A Killer Christmas Party

by Nicole Ellis

  A receptionist wearing a black headset sat behind a high, horseshoe-shaped desk. I approached the counter and smiled at her. My reward was a blank stare and one finger held in the air to warn me that she was on the phone. I waited a few minutes until she was free from the call.

  Finally, she looked up at me. “Yes? What can I do to help you?”

  “I’m looking for Chas Pearson.”

  “Do you have an appointment with him?”

  “No, but I just need a minute of his time.” I smiled at her.

  Her demeanor didn’t change. “And what may I tell him this visit is about?”

  “I’m Jill Andrews, from the Boathouse Event Center in Ericksville and I need to talk to him about an event that his father had planned.”

  She dialed a number and spoke into the microphone of her headset. “Mr. Pearson? I have a Jill Andrews at the front desk for you. She’d like to meet about some event your father had planned.” She paused while he answered. “I’ll tell her.” Looking back up at me, she said, “He’ll see you, but he only has a few minutes, so make it quick.”

  “Of course. I’m sure he’s a very busy man.” I thought back to how angry he’d been about the police wasting his time when I’d seen him at the retirement home.

  “Take the elevator to the third floor, last door on the left.” She hit a button on her desk and the elevator doors slid open like magic.

  I entered the elevator and hit the button for Floor 3. When I stepped out, I entered a small windowless room with a door to each side. I was glad Desi wasn’t with me because this would have set off her claustrophobia.

  Which way had she told me to go? I’d been too busy thinking about Chas Pearson to hear which way I should go. To the left seemed more promising, so I pushed open the door.

  I was rewarded with another hallway, but at least this one had some natural light from skylights high overhead and was lined with doors on one side. I followed the carpeted hallway to the end and knocked on the door marked Chas Pearson.

  “Come in.”

  I opened the door slightly and peeked in. Chas sat behind a desk that was perpendicular to the full-length window and he was engrossed in something on his computer.

  I entered the room and he spun around his chair to face me. Recognition dawned on his face.

  “I’ve seen you before—at the retirement home, right?” He cocked his head to the side. “I thought Gia said you were from the Boathouse?”

  “I am from the Boathouse. Sorry for any confusion. I’m helping the retirement home out with their Christmas party too. I’m not sure if you heard, but their recreation director was killed last week.”

  He didn’t react to my mention of Mila’s murder.

  “I hadn’t heard.” He slid his chair forward and leaned on his desk. “Now, what can I do for you?”

  I pulled the invoice from my bag and set it on his desk. He picked it up and scanned the document.

  “This is for the Pearson Company’s Christmas party my father had planned at the Boathouse?”

  I looked him in the eyes. “Yes. There’s a small outstanding balance.”

  “And you came all the way over here for this?” He reached into his desk drawer and removed a checkbook.

  He had a point. I hadn’t completely thought this through. “I wanted to offer my condolences for your father’s death in person. Although I mainly dealt with the human resources department, I met with your father a few times about the party. I was sorry to hear of his passing. He was such a nice man.”

  “Sometimes,” he said under his breath as he scribbled on the check. He ripped it out of the checkbook with a flourish and presented it to me.

  “It must have been hard for you to return to the retirement home after his death.”

  He eyed me, then cleared his throat. “I didn’t have much of a choice. I was summoned there by the police because they had some ridiculous notion about my father’s death. He was a sick old man, nothing more.”

  I gave him a sympathetic smile. “They’re probably trying to cover all of their bases.” I stood from the desk and pushed the chair in. “My friend at the retirement home told me that two men who died recently were victims of a scam.” I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “Who would do such a thing? I’m glad to hear that your father wasn’t affected by it though. I’d hate to think of him being victimized like that. But I heard that they may have identified the person who was conning the residents out of their money.”

  His face blanched and he ducked his head down to place the checkbook in a bottom drawer. When he sat upright again, his complexion had returned to its normal color. “That’s good to hear,” he said with a forced smile. “Maybe now the police will leave me alone.”

  “I hope so.” I waved the check in the air. “Thank you for the payment, and let me know if you ever want to have an event at the Boathouse. We have an in-house catering department and can take care of almost any event, big or small.”

  “I’ll keep you in mind.” He lowered his eyes to his computer keyboard and tapped at it.

  I’d been dismissed. I returned to the lobby, passing by the receptionist, who barely looked at me.

  “Bye,” I said cheerfully. In return, I received a tight-lipped smile.

  On the way back to the Boathouse, I mulled Chas’s reaction to my statement about the police being close to catching the con artist. He may have claimed to the police that his father hadn’t been victimized, but his expression in his office had told a different story.

  So, now I had indirect confirmation that Harry Pearson had been a victim of the same con as the other two men, but I wasn’t sure where that left me. Had Chas orchestrated the whole thing, or was he just covering up so there wouldn’t be an investigation into his father’s death? He didn’t seem to have a close relationship with his father, so I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that he’d killed him. Whatever the case, my earlier impression of him hadn’t changed—he wasn’t a nice man.

  When I got back to my office, I realized that I’d forgotten my notebook on the table Delilah had been sitting at. I thought about leaving it there and picking it up the next day, but I needed to finalize some of the plans for the retirement home Christmas party and I wasn’t confident that I’d remember everything I needed to do that afternoon.

  The parking lot wasn’t as full as it had been when I’d come that morning and I easily found a spot closer to the home. I half jogged, half walked up to the building, then slowed as I entered the lobby.

  “Back so soon, Jill?” Dana asked. “I swear you’re here all the time.”

  “I’m starting to feel like that.” I stopped to catch my breath. “I forgot something in the Great Room.”

  “Oh, ok. I hope you find it.” A resident had walked up to the desk and she turned her face up to listen to what they were saying.

  Delilah was still in the same place when I returned to the Great Room.

  “I thought you’d be back.” She handed me the notebook.

  I leaned in and whispered into her ear. “You were right about Harry Pearson. I talked to his son today, and even though he claims his father was never a victim of the con artist, I’m sure he was lying.”

  Her eyes danced. “I knew it.”

  “I’m still not sure how it all fits together, but I’m working on it, ok?”

  “I’ll ask around and see if any of the residents have thought of anything else that might give us a lead in the investigation.”

  I noticed she said “us.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “You aren’t doing anything dangerous, are you?”

  She gave me a “who, me?” look. “Of course not. But it doesn’t hurt to make some discreet inquiries.”

  In a low voice, I said, “Ok, but please don’t do anything to put yourself in danger. Remember, Mila was killed because of it.”

  “I remember,” she said grimly.

  I said goodbye to her and hurried out to my car. When I unlocked the door, I realized that something
had been left on the windshield of my car. It looked like maybe someone had lost a small toy doll and put it on my car for its owner to find. I picked it up to move it to a more secure location and noticed that it wasn’t an ordinary doll.

  The doll’s face wore a bright smile, but someone had wrapped a miniature set of lights around her neck. A small piece of paper flew out of her dress and fluttered to the ground. I stared at it for a few seconds and then rescued it before it could fly away. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read the writing on it, but I forced myself to do so.

  Stay out of this.

  18

  I wasn’t looking forward to dinner at my in-laws the next day, especially considering how the last dinner had gone. Tania had left in a huff and disappeared for a few days and Will had gone out afterwards, met up with an old girlfriend, and become a murder suspect. With any luck, this dinner would go better.

  Judging by the way that Tania and Will were glaring at each other across the table, this wasn’t going much better. At least they were both still in the same room.

  “Can you please put some Brussels sprouts on my plate?” Desi asked, holding out her plate to her mother. The table was so crowded that passing the large bowls and platters of food was difficult.

  “Sure, honey.” Beth gave her a scoopful, then turned to Tania and held up the serving spoon. “Would you like some? I bet the girls would be more likely to eat them if their mother did. They should eat more vegetables.” She nodded at their veggie-less plates.

  Tania gave her a look of disdain. “They eat plenty of vegetables, as do I. We just don’t like Brussels sprouts.”

  Beth stared at her for a moment, then set the spoon back in the bowl and stood from the table. “I’m going to see if there are any more rolls left.” She grabbed the empty wicker basket from the table.

  “Uh, I’d better help her,” Lincoln said.

  Desi and I exchanged glances. Tomàs was fortunate that he’d had to work tonight. Beth had been making subtle digs at Tania all evening. So far, Tania had deflected them, but I wasn’t sure how much longer that would last.

  “So, Bella, how are you liking school this year?” Desi asked.

  “It’s fine.” Will’s oldest daughter drew circles on her plate with the tip of her fork.

  “Bella is a wonderful artist,” Tania interjected. “She’s been taking lessons after school in painting with watercolors.”

  Adam smiled at Bella. “That’s wonderful. Your dad was always into art when he was a kid. I remember him slaving over a pencil sketch for hours in high school.”

  She glanced up at him, then looked at her mom. “Can I be excused, please?”

  Tania met her eyes. “Sure. Go ahead, honey.”

  “Can I too?” Maya asked.

  “And me?” Claire said.

  “Finish your salmon and then you can go play,” Will said.

  They shoveled the food into their mouths and then jumped up from the table and ran downstairs to the basement. Anthony and Mikey looked at Desi and me hopefully.

  Desi laughed. “If Mikey’s mom says it’s ok, you boys can go too.”

  I nodded. “Go ahead.” The boys scurried away before we could change our minds.

  Lincoln and Beth returned, carrying a basketful of rolls. I grabbed one as she passed by me and tore off some pieces to give to Ella, who’d finished everything she’d had on the high chair tray.

  “Where did the kids go?” Beth set the rolls down in front of Adam. “I wanted to ask them about school.”

  “I said they could be excused.” Tania locked eyes with Beth.

  “Oh.” Beth busied herself with stacking the empty plates the kids had left behind. “Maybe with the kids gone, this is a good time to talk about you moving back up here.”

  Will suddenly became fascinated by his napkin and Tania threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. When her face leveled out, there was fire in her eyes and she said to Beth, “Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re not moving. We have lives back in Phoenix.” She turned to Will. “Got that? We’re not moving.”

  “Tania,” he said, “maybe we could use a fresh start.”

  Beth watched their exchange intently.

  “No.” Tania threw her napkin on the table. “Maybe you could use a fresh start—without the girls and me.” She sneered at Beth and walked out of the room, the front door slamming behind her.

  Will leaned forward and ran his fingers through his hair. “Where did things go so wrong?”

  “You’ll be happier back home,” Beth said firmly. “And it would be better for the girls too. If Tania can’t see that, well …”

  Will looked at his mother. “She’s my wife.” He folded his napkin and stood.

  Adam did the same. “How about we take a walk together, check out all of the changes to our old stomping grounds.”

  Will walked toward the front door. “Anything to get away from here.”

  When her sons were gone, Beth’s eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t mean to make him mad.”

  Desi took a deep breath. “Mom, you were awfully harsh on Tania. Not that she’s my favorite person either, but Will’s right—she’s his wife.”

  Beth’s lips quivered. “I just want what’s best for him. Ever since he married her, he’s seemed so unhappy, nothing like the old Will.”

  Lincoln scooted his chair closer to his wife and put his arm around her. “I’m sure he knows that you want the best for him.”

  The tension in the room was so thick and uncomfortable that I couldn’t take it anymore. I picked up some of the serving dishes and carried them into the kitchen, setting them on the counter. Desi followed suit with the dirty plates and cups. Lincoln and Beth still hadn’t moved. Lina and Ella stared at the tears streaming down their grandmother’s face, fascinated by the unusual sight.

  When we finished clearing the table, I said, “I’m going to check on Mikey, then sit in the living room until Adam gets back, ok?”

  No one answered, so I went into the basement family room and checked on the boys. The kids had taken a plastic bowling set out of the toy cupboard and were pretending the long room was a bowling alley. Bella was sitting in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chest and her nose buried in a book.

  “Strike!” Maya shouted when Anthony rolled the ball directly at the pins, knocking them all down. The girls seemed happy and I hoped that they hadn’t overheard their parents arguing.

  I went back upstairs to get Ella out of her high chair, but when I reached the dining room, Beth was holding her and didn’t want to let go, so I escaped to the relative calm of the living room. Desi had curled up on an overstuffed chair and was checking something on her phone while Lina fussed in a baby swing nearby.

  I wasn’t sure if I should say something to her about the threat I’d received the day before. I’d placed both the doll and the note in a bag and stashed it under a seat in my car where no one would look. I probably should have told the police about it, but then I’d have to admit that I’d been doing a little sleuthing of my own. Desi and I had promised our husbands that we’d try to stay out of trouble, and if they got wind of what was in the plastic bag, they wouldn’t be too happy.

  “The boys are all right?” Desi asked, still staring at her phone. I decided not to tell her. If she didn’t know about the threat, she wouldn’t have the dilemma of whether or not to tell Tomàs about it.

  “They’re having the time of their lives with Will’s girls.” I may not have appreciated the girls’ overabundance of energy, but the boys certainly did. “It’s nice to see them playing with their cousins.”

  Desi looked up from her phone. “Well, they’ll have a lot of chances to do that if Will moves up here.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  She shrugged. “No idea. I can’t get a read on him. Sometimes he acts like he loves Tania and then other times it seems like he despises her.”

  “I don’t think he knows either.” I plopped down on the sofa. My phon
e rang and I quickly picked it up, thinking it was Adam.

  Anna Westen, the display read. My heart beat faster.

  “Hi, Anna.”

  “Hi. Remember that thing you asked me about earlier?” she asked cryptically.

  How could I forget? “Yes,” I said tersely. Desi gave me an odd look.

  “Well, if one of the subjects we spoke about happened to be a client of ours, they may have had a series of large transactions out of their bank accounts in the weeks before their death. Does the Calvado Group mean anything to you?”

  The name sounded familiar. “Maybe?”

  “I’ve never heard of it before, but they’re hundreds of thousands of dollars richer now, thanks to a certain person.” In a softer voice, she said, “I hate to think of someone scamming an elderly person. You’re sure the police are working on this? If these transactions aren’t on the up and up, I want to make sure whoever’s behind the Calvado Group pays for this.”

  “I will. I hate it too,” I said. “Thanks, Anna.”

  “No problem. Hey, if you want to get together for coffee after Christmas, let me know.”

  “I’d like that. Thanks for calling.”

  “Glad to be able to help. Talk to you later.”

  I hung up and set the phone down next to me.

  “Who was that?” Desi asked. “It sounded serious.”

  “That was Anna Westen.”

  “Oh!” She sat upright on the couch. “Did she find anything out about those men?”

  “She said that the client ‘may’ have had some big transfers recently to a company called the Calvado Group.” I peered at her. “Have you heard of it?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “Wait. I might. It’s tickling the back of my brain.”

  I stared at the bright, multi-colored lights on the Christmas tree that Beth had set up in the corner, letting myself get lost in the glow. Where had I heard that name before? Oh!