Gingerbread and a Murder

by Kathleen Suzette

  “Okay Bill,” I said. “You can’t say something like that and then not tell me what you mean by it. Spit it out.”

  He looked at me. “I guess I don’t really know anything much. But I do know that girl was running around with several different fellas. Could be one of them got tired of being two-timed.”

  “Would you happen to know the names of said fellas?” I asked. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was true, but Cade would want facts and not just rumors.

  He shook his head. “No, I’ve seen her with a young blond guy a few times. And then I heard she was seeing a couple of guys from Boise.”

  “A couple of guys? And you don’t know any names?” I asked again.

  He shook his head. “Young blond guy works down at the Sparrow Garage though.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. I knew exactly who he was talking about. “Ryan Sparks?”

  He thought about it a minute. “That sounds familiar. I think that’s his name.”

  “Do you know how to find any of the other guys she was seeing?”

  He shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t have even noticed if it weren’t for her drawing attention to herself. She was always the loudest person in the room, telling everyone how beautiful and talented she was.” He shook his head and chuckled.

  “If you hear anything more about any of the guys she was seeing, you’ll let me know, won’t you?” I thought I really might have to pay Ryan a visit.

  He nodded. “I sure will. Even if she was stuck on herself, I hate to see a young girl like that murdered before her life even got started.”

  “You can say that again,” I said.

  I finished up my article and kept one eye on the clock. I had a fairly loose schedule when I worked at the newspaper, and not much would have been said if I slipped out early, but I didn’t want anyone to think I was a slacker. I hadn’t worked there long, and even though I could get an article written quickly, I didn’t want anyone to be resentful if I didn’t put in my time.

  At five o’clock I shut my computer down and gathered up my things. “Okay Bill, I guess I’ll see you in a couple of days. I’m off until Thursday.”

  He nodded. “See you later, Rainey.”

  I headed out the door of the newspaper office and over to the British Coffee and Tea Company. I hadn’t stopped in for several days and I figured Agatha would be wondering where I had been.

  I placed an order for a candy cane mocha and a peppermint frost sugar cookie at the coffee shop. It was probably more sugar than I needed to have this time of day, but I was starved. It would probably ruin my dinner, but it was a price I was willing to pay. I picked up my cup of coffee and my cookie and turned around to find a table. I stopped in my tracks. Natalie was sitting at a corner table with Ryan Sparks. That guy really got around. I don’t know how I missed them on the way in, but they appeared to be cozily deep in conversation. I probably should have left things alone, but I couldn’t do it. I headed over to their table.

  “Natalie,” I said. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  Natalie looked up at me and her eyes went wide. She glanced at Ryan and then returned her gaze to me. “Aunt Rainey,” she said. “Hi.”

  I turned to Ryan. “Ryan.”

  He nodded hesitantly and looked at Natalie. “You know Natalie, I was just getting ready to leave. I’ve got some errands to run before I go home.”

  “I hope you’re not leaving on account of me,” I said.

  “Oh no, it’s nice to see you again, Rainey. How is your car running?”

  “It’s running just fine. Thanks for asking,” I said without looking at him. I didn’t like Ryan. I had been on the fence ever since he had lied to me about his whereabouts when I questioned him about Pamela North’s murder. I had just hopped off that fence.

  He nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll see the two of you later.”

  “See you later, Ryan,” I said and sat down in his seat. I put my mocha and the bag that held my cookie on the table and I looked at Natalie. “What are you doing, Natalie?”

  She shook her head slowly. “What do you mean? I was just having coffee with an old friend.”

  “Really? Because I saw Jenna with him at the Vanilla Bean coffee shop the other night.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What do you mean? When did you see him with her?”

  I sighed. “Last week. Honestly, Natalie. I’m sure Ryan isn’t a terrible person, but it seems like he gets around.”

  “What do you mean he gets around? Not that it matters. It’s not like we’re dating. He has a right to hang out with whoever he wants.” Her hand went to her necklace, and she twisted the little silver anchor on it.

  “Hang out with other people, or date them?” I said and took a sip of my mocha. I didn’t want Natalie to get involved with someone like Ryan. He seemed to have a nose for trouble. First there was his deceased girlfriend, Pamela North, and if Bill had it right, he had dated Chrissy as well. Not to mention whatever he was doing with Jenna.

  “I’m not dating Ryan. We just went out for coffee,” she repeated. She looked away when she said it and I knew she wanted it to be more than just going out for coffee.

  “I heard he was dating Chrissy before she died. He was also dating Pamela North.”

  She looked at me and then looked away. “I didn’t know he was seeing Chrissy.”

  “Natalie, you’re an adult now. You have the right to see whoever you want. But I don’t think Ryan is going to make you happy. He seems unsure of who he wants to be with.”

  She looked at me now. “You’re right, I am an adult. And I’m going to make the decisions I want to make. I appreciate your concern, Aunt Rainey, but I’m more than capable of making decisions on how I want to live my life,” she said firmly.

  I nodded. “You’re right. Okay. I’ll keep my nose out of your business as much as possible, but you have to understand that I care about you and I’ll probably never be able to completely mind my own business.”

  She picked up her cup and took a sip of her coffee before answering. “Fair enough. But as an adult, I might have to remind you of that from time to time.”

  She tried to suppress a smile when she said it. I knew she didn’t want me out of her life, but she was right. I needed to let her make her own decisions or I would drive her away.

  “Can I ask you something? Do you have a key to Santa’s workshop?”

  She shook her head. “No, I’ve only volunteered a few times. I don’t need a key. Why?”

  I studied her face. She seemed to be telling the truth. “Where’s your cake decorating kit?”

  She looked surprised that I had asked. “I meant to ask you about that. I think I left it in the trunk of your car. I’m going to need it to make Christmas cookies.”

  “It’s not in the trunk of my car,” I said.

  “It isn’t?” she said. “I haven’t seen it since the contest. I hope I didn’t leave it at the high school. I better call them and see if someone turned it in.”

  “Natalie, it was found near Chrissy’s body.”

  Natalie looked shocked. “Are you sure? It was mine?”

  I nodded. “I don’t think anyone else would have had a canvas bag with the butterflies and flowers.”

  “Honestly, Aunt Rainey, I don’t know how it could have gotten there. The last place I remember seeing it was when I did those last minute fixes to try to cover that big crack in the back wall of our gingerbread house.”

  Natalie looked sincere, but it was still unsettling. “That’s really the last time you saw it?”

  She nodded. “Yes, it’s the last time I saw it. I swear, I did not kill Chrissy,” she said. Panic was beginning to show in her eyes.

  “I know you didn’t kill her,” I said.

  She slowly shook her head and tears sprang to her eyes. “Does Cade think I killed her? I swear I didn’t do it!”

  I reached a hand across the table and placed it on hers. “Cade knows you well enough to know you aren’t capable of killing. It
’s just weird that it ended up where it did. You said you volunteered that morning, right?”

  She nodded. “I met Ryan down there. He had called earlier in the morning and we went to the coffee shop, and then we went and sat down by the fountain. After about a half hour, he left, and I went and played an elf.”

  I thought about it. “Chrissy really wanted to win that competition and at the same time, beat you. Maybe she stole the decorating kit just to be hateful to you. I don’t know how we’d prove it though.”

  She nodded. “I bet that’s it. I don’t want Cade thinking I might have killed her. I’d never do that.”

  “He did say he was going to talk to you, so don’t be surprised if he stops by,” I said. She needed a warning so she didn’t freak out when he questioned her.

  Her eyes got big. “He likes me, doesn’t he?”

  “Oh stop it,” I said and lightly slapped her hand. “Of course he likes you. He’s just doing his job.”

  She nodded. “Okay. It’s going to be fine.”

  I took a sip of my coffee. I really didn’t know if Chrissy would have taken the decorating kit. I wouldn’t have put it past her, but there was no way to know. Maybe the killer wanted to frame Natalie and stole it, leaving it next to Chrissy’s body. The canvas bag was distinctive. Everyone would know it belonged to Natalie. The prospect of Cade questioning her made Natalie nervous, and that made me nervous. I would just have to keep the thought of Natalie’s innocence foremost in my mind.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Hi Susan,” I said when I walked through the door to the home interiors store. Susan Lang was the manager there, and I planned on looking for a Christmas gift for my mother as well as see if Susan had anything to add about the gingerbread house decorating contest. I still didn’t believe she was telling the truth about not having issues with Chrissy entering the contest.

  She smiled brightly. “Good morning, Rainey,” she said. “Isn’t it a pretty day?”

  “It certainly is,” I said. “It’s so nice after all the gray days we’ve been having.” The weather had cleared up, and the sky was bright blue and sunny. I enjoyed winter days like this. We sometimes went for weeks at a time under gray skies and today was a breath of fresh air.

  “Have you got all your Christmas shopping done yet?” she asked, coming out from behind the counter.

  “I think I’ve got most of it done. But I was looking for something special for my mother. She helped me get me into my new house and I want to let her know how much I appreciate it.”

  “Oh, did you get a new house? How fun!” she exclaimed.

  “I did. I moved in a couple of months ago,” I said. My eyes fell on a display of birdhouses. There were several that were Victorian-style and I thought it would match my mother’s Victorian house nicely. I headed over to the display. “These are lovely.”

  “Aren’t they though?” she said and followed me over. “They’ve been selling like hot cakes. I bought two of them myself as soon as they came in; a little red barn, and a white Victorian house.”

  I picked up a yellow Victorian birdhouse and looked at it. “This almost exactly matches my mother’s house. I bet she would be thrilled with this.” My mother had bought a Victorian house several years earlier and had been gradually restoring it, one room at a time.

  “Your mother’s house is so lovely. I admire it every time I drive by. She must be so proud of it,” she said.

  I turned to her. “She really is. She’s worked so hard the past few years to return it to its original beauty. Where she’s been able to, she’s purchased original pieces to put into the house.”

  “Well, the flower business must be quite lucrative then,” she said, smiling. “I didn’t realize a florist business would be, but I guess you never know.”

  I did a double take. Her words seemed to hold a hint of something and I wasn’t quite sure what it was. “My mother has worked hard all her life. My sister and I always thought she was a little tight with the money when we were kids, but it certainly has paid off. She’s very budget conscious,” I said, feeling for some reason that I needed to defend my mother. I chuckled. “You know how kids are. We didn’t understand anything about money. We just wanted what we wanted.”

  She nodded. “That’s completely understandable. Even at my age, I want what I want,” she said and laughed. “We also got some new candles in and some beautiful wrought iron and shabby chic chandeliers.”

  I looked in the direction she indicated and we both walked over to look at them. I held onto the birdhouse. It was absolutely perfect for my mother and I couldn’t stand it if somebody stopped in and picked it up before I got a chance to buy it.

  “Those are really pretty,” I said. And they were. There were wrought-iron chandeliers in various sizes. I looked over the shabby chic ones and decided I liked those the best. Either one would look beautiful in my mother’s house, but there was something about the white ones that I really liked. I debated on whether I should get her one of these as well as the birdhouse.

  “I have one of these in my foyer. At the entrance to my home, I put up a wonderful farmhouse-style entryway bench and a hall tree. Right above it, I hung one of the shabby chic chandeliers. It’s not often that I light the candles, but occasionally I do. Especially now that we’re drawing closer to Christmas. I put some red candles in it and I hung some greenery on it. I can’t tell you how festive it makes the area look.”

  “I bet that’s really beautiful,” I said. “And now that you say that, I can totally see where one of the white ones would be perfect for my mother’s house. In fact, it would look lovely in my own house. Maybe I should get one for myself.”

  She told me the price of the chandelier I had my eye on and I nearly bit my bottom lip to keep from gasping. It was expensive, but my mother had done so much for me this year. Not only had she helped me buy my house, but when I moved home to Sparrow after being away for ten years, I had lived with her for six months.

  “It really is pretty. I was amazed at how it brightened up the area. But then, I love Christmas. I decorate nearly every room of my house,” she said and chuckled. “My husband used to tell me I was crazy. He couldn’t understand why I decorated as I did. His family only had a Christmas tree when he was growing up and he would say that’s enough.”

  “I love Christmas and I love to decorate,” I said, still debating on the chandelier. “I’m in the process of rehabilitating my new house, so I only put up a Christmas tree this year. But when I finally get everything done, it would be such fun to decorate all the rooms.”

  She nodded. “I tried to explain to my husband that it isn’t Christmas without all the decorations. He always complained about it, but he was a good sport. He helped me with all of it. I miss my husband so much this time of year,” she said and trailed off.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “Has he been gone long?”

  “It’s been five years now. You would think I would have moved past the grief, but it seems that every time I think I’m finally moving on with my life, a memory of him pops up and the pain just steals my breath away.” She shook her head and looked away.

  It hurt my heart to hear something like that. I imagined the holidays must be hard for her. “I’m so sorry, Susan,” I said. “I know the holidays can be a difficult time for a lot of people.”

  She nodded and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall. “It really is hard. But I always tell myself that it’s better to dwell on the happy memories we made. I wouldn’t miss him as much as I do if we hadn’t been so happy together. Christmas decorations remind me of him more than anything else.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to go on and on about him. What do you think about the chandelier?”

  I looked up at it wistfully. “You know what? I think I’m going to get it. It’s a lot of money, but I think I’m going to get both the birdhouse and the chandelier for my mom. She’ll love them. I’ll wait on getting a chandelier for myself. Maybe next year.”

&nb
sp; “Wonderful,” she said and headed over to the front counter. “Let me get a step ladder and I’ll get that down for you.”

  I walked over to the front counter and set the birdhouse down. “I’ll have to get some red candles for it,” I said and headed over to a display of candles. There were some fat round candles that would work perfectly for the chandelier. I picked up eight of them and brought them back to the front counter.

  “You’ve got to have the candles,” she said as she centered the stepladder beneath the chandelier. “Did you want this one?” She pointed to the one I had been standing beneath.

  “Yes, that’s the one.” I wandered back over and stood nearby in case she needed my assistance with anything. “I bet business has been great this time of year.”