by Nicole Ellis
She called Tomàs and he picked us up with their kids in the car. The ride back to my house was short, and I was soon back home where Adam and I hung out with the kids until bedtime. I tried to focus on my family, but thoughts of Ericksville Heights and Delilah kept running through my mind. What was bothering Delilah and how did it fit in with Mila’s murder? I hated the thought of getting involved in another murder investigation, but like it or not, I seemed to have found myself smack in the middle of one.
9
Usually, I had our Christmas tree up just after Thanksgiving, but this year was different. It was December sixteenth, and I’d just asked Adam to pull it out of the storage above our garage. He wheeled the plastic storage container into the living room and Mikey ran to it with Ella toddling close on his heels.
“Can I help, Mommy?” he asked, his chubby fingers already trying to pry the lid off of the box.
I laughed. “Yes, you can both help.” I moved Ella out of the way and Mikey helped me to remove the three parts of our fake Christmas tree from the box. When I was a kid, we always went to a Christmas tree farm as a family and cut down a live tree, but as an adult with children of our own, Adam and I had opted for the simplicity of a fake tree. However, I still missed the wonderful aroma of a fresh Christmas tree. Maybe the tree lot by the gas station had some tree branch swags left so our house would at least smell like Christmas.
Mikey positioned the base of the tree on top of the green, red, and white tree skirt I’d placed on the floor near the fireplace.
“Here, Mommy?” He looked up at me with wide blue eyes, and a rush of love for him shot through me. Christmas had always been my favorite time of year, and seeing my kids experience the joy of the holiday made me even happier.
“Yes, honey. It looks wonderful.” I set the second and third layers on top of it, then attempted to connect the lights. Even with the two ends pressed tightly together, the top two tiers wouldn’t light.
“Do you want some help?” Adam asked as he came back into the room with a large green tub full of ornaments.
I sighed. “Yes. I hate trying to figure out if a bulb is loose, or what.” On the plus side, at least with a fake, pre-lit tree, you didn’t have to worry about the strings of lights getting tangled. Bile rose in my throat at the thought of finding Mila’s body hanging in a sea of twisted lights.
I turned away from the tree while Adam tinkered with it and opened the box of ornaments. We’d banished all of our glass ornaments to the cushioned bottom of the bin and only used non-breakable ornaments since the kids were born. With Ella toddling around this year, it was especially important to make sure she couldn’t get hurt on anything. The soft ornaments had the added benefit of not breaking when Fluffy, our cat, tried to climb into the tree and accidentally knocked ornaments off. She also had the odd habit of bringing us ornaments late at night as offerings while meowing her head off, and I didn’t fancy the idea of stepping on a glass ornament with bare feet.
“There,” Adam said with a self-satisfied smile. “It’s working now.” He stepped back to allow us all room to view the tree. The multi-colored lights twinkled like stars in the sky and filled me with warmth.
I knelt down and wrapped my arms around Mikey and Ella. “Isn’t it pretty?”
Mikey nodded solemnly and Ella stared at it in rapt wonder. Last year she’d been only a couple of months old, so she hadn’t been able to experience many of our Christmas traditions, but I had a feeling she’d enjoy this year.
“Oh, honey, I forgot to tell you,” Adam began. “A client contacted me yesterday and wants me to meet with them tomorrow morning.”
“On Monday morning?” I glanced at the calendar. Preschool was on winter break until after New Year’s. This time, considering Adam’s declaration that he had to work, even the thought of two weeks without Nancy didn’t bring me joy. “You’re supposed to watch the kids tomorrow, remember? Mikey’s on break from school and your mom and I are both busy at the Boathouse. We’re booked solid with company Christmas parties this week.”
“I know,” he said. “Can’t the babysitter watch them?”
“No.” I counted to ten in my head. I’d already gone over all of this with him several times, but he never seemed to listen. “The university is on break too and she went home for the holidays.”
“Oh.” He picked up a cloth teddy bear ornament out of the box and hooked it on a tree branch. “So what are we going to do? This is an important meeting with a new client and it could lead to bigger things.”
“I don’t know.” I grabbed a handful of ornaments and threw them on the tree with less care than normal.
“Hey,” he said, gently stopping my hand as I dipped back into the box for more ornaments. “I’ll figure it out, ok?”
I stared at him. “Who are you going to get to watch them at such short notice?” The holiday stress I felt was increasing, and now, even the task of decorating the tree was getting to me. Beside me, Mikey picked out a soft ornament and handed it to his sister, then helped her place it on a bottom branch. My heart melted a little seeing him be so good to her. I took a deep breath. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out, but let me know if things don’t work out. I can maybe rearrange some things in my schedule if I need to.”
“Having new clients is a good thing, honey. We need my practice to start making money.”
Guilt showered over me. He’d worked so hard to get his law practice up and running. I couldn’t be upset that he had a client meeting. Besides, with all of the expenses associated with Christmas, he was right. We could use the money. Having a variable income was taking more getting used to than I’d thought it would.
Adam squeezed my shoulders. “Have faith in me—in us. I know we’re still trying to figure out how things will fit together with all of the changes in our life, but we’ll make it work.”
I looked into his eyes, and he smiled at me.
“Ok,” I said. I handed the kids some more ornaments and gave the angel tree topper to Adam.
While he worked on getting the small light in it hooked up to the rest of the lights, we finished decorating the tree. Adam flicked a switch on the angel, and we all stepped back to admire the tree with the glowing angel atop it.
“It’s beautiful,” I said, entranced. All of the hope that the season usually held flooded over me. There were so many things stressing me out right now—my family’s impending visit, Mila’s murder, and the upcoming parties I would be coordinating at the Boathouse. Somehow, though, I knew that everything would work out.
That night, after the kids were in bed, there was a knock at the door. Adam and I had been relaxing together in front of the TV on the couch. We exchanged glances.
“Were you expecting someone?” he asked.
“Nope.”
He got up and went over to the door, checking to see who it was through the peephole, then threw it open.
“Hey.” Will stood on our porch with his hands in his pockets. “Can I come in?”
Adam checked with me first, and I nodded.
“Hi, Will. Come in.” I stood from the couch and motioned for him to come and sit at the dining room table. “Sit down and I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
He stepped inside and removed his boots. “Thanks.”
When the three of us were seated around the table with cups of coffee and an open bag of Oreos, I said, “I’m surprised to see you tonight. I wouldn’t have thought Beth would let you out of her sight.” I smiled. “She’s so thrilled to have you back home, even for a short time.”
He wrapped his hands around his coffee mug. “I know. I thought I’d see if you guys had time to chat. I needed some time away from Mom and Dad, and the girls are already in bed.”
“What’s going on?” Adam asked. “Jill told me about what happened with Mila. I’m sorry for your loss. She was always a sweet girl.”
“Thanks.” He sipped his coffee. “The only contact we’d really had in twenty years was a few friendly messages on so
cial media and then I ran into her at the pub that night.”
“So why do the police consider you a suspect in the murder investigation?”
He shrugged. “That’s actually the reason I wanted to talk to the two of you.” He looked at me. “Mom’s told me about some of the murders you helped to solve. I was hoping that if I talked with you about that night that you might see something that I’m missing. The police said I was the last known person to see her alive.”
“Were you?” I asked.
“I’m sure someone at the retirement home must have seen her that night. She went in a side door, but still.”
“So you were there that night? At Ericksville Heights?” Adam peered at him. “If it was just a few drinks, why were you at her workplace? Help me to understand.”
Will pushed his chair back and ran his fingers through his hair. “The whole time we were at the pub, she seemed anxious about something. Then she was going on and on about the Christmas tree lights being crooked. I don’t remember her being quite so worried about everything when she was a teenager.”
“Life has a tendency to do that to you,” I said. “But why were you at the home?”
“She said she had some work she’d forgotten to do earlier and that she was going to walk over there from the pub we were at in downtown Ericksville. She said she’d call a ride service to get home from there when she was done. It was late at night and even here, I didn’t think it was a good idea for her to be out alone at night. I guess I had a reason to be concerned.” His eyes misted over. “I walked with her to Ericksville Heights and I watched her go in the side door. That was the last I saw of her.”
“So she never told you she was going to fix the Christmas lights?”
“No,” he said sharply. “I would have insisted that she go straight home if I’d known that she planned to go up on the roof wearing heels.”
I thought about the red heels I’d tripped over. If she’d had a few drinks, she probably hadn’t been in a good state of mind to hear someone following her.
He gazed at me expectantly. “So, was there anything of use in what I said?”
I think he’d expected me to work miracles. “It’s not like some parlor game where I can hear a narrative and figure out the culprit.”
“But you believe me, right?” His eyes moved between Adam and me.
“Of course we do,” Adam said. “Right, Jill?”
I looked directly into Will’s eyes. They were full of pain, but not deceit. “I believe you.”
“Thank you.” He was quiet for a moment. “I don’t want to tell Mom though, so can the two of you keep quiet about it? She doesn’t need more stress.”
“I won’t tell her,” Adam said. “But you know she’s going to find out.”
“I know. Maybe by that time I’ll be cleared by the police. They have to realize I’m innocent at some point.”
He still hadn’t told Beth. My heart sank. His voice was so earnest and a little innocent. He appeared to have little clue of how serious the situation was. “I’m sure they will, but first they need to be looking for other suspects. Right now, the police seem to only be focusing on you.”
“You found her body,” Will said. “Do you know anything that might help the police discover the real killer?”
“Not at the moment.” I thought it best to not mention Delilah’s suspicions about the other recent deaths at the retirement home until we knew something conclusively about them. I hastily added, “But I can ask around a little.”
Adam frowned. “I don’t want you getting involved in this. It could be dangerous.”
Will’s face fell. “I wouldn’t want you to do anything that could hurt you. It’s better if we leave this to the police.”
“I won’t do anything to raise suspicion. I may ask a few questions at the retirement home, but I’ll leave the actual investigation up to the police. Ok?” I peered into Adam’s face. He didn’t look like he believed me.
“Please be careful.” His face was etched with concern.
I patted his hand. “I will.”
Will cleared his throat and stood from the table. “Well, thanks. I really appreciate the talk. I’d better get back home before Mom decides I’ve broken curfew.”
Adam laughed. “I’m glad we had a chance to talk too.” He paused for a moment and looked at me, then back to his brother. “Hey, Will—remember how you wanted for you and the girls to spend more time with our kids?”
I saw where this was going and wondered how Will would react.
“Yeah, why?” Will asked.
“Jill and I need someone to babysit the kids tomorrow. Our babysitter’s out of town and everyone else is busy. Would you mind watching them over at Mom and Dad’s house tomorrow morning? It would only be for a few hours.” Adam rubbed his thumb idly along the back of the chair.
Will’s face broke out into a smile. “I’d love to, and I’m sure the girls will be happy to see their cousins too. You can drop them off in the morning.”
“Thank you so much,” I said. “We really appreciate this.”
“No problem. That’s what family is for.” He grinned. “Well, I’d better get going, but I’m looking forward to seeing the munchkins tomorrow morning.”
“See you tomorrow,” Adam said.
“Bye, Will.” I was surprised at Will’s reaction when Adam asked him to babysit. The Will I’d known in the past hadn’t been that involved with his own kids, much less happy to babysit someone else’s kids. Maybe he had changed over the years.
Will left and we closed the door behind him.
“I’m bushed, honey,” Adam said. “I think I’m going to head to bed.”
I was still on a caffeine high and didn’t think I’d get to sleep any time soon. “I’m going to load the dishwasher so it can run tonight. I’ll be up in a little bit.”
“Night.”
When he left, I placed our coffee mugs in the dishwasher and rinsed off the other dirty dishes before loading them in too. The familiar task gave me an opportunity to think without anyone else around. I believed Will when he said he hadn’t killed Mila and that he’d watched her until she was safely inside the retirement home. So, whoever was responsible had almost certainly been associated with Ericksville Heights, but who? Will had said that Mila seemed anxious about something at work, but what had made her so upset?
10
The next morning, I dropped Ella and Mikey off with Will. I didn’t know how well the day would go with taking care of his own girls too, but I didn’t have much of a choice and it would be nice for them to get to know their uncle and cousins better.
I spent the morning working on the Pearson Company Christmas party, which was scheduled for the next Sunday evening and was the biggest event on my list. I’d talked to Lizzie, our catering manager, about the increased guest count and made arrangements for more round tables in the main room, but there was still much to do. When I’d called to tell them about striking out with the reindeer, they’d asked for the servers to be dressed as Santa’s elves and for us to provide activities for the children, so I was scrambling to grant those requests.
My desk phone rang with an internal call. Why was Beth calling me from her office just down the hall?
“Hey, Jill, can you come down here for a moment?”
“Of course. I’ll be there in a minute.” I hung up, still not sure what was going on. Beth rarely called me when we were both at the Boathouse, instead choosing to walk to my office to get in contact with me.
I knocked on her open office door to alert her that I was there and entered the room.
“Have a seat,” Beth said, looking up from a pile of papers. Her face was drawn and she was fidgeting with the edge of a piece of paper.
“What is it?” I perched on the edge of the seat, too nervous to get comfortable.
“I just got a phone call from Chas Pearson that the Pearson Christmas party has been cancelled.” She folded her hands in front of her on the desk. “I�
��m sorry, Jill. I know you’ve put a lot of work into it.”
Her words slammed into me. I’d been working on the party for the last few months, trying to make it perfect for one of our biggest clients.
“Why?” I managed to croak out. “Harry Pearson was so excited about making it perfect for his employees.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, honey, but Harry Pearson died.”
I sat back in my chair. “He died? I just saw him a few weeks ago.”
“His son Chas called and said that his father’s health had been in decline and that he’d been living at Ericksville Heights for a couple of months.”
“I never saw him there. I wish I’d known. I would have tried to visit him when I stopped by to see Delilah. He was a nice old man.”
“I’m sure he was.” She gave me a small smile. “Apparently his son has decided to close the business down effective immediately, and with no employees, there’s no need for a holiday party.”
My jaw dropped. “Right before Christmas?”
She looked at me sadly. “Sometimes it happens. On the bright side, they’ve already paid their fifty percent deposit, so we shouldn’t be out much money, but I feel badly that you’ve worked so hard on it.”
I sat back in the chair. We’d had clients cancel events on us before, but they were usually not cancelled at the last minute and not ones where I’d already invested so much of my life in their event. And those poor employees, getting laid off right before Christmas. I may have lost hours of my time, but they were losing their livelihood.
“Did Chas say why they were closing?” I asked.
“No. He didn’t volunteer the information, and I didn’t ask.” She moved some papers around on her desk. “All he said was that they’d need to cancel the event because the business was closing. With a quick closure like that, I’d assume there were financial problems, but I don’t know for sure. At least we were already paid.”