Cozy Christmas Crimes - A Cozy Christmas Box Set

by Tonya Kappes

  I wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince me that Whispering Falls was as normal as every other town in Kentucky because she continued to compare different things like the economy, shops, crops, and the buildings. Or maybe she was trying to distract me so I didn’t notice how the snow completely melted away as soon as the tires of the car drove over the white fluffy mounds. Then again, maybe she had great snow tires.

  “How about some music,” she suggested. “You go ahead and find a station. They are playing Christmas music too.”

  I turned the knob on the radio.

  “I recognize this guy,” I said and turned up the radio. “This is a crazy segment this station has called Second Date Update.”

  “What’s that?” she asked as we zoomed down the hill from her cottage and past all the shops.

  “People go on first dates and if one of them doesn’t get a call back for a second date, they can call into this show and the DJ will call the date for them asking why they didn’t call them back or go on a second date.” It sounded really awful as I said it, but I was still intrigued by it.

  “This sounds awfully delicious.” June cackled, making her like her even more. “Turn it up.”

  We laughed and talked to the radio as if we were on the call.

  “Do you have this in Honey Springs?’ June asked and slowed down the El Camino when we crossed into Locust Grove’s city limits.

  There was no snow on the ground. It was like the other day when Patrick and I had driven into Whispering Falls. Another odd thing that I was sure June would somehow be able to explain if I asked, so I kept my mouth shut.

  “No, we don’t. Patrick and I heard it on our way into Whispering Falls.” I was looking out the window when she stopped in front of a small white clapboard house with a tiny porch on the front.

  Mr. Prince Charming sat and stared at the house too.

  “That was my house when I was growing up.” June pointed across me at the house. “It’s where Mr. Prince Charming showed up on my tenth birthday.”

  “Wow, he doesn’t look that old.” I had noticed he was very young looking and acting.

  “Mmmhhhh,” June sucked in a deep breath. “We have good air here.”

  Another weird observation. I tucked that in the back of my head.

  “Anyways,” I started to tell her about the second date update Patrick and I had heard when she drove off toward Locust Grove, following the directions to Camille’s I’d put in my phone. “This guy named Mike went out with his buddies for a bachelor event or something. He went home with this girl. . .” I searched the back of my mind for her name. I clapped my hands together in delight. “Debbie! Debbie was her name. Mike woke up at Debbie’s.” I turned in the seat and looked at June.

  The knuckles on her hands were turning white as she gripped the wheel.

  “He said that he had no recollection of what had happened between them, when they obviously had slept together.” I reached over and ran my hand down Pepper’s back. “He said he was engaged, and he had no interest in seeing Debbie again.”

  Mr. Prince Charming used his great cat skills to run across the dashboard. He teetered on the edge and smacked June’s charm bracelet. Another weird thing I’d seen him do a couple of times over the last twenty-four hours.

  “Do you think it’s the same Mike?” June asked in a calm and low voice. The wink she gave Mr. Prince Charming didn’t go unnoticed. “Michael?”

  My jaw dropped.

  “Well, I guess we can check it out since I am going to help Camille.” There was a theory to my amateur sleuthing that went right along with my ethical lawyer side. No matter how small the coincidence, always check it out. “We can go to the station and see this Bob and Brenda. The DJ’s,” I said when June looked at me, confused.

  “They aren’t going to just hand us the information.” She made a good point.

  “No, but there has to be some sort of consent agreement on Debbie’s part in order for them to put her on the air.” I knew this from my lawyer days. “He gave consent on air, which I imagine they tape and it’s binding.”

  “They do have an app for the radio station.” June used one hand to drive and pushed one hand inside of that big bag she always had draped across her body. She pulled out a glass globe. “Siri,” she spoke to the globe that wasn’t like any Siri I had ever seen. “Play the WLOC recording of the Bob and Brenda’s Morning Second Date Update with a person by the name of Mike.”

  The globe showed some sort of funky wave and sparks before it played the recording.

  “What is that?” I had to ask. Another odd thing.

  “It’s the new Siri. Like the Hey Google, and the Amazon one.” She played it off. “It’s new. We are going to start selling them in the new year.”

  The new voice-activated device replayed the exact Second Date Update that Patrick and I had heard between Debbie and Mike.

  “It sounds exactly like the Michael who came into the shop,” June confirmed. “We are going to WLOC. I think you’re on to something.”

  I grabbed the handle on the door when June whipped the car around. Before I could blink, or at least if felt like that, we were in the parking lot of the radio station.

  “You can distract them while I look around.” June felt pretty confident she could find it.

  “I’ve kinda done this before. I think I best look around.” I didn’t want to sound too confident, but she had no idea how good I was at this solving murders thing.

  “I think it’s best you distract them. You’re a better talker than I am. I bet you can make things up on the fly.” She was definitely good at reading me. “You two stay here,” she told our pets while she took the Siri and put it back in her bag.

  The station was pretty small. They had a reception area in front of a glass wall. Behind the glass were the on-air personalities that had to be Bob and Brenda. Both of them had headsets on.

  Bob had short black hair. He wore a striped sweater vest over top a blue collared shirt. He carried a little more weight than he probably should, but I instantly liked him since he had coffee in his hand.

  Brenda was heavy set with long, light brown hair that fell right below her bosom. She had on a pair of yoga pants and a long gray sweater that hung to her thighs.

  “Can I help you?” the young woman behind the receptionist desk asked.

  “Bathroom?” June asked, she tapped her fingernail on the desk before she swirled it in the air as though she were pointing for directions.

  The receptionist’s phone began to ring and then all the lines started to ring. She pointed down the only hall and shooed June away.

  “Stay here. Make something up if she asks.” June wiggled her brows and darted down the hall.

  “What on earth?” I questioned in a whisper when I noticed the bottom of her bag was glowing.

  Chapter Eight

  June Heal

  “Madame Torres, where is it?” I had little time before that nosy Roxy made her way into the only WLOC office down the only hallway in the building. “Roxy is much smarter than I gave her credit for. If she only knew how good I was at solving murders. Especially with you. There has to be something in here.”

  Madame Torres always worked faster when I complimented her. The mortal world thought crystal balls were on pedestals or much bigger, when in reality, Madame Torres was a palm size glass ball. Crystal balls always picked their spiritual owners. If they never find their spiritual owners, they remain a glass ball for decoration. That’s what Madame Torres would’ve looked like to Roxy, only I needed answers fast and there was no way I was getting rid of Roxy.

  I glanced around the office with a desk and two filing cabinets. I held Madame Torres up in my palm for her to get a good look around.

  The name Debbie Portly floated deep within Madame Torres’s water, warming my palm.

  “Portly,” I gasped when I noticed the similarities between the terms pig and portly. Instantly realizing what the charm was meant for.

  I
t was unique how spirit worked, and I never questioned it. It always worked for my good.

  The closer I got to the far left filing cabinet, the warmer Madame Torres felt in my hand. When she shut off and went black, I knew I was on the right track. I put her back into the depths of my bag.

  “Portly, Portly,” I repeated the name as my fingers scanned down the filing cabinet to the P drawer.

  I tugged the drawer open. Dragging my long fingernail down the tabs, my finger automatically stopped, letting me know it was the right file.

  “Awwww,” I sighed deeply. “Magic, you are good.”

  I pulled the file out and it was the exact name, Debbie Portly. Inside there was a signed consent form to use her information on the air, just like Roxy said had to be done in order to legally protect the station from getting sued.

  “Piggly Wiggly.” My heart jumped, and I felt it in my gut, telling me my intuitive gift was spot on. “She works at the Piggly Wiggly. This is our girl.”

  I threw the file back in the cabinet and patted my bag.

  “Madame Torres, thank you.” The words fell from my mouth on my way out of the office.

  The receptionist was still fielding all the busy calls I’d sent with a little finger spell after she’d asked us if she could help. I knew it would keep her busy and Roxy wouldn’t have to work so hard at occupying her. Though I did run the risk of Roxy seeing my finger do something weird. I did my best to cover it up as a gesture about where the bathroom was. If Roxy did see something, she didn’t let on.

  “Let’s go.” I grabbed Roxy’s arm on the way out. “Did the receptionist ask anything?”

  “No. It was odd.” Roxy pushed the door to the parking lot open and held it for me. “Her phone continued to ring off the hook. The DJs even mentioned it on the air.”

  Both of us tugged the edges of our jackets around our neck. The cold winter air had whipped up.

  “Did you find anything out?” Roxy stood next to the passenger door waiting for me to unlock it.

  “I did. In fact,” I let myself in the car and reached across to unlock her door. I waited until she got inside to tell her what Debbie’s file said. “ You were right. Debbie did sign a consent form. It had all her information on it. She works at the Piggly Wiggly grocery store.”

  I rubbed Pepper’s head and down Mr. Prince Charming’s tail before I threw the Green Machine in drive, heading straight for the Piggly Wiggly, which was on the other side of Locust Grove.

  “As luck would have it, my dear friend Adeline owns it. And it just so happens, I need to go there for some business.” I did a little flip of my wrist to get us there faster when Roxy blinked, taking advantage of the time. Hopefully, the little spell went unnoticed.

  “Gosh. Everything is so close around here.” Roxy was a little more aware than I’d thought. “A little too close,” she thought she whispered low enough for me not to hear, but she was wrong.

  “Stay here,” I told the animals. Normally, I’d let Mr. Prince Charming do as he pleased. He knew best, but the one little blip was Pepper. How could I explain to them that Mr. Prince Charming could come but not the dog? It was best for them to stay.

  “There’s a red kettle.” Roxy pointed to the Santa in front of the Piggly Wiggly. “I love how your village used cauldrons. It’s a little odd, but neat.”

  “They were left over from Halloween, so we just recycled.” My lies were getting bigger and bigger to keep the nosy honeymooner away from the truth.

  “I’m going to give some money,” Roxy said, pulling out some cash from her coat pocket.

  “I’m going to go in and find my friend.” I waved her off, knowing that I had to find Adeline to ask her about this Debbie Portly.

  The Piggly Wiggly was already busy and it wasn’t even 9 a.m. Roxy and I had done great on time since I’d done the small time warps between our stops. There was a deep-rooted fear in me that made me wonder if Patrick was going to wake up before the potions expired. I had to get Roxy back to Whispering Falls. Oscar would die if he knew I was doing this and snooping around. With the possibilities of Order of Elders showing up in the village, I knew he wanted me to walk the line.

  The smell of Wicked Good Bakery swept around me and tickled my nose when I walked into the sliding front doors of the grocery. Raven’s display was the first thing a customer would see when they walked in. Raven and Adeline had come to a consignment agreement. Raven loved getting her baked goods into the grocery store. It was a win for both sides.

  “June!” The small framed, blonde smiled so bright when she saw me walk in. “I hope you brought me new product. We are selling out so fast. I’m sure it’s Christmas shopping.”

  “Adeline.” I opened my arms and wrapped my pal in a friendly hug. “I actually did come to see what needed to be restocked. I’ll give the items to Faith when she comes back with the Wicked Good Bakery order.”

  Faith worked for her sister as a delivery person. They had their own Wicked Good Bakery delivery car and Faith drove it around to the shops Raven had made consignment deals with and delivered the goods. She wouldn’t mind bringing in a few bottles from A Charming Cure to restock the orders Adeline made with me.

  I’d been very fortunate with my line of products. They’d been picked up by a few stores and national chain. Each bottle had their very own magic and when chosen by the consumer, the potion was ignited. It was my way to reach the masses with love and help for good only.

  “But I also came to ask you about…” I started to say.

  “Debbie something or other,” Roxy Bloom intervened.

  “Roxy, Adeline.” I introduced them since Roxy wasn’t going to just stand there and be quiet.

  “Is something going on?” Adeline asked. When Roxy and I both nodded, Adeline suggested we go back to the office. “Debbie, can I see you in the office?” She asked a young lady in the produce department when we walked by.

  Debbie had shoulder length, coal black hair with blunt bangs. She actually reminded me of me. Or at least the hair was the same. Her eyes were sad and immediately the smell of baby powder surrounded her.

  “Sure.” Debbie put down the apple and ran her hands down the Piggly Wiggle apron tied around her waist.

  All four of us walked back to the office, and Adeline shut the door behind us.

  “Did I do something wrong?” Debbie asked in a small and timid voice. “You know I need this job.” She rubbed her hand on her stomach.

  “Debbie, do you know this man?” I pulled out Madame Torres from the bag. “Siri, show me Michael.” I tried hard not to look at Roxy, though I could see out of the corner of my eye that her jaw had dropped when my pretend Siri had showed a photo of Michael and Camille from my shop yesterday.

  “Yes.” Debbie’s chin fell to her chest. “Why are you asking me this?”

  ”I hate to tell you that Michael has been killed.” Roxy was ruthless. “He was stabbed to death in Santa’s sleigh in Whispering Falls.”

  Debbie’s face jerked up. A look of utter sadness crossed her eyes. She cried out, throwing her hands over her face.

  “Is he the father?” Adeline asked, putting her hands on both of Debbie’s shoulders, easing her down into the office chair.

  “Yes,” Debbie sobbed.

  “Where were you last night?” Roxy asked.

  “Do you think I killed him?” She looked up at Roxy. “Are you some sort of cop?”

  My intuition told me Debbie had no knowledge of what happened to Michael.

  “No.” I had to stop this line of questioning by Roxy. “We know his fiancée. And Roxy is her lawyer. She’s the police’s number one suspect and we are trying to gather any information we can. Actually,” I bent down between her legs and rested my hand on her thighs. “We heard the radio broadcast of your Second Date Update.”

  “That was over a month ago and it’s just now airing.” She shook her head. “His friends had come in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. Some of them weren’t going to come to town for Chris
tmas. They told me he was having a birthday party when in reality. . .” she fidgeted with her fingers. “It was some sort of bachelor party that I didn’t know about. We had too many drinks but we had a wonderful time.”

  “Did Michael know about the baby?” I asked.

  “After Mike - he went by Mike…” she told us. “After Mike and me calling the Bob and Brenda Morning Show I started dating Rick Wells.”

  “Rick? Really?” Adeline seemed to be caught off guard.

  “Yes. He’s been so kind. But I broke it off a week ago when I found out I was pregnant. Then that stupid Second Date Update aired.” She shook her head. “I begged the station not to air it since I’d found out the truth about Mike being engaged and all. I never wanted to break up a couple.”

  “It’s okay.” I rubbed her leg before I stood back up. “Do you think you can tell the police about this?”

  “I guess now that he’s. . .” Debbie couldn’t bring herself to say Michael’s fate.

  “Great.” I pulled one of Oscar’s business cards out of my bag and handed it to her. “Please call him when you get off work. I’ll let him know we talked to you.”

  “But. . .” Roxy started to talk, but I took her by the elbow.

  “Thank you, Adeline.” I held on tight to Roxy as she tried to jerk away. “Faith will be by this afternoon to drop off that product.” I dragged Roxy out of the office.

  “You didn’t let me question her,” Roxy spat as we proceeded to walk down the snack aisle.

  “Because she’s not the killer.” I knew it intuitively, but I couldn’t tell Roxy that.

  “How do you know? Because she said so?” Roxy questioned me. “Just so you know, everyone who is guilty never admits it at first.”

  “Fine.” I shrugged and headed straight for the door. “Oscar will figure that out. But we have some history about Michael he’ll be able to look into.”