by Susan Harper
“Yes, I like the privacy of it,” Mona said, finishing up her tea. “One moment while I clean up my mess.” She picked up the kettle and glassware before going inside. Once inside and out of sight, she used her wand to put away the dishes. “Behave, Lenore,” Mona said to her raven currently perched up on the mantle.
“You behave,” Lenore said. “Are you going to be all right all day without magic?”
“I think I can go one day without using magic in front of a mortal, Lenore,” Mona said, though truthfully, she wasn’t entirely sure. With the wave of her wand, she changed outfits and did up her hair before stepping out.
Brian jumped a bit in surprise. “That was fast,” he told her, taking note that she had changed and done her hair.
“Yes, well, I’m fairly quick about getting ready,” Mona stammered, realizing she probably should have taken just a few more minutes if she was going to come out wearing different clothing.
Brian politely opened the passenger’s side door for her before running around to the driver’s side and climbing in. He glanced over at her, and Mona wondered if she had perhaps worn too much black again. She really did make herself stick out like a sore thumb in Bankstown. “Interesting nails,” he said at last.
Mona glanced at her fingertips that had been painted jet black and now had white streaks resembling spiderwebs. “Oh, thank you,” she said.
Brian smirked as he pulled off. “So, I think first we’ll go to Lou’s. He’s agreed to meet with me to talk about what happened last night to his shop. I think his daughter Penny is going to be there as well.”
“We are meeting in their home?” Mona asked.
“That’s right,” Brian said. “Is that okay?”
“Just asking,” Mona said.
“I’m surprised you wanted to help me out with this case,” Brian said.
“My sister has helped you a number of times,” Mona said. “So, I wanted to see what she finds so thrilling about this sort of thing.”
“Understood,” Brian said as they pulled into a quaint little neighborhood not too far from Main Street. He pulled up in front of a house that was heavily decorated for Christmas, though because of their use of blowups that were currently not turned on, it looked like a massacre of creatures from the Island of Misfit Toys had taken place.
They went and knocked on the door, and Lou’s daughter Penny answered. “Hey, Officer Brian,” Penny said. “Dad said you would be coming by. Come on in.”
They entered the house, which smelled suspiciously like gingerbread men. Mona followed Penny and Brian, and they turned a corner into a dining room where Lou was currently seated packaging up gift boxes of desserts. “Officer Brian,” Lou said. “Sorry for not getting up, but Penny and I have our hands a bit tied today. We were supposed to bring all these gift boxes by the church for a Christmas event they’re doing, but with everything that happened yesterday, well, obviously we didn’t finish up with our obligation.”
Penny plopped herself down by her father and proceeded to continue stuffing gingerbread men into the little decorative boxes as her father tied them up. “Lou, your hand?” Brian asked, sitting down across from them.
Mona sat down as well and instinctually began putting boxes together to help. Lou held up his bandaged hand. “Nothing too bad,” he said. “Just a burn.”
“A burn?” Brian questioned.
“Yeah, from the fire last night,” Lou said.
“Lou, you were there?” Brian asked.
“Dad had a close call,” Penny said anxiously. “He was in the upstairs office of the shop. Firefighters didn’t find him until the building was completely cleared. Dad’s smart, though. Locked himself in a closet and stuffed blankets under the door to keep the smoke from getting in.”
“Lou, I had no idea!” Brian exclaimed.
“Chloe didn’t either,” Lou said. “You should have seen the poor woman’s face when I saw her yesterday. Well, yesterday evening when she realized I had been in the shop.”
“When did you speak to her yesterday?” Brian asked.
“Well, I was there when she woke up. Poor woman was on so much pain medication, I’m not sure if she was completely aware of anything we were talking about, then I went out to get her something decent to eat. When I came back, that’s when she noticed my hand,” Lou said, and this seemed to explain why Chloe hadn’t mentioned to them that Lou had also been in the building. She hadn’t known it until after they had left.
“Lou, I’m sorry,” Brian said. “I ran in and I didn’t even think to check the second floor for anyone.”
“I’m just fine, Brian,” Lou said. “I’m just glad you saved Chloe. She told me what you did. Brave man. I’m lucky. That roof caving in with all the snow is what woke my sorry self up! I had…had a bit of eggnog to drink and was passed out at my desk upstairs. The fire had already spread throughout the whole shop by the time I was waking up to all that snow in my office! Imagine it—fire on one side of you and snow on the other! It was rather interesting-looking but alarming all the same. I ran for the closet and tired my best to keep the smoke out. Burned my hand on the closet’s door handle that was just blazing hot by the time I got over to it.”
“Well, we are glad you are okay,” Mona said. “That could have been quite awful. We had no idea you were even there, so I imagine it was a while before the fire department even found you?”
“It was. They said I was there for about an hour after the fire went out. I had passed out again,” Lou admitted. He banged his chest. “Got lungs of an Olympic swimmer, though. Just a little smoke damage. I was lucky enough to be released from the ER before Chloe even woke up.” A timer went off in the kitchen. “I got it,” he said, jumping up and disappearing.
Penny huffed slightly as she worked. “Dad…always the one to find a way to put a positive spin on everything. He’s been talking about magic snow all night. Thinks something magical happened that saved him. Angels or something.”
Mona tugged at her shirt collar for a moment. “Angels, you say?”
“He says the snow that fell didn’t melt right away,” she said. “I think he was just a little loopy from the eggnog and the smoke.”
“Are you all right, Penny?” Brian asked. “I imagine this was a bit of a shocker for you.”
“It was a bit much, I’ll admit,” she said. “I was home when it happened, and when Dad called me from the ambulance and told me the shop was gone, that Chloe was seriously burned, and that he was on the way to the hospital to get checked out, I got really frazzled. But everyone’s okay. That’s what’s important. But… Ugh, this is going to sound so selfish of me…”
“What?” Mona asked curiously.
“Well, this is just ruining the holidays, you know?” she said. “I know, I know…it’s awful. But Dad wants to celebrate Christmas in the hospital with Chloe. I like Chloe and all…but, well, I don’t want to celebrate Christmas with her in her hospital room. I want to keep to our usual traditions. Is that awful of me? It is, isn’t it?”
“I understand, Chloe,” Brian said. “Traditions are something we all look forward to this time of year. Listen, I’m going to have to tell your Dad when he gets back in here, but Chloe has informed us that the reason she was at the shop was because she was stealing from the register.”
Penny almost laughed at hearing this, but she seemed to hold back the temptation. “Can’t say that is exactly shocking.”
“Oh?” Brian asked.
“Well, Chloe has been taking advantage of my dad for a very long time,” Penny said. “She’s always coming up with these so-called ideas for the shop, and my dad would give her money to invest in whatever latest scheme she had, and I’m almost positive all the stuff she was doing for the shop didn’t really cost what she was asking for. She would pocket some of the money. She’s a crook, always has been.”
“Have you ever expressed these concerns to your father?” Brian asked.
“Of course I have,” Penny said. “But he sti
ll thinks I’m just some stupid kid who doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Chloe admitted that this is something she has done before, but she also says that it was because she was in a bind and had been planning on putting the money back—that she has put money back before?” Mona asked.
“Yeah, I’ve busted her doing that a few times,” Penny said. “Taking money out and putting it back in. The shop was going to crap because of her, though. She definitely took more than she would return. I know Dad doesn’t really want to admit it, but the shop wasn’t going to last much longer. Maybe this was for the best. With Chloe sucking all his money out of the place, it was only a matter of time before he was going to have to put up a Going Out of Business sale sign in the door. Hold on, let me go see what’s taking Dad so long with those cookies.” Penny jumped up and followed her father back into the kitchen.
“Well, looks like Chloe’s story is consistent with what Penny seems to be saying is typical of her character,” Mona said. “She probably was there just to steal cash out of the register.”
“It bothers me about Lou,” Brian said. “Why was he there so late?”
“You heard him tell you he had been drinking and passed out at the office,” Mona argued.
“Yeah, but Penny told me that Lou and Penny had gone home to do some Christmas baking,” Brian said. “And, looking around, it’s pretty clear they didn’t do much of that last night. Chloe thought Lou was home not at the shop.”
“So? He might have come back before she did,” Mona said.
“Yeah, but for what reason?” Brian asked. “Maybe Lou is the one who set the fire, but it got out of control?”
“Why would Lou set fire to his own shop?” Mona asked.
“To collect on insurance,” Brian said. “If the shop was going downhill like Penny suggested, then he might have wanted to see what he could get out of it. He probably didn’t realize his girlfriend had snuck into the shop behind him.”
“Maybe,” Mona said. “But I think we need to speak to Justin.”
“The other shop owner?” Brian asked.
“Yeah,” Mona said. “I don’t like the way he was acting when we last spoke to him. He was almost gleeful at the idea that Lou’s shop had caught fire. Is it possible he took out his competition?”
“That’s certainly another angle,” Brian said. “Okay, we’ll go talk to Justin.”
10
Brian and Mona found out soon after leaving Lou’s home that Justin’s shop was closed on Sundays much like the bookshop. So, Brian had to reach out to Justin and hope that the man was up for a discussion. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for Justin to respond to Brian with an address. The two of them drove out across a few country roads, eventually pulling down a dirt one that led to the small ranch-style house that was Justin’s.
“I really think Justin is going to be our arsonist,” Mona said as they walked up to the house. “The way he acted after what happened was strange.”
“He could have just been surprised by it all,” Brian said. “Some people use humor as a coping device.”
“Yes, but I didn’t like the way he was peering in the man’s windows either. Lou said he marks his prices down to compete with him,” Mona reminded Brian. “Justin is clearly very competitive.”
They knocked on the door, and a young woman answered and smiled at them before calling into the house. “Dad! Your cop friend is here!”
The girl opened the door up a bit wider, inviting them in. The whole house smelled of ham, cookies, and general merriment. Mona cringed in surprise at the overwhelming scents, particularly the smell of peppermint bark that filled her nostrils. It was worse than the little cookie drive taking place at Lou’s household. “Brian, come on in, I’m in the kitchen!” Justin’s voice called from beyond their sights, and they followed the girl toward the back of the house.
There was Justin along with what looked to be his wife and son. Every last one of them was busy with something. His wife was peeling potatoes, the son using the mixer, the daughter got right to work on pouring chocolates, and Justin was wrists deep in a turkey. “I appreciate you agreeing to talk with me today, Justin,” Brian said, “I can see you are quite busy.”
“Holidays will do that to you,” Justin said with a laugh.
Looking around at the impressive spread, Mona imagined that they must be having an entire herd of mortals coming by for their Christmas celebration. It was almost maddening to see the number of casseroles spread out in front of them. “I know the feeling,” Brian said. “So, I’ll make this fairly quick. We’re just talking to anyone who might have witnessed anything before the fire started. I know we spoke briefly last night, so I know you were there and saw a good bit of the commotion. Was wondering if you saw anything suspicious?”
“What, are they investigating this as an arson or something?” Justin asked.
“That’s right,” Brian said.
“Gracious,” Justin’s wife said. “Someone set that poor man’s shop on fire on purpose?”
“Looks that way,” Brian said. “So, if there is anything you saw, we would appreciate you sharing that information with us.”
“Can’t say that I saw much of anything,” Justin said. “Only reason I saw the fire was because I had stayed at my own shop later than usual because of some problems we’ve been having with our computer system. I was working on that last night.”
“Was anyone else with you at the shop?” Brian asked.
“I was,” Justin’s wife said. “And our children were all there. We brought him dinner and wound up staying half the night.”
“They were there when I came across the street to speak to you,” Justin said.
“I see,” Brian said, looking around. “You got quite a spread here, Justin. You got family coming in from out of town?”
“Always,” Justin said. “But not all of this is for us. We’re making Christmas dinner for Lou and his family.”
This surprised Mona. She stared at the man for a moment, wondering if he was telling the truth or not. “This is all for Lou?” Mona asked.
“Well, not all of it,” Justin said. “A good bit of it is, though. After what happened last night, my wife and I wanted to try to do something to help. Sounds like Chloe was hurt pretty bad, and I spoke to Lou on the phone this morning. Said he got a burn on his hand too. And, from the looks of things—I drove by this morning—it looks like the place is completely totaled. It’s all ash and soot and a few beams still standing. Lou is lucky he made it out of there alive. He told me earlier that he was passed out in the upstairs closet for the longest time.”
“Yes,” Brian said. “He is very lucky. It’s very kind of you and your family to spend your Sunday cooking Christmas dinner for them. Especially considering your little rivalry.”
Justin laughed, as did his family. “What? That? I mean, Lou and I butt heads from time to time over merchandise, but a lot of it is just gag. Joking around, you know? He’s a crotchety old man, but he would do the same for me. And, besides, it’s Christmas! Isn’t this sort of thing what the season is all about?”
Mona stood back and listened to Justin and Brian talk for several more minutes. It didn’t sound like they were getting anywhere. The man’s family was a decent alibi, unless of course he had brought his wife and children along to commit arson, which seemed a bit unlikely. Plus, why would they be spending so much time and energy cooking and baking for a family they wanted to ruin? Mona was beginning to feel like she had made a bad judgement call on Justin being the perpetrator.
Before too long, Brian and Mona were both roped in to helping a bit with the holiday cooking. Justin’s wife wound up passing Mona a cookie recipe that Mona did her best to follow to the tee, but she had never baked a day in her life without the use of magic. When the cookies came out of the oven bubbling on one side and completely burnt on the other, Mona felt rather humiliated by the attempt.
“It’s quite all right,” Justin’s wife told
her. “This was a rather difficult recipe I just threw at you.”
“It’s just chocolate chip cookies,” the daughter said, and her mother elbowed her and told her to hush.
By the time they were leaving, Mona felt rather embarrassed on two fronts—one for her horrid baking skills and another for being so sure that this friendly, Christmas-spirit-infused gentleman had been their arsonist. Mona was relieved when they were finally out of Justin’s house and sitting in Brian’s car. Brian had one of her burnt—yet somehow gooey—cookies in his hands. He bit into it and his face contorted. “They’re not that bad,” he said.
“Yes, they are,” Mona said bitterly. “And I didn’t have to taste one to deduce that, you idiot.”
“Wow, you are just so much anger and frustration wrapped up into such a tiny little package,” Brian said, tossing the monstrous cookie out the window. “Fine, you want me to tell you that you suck at baking? Because I will.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do,” Mona said. “Why are you constantly beating around the bush? It’s just like with the coffee. You drank coffee that was filled with unfiltered coffee grinds just because you were worried about offending me. You need to grow a spine.”
“Harsh,” Brian said, pulling the car out of the driveway. “I’m just trying to be nice.”
“You being nice is what got us here in the first place,” Mona said. “I’m the one who told you that I felt that Justin was our most likely suspect, so we went all the way out here, and it’s pretty obvious there is no way that man burned down Lou’s shop. You listened to me instead of your own instinct because you’re so worried about my opinion of you. It’s stupid.”
“What makes you think that I didn’t believe Justin was capable of burning down his competitor’s shop? I was just as wrong as you were, Mona,” Brian said. “Are you always this critical of yourself?”
Mona huffed up. “Things do not usually come so difficult for me.” It was only after she said this that Mona realized what she was getting at—why she was so annoyed and frustrated. It was because she had not been using magic. Her wand had been neatly tucked away in her coat, of course, but it wasn’t as though she would have been able to magically bake cookies for the family to enjoy with all of them watching. She wouldn’t have been able to create coffee for Brian or deduce whether or not Justin or whoever had been lying with a few simple charms. Things were suddenly difficult for her because she hadn’t been able to use magic in front of all the mortals she suddenly found herself surrounded by. It was only then that Mona realized just how heavily she relied on her magic to do the simplest of tasks, like baking cookies or pouring a cup of coffee. Her sister usually only relied on magic for more important things, because magic took more effort for Monica than to simply do things for herself half the time. For Mona, however, magic had always come easily.