by Vicki Delany
I’d changed, but Alan had stayed Alan. Quiet and serious but quick to get a twinkle in his eye. Always kind and always loving.
“Do you mind?” I asked, after telling him what my mother had planned for us.
“Do I mind having a special meal prepared by Mark Grosse, with good wine and a couple of glasses of champagne and then a round of canapés at midnight?”
“When you put it like that—”
“Do we have to?”
I laughed. “We don’t have to, but I think we should. Mom says she told me about it. She might have invited me months ago and I forgot. But apart from that, if this . . . thing with Chris isn’t wrapped up, he might need his family around him.”
“In that case, I’ll have to put up with it.” His voice was light, and I knew he didn’t mind going at all. We’d have plenty of other opportunities for nights around the fire.
“Thanks. Do you own a tux?”
“A what?”
“A tuxedo.”
“Merry.”
“My dad’s going to wear one, that’s all. I’m sure a nice sweater or sports jacket will be fine. Although you might need a tie.”
“I’ll try not to disgrace you. I think I have a suit. And maybe even a tie. Somewhere. I seem to remember wearing a suit to my cousin’s wedding a few years ago. Or was that Great-Uncle John’s funeral? The mood was about the same.”
“I don’t even want to know what that means.”
A Pomeranian approached Mattie and me, a jaunty red bow tied to its collar, an elderly woman at the other end of the leash. Mattie’s ears pricked up and he gave a soft woof of greeting. The dog wagged his thin tail, and the woman gave me a nod. We stopped to let the dogs sniff each other. They couldn’t possibly be more different, but they recognized each other as dogs and greeted the other accordingly.
Greetings over, they continued on their way, and Mattie and I turned into Jingle Bell Lane. It was coming up to nine thirty, and I’d be late opening if I didn’t hurry up.
“Before you go,” Alan said. “I’ve heard there’s a high school reunion at the pub tonight. I haven’t seen some of the old crowd for a while, so I’m thinking of dropping in. Do you want to go?”
“I heard about that,” I said. “Everyone’s talking about it, and even Chris is considering going. It might be a fun night. If there’s no one we know, we can always leave.”
“I’ll pick you up at eight,” Alan said.
I put my phone away and dug the keys to the shop out of my bag.
* * *
* * *
Luanne Ireland came into Mrs. Claus’s Treasures shortly after one and greeted me with a big hug. Under the blue coat, she was dressed all in black. Black jeans, black sweater, a black scarf shot with gold thread tied loosely around her neck.
“I was so sorry to hear about your loss,” Jackie said.
Luanne dabbed at her eyes with a worn tissue. “Thank you. I still can’t quite accept that he’s gone.”
Jackie patted her arm. “If there’s anything I can do . . .”
“Everyone has been so kind,” Luanne said. “The people of Rudolph really are the best. People were in and out of my mom’s house all day yesterday, bringing flowers and cards and casseroles. I never knew you could do so much with canned tuna.”
While Jackie and Luanne chatted, I kept my eye on the shop. We were running low on the porcelain Santa and Mrs. Claus dolls, and I needed to remember to order more. I planned to use them as a Valentine’s Day feature. In Rudolph we can make Christmas work with any holiday. Except for New Year’s Eve: no reindeer or Santa-themed table decorations would grace the Yuletide Inn on December 31. We dropped Christmas for that one night only.
“Have you thought about when you’ll be going home?” I asked Luanne.
“I’m not sure. They still haven’t . . .” She swallowed. Jackie patted her arm. “Released Jeff’s body. Pending the . . . results of the investigation, they say. I want to stay here, in Rudolph, with him until he . . . goes home one last time.”
“You’re so brave,” Jackie said.
A woman carried an armful of plush toys to the counter. I gave Jackie a jerk of my head. She tightened her lips and looked at me. Another jerk of the head. Jackie rolled her eyes, but finally went to help the customer.
“Actually, that’s why I’m here, Merry,” Luanne said. “I’d like to see Chris. He isn’t answering his phone. I thought maybe the police had taken it, so I called the house, but your mom said Chris didn’t want to talk to me.” She lifted her head and glared at me. “I have to say, your mom wasn’t very friendly.”
“She can be like that,” I said. If Mom had reacted the way I expected she had, I was surprised Luanne hadn’t lost her hearing.
“I thought I might go around and drop in on him. We can talk things over. When would be the best time, do you think?”
“That would not be a good idea, Luanne. You don’t want the police to think that maybe you and Chris had planned on getting rid of Jeff together, do you?”
Her eyes opened wide. “You can’t be suggesting—”
“I’m not suggesting anything at all. I don’t know what the police are thinking.”
Luanne changed the subject abruptly. “I’ll let you know before I leave Rudolph. Let’s be sure to keep in touch. I’m so glad we were able to become friends again, Merry.”
“Yeah, me, too,” I lied.
She let out a world-weary sigh. “I can’t possibly think about moving on with my life and eventually wanting to marry someone else, but everyone tells me one day I’ll be happy again. When I do, I’ll get you to design my wedding.” She smiled at me, clearly expecting me to be pleased.
I refrained from saying Over my dead body.
“I never did get a chance to ask Louis if I still had the job at the company. Jeff’s sister flew in from Dallas yesterday, and Jeff’s mom and dad went home this morning to meet her. I hope she’s not planning to come here and act all important. I never did like her very much. She owns an art gallery and is sooo stuck up about it.” Luanne turned as if to leave, and then she hesitated and swung around. “You’re sure you don’t think it would be nice of me to call on Chris? Just to see how he’s doing? For old times’ sake?”
“Absolutely not a good idea.” I thought about the high school reunion plans but decided it should still be okay for us to go. It was unlikely that Luanne, who was supposedly in mourning, would show up. If she did, I’d just have to try to keep her out of Chris’s way.
“Okay. Maybe after all this settles down.”
Luanne reached for the door, but before she could grasp the knob, the door swung open and Madison McKenzie came in.
“Hi,” I said. “Welcome back.”
She didn’t look at me or glance around my store. Her body stiffened and she stared, openly and rudely, at Luanne. Luanne stared back at her, equally openly and equally rudely.
Happy to see each other was not the phrase that came to mind.
“You!” Luanne snarled. “What are you doing here?”
“I might ask the same thing of you.” Madison studied Luanne, top to toe. “Is that what passes for mourning wear in the sticks? Or couldn’t you be bothered to try?” Madison herself didn’t quite fit the Victorian concept of mourning, dressed in a cashmere camel coat, a fur-trimmed hat, high brown leather boots, and matching gloves.
“I should have known you’d be creeping around. Trying to suck up all the attention.”
“Attention? No, Luanne, I’m not here for attention. I’m here because Jeff, the man I loved and who loved me in return, died. Someone killed him.” She lifted one well-sculpted eyebrow. “I’m surprised you haven’t been arrested yet.”
Luanne sucked in a breath. “How dare you.”
“What happened, Luanne? Did he tell you he wanted me after all? Did he cancel the
wedding? Had he gone to that hotel to tell them not to bother meeting with you because the wedding was off?”
Time for me to intervene. “Ladies, please. This isn’t the place. Would you mind stepping outside?”
All the customers had stopped what they were doing to stare. Jackie left the cash register and came to stand behind me. In the back, Mattie barked.
Madison ignored me. “The police are building their case against you, Luanne. I told them all about it. That Jeff didn’t want to marry you, but he didn’t know how to tell you the wedding was off. I told them about your jealousy, your rage.”
Luanne’s eyes bulged, and her color was beginning to match the bright red in the Mrs. Claus doll’s apron.
I stepped in front of Madison. “Please leave now.”
She shoved me aside like an annoying insect. I’d thought her beautiful when I’d first seen her, but the sheer hate made Madison ugly. Spittle flew from her lipsticked mouth. “I, for one, am hoping for a front-row seat when they hang you.”
“They don’t actually have public hangings in New York State anymore,” one of the customers said.
“Maybe”—Madison’s eyes didn’t move from Luanne’s—“they’ll make an exception in this case.”
“Jackie,” I said, “call 9-1—”
Luanne punched Madison in the face.
Chapter 16
Madison shouted as she fell back, crashing into a small table holding a display of glass tree ornaments. The table toppled over with a crash and the ornaments fell to the floor in a shower of colored glass.
Madison touched a finger to her nose. It came away covered with blood. She screamed.
The watching customers screamed. Jackie screamed. I might have screamed.
Luanne moved in for the kill. She aimed another punch, but her aim was off as I’d grabbed her arm, and the blow bounced off Madison’s cheek. Luanne shoved me aside with more force than I’d have believed her capable of, and I bounced against the wall. My head spun. Madison’s eyes were narrow slits, her mouth a thin red line, and I thought of an expression I’d once heard: “his blood was up.” She growled, low in her throat, and lifted her fists.
Luanne held her ground.
Women scattered for the safety of the walls or behind the sales counter. “Help, help!” Jackie screamed. I hoped she was yelling into her phone. “They’re killing each other.”
Madison’s hand shot out and she grabbed one of the porcelain Mrs. Claus dolls and swung it like a bat.
“No!” I yelled.
No one paid the slightest bit of attention to me.
Luanne edged backward, keeping her eyes fixed on her enemy. Madison stepped forward, swinging the doll by the legs. Madison’s hair and eyes were wild; blood streaked the skin beneath her nose.
Mattie’s barking came loud and steady, getting increasingly frantic.
Madison swung Mrs. Claus at Luanne’s head. Luanne saw the move coming and dropped to a crouch. The blow went wide, and the force of it whipping through the empty air caused Madison to stagger. Luanne grabbed a box of wooden place mats off a display shelf as she dropped and smashed it into Madison’s left leg. Madison’s leg gave way and she fell hard into the table displaying the lovely Christmas-themed afternoon-tea setting. Delicate china teapots, cups and saucers, side plates, and the three-tiered serving tray crashed to the floor. She grabbed a surviving teacup and smashed it against the table. It shattered, leaving Madison gripping the handle and shards of fine bone china lethally pointing outward. Luanne lifted a place mat showing Santa’s sleigh and the reindeer flying high in the night sky above a pretty little wintry town.
“Stop it! Stop it!” I yelled. I didn’t know what to do. If I stepped in, one of these madwomen was likely to punch me in the face. Or worse.
I heard the oh-so-welcome sound of sirens approaching.
As I dithered over my course of action, Jackie flew past me. She snatched the place mat out of Luanne’s hands and whacked it, hard, onto the outstretched broken teacup Madison was wielding. The cup fell to the floor, and Jackie brandished the place mat like a weapon, driving Madison steadily back.
Luanne whirred around, looking for a new weapon. At last I recovered my wits and grabbed her around the waist. She yelled obscenities and threats at Madison, but didn’t struggle too hard as I pulled her out of the other woman’s range.
The door flew open and two police officers ran in. Candy Campbell’s eyes were wide as she took in the scene. I was physically restraining one of the combatants while Jackie held her place mat in front of her, dipping and dodging to keep Madison at bay. Luanne’s and Madison’s eyes blazed fire and hatred shone from their depths. Customers slowly peeled themselves away from the walls or straightened up, watching it all as though they were at a movie. The floor near the door was littered with broken glass ornaments and fine china. A surviving tea plate shattered as Candy put one of her big boots on it.
“What’s happening here?” Candy’s companion said, as though it weren’t perfectly obvious.
“Get them out of my store!” I yelled. “Both of them! Now.”
“She attacked me,” Madison shouted. “You all saw it. I told you she was crazy. She killed Jeff and she would have killed me.”
“Is that so?” Detective Diane Simmonds strolled into the shop. Behind her, I could see a crowd gathering outside.
“She’s the crazy one,” Luanne cried. “She shouldn’t be saying those things. I had to stop her. She killed Jeff because she couldn’t bear the thought that he was going to marry me. Me! Not her.”
Madison spat. “In your dreams. He—”
“That’s enough of that,” Simmonds said calmly. “Let’s go down to the station and have a chat, shall we?”
“I’ve nothing further to say,” Madison said. She wiped at the blood on her face, smearing it across her cheek. It was not a good look. “I’ve told you where I stand.”
“From where I stand, you both have assault charges pending. Officer Campbell, please take statements from the witnesses.”
The customers smiled and stepped forward, happy to help. They’d be dining out on this story for a long time to come.
“Merry, will you accompany us, please? Ms. O’Reilly, you can disarm yourself now.”
“Oh.” The place mat fell to the floor.
Simmonds studied the remains of my shop. “You’ll probably want to stay closed for the rest of the day. Officer Reynolds, please take that lady to the station. The other one can come with me. Merry, I’ll have to talk to you as well.”
“I’ll walk.” At that moment my knees buckled, and I threw out my arm and rested my hand against the wall. “Maybe I need a minute.”
Jackie took my other arm. “Take deep calming breaths. There you go.”
I looked at her. “You were . . . very effective there. Thank you.”
She smiled modestly. “Kyle’s been teaching me some self-defense moves. He’ll be pleased to hear they worked.”
“Merry,” Simmonds said. “I suggest you settle Matterhorn down. And then you can follow us to the station at your leisure.”
More than barking was coming from the back. It sounded as though Mattie was trying to knock down the office door. Considering how much he weighs, that was entirely possible.
“Get pictures of everything,” I asked Jackie. “We’ll need them for insurance.”
“Sure.”
Candy moved among the customers, taking names and statements. Officer Reynolds bundled Madison out the door and Simmonds took Luanne. Both women had calmed down—at least they’d stopped screaming threats and insults at each other—and handcuffs weren’t needed.
The moment the door opened, I heard the babble of excited voices, everyone demanding to know what was happening.
“There’s always something going on in that place,” Margie Thatcher, owner of Rud
olph’s Gift Nook, the store next to mine, called. “Nothing but trouble, disturbing the peace, police always being called.” She made it sound like my store was some sort of drug den. “They should shut it down.” Margie and I were not friends.
“Luanne!” I thought I recognized Scott Abramsky’s voice. “What’s happening? Luanne, are you all right?”
“Do you have a statement for the press?” Russ Durham asked.
“No,” Simmonds replied.
I ran through the curtain into the back. “I’m okay. I’m okay,” I said to the shuddering door. “Step back, Mattie, I’m coming in.”
I pushed at the door, and it opened. Mattie tried to leap into my arms, and he would have if he didn’t weigh 174 pounds.
I lowered myself to the floor and stretched out my legs. He crawled into my lap, whimpering. I stroked his soft nose and scratched behind his ears. “It’s all okay. The bad ladies have left.” I realized I was talking to myself as much as to my dog.
Gradually, my breathing slowed and my heart began to settle.
Goodness. That had been a nasty scene.
Did it mean anything in the matter of who had killed Jeff? Obviously both Madison and Luanne were quick to anger.
My phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Dad: What’s going on? Are you okay?
Me: Fine. Fight in store. Didn’t involve me or Jackie. I decided not to mention that Jackie had turned before my eyes into a Rudolph version of Xena, Warrior Princess. That might be a bit hard to explain by text.
Finally I pushed Mattie off me and got to my feet. I snapped his leash onto his collar and took him for a short walk in the alley, which would help us both calm down. My phone buzzed again.