Christmas Shop Murder

by Linnea West

  My father came through the swinging doors of the kitchen and stood next to me, shifting his weight from side to side. I could tell he had something to tell me that I probably didn't want to hear.

  "Umm, Tessa," he said nervously. "I know you were going to try to save the jazz band for the surprise, but I had kind of told your mother that you would have a big surprise for her tonight and now you've spoiled it so she is going to be pretty upset. Remember how much your mother loves surprises?"

  Oh shoot, yeah I did remember that. One time we tried to plan a surprise trip for her and my father for their anniversary and Tank had accidentally let it slip and my mother cried because it wasn't a surprise anymore. Surprises were a big, big deal for her. She wasn't a very demanding woman, but she just really loved surprises.

  "I was wondering if maybe there is something else we could do for a surprise for her?" my father asked. "It doesn't have to be big, just something special for a surprise."

  I thought for a moment as I finished arranging the donuts and then covering the trays with a tea towel. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it or not.

  "Do you think a necklace would be enough of a surprise?" I asked my father. "A nice, handmade, Christmas style necklace?"

  "Oh that would be a beautiful surprise," my father said. "You know she likes to wear that black dress for the party and a holiday necklace would look lovely I think."

  "I agree that it would look lovely," I said. "Now the biggest problem is making sure I can get it today. I asked Jill to make it and she's only had two days, so I'm not sure it'll be done. I'll have to go sweet talk her and see what I can do."

  "Thank you so much," my father said. "After she got over her delight about the jazz band, she immediately started to lament the ruined surprise. I was really worried I'd have to hear about the ruined surprise for ages, but this necklace will definitely help."

  My father bustled out of the kitchen to go help my mother and I finished covering up the trays of donuts before I pulled out my phone to message Jill again. I figured I'd need to ask for the rush order in person.

  Hi Jill, I hate to ask, but are you free to meet today? I have a huge favor to ask you.

  As I waited for her to message me back, I sat down and made a list of all the things that needed to be done before the party so that even though I had to leave on an errand, other members of the Schmidt family could continue set-up.

  The list grew longer and longer with things like picking up the catering order, setting up the catering order, setting up tables for the food, setting up tables for people to sit, and now setting up an area for the jazz band. There was a lot to do, but I knew I would be extremely happy once the party was in full swing and everyone was having fun.

  As I finished up the list and brought it out of the kitchen, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and glanced at the message, which was from Jill.

  I am free. Come on over anytime.

  I found Trina in the living room with my mother and decided to put her in charge of the list because if I gave it to my father, the list would inevitably get lost. I went through the list with them so they knew what each thing was and told them I needed to run an errand, but would be back soon enough.

  I knew the favor I needed to ask Jill for was a pretty big one, so I swung by the Donut Hut for a little treat to sweeten the deal. Mandy happened to remember that Jill's favorite donut was just a plain old round, glazed donut so she packed me up two of them and some to-go coffees for both Jill and I.

  It wasn't a very cold day, so I decided to walk over to Jill's apartment since it was just a block away. It was just cold enough to snow, but there was no wind. The snow fell softly straight down and it felt almost like I was in a movie. If only I could stop and enjoy it a bit more, but I pushed on so that I could get back to the party. There would be time to appreciate the holidays more when the holiday party was over.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  This time when Jill opened her apartment door, she seemed to be back to herself. She smiled and greeted me right away and I was hoping that meant she was starting to come out the other side of the dark place she had been in. She grabbed one of the cups of coffee out of my hand. I stepped inside and set the donuts on the table. As I took my jacket off, Jill got out two plates.

  We took our donuts and coffee into the living room and sat back in the same places we had been in three days ago. I was a little nervous about asking her for such a big favor, so I decided to start off with a little chit-chat.

  "Did you see the beautiful snow outside today?" I asked as if somehow she would have missed the snow falling outside of the gigantic windows next to us. I just couldn't help myself. As a life-long Minnesotan, weather is our go--to conversation starter.

  "Yes, isn't it lovely?" Jill said. She had a giant smile on his face which seemed almost manic. I'm not sure what she was smiling about exactly, but I was glad to see any emotion play on her face.

  "Do you have a plan for the holidays?" I asked.

  "Oh yes, I'm headed back to my hometown up north to spend some time with my parents," she said. "Same old same old, but I am excited."

  She certainly seemed excited. Jill was fidgeting so much she was almost vibrating. As we had our donuts and coffee she kept shifting around in her chair and pushing her hair behind her ears. I decided it was time to spring my question on her. She was obviously in a good enough mood and I was running out of things to talk about because I didn't know her that well.

  "I'll get to the point of why I'm here," I said. "I accidentally ruined a surprise for my mother and I'd like to make it up to her tonight by giving her another surprise. So I was wondering if there was anyway you could finished the necklace for her by the party tonight? I know it's asking a lot."

  "Of course I can," she said. "Actually I have it mostly done already, so I'll just finish it up quickly and you can surprise your mother tonight."

  I smiled while I gave a big sigh and sank back into the itchy sofa with my coffee. What an absolute relief for me. My mother would be so pleased tonight to be given that beautiful necklace. As I happily sipped my coffee, Jill sat looking at me with the big smile still on her face. She was holding her coffee mug in her hands and just staring at me, which was a bit off-putting.

  Suddenly an idea popped into my head and I debated whether I should go with it or not. As much as I wanted to forget about the murder, I just couldn't. Jill had been right here, above the murder when it happened. The last time we had been together, she had been so melancholy I didn't dare ask. Today, though, she was in such a good mood that I decided I could at least broach the subject.

  "Jill, I have a hard question I'd like to ask you but you don't need to answer if you don't want to," I said.

  Jill cocked her head at me like a dog when they don't understand. She still had a smile on her face as she answered.

  "Go ahead," she said. I was sure she knew that it would be about the murder.

  "You were up here when Claire was murdered downstairs, right?" I asked. "Did you hear anything?"

  Jill's eyes opened wide and her fidgeting stopped. Immediately I regretted asking her because I was afraid that she would slide back into the dark place she had been living in for so long. But after a moment, the smile appeared on her face again.

  "I was up here, but I didn't hear anything," she said. Jill's dark eyes bored into me. "If I had heard something, I would have called, don't you think? I am a single woman who lives up here alone. If I had thought anything sordid was happening downstairs, I would not have hesitated to call for help. Isn't that what you would have done?"

  I nodded at her. She seemed to be asking me rather than telling me, which seemed a bit odd. But while I could understand being defensive about something so dark and depraved, it did confuse me. I was positive that Claire did not die quickly so she would have definitely had time to call loudly for help or scream at the murderer. And in an old building like this she would have been sure to hear that.


  "Are you sure?" I asked. "It just seems so weird that you wouldn't have heard Claire call for help."

  "I'm sure," Jill said. The smile had fallen from her face and her eyes were burning into me like hot pokers. I immediately regretted asking her again and I knew that I needed to be done with the questioning. Besides, I needed to get back to party prep.

  I popped the last piece of the donut in front of me into my mouth and grabbed my plate as I stood up.

  "I really should be going," I said. "I have a lot to do when I get home to set up for the party. By the way, are you coming to the party? You really should because you need to get me that necklace anyways."

  Jill turned and stared off into space for a moment and I wondered for a moment if she had somehow not heard me. I put my plate in the kitchen sink and put my jacket on. As I was about to just let myself out, Jill stood up and joined me at the door.

  "I'll come to deliver the necklace, but I'm not sure I'll stay for the party," Jill said. "I'm not sure how I'm feeling right now if I am honest."

  "Well we would love to have you," I said with a smile. "And I'm sorry I brought the murder up again. I can see that it is something that really affects you."

  Jill stared at me for another moment before she gave one big nod and silently opened the door for me.

  "Come by whenever to drop off the necklace and please consider staying," I said. Jill nodded curtly again at me and as soon as I was through the doorway, she slammed the apartment door behind me.

  I was thankful that she had agreed to finishing the necklace. That would make the party even better. But speaking of the party, I needed to get going to make sure the preparations had been humming along without me. I was practically counting down the hours until the party started and I could be done worrying about it, for this year at least.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  I had been happily surprised to arrive home to find that the party preparations were in full swing so there wasn't as much to be done. I had expected the worst when I pulled up to the house, but Trina and my dad had been dutifully crossing things off of the list.

  As soon as I finished up a few more things, I went upstairs to get ready. I wasn't much of a fashionista, but Mandy had helped me put together a nice outfit for the night. I put on a nice pair of tight, black leggings and a forest green tunic top that looked great with my dark hair and pale skin. I had a necklace with large red beads to really play up the Christmas theme without being too childish. I swiped on a bit more makeup than normal and put my hair up in a low, loose side bun. I took one more look in the mirror and smiled at myself.

  When I was younger, I had been so self-critical of my appearance and my complete inability to figure out how to do my hair and makeup didn't my critique of myself at all. But now at the tender age of thirty and after being through many trials of life, I had accepted myself and actually loved myself as I should have my entire life. I was able to think that not only did I look okay, I actually looked good.

  Coming down the stairs, I was almost overcome with holiday spirit. The halls were absolutely decked and the dining room was full of the appetizers and desserts. I was so pleased and I hoped my mother would be also. When Tank carried her down the stairs just behind me, I could tell from the smile on her face that she was so happy and excited for the party.

  "Oh Tessa, this is amazing!" she exclaimed as Tank put her in the wheelchair we had borrowed for the party. My mother had said there was no way she would be stuck on the couch during the entire party.

  The doorbell rang and I sent Tank over to let the jazz band in and show them where they were going to set up for the night. He went to school with them and he was well-liked, which was evidenced by the individual greeting he gave each smiling member that walked in clutching their instrument case.

  One member of the jazz band in particular was greeted with a large, shy smile. Judging by the guitar case the girl was carrying, I suspected that must be Angie. I caught Tank's eye and winked, which made him blush furiously.

  As the clock ticked closer and closer to the party start time, I walked nervous circles around the main floor: checking the food tables, checking my mother, checking the jazz band, looking out the front window and repeat. If I kept that up for long, I'd pre-burn off all of the calories I was about to ingest at the party.

  Finally on one of my loops, I saw Clark's old pickup truck pulling into the driveway. I put my nervous circles on hold and waited at the front door for him to make his way up. As he got up to the porch, I whipped the front door open just as he lifted his hand to knock. He chuckled at my total inability to be chill and I showed him in the door and to where we had a rack set up to hang up jackets.

  "I think we need to go find you a drink," he said as I also noticed that I was nervously wringing my hands.

  "I just can't help it," I said. "I want everything to be prefect. My mom always throws an amazing, fantastic holiday party and I need mine to live up to hers."

  "Not that I've been to your mother's party," Clark said, "but this one looks pretty great."

  He steered me towards the mistletoe that hung in the doorway to the living room and I let him, even though my mother's wheelchair was currently parked in there. She was distracted by the jazz band, who were tuning their instruments and warming up in the corner.

  Clark gave me a quick, but passion-filled kiss which spread warmth all the way down to my toes and made me hope that my mother really hadn't been looking. I stumbled backward a step and Clark put out his hand to steady me, a sly smile on his face. It took me a moment to regain my composure, but when I did I pulled him with me towards the bar area.

  We had offered to pay Trina to tend bar and she happily agreed. When Clark and I walked over, she already had a glass of white wine waiting for me on the table in front of her.

  "I've been watching you pace for half an hour," she said as she handed me the glass. "I poured this about halfway through that because I knew you'd be over soon enough."

  As Trina got a beer for Clark, Max came in through the front door. I looked at Clark and jerked my head towards Max. Clark nodded and struck up a conversation with Trina about school while I went to greet Max. I gave him a big hug and helped him hang up his jacket.

  "I'm so glad you didn't have to work tonight," I said. "I'm just hoping everything goes alright."

  "Everything looks great," Max said as he gave me a peck on the cheek.

  "Thank you," I said. "That means a lot from someone who has been at so many Schmidt Christmas parties in the past. Not to ruin the festive mood, but I did want to ask if you have learned anything else about Rich?"

  "Nope," Max said, with a guilty shrug. I could tell that it was wearing on him also, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. "I wish something would turn up, but it's been so long since the murder now that I'm not sure we will find anything else."

  The awkward silence hung between us for a few moments. I knew we both wished that things would turn out differently for him. But our hands were tied, each for different reasons. I was just a concerned citizen that was snooping around and he had to follow the rules of the police department. We stared at each other and Max gave my hand a little squeeze.

  "It looks like you already have a drink, but I sure could use one," Max said finally. He stuck out his elbow towards me. "Would you mind accompanying me to the bar?"

  I looped my arm through his and walked through the foyer over to where Clark and Trina were still chatting about college. Trina was a junior in college and had decided to go into education, so she and Clark were talking about the ins and outs of getting an education degree.

  When we walked up, Trina pulled out another bottle of beer for him. She had known him so long that she didn't even have to ask him which kind he would like. Even after I gotten married and moved away, Max had stayed almost like a brother to my younger siblings.

  Suddenly, I remembered that Jill was going to deliver the necklace. I knew that I would have a lot of things going on and
Trina would have a great view of the door. I needed her to keep an eye out for me.

  "Trina, I know you will be a little busy, but I have a huge favor to ask you," I said. "Jill will be coming over with something she needs to give me. Don't let Mom see her because it is a present for her. But let me know so I can get it and surprise Mom."

  "Oooooh, did you get Mom a necklace?" Trina squealed, loud enough that I glanced around to make sure Mom hadn't rolled up behind me. "That will be an awesome present. I love the jewelry that Jill makes."

  I chalked up a victory in the gift area since Trina would also be receiving her own necklace in a few more weeks. My sisters were notoriously hard to shop for, so I was pleased to hear that Trina would enjoy her present.

  "I'm surprised Jill said she would make then necklace," Max said. "She was really shaken up after the murder. We could hardly interview her about it, even a few days after the fact."

  "I've actually gone to see her twice now," I said. "The first time she was just like you described. She just kept staring off into space and she was emotionless. But I went to see her yesterday and she had perked up considerably. Obviously she didn't want to discuss the murder, but..."

  "You asked her about the murder?" Max exclaimed.

  "Oh Tessa, you didn't," Trina said.

  Clark just sighed and shook his head at me.

  I have to admit that when I said it out loud like that, it did sound like a terrible thing to do. I considered trying to explain myself, but I knew I could never make them see what I really meant. It wasn't like I had just blurted it out when I was talking to Jill or something. That needed to be put in the past and fast. So I was glad to hear the jazz band starting to play a few practice songs. I grabbed my wine glass and made my way towards the living room.

  "Come on boys," I said. "I'm headed to listen to some good music and get this party started."