Purring Around the Christmas Tree

by Liz Mugavero

  Stan paused just as she was about to deliver a well-positioned knee strike, wondering if she should trust him. If he wanted to shoot her, he could’ve done it already. She motioned him to let go of her mouth.

  He looked wary about letting her go, but lifted his hand just slightly.

  “What do you mean? The cops are coming, Kevin. One’s already here. It’s over.”

  “If you don’t let me get in there, lass, it’s going to be over and not in a good way. There are some bad men in there. Worse than me. Now. Get back in that car and wait for the police.”

  “Why don’t you wait for them?” she asked suspiciously.

  He smiled. “Because I’m a bad guy too. Just a different kind.” He gave her a shove out of the way. “Now go.”

  And with that, he leapt back onto the porch. With one smooth flick of his elbow, he busted the window pane, reached in and unlocked the back door. Then Stan heard the gunshots, followed by screams.

  Chapter Fifty-four

  Stan dove around the side of the house and hit the ground, throwing her hands over her head. Who was shooting? Was Jessie okay? Char? Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest and fly away. She fumbled for her cell phone and dialed 911.

  “We need police. Lots of them. There’s gunshots. I think someone’s hurt.” She rattled off Char’s address and hung up despite the operator’s attempts to keep her on the phone. She lay there, listening, but the shots had stopped. There was only silence from inside. A different kind of bad guy, Kevin said. What the heck did that even mean? Had she had a gangster staying at her house?

  Then everything seemed to happen at once. Jessie shouting. Sirens blaring as the first round of cavalry arrived. Pounding footsteps as someone took off running.

  Then Jessie burst out of the house, gun drawn, and ran halfway down the back yard. She paused, scanning the landscape, then turned and came back to the house. “What are you doing?” she demanded when Stan ran toward her. “I thought you were going to stay in the car!”

  “Did you see him? Kevin?” Stan asked breathlessly. “He was here!”

  “I saw him, alright. He shot the two guys who had Char, Cyril, and Seamus’s crazy friends tied up. He took off out the back door.”

  “Tied up?” Stan shook her head. “Who are the guys? What did they want? Is Char okay? Cyril?” She took a step toward the house.

  Jessie blocked her. “We’ll figure out who they are when we do their autopsies. As for what they wanted, you were right. They were after my uncle, because they believed he had something they wanted. Now get back in the car. You’ll see Char and Cyril soon.”

  Jessie headed to the front of the house, where Lou and five other cops converged, guns drawn. Stan followed, ignoring the directive to get back in the car. Two of the cops went inside to deal with whatever mess was in there, which Stan shuddered to think about. Char would be devastated that two gangsters had been shot in her beloved house.

  “We have people in there who need to be brought out,” Jessie called to them before turning to Lou. “Spread out and check the surrounding woods. White male, about six feet, brownish-blond hair.”

  “He had on a black jacket and jeans,” Stan added.

  “I think he’s gone, but there might be others. Are there cars looking too?” Jessie asked.

  Lou nodded. “We’ve got cars patrolling a three-mile radius around here. I’ll call the description in. If he’s on foot, we’ll find him.”

  Stan wasn’t so sure about that. Kevin had been stealthy as a cat when he’d shown up. And the way he busted in the door before even she realized what was happening. He didn’t seem to be the type who operated on a team.

  Another car careened up to the B and B and pulled into the driveway. Three men got out. One of them, the driver, Stan had never seen before. The man who got out of the passenger seat was Ray Mackey. And the third man, who climbed out of the back seat, was Seamus McGee. He saw them and waved, as if he’d simply been down the street getting milk at the store.

  “Holy … do you see who’s here?” she asked, grabbing Jessie’s arm.

  “I do,” Jessie said. “I got word they were coming. Someone else must’ve too.”

  “Hello there!” Seamus called, coming over to his niece. “It’s good to be home!”

  He looked like he was about to hug her, but Jessie bared her teeth at him. He pivoted and turned to Stan instead. She accepted the hug because she wasn’t sure what else to do.

  “Go wait in my car,” Jessie snapped at him, handing him the keys and pointing. He did as he was told without argument.

  Ray started toward the house, but one of the cops held him back. They promptly started arguing.

  “Ray! Hold on a second. Char’s fine. She’s coming out shortly,” Jessie called. “You can’t go in there. It’s a crime scene.”

  Ray looked like he was about to faint. The cop led him away from the porch as the ambulances screamed to the curb. People were starting to come out of their houses now and stood on the sidewalk, watching the action.

  The driver walked over and shook Jessie’s hand. “Joe Stanford. Special agent.”

  “Sergeant Pasquale. Thanks for bringing them down.”

  “Not a problem. My other agents here?”

  “Special agent?” Stan asked. “Like, FBI?”

  He nodded and glanced at Jessie. “Who’s she?”

  “Nancy Drew,” Jessie said. “Did you recover the goods?”

  “Yes. Seamus turned everything over to us in exchange for immunity. He claims he didn’t know what was on the shipment he was supposed to collect. He just had instructions to meet the ship, pick up the car, and make the transfer to someone else. Then all hell broke loose. But turns out the shipment was actually in another car. We have the book back safe and sound, thanks to Seamus.” Joe Stanford nodded admiringly. “There were a lot of people involved in this thing. They almost managed to pull it off.”

  Jessie opened her mouth to ask something else as another car pulled into the driveway. This place was starting to resemble Grand Central Station. Three more guys got out. Stan recognized them from the library event Cyril had held on the Book of Kells.

  “Nice of you guys to show up after the action,” Joe Stanford said to his men.

  “Sorry,” one of them said sheepishly. “We got held up by the lady at the general store.”

  “You guys are all FBI?” Stan asked, incredulous.

  Joe nodded. “We tracked the activity here. Looks like there were a few people involved in this mess. Beginning with Kevin O’Malley, who works for a major crime figure in Ireland. He was the one who stole the Book in the first place. He commissioned someone else to sell it for him. That middle party is where your uncle came in,” he said to Jessie. “The guy who hired him thought he’d outsmart the big guy by trying to sell it out from under him. But your uncle, ah, seemed to have panicked when things didn’t go his way. Decided better broke than dead and called his old FBI pal and copped to the whole thing. Didn’t work out too well, as those two inside will attest,” he said with a grimace. “Both dead?”

  Jessie nodded.

  “O’Malley?”

  “Gone like the wind.”

  “Doesn’t surprise me. We’ll never find him.” Joe sighed. “He’s good. He’s pulled off a lot of heists in his time.”

  “So he … is a major criminal?” Stan asked, clearing her throat.

  “Kevin O’Malley is one of the baddest guys to come out of Ireland,” Stanford said. “I’ve been tracking his crew for a while. They have some Boston ties.”

  And he’d been living in her house. Sleeping on her couch. And yet, he’d let her live. Stan thought she might pass out.

  Jessie grabbed her arm. “You okay?”

  “I guess. Did you know …”

  “Of course not! You think I’d let a mobster stay at your house?” Jessie shook her head. “Joe and I just put two and two together this morning when Seamus started telling the whole story. We were w
orking on the best way to corner him, but the other bad guys jumped the gun.”

  “You’re the lady whose shop was vandalized?” Joe Stanford asked Stan.

  She nodded. “And had a dead guy left in my parking lot.”

  “Yeah. The two guys in there”—he jerked a finger toward the house—“must’ve thought you and O’Malley were in cahoots. That’s why they targeted your shop. As for the dead guy, he was nobody.”

  “One of Seamus’s friends,” Jessie said. “Likely sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, and it didn’t end well.”

  “I like O’Malley for that too,” Joe said. “He must’ve thought the guy was going to do more damage to your shop.” He cast a sidelong look at Stan. “That’s his other MO. He takes a shine to certain ladies. Looks like you were on his good side.”

  Stan tried to process that, but she couldn’t. Instead she focused on Seamus and Ray. “So where have they been all this time?”

  “Staying with Seamus’s friend, the former FBI agent. This guy didn’t loop us in until last night. Thought he was protecting Seamus and Ray by keeping them holed up with no contact, but he could’ve gotten a lot of people killed.”

  “Raymond!”

  They all turned. Char had barreled out the door of the B and B, almost knocking the cop aside to get to her husband. She threw her arms around him and hugged him so tight Stan feared she’d break his back—he was half the size of her. Still, it was amazing to see them back together.

  “I tried to call you so many times,” he told her. “But I was hiding in a basement with no signal so I could never get through. Until that last time. I tried to tell you what was happening.”

  “I guess they won’t be getting divorced,” Jessie said, but she was smiling.

  “I guess that’s what all the calls we thought were pranks were about,” Stan said.

  Another cop, followed by Cyril, came out of the house next. Despite whatever harrowing experience he’d lived through inside, Cyril had his notebook out and dogged the officer all the way back to his car. Finally he turned and came over to where Stan stood with Jessie.

  “Can you imagine what a story this will be? A firsthand account of being held hostage by people who may have actually touched the Book of Kells! My dad will be so proud. And we’ll get to interview one of the peripheral thieves.” He beamed. “It’s a good day to be a journalist.”

  Chapter Fifty-five

  The next day, Stan stood in the doorway of her shop watching the train of pets come through to get their pictures taken with Santa. Seamus had recovered enough from his ordeal to happily don his Santa suit. He played the role to the hilt, making up for lost time. Tyler Hoffman shot photos for the paper as Miss Viv watched from a café table.

  “You think she’s doing okay?” Jake asked Stan, coming up next to her.

  “I don’t know. How can she be? Her sister tried to kill her boyfriend.” The whole thing was terribly sad. After the excitement at the B and B had been sorted out yesterday, Jessie had gone to talk to Victoria. Stan’s theory had been right. It didn’t feel good to be right, in this case. But Victoria had confessed without incident. “She told Jessie she didn’t want to be alone.”

  Jake shook his head. “So sad. For everyone involved. And poor Harold. Collateral damage in all this.”

  “Yeah. I have no idea how we’re being festive today. And, man, I can’t wrap my head around this Kevin thing.”

  “Don’t even talk about it,” Jake said. “I can’t believe …” He trailed off.

  “Never mind that, what does it say about my gut?” Stan asked. “I swore he was okay. But maybe in a way he was. In a weird way, he was looking out for me. The FBI guy said so.”

  “Yeah, well, I can look out for you. You don’t need a gangster to do it. Jeez. Hey, listen to this, though. Seamus said this morning that he and Miss Viv might stay here in Frog Ledge. He wants to live here full time.”

  Stan’s mouth dropped. “Here? Why?”

  “Viv wants to be near her sister, whatever happens to her,” Jake said. “And sounds like she’s fine with giving up the island life. I guess Seamus is ready to come back to the States full time. I think this thing really shook him up.”

  “What about Izzy though?” Stan asked. “That’s going to make her life hard.”

  “I don’t think he’ll be giving her any more trouble,” Jake said, his eyes twinkling. “My dad laid down the law. I expect Izzy and Liam will be getting a heartfelt apology in the coming days.”

  “Wow. Just like that?”

  “I think Seamus, despite his carefree attitude, had a moment where he thought this time he may have pushed his life to the limit,” Jake said. “My guess is he’ll be looking for a more low-key existence going forward.” He nodded to where Caitlyn and Brenna worked the counter. “Your sister looks happy.”

  “They won the house-decorating contest. She’s over the moon,” Stan said. “And while they feel terrible about Victoria, I think this means Kyle’s restaurant won’t be blocked anymore. Which is a huge relief to them.”

  “So after one of the craziest weeks in Frog Ledge history, I hesitate to say it ended well, but better than it could’ve,” Jake said.

  Stan nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “Although there’s one thing that could make it better.”

  “Yeah? What’s that?” Stan asked, watching one of the dogs lick Seamus’s beard. When Jake didn’t answer right away, she turned her attention back to him.

  And gasped. He held a small ring box in his hand, and he was smiling.

  “Stan Connor, will you marry me?”

  Recipes

  Chicken Ginger Biscuits

  Ingredients:

  2 cups whole wheat flour

  ½ cup wheat germ

  1 tablespoon ground ginger

  ½ cup chicken broth

  1 egg

  ¼ cup vegetable oil

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 375 F.

  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until well blended.

  On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough and roll out to 1/4 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut into desired shapes.

  Repeat rolling and cutting until all dough is used.

  Place biscuits on a greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

  Let cool and serve!

  Sweet Potato Treats

  Ingredients:

  1 large sweet potato

  ¼ cup vegetable oil

  cup honey

  1 egg

  1 cup unbleached white flour

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350 F.

  Bake sweet potato in oven for about 30 minutes. Cool, peel, and cut potato into small pieces.

  In mixing bowl, combine oil and honey. Add egg and potato and mix thoroughly. Add flour and finish mixing.

  Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

  Bake for 20 minutes.

  Cool and serve!

  Fish Food Treat

  Ingredients:

  3 cups unbleached white flour

  ½ cup cornmeal

  ½ cup wheat germ

  1 cup water

  ½ cup vegetable oil

  1 can tuna in water, drained

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350 F.

  In large bowl, combine all ingredients.

  On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until firm.

  Roll the dough out to ½ inch thickness. Use a fish-shaped cookie cutter to cut cookies.

  Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

  Let cool and serve!

  Treats can be dehydrated to last longer.

  Honeydew Ice

  Ingredients:

  2 pounds honeydew melon

  ¼ cup water

  3 tablespoons honey

  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  Directions:

  Cut the honeydew into 1-inch chunks.

  Combine
the melon, water, honey and lemon juice in a blender and purée the mixture.

  Pour the mixture into ice-cube trays. Freeze until solid.

  Serve as a whole ice cube for a dog to lick away at, or place a few ice cubes in a small ziplock bag and crush to serve in a dish.

  Simple Doggie Fro-yo

  Ingredients:

  32 ounces of nonfat plain Greek yogurt

  Choose 1-½ cups of peanut butter, blueberries, or strawberries

  as your flavor

  Directions:

  Combine all yogurt and your flavoring of choice in a blender until well mixed.

  Pour into 3-ounce Dixie cups and freeze.

  To serve, unwrap Dixie cup from fro-yo once fully frozen and place in a doggie dish!

  Acknowledgments

  I always say this, but it’s never been more true than this time—writing a book is not a solitary process. There are certain people without whom this book might never have made it to the shelf, and I owe them many thanks.

  Jessie Crockett and Sherry Harris, two of my fellow Wicked Cozy Authors, thank you for all the plotting brainstorming and crack editing you provided under the gun to help me make this a readable story. I am so grateful for you both being there when I needed you the most. You guys rock.

  Thank you to John Talbot, my awesome agent, for guiding me through this sometimes crazy process and always providing a voice of reason when I most need it. You’ve been an amazing partner for many years now, and I’m grateful for you.

  Also super grateful for John Scognamiglio, my editor at Kensington, for keeping Stan alive. And for the whole Kensington team for making the finished product fabulous, from cover art to blurb to promotion. I’m very lucky to be part of this publishing house.

  And the rest of my Wicked Cozy sisters—Barbara Ross, Julie Hennrikus and Edith Maxwell—you guys know how much you mean to me. Thank you all for being so supportive, in both the book world and personal world. Again, so grateful.

  A huge shout out to the loyal readers of the Pawsitively Organic Mysteries—there would be no books without you on the other end. The animals and I are so grateful to you all for supporting Stan and her adventures. And to all the librarians and booksellers who help connect us writers with the readers, thank you. It’s so gratifying to have a forum where we can all meet in person.