Candy Canes, Corpses and the Gothic Haunt

by Rachael Stapleton

  “Or someone is bypassing the alarm.”

  “Wouldn’t there be some evidence of that?” Juniper asked.

  “Not if it’s done right.” Pike replied.

  “And you know this how?”

  Pike shrugged. “Eve.”

  Juniper hadn’t considered the possibility of someone bypassing the system. It was a question she’d have to ask the alarm company. “Who would know how to do something like that?” Juniper said.

  “Certainly not Sally,” Pike said. “We’ll figure it out, though. I suggest we get together later and brainstorm.”

  The last brainstorming session at their book club meeting hadn’t accomplished anything. Juniper wasn’t sure a repeat would be any better. “I don’t know when I can fit it in. I have a lot to do today.”

  “It’s Boxing Day. I’m not taking no for an answer.” She raised a hand when Juniper objected. “I’ve already discussed it with Mallory and Eve. We’ll do whatever it takes to figure this thing out.”

  Eve, too? Juniper tried to blink away the tears in her eyes but Pike saw them. She crushed her to her green-and-white striped chest.

  “Don’t you worry, Junie,” she said, patting her back. “It’s going to be all right.”

  ***

  “What do you mean I can’t go into my own Inn yet?” Juniper said to Cody Lumos later that morning. “I have to get ready to open.”

  “It’s only for another hour. Surely you can wait that long.”

  “I don’t understand why.”

  Cody rubbed his jaw, a gesture she’d seen him do a thousand times. Mostly when faced with Eve Banter. Juniper had called Kaden earlier and left a voice mail asking if she could take the tape down. Instead of calling back, he’d sent Cody. “We want to take one more look to make sure we didn’t miss anything. We’ll be out of your hair as soon as we can,” he said.

  Another hour wouldn’t make or break her, but she was tired and cranky. She wanted to take control of at least one thing—even something as minor as cleaning up the crime scene. “I really need to get in there.”

  “One hour.”

  “Fine,” Juniper said, and stalked back to the apartment where Jack gloated that he’d been right. Somewhat reluctantly, she curled up on the couch with him, ate chocolate and watched a Christmas movie. She hated to admit it but it was just what she needed.

  Kaden was just leaving the Inn when she arrived two hours later.

  “There you are,” he said. “I was wondering where you got to. Cody told me you were a little annoyed with him.”

  “He wouldn’t let me into the Inn.” It seemed petty now. “But that’s okay,” Juniper added quickly. “Is he still here? I should probably apologize.”

  “He left a few minutes ago. They’re all finished up. I wanted to make sure they didn’t miss anything, especially since… ” He didn’t finish the sentence.

  “Since what?”

  “Let’s have a seat.” He took her by the elbow and they sat at the nearest table.“First, I owe you an apology,” he said.

  “For what?”

  “For not taking you seriously when you were convinced Feliz Merlot’s death wasn’t an accident.” Kaden leaned back in his chair. “I spent most of the morning with the medical examiner. To make a long story short, he now thinks it’s possible the weapon that killed Sally was also used on Feliz.”

  Juniper wasn’t surprised but she bit her tongue.

  “What was the weapon?”

  “We’re not sure at this point. Possibly something metal, like a crowbar, a bat, a pipe, or even a tool of some kind.”

  “What kind of tool? A hammer?”

  He shook his head. “No. That would . . . well . . . it wasn’t a hammer.”

  Juniper told Kaden about Evan’s hammer and what Evan had overheard Sally say.

  “That would explain why Sally was here. He could get back at all of you with one simple move.” Kaden stood. “I’d better have Cody go talk with him.”

  “Why not you?”

  “Cody’s primary. With my connection to all of you, it wouldn’t be good for me to stay on.”

  “Oh.” She should have known that. Since he was Jack’s family, the powers that be wouldn’t want him leading the investigation. “Oh, one more thing. You said it could be a bat right?”

  Kaden nodded.

  “This is a total long shot, and I don’t really believe it but Louise keeps a bat and threatens the teenagers with it. She did have a fight with Feliz before someone killed him and I don’t believe she was a fan of Sally either. Pike told me Sally dated Rudolph for a bit before Louise hooked up with him.”

  Kaden promised to look into it and then he headed out.

  Twenty Four

  _____________

  I T was a gorgeous morning, and when Juniper turned the corner onto Main Street, she spotted some new red posters stapled to telephone poles advertising the protest tomorrow night. It wasn’t enough to completely ruin Juniper’s good mood of the morning, but it did tamp it down a bit.

  Juniper waved to Pike, who was at the counter in the cafe as she passed. The shop looked busy. Even Rudolph was an early bird this morning. Juniper could see him unloading merchandise from boxes inside the gift store.

  After Juniper deactivated the alarm, the first thing she did was check the motion detectors to make sure they were in the same position. Juniper was relieved to see that they were. Maybe Sally’s death—whether intentional or not—had been enough to make the killer think twice about coming back. Probably not, but she could hope.

  Juniper left her purse and keys on her desk and headed to the attic to finish unpacking. She was hanging some art when she ran out of picture hangers. As she dropped down onto a stool, she thought more about what Pike had said—that maybe the alarm had been tampered with. Someone from the alarm company was coming the next day at four to check the system and go over a few things with her. It was the only explanation that made sense.

  The phone ringing interrupted her thoughts. It was Pike asking—actually more like demanding—that Juniper meet up with her, Mallory, and Eve at Cookies & Corsets in an hour. That didn’t give her much time to get a few things done.

  She glanced at the clock on the wall; maybe she’d pay Ron a visit and kill two birds with one stone.

  She took a deep breath before she entered the hardware store. There were no customers at the moment and Ron Baron looked up expectantly when the bells on the door jingled—until he saw her, that is.

  “You have a lot of nerve showing yourself here after what happened to Sally.” He reached for the phone on the counter. “I’m calling the police.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll be happy to wait.” Juniper pulled her cell phone out of the front pocket of her pants. “I’ll even call them for you.”

  That must not have been the response he expected because he put the receiver back down. “Don’t bother. Just tell me what you want, then get the hell out.”

  Juniper leaned against the counter. “Your friends with Evan and Sally and I want to know what Sally was doing in my wine cellar last night.”

  “What kind of drugs are you on, girl? You told her to come. To meet you at the Inn at seven o’clock.”

  A chill went through her. “I did not.”

  “That’s what Sally told me. She said you sent her a note.”

  Juniper’s voice shook. “Mr. Baron, I never sent Sally any kind of note.”

  Ron stared at her. “You’re delusional. I’ve had enough of this conversation. As far as I’m concerned, Sally was murdered, and we both know who did it.” He pointed at her. “You did. And you can bet I’m going to let the police know all about you.”

  “Mr. Baron . . .”

  “Get out of my store.”

  Juniper turned and left. She should have realized Ron Baron would react badly to Sally’s death. They were friends, after all. While Juniper didn’t expect him to welcome her with open arms, she never thought he’d accuse her of murder. He couldn’t possib
ly think that she’d killed Sally. The idea was totally ridiculous. The more Juniper thought about it, the angrier she became and the faster she walked.

  “Miss! Wait a minute.”

  Juniper stopped and turned around. It was one of the clerks who worked in the hardware store. He jogged down the alley until he reached her.

  “Thanks for waiting.” He paused to catch his breath. “Sorry. I’m not used to running like that.”

  “That’s okay,” Juniper said, at the same time wondering why he’d run after her. Maybe Mr. Baron sent him.

  “I was in the storeroom and I overheard your conversation with Ron,” he said. “Don’t take what he said literally. He’s just upset. When Sally came to see him, she was really bent out of shape. Evan had broken things off with her. She kept ranting that it was your fault. That you’d ruined both of her relationships and she was leaving town for good.”

  “Really,” Juniper said.

  “He and Sally had an argument about it. Ron encouraged her to meet with you instead of running away. He said it was time to settle your differences. He even told Sally he’d go with her for support.”

  “Did Mr. Baron go with her?”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I was done working at five and went home. I just thought you’d want to know the whole story.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  He nodded. “Ron’s a good guy. I’m sure he didn’t mean what he said to you.”

  Juniper thanked him for the information and they went their separate ways. So Ron Baron had talked Sally into meeting with Juniper. If Ron accompanied Sally to the Inn, that meant only one thing: Ron Baron had killed her and he was trying to shift the blame to her to hide his own guilt.

  Twenty Five

  _____________

  E VE rapped her little toy soldier on the table. “I call this meeting of Junie’s Merry Militia to order.”

  Juniper almost choked on her cappuccino. “Junie’s Merry Militia?”

  “I told her it was a bit much,” Mallory said.

  “We need a name. Every good vigilante group has a name.” Eve held her nose in the air. “I happen to like it.”

  “It’s stupid,” Dani said.

  “You’re stupid,” Eve retorted

  “Oh, who’s the little girl, now?”

  Penelope waved her hand in the air before another argument broke out. “We are not a vigilante group or a militia. There will be no weapons… do you hear me, Eve?”

  Eve huffed. “Roger, dodger.”

  “Now let’s get on with this.” Penny pulled a notebook and a pen from her bag. “So, what do we know so far?” She didn’t wait for answers. “One—someone doesn’t want Juniper to open her taproom.” She scrawled this down on the pad. “Two—two people have been killed. Three—”

  “This is a waste of time.” Eve snatched the pad and pen from Penny. “We know all this crap. What we need is a strategy. Cowboys don’t make lists. They saddle up and go in guns blazing.”

  “And what exactly do you propose, John Wayne?” Pike asked. “If you’re planning a gun fight, I’ve got news for you—”

  “Let her have her say,” Mallory said. “She does have a point. We could use a plan of attack.”

  Pike leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well. Looks like I’m out gunned.”

  “Okay,” Eve said. “I won’t rehash what we know. I’m no Detective Lumos, but it’s pretty obvious that the same person killed Feliz and Sally. What we need to know is what or who they have in common with the Inn?” She pulled out a diagram of the street and all the businesses.

  “Where did you get that?” Penny asked.

  “I stole it from the mayor’s office.”

  Penny closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “What? It’s public record.”

  “That doesn’t mean you get a five-finger discount,” Penny clarified.

  Eve pointed to the Gothic Haunt with the pen. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this. What’s so important about the Inn and who wants to keep it from opening?”

  “That lady who plastered the red posters all over the place,” Mallory said.

  Eve nodded. “Yes, good. I saw those posters. I propose we all go to that meeting.”

  “We were already planning to go.” Pike said.

  “Well, help me out. This is a team effort, don’t you know?” Eve said. “Give me your input.”

  Mallory chimed in. “Maybe the killer wants the building for some other reason.”

  “Maybe someone wants to open their own Inn,” Pike said.

  The three of them went back and forth with ideas. Juniper tried to interrupt several times to tell them what she knew.

  Pike finally noticed Juniper. “Something wrong, Junie?”

  “I appreciate everyone’s help,” Juniper said. “But none of the ideas take Sally into account.”

  “The girl’s right.” Eve patted her hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but Feliz Merlot’s death at least makes sense. It was a way to get to you.”

  Juniper smiled at Eve. “No offense taken. And you were right that the two murders are related.” Juniper relayed what the medical examiner had told Kaden, then filled them in on her conversation with Ron Baron and what the store clerk had said. “If Feliz and Sally were killed with some kind of tool,” Penny said, “and Ron went with Sally last night, that gave him both means and opportunity.”

  “That’s true,” Juniper said. “But I can’t figure out what his motive would be. I can’t think of any reason why Ron would want to stop the Inn from opening. Or why he’d kill someone who was supposedly his friend.”

  “Umm, hello,” Dani chimed in. “He lives next door. Has it not occurred to anyone that the dude might not want a bar next door?”

  “The youngster’s got a point. And maybe Sally’s murder wasn’t planned,” Eve said. “What if Ron accompanied her to set her up, but Sally figured out what he was doing? Then she’d have to be eliminated, or she’d blow the whistle.”

  “You may be onto something,” Juniper said. “But let’s look at everyone. Who else would want to keep the Inn and Taproom from opening?”

  “The red-poster lady,” Eve said. “Now that we got a couple of suspects, what’s our plan?”

  Penny lifted the pen from Eve’s hand. “I know exactly what we’re going to do.”

  Ten minutes later they had a plan. Or rather, Penny did. Juniper didn’t especially like it—except for going to the Bohemian Lake Historical Society meeting—but at this point, she was too tired to argue. The six of them planned to take shifts when they could to keep an eye on the Inn. Pike and Mallory were going to watch in the early evening from inside the café. Penny and Dani were going to take the late evening and planned on sitting in Penny’s car in the cemetery parking lot, where she could see the back door. Juniper’s job was to canvass the neighborhood like she’d been doing. And Eve? Well, starting tomorrow, it seemed Juniper now had a security guard.

  Instead of going straight back to the Gothic Haunt, Juniper the deli up the street to pick up some sandwiches. It was almost three, and she hadn’t eaten lunch. This time of day, the deli wasn’t crowded. Rudolph Windsor sat at one of the tables with a man Juniper didn’t recognize. They were engaged in what appeared to be an intense conversation. Juniper figured she’d wait to say hello.

  Rocco Deer was at the counter. “I heard the news, Junie. I couldn’t believe it happened again. Is there anything I can do?”

  “I don’t think so, but thanks for asking.” Juniper ordered two turkey sandwiches with the works. She was just about to leave when Rudolph’s companion suddenly got loud.

  Juniper looked at Rocco, who shrugged. He didn’t know what it was all about, either.

  ***

  Juniper watched as Gary, the alarm guy, opened the panel and checked everything there was to check. “I don’t see any problems here,” he said. “Let’s take a look at your keypad.” He had her set and deactivate the alarm sev
eral times. It worked just fine.

  “I don’t get it,” Juniper said. “Could someone have tampered with it?”

  Gary shook his head. “If anyone messed with it, it would set off a tamper alarm. You have motion detectors, don’t you?”

  Juniper nodded. “They were set off the other day.”

  He crossed the taproom to the motion detector that faced the door and pointed to it. “There’s your problem. It’s turned up. Not gonna get any motion there unless you’re dancing on the ceiling.” He checked the others. All three had been pivoted on their mounting brackets to face upward.

  Juniper’s anger hadn’t dissipated much by the time Gary left. He’d repositioned the motion detectors and advised her that she might want to add a surveillance system. When he told her the cost, she thought about advising him on where he could shove his surveillance system.

  Jack listened to her ranting without complaint. They sat at the bar and cracked a bottle of wine. “So moving the motion detectors explains why the alarm hasn’t gone off,” Juniper said, “but it doesn’t explain why there’s no sign of a break-in.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” he said. “Any ideas?”

  “None. I’m totally stumped.”

  “The motion sensors were activated once, right?”

  Juniper nodded.

  “Maybe that’s the night they were moved.”

  “That makes sense, depending on how long it took for the police to respond,” Juniper said. “The alarm company called me first to make sure it wasn’t a false alarm. I think it took me about fifteen minutes to get here and the police only beat me by a minute or two.”

  “Then it was probably another couple of minutes before you entered. Definitely enough time to move them.”

  Juniper took a large swig of her wine.

  “I think we should consider the surveillance cameras. There’s a good chance this person will just do the same thing again.”

  “I know what to look for now. Those cameras are way out of our budget.”

  “Junie, we’re fine.”

  “Absolutely not.”