by Lyndsey Cole
Annie added another strand of lights to the one already on the tree and tucked each bit of sparkle into the branches. She worked methodically until the last light was at the top. She stood back for a minute to check for balance. It took a few minor adjustments here and there before the lights were balanced and she was satisfied with her work.
“Beautiful,” a voice said from behind her. The tapping of nails on the oak floor gave Annie just enough time to turn around before her dog, Roxy, jumped up with an exuberant greeting. Jason stood inside the door, knocking the snow off his boots. “You got stuck doing this job by yourself?”
Annie put her finger to her lips and shushed her husband. “Well, you’re here now so you can help hang the ornaments on the top half of the tree.”
Jason walked toward Annie and gave her a hug. “What’s going on?”
In a low voice, Annie explained the morning drama to Jason. “So, Leona’s in the kitchen getting ready for the open house and Danny is missing.”
“Missing? And he’s not even answering his phone?”
“Nope.” Annie handed Jason one of Leona’s pewter snowflake ornaments. “There are twenty of these and each one is different. You can put ten on the higher branches and I’ll decorate the low ones.”
Jason stood on a footstool that had been tucked under the tree. “Do you think Danny will be back before the open house starts?”
“He better be. I’m not sure Leona can keep it together to greet all the visitors and put on her happy face by herself. A lot is riding on this being a success so the Blackbird gets off to a profitable start.”
“Wow.” Jason reached for another snowflake. “Why did she think inviting Danny’s mother was a good idea? Especially to have her come today? Maybe a quiet dinner for the three of them when everything here was in a good rhythm.”
“Too late for that idea now. Leona didn’t ask any of us for advice, so now she has to smooth this over when Danny returns.”
“And now his mother is dead. Do you think it’s connected to all the stuff she stole?”
Annie looked up at Jason. “Heather came to town because of Leona’s invitation. Why would she draw attention to herself by stealing from all the businesses on Main Street? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“But it wasn’t anything valuable, was it?”
“As far as I know, you’re right.”
“But?”
“Well, when I stopped in Camilla’s new store this morning, she discovered that one of her most expensive jewelry designs is missing. Heather was in the store but everything was put away when Camilla got a phone call. She said she was only in the back for a few minutes.”
“What about Heather’s car? Did the police find the stolen stuff?”
“I didn’t see any red hobo bag in Heather’s car after her body fell out but I suppose it could have been in her trunk. Wouldn’t Christy inform the business owners if the stolen items are recovered?”
“That would make sense.” Jason climbed off the footstool and looked at the tree. “What do you think?”
Annie stepped back from the tree. “Good enough for now. I want to check on Leona.”
They walked into the kitchen but it was empty. “Huh?” Annie said. “Where could she be?”
They peeked through the swinging doors into the big dining room—no Leona and no food.
“I’m getting worried.” Annie pulled Jason to the back entryway. Leona’s coat and boots were missing. A glance outside confirmed her fears. Leona’s bright yellow Ford Mustang was gone, too.
“It’s one o’clock. Maybe she had to get some last-minute things,” Jason said. “You know Leona. She isn’t always the best at planning.”
“She would have told me. No, I think she left to look for Danny and didn’t want me to insist on going with her or to try to talk her out of going.”
A scrap of paper on the kitchen counter caught Annie’s attention. “Here’s an address scribbled in Leona’s chicken scratching. Can you figure out what it says?” She handed the paper to Jason.
“Mountain Road. Maybe Leona left this for you to find.” He grabbed Annie’s hand. “Let’s go. This may be nothing but I know you won’t be happy unless we check for her there.”
While they got their coats and boots, Camilla and Annie’s mom stomped into the front hallway.
“It feels kind of deserted. Where are Leona’s and Danny’s cars?” Mia asked her daughter. “Don’t tell me they’ve left you with all the work.”
“Sort of, but,” Annie glanced at Jason, “we have to leave, too. Can you get the food ready?”
Mia hung her coat on the coat tree inside the door. “Does this have anything to do with all the commotion at the Cove’s Corner parking lot? I tried to get information but no one was telling me anything.”
“I don’t have time to tell you all the details, but Danny’s mother was found dead in her car and Danny has disappeared.”
Both Mia’s and Camilla’s mouths dropped open. “Dead?” they both uttered together.
“Murdered,” Annie added. “It’s horrible.”
“I can’t even process this news,” Mia said. “Where would Danny go? He’s not involved somehow, is he?”
Annie crunched her lips to one side. “We don’t know.”
“But where’s Leona?” Camilla asked.
“I think she went looking for Danny, and now we’re going to look for her. All the food is ready but it needs to be arranged in the dining room.” Annie looked hopefully at her mother and Camilla. “Please? For Leona?”
“Of course. Call if you find her,” Mia said. “Don’t worry about anything. We can handle the food. When do you expect people to start arriving?”
“Three o’clock. Randy Berry is bringing his team of Clydesdales and sleigh. If, for some crazy reason we aren’t back, offer drinks and tell Randy to start the sleigh rides. Send everyone out with an extra blanket.”
Mia pushed Annie out the door. “Go. Leave Roxy here with us. She will be the official meeter and greeter. We can handle everything.”
Jason grabbed Annie’s hand and they ran toward the parked cars. “I know the road and it can be a slippery mess at this time of year. We’ll take my SUV.” Jason opened the passenger door for Annie, ran around to the other side, and slipped in behind the wheel. He patted her leg. “Try not to worry.”
Asking Annie to try not to worry was like asking her not to breathe. Leona was family and she couldn’t sit idly by while her world crashed around her. If Danny was in trouble, Leona wouldn’t stop at anything to help him.
She stared out the window as Jason navigated the roads. A gentle snow drifted down which should have made Annie feel peaceful, but as she watched the layer of white bury everything on the side of the road, she wondered what clues might also be hidden.
As Jason slid around a sharp turn, he had to swerve hard to avoid a car barely out of the middle of the road—Leona’s car.
“Pull over!” Annie screamed, ready to open her door before the car had even stopped. “Where is she? Something is wrong.”
Jason pulled over. “Wait here. I’ll have a look.”
Of course, Annie ignored Jason’s command and was out of the car first. “Leona?” she shouted. She cupped her hands around her mouth and swiveled her head as she called her aunt, over and over. “Leona!”
Jason pointed to tire tracks leading off the road with footsteps overlapping. “She must have gone that way.”
The tracks disappeared into a stand of trees. As soon as Annie focused in that direction, she heard a voice.
Annie ran along the packed tracks until she saw what she had tried to block from her imagination. The tail lights of a truck flickered mockingly at her. The driver side door was open. A person leaned into the car, leaving only the lower half of the figure in view.
“Leona!” Annie sprinted to the open door. She shoved her head in next to Leona’s shoulder. “Oh no.”
“He’ll be okay. There’s a lot of blood but he’
s been talking to me.”
Annie registered Jason’s voice behind her as he called for help on his phone.
“What happened?” Annie asked Leona.
Danny opened his eyes. “A deer.”
“He swerved to avoid hitting a deer in the road,” Leona explained. “He cut his head when something flew around in the truck but look.” Leona pointed to the spot where Danny’s truck came to rest. “In between two trees. He didn’t hit anything. Can you believe it?”
That was about the only good news Annie could see after her eyes came to rest on a big red hobo bag that looked like it had been tossed into the backseat. How was Danny going to explain having his mother’s bag? And were the stolen items inside?
With Danny’s arms draped over Jason’s and Leona’s shoulders, they managed to help him walk out of the woods to the road. Without thinking, and while the others weren’t paying attention, Annie grabbed the red bag off the backseat of Danny’s truck. It was heavy. She followed behind and tossed the bag into the backseat of Jason’s SUV. She would deal with that fallout later.
5
Jason inched Leona’s car to the side of the road to make room for the tow truck. Leona helped Danny into her passenger seat. She fretted and dabbed at the blood on his face in an unsuccessful attempt to clean it off. “Sit still,” she commanded.
“It hurts, Leona.” He swatted her hand away. “Just wait and let me be for now.”
Leona let out a frustrated huff. She grabbed a blanket from the backseat and tucked it around his shivering body.
“How about I take you back to the Blackbird and get you cleaned up there?” she asked.
“Not until the tow truck arrives.” Danny let his head fall back onto the headrest with his eyes closed.
What was going through his mind? Annie wondered.
With nothing to do but wait, Annie and Jason climbed into the backseat of Leona’s car. With the heat blasting, at least they could all start to warm up while they waited.
“Okay.” Leona settled into the driver seat. “Tell me what you were doing up here.” She gave Danny her best I-want-an-answer look.
He turned his head away from Leona and faced the window. Whether his eyes were open or closed, Annie couldn’t tell.
Annie, in the backseat next to Jason, raised her eyebrows and grimaced at Jason.
Leona looked back at them and raised both hands in a silent plea for their help.
The snowflakes that hit the window melted and made a slow liquid journey down the glass. It mimicked the sadness in the car that everyone had to be feeling.
Hoping to distract and possibly ease some of the tension in the car, Annie started chattering. “Camilla and Mia are getting everything ready for the open house.”
“Good. Did you tell them Randy is coming at three with his horses and sleigh?” Leona asked. She turned around and put her arms on the back of her seat so she could face Annie.
“Yup. They’ll have drinks ready as guests arrive and a stack of blankets for anyone who wants to go out on the sleigh. The food will be set out in the dining room so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“I wish it was that easy, Annie,” Danny mumbled.
The other three people in the car stared at him. “What?” Annie asked.
“To not worry about anything.” He kept his head turned away from the others. “I talked to my mother.”
Leona’s breath hitched. “When?”
“Oh, I guess it was around eleven.” His big hand rubbed his cheek. “There’s a place on the Lake Trail that I remember she loved to visit.” He paused. The only sound was Danny’s breathing. “I found her sitting on the big rock with a view of the lake. Funny thing was, that old rock didn’t seem so big anymore.”
Leona’s hand stroked Danny’s arm. “How did it go?”
“About as I expected. I really don’t know why she came back to town. She said she had some business to take care of and she told me she was on her way back to her car to leave.” Danny turned his head to look at Leona. “She won’t be coming to the open house.”
“I’m so sorry,” Leona mumbled.
Danny shrugged. “It’s best this way. It would have been awkward for everyone if she showed up.” His face turned back to the window. “She won’t ever be back.”
Annie’s heart skipped a beat. She knew Heather would never be back. But what did Danny mean with his comment? Did he know his mother was dead or did he just think she was leaving town? And what about Heather’s red bag that Annie took out of Danny’s car?
Annie shook her head. This was turning from bad to worse by the minute.
“Danny?” Leona’s voice came out quiet and with a slight tremble.
He turned to face her just as the wrecker pulled into view.
Danny opened his door. “Let’s get this taken care of and go back home, okay, Leona?”
Leona nodded.
Danny and Jason walked over to the tow truck driver. Leona kneeled backward on the front seat and looked at Annie. “What am I going to do now? How am I going to tell him that Heather is dead . . . murdered? You couldn’t see the pain in his eyes when he said she wouldn’t be coming back.”
“Listen, Leona. You have to tell him before he hears it from anyone else. Do you think he already knows?”
Leona’s eyes narrowed into slits. “What are you saying, Annie? You think Danny killed his own mother?”
“I’m not saying that, but—”
“Zip it, Annie. Keep that thought unsaid.” Leona leaned over the front seat and put her face close to Annie’s. “Danny is not a killer.”
“You know how Heather was stealing from a lot of the businesses on Main Street?”
Leona nodded. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Heather’s big leather hobo bag was in the back of Danny’s car. Why would he have it?”
“Was?”
“I took it out. It’s in Jason’s SUV now.”
Leona opened the car door. “When we get back to the Blackbird, I’ll fix him a nice hot cup of tea, give him something to eat, and he’ll explain everything. You always think the worst in a situation.” She slammed the door.
The insult stung. She wasn’t thinking the worst, she was facing reality; something Leona was avoiding like a jug of sour milk.
With Danny’s car pulled from the woods, Leona got him settled in her car and they all followed the tow truck. Annie was relieved to be in the SUV with Jason and not stuck with Leona’s anger.
“Did Danny say anything to you while you were rescuing his truck?” Annie asked Jason.
“All he said was that Leona really made a mess with her good intentions. The last person he wanted to see was his mother and he’s glad she’s out of his life now.”
“Out of his life? Those were his words?”
“Yes. That’s what he said, but I think he meant that he thinks she left town for good.”
“I wonder if anyone saw them talking on the Lake Trail. Actually, I hope someone saw them while they were talking and can confirm that Danny left.”
“What are you thinking?” Jason asked.
“I just want him to have an absolutely airtight alibi. You know, I don’t want Detective Christy Crank to have any reason to start in on Danny as a suspect.”
“Seriously? Just because he met with her? Is there something else?”
Annie sighed. “I saw him leave the Cove’s Corner parking lot in a big hurry, so someone else might have, too. And . . .” She pointed over her shoulder to the back of his SUV. “Heather’s hobo bag was in Danny’s car. Leona is positive he has a good explanation but it puts him with Heather after she stole all that stuff on Main Street.”
“Heather’s bag? Danny did mumble something about his mom giving him something and she was in over her head and she wanted him to make it right.” Jason had to slow to a crawl on the slippery mountain road. “Make what right, I wonder.”
“Did he tell you what he was doing up here?”
Jason tapped his fingers on the steering wheel.
“He did, didn’t he? You’re trying to decide whether you should tell me or wait for him to tell Leona first.”
Jason slumped a little in his seat. “I don’t think he wants me to share what he said. He’s trying to figure out how and what to tell Leona, and he doesn’t want the two of you to gang up on him.”
“Gang up on him!” Annie shouted. “We want to help him. You want to know what I think?” She hurried on with her thought, not waiting for Jason to answer. “He came up here to get rid of Heather’s bag. That’s what I think. Maybe he came to his senses and had a change of heart or maybe he slid off the road before he had a chance to dump it. At any rate, Leona found him, and the bag was still in his car. I can’t imagine any other reason for him to come up here at this time of year. Especially,” she wagged her finger as she sucked in a lungful of air, “when they have an open house today in,” she checked the time, “one hour. An open house to promote his dream. They need this to go smoothly.” Annie let out a big puff of breath and slumped in her seat.
“Are you finished?” Jason reached across the seat and covered Annie’s hand with his own. “You’re right. He came up here to get rid of Heather’s bag.”
The tow truck drove past the Blackbird Bed and Breakfast driveway but Leona turned in. Jason parked next to Leona’s car.
“I’m glad I grabbed Heather’s bag out of Danny’s truck and we don’t have to risk anyone else finding it at the garage. At least we can make a plan,” Annie said to Jason before they left the warmth of his car.
Leona had her arm around Danny’s waist and his arm was draped over her shoulder as they made their way to the front door.
“Should I leave the bag in here for now?” Annie asked Jason. “Just forget about it until this open house is done?”
“That sounds like a good idea unless Danny asks about it. At some point he’s going to remember it was in his truck and he might panic that he forgot it in there. You’ll have to tell him you took it out.”
Annie went to the back of Jason’s car and pulled a blanket over the bag. “Lock up. I don’t want anything to happen to this bag.”