“We should leave for your aunt’s house.”
“After we see the sheriff.”
Pinkerton rocked back in his chair. “So you think the woman’s body you found is Mallory Winters.”
“Yes,” Petunia replied.
“But who is the woman staying at Lucy’s house?”
“I haven’t put it all together quite yet, but I believe that Lucy is missing.” Petunia wanted something more substantial to go one before she told the sheriff that she believed Mallory’s twin was staying with Lucy.
“You know how Lucy can be. She’s probably met up with friends,” Pinkerton said.
“Good idea. We’ll check on that.”
“What the sheriff means is that he’s not taking your claims that Lucy is missing seriously,” Noah said.
“Not at this point, but I’ll roll over to Lucy’s house and see if she’s home later. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“I hope you’re planning to check if the woman’s body is Mallory.”
“I’m on it.”
“Good, and we’ll do a little checking of our own to find out who the woman at Lucy’s house really is,” Petunia moved to the door. “Find out if Mallory has any children. I was told she doesn’t, but I can hardly believe an impostor.”
Aunt Maxine frowned. “How many children does Lucy have?” she asked Petunia.
“I thought if anyone knew it would be you.”
She sighed. “Lucy has a daughter, Jeanne, and son, Robert. They both had children at a young age. I believe Robert’s wife gave birth to a set of twins from what I recall.”
“Do you remember their names?”
“Well, Mallory might be one.”
“I found her body at the country club.”
Aunt Maxine fell silent for a moment. “Oh dear, are you certain,” she fretted.
“Mary is the other twin’s name,” Hazel offered.
“Lucy hasn’t seen the girls since they were children. Her son divorced when they were three,” Wanda said, nursing a cup of hot tea in her lap.
“We need to find out more about Mary,” Petunia said.
“And you say you can’t find Lucy?” Hazel asked.
“That’s right.”
“This doesn’t make any sense.” Noah frowned. “Why would Mary trade places with Mallory?”
“Mallory is escaping a husband,” Petunia said. “And she didn’t come to Lucy’s house as expected.”
“If she’s escaping an estranged husband it might not have been safe for her to go there,” Noah agreed.
“Why would Mary say she’s Mallory if her sister has a crazy husband after her?” Aunt Maxine asked.
“Unless the crazy husband is Mary’s and not Mallory’s,” Petunia said.
Noah nodded. “You think Mary gave up her sister to her husband? If they’re twins he might not be able to tell them apart.”
“That’s exactly what I think. He killed Mallory thinking it was really Mary.”
“Whoever called Pinkerton to find a missing woman and a child didn’t mention the woman’s name,” Noah pointed out.
“The sheriff is checking to see if the dead woman is Mallory Winters,” Petunia explained to her aunt.
“So that takes us back to Lucy,” Aunt Maxine said. “Why would Mary want to put Lucy in cold storage?”
“Because she found out who Mary really is,” Petunia offered.
“That would mean Lucy planned to report to the police that Mallory is missing.”
“Which would foil Mary’s plans to rid herself of the crazy soon to be ex.”
“What about Timmy? How does he fit into this? If the husband went after Mallory, who is supposedly Mary, did he take the boy?” Noah asked.
Petunia nodded. “We need to find that man and soon before something happens to Timmy.”
Aunt Maxine fanned her face. “But how long could Mary keep lying before she’s found out?”
“Long enough for her husband to kill Mallory and be sent to prison.”
“You think Mary would really sacrifice her own sister and Lucy?” Aunt Maxine gasped.
“Desperate people do desperate things.”
Noah frowned. “Let’s just hope Mary hasn’t killed Lucy yet.”
“She’d better not, because I got a new wand for Christmas and I’ll zap her into another dimension,” Hazel said with a curt nod.
“So what’s the plan?” Aunt Maxine asked.
“After it gets dark we’re going to Lucy’s house to save her,” Petunia said.
“What about the husband? What if he’s still in town?”
“Pinkerton will handle that, and I have an idea that Timmy might be with him.”
“It might help if we knew the man’s name. He might have left town by now,” Noah pointed out.
Petunia smiled at Deputy Cartwright as she stood in line at the coffee shop.
“I hope you’re not working tonight,” Petunia said.
Cartwright looked down at Petunia, gritting her teeth. “Why? Planning a crime spree?”
“No, I just think it’s awful for anyone to work on Christmas Eve.”
“My job requires it. Don’t worry, I’ll be watching you.”
Pansy shuddered. “That sounds like a threat.”
“Have you found Lucy Winters yet?”
“She’s missing?”
“Well, she wasn’t home when I went there earlier, and her granddaughter was acting strange. I think she’s hiding something.”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be bothered with the likes of you.”
“Meaning what?” Petunia asked as she straightened to her full height, even though Cartwright had a few inches on her.
“I don’t have time right now to be bothered by you. I’m on patrol tonight.”
“Have you found out who Mallory’s next of kin is? I believe she was in the process of getting a divorce.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“The victim’s name is Mallory Winters.”
“The sheriff said the body hasn’t been identified yet,” Cartwright said. “but from my understanding Mallory is staying with her grandmother in town. She could hardly be the same woman’s body you conveniently came across at the country club.”
“Aren’t you concerned about solving this case?” Petunia asked.
“Take it up with the sheriff then. You’ve been chummy lately.”
“We’re both concerned about finding the killer, and you should be too.”
“Here’s you caramel latté,” the girl at the counter said. “Merry Christmas.”
Cartwright paid for her drink and shouldered past Petunia and Noah and disappeared out the door.
“Dealing with that deputy has become impossible.”
“Whatever did you do to her?” Noah asked with a grin and he placed orders for two hot chocolates.
“I went to high school with her. The only thing I ever did is get her an F for our chemistry project. I blew up the chemistry lab.”
Noah’s eyes widened slightly. “That’s hardly a reason to hold a grudge this long.”
“It dropped her grade-point average. She was a brainiac.”
“And yet she chose to stay in Lake Forest and become a deputy.”
“Yes, but she can’t blame me for that.”
After Noah paid they left, making a quick stop home. Bonnie Hopkins was standing on Petunia’s porch. “I’ll catch up with you later, Noah,” Petunia said.
“Not a chance. I’d like to know why the mayor’s wife is here.”
“Bonnie, what a surprise,” Petunia greeted meekly.
“It’s very important that I speak with you both,” Bonnie said.
“Sure, come in.” Petunia unlocked the door and led the way inside.
Pillows were strewn across the floor and papers scattered across the desk. No cats were in sight.
“It appears my cats have gotten a little rambunctious while I’ve been gone,” Petunia said. “I assure you my hou
se doesn’t normally look like this.”
“That’s hardly the reason I’m here.”
Petunia set Pansy down. “Go find Merlin, Gem and Sassy.”
Bonnie forced a smile. “Noah’s decorations have gathered unexpected attention with the contest and all. Cora believes you conjured them up, Petunia.”
“I’m quite aware of that. It’s not true.”
Bonnie frowned. “I thought you might say that, but it appears I’m in a tight spot. I’ll have to disqualify Noah from the contest. He’s not the only one. Decorations of many houses in town mirror those of Noah’s.”
“You mean they’re decorated exactly the same?” Noah asked with a frown.
“Yes, and I didn’t notice until this morning. Apparently the residents worked all night to redecorate.”
Petunia gasped. This meant only one thing: The elves had a busy night. They fooled her and feigned being upset and wanting to go home. They must have gone out after she went to sleep. No wonder they were gone this morning.
“Was Cora’s house redecorated too?” Noah asked.
“Oh no.”
“And she complained today?” Petunia asked.
“For the second time in a few days.”
“So who has been selected as the winner?”
“I’m afraid at this point Cora will be the winner.”
Petunia frowned. “So you’re rewarding her for spinning tales?”
“I wish you wouldn’t look at it like that.”
“There isn’t any other way to look at it. I’m shocked that you’d even consider picking her as the winner,” Noah said. “You’re opening a door you won’t be able to close.”
“Is Cora the only house not redecorated?” Petunia asked.
“So you understand my dilemma.”
“Actually, it’s hardly fair if everyone else in town is disqualified.”
“It’s important to the mayor to appease Cora.”
“What other allowances are you giving her?” Noah asked. “She has the mayor’s ear?”
“I didn’t expect you to be this upset, Noah.”
“I don’t know who redecorated my house, but it wasn’t Petunia’s doing.”
“I’m sorry. I wish there was another way out of this, but I’m afraid I don’t see any other way.” Bonnie glanced at her watch. “I have to be going. I hope you both have a nice Christmas.”
Petunia’s brow shot up as Bonnie made a hasty departure.
“I can’t believe it,” Petunia said. “Cora will be impossible to deal with now.”
“At least we’re too busy trying to investigate to make it to her house tonight.”
“I have a mind to show up and give her a piece of my mind.”
“We won’t have time. We need to see Pinkerton.”
“I’ll meet you at your house. I have a few things I need to handle here first.”
“Sounds good. I have to make sure Melvin is okay. Knowing him, all his food is gone by now.”
“No wonder you think my cats needed to eat so much.”
“Where are they, hiding?”
“I’m almost afraid to see where they went.”
Pansy came running to Petunia when Noah left. He snickered. “Y-you need to c-come into the kitchen.”
“Oh what now?”
Petunia walked into the kitchen and frowned to find her cats on top of the refrigerator. “How on earth did you all get up there?” she asked as if her other cats could communicate with her.
Merlin wailed and Petunia turned to see the elves Chloe and Vincent threatening the cats with a tiny pitchfork.
“What are you doing?” Petunia asked the elves as she attempted to take the tiny pitchfork, receiving a slight jab. “Put that down!”
“We have to defend ourselves from those felines. They almost made a meal out of us,” Vincent asserted.
“They’re too frightened of you to do that,” Petunia insisted.
“That big one chased us off the desk.”
“What did you do to get Merlin so angry?”
“You know Merlin is aggressive for no reason at all,” Pansy said.
“I suppose you’re right, but he was so frightened of them just a day ago.”
“Well, he must have decided to show his dominance today.”
“He is the alpha around here.”
Petunia frowned as she picked up the elves. “You’ve been quite naughty. You were up all night redecorating houses, weren’t you?”
“Yes, but we were so bored. We’re not used to sleeping all night long,” Vincent said.
“We make toys at night,” Chloe agreed.
“I should have bought some model cars for you to put together, or puzzles. Where did you get the same decorations for all the houses in town?”
“We used magic,” Vincent beamed.
“You’ll have to come along with me to stay out of trouble.”
“We can’t do that. We were hoping to catch a ride back with Santa.”
“He doesn’t even know where you are, er or I think he doesn’t.”
“Another unbeliever,” Chloe gasped. “I should have known since you don’t even have a Christmas tree up.”
“I never got around to putting it up.”
“Santa isn’t just for children. I’ll make sure he leaves you a present to prove he’s real.”
Petunia shook her head to remove the cobwebs. “If I allow you to stay behind I expect you both to stay upstairs and quit harassing my cats.”
“We will,” they chimed.
“Hey, wait a minute. I thought the cats couldn’t see you?”
“I told Vincent not to use his magic to give them that ability,” Chloe said. “But he didn’t exactly listen.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
Petunia lifted her cats off the refrigerator and feed them a heaping dish of canned food that she found in the back of the cupboard. Anything to keep them satisfied so that they wouldn’t consider eating the elves. While she could believe the elves were magical, it was ridiculous to think that Santa would really be taking them back to the North Pole.
15
Petunia and Noah climbed the steps of a brick house in Grand Rapids, the residence of Braden Jacobson and Mallory Winters, according to the sheriff. Noah sped the entire way to the city to question Braden, knowing they had limited time. They had to find out if Braden had been jilted and was intent on killing Mallory.
Noah knocked on the door and young man with a day’s worth of stubble on his chin opened the door.
“I already have a church I attend,” he said, “and I’ve made my donations for the year.”
Noah cleared his throat. “We’re not here for that reason.”
“We’d like to talk to you about Mallory Winters,” Petunia added.
“She went to visit her grandmother in Lake Forest.”
“So you weren’t told that a body was found there?” Petunia asked. “It might be better if we come in and speak with you privately. We’ve drawn an audience.”
Braden’s neighbors were slowly walking past, more slowly than you’d expect on Christmas Eve. They stared at Braden, who held open the door.
The three of them stood in the entranceway. Petunia and Noah saw photos of Mallory and Braden hanging in the living room.
“Are you Mallory’s husband?” Petunia asked.
“Who are you?” Braden asked his jaw tightening.
“I’m Petunia and this is Noah. We’re from Lake Forest. I found the body that I believe might be Mallory.”
Braden slumped to the floor. “You must be mistaken. I spoke to her just the other day.”
“We’re very sorry to give you the bad news,” Noah said. “Petunia should have told you the body hasn’t been identified yet.”
“It can’t be her. I refuse to believe it,” Braden said as tears watered his eyes. “Mallory left to spend time with her grandmother for Christmas. I was worried when Lucy called me and said she hadn’t arrived. But then s
he called back the next day when she finally showed up.”
“I was under the impression that Mallory was divorcing you,” Petunia said.
“We’re not married. I’d planned to pop the question, but neither of us were ready to walk down the aisle. And now you’re saying it’s too late.” He wiped the tears that pooled in the corners of his eyes.
“Let’s hold that thought for now,” Noah said, helping Braden back to his feet.
“So if you weren’t married to Mallory, what about Mary. Was she married?” Petunia asked.
“Her sister Mary has a volatile marriage. Mallory mentioned before she left that Mary finally filed for divorce and left him.”
“Was Mary’s husband abusive?” Petunia asked.
“He’s always been possessive. Mallory tried talking her out of marrying Mateo, but she married him anyway. She was three months pregnant at the time.”
“So Mary and Mateo have a child?” Noah asked.
“Yes. He’s three.”
“Is his name Timmy?” Petunia asked.
“You saw him in Lake Forest?”
“With Mallory, actually.”
“She loves the boy. I hoped she’d be able to keep him safe. Mateo isn’t above using the boy to get to Mary. Is he okay?”
“He’s missing. The sheriff is searching for him.”
“I don’t know how Mallory got mixed up in this. Mary must have convinced her to come to Lake Forest and look after Timmy until Mary was able to decide where to go.”
His eyes widened when Petunia asked, “Do you think Mateo capable of murdering Mallory?”
“Why would he murder Mallory? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Unless he thought she was Mary.”
“Mallory did have Timmy with her,” Noah said.
Braden clenched his hands into fists. “That bastard! I’ll kill him myself!”
“Don’t risk your freedom, Braden. It’s not worth it,” Noah said.
“I hope the police in Lake Forest have arrested Mateo.”
“Not yet. They’re trying to sort everything out,” Petunia said. “You didn’t call the sheriff in Lake Forest asking about a missing woman did you?”
“No. Far as I know, Mallory wasn’t missing other than that first night.”
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