“Didn’t I see you…maybe not,” I said.
“Yes, I was singing with the caroling group. Me and my cousin trade off all the time – but I’m the real seer. She’s good with Tarot, though. Yeah, we’re a real traveling caravan of Gypsies. Our families have several shops selling wares and food here – you should try our traditional stew. It’s delicious.”
“And you should come to our coffee shop in the Methodist Church Pavillion when you’re on break, Esmeralda.”
“Ezzy – call me Ezzy.”
“And you can meet my Aunt Essie there too!”
“I’m not sure Papa would like me to go into a Methodist Church booth, but I’ll see.”
“I think I might have seen him. Dark hair and eyes?”
“Yes, that’s him. You’ve probably seen him in the Bee’s Knees shop with my brother, Daniel. My dad is Enoch Glendenning. I guess you could call him the king of our clan. My uncle, Aldo Glendenning, runs the food truck, and Mom sings, but otherwise she doesn’t come out of the bus much. And my brothers and sisters and cousins are all over the place! So…” A short line began to form behind us for her services, and she gestured to the crystal ball to her left and deck of Tarot cards to her right. “…cards, ball, or palms today?”
“Which is the best?” Eli asked.
“Palms never lie,” she said with a smile.
“You know,” Eli said as he extended his palm to the girl, “I thought Gypsies were…”
“Brown? Dark eyes? Black Hair? Yes, that’s the Romani Gypsies, who may have migrated from India 500 years ago. We are more correctly called Irish Travellers. But we are all considered part of the Gypsy cancer in Europe,” she said with a smile as she looked at his hand.
She looked up quickly as if she was surprised and turned her head towards me. “May I see your hand too, Miss?”
“I’m Lily,” I said and gave her my hand.
She breathed a gentle and nearly silent laugh from her nostrils. “Your paths have crossed many times, but you have never pursued your curiosity and feelings for one another – until recently.”
Eli and I gave each other a glance and a grin. That was true. We had known each other all our lives, and we had always been drawn together. But it’s only been a year since we started dating.
“And this is actually quite odd,” she said, “but both of your love lines are far from your life lines, and then they both take a sharp plunge, coming together very suddenly and permanently. It is only recently that you have been married.”
“Oh, no – we’re not married.” I looked at Eli, and he was shaking his head vigorously too.
“Or, then, it is only recently that you have consummated your love in the way that a married couple does.”
We both turned white as a sheet and slowly turned towards each other, stopping before we actually made eye contact. How did she know that? Jules doesn’t even know…and it was just last Saturday night.
“It was a lifetime commitment for both of you…and there will be a child.”
I swung my head toward her quickly, eyes wide, and I could almost sense Eli’s blood leaving his face and his body becoming paralyzed.
“Not now, Lily.” She giggled like a young girl, breaking the tense mood. “But maybe two children in the next five years. Sorry to scare you like that! Here…” She pushed the deck of Tarot cards toward me. “Cut the deck.”
I took just a few cards off the top of the deck and turned them over. It was the Death card.
“Don’t worry,” Esmeralda said with her girlish grin. “That’s not your card.” She tapped the top card of the remaining part of the deck. “This one is.”
She turned it over. “Of course. It’s The Lovers. I can explain the meaning for you…”
Eli stood up suddenly and looked at his watch. “Thank you, but I really have to go.”
Esmeralda gave me an understanding nod as Eli practically pulled me away from the booth.
“What’s the hurry, Eli?”
“I have to check in at the North Pole and find a suit that fits.”
“You’re not on duty as Santa for an hour and a half, Eli. Settle down. Let’s get a bite to eat.”
“Sure. Sure, Lily. But I should get there 45 minutes or an hour ahead of time.”
I’m pretty sure all that was code for I had to get away from that girl before she brought out Parson Brown to marry us.
It did seem to be just one “love” thing after another – and it did feel a little invasive, the way that she seemed to really know all of our intimate secrets. I think he just didn’t want to feel naked to the world anymore. I, on the other hand, was relishing every minute of it – except for that pregnancy scare!
Well, we browsed through a few of the little shops and got a couple of tacos from a food truck, but at high noon Eli headed to the far end of the market to get ready for his stint as the Great and Powerful Claus. I was kind of excited to see him in the suit later on. Fortunately, the sun was hiding, and a cool breeze was moving through the marketplace, so he shouldn’t overheat.
I took my time heading back and did a little Christmas window-shopping, but I didn’t actually buy anything. I mean, it’s still early…right? I passed back through the crime scene. Things seemed to be pretty much back to normal, although two booths were taped off and being checked over by investigators.
Right across from the vandalized shop I saw the Bee’s Knees Honey Hive and Crafts shop again, where the boy was standing earlier. Maybe he was Esmeralda’s younger brother. His hair was a little redder, but he had the same penetrating eyes. At the back of the large walk-in booth I could see a middle-aged man with dark hair, a dour expression, and his arms folded. Esmeralda’s father? Cheerful young boys and girls helped the customers under his close scrutiny.
Next to the destroyed sunglass and umbrella shop was the Happy Cat.
Hmm. Mildred still isn’t in. That seemed a little odd to me – that someone would pay for a spot in the Markets, take the time, trouble, and money to set it up, and then not be there to take advantage of the crowds. I hoped she wasn’t sick.
I couldn’t believe it when I got back to the coffee shop in the pavilion. The place was buzzing like a beehive. It was still full from the lunch rush. Pastor Miranda Cassidy waved hello to me from the far end of the hall, where she and Jerry Thatcher were setting up for Bingo at 1 o’clock. It was good that the “front” of the Bingo hall was at the “back” end of the restaurant.
But the people had more than Bingo on their minds. I heard Toe Thompson’s voice first, and walked behind the counter to see what all the fuss was about.
“It’s the people from those big corporate stores and the Outlet Mall in Sabina, I tell ya. They’re comin’ in here over night and trying to destroy their competition now that our little Christmas Markets are sucking the life out of their weekend business.”
“Oh, you and your conspiracy theories, Toe.” It was Martha White. She had her golf cart, which was styled into a replica of Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage, parked right outside the pavilion, even though it was supposed to be in the special senior’s lot half a block away. But she was a princess – at least in her own mind. “It’s just the work of mischievous kids.”
“You’re both wrong,” said Calvin Tucker, another senior, with an air of authority. “It’s that band of Gypsies that came to town to sell their cheap merchandise. Everyone knows they bring trouble…”
“…trouble, mischief, and mayhem wherever we go.”
It was Esmeralda. She strutted in confidently wearing her full Gypsy regalia and sat at the counter next to Harvey, who was quiet today. Still worried about Miss Pickles, I suppose.
“Hi, Lily. Do you have a cold bottle of green tea with apple or some kind of juice in it?” She looked at the stunned, quiet faces next to her – and I was a little nervous myself, given Calvin’s rude comment.
Then she said in a loud, witchy voice, facing Calvin head on, “…and top it off with some eye of newt, spider legs
, and bats’ wings!”
She let out a very convincing cackle and then turned and winked at me as I set the cold beverage in front of her.”
“Ezzy, I’m so…so…”
“Oh, don’t worry about it, Lily.”
She waved off the remark with her hand and took a sip of her drink. “Exclusion and hatred are par for the course for us. I don’t even notice it any more. Besides, the Travellers earned their reputation with a lot of bad behavior back in the day.”
The rest of the customers were still quietly gawking at Esmeralda.
“What are you all looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a 19-year-old girl before?”
She was pretty mature and wise for a woman still in her teens and seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to heckle her detractors and stupefied onlookers.
She stood up and took her bottle. “Mind your own business, or I’ll send my flying monkeys after you! And stop at the Bee’s Knees, Zandy’s Tattoo Parlor, Aldo’s Pronto Pup truck, and come and have your fortune told – only seven bucks. Oh – and tip the carolers!”
She turned to me then. “I’ll take this to go, Lily, so you don’t start to lose any customers.”
“Don’t be silly, Ezzy. They won’t…”
She leaned in and spoke softly. “Oh, yes they will. See you later!” And she walked out of the pavilion with a seductive sway.
I had to admire the girl.
“Come and get your bingo cards!” Jerry Thatcher announced. It looked like one of Harvey’s substitutes would be handling the festivities today.
“You’re not calling the numbers today, Harvey?” He still looked pretty sullen and didn’t seem to hear my question right away.
“Wha? Oh…no, Lily. I’ll just do the big show in the church basement on Tuesday nights and give my subs a chance to have a little fun here at the markets.”
“I see. So, did Cora get Miss Pickles feeling any better last night?”
“Oh, ya. She got a little more energy, and the lady gave her a little medicine. She seems to be real concerned about Miss Pickles. She gave me a little bottle of water with some medicine in it to add to her water bowl on odd days and a little bag of special kibble chucks to give her on even days. She put an eyedropper of some kind of medicine on each chunk – different that what she put in the water – and I have to give her one of them every other day, or if she gets really sick again.”
“Did she say what caused it?”
“Well, she thinks she probably nibbled on some poinsettias or mistletoe at Mildred’s shop when we were there.”
“Now, don’t you go speaking badly of my good friend!” Gladys Gulch sneaked up on us somehow from the crowd gathering for Bingo. She looked a lot like Almira Gulch – the Kansas persona of the Wicked Witch of the West – with her dark hair, slender form, and thin nose and lips. She tried to smile at us, but that looked a little scary on the woman too. “Have any of you seen Mildred? She said she would meet me here at 1 o’clock if she could get away.”
“No, Gladys,” I said. The woman could actually be a sweet lady, but she was a bit socially awkward. “Where is she, anyway?”
“Oh, she has a little booth down the way selling cat treats and whatnot.”
“No, I mean, she hasn’t been in to open the Happy Cat place all day. I was by there twice.”
Gladys gave me an odd or maybe concerned looked.
“Why, that’s not possible. I dropped her off here at 7 o’clock this morning so she would have time to get things ready before the gates opened.”
Now I was concerned too.
“Maybe somebody called her with an emergency or something she had to attend to, Gladys.”
“I don’t think so. Her daughter lives out of state, and I’m the only friend she’s got.”
I made sure I had my iPhone. I treated myself to the 6S when it came out, and I wanted to try to get a picture of Eli as Santa if we saw him out there too.
Essie had plenty of help, so I reached for Gladys’s hand. “Come on.”
We headed out of the pavilion and onto the path with Toe and Harvey and some of the others trailing behind us.
“Oh, my gosh!” Gladys exclaimed as we got to the vandalized area. “What happened here?”
Eli was in his Santa suit with a small child on each knee, right in front of on of the taped off stores, so I had to stop and take a picture. Gladys walked up to Mildred’s shop while I snapped a few shots of my guy.
She tried the knob on the wooden door on the front of the structure. It was not locked, and the door opened right up for her. She gave me a tense look, so I joined her at the entrance, and we went inside.
“Oh, no,” I said under my breath. Some of the displays had been knocked over, and the place was in disarray. I opened the service window above the front counter and waved at Eli who gave me a puzzled look.
Gladys went through a curtain into the back storage area. Immediately I heard a blood-curdling scream from behind the curtain. Eli jumped to his feet putting the children down in front of him. Then he reached under his big red jacket and pulled out a 9 millimeter Glock pistol, which he held pointed towards the sky, and he moved quickly to the door and inside the shop. Parents and children alike were aghast to see Santa with a gun in his hand.
I pulled back the curtain for Eli, and we saw Gladys kneeling beside the form of her dearest friend in the world, Mildred Meriwether. She was face down on the floor of grass.
Eli looked around for any sign of danger, then holstered his pistol and got down on one knee next to Mildred.
“Call 911,” he said.
“Already on it. They’re dispatching police and ambulance now.”
“Tell them I want Karen Crenshaw and Kevin O’Leary.”
Gladys was sitting back on her heels now, her eyes and mouth wide open in silent horror and anguish with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“She’s still alive,” Eli said as he pressed his fingers against Mildred’s neck. Gladys began to shake uncontrollably. “It looks like she’s got a pretty bad gash on the back of her head.” He turned her over and checked her breathing and heartbeat. “She’s unconscious, but she’s breathing on her own.” He elevated her feet with her purse and a sweater he found nearby.
Then he stood up. “Gladys is going to need some attention from the EMTs too. Maybe you can sit by her for a while.”
“Of course.”
I sat next to a very distraught Gladys. She was most likely in shock. Every muscle in her body was tensed, and she was almost non-responsive. She slowly turned her head towards me, and there was a faraway look in her glazed eyes. She spoke very softly, with barely enough air to push the words through her lips.
“I’m supposed to meet Mildred for lunch. I don’t want to be late. Mildred doesn’t like it when I’m late.”
I held her hand as the song of the carolers grew louder outside…
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!
It’s the best time of the year!
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Chapter Four
It was nice to be back on Sunshine Avenue at the original Coffee Cabana after the hectic weekend at the Christmas Markets. Monday had flown by with all the ordering and scheduling we had to do to coordinate things for the week and the second big weekend coming up.
It was Tuesday again, and school had just gotten out. That meant that Moira would be coming in to give Jules a little break in the shop, and Trevor would be here to get in a leisurely hour or two behind the counter and earn a few bucks for his college fund – or video games, more likely.
Toe and Harvey were at their usual table in the corner near the counter.
“Got a slice of Becky’s blueberry pie back there, Lily? It sure is good stuff.” Toe looked at me with hopeful eyes.
“Sorry, Toe. You’re going to have to wait for the Cabana East to open up on Friday before we’ll have that aga
in. Besides, you’ll spoil your supper. Have a cookie to tide you over.”
Harvey looked a little more chipper today, with his big night of Bingo calling coming up.
“How’s Miss Pickles doing, Harvey?”
“She’s pretty good today. But it’s kind of odd. She wasn’t too good yesterday, but the lady from the vet stopped by after dinner and fixed her up again.”
Hildie perked up with that news and began listening more intently as Harvey continued.
“She said it might be kind of up and down for a while with this thing, but she’s going to keep checking in. Seems like she’s a real cat lover, that woman.”
“Cat lover, my big rosy…”
“Hildie!” I didn’t know if I should be shocked or amused.
Then she spoke so only I could hear her. “Well, that Cora Applegate hasn’t got the least bit of interest in Miss Pickles…”
Okay, she knew the woman’s name now.
“…She just wants to bounce her cute little ponytail and hiney around in front of poor Harvey.”
I didn’t know why she would say that – except for the obvious reason that she feels like her relationship with Harvey might be threatened. Cora might have saved the life of Harvey’s cat. Then Hildie spoke to Harvey.
“So, Harvey, did Blondie invite you and Miss Pickles over for dinner yet?”
“Huh,” Harvey said. “Funny you should mention that, Hildie. She said she could stop over again tomorrow to check on Miss Pickles. But then she said I could just bring her over to her place at dinnertime. She hates cooking a big meal just for herself, I guess. And she’s just a block away, one street over from the front of my house.”
“I hope there’s another hospital bed next to Mildred,” she mumbled to me.
“Hildie, don’t talk like that. Hey, Harvey – Holiday Inn and White Christmas are playing as a double feature all week at the Bijou. Hildie loves Bing Crosby.”
Harvey’s head snapped to attention. “Ya, me too. Would you like to go with me, Hildie?” His eyes and spirit lit up with more excitement than he’d shown in ages. “Crosby, Fred Astaire, Rosemary Clooney. What do you think?”
Peppermint Pandemonium: A Cozy Mystery (Sweet Home Mystery Series Book 5) Page 3