Merriment & Murder

by Jenna St James

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “That’s right.”

  Mr. Masters held up his hand. “Chief, if you are going to question the girls tonight, I’m going to insist you do it with me present.”

  Chief Baedie sighed. “Then let’s get this over with. Who’s first?”

  Chapter 9

  By the time Chief Baedie finished questioning Peyton, Raven, and me, it was after ten o’clock, and I was dead tired. The three of us shuffled into the dining room where Grams, Henley, Aunt Aggie, Chef Granger, and Jinx were sitting around the table.

  “Where’s Mariah and the other servers?” I asked.

  “I sent them home,” Chef Granger said. “We’ve all had a tough night.”

  I couldn’t help but wonder how much celebrating Mariah would do tonight now that Temperance was dead. Would she try and get back with Percy, even though he had a fiancée?

  Mr. Masters leaned against the door jamb. “The police just finished processing the scene and are ready to leave.”

  Aunt Aggie stood. “I better go see them out.”

  I glanced over at Chef Granger. He didn’t look upset, but then again, I really didn’t know him all that well.

  “I’m sorry about Temperance,” I said.

  He lifted an eyebrow. “Thanks.”

  “I got the feeling you two knew each other,” I said.

  One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “I guess you could say that.”

  Knew her very well if Beatrice is correct.

  “C’mon, Brynn,” Raven said. “I’m ready for bed. Let’s go across the street to your place. We can talk about this later.”

  Meow! Meow!

  I nodded. “Sure, Jinx. You can come with us. See you guys in the morning.”

  The four of us hurried across the street and up to my bedroom on the second floor. I quickly changed into my pajamas and sat cross-legged on my bed.

  Meow! Meoooow!

  I held up my hand. “I know. I know. I got it.”

  “Whatcha got?” Peyton asked as she sat at the foot of the bed.

  “Jinx says we need to step up and solve this case. It’s the least we can do for Aunt Aggie.”

  Raven yawned and plopped down on the other side of the bed. “We saw enough tonight to have definite suspects and motives.”

  “Yep.” I grabbed a notebook from my side table. “All we need are alibis.”

  “Let’s make a list,” Peyton said.

  We worked for about ten minutes getting down everyone we thought should be a suspect and their motives. It came out to be quite a few people.

  “Read it,” Raven demanded. “Make sure we got everyone.”

  I sighed. “Fine. Then we go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

  Raven motioned for me to read.

  “I have Percy, the son. I don’t really see him as a big contender, but we did see him have words with his mom, and he’s due to inherit big time I’m sure.” I put a check by his name. “Next is Barbie. Lots of tension. We saw her practically physically fight with Temperance, she was still at the party, and one of the last people to see Temperance alive. Motive to kill would be she didn’t want to sign the prenup and by getting rid of Temperance, she wouldn’t have to.”

  “Plus we have the rhinestone,” Peyton said.

  I gasped. “Oh man! I forgot I put it in my dress pocket! That’s probably key evidence.”

  “That we tampered with,” Peyton said.

  “Technically,” I said, “Jinx tampered with it.”

  Meow!

  He glared at me from the window seat he was perched in.

  “What?” I asked. “You did. Your paw prints were on it first.”

  “Regardless of who tampered with it first,” Raven said, “it now just means we have to prove it belongs to Barbie. It won’t go to show beyond a reasonable doubt she killed Temperance, but it is evidence.”

  “You sound more like a prosecuting attorney like your mom instead of a defense attorney like your dad,” I joked.

  “Yeah,” Peyton agreed. “Which way do you think you’ll lean toward after law school?”

  “I don’t know,” Raven said. “I still have a long time to decide.”

  I looked back down at the list. “Okay. Then there’s Mariah. We know she was once engaged to Percy, and from the sparks flying off them tonight, they still seem to love each other.”

  Raven snorted. “Stop romanticizing it. He’s a grown man in love with a woman his mom doesn’t approve of so he does nothing. He’s a coward.”

  “I have to agree,” Peyton says. “Which is why even though we’ve said he’s a suspect, I look at how weak he is emotionally, and can’t really see him as the killer.”

  “But Mariah could be,” I said. “Not only were sparks flying between Percy and Mariah…but they were also flying between Temperance and Mariah, just not in a gooey love way. That was pure hate I overheard by the staircase.”

  “I remember seeing Mariah in the kitchen with Chef Granger just before going outside to get wood,” Raven said. “It could be after she left the kitchen she went down the side hallway that leads to the library, saw Temperance go in, then Barbie. Maybe she heard the fight, and then when Barbie came in the front door, she went inside the library to confront Temperance. They had another fight and then Mariah strangled her.”

  “Wow,” I said, “that’s pretty good.”

  Raven gave me a small smile. “Practicing.”

  Peyton pointed at me. “And Mariah did say she wouldn’t marry Percy as long as his mother was still alive.”

  “True,” I agreed. “Then we have Chef Granger.”

  “Not as strong a suspect,” Raven said.

  I snorted. “You don’t want him guilty because then you’d lose your weekly meal out.”

  Raven grinned. “You’re probably right.”

  “He and Temperance had a fight in the kitchen,” I said, “and she threatened to call a board meeting at the bank to call in his note. Plus there’s the implication of a brief affair. He was still at the party, and we know of at least two or three times we went into the kitchen and he wasn’t there. So it’s easy for him to slip in and out of the kitchen. Motive would be by killing Temperance he’d be guaranteed to keep his restaurant.”

  “But I didn’t see him wearing any glitter,” Raven said.

  I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

  “I’ll take over.” Peyton grabbed the notebook from me. “Brandon’s dad, Mr. Powell. I really hope it’s not him.”

  “That boy is so gaga over you,” Raven said. “He could hardly form a complete sentence in your presence tonight.”

  Peyton blushed. “Oh, that’s not true. Is it?”

  I snorted. “So totally true. He likes you.”

  Peyton smiled shyly. “He is cute. Although he’s like a whole year younger than me.”

  “Um,” Raven said, “plus his dad may be a killer. So you might not want to rush into anything too serious.”

  I tried not to laugh, but I couldn’t help it. “There is that.”

  “Shut up!” Peyton said with a laugh. “Both of you just shut up.”

  I grinned at Raven then motioned for Peyton to continue.

  She cleared her throat and read from the notebook. “He has an eviction notice from Temperance, and he came to the party to talk with her. We know he left before the body was discovered, but it seemed like he was in a really big hurry to leave minutes before the discovery. Motive to kill would be he gets to keep a roof over his family’s head.” She checked off his name. “And last but not least we have Thomas and Beatrice Baskins.”

  “Which I hope it’s not,” I said. “I’d hate to see the diner close.”

  Peyton threw a pillow at me.

  “What?” I asked. “I’m just being truthful.”

  “According to the wife,” Peyton said primly, “Thomas has been in love with Temperance for years.”

  Raven made a gagging noise, and I giggled.

  Peyton’s nostrils flared. “
I’m trying to be serious here. Anyway, Thomas is in love with Temperance, but I don’t really think the motive is strong.”

  “I don’t either,” I said. “He’s really not gaining anything by killing her. Maybe he did it out of jealousy, but that’s it. He doesn’t inherit money, get to stay in a house, nothing like that.”

  “What about the wife?” Raven asked. “She has a better motive.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “Beatrice was jealous of Temperance, and while she may not have gained anything like the others as far as motive, she did have an incentive to kill. Maybe by getting rid of Temperance, her husband would then love her.”

  “That’s so sad,” Peyton said.

  “And it could be just like I outlined earlier,” Raven said, “but instead of Mariah entering the library, it was Beatrice.”

  “I agree.” I stretched and got under the covers. “Is that everyone we need to get alibis for tomorrow?”

  Raven dropped the notebook onto the floor and crawled under the covers on her side of the bed. “Yep.”

  “Hand me my pillow I threw at you,” Peyton said. “I need it back.”

  I tossed the pillow down to her and she tucked it under her head and pulled an extra blanket up around her, settling in at the foot of the bed.

  “Thank goodness you have a king-sized bed,” Raven murmured. “Otherwise, it would be really crowded.”

  I smiled and turned off the lamp, plunging us into darkness. A few seconds later, I felt Jinx walk across the length of my body and settle in next to my head. Purring, he laid his head next to my ear and lulled me into sleep.

  Chapter 10

  “So what’s on your agenda today?” Grams asked as she slid a massive stack of pancakes onto the table.

  I immediately speared two and plopped them down on my plate. “We’re gonna go get some alibis.”

  Grams sighed. “I figured. And I suppose I’m just wasting my breath when I say maybe you should let the police take care of this?”

  “Yep, sure are.” I smothered my pancakes in syrup then took a huge bite. “We’re doing this for Aunt Aggie.”

  Grams scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re doing no such thing.”

  Peyton and Raven kept their heads down and didn’t say a word. The traitors.

  “What can you tell me about Temperance?” I asked. “Was she ever married to Percy’s dad?”

  “Yes. He died about ten years ago in a car accident.”

  “Was he the rich one or did she always have the money?” I asked.

  “Temperance’s parents were middle class. She went away to college and came back married to a wealthy man from San Francisco. They had the big house built right before she had Percy.”

  “I know she said she was part of the original founding families in Copper Cove,” I said.

  Grams frowned and sat down at the table. “That’s true. I believe their last name was Graffman, if memory serves.”

  “No other family members outside of Percy that will inherit?” Peyton asked.

  “Nope. Percy was an only child.”

  I kissed Grams goodbye and promised we’d stop in at the apothecary later to let her know how things were going. Jinx was waiting by the door.

  “You can’t go with us,” I said. “You need to keep Grams company at the store today.”

  Meow! Jinx flicked his tail in annoyance.

  “Don’t be like that, Jinx,” I said. “We’ve got serious business to take care of today.”

  Without a word, Jinx turned his back on me and started to groom himself. I walked out onto the porch and immediately saw Chief Baedie back out of Aunt Aggie’s driveway.

  “C’mon,” I said. “Let’s go see Aunt Aggie.”

  We raced across the street and inside the house, taking Aunt Aggie by surprise.

  “Did you give him the list?” I asked.

  “I did,” Aunt Aggie said. “And it looked like he was particularly interested in two people.” She laughed. “Well, two others besides me.”

  I rolled my eyes. “He’s ridiculous.”

  “Who were his main suspects?” Raven asked. “Could you tell?”

  “He already caught word about the man that came here looking for Temperance about being evicted,” Aunt Aggie said. “So I know he’s on the short list. And then when he saw Mariah Lawson helped cater last night, he really seemed to zero in on her.”

  “I figured he’d latch onto Mariah easily enough,” I said. “I think we have a couple other suspects that are stronger than Mr. Powell.”

  Aunt Aggie nodded. “If you girls need any help, let me know.”

  We jogged back across the street and piled into Raven’s car. I didn’t have a car because you really didn’t needed one in Copper Cove. You could pretty much get anywhere in town by walking. But Raven’s dad gave her a really cool car that not only he drove, but his dad drove. It was a ’66 Mustang Fastback. And boy could it fly.

  “So what’s the plan?” Raven asked as she got behind the wheel of her car. “Are we doing the flowers routine like we did before?”

  Last month when sleuthing, I got the bright idea to use Peyton’s employment at her dad’s funeral home to sneak in to a couple suspects’ houses.

  “Not this time,” I said. “I think we just play it straight. I say we go to Percy’s door and ask to be seen.”

  Peyton settled into the backseat. “You think that’ll work?”

  I shrugged. “Percy seems like a decent guy. I don’t think he’ll throw us out.”

  One of the great things about living in a small town was that you pretty much knew where everyone lived. It was definitely true for Temperance Clairmont. Her house was two miles out of town and was a mansion. And I’m not exaggerating one bit. It was a literal mansion.

  “Wow,” Raven whispered. “It’s gorgeous.”

  The house overlooked the Pacific Ocean and had to be at least five thousand square feet. It was bright white with huge pillars in the front, a wraparound porch, and a ton of windows.

  Raven parked in the circle drive, and I knocked on the front door. After a couple seconds, I rang the doorbell. Probably the house was so huge you couldn’t hear a knock.

  A man dressed in a fancy tux opened the door. “May I help you?”

  “Hi. My name is Brynn O’ Connell, and this is Peyton Patterson and Raven Masters. We’d like to see Percy and Barbie.”

  “Are they expecting you?” the man asked.

  “Maybe,” I hedged. “We were at the same party last night where Mrs. Clairmont died. And we’d like to offer our condolences.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Look, the party was at my aunt’s house,” I said, “and she asked me to come see how they were doing.”

  He sighed and nodded. “Very well. You may come inside, but wait right here, and I will see if Mr. Clairmont and his fiancée are entertaining guests this morning.”

  “I hope they aren’t entertaining,” Raven snickered when the butler left, “that would be so wrong.”

  I let out a little whistle as I looked around the massive foyer. “I thought the B&B was impressive. It doesn’t have anything on this house.”

  A curved, oak staircase led to the upstairs. On the walls leading up were large portraits of older people. It reminded me of those portraits that changed up in Harry Potter.

  “Mr. Clairmont and Miss Barbie will see you,” the butler said as he ambled slowly into the foyer. “Please follow me. They are still eating breakfast.”

  We followed him through the foyer and down a hallway that opened to a large sitting area. We crossed that room and took a left and went through another doorway which emptied into the dining room. Percy and Barbie were sitting at a ten-person table eating their breakfast.

  “Company!” Barbie exclaimed as she set her drink down on the table. “Look honey, it’s the girls from last night.”

  Percy sighed and set down his coffee cup. “I’m aware. Johnson came to tell us they were here, remember?”
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  Barbie giggled. “Oh yeah.”

  Looking at Barbie, I had to wonder if she was for real. Today she had on a midnight blue beaded sparkly dress…like she was ready to go to a fancy ball. Her hair was in an elaborate twist on top of her head, and her makeup was perfect.

  “There’s coffee on the buffet over there,” Percy said. “Help yourselves.”

  “No thanks,” Peyton said. “We just stopped by to say we’re sorry for your loss.”

  Percy looked at Peyton and frowned. “Your dad owns the funeral home in town, right? He’s the one that worked on…” he trailed off.

  “Your mom?” Peyton supplied. “Yes, he is.”

  “I believe I have an appointment with him later today to discuss arrangements,” Percy said.

  “After you meet with the family lawyer that is,” Barbie giggled.

  Percy scowled at Barbie, but if she caught the look, she didn’t act like it bothered her.

  “I guess Chief Baedie hasn’t had time to stop by this morning yet?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Percy said. “He stopped by about an hour ago to ask me who I thought might want to hurt my mother.”

  “And of course we told him we didn’t know of a single person who would want to hurt Momma Temperance,” Barbie added.

  Percy took a sip of his coffee. “Then he said he was headed into town to your aunt’s house to get the list of guests who attended the party last night.”

  I frowned. “What? Seriously? Chief Baedie didn’t go over your alibis?”

  “Our alibis?” Barbie gasped. “Why would we need an alibi?”

  “Yes,” Percy said. “We don’t need alibis. I would never hurt my mother. Neither would Barbie.”

  I glared at Barbie, but she chose that moment to take a huge drink of her coffee and didn’t meet my eye.

  “You both had a motive to kill her,” Raven said.

  “You,” I said, pointing to Percy, “are going to inherit a ton of money. Plus, you won’t have your mom dictating your life and telling you what to do.”

  “And you,” Peyton added, turning to a shocked Barbie, “won’t have to worry about signing that prenup.”

  Barbie waved her hand in the air. “I never really worried about that. Honest.”