Cozy Christmas Murder

by Summer Prescott

  Her eyes clouded over as she frowned. “No. I couldn't bring myself to pretend I'm grieving for him.” She looked around. “I guess I'm curious to see where he died. That must sound crazy to you.”

  Grace was at a loss for words. It did seem a little strange to come visit the place her brother died instead of going to the funeral. Why would she want to see where he was killed? “Everyone's different,” was all she could come up with.

  “I haven’t heard from the police. I guess his killer is still at large.”

  Grace nodded. “Yes, it’s still under investigation.” She didn’t want to talk about murder. She was glad when Kate appeared. “Kate, this is Susannah. Blake's sister.”

  Kate's eyes lit up. If she was as surprised as Grace had been, she hid it well. “Susannah, I'm so happy to meet you.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. “You two went to his funeral I take it.”

  “Yes. He had a big turn out,” Kate said. “But they all seemed to be other authors and fans of his books. No family members that I could tell. I'm sorry, that was careless of me to say. Me and my big mouth.”

  “It's okay. He isn't. . .wasn’t close to anyone in our family. I'm his only sibling and we have lots of cousins, but they turned their backs on him when he became famous and didn't have time for family anymore.”

  “What about your son? Did Joshua go to his funeral?” Grace asked.

  “He told me he arrived late, so he missed most of it. He only went to the grave site.”

  Kate met Grace's eyes. “I'll be right back.”

  “The tea was lovely. I saw it advertised in our newspaper,” Susannah said.

  “Thank you.” Grace smiled at her. “I'm glad you enjoyed it.” Susannah seemed like a nice woman, but she couldn't get over the feeling that it was strange for her to want to spend time where Blake had been killed no matter what her feelings for him were. At some point, she had loved her brother, and Grace bet that somewhere in her heart, she still did, whether she knew it or not. Too bad it was now too late for any kind of reconciliation. At least Blake had done right by her son, it appeared.

  Kate came back with her phone in hand. Grace was surprised it wasn't already in her possession; she'd been taking pictures of the Christmas tea all afternoon to share on social media. “Is this Josh?” She thrust her phone at Susannah.

  Susannah peered at the screen. “Yes, that's him. Is that at the cemetery?”

  “Yes, it was. He looks a lot like you,” Grace said.

  “Thank you, I think.” She looked confused. “Kate, what on earth made you take a picture of him? You couldn't have known who he was.”

  “I didn't. This is a little embarrassing. He arrived at the cemetery after everyone else had gathered and the priest had started. We thought it was odd that he was leaning against his car watching from there, so I snapped pictures. It's a thing I do. I drive my family crazy. If I showed you the pictures on my camera, you'd think I was nuts.”

  Susannah smiled faintly. “I see lots of people taking pictures with their phones. I'm sure you aren't nuts. Josh is a great guy. He's a lot like me, reserved, usually quiet and he doesn't like crowds. That's probably why he was standing so far apart from everyone else.”

  “Was he close to Blake?” Kate asked.

  “No. He didn't know Blake that well. I grudgingly give him credit for sending Josh Christmas and birthday presents, and he did see him a few times when my son was older. I didn't explain anything in detail to Josh about what happened between Blake and me.” She paused and reached for a tiny sandwich. “I told him we'd had an argument and never reconciled. I never painted Blake in a bad light to Josh. That's not me. The only thing he knows is that his uncle promised to leave him his estate. He wanted to pay his respects. He asked if it would bother me and I said no. He's a grown man. He makes his own decisions.”

  “Did you get something more to eat than that little sandwich?” Kate asked.

  “I did, thank you. It was all very delicious. You have a wonderful bookstore. The detective who came to see me said Blake was killed here. Who found him?”

  “I did,” Kate volunteered. “Please don't ask me where. I can't stand to think about it.”

  “I understand completely.” Susannah looked around. “It's kind of ironic. Him being killed in a bookstore since he was an author.”

  “I never thought of that.” Grace didn't know how to respond to that comment. It was almost as if Susannah thought it was cosmic justice, or some such thing.

  Susannah blinked and focused back on the twins. “I've got to get back home. It was nice meeting you both. I'm sure I'll be here again at some point.”

  “Nice to meet you, too, Susannah,” Kate said.

  “Yes,” Grace agreed, “it was. Please do come visit again.” She felt bad being disingenuous like that. She felt terrible for what Blake had done to her, but there was something she didn’t exactly care for in Susannah. She wouldn’t feel bad if the woman never came back.

  “I think she killed Blake,” whispered Kate, grabbing her sister's arm.

  “Ow! Why are you grabbing me so hard? What makes you say that?”

  “Did you see the way she was looking around?” Kate whispered. “Did you see her face when she mentioned how ironic it was that Blake was killed in a bookstore? I thought she was going to cackle like a witch.”

  Grace rubbed her arm. “Yes, she did look a little out there, and I admit there’s something about her that makes me uncomfortable. But really, Kate, we shouldn’t judge.”

  “Shouldn’t judge?” Kate's eyes looked as if they might pop out of her head any second. “She may have killed Blake. Okay, the man wasn’t perfect, who is? And what he did to Alice, Susannah, and Christopher was in bad form to say the least. If it’s all true, and I’ll admit it probably is. But even so, he didn’t deserve to be murdered. I’m not sure what he deserved, but not that. Susannah looks like she’d have no trouble wielding a fireplace poker. We should make sure Ian has an eye on her. He needs to grill her.”

  Grace frowned. “No, no, no. By we, you mean me, and I am not about to interfere again. He's got everything under control, I'm sure.”

  Kate snorted. “Hmmm. I'm not too sure. This morning’s paper said the police are still chasing down leads. What leads? And from whom? The only person who knows who killed Blake, besides the actual killer, is Blake. And I’m certain Blake’s not up to be interviewed by anyone, the police or otherwise.”

  “I don’t want to talk murder now. How about we concentrate on our customers and enjoy the festive atmosphere, shall we?”

  “We shall, but I still think she killed him. Sorry I hurt your arm.” Kate gave Grace a quick hug.

  “I’ll live,” Grace said, but Kate had already disappeared.

  “Grace, hi! It looks like you had a fantastic turnout. Any food left?”

  “Jenna! Hi! There’s a lot left. It’s all delicious, too. So glad you made it. It’s a big crowd, as you can see.”

  “Great! I’m so glad. I love the decorating. Every year you guys outdo yourselves.”

  “Thanks. I’m glad we decided to go ahead with the tea. It’s been so good for everyone’s spirits.” Grace looked at the woman beside Jenna with curiosity.

  “How rude of me. Grace, this is Rina Foster. Rina, this is Grace Danning. She and her sister, Kate, own this lovely bookstore.”

  “It’s beautiful,” Rina said, smiling widely. “It smells so good in here, too.” She looked down in the basket she was carrying. “As you can see, I’m making several purchases.”

  Grace smiled back. “Thank you. I’m glad you found what you were looking for.”

  “I knew as soon as my husband and I checked in to the Thistlewood Inn, I’d want to come over and visit. We just got back from a little trip to Tennessee.”

  “She’s the one I told you about, right after Blake’s murder,” Jenna explained.

  “Ah, I remember,” Grace said. “I hope you enjoyed Tennessee, Rina.”

  “Oh,
we did. We stayed in a cabin and unplugged. I never realized a man had been murdered in town until Jenna told me this morning at breakfast. How awful! I can't imagine going through something like that. It was heavenly being so secluded. No radio, no TV, no smartphones, no computers. You’d be surprised how relaxing it was.”

  “I’ll bet,” Grace agreed. It sounded like something she could use soon.

  “Grace, there’s a reason I brought Rina over, other than she wanted to shop, that is, and come to the tea. I hate to do this now and rain on your festivities, but I think we need to go see Ian,” Jenna said. “Or have him come here.”

  “What?” Grace stared at her friend. “Why? What’s going on? Please don’t tell me something happened over at your inn.”

  “No.” She lowered her voice. “But I think Rina may have seen and heard something that could have had something to do with Blake’s murder.”

  So much for not talking about murder. “What? Are you serious?”

  Jenna nodded. “Yes. Wait till you hear what she has to say.”

  “Okay. Let’s go upstairs to the office. We can have privacy.”

  The two women followed Grace up the stairs. “Now tell me. What about Blake’s murder?”

  “I’ll start,” Jenna said. “Rina and her husband got back from Tennessee late last night. I let them in and went right to bed, barely saying goodnight to them. This morning at breakfast, when I told them about Blake’s murder, they were stunned. Obviously, they hadn’t heard anything about it. Rina, you can take over from here.”

  “Okay. The night before we left, which was the night before Mr. D’Arcy was killed, I heard someone banging on the door across the hall. I had no idea it was his room until I told Jenna this morning at breakfast and she said that was Mr. D’Arcy’s room. My husband is a deep sleeper. You could start a chainsaw up beside our bed and it wouldn’t wake him up. It was quite late at night, so the banging startled me.”

  “Goodness,” Grace said, “that would certainly startle me, too.”

  Rina nodded. “It would startle anyone, I think. Anyway, I looked out the peephole and saw a younger man, maybe in his thirties or forties, at Mr. D'Arcy's door. Longish brown hair, medium build, average weight. He wore glasses. He seemed nervous. He kept bouncing from foot to foot.”

  Grace blinked, totally immersed in Rina’s story. “What did you do?”

  “I kept my eye on the peephole. The door finally opened and the man went in. I heard shouting a few minutes later. I was about to call Jenna, but the shouting stopped. The door opened a few minutes later, and slammed. I assumed it was the man leaving. I went to sleep and forgot about it really until this morning.”

  “Her description sounds like the man we saw at the cemetery,” Jenna finished. “Doesn’t it, Grace?

  Grace flattened a hand against her chest, as if she could stop her heart from slamming against her ribs. “I have news for you. That guy at the funeral was Blake D’Arcy’s nephew, Joshua Ellington.”

  “Are you kidding?” Jenna looked stunned. “How do you know?”

  Grace explained Susannah’s earlier visit. “We need Kate. Jenna, can you go find her? Make sure she has her cell phone.”

  “Will do.”

  “There was a man at Blake D’Arcy’s funeral,” Grace explained to Rina who looked a little confused, and who could blame her? “Kate insisted on taking pictures of him. I thought she was silly, but now, I’m not so sure. Something tells me the man at Blake’s funeral, his nephew, is the same man you saw.”

  Rina’s eyes grew wide. “Do you think so?”

  “I do, but when Kate gets here, you can look at the pictures she took and see if you think they’re the same guy.”

  “On no,” cried Rina. “I should’ve called the police, or woken up Jenna when I heard him banging on the door. I feel terrible.”

  Grace put an arm around her. “You have absolutely nothing to feel terrible about. You didn’t know. And I’m not saying he definitely is the same person, or the killer.” But deep inside, she’d bet her home, and Black Cat Books, that it was.

  “Phew!” Kate exclaimed when she came up the stairs. “Things are winding down, only a small crowd left. Jenna said you need to see the pictures I took of Josh. I’ve asked Jeremiah to watch the register. He’s thrilled as you can probably guess.”

  “I’ll make sure to thank him later,” Grace promised, then gave Kate a quick recap of what Jenna and Rina had just said.

  “This could be a real break,” Kate said as she showed the pictures of Josh Ellington to Rina.

  Rina’s mouth formed on O of surprise. “Gracious me. Yes! That’s him! That’s the man I saw banging on the door. I’m sure that’s him. At least the hair, and even the clothes look the same. He’s the one who was arguing with Mr. D’Arcy. Is he the killer?”

  “It makes sense,” Kate said. “But why?”

  None of the women had an answer.

  “Kate, call Ian,” Grace said. “He needs to hear this.”

  “I have to get downstairs. Jeremiah isn’t going to want to stay behind the cash register forever. He'll get grumpy in about another two minutes. And he needs to get to his office. Plus, I want to say goodbye to the people who are left. Why don’t you call? It's not as if Ian is going to bite your head off.”

  Kate was right. “Okay. I’ll call. Tell Jeremiah thanks for stepping in.”

  “I will. It was nice meeting you, Rina. You may have just found our killer.”

  Her eyes widened. “Won’t that be a story for the grandkids?”

  CHAPTER 11

  * * *

  “Come upstairs to the office,” Grace told Ian when he arrived. “There’s someone you need to talk to.”

  Ian listened to Rina and looked at the pictures on Kate’s phone. “Mrs. Foster, I'll need you to come down to the station. Grace, tell Kate I'm taking her phone. I'll return it later.”

  “Of course, Detective. I'll do whatever it takes if it helps you find whoever killed poor Mr. D'Arcy,” Rina said. “Imagine getting involved in a murder while you're on vacation.”

  “Can I come with her?” Jenna asked. “She and her husband are visiting. I don't want her to be alone.”

  “I have no problem with that. Where's your husband now?” Ian asked.

  “He's waiting for me at Thistlewood. We were going to visit an Amish farm and country store Jenna told us about. Can I tell him what's going on?”

  “Absolutely,” Ian replied. “He's free to come to the station with you. Why don't you and your husband meet me there? Jenna, maybe you can chauffeur them?”

  “I don't mind at all.”

  “Who's watching Thistlewood?” Grace asked.

  “My cousin, Meg. She won't mind if I'm gone. We'll see you shortly, Ian.”

  “I'll go pay for my books, then I'll be ready,” Rina said. “Grace, it was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again when we come back this way.”

  “I’d love to see you again. It was nice meeting you, too. Enjoy your stay.”

  Ian turned to Grace when Jenna and Rina were gone. “Thanks for calling.”

  “You're welcome.” Grace smiled at him. He hadn't mentioned arresting Kate or her lately, so she was feeling a little more charitable toward him.

  “I've got to get going. I'll let you know if anything comes of this,” he said.

  “Thanks. I'm coming downstairs, too.”

  She followed Ian and walked him to the front door. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks, Grace.”

  “Are you trying to freeze everyone? You can watch him out the window.”

  Grace jumped at the sound of Kate's voice. She turned to find her sister grinning at her. “I am not watching him.”

  Kate subtly lifted an eyebrow at her. “Really?”

  “I'm going to start cleaning up.” Grace pushed past her sister, ignoring the giggling coming from Kate's mouth.

  ###

  “What do you think he wants?” Kate asked.

  “He said
it was about Blake's murder.” It was two days after the Christmas tea, and Black Cat Books had been humming with activity all day, right up until closing time fifteen minutes ago. It seemed like everyone loved books, Grace thought. Good thing for her and Kate.

  Kate was about to respond when the door opened and Ian stepped in. “Kate. Grace.”

  “Hi, Ian,” Grace said. “I hope you're bringing good news.”

  “Was it Joshua who killed Blake?” As usual, Kate got right to the point.

  He closed the door behind him. “This is going to hit the press any time now, but I wanted to come by personally. Joshua Ellington has been arrested for the murder of Blake D'Arcy.”