The Worst Noel

by Amy M. Reade

  “Well, unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about your mom. And I don’t know your daughter or her boyfriend and I don’t have children of my own, so I can’t offer any words of wisdom. But as for the murders, let’s think about this. What do we know about the first victim?”

  “Eden Barclay. She owned the general store on Main Street, she wasn’t doing well financially, and her ex-husband knew about a life insurance policy that would pay for their son to attend college. Oh, and she and her current husband had a fight the night before Thanksgiving. He’s now in charge of the store and rumor has it he’s selling it and moving away,” Lilly said, ticking off the facts on her fingers.

  “And what about the second victim?”

  “Herb Knight. He was a yoga instructor who owned his studio. I don’t do yoga, but I understand he was a great instructor. Not a very nice guy, though. Bill said someone saw him talking to Eden the night she was killed, but didn’t remember it until after Herb was dead. So the police never got a chance to question him about it.”

  “So we know Eden didn’t kill Herb. But could he have killed her?”

  “I suppose that’s possible. But why? As far as I’m aware, Herb didn’t have any reason to kill Eden.”

  “Does your brother have any ideas?”

  “Not that I know of. I think he’s busy just trying to keep my name off the suspect list.”

  “I hope he’s successful at that,” Hassan said with a smile. He put his arm around Lilly’s shoulders on the back of the couch and she leaned her head toward his. It was comfortable like that.

  They sat in silence like that for a few minutes, then Lilly spoke. “I forgot you don’t have your car here. I can take you downtown any time you’re ready.”

  “Are you trying to get rid of me?” he asked, grinning.

  “No! I mean no, I was just putting the offer out there.”

  “You’re right—I should probably get going. My sister and I have to get up early tomorrow because we’re heading to Denver to have a look around.”

  “You’ll like Denver.”

  “That’s what I hear. How long will it take us to get there?”

  “About an hour and a half. More if the roads are bad, but I think they should be okay.”

  “Good to know. Why don’t I walk back to Main Street and you stay inside where it’s warm?”

  “No way. I’m driving you.”

  Hassan stood up and pulled Lilly to her feet. They stood for just a moment facing each other, then he leaned down and kissed her lips gently. “We should do this more often.”

  Lilly smiled and held out her hand. He took it and followed her into the kitchen, where she put the wine glasses in the sink and turned to face him. He kissed her again, longer this time, but they pulled apart when they heard someone coming down the stairs.

  “What’s up?” Tighe asked, coming into the kitchen.

  “We were just leaving. Hassan left his car on Main Street, so I’m going to drive him to pick it up. I’ll only be gone for a few minutes. Lock the door behind me.”

  Tighe rummaged through the contents of the refrigerator, emerging at last with a jar of green olives and a container of whipped cream cheese. Hassan gave him a quizzical look.

  “I put the cream cheese on a cracker and top it with an olive,” Tighe explained. “It’s delicious.”

  “I’ll have to try that,” Hassan said. He extended his hand toward Tighe, who returned the hearty handshake. Lilly felt a little thrill of happiness sweep through her. A good sign, she thought.

  She and Hassan drove through the quiet streets of Juniper Junction on their way to Main Street, commenting on how pretty the houses looked decked with twinkling lights and garlands. There were no people outside—it was quiet and peaceful.

  Lilly pulled her car next to Hassan’s and he gave her another kiss before getting out. She couldn’t help the wide smile that spread across her face when he leaned back, and she was even more pleased that her smile matched the one on Hassan’s face.

  Chapter 40

  “Have fun in Denver tomorrow,” she called as he got into his own car. He waved and she drove off.

  Tighe was waiting for her in the kitchen when she got home. “So how did you meet this guy again?” he asked.

  “What guy? Do you mean Hassan?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He came into my shop to look around. We got talking and he came back the next day to ask me to dinner.”

  “Do you trust him?”

  “Sure,” she answered. “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “It’s just that two people have died recently and he’s been in town recently.”

  “Oh, Tighe. That’s just a coincidence. There are a lot of people who come to Juniper Junction around the holidays. It’s a nice place to be for people who like outdoor activities and for people who like to shop and relax and go to nice restaurants.”

  “It’s just something I was thinking about, that’s all. As long as you trust him, I trust him,” Tighe replied.

  “I trust him.”

  “Then so do I.” Her son came over and gave her a hug goodnight, then disappeared up the stairs. She had been wiping the counter mindlessly while they talked, and now she threw the dishcloth into the sink with uncharacteristic vehemence.

  Now why did he have to go and say those things? Hassan is too nice to be subjected to suspicion like that.

  But what if Tighe’s right?

  Lilly let Barney out, then double-checked the locks, turned off all the lights, and went upstairs to bed. She tried to read, but Tighe had put her in such a foul mood that she couldn’t concentrate on the story. She wanted to be mad at him, but she knew he was just trying to protect her. She wanted to be mad at Hassan, but he was completely blameless. She wanted to be mad at the police for failing to find the murderer or murderers who had been plaguing Juniper Junction, but she knew they were doing their best to solve the crimes. She had no choice but to accept that anger wasn’t going to solve anything. She wanted to believe that her instincts were right, that Hassan was the man she thought he was, but she’d been wrong about a man before. Very wrong.

  The thought of Beau made her even more angry. He had come back into town at just about the same time as the murders began, too, come to think of it. And she already knew he was a snake—he could be behind these killings just as easily as Hassan. In fact, that scenario was far more likely.

  Surely the police were looking at both locals and tourists and wanderers like Beau as suspects in each of the killings. She was tired of not knowing whether she had been discounted as a suspect.

  Lilly fell into a fitful sleep, punctuated by long minutes of staring at the ceiling in despair.

  Lilly got to work early the next morning and spent an hour trying to put her ideas for new jewelry designs onto paper. When there was a knock at the back door she lifted her head, startled. She glanced at her watch and was surprised that it was already time to start setting up displays so the store could open on time.

  She peered through the peephole in the back door. Taffy was standing there. Lilly opened the door and stood back to admit her assistant.

  “Sorry if I startled you,” Taffy said in greeting. “I tried knocking on the front door and there was no answer. It didn’t seem like you to be late for work.” She grinned.

  “I’ve been working on some jewelry designs,” Lilly explained. “I guess the time got away from me.” Taffy waited as Lilly put her sketches away, then both women hurried to set up the jewelry displays before they unlocked the door for the day.

  One of the first customers of the day had heard about Lilly’s prowess at designing jewelry and wanted to commission her to design a special pendant for his wife. Taffy took care of other customers while Lilly and the man discussed how he wanted the pendant to look. He was buying a cabin in the mountains as a surprise for his wife and wanted the pendant to reflect the view from the front porch of the cabin. He had taken photos of the mountain peaks in the distance at
different times of day. His favorite was the photo in which the mountains appeared almost purple in the light of dawn.

  “I think I can come up with some ideas you’ll like,” Lilly said excitedly. This was precisely the type of assignment she liked best—a design which was for a specific person with parameters that allowed her creative freedom but still gave direction to her work. She promised him she would have several sketches within a week and suggested that he return to the shop to look them over. He agreed, thrilled to have found someone to make his ideas come to life, and left the shop.

  Juniper Junction Jewels was busy all day long. Lilly was exhausted by the time she and Taffy took down the displays and left for the evening. She loved days like this, meeting new customers and chatting with old ones, but she was always drained when she went home. Noley was at the house and had brought over dinner for Lilly and the kids.

  “What did I do to deserve the royal treatment?” Lilly asked as she hung up her coat.

  “I just had such a nice time last night with Bill that I decided to thank you by bringing dinner over. I’ll join you, if you don’t mind, since I didn’t have time to make anything for myself.” She grinned.

  “Of course you’ll join us! What did you make?”

  “Salmon with a maple vinaigrette, maple butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and Parker House rolls. The salmon is a recipe I’m developing, so you’ll be helping me out, too.”

  “So we’re your guinea pigs?” Lilly teased.

  “Who else would be so willing?”

  “Bill would,” Lilly answered with a wink. Noley grinned.

  “I’ll definitely make it for him sometime, but it has to be perfect. That’s why I need guinea pigs.”

  Tighe came into the kitchen. “Who’s a guinea pig?”

  “We are,” Lilly said. “Noley made us dinner. Call Laurel down here and we’ll eat.”

  “Laurel’s not home yet.”

  “Where is she?”

  Chapter 41

  Tighe didn’t answer at once. And his brief silence told Lilly everything she needed to know—Laurel was somewhere with Nick.

  “I don’t know,” came Tighe’s answer after a long moment.

  “Okay, then we eat without her. She knows to be home in time for dinner. Sit down, you two.” She pulled out a chair and Tighe and Noley followed suit.

  They carefully avoided any talk of Laurel while they ate the five-star meal Noley had prepared.

  “I’ll be your guinea pig anytime, Noley,” Tighe said as he finished dinner. “Mom, why don’t you cook stuff like that?”

  Lilly smirked. “Because I need a job I can actually make money doing. I have a child going off to college soon and one going a year after that. And it’s possible that I’m not as good a cook as Noley.”

  Tighe hooted. “That’s for sure.” Lilly shot him a withering look and he held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry,” he said with a wide grin.

  Barney let out one bark and the door swung open. A gust of wind whooshed into the warm kitchen, bringing with it a bedraggled-looking Laurel.

  “You missed dinner.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, Mom. Nick and I were at the library and lost track of time.” Lilly couldn’t believe Laurel could say such a thing with a straight face.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “It’s true.”

  “Then you won’t mind if I call Mrs. Ledbetter. You remember her—she used to live a couple houses down and she works the checkout desk. She would have seen you.”

  “All right,” Laurel said with a sigh. “I was at Nick’s house.”

  “Why did you lie?”

  “Because I know you don’t like Nick and I figured the library sounded better.”

  “Were either of Nick’s parents at home?” Lilly was pressing her fingernails into her palms to keep from blowing her top.

  “No.”

  “You’re grounded until next Monday.” Lilly turned away from Laurel.

  “But Mom…” Her voice trailed off. She knew better than to argue—this was an argument she wasn’t going to win.

  “Sit down and eat dinner,” Lilly said over her shoulder. Noley and Tighe, who had been silent while Laurel and Lilly talked, got up to help with the dishes. With a long sigh, Laurel sat down by herself.

  “Why don’t you like Nick?” she finally said in a whiny voice.

  “It’s not that I don’t like him, though I don’t think he’s the most thoughtful of boys,” Lilly said. “It’s that you can do better.”

  “You’re just upset because he wants to be a ski instructor and you weren’t able to make marriage to a ski instructor work.” Lilly whirled around to stare at her daughter. She could tell from the look in Laurel’s eyes that the girl knew she had overstepped her bounds.

  “You have no idea what my marriage was like,” Lilly said, her voice hard. “You have no right to make statements like that. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, Laurel, but you’d better snap out of it because you and I aren’t going to be able to coexist peacefully if you can’t be respectful.” She turned on her heel and left the room, leaving Noley and Tighe staring after her, astonished at her outburst.

  She went to her bedroom and closed the door, then lay face-down on the bed and began to cry into her pillow. She was thankful she had been able to hold it together until she was in the privacy of her room.

  She cried long and hard until, after about fifteen minutes, she was all cried out. She sat up on the bed, sniffling, her hair a tangled mess, and stared out the window. It was dark, and the snow was falling thickly. The streetlamp lent a serene, almost vintage look to the view from the bed, belying the pain Lilly felt in her mind and heart.

  She hadn’t cried like that in a long time. The last time it had happened, she had been under a tremendous amount of stress and she knew that this crying jag stemmed from the same thing—stress.

  She could identify most of her stress—her mother, Laurel, Nick, her nerves about Tighe going off to college in less than a year, being a person of interest in two murders, and the never-ending stress that a small business owner feels.

  But there was also stress she couldn’t name. It was a feeling of dread, of hopeless malaise, that arose from all that had happened in Juniper Junction. Not only had there been two killings since Black Friday, but she had a general sense that the peace and quiet of the little mountain town had been shattered. Hopefully not forever.

  Then there was Hassan. She liked him and she liked the way he made her feel. But after Tighe asked her whether she really trusted Hassan, she had been harboring doubts about him. He had come to town around the time of the murders and he was a stranger in Juniper Junction.

  And what if he was completely innocent of any crimes, which she fervently hoped was the case? Well, he still lived in Minnesota and she wasn’t inclined to become embroiled in a long-distance relationship. So he would leave after the holidays ended and she would be left alone again, missing him.

  It was all very disheartening.

  There was a knock on her bedroom door.

  “Come in,” Lilly said.

  Noley peeked around the door. “You all right?”

  “Yeah,” Lilly said with a sigh. “Sorry about that. All of a sudden I couldn’t take it anymore. I see Laurel headed for the same mistakes I made and I just can’t watch that happen.”

  “I know. It doesn’t help when she’s kind of snotty about it, too.” Lilly nodded her head ruefully.

  “It’s not just Laurel, though. It’s everything that’s been happening around here. Beau coming back, Mom’s problems, the murders, me being a person of interest, the police not making any progress, and Hassan.”

  “What about Hassan?”

  “I like him. A lot. But Tighe asked me something that made me second-guess myself and now I’m not sure about anything.”

  “What did Tighe ask?”

  “He asked if I trust Hassan.” Lilly put her chin in her hands.

  “And you do, of cour
se.”

  “Well, I thought I did until Tighe brought it up. But two murders have taken place since Hassan came to town. What if that’s not just a coincidence? What if Hassan has something to do with them?”

  “Hassan doesn’t strike me as a killer.”

  “Me neither, but would I know a killer if I saw one? I doubt it.”

  “The murders have taken place since Beau came to town, too. There are probably a lot of people in Juniper Junction who’ve been here since Thanksgiving. It’s a popular holiday spot. Anyone could have killed those two. They were both awful. And who says it has to be someone who is just passing through? It could be someone who’s lived here for years.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better, considering that I’ve lived here for years?” Lilly asked. She chuckled wryly and hiccupped.

  “I guess that’s not very comforting, is it?”

  “I just want the police to get my name off the list of the people of interest. I’m a nervous wreck about it.”

  “Just be patient. I’m sure they will. And you know I’ll help you however I can. Now, I didn’t tell you this before, but I brought dessert over, too,” Noley said with a sly smile.

  “Why didn’t you say so? Here I am blubbering away, completely oblivious.”

  “Come on,” Noley said, standing up and offering Lilly her hand. “You’ve got one more guinea pig job tonight.”

  Chapter 42

  Noley led the way downstairs and ordered Lilly to sit down at the table. Laurel was still there, pushing food around on her plate.

  “Don’t you like salmon, Laurel?” Noley asked.

  “It’s okay.”

  Noley took Laurel’s plate away and put it in the sink, yelling for Tighe as she did so. He came bounding down the stairs.