Christmas Shop Murder

by Linnea West

  The person rolled over, but didn't seem to wake. I was about to kneel down and try to shake the person again, this time with my hands, but Sue must have found her way to the back. All of the lights of the store suddenly flipped on, bathing the entire store in bright lights.

  I'd been in the darkness so long that the lights hurt my eyes and I instinctively squeezed them shut. I knew I would have to open them to figure out exactly who was laying in front of me, but I wanted so badly to just leave them shut. After a moment, I told myself that this person may be having a medical emergency and need help. So I summoned up my courage and opened my eyes wide.

  Once my eyes adjusted to the sudden light, I saw exactly who it was. Laying in front of me dressed all in black was Claire Freeman. She was laying in a pool of liquid and she wasn't sleeping, but she definitely had a medical emergency that we were a bit too late to help with. A giant, metal icicle ornament was sticking out of her stomach.

  Chapter Six

  The Christmas Shop was supposed to be opening up at six that morning for all of the early Black Friday shoppers. Instead, Sue and I were sitting on folding chairs at the back of the store while the police milled around. The red and blue lights were flashing in from the street, looking oddly seasonal. That may just be because I was surrounded by holiday ornaments, but I was looking for any reason to look on the bright side after finding another dead body in town. This was becoming a coincidence that I hope didn't keep repeating itself.

  "Are you ladies doing alright?" Max asked. He put his hand on my shoulder for a second longer than he would for anyone else. He couldn't show any PDA while he was on duty, but I could tell he was worried about me.

  "I think we are okay," I said glancing at Sue's crestfallen face. "Thank you for putting up the barriers to keep people back. I know we are both pretty upset about not only what happened, but the fact that we can't have our grand opening today like we were going to."

  Max had been thoughtful enough to tape a very wide area outside the front door which was helping keep the looky-loos at bay. We were supposed to have people lined up while Sue cut a big red ribbon, not to watch a dead body be taken out from behind police ribbon.

  The worst looky-loo of all was Chelsea, who kept trying to duck under the tape and come take pictures through the front window. Thankfully, there wasn't much to take pictures of as Sue and I were too far back to be seen and the body was behind a few of the shelves.

  "We do have a question for you, Sue," Max said. "The key that was found in the door, whose is that?"

  "It's my key," Sue said quietly. She was clutching a gray blanket around her shoulders that one of the officers had given her. It wasn't cold in the store, but the chill of death hung in the air. "I'm always forgetting where I put it. I guess when I locked up two nights ago I forgot to take the key with me."

  Max wrote down everything she said in a little spiral notebook while he nodded his head to show he was listening. He was so handsome, but I couldn't think about that too much right now.

  "And who all has keys to the store?"

  "Not many people do. It's just me, Tank, Jill, and Rich. That way I know that if I lose my key, at least one of the other three people will have their key and probably be close by the store to help let me in."

  "And you say you left your key in the lock?" Max asked.

  "I'm not sure," Sue said with a shrug. "I must have because that is where I found it."

  "I can tell you that the key was there when we got here," I said. I had the bad feeling that they were trying to accuse Sue of having had a hand in whatever happened and I couldn't let that happen.

  "Thank you Sue," Max said. "Just hold tight here for a moment."

  Max walked over to his boss and started relaying what Sue had just said. They seemed to be discussing something and I had a bad feeling that it was about whether Sue had been the one to kill Claire. I knew I had to do something, so once Max seemed to be done with his conversation, I marched over to confront him.

  "I hope you don't think Sue had a hand in this," I said. "You've known Sue at least as long as I have. You know she would never do something like this."

  "You know I can't discuss an open investigation with you, even if you were the one to find the body," Max said. He looked around and dropped his voice lower. "But here are the facts. Claire threatened to close Sue's shop. Claire was found dead in Sue's shop. Sue's keys were in the front door."

  "But Claire was stabbed with one of those ornaments," I said. "Even if it was incredibly sharp, do you really think little old Sue could have done that?"

  Max took a deep breath and shrugged his shoulders. He seemed a bit exasperated with me, but then again he always seemed like that when I started to pry about an open investigation.

  "I do have some other suspects in mind," he said. "Claire had only been in town for two days, but she certainly hadn't made herself any friends. In fact, I'd venture as far as to say she had made herself some enemies."

  I thought again of Claire's entrance to the store the other day. She hadn't seemed to care what we thought of her. She had her plan and she was going to follow through with it no matter what. The way she had gone about it had angered everyone, some of us more than others.

  "I'd have to agree with you there," I said.

  Max looked around and saw that no one was paying much attention. He reached over and grabbed my hand. His large hands were warm and familiar.

  "I need to get back to work," he said. "Don't worry, I don't think we will be holding Sue. We will let you guys go soon, I promise."

  I nodded and squeezed his hand. He looked me in the eye and I melted a bit. Max's blue eyes had always been my favorite. I walked back to my chair next to Sue and put my hand on her arm as I sat back down. This poor woman had been through enough. The last thing she needed was a murder in her brand new shop. I couldn't help but feel terrible, even though the only thing I'd done was to find the body.

  "Sue, why don't I go see if we can leave," I said quietly. "I know I could use some coffee. I could treat you over at the Donut Hut."

  Sue sat still for a moment before giving one curt nod of her head. I flagged down a passing officer and asked if we were okay to leave. After checking with a few other officers, Sue and I were told we were free to go, but that we weren't to leave town. Apparently they had forgotten that the Christmas Shop was supposed to open that day, so it wasn't like we had a vacation planned.

  We grabbed our winter jackets and headed towards the front door. I thought briefly about trying to sneak out the back, but my car was across the street so I'd have to head that way eventually anyways. The bell sounded as we left, sounding less and less jolly each time it rang today.

  Max had taken the police caution tape and roped off the entire area from the front door to the street across the sidewalk. It was too cold for anyone to actually be waiting on the other side of the tape, but I could feel eyes on us from storefronts and cars as we came out.

  "Can I get a comment for the paper?" a voice hollered out of a parked car.

  I didn't even have to turn around to know that voice. Chelsea Goodman was my high school nemesis and a reporter for the local newspaper. There wasn't much to report in Shady Lake, so whenever something big happened, she was on it like a flea on a dog.

  "No comments from anyone Chelsea," Max shouted from the doorway. I turned to mouth a thank you at him and he winked at me.

  Sue clutched at my arm as we started towards the Donut Hut. I had sent a quick message to Mandy to tell her we were coming. Mandy had quickly sent a message back to tell me that we could come in through the kitchen to have a bit of privacy.

  We ducked under the yellow tape and walked quickly, both because of the cold and the eyes that I could still feel on us. As we passed by the Loony Bin, the door slammed open and Rich came running out with Ronald Green, the mayor of Shady Lake, following close behind. Rich ran up to Sue and put his arm around her protectively.

  "Sue, I heard what happened," he said, lo
oking right into her eyes. "Are you alright?"

  "Yes, a bit shaken up, but I'm alright," she said. Sue looked a lot more comfortable now with Rich holding her close to him. The way Rich was holding her was a bit more intimate than friendly.

  "Tessa, are you alright?" Ronald asked. Ronald had obviously been having breakfast at the Loony Bin. The Loony Bin didn't serve breakfast, but Ronald and Rich were close friends and often had breakfast there together.

  Ronald had a napkin tucked into his collar and spread over his sweater vest. His round tummy poked out over his pants, showing why people often called him Mayor Panda. Well that and because he was mild-mannered and was usually eating.

  "I'm alright Ronald, thank you for asking," I said. Ronald's love for Shady Lake and all of the people who lived here was evident. When he asked if you were alright, he genuinely wanted to make sure you were alright.

  "Why don't you let me take you home?" Rich said to Sue. She nodded and looked at me, wanting to make sure I was alright with it.

  "Is that okay with you Tessa?" Sue asked. "I think I'd just like to go back home and rest a little bit. Rich will make sure I get there in one piece."

  I couldn't say no. Sue looked so at peace with Rich by her side that I knew I had to let her, even though I didn't want to let that scared woman out of my sight. Ronald checked one more time to make sure I was alright and then went back into the Loony Bin to finish his breakfast.

  I said my goodbyes and assured her I would call her that evening to discuss what we were going to do about opening the store. As Rich ushered her to his car, I pulled my winter coat close around me and shuffled on towards the Donut Hut.

  Chapter Seven

  I walked to the Donut Hut as fast as I could and burst in through the alley door into the warm kitchen. Mandy was standing there with a carafe of coffee and some donuts on a plate. Mandy's love language was providing warmth in the form of baked goods, coffee, and a warm place to sit. She was an ideal Minnesotan woman in that regard.

  "Where did Sue go?" she asked, her face drawing up in concern as the door swung shut behind me.

  "Rich popped out of the Loony Bin and offered to take her home," I said. "She decided she was pretty shaken up and wanted to just go home. So it's just me."

  "Well, I can't blame her for that; get your jacket off and come sit down," Mandy said. She turned and shuffled off to arrange a place for us to sit in the kitchen.

  I hung my jacket on a peg and sat down at a stool at the big work space in the middle of the kitchen. Apparently, I had caught Mandy right as she was making some cookies because the big metal table was full of ingredients and most of it was covered in flour, except the area where we would be sitting which had been thoroughly cleaned.

  While Mandy made a great living just selling donuts, she had also expanded into offering cookies during the holiday season. She made a great kit where she provided cut-out cookies and decorating supplies for busy families to still be able to decorate together. Honestly, I've told her she could raise the price on it significantly and still make plenty of sales, but she told me she wants all sorts of families to be able to afford them.

  Mandy had a hot cup of coffee poured and ready for me. I grabbed a donut that was frosted white and sprinkled with red and green sprinkles and took a big bite. I usually couldn't say no to a seasonal donut and I definitely wasn't going to start now.

  Mandy waited and took small sips of her coffee as she waited for me to start the talking. We had been friends for so long that she knew to wait it out. While I may have a bad habit of blurting out whatever I'm thinking, I also occasionally like to think through things first. Mostly I was just thinking about how somehow she could sit there sipping her coffee without a donut to eat with it. I envied her self control especially because it meant she was slim and trim. Sometimes I got jealous of her ability to make delicious sweets all day without eating them all, but then I remembered that it meant there were more donuts for me to eat and that made me a little happier.

  Finally, I had eaten half of the donut and drank a cup of coffee. I refilled my cup and told Mandy the entire story of the morning, from arriving at the shop to everything that the police had been doing at the shop. I ended with how cozy Rich and Sue looked together as I walked to the Donut Hut.

  "Did they really think Sue could have done it?" Mandy asked.

  "They were pretty suspicious about her keys being in the door," I said. "And it was a little weird that she took the key off of her keyring to close up shop but as I pointed out, I don't think she'd be strong enough to stab someone with the ornament."

  "Not to mention Sue has never hurt anyone in her entire life," Mandy said. "I don't think she's ever even said a bad thing about anyone ever."

  That was probably true. Sue was one of those women who would always compliment you on something when she saw you and she was the first to bring over a casserole and flowers if someone had a baby or was sick. Sue volunteered for anything and everything she could from raking lawns for elderly neighbors to standing on the corner to solicit donations for the Fourth of July fireworks. She was also the type to remember every little detail and would ask you about them. Sue always seemed to care a great deal about every citizen of Shady Lake.

  "You were there when Claire confronted Sue," Mandy said after taking a sip of her coffee. "Who else heard about her plan?"

  "It was me, Sue, Rich, Tank, and Jill," I said. "And Max walked in right at the end, but he didn't hear what happened. He just saw Claire walk out and heard both Rich and Tank threaten Claire."

  Mandy grimaced and I agreed. The last thing you wanted was a police officer to hear you threaten someone who is murdered the next day. Mostly I just thought it was good because for once, I was not the one saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

  Mandy's phone let out a small jingle of a bell. She pulled it out and checked her messages. A puzzled expression pasted itself firmly on her face. I rolled my eyes at her before I could stop myself.

  "Where is your phone Tessa?" she asked.

  "I don't know, why?" I asked. I wondered if she remembered that I had a flip phone. If she was looking at something on social media, which she did a little too often in my opinion, then I wouldn't be able to see it until I went home and logged onto my computer.

  "Because your mother just texted me," she said. She handed me her phone and I saw the message from my mother.

  If Tessa is with you, please tell her to check her phone. I've been trying to get a hold of her for a long time. Thanks love.

  I stood up and walked over to my jacket. I reached into my pocket and found my phone amongst gum wrappers and loose change. It was on silent, which was one of the downsides of the flip phone. There was a switch on the outside to put the phone on silent and somehow I managed to bump it all of the time, so I was frequently missing messages and calls. But that was not enough to convince me to go back to a smart phone, no thanks.

  I flipped open the phone as I walked over to the stool and saw that my mother had in fact called me ten times and sent me five messages of increasing emotion.

  Are you okay honey? Let me know soon.

  I hope everything is good. Call me.

  I'm starting to get worried. I need you to call me soon.

  Tessa Schmidt, you are going to be the death of me. Please answer me.

  Emergency. Get home now. We need you.

  My mother was not one to get herself worked up into a tizzy, so I knew something was wrong. And it wasn't just that I had stumbled across a dead body that morning. Something else must have happened that my mother wasn't willing to discuss over text message. My mind started spinning over the possibilities and I knew I needed to get home as fast as I could.

  "I've got to go Mandy, I think something else must have happened," I said as I showed her the messages from my mother.

  Mandy nodded. She knew Teri Schmidt well enough to know that this was not typical of her. I ran for the door before Mandy shouted to me.

  "Hold on Tess
a, I think you need these."

  I turned around and Mandy was holding a box of donuts decorated with a Christmas theme and a styrofoam cup of coffee for the road. I pulled my jacket on and smiled at her as I grabbed them. She really did know me better than anyone else in my life.

  As I did a funny shuffle-run to avoid falling on any ice on my way back to my car, I wondered what in the world could be happening back at the B&B. Whatever it was, I vowed to leave the donut box shut until I figured it out. No road donuts for me.

  Chapter Eight

  As soon as I parked the station wagon at home, I could see my mother standing in the front window. She looked relieved as I waved at her. I grabbed the box of donuts off of my passenger seat and ran inside as fast as I could, taking care to avoid the ice on the front porch steps. No matter how much salt we put on it, it just kept coming back. We actually had a large sign posted on one of the columns next to the stairs to alert customers to the ice and took care to warn everyone about it. We had been lucky so far with a few slippery close calls, but nobody getting hurt.

  I pushed open the front door and held out the box of donuts towards my mother. She smiled a vague sort of smile, but I could tell she was still worried. What was going on?

  "Mandy insisted I bring some home," I said as my mother took the box out of my hands.

  "What a sweetheart Mandy is," she said. "But I'm afraid donuts won't help us much right now. The police have come and taken Tank in for questioning."

  I could feel my eyes widen. Sure he was a big teenager, but he was still just a kid. My mother was wringing her hands and her face looked pale. I wanted to give her a hug, but I didn't want to squash the donuts.

  "The police let your father go along as Tank is still a minor, so that is something," she said. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself that my father going along helped the situation, but she wasn't doing a good job of it. Her voice shook as she talked.