Murder at the Mistletoe Ball

by J. D. Griffo

  There would be pop-up stores selling everything from hot chocolate to homemade ornaments, a petting zoo complete with several nonflying reindeer, and a Christmas craft workshop where local artisans would teach kids how to make popcorn garland, Styrofoam snowmen, and licorice candy canes. Strolling carolers would conduct impromptu sing-alongs, Santa Claus would listen to children’s wish lists, and an ice-skating rink would be constructed to let skaters show off their skills. The highlight of the Winter Wonderland would be the giant gingerbread house built by members of the community that would showcase a holiday concert performed by the St. Winifred’s Academy school chorus on Christmas Eve. All of those festivities would give the town a chance to enjoy the playful spirit of the season, to have fun and frolic outdoors. The Mistletoe Ball, on the other hand, was a chance to revel in the elegance and glamor of Christmas Past.

  The black-tie, adults only affair meant that the guests would be sporting their holiday best. Men in tuxes, women in gowns, waiters in white gloves, and decorations that were definitely not fashioned by a child’s clumsy fingers. The Diamond room at the Tranquility Manor had been reimagined as the promised land for those who believed Christmas was best served in style.

  Two silver aluminum Christmas trees complete with garland and ornaments all in red hung upside down from the ceiling, their illuminated red star toppers constantly rotating to sprinkle light onto the crowd below. Vases on every table were filled with red and white poinsettia plants with a cluster of mistletoe in the center, and the tablecloths alternated in color from silver to gold, but all were made of velvet.

  The decorations were not only pleasing to the eye, but the nose as well. Natural pine wreaths decorated the walls and standeliers—standing candelabras that held ten to fifteen balsam-scented candles—were placed around the room. Their scents mixed and mingled to create a yuletide aroma.

  As a way to camouflage the entrances to the kitchen and the utility room, a large tableau was built to depict a modern replica of the North Pole. A portion of a ski chalet could be seen peeking out from a bevy of pine trees, a life-size snowman and snowwoman were taking a stroll in the woods, and beautifully wrapped presents were piled in stacks in the fake snow. Every time a waiter exited or entered the kitchen, they looked like they were emerging or disappearing into a forest. Even the microphone stand that was placed next to the snow couple was wrapped in garland to ensure that it didn’t look out of place. It was a true Christmas cornucopia.

  If Joyce wouldn’t take public credit for being the mastermind behind the entire event, she had no choice but to accept praise from her family.

  “Come un sogno che si avvera,” Alberta gushed, clutching Joyce’s hands.

  “It is like a dream come true, isn’t it?” Joyce said.

  “All thanks to you,” Alberta said.

  “It took a huge team effort to create all this magic,” Joyce replied. “Your handsome beau did a lot of the heavy lifting.”

  “Basta! Stop being such a testarda like Helen,” Alberta said. “None of this would have happened without you.”

  “Even a stubborn old mule like me can admit it,” Helen said, joining the ladies. “Ben fatto, Joyce, well done.”

  Joyce grabbed Alberta and Joyce’s hands and smiled. “What I’m most proud of is that we’re all here together to share this moment. I know things haven’t been easy lately, but it means everything to me that my family is here.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed this for the world,” Alberta said.

  “Also too, when am I ever going to have another chance to wear a gown like this?” Helen asked, borrowing Joyce’s catchphrase.

  “I could say the same thing,” Alberta said. “I know this is nothing new for you, Joyce, but I’ve never been so dressed up in my entire life.”

  “Look at the three of us,” Joyce said. “We’ve come a long way from Hoboken, haven’t we?”

  Indeed, they had. All three women looked spectacular in their festive get-ups, as Alberta called them. Helen was wearing a baby-blue sequined gown with matching bolero jacket that Alberta bought for her at The Clothes Horse, with matching silver shoes and purse that Joyce found for her through a bridal store connection. The former nun’s no-nonsense, short gray hair had been given a bit of a lift that morning by Adrianna from A Cut Above, nothing too drastic, but enough so she looked as chic above the neck as she did below.

  Joyce was wearing a vintage Yves Saint Laurent gown she’d picked up on a shopping spree in Soho in 1992. She fell in love with the shimmery, emerald-green dorian caftan gown that spread out like angel’s wings when she lifted her arms. It took her a few decades to attend an event glitzy enough to wear it, but it was worth the wait.

  It took a while for Alberta to find a gown that she felt comfortable wearing. The only other time she had worn a gown was at her own wedding, having worn tea-length dresses to both her children’s nuptials. Alberta knew that if Sloan was going to stand at her side in a tuxedo, she needed to submit to a makeover.

  After much deliberation, Alberta chose the sixth gown she tried on. Not because the Carolina Herrera piece of couture fit the best, not because it was the most comfortable, but because she could never have envisioned herself wearing something like this before she moved to Tranquility. The gown represented the woman Alberta had become and not the woman she used to be. She would never admit it to anyone, except maybe Sloan after drinking a few glasses of Red Herring, but the gown also made her feel sexy.

  The deep, V-neck top was made of embroidered lace and had a three-quarter sleeve that accentuated Alberta’s bosom while smoothing her waistline. The bottom was pleated chiffon that flowed when she moved. What made the outfit so breathtaking was its color: eye-catching fuchsia. Alberta was making a statement, no one could not help but notice she was a forceful presence in the room, not even Alberta herself.

  She had joined Helen at A Cut Above earlier and let Adrianna style her hair with a bit more pouf and height than normal. She even let her hairdresser apply makeup beyond the usual dash of lipstick she wore. Her gold crucifix, diamond studs, and the bracelet Sloan bought her for their anniversary were her only accessories. The dress made enough of a fuss, she thought, it didn’t need any extra help.

  Looking around the room, Alberta thought, Venite tutti voi fedeli, “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” it was a who’s who of Tranquility’s finest. Everywhere they turned they saw someone they knew. Luke, the orderly from the morgue, was munching on hors d’oeuvres and chatting with Tambra, Vinny’s second in command; Pedro Suarez, the medical examiner, was admiring the jewelry that Donna, St. Winifred’s Academy’s principal, wore; D. Edward Carmichael, dressed up as Santa Claus for the occasion, was listening intently to something Dr. Manzini was whispering in his ear; Sanjay was very animatedly telling a story that made Wyck and Benny from The Herald laugh hysterically; and Kwon, who had closed the diner early to attend, seemed to be flirting with Virginia, the organist at St. Winifred’s.

  The trio were so engrossed in their people watching, they didn’t know they were being stared at until they were approached by another equally well-dressed trio.

  Sloan, Father Sal, and Vinny all greeted the women with appropriate accolades, kisses, and surprised expressions. They had known the women for quite some time, in some cases decades, but they had never seen them dressed so formally before. Father Sal, not one for being subtle, bowed in front of Helen.

  “Finally, your outside beauty has matched the beauty that emanates from within,” Father Sal said.

  “I see you’ve been nipping from the holy chalice already,” Helen said. “You might want to pace yourself, Sal, it’s going to be a long night.”

  “Now I understand why you wanted me to meet you here,” Sloan said, holding Alberta’s hand. “Had I seen you like this at home we may never have gotten out of the kitchen.”

  Alberta blushed and playfully slapped Sloan on the shoulder. “You look rather handsome yourself.”

  She was right, Sloan did look handsome
, and so did Father Sal, in their simple tuxes. Despite how put together they looked, however, no man in the room could hold a candle to Vinny. He was movie-star glamorous from head to toe and cut the kind of powerful figure that the camera, and every woman around him, adored.

  Square jawed and standing at six foot four, Vinny wore a single-breasted Armani tuxedo with satin lapels that fit him so perfectly it reminded everyone he had the shoulders of a linebacker and the waist of a man half his age. His black bow tie was oversize, his black onyx cuff links were dazzling, his black socks had a bit of a shimmer to them, and his black patent leather loafers in a wide-width size thirteen all worked together to make quite a fashion statement.

  “Holy Marlon Brando!” Helen shrieked. “You missed your calling, Vinny, you coulda been a contender.”

  “Never mind me,” Vinny said. “You ladies look sensational!”

  “Never mind us.” Alberta gasped. “The lady entering the ballroom right now is going to steal all our thunder.”

  Along with everyone else in the room, the group turned to the front entrance, and for a few seconds the only sound that could be heard was the instrumental version of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” that was flowing from the speakers. If anyone could have spoken, they would have said Do you see what I see? but the power of speech was momentarily lost as Jinx, holding Freddy’s hand, entered the room. It was a sight to behold.

  The bright red satin Versace dress was a marvel of construction, loosely draped and body hugging at the same time. The long sleeves were full, tapering to a three-inch cuff at the wrist, the plunging neckline and bodice—accented at the waist by a large flowing bow—was formfitting, but it was the body of the gown that made Jinx look like a model taking ownership of the runway. The full skirt was a wraparound, which meant that every time Jinx took a step, her left leg emerged from within the undulating fabric and caused the material to ripple behind her like a satiny breeze. She wore her favorite Jimmy Choo cocktail sandals in sparkling silver with a three-inch heel that had thick straps across the bridge of her foot and around her ankle. She couldn’t make a wrong move if she tried.

  Jinx took advantage of the natural volume of her hair and had it styled so it was parted on one side, falling in massive waves on the right side of her face, while the left side was held back by a ruby-and-rhinestone hair clip. It was a dramatic look that was accentuated by her makeup: bronzed lips, defined cheekbones, and just a hint of burgundy eye shadow.

  “Holy mackerel,” Alberta said.

  “Holy cow,” Helen said.

  “Also too, holy Gina Lollobrigida,” Joyce added.

  It may have appeared that Jinx was channeling Lola’s namesake, but if you asked her, she paled in comparison to how Freddy looked. She knew the guests were making a fuss over her ensemble, but she took one look at Freddy, who was resplendent from the neck down in a perfectly tailored tuxedo, but from the neck up quite the opposite thanks to his trademark unmanageable mop of thick, brown hair and floppy ears, and Jinx thought he was the handsomest man in the world. By the way Freddy was grinning, she was confident he knew how she felt.

  The luminous couple joined the rest of their family, and after several minutes of exchanging compliments and oohing and aahing over how sensational everyone looked, they realized the entire family wasn’t present.

  “Where are my parents?” Jinx asked.

  “I thought they were coming with you, lovey,” Alberta replied.

  “No, my mother told me she was going to drive over with Aunt Joyce,” Jinx said.

  “I had to get here early to make sure everything was running smoothly,” Joyce said. “Your mother told me she would come with you.”

  “Have you checked your phone?” Alberta said. “Maybe she texted to say she’s running late.”

  “I left my phone in the car,” Jinx said.

  “I thought that thing was surgically attached to your hand,” Helen said.

  “I had no place to carry it,” Jinx said. “I can barely fit my underwear underneath this dress.”

  “Ah Madon!” Alberta said. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”

  “Never fear, it’s the boyfriend to the rescue,” Freddy said, pulling out Jinx’s cell phone from his inside pocket. “I knew you weren’t going to last five minutes without this thing.”

  “Thank you, Freddy,” Jinx said. She took the phone from Freddy’s hand and was relieved to see a text from her mother. “They’re running late.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” Alberta said.

  “They better!” Jinx cried. “Otherwise they’re going to miss seeing Freddy get his award.”

  “What award?” Freddy asked.

  Jinx’s eyes grew wide as she looked at her boyfriend and the rest of the group. They were all staring at her wearing confused expressions. Joyce and Sloan were the only ones who seemed to know what she was talking about—most likely because they were both privy to the night’s scheduled festivities. Following the induction and before the first course, Bambi was going to announce the winner of this year’s Small Business Owner of the Year award that thanks to Jinx’s slip of the tongue everyone knew would be presented to Freddy as the owner of Freddy’s Ski ’n Scuba Shoppe.

  “Dude!” Freddy shouted. “Am I getting the award?”

  “I’m so sorry,” Jinx said. “Forget I said anything and just act surprised.”

  “If you’d like to get some practice, turn around,” Sloan said. “Here comes Bambi.”

  “Would you get a load of those headlights?” Helen asked.

  “Now I know what it must’ve been like to be Sophia Loren sitting next to Jayne Mansfield at that Hollywood dinner party,” Father Sal said.

  Indeed, Bambi was a sight to behold. Her plus-size frame was wrapped in a sleeveless, gold lamé corset dress with a mermaid skirt. She wore a gold mesh necklace, a gold snake bracelet, and gold drop earrings. It appeared that she had either spent time in a tanning booth or had lathered bronzer all over her body because she glimmered in the light, making her look like she could have starred in the James Bond film Goldfinger. Luckily, the woman didn’t have to save the world or dodge an insane mastermind hell-bent on destroying it, she simply had to waddle a few steps to the microphone to make a speech.

  Unfortunately, before she could say one word, Alberta noticed something odd about the life-size snowwoman. It was supposed to be standing next to the snowman, but instead it was starting to tilt to the other side. The other odd thing was that she was bleeding.

  A thin stream of blood was running down the left side of the snowwoman’s body. Alberta got up, but before she could move toward the tableau to investigate the scene further, the snowwoman fell onto her left shoulder and rolled onto her back. Bambi looked annoyed at being upstaged by an oversize Christmas decoration, but her attitude changed when the snowwoman’s body cracked open at the seam to reveal what had been hidden inside. She stumbled backward at the sight, knocking over several trees in the process, until D. Edward Carmichael, still dressed as Santa Claus, came up behind her, grabbing her around the shoulders to keep her upright.

  The rest of the guests reacted in the same way, screaming and holding on to one another, all except the people at Alberta’s table. They were silent and couldn’t move because they were terrified. Yes, they were stunned to see Natalie Vespa lying motionless in the shell of the snowwoman with blood covering her entire chest. What was more horrifying, however, was when they looked up and saw Sergio standing in the doorway of the ski chalet, an equally bloody knife dangling from his hand.

  CHAPTER 15

  Non così buon Natale.

  Ounholy night.

  The first words that appeared on Alberta’s lips weren’t meant for anyone else but God. The words themselves were barely a whisper, but the Lord’s Prayer had never been spoken with more intensity and urgency. These words had to reach their receiver, these words had to make an impact, her grandson’s life depended upon it.

  There was chaos all around
Alberta as she stood motionless, having her private, pivotal conversation with the Almighty. But she had learned some important lessons over the past few years, and one of them was that she always needed to be aware of her surroundings no matter how panicked she felt. Clues were always hiding in plain sight.

  Unmoving, she watched as Pedro knelt next to Natalie’s body holding her wrist, presumably searching for a pulse. His fool’s errand was rewarded as expected and he shook his head. He informed everyone that the woman, as everyone in the ballroom suspected, was dead.

  Alberta watched as Benny’s professional instincts kicked in and he took photos of the dead body and the surrounding activity with his phone as Wyck, standing next to him, typed furiously on his. The Mistletoe Ball was going to make headlines in The Herald for all the wrong reasons. Dr. Manzini had joined Carmichael and Bambi at the microphone, and they were looking at Natalie’s body with almost an air of curiosity. They were, after all, medical professionals and had seen their fair share of death, so that wasn’t highly unusual and after a moment their more human instincts kicked in. Carmichael made the sign of the cross, Kylie wiped tears from her eyes, and Bambi gripped the microphone stand to steady herself. The rest of the attendees were either gasping in horror, whispering in shock, or navigating the crowd to get a closer look at the evening’s surprise guest. Alberta had waited long enough; it was time for her to take action.

  Jinx had the same thought, and without saying a word, she and Alberta clasped hands and walked toward the scene of the crime. They heard footsteps and commotion all around them, but they maintained their focus. They had one mission in mind and that was to get to Sergio. Vinny had other ideas.

  “Alfie, stop,” Vinny said.

  Alberta and Jinx turned around to see Vinny and Tambra walking toward them. She could tell that Vinny had addressed her as the chief of police and not her longtime friend. She understood that he had a job to do, but he needed to understand that she had her own task to perform, and that was to make sure her grandson knew he wasn’t alone. She trusted Vinny would respect that.