Cozy Christmas Crimes - A Cozy Christmas Box Set

by Tonya Kappes

  The front doors slid open.

  “Ho, ho, ho!” The Santa swung the bell in the air in a jerking manner. “Get away from Santa, little cat!”

  “Mr. Prince Charming!” I took off when I noticed Mr. Prince Charming was up on his hind legs, swatting and hissing at Santa.

  Rowl! Rowl! He batted at the jolly man, making the man fall down on his bottom.

  “Stop that,” I shooed Mr. Prince Charming away and stuck my hand out to help the red kettle volunteer up to his feet.

  When our hands clasped, my mind rolled back to the red cauldron Santa that wasn’t Gerald. Our eyes met. He smiled. There was a deep scar in his right smile line just like the one yesterday’s Santa had.

  A sudden shock wave flowed through me, making me dizzy.

  “June, are you okay?” I heard Roxy’s voice, but couldn’t focus on anything but this man’s scar. “June?”

  “Rick Wells,” I gasped, trying to stop the world from spinning. When I tried to pull my hand away, it was cemented to his. The electricity was so forceful. My mouth dried, my eyes watered, and images of him stabbing Michael swirled in my head.

  “Rick Wells?” Roxy asked in repetition.

  “Yes. I’m Rick. Do we know each other?” He asked.

  Rowl! Mr. Prince Charming pounced, landing on Rick Well’s face, sending him back to the ground.

  Rick cried out, trying to get Mr. Prince Charming off of him, but my fairy god cat knew exactly who this man was.

  I’d only wished I’d listened to him yesterday.

  Chapter Nine

  Roxy Bloom

  “Seriously, you should’ve seen it,” I told Patrick while we were packing our things to go back home. “It was like Mr. Prince Charming was a ninja.”

  Sassy and Pepper had decided to go outside and play in the deep snow, catching snowflakes as they tumbled out of the sky.

  “I mean, he pounced on that guy. It scared me so much. The guy wouldn’t let go of June. That’s when I knew I had to call the police. Luckily, everything around here is like light seconds away.” It was the only way I could explain how quickly June and I had gotten everywhere.

  “Are you sad that we have to go home earlier than we planned?” he asked.

  “No. I think we’ve had a very active honeymoon. Besides, we need to check on Aunt Maxi. I can’t believe she fell and broke her hip.” I loved my aunt so much. There was no way I could stay for the rest of the honeymoon when she needed me. I was all she had.

  “They said it was the weirdest ice storm. Just in Honey Springs.” Patrick grabbed the handles of our bags. “But I promise, we will come back when it’s summer and I can’t get snowed in by myself.”

  “You look like you got some good rest.” I noticed he looked really refreshed.

  “I actually slept great,” he laughed. “Go figure.”

  “Yeah, go figure.” It was another odd thing for him to sleep so sound when he rarely did that at home.

  The four of us made our way back to our car from the deep woods. I couldn’t help but look up at the hill where June Heal lived and near there was the big rock I’d seen all of them gathered around late last night.

  If I told Patrick about all the weird things that’d happened while he was sleeping, he’d never bring me back, so I decided to keep those to myself. Besides, this left room for me to explore when we did come back.

  “The snow has really lightened up.” Patrick drove down the main road slowly. I wanted to tell him that there was zero snow in Locust Grove, but knew he’d see that on our way back to Honey Springs.

  “Stop!” I screamed and put my hand out when I noticed Mystic Lights had one of those new Siris June had. “I need to go in there.”

  Patrick and I both flew forward when he slammed on the breaks.

  “You scared me.” He gave me a sharp assessing look.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told him before hopping out of the car.

  The hunter green wooden door was encased in the most beautiful stone archway. The heavy black metal door handles added to the old world charm that lead into a magical inside full of lights and fixtures I’d never seen before.

  Mewl. Mr. Prince Charming appeared out of nowhere and started to do figure eights around my ankles.

  “The town cat is saying his goodbyes?” I asked bending down to pat him.

  “How can I help you?” the lady that looked exactly like Meryl Streep asked when she appeared out nowhere, just like the rest of the people in this town.

  “Yes.” I stood up and recalled her from last night. She was the one standing next to June Heal last night when June was waving around that smoke stick.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, clasping her hands and bringing them to rest in front of her.

  “Yes.” I blinked a few times. “I’m fine. I want one of the new Siris you have in the window.”

  “Siri?” she asked me as though she didn’t know what I was talking about.

  Meow, meow. Mr. Prince Charming wrapped his body around the woman’s ankles. She nodded at me with a smile on her face.

  “Yes, the Siri.” She peeled her eyes away from me and looked over at the window. “Please, go pick one out for yourself.”

  I walked over to the window and took the one from the display.

  “Do you have the box for this one?” I asked.

  “Umm. . .” she hesitated.

  “Good evening.” June Heal swept into the shop. “Mr. Prince Charming, there you are.” She pushed her bangs to the side and looked at me. “Roxy, you are buying a Siri.” She looked down at the glass ball in my hand.

  It was heavy.

  “I’m afraid they’ve been recalled.” She turned to the woman behind the counter. “Isn’t that right, Izzy?”

  “Yes. Recalled.” The woman walked around the counter and took the glass ball from me. “That’s why I’m not able to sell it to you.”

  “But I’m sure when you come back to visit, we will have the new ones,” June said.

  I wasn’t positive, but I think she was trying to get rid of me.

  “Plus, we want to thank you for all of your help with solving Michael’s murder. You saved my life.” She turned back to Izzy. “She saved my life. Rick Wells wouldn’t let go of my hand and Roxy called the police just in time.”

  “Did he ever say why he killed Michael?” I asked, figuring I’d read about it in the paper when I got home to Honey Springs.

  “He was so in love with Debbie that when he found out Michael wasn’t going to have anything to do with the baby and she wasn’t going to date him because of it, he went into a fit of rage.” June’s brows dipped, the edges of her lips frowned. “He used his outfit as the red kettle Santa to disguise himself. He’d been following Michael to confront him. The night of the tree lighting, he did confront Michael about his needing to take responsibility for the baby.”

  “Such a shame.” Izzy shook her head.

  “Yes, it is. That’s when Michael told Rick he wasn’t going to be a father to the baby. They got into a scuffle and that’s when Rick stabbed Michael. Poor Camille.” June shook her head. “I’ve talked to Camille and she’s committed to helping Debbie raise the baby.”

  “Really?” I couldn’t believe how amazing Camille was. “I’ll have to call her. It’s really turned out to be a light in such a dark time for her.”

  “Yes. It’s the magic of Christmas.” June’s lashes cast a shadow down her face. “You do believe in magic, don’t you, Roxy?”

  “I. . .” My mouth suddenly dried and I tried to swallow. “I’ve got to go. My aunt fell and I need to get to her.”

  Mr. Prince Charming jumped up in June’s arms.

  “Come back soon.” June waved me off.

  The cold air whipped around me as I made my way out of the shop, empty-handed. Goosebumps traveled along my neck.

  “You didn’t get anything?” Patrick asked when I got back into the car and clipped my seatbelt.

  “Do you believe in magic?” I aske
d him, ignoring his question.

  “I think it was magical that after all these years, we got married.” He leaned over and kissed me.

  I turned around and glanced out the back window. June Heal and Izzy were standing in the middle of the street waving at me.

  “Did you have a good honeymoon?” he asked, putting the car in DRIVE.

  “I barely remember any of it because it went by so fast.” I turned back around and got comfortable for the trip back home.

  Sassy and Pepper were sitting in the back.

  “It’s because we had a wonderful and relaxing time. No family or friends or work.” Patrick gripped the wheel, staring straight ahead.

  “Yeah, I guess that was it.” I glanced out the window and noticed the small wooden sign on the way out of town.

  Come back soon to visit our magical village, the sign read.

  Pepper let out a little bark. He was standing up with his front paws on the door handle, looking out of the window. His tail was wagging so fast. I looked out my window to see what he was barking at.

  There was a clearing where the snow hadn’t been touched. It laid on the ground, pristine and glistening beautifully in the light of the full moon.

  “What are you barking at?” My eyes narrowed. I gasped.

  There were hundreds of lightning bugs fluttering all over the clearing. Mr. Prince Charming was sitting among them. I swear he winked at me.

  I laughed out loud.

  “What are you laughing at?” Patrick reached across and took my hand.

  “Nothing.” I glanced over at him, attributing all the odd things I’d experienced to my active imagination.

  Also by Tonya Kappes

  Magical Cures Mystery Series

  A CHARMING CRIME

  A CHARMING CURE

  A CHARMING POTION (novella)

  A CHARMING WISH

  A CHARMING SPELL

  A CHARMING MAGIC

  A CHARMING SECRET

  A CHARMING CHRISTMAS (novella)

  A CHARMING FATALITY

  A CHARMING DEATH (novella)

  A CHARMING GHOST

  A CHARMING HEX

  A CHARMING VODOO

  A CHARMING CORPSE

  A Camper and Criminals Cozy Mystery

  BEACHES, BUNGALOWS AND BURGLARIES

  DESERT, DRIVERS AND DERELICTS

  FORESTS, FISHING AND FORGERY

  CHRISTMAS, CRIMINALS, AND CAMPERS

  A Southern Cake Baker Series ( under the pen name of Maymee Bell)

  CAKE AND PUNISHMENT

  BATTER OFF DEAD

  A Ghostly Southern Mystery Series

  A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING

  A GHOSTLY GRAVE

  A GHOSTLY DEMISE

  A GHOSTLY MURDER

  A GHOSTLY REUNION

  A GHOSTLY MORTALITY

  A GHOSTLY SECRET

  Killer Coffee Mystery Series

  SCENE OF THE GRIND

  MOCHA AND MURDER

  FRESHLY GROUND MURDER

  COLD BLOODED BREW

  Kenni Lowry Mystery Series

  FIXIN’ TO DIE

  SOUTHERN FRIED

  AX TO GRIND

  SIX FEET UNDER

  DEAD AS A DOORNAIL

  TANGLED UP IN TINSEL

  Spies and Spells Mystery Series

  SPIES AND SPELLS

  BETTING OFF DEAD

  GET WITCH or DIE TRYING

  A Laurel London Mystery Series

  CHECKERED CRIME

  CHECKERED PAST

  CHECKERED THIEF

  A Divorced Diva Beading Mystery Series

  A BEAD OF DOUBT SHORT STORY

  STRUNG OUT TO DIE

  CRIMPED TO DEATH

  Olivia Davis Paranormal Mystery Series

  SPLITSVILLE.COM

  COLOR ME LOVE (novella)

  COLOR ME A CRIME

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Edited by Dianne Jessie.

  Copyright © 2018 by Tonya Kappes. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information email Tonyak11.tk@gmail.com

  A Lime To Kill

  By Summer Prescott

  A Lime To Kill

  By Summer Prescott

  A single mom.

  A misplaced millennial.

  The best pies and baked goods in the Keys.

  Life is good for SubLime Sweets owner, Marilyn Hayes. That is, until murder shows up on her doorstep. Marilyn's world is rocked, as she discovers that, things are not always as they seem, she didn't know her daughter as well as she thought she did, and some old wounds never quite heal.

  Will the hunky Detective Cortland save the day? Or will Miss Marilyn be the next victim?

  Contents of A Lime To Kill

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Copyright

  Chapter 1

  The bright red ledger flew across the room and clattered against the wall with a resounding crack. Petite, but feisty, Marilyn Arlington folded her arms and gazed at the wounded notebook with frustration.

  “And you can stay there until you’ve learned your lesson,” she muttered, standing in the living room of her cheery turquoise bungalow.

  “Mom?” Tiara, her daughter came trotting down the short hallway from the bedroom that Marilyn used as an office. “What was that all about?” she asked, flopping down on the sage-green faux velvet living room couch.

  “I was just disciplining the numbers,” Marilyn nodded her head at the ledger and sighed.

  “I told you I would balance your books for you,” Tiara tried unsuccessfully to suppress a smile.

  “You have your own work to do,” Marilyn shook her head. “I’ve decided that I’m definitely going to have a professional take a look at them this year. I’m a baker not an accountant.”

  “Mom, we’ve talked about this,” her daughter reminded her, eyebrows raised. “Why would you pay a stranger to do the books when you could just pay me?”

  Tiara picked up the ledger that was the bane of her mother’s existence.

  “It won’t take that long and I can be back on the job search in no time,” she assured her mother, thumbing through the pages.

  “As much as I hate to say it, that makes a lot of sense,” Marilyn smiled, feeling more than a bit relieved. “Let me chew on it a bit.”

  She may have made some mistakes in her life, but Marilyn Arlington was proud that she had somehow managed to raise an amazing young woman. Watching her lovely daughter frown at the ledger pages in concentration, she thought her heart just might burst. Tiara was intelligent, talented, and had graduated from college early and with honors. It absolutely baffled her mother that she hadn’t been snapped up by a top engineering firm yet. Marilyn knew that when Tiara did accept a job, the moment would be bittersweet. The odds that Tiara would find something in Key West were slim, so she’d have to face the painful but proud reality of having to say goodbye to her only baby girl. She wanted her daughter to go out into the world and succeed, but she knew that no matter how long it took, she would feel that Tiara was leaving much too soon.

  “What do we want to do for dinner?” Marilyn asked, deliberately directing her mind to happier thoughts.

  “I’m way ahead of you, Mom. I brought home El Meson de Pepe. I set it in the oven to stay warm when I heard you muttering over numbers in the dining room. I’m guessing that you’re
ready to forget about math for a while and focus on feeding our faces?” Tiara grinned.

  “My genius daughter thinks of everything,” Marilyn gave her a hug and headed for the kitchen. “Whatever I owe you, just grab some cash from the Conch.”

  “I already did,” Tiara followed her mother.

  “Why am I not surprised?” Marilyn teased, taking a deep whiff of the unmistakable scent of Cuban food when she opened the oven. “Oh yeah, this is calling my name,” she breathed, taking the containers out and placing them on the counter.

  Marilyn rubbed her temples, hungry but still distracted, while Tiara reached for the plates and silverware that Marilyn would have ignored if she were on her own. She’d eaten more takeout food directly from the containers, using a plastic fork, more times than she could count. The single mom, who owned and operated her own key lime bakery, chose casual and easy every time.

  “There, now isn’t that nice? It’s entirely possible to eat takeout food and still feeling like civilized humans,” Tiara teased, lighting an ocean-scented candle in the middle of the dining room table.

  Marilyn smiled at the irony of having anything “ocean scented” in her home, when the actual ocean was only a block away. They could just as easily simply open the doors. Tiara was a bit of the homemaker that Marilyn, after forty-five years on the planet, still wasn’t. The two of them had gone shopping last week, and Tiara had firmly insisted that Marilyn buy a set of seashell napkin rings. At the time, the indulgent purchase had seemed like a waste of money, but Marilyn had been surprised at how such simple touches had actually brightened things up a bit, and made the entire dining room feel much more put together.