Slay Bells Ring (A Christmas Cozy Mystery Series Book 2)

by Mona Marple

  “Hold on, why are you being so weird? Wait! Oh-Em-Gee! He’s there, isn’t he? He’s right there?”

  “Well, he’s not right here. He’s just making us a drink.”

  “Making you a drink! Holly Wood, you clever little girl! Please share all of your man training secrets with me,” August said with a laugh.

  “It’s so good to hear your voice,” I said.

  “Aww, big sis! I see that being in love has made you sentimental.”

  “I’m not in…”

  “Um hmm, tell it to someone who will believe your no-good lies. I knew you were in love the first time you clapped eyes on Billy Branson and I’ve known ever since.”

  “I was twelve when Billy Branson moved in next door,” I reminded her.

  “And you were a sucker for dark brown eyes and a knack with a football, even back then.”

  I laughed. “You’re rotten!”

  “I’m just pleased for you. Now, can you tell me everything or do you need to find ten minutes to prise yourself away from his lips first?”

  I shook my head and rolled my eyes, even though August could see neither gesture. “I’ll call you later.”

  “You promise? Because I’m here in baby land with nothing to do other than organise teeny tiny socks into matching pairs. A little romance to hear about would be quite nice right now.”

  “I promise. I’ll call you soon. And I love you.”

  “I love you too, big sis.”

  Nick returned to the room as I ended the call. He held two mugs of strong coffee and handed one across to me.

  “Were you talking to yourself?” He asked with a grin.

  “My sister. I’ll give her a call back later.”

  “Are you sure? I can give you some space now if you want,” he offered. I was constantly impressed by how welcome he had made me feel in his house.

  “No, really. I want to run through this. Are you sure you have time?”

  “I always have time for you,” he said.

  I swallowed and tried to stay focused. “I don’t know how much you know, but the second death today? It’s Twisty. He was killed right outside Sleigh A While. He was trampled by a reindeer.”

  “Goodness. That’s awful.”

  I nodded. “Peggy-Sue found his body on her early morning walk, and Wiggles wanted me to be around to interview her with him.”

  “That’s amazing. He obviously shares my opinion of how incredible you are! How did it go?”

  “Well, we ended up deciding that Drayton was the prime suspect and that it would make sense for him to try and escape. So we went across there…”

  “Wait. You went to try and catch the killer? Holly, I’m so proud of you investigating but you need to be sensible. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I won’t,” I said, with a nonchalant bat of my hand. It hadn’t entered my head that we could have been in danger going after Drayton.

  “I mean it. I couldn’t stand to lose you. I’ve only just found you and I don’t want to let you go.”

  “Okay,” I said, as my stomach flipped. How was I supposed to concentrate with Mr Hunkalicious saying things like that to me? And yes, I had to give August credit, Mr Hunkalicious was a fine name for a fine man.

  “What happened? Did you find Drayton?”

  I nodded. “He was packing suitcases and preparing to flee.”

  “So he did do it?”

  “He says not. He says that the murders are clearly targeting people in the food industry and he fears that he’ll be next. Wiggles offered him protection but Drayton chose to be taken into Candy Cane Custody for his own safety.”

  “Wow. I mean, voluntarily going to prison? That’s like the ultimate bluff if he is the murderer,” Nick said.

  “It’s so strange, isn’t it. He’s either a master bluffer, or he’s telling the truth.”

  “Do you have any other suspects?” Nick asked.

  “Well, I think the person who found the body is always worth considering. And then there’s Lila.”

  “Lila?”

  “She had motive and opportunity to kill Greasy. She was still upset about their break-up. And Twisty was trampled by a very well-trained reindeer.”

  “Lila does have a flair with the reindeer,” Nick agreed.

  “I’ve seen. I just can’t work out what her motive to hurt Twisty could be.”

  “Hmm,” Nick murmured. He took a long sip of his coffee but remained silent. If he’d hoped the caffeine would give him insights, it had let him down.

  “Oh, listen to this. Drayton told us that at the moment the glitter ball came down, he was kissing Lila!”

  Nick raised an eyebrow. “Wow. Well, they’re both innocent if that’s true, surely?”

  “I guess. I wasn’t sure whether I believed him. I believe he’d have kissed her if he had half the chance, but would Lila have given him that chance?”

  “Why don’t we go and ask her?” Nick suggested.

  We finished the rest of our coffees and bundled ourselves back into outdoor clothes, then made the short sleigh ride across to The Reindeer Run.

  A man watched us from the farmhouse window as Nick brought the sleigh to a gentle stop. He was at the door a moment later, dressed in a grey string vest and a pair of trousers caked in mud.

  “Everything alright there, Santa?”

  “Hey Gus, is Lila around?” Nick asked.

  Gus shrugged his lean shoulders. “She’s around, but I couldn’t say where exactly. Want me to go and find her?”

  “That’s okay, you stay inside in the warm. Are you happy for us to look for her?”

  “Sure thing. This kinda time, she might be in the Top Field, or she could still be rounding up the troops from the stables. They’d be my guesses,” he said.

  “That’s helpful. Thank you.”

  Gus watched from the doorway as we carefully walked across towards the stables.

  We heard Lila before we saw her. She was singing a Christmas carol in a beautiful voice, and as we got closer it was clear that she was singing to the reindeer.

  Nick cleared his throat to alert her to our presence, and she turned and gave us a self-conscious look.

  “You guys make a habit of sneaking up on people?”

  “Sorry. You have a beautiful voice, you shouldn’t be embarrassed,” Nick complimented her.

  “Well, thanks. These guys are the only ones who ever hear me sing. And Greasy did. Do you have any news?”

  Nick glanced at me and it was clear he was going to leave the questioning to me.

  I stood a little straighter. “There’s been a development. Another death.”

  Her hand shot to her mouth and her eyes grew wide. If it wasn’t genuine shock, it was a very good impression.

  “Who is it? Who died?”

  “It was Twisty,” I said.

  Her brow furrowed. “Why would anyone want to hurt Twisty?”

  “Who said anyone did? I said another death, not a murder,” I asked.

  Her eyes flittered around the stable then settled back on to my face. “It has to be murder. Either that, or Twisty was so upset he took his own life. They couldn’t both have died from natural causes just days apart.”

  I cocked my head. It was a fair assumption.

  “What happened to him?” Lila asked again. Her voice had grown quiet and immature, almost childlike.

  “He was trampled by a reindeer,” I said.

  “Oh, no,” Lila said. Her legs gave way and she dropped to a bale of hay inside the stable. The reindeer beside her in the stall watched her curiously.

  “Wiggles has asked me to help him investigate and I have a few questions for you,” I explained. Lila made no response.

  “Where were you between 5am and 6am today?” I asked.

  “I was right here. I’m always here before then. Why are you asking me this?”

  “It’s routine questions so we can get a picture of who was where, who might have seen something…”

  “
…and who might have done it? Am I a suspect?”

  “Should you be?” I asked.

  She swallowed and shook her head. “I’d have no reason to hurt Twisty.”

  “Does that mean you did have a reason to hurt Greasy?”

  “Sure,” she admitted. “I had a reason, but I didn’t act on it. He dumped me and I wanted him back.”

  “And that’s motive for murder?” I asked.

  She shrugged. “I’ve seen things on TV, people who snap. And part of me understands it. If I’d thought about Greasy moving on and falling in love with someone else, I can almost understand the urge to stop it all.”

  “If you can’t have him, nobody can?” I said.

  “Exactly. In a strange way, it’s understandable. But I could never have hurt him. That man meant everything to me. Well, him and these animals.”

  “And you were definitely here this morning?”

  “One hundred percent. Ask Gus. He was around too.”

  “You’re kind of the first person who comes to mind when you think of well-trained reindeer,” I said.

  Lila wrinkled her nose. “My reindeer dance and perform. They’re like athletes. I would never abuse an animal by turning it into a weapon. Whoever did this is no animal lover, I can tell you that.”

  “That’s an interesting point. And how about when the glitter ball came down, do you remember where you were then?”

  Lila opened her mouth, then closed it again and paused. “I was working that night, so I was racing around. I don’t remember exactly where I was when I heard the commotion.”

  “We’ve had a report that you were near the toilets kissing Drayton,” I said.

  Lila’s cheeks flamed. “Absolutely not. He is the direct opposite of everything I’d look for in a man.”

  “Nobody’s suggesting you were planning to marry him,” Nick said with a smile.

  “I can’t stand men like him.”

  “He’s very charming,” I said.

  “Exactly. I hate it. No, I was nowhere near Drayton,” Lila said.

  “When I heard it, I did wonder why you would do such a thing. And then I wondered if it was a way of making Greasy jealous perhaps?”

  Lila’s shoulders slumped. “No. Our relationship was completely over in his head. He wouldn’t have felt any jealousy.”

  “Were you drinking that night?” I asked.

  “A little, I guess,” Lila admitted.

  “Is there any chance you kissed Drayton and don’t remember?” Nick suggested.

  “No way. Absolutely not a chance. I was nowhere near him,” Lila insisted.

  The reindeer moved across the stable and nudged at her face with its nose. She couldn’t help but smile.

  Whatever I suspected Lila could have done, it was obvious that she was animal mad.

  “This guy needs to get out into the field. Are we done here?” Lila asked.

  “I do have a couple more questions. Since you’re such a reindeer expert, I thought you might be able to help with giving us ideas of who else would have the skill to get a reindeer to trample a person.”

  Lila considered the question as she idly stroked the reindeer. “It’s probably not as hard as you might imagine. All you’d need is… let me show you. Follow me.”

  Lila opened the stable door and clicked for the reindeer to follow her. In the open space of the stable yard, she demonstrated how to get the reindeer to stay fixed in one place and then repeatedly stand on its back legs and crash his front legs back to the ground.

  “Now imagine that, but with a person under those front legs,” Lila said.

  “And that’s not a high level of reindeer training?” I asked.

  “Intermediate, maybe? There would be dozens of people in town who could do that. Everyone in Candy Cane Hollow has reindeer experience, remember.”

  “Well, that makes things harder than I thought.”

  “Were you thinking I was the only person who could make a reindeer do that?” Lila asked with a smile.

  “Maybe,” I admitted.

  “There are definitely things that only I can get a reindeer to do, but those moves aren’t it.”

  “Does it bother you that people have given your name? That you’ve been implicated in a murder investigation?” I asked.

  “Of course it does. A while ago, right after Greasy ended our relationship, I’d have confessed to anything and been happy to be locked away. But I’ve realised that losing him is enough loss. I want to be alive and free.”

  “If you’re not the killer, Lila, who do you think did it?”

  “It’s Drayton. He wants The Greasy Spoon closed down. Who else would benefit from both Greasy and Twisty being dead?” Lila answered without so much as a pause.

  “You’ve been very helpful,” I said.

  “I really have to get into the field now,” she said. The reindeer by her side was perfectly trained but like a coiled spring. It was obvious that the beast needed to run.

  “That’s fine. Thanks for speaking to us.”

  Lila made one tiny hand gesture and the reindeer sprinted away towards the field.

  I shook my head as we watched Lila walk after it. “She really is something.”

  “What do you think?” Nick asked.

  “I think she just gave us the key to this whole case,” I said with a nod of my head.

  “Really?”

  Gus was on the doorstep again as we returned to the sleigh. “All okay, Santa?”

  “All okay,” Nick called.

  “Oh, Gus, what time did Lila start work today?”

  Gus looked up at the sky, as if a cloud might have the answer. “Couldn’t tell you. Early. Why?”

  “She mentioned being here before 5am. That’s really early to start work,” I said.

  “Not in farming, it’s not. If she said she was here, she was here.”

  “But you didn’t see her?”

  “You know what I was doing at five this morning? Mending a fence over on the East side. This place is sprawling and every inch of it needs checking every day. So, no, I wasn’t here with a cup of tea to greet her, but if she said she was here, she was here. Alright?”

  “Alright,” I said. I felt as if I’d very much been told off, but his loyalty towards his member of staff was touching. I just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

  “We’ll leave you to it,” Nick said. He offered me his hand to help me climb up into the sleigh, and we were on our way within moments.

  “I couldn’t be a farmer. All those long hours outside in the cold, it must be tough,” I said as Nick guided the sleigh down the snowy streets.

  “It’s hard work, that’s for sure. Where shall we go now?”

  “Do you want to come with me to speak to another person? I think I know who did it.”

  “I think you should hand it over to Wiggles,” Nick said.

  “I’m not in danger,” I said.

  “You’re talking about confronting a murderer. You’ve got no idea how much danger you could be in. Look, Holly, I love that you’re doing this and you’re obviously good at it, but you do have to be sensible.”

  “I am being sensible. I’m going to go and speak to this person with a big, strapping man by my side,” I squeezed his arm as I spoke.

  “Oh, jingle bells. Are you trying to flatter me into agreeing with you?”

  I gave him a wink. “Maybe.”

  “Fine, I’ll go with you on two conditions. We call Wiggles so he knows where we’re going, and you tell me how you know who did it.”

  “I can agree to those terms. Lila said that nobody who loved animals would use a reindeer as a murder weapon. Something like that, anyway.”

  “I remember,” Nick said.

  “And that’s how I know who did it,” I said.

  Nick looked at me with confusion, but I told him where to head to, and he followed my instructions as I rang Wiggles to alert him.

  16

  Nick parked the sleigh up the street, out of sight of
the place we were about to go to.

  “What’s the plan? Shall we wait for Wiggles?” He asked.

  “No, let’s go in now. Just let me lead. I can do this,” I said, my voice firm and confident.

  “I know you can,” Nick said. He leaned across the sleigh and kissed me, and I closed my eyes and saw stars. There was really nothing I wanted more than to remain in that sleigh kissing him for hours, but I had to catch the killer.

  I pulled myself away from Mr Hunkalicious and climbed down from the sleigh.

  We were on a quiet street right on the border of the Festive Forest, and other than a couple of net curtains twitching as we walked by, the street was deserted.

  The house we approached had an immaculate air about it. A clear path had been cut through the snow from the gate to the front door, and even the outside windowsills were snow-free.

  A camera on the top of the house shifted position as it spotted movement, and a red light flashed on and off as it focused its gaze on us.

  “We’re being watched,” I whispered. Nick followed my gaze.

  In that fraction of a moment, as our attention was elsewhere, a crash rang out from behind the house.

  “Suspect is on the move!” I shouted, and I raced down the front path and hammered on the door. I tried the handle but it was locked.

  “We have to get to the back,” Nick exclaimed.

  An old man appeared at the house next door and watched us.

  “Can you help us, sir? We need access to the back,” Nick asked.

  The old man leaned on a whisper of a walking stick and considered us as if we may be burglars.

  “Nick Claus, is that you?”

  “We don’t have time for this,” I muttered. I trailed back down the path and across to the old man’s house. Nick followed.

  “It’s me, sir. Can we just walk through your house to get to the back garden?” Nick asked.

  “Anything for a Claus,” the old man said. He stood aside and let us enter.

  I thundered down his tiny hall and into the galley kitchen. The back door key was in the door, and the door wasn’t even locked.

  I pushed the door open and looked at the Festive Forest. A real life forest where every single tree was decorated, year-round, with baubles and tinsel. It was quite the sight.

  “There!” I said as I saw movement not far ahead of us.