Claus for Alarm

by Gretchen Allen

  “We weren’t supposed to meet. She’d have had no reason to be at my house, and like I said before, we weren’t exactly best buddies or anything, so she wouldn’t have dropped by to bring me cookies or something.” Hannah hesitated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Is it bad that I’m still worried about seeing Teddy even after everything else that happened?”

  “Of course not. Both things are important. I do want to reiterate that I had no idea he was coming over. I was as shocked as you were. The whole reason Emmy couldn’t take part in the exchange was because Teddy was in town, and she didn’t want to take time away from him to bake.”

  “And then the next thing we know, she has him baking with her and delivering you cookies? Yeah, I know.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “I don’t mean to be rude or place my efforts where they don’t belong, but it doesn’t make any sense to me. Teddy baking is preposterous. He’d never do that.”

  Charlotte knew Hannah was having a hard time with everything. Not only had Kira been found in her yard, but the love of her life had shown up out of the blue. Trying to split up your feelings between the two of those things without feeling like you were making a poor choice had to be hard.

  “Well, Hannah. Is it any more preposterous than you baking?” Charlotte asked, hoping she hadn’t overstepped.

  Hannah slid her mug over and rested her head on Charlotte’s table. “No. I suppose it’s not,” she mumbled.

  “I don’t know Teddy from a hole in the wall, but it really burns my biscuits that he’d just up and leave you the way that he did. Since we don’t know the reasoning behind it, all we can do is assume that people change. What would Teddy say if someone told him you were baking?” Charlotte asked, tapping Hannah’s arm.

  “The same thing I said. Or that he was glad he wasn’t around, because anything I made would likely poison someone.” Hannah chuckled. “I get it. You’re right. Again.”

  “Let’s get back to the other thing you wanted to know. You asked why I thought so highly of you. The truth is, I felt drawn to you from the beginning. You work hard, have a good head on your shoulders, and you were kind to the strange old woman who knocked on your door and all but barged in forcing you to let her help,” Charlotte admitted.

  “You didn’t barge in! My house could have been on fire. I had to go check the smoke alarm.”

  “How did you know I was referring to myself? I did say old woman, didn’t I? Are you calling me old?” Charlotte teased.

  “What?! Oh, no. I didn’t mean…” Hannah rambled.

  “I’m joking. I was trying to lighten the mood a little. What’s going on right now is serious, and we need to let it be serious, but also keep a little humor about ourselves. Otherwise, we won’t ever make it through.”

  Hannah nodded. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re here. I don’t know how it all worked out this way, but I’m glad Ian’s mom got sick and you came in her place. From what little I remember of her, she was a nice woman and it’s terrible she’s ill, but it’s you who I need. You’ve been so wonderful.”

  “That means quite a bit. I’m glad I’m here too, and I’m sure Ian won’t mind that you’re staying with me until you can go back to your house.”

  Hannah’s cellphone rang, and she dismissed herself from the kitchen for a moment to take the call. Charlotte watched as the younger woman spoke. The longer she was on the phone, the sadder her expression became. Finally, she ended the call. Her shoulders slumped, and she flopped her body down on the couch, bending over and putting her head in her hands.

  Charlotte wanted to give Hannah a moment to process whatever had happened, but when she heard the soft sobbing get louder, she raced to Hannah’s side.

  “What happened? Is everything okay?” Charlotte asked, sitting next to Hannah.

  The sobs were more frequent, but once Hannah finally caught her breath, she spoke. “I need a ride. You didn’t bring a car with you. Can you drive?”

  “I didn’t bring a car because I don’t like highway driving, but yes, I can drive,” Charlotte replied. “Where do you need to go?”

  Charlotte assumed that Hannah was too upset to drive herself.

  “I need to go to the police station. That was Franco. He was at the office and heard that the… that the…” Hannah burst into tears again.

  Charlotte tried to console Hannah, enveloping her into a hug. “That what, honey?”

  “That the… No! You know what?” Hannah said, getting up and wiping away her tears. “I’m not going to let this get to me. I was going to ask for a ride to the police department so I could get to them before they got to me. Franco heard that they’d found the murder weapon buried in the snow by Kira’s body. It was a knife, and after searching my house, they believe it was one of mine. But lots of people have the same knives, right? Just because Franco heard something doesn’t mean it’s true, right?” Hannah asked again, her strength wavering.

  Charlotte sighed. One thing that didn’t make sense to her was how Franco had heard about something like that to begin with. “How do you know it’s true? Why are the police going to your office to talk about something like that? Normally, things like evidence are kept hush-hush.”

  “We’re a small town. The secretary in the department likes Franco. She could have come in with a plateful of pastries and blabbed about it to him just because she knows he works for me and would tell me. Like some sort of insider information would make him like her or something.”

  “Well, then. Like you said, lots of people have the same set of knives. If the police thought it belonged to you, then I’m sure they’d be on top of it, rather than waiting. You were just there this morning, anyway. They’d certainly have mentioned it.”

  As if the universe was playing a cruel joke, there was a knock on Charlotte’s front door.

  “Detective Carter. I’m looking for Hannah Sutton. We were told she was staying here,” a man spoke when Charlotte opened the door.

  “Good morning. I’m Charlotte Claus. How are you today?” Charlotte asked.

  “Of course. My apologies. Good morning,” he said, with a slight nod. “Is Hannah here?”

  “She is,” Charlotte answered, turning around.

  Hannah was already standing, getting her shoes on. “I’m coming. You’re taking me in, right?”

  “I’m not.” Detective Carter shook his head. “However, we do need you to come down to the department. I can take you, or you can drive yourself, but…” he began.

  “Charlotte, would you mind driving me?” Hannah asked. “I have a feeling I won’t be leaving anytime soon. Listen, Detective, do you mind if I get there in about thirty-minutes?”

  “That will be fine. Like I said, we just have some questions,” the detective said.

  “I know how it works. I’ll be there soon,” Hannah said, simply before going in the other direction.

  Once the detective had left, Charlotte went in search of Hannah. At first, she had been surprised at the abrupt nature of their interaction. In a million years, Charlotte wouldn’t speak that way to an officer of the law. She knew Hannah hadn’t been rude, but it was a murder investigation, after all. Charlotte didn’t believe Hannah was responsible, but if Franco was right, and it was one of her knives, Hannah did have some explaining to do. She’d be there to help her in any way that she could, but Charlotte didn’t want Hannah to get herself in trouble. Mayor or not, she still had to follow the law.

  “Hannah?” Charlotte asked, going into the spare bedroom. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m emailing Franco a list of things he needs to do while I’m gone. If this all goes the way I think it might, I’m not going to be at work for a while.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  Charlotte was worried Hannah was admitting to something. If the knife wasn’t hers, why would it make a difference? If it was, well, Charlotte could only hope that it wasn’t Hannah who had actually killed Kira. There had to be another explanation.

  Hannah looked up fro
m her laptop. “If you’re thinking that I’m doing this because I think they’re going to throw me in jail, that’s not it. I’m logical. That’s how I got this far in life. I didn’t kill Kira. I wouldn’t ever kill anyone, but I’m a public figure who had a body found in her yard. Whether the knife they found is mine or not, my time as mayor is going to come to a halt. No one is going to take me seriously, and I can’t really blame them. I fully expect there to be a stand-in until all of this blows over. I can’t deny that, and I can’t make it stop, but what I can do, is figure out who killed Kira and why it happened in my yard. That’s the only way I can expedite the process, and that’s just what I intend to do. Now, if you can give me a few more minutes, I’ll be ready to go.”

  Charlotte looked at Hannah for a moment before leaving the room. Hannah made a good point, but her lack of emotion was frightening. She’d cried, of course, which was normal, but suddenly she’d gone from sad to overly determined. Charlotte hadn’t been through something like this before, so she wasn’t entirely sure how someone was supposed to react. She could only hope that this wasn’t how a killer acted. Hannah was sweet and kind, and generous. Certainly, Charlotte wasn’t wrong about that.

  Chapter 9

  Charlotte entered the same room she was in the day before, feeling just as nervous. This time for an entirely different reason. She was supposed to have spent the morning baking the remainder of the cookies that she and Hannah had been working on the night before. Instead, she started out her day consoling her new roommate until further notice, since someone had been killed on her property, and transitioned into making sure things were tied up for Hannah, as she was now sitting in jail for the murder of Kira Dade. In the confusion of the morning, Charlotte had forgotten to cancel the meeting. She was sure most people wouldn’t be there, anyway. Partridge Point was a small town, and there was no doubt that everyone had heard about what had happened with both Kira and Hannah.

  To Charlotte’s surprise, there were a few people in the room. About eight women sat in chairs placed in a semicircle. Everyone looked either frightened or sad, but no one seemed to be speaking. She did notice, though, the table in the back of the room was full of cookies. Everyone who had decided to still come to the meeting despite everything had brought the cookies they’d baked along with them.

  “Good afternoon,” Charlotte said, quietly, noticing that Gabby Raye wasn’t in the room.

  Everyone looked up at her, and she received a few replies.

  “I’m sorry I forgot to cancel the meeting. I came by expecting that everyone had assumed it was being postponed, but I’m glad you’re all here.”

  “I didn’t introduce myself yesterday. I’m Cathy,” a woman said. “I figured no one was going to be here, too, actually. But I came for Kira. I came because she loved this time of year, the exchange, baking… I came for her.”

  “Me too,” a woman agreed. “I’m Mary. I’ve been part of this exchange for a long time, and I know how much it meant to Kira.”

  A few other women nodded in agreement.

  Charlotte thought the fact that the women had come together to celebrate Kira and her love for the cookie exchange was very kind. She’d heard more than once that Kira was hard to get along with, took charge, and loved competition, but to have all the same people who felt that way about her, come together to be there for her in the only way they knew how was something special. She looked around for Gabby Raye, unable to find her, and frowned.

  “I’m glad you’re all here, too. Hannah and I made several batches of some of your favorite cookies last night, and I’m going to get them. I left them all in the car just in case no one was here. I’ll be back,” Charlotte said, turning to leave.

  “Don’t bother,” Cathy said. “We have more than enough here.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Charlotte said, on her way out the door.

  “Charlotte,” a voice whispered.

  Charlotte looked around, trying to see where it came from.

  “Emmy? What are you doing here?”

  “I was just about to come in when I heard you mention you baked cookies with Hannah.”

  Charlotte tilted her head. “That’s right. Oh, I get it. You know she’s not much of a baker. Well, she’s learning a lot, and…”

  “That’s not it. Do you really think it’s wise to offer cookies to Kira’s friends that were baked by her murderer?” Emmy asked, still whispering.

  “Emmy,” Charlotte said, feeling frustrated. “I thought you were stepping down. Has something changed?”

  Emmy shook her head and tried to reply.

  “If you’d like to come in for some cookies, by all means, you are more than welcome to do so, but if you’re here for another reason, that might be less than… kind, please, enjoy the rest of your day elsewhere.”

  Charlotte didn’t like the tone Emmy had taken with her. She knew what it looked like from the outside, but truthfully, Charlotte should be the one on the outside, not the other way around. Hannah was the mayor of their town. Most of these people had known her for many years. They couldn’t possibly believe that Hannah had really killed Kira.

  “You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to tell everyone who would listen about Hannah. I had to keep my mouth shut for my son’s sake, but now I don’t have to anymore. He left her, and boy, am I thankful. Imagine my poor Teddy having his wife in jail for murder?” Emmy cried, her voice getting louder.

  “Mother! Are you kidding me?” Teddy said, coming around the corner. “I heard you talking and wasn’t going to interrupt, but the minute you involved me and bad-mouthed Hannah, I knew I had to say something. What is the matter with you?”

  “Teddy.” Emmy sighed. “I know you hold Hannah on some pedestal, but you’ve got to see her for who she is now. I’m your mother. I can’t let you sulk around because she’s in jail. Why, you ask? Because she’s in jail. For murder. Teddy, come on.”

  As the mother and son duo argued, Charlotte went on her way. She was shocked to hear Emmy say such awful things about Hannah, and even more so to hear Teddy stickup for her. One thing that Charlotte could agree with, or at least see the perspective of, was not bringing in cookies that Hannah had made. No matter what Charlotte or even Teddy believed, Hannah had been accused of killing Kira. It was in poor taste for Charlotte to expect Kira’s friends to be interested in Hannah’s cookies. Her grand plan to bring the cookie ladies together had been ruined, but that seemed to be the least of her worries.

  Charlotte briefly considered leaving the senior center and not looking back, but decided to take a minute to herself and get some fresh air before returning to the room where everyone was waiting. On her way back inside, she ran into Teddy.

  “Do you have a minute?” Teddy asked.

  Charlotte glanced at her watch. Of course she had time, but she wasn’t about to let Teddy know that. For some silly reason, she was bitter with him about leaving Hannah over a year ago, and sometimes, despite her age, she still managed to act like a child.

  “I suppose I could spare a few,” Charlotte answered.

  “First off, I wanted to apologize for my mother. She was more than out of line,” Teddy said. Gesturing for her to follow him. “She got it stuck in her head that she was supposed to dislike Hannah and never let it go.”

  “So, she has no reason not to like her?” Charlotte asked. “She specifically said that she had only been nice to her for your sake.”

  Teddy let out a breath and leaned against the wall of the building. “Well, I’m sure you know by now, Hannah and I have history. When I moved away from Partridge Point, I left town, I left Hannah, and I left my mom. She didn’t understand why I did it, and just assumed that it had something to do with Hannah, and I let her believe that.”

  “You didn’t leave because of Hannah?” Charlotte asked, knowing Hannah didn’t want the answer but feeling the need to have it, anyway.

  “Not quite. I don’t really want to get into that. I just wanted you to know that I don’t fee
l the same way as my mother, just in case you talk to Hannah or something. It’s important to me that she knows she has people supporting her. I can’t imagine what she’s going through right now.”

  “I’m new to all of this, but I don’t think she’s allowed visitors or anything. Hannah is a good woman,” Charlotte defended her, still reeling from her chat with Emmy.

  “You don’t have to tell me. I know.” Teddy nodded. “Hannah is a great woman. I don’t believe for a minute that she had something to do with Kira’s death. Someone must be trying to frame her.”

  Charlotte paused, considering the thought.

  “Frame her? Well, that’s certainly an interesting idea.”

  “It has to be that. There’s just no way Hannah did this. Someone must be out to get her for some reason. I know I haven’t been around in a while, but maybe you know something? Is there anyone that she’d been having trouble with lately?” Teddy asked.

  “I hate to say it, but you’d know more than I would. I haven’t even been in town for a week, and I don’t know any of these people. I’m afraid I won’t be much help.”

  “I’ll give it some thought. Maybe someone wanted her job? Or…” Teddy frowned. “Maybe she’s been seeing someone and…”

  Charlotte knew it wasn’t her place to get involved, but felt it was important for Teddy to know the truth.

  “She hasn’t been seeing anyone.”

  Charlotte saw the change in Teddy’s expression. He looked relieved.

  “Thanks. I needed to hear that, I guess. I wasn’t talking about who could have framed her just to find out if she was seeing someone, though,” he said quickly, looking embarrassed.

  Charlotte liked Teddy. She knew what Hannah saw in him and wanted to find out why he left town. Now didn’t seem like the right time to go digging, but she’d find a way to make it happen.

  “I should be going,” Charlotte said, deciding not to go back inside. “I’m glad Hannah has someone like you in her life. She needs it now more than ever. Especially if you’re right and someone is out to get her. Why don’t you take the cookies I have? Follow me.”