Cozy Christmas Murder

by Summer Prescott

  “I don’t know, but don’t anyone touch a thing until the police have a chance to check for fingerprints,” Miss Lottie advised.

  “I think they were returned tonight because my dad wanted my mom to wear them for Christmas Eve,” Robert Jr. claimed. “They were his last gift to her and she should wear them. James, do you have any objections?”

  “I don’t, but I’d like to know where they came from, too,” James stated. “The person who murdered Mr. Bellington stole these. How did they get back here?”

  “I wouldn’t touch them. I would lock this room up tight tonight and leave them be in the case,” Miss Lottie insisted, looking from one person to another.

  Any one of you could have slipped in here while everyone was in their own rooms getting ready for the party and not be seen returning the jewelry.

  “I think Miss Lottie is right,” Patricia replied.

  “Well. I don’t think she is,” Robert Jr. said, opening the case and taking out the necklace. “I don’t know where it came from, but it has to be a sign that you should be wearing them tonight.”

  Robert Jr. stepped behind his mother and clasped the necklace around her neck. She ran her fingers over it while staring in the crystal case at her reflection. Her son removed the smaller diamond bracelet she had on and replaced it with the matching bracelet.

  Timmer stood at the study door.

  “People are beginning to arrive, Mrs. Bellington,” he announced.

  “What do you say, Mother?” Robert Jr. asked. “Shall we go meet our guests?”

  Patricia took one more look at her reflection and smiled. She hooked her arms in her son’s and James’ arms.

  “Let’s go have ourselves a Christmas party,” she proclaimed.

  Over one-hundred guests attended the Bellington party. Miss Lottie kept her eye on the study doors all night. Not only did the jewelry show up again, but the bust appeared as well. Someone in this house was a murderer and she had to figure out who it was.

  The party continued on until the wee hours of the morning. Angie Simmons even managed to crash the party sometime after midnight. Miss Lottie was tired, and it was way past her bedtime. She said goodnight to Patricia and slipped off to bed.

  The sounds of the party were reduced to a dull murmur once Lottie hit her suite. Glad to be out of the middle of the drinking and the noise, she changed into her nightgown and slid into her bed, pulling out her little notebook from her nightstand.

  She ran over the list of names in her mind and what each one had for a motive. The list didn’t get any shorter than the first time she looked at it, but she did add two more names; Patricia and James.

  Placing the notebook back in its drawer so no else would see it, she fell asleep to the muffled sounds of the party going on below.

  CHAPTER 11

  * * *

  Christmas Day celebration started late in the Bellington household, like it did every year. They were not small children anymore who jumped out of bed early for Santa’s visit. Breakfast was never served until eleven giving all the family members time to sleep in and recover from the previous night’s party.

  The breakfast buffet was full and awaiting the family’s arrival. Kimberly Ann sat down first. She had gone to bed earlier than the rest of the family and had not had a single drink. She was clear headed and ready to open presents.

  Vanessa stumbled into the dining room next. Still in her pajamas and bathrobe, she was half awake. All she wanted was a good, strong cup of coffee.

  Robert Jr. breezed in, fully dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed for the living room.

  Patricia and James came in together. They sat down to eat, inviting Miss Lottie, Timmer and Chef Ramon to eat Christmas breakfast with them. They were also told that Patricia was quite capable of cooking dinner by herself later and she dismissed all the staff to go home and be with their families for the holiday as soon as they were done eating and cleaning up after breakfast.

  Wheeling the coffee cart into the living room, Miss Lottie prepared for the family to open gifts. She would sit on the side and watch as the adults of the household turned into children as they opened gifts. Vanessa was the most impatient, wanting all her gifts at the same time so she could rip into them one after another.

  Patricia made the time special. One gift was opened at a time so that everyone could see what the other person received. It would take four to five hours to open all the gifts and this year would be no exception with the number of gifts that were under the tree.

  Miss Lottie helped Timmer and Chef clean up the breakfast area to get them home to their families faster. The family had already started to open gifts. Miss Lottie sat in her usual wingback chair next to the fireplace and watched the festivities.

  The elderly housekeeper didn’t understand what most of the electronic gifts were for that the three kids opened, even after they tried to explain it to her. She gave up trying to understand such things and retired to her suite leaving the happy family to celebrate by themselves.

  This was the one time of year that she did miss her family. Her mother and father had passed on many years ago, and her only sister died when they were both young girls. Miss Lottie had never married and had no children. The Bellingtons were the only family she knew.

  Robert Bellington may not have been the man that she thought he was, but he had provided her with a roof over her head and food in her stomach for many years. He took good care of her most of her life and she had to repay him by finding out who his killer was.

  She decided to take a short nap while the rest of the family opened gifts. Patricia would need help finding things in the kitchen as she hadn’t cooked a thing since they moved into the mansion. Miss Lottie figured that she would end up cooking most of the Christmas dinner, but she was happy to do it because they WERE her family.

  She slept longer than she planned on. It was dark outside when she was awakened by a knock on her door. Kimberly was asking her to come down to dinner and be with the family. It was already on the table and they were waiting for her to join them.

  Dinner was lively and pleasant. Patricia had cooked a spiral ham that she found in the refrigerator and many other side dishes to go with it. A variety of desserts leftover from the previous night’s party finished off a beautiful Christmas dinner.

  Miss Lottie got up to start cleaning up the dishes. Patricia insisted that everything be left where it was, and the maids could clean up in the morning. It was the first time in as long as Lottie could remember that dirty dishes were left around the house.

  “Your gifts are still under the tree,” Patricia said, as she poured herself a nightcap to take to bed with her.

  “Gifts? I wasn’t expecting anything,” Lottie answered.

  “I know, but every year you buy everyone gifts and have never received any in return. The kids figured that Robert gave you your bonus and that was your Christmas gift, but not anymore. I think you’ll like what everyone got you,” Patricia said, smiling. “Merry Christmas, dear Lottie. Things will be a lot different around here from now on and I hope you decide to stay with us until you chose to retire.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Bellington. It’s good to know that I am still wanted. Now, I think I will go into the living room, admire the tree lights and open my gifts.”

  “And it’s Patricia from now on,” she said, leaving the kitchen. “Merry Christmas.”

  Miss Lottie made a fresh cup of tea and sat in the recliner that had been placed near the tree. She sipped her tea enjoying the twinkle lights as they blinked on and off.

  There were five gifts left under the tree with her name on them. One from each of the children, one from Patricia and James and one from Timmer. She took her time opening each one. When she was done, she had some beautiful new things for her suite, several new mysteries to read and a gold locket from Patricia.

  She picked up her now cold tea and started to drink it again. The mysteries had reminded her that she needed to find Mr. Bellington’s kill
er. Lottie rocked, losing herself in the lights of the tree. Running over her list of suspects, she played back conversations from the last week over in her mind. It suddenly clicked. She knew who killed Mr. Bellington, who hid the jewelry in the secret room and who took the bust of Patricia.

  It was Christmas and it was late. Miss Lottie would call Detective Adams first thing in the morning and tell him what needed to be done. She finished her cold tea and fell asleep in the recliner.

  CHAPTER 12

  * * *

  Miss Lottie woke with a start when she heard the staff coming into the kitchen the next morning. She hustled up the stairs to her room before anyone saw that she had slept in the living room. She showered and dressed in fresh clothes. Sitting at her table in her little kitchenette, she called Detective Adams.

  He listened quietly as she told him what she had figured out. She also told him a couple of things that needed to be done before he called a meeting, here at the house in the afternoon. He agreed and hung up.

  She proceeded to the kitchen to make sure everything was running smoothly. While Patricia was eating breakfast, she received a telephone call from Detective Adams requesting a meeting with the entire family at two this afternoon. He explained he had a break in the case and needed some questions answered. Patricia said they would all be there.

  Miss Lottie kept herself busy, so she wouldn’t be continually staring at the clock waiting for the time to pass. She sent James to the funeral home to pick up Mr. Bellington’s ashes. He was instructed to place the urn in the trunk of one of the antique cars where they would be safe until the service the following day.

  Each of the kids had been told to be back at the house by one forty-five. Vanessa was mildly perturbed when her the day after Christmas shopping spree was going to be halted for another dumb meeting, but she said she would be home and on time.

  No one was home to serve lunch to, so the staff went about doing extra chores that were not usually done on a daily basis. Lottie went to her room for some quiet time and to run her speech through her head one more time before the detective arrived.

  At one-thirty, Detective Adams and Piper arrived at the Bellington mansion. Timmer showed them into the living room where Miss Lottie was waiting for them.

  “Did you get everything we need?” she asked Adams.

  “Yes, ma’am. It’s all here in my briefcase,” he said, setting the leather case on the bar.

  “Good, then we are ready to proceed. I just hope it works,” Miss Lottie replied.

  Five minutes before two the family, Timmer, and James had gathered in the living room. They were waiting on Thomas Tagnello to arrive. Adams had informed the jeweler that the necklace had been found and they needed him to identify the piece as the real deal. At two o’clock, he showed up to make the identification.

  Timmer escorted him into the living room. Several uniformed policemen appeared out of the kitchen and stood at each entrance to the living room. Everyone involved in the meeting looked around at the police and then at each other.

  “Are the police here to guard the necklace?” Tagnello inquired, staring at the multi-million-dollar piece dangling from the detective’s hand.

  “No, they are here for a very different reason. They are here to arrest Mr. Bellington’s killer,” Miss Lottie said, moving to the center of the room.

  “You think someone in this room killed Robert?” Patricia asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Miss Lottie replied, walking over and standing in front of Thomas Tagnello.

  “Well then, I don’t understand why I am included in your little meeting. Detective Adams asked me to come here to identify the necklace that I created. And I can see that he has said piece in his hand, so I must be on my way,” the jeweler said, standing up to leave.

  “Sit down, Tagnello. You’re not going anyway until we are done here,” Adams ordered.

  “You lied, Mr. Tagnello. You lied about the night that Mr. Bellington was killed,” the housekeeper stated.

  “I never lied. I admitted I was here. I delivered the jewelry. How else do you think it got here? Maybe, it sprouted legs and walked here on its own?” he said, defensively.

  “Oh, you were here. But, you came back and killed Robert,” she accused.

  “You’re crazy!” he exclaimed.

  “I think not. You said that Robert and yourself shared a cognac. Your stomach was so upset that you grabbed a candy cane off the tree to settle your stomach and that was when you looked at the clock so that you knew exactly when you left the house.”

  “Yes, that’s what I said.”

  “Two things to point out here. At nine o’clock there were no candy canes on the tree to grab. I brought them home with me at eleven-thirty that night when I returned home from shopping. Second; if there were no candy canes to take off the tree, you also lied about looking at a clock behind the tree as you reached for the candy. You have no idea what time you actually left.”

  “This is ridiculous. Why would I kill Mr. Bellington? He is a good client of mine,” Tagnello insisted

  “Detective Adams, would you like to take over now?” Lottie asked, stepping away from the accused man.

  Adams opened his briefcase and pulled out two sets of papers.

  “After Miss Lottie informed us that you lied, we did some digging on you and found out something very interesting. This is a report from your doctor. It seems, Mr. Tagnello, that you have developed an ever-worsening case of arthritis in your hands from your many years of jeweler’s work. The doctor states that you have maybe a year left that you will be able to function in your line of work; cutting and setting stones.”

  “And…” Tagnello mumbled. “And why would I be stupid enough to leave over five million dollars’ worth of jewelry behind if that were the case?”

  “Because it wasn’t the diamonds that you wanted. Those were too easy to trace, and you knew that. So, you went for something that couldn’t be traced, the cash. But then you stumbled on something much bigger that would see you through retirement when you couldn’t work anymore,” Adams stated.

  “Really? And what would that be?” Tagnello grunted.

  “Bearer bonds; ten million dollars’ worth of bearer bonds to be exact. Originally, you were going for the cash, but finding the bonds in the safe were an added extra bonus for you,” Adams stated.

  “You’re as crazy as she is,” the jeweler replied.

  “Mrs. Bellington gave us a list of what was in the safe; all that she knew of anyway. Besides the cash and the bonds, there were gold and silver ingots that could also be melted down and sold off for more cash,” Piper commented.

  “You have no proof,” Tagnello insisted.

  “But, we will shortly,” Adams said, holding up the second group of papers. “These are search warrants, filed this morning, for your store, your home and your two safety deposit boxes at Bellows Credit Union.”

  Tagnello buried his face in his hands.

  “It was an accident. All my years as one of the finest jewelers in the country and I wasn’t going to be allowed to show off my finest piece of work; the Canary Necklace,” he lamented.

  “What happened?” Adams asked.

  “I dropped the jewelry off at eight. I did have a drink with Robert and I asked his permission to show the pieces in the largest jeweler’s show in the country that was held in Boston every year. They only feature the cream of the crop in jewels and I had submitted a picture of my work and it was accepted into the show.”

  “And Mr. Bellington said no?” Piper asked.

  “He said no. He was very protective of his wife’s jewelry and didn’t want it flaunted from coast to coast. He was afraid it would draw too much attention from would be thieves. We argued, and he opened the safe to put the jewels away.”

  “And that’s when you smacked him with the porcelain candy cane?” Miss Lottie inquired.

  “No. I was boiling inside, but I calmly finished my drink. When he opened the safe to get out the payment for t
he jewels and I saw all the cash that was inside, I saw a man standing in front of me that had everything he could ever want. My whole life I have dreamed of being accepted into the Boston show and I was furious that he would take that away from me.”

  “And then what?” Adams asked.

  “I sat in my car getting angrier and angrier. I took out my gun and marched back up to the door. When Robert let me in, I pointed it at him. I set the checks on the bar and told him that I wanted the set back. I didn’t want to sell it to him.”

  “What did Mr. Bellington say?” Piper asked

  “He refused. I held the gun to his head and told him to open the safe. Before I realized what I was doing, I picked up the statue and hit him with it when he turned to say something to me after he had opened the safe,” Tagnello replied, solemnly. “I was just so mad that he had everything.”

  “And you figured you would take the cash and the bonds in payment for missing out on the Boston show and the recognition you deserved,” Adams commented.

  “I figured I had covered all of my bases and when things cooled down, I could ask Patricia Bellington if the necklace could be displayed in the show.”

  “That about covers it. Gentlemen, please read Mr. Tagnello his rights and take him to the station,” Adams ordered.

  “It was an accident, I tell you. I got mad and didn’t know what I was doing when I did it,” Tagnello insisted as they cuffed him and took him out the door.

  “Miss Lottie, I have to hand it to you,” Adams said, after Tagnello was gone. “That was a great bluff.”

  “What do you mean, a great bluff?” Robert Jr. asked.

  Adams held up the supposed court orders and unfolded the papers; they were all blank.

  “We had filed for subpoenas this morning, which wasn’t a lie, but due to lack of evidence, the judge would not grant them. Miss Lottie had pointed out that the jeweler lied about the candy canes on the tree in order to fake an established time. So, we had to beat him at his own game.”