, ain’t it?’

  He shook his head and gave her a quick embrace. ‘You take care of yourself, Celly.’

  ‘You too, Clem. And even though you won’t be livin’ here, you’ll still be hearin’ from me.’

  ‘I’m sure I will.’ With a wave, he strode off across the parking lot and back to his car.

  While Reade and Celestine met outside the café garden, Schuyler was busy addressing the crowd gathered inside the café itself. ‘I wanted to take a few moments to thank you all for being here tonight. I know the holiday season can be hectic, so it means a lot to me – to us’ – he gestured toward Tish – ‘that you took time out of your busy lives to welcome home and celebrate a woman who’s done so much not just for her friends, not just for me, but for this entire town. If you’d kindly raise your glasses to Tish.’

  ‘To Tish,’ the crowd echoed as they raised their glasses aloft.

  ‘I’ve always been civic and community-minded,’ Schuyler went on, ‘but having Tish in my life has truly been an inspiration—’

  Mary Jo turned to Tish, her face a question.

  Tish shrugged. She had absolutely no idea where Schuyler was going with his speech, but as he spoke about his relationship with Tish being ‘inspirational,’ ‘life-changing,’ and ‘beneficial,’ she began to panic. Oh, please don’t let this be a marriage proposal, she thought to herself. I can’t say yes, but I don’t want to say no in front of all these people. Oh, please …

  It was, therefore, with great relief and surprise that Tish heard Schuyler’s final words. ‘And so I’ve decided to run for Mayor of Hobson Glen in the forthcoming election.’

  Election. Suddenly, the motives behind Schuyler’s diligent attendance at town council meetings became crystal clear. Schuyler had been entertaining, even while the fair was going on, a possible mayoral run. Tish’s relief at the lack of a marriage proposal soon turned to annoyance. She would have thought that such a change in career direction might have warranted a conversation between the two of them.

  Tish had little opportunity to allow her irritation to fester, for outside the café window she noticed Sheriff Reade walking away from the café and toward an idling silver SUV. As Schuyler shook hands and accepted friends’ good wishes for his campaign, Tish wheeled herself out of the door and on to the front porch of the café.

  ‘What are you doing out here without a coat?’ Celestine scolded as she approached from the garden. ‘You’ll catch your death.’

  ‘I’m fine,’ Tish shushed. ‘I thought I saw Clemson.’

  ‘You did. He brought you these.’ Celestine handed Tish the bouquet.

  ‘Oh, they’re beautiful! But where is he going?’

  ‘Out of town.’

  ‘For the holidays?’

  ‘For good. He’s resigned as sheriff and is transferring to another town.’

  Tish waved her arms and shouted to get Reade’s attention, but he didn’t stop. Instead, he drove out of the parking lot and turned on to the main road and away from Hobson Glen. As she watched the red taillights of the SUV disappear into the distance, a gentle, soaking rain began to fall, mixing with the remaining snow and slush on the ground to create a dense fog.

  ‘Merry Christmas, Clemson,’ Tish whispered as tears formed in her eyes. ‘Merry Christmas.’