Merriment & Murder

by Jenna St James

  I snorted. “Really? Then what was that fight about in the side yard last night…minutes before Mrs. Clairmont was found?”

  “What? What fight?” Percy’s face was red as he pushed back from the table and stood. “What’re they talking about? I thought you told Chief Baedie you didn’t go into the library because the door was closed and instead you went to the restroom?”

  Barbie’s eyes widened and her mouth trembled. “I did. I mean, I—that’s exactly what happened. I never stepped foot in the library.”

  I bit my lip, unsure if I should pull out the rhinestone now and demand to see the dress, or if I should wait for a better time…like after we had more physical evidence against her.

  “You’re lying,” I said to Barbie. “The three of us saw you. You went to the library, maybe saw Temperance there, and somehow you two stepped outside via the French doors in the library, because we saw the door still open. You two had words, and Temperance went back inside the library. You hurled your glass of champagne against a tree and stalked back inside the house.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Barbie said. “I went to the restroom and then met back up with you all in the great room while we waited for Momma Temperance to come back from the library.”

  “It’s not just us that saw you arguing,” I said. “When you threw your drink, you almost hit someone with it. We went over and talked with them about what had happened.”

  Barbie stuck a finger in her mouth and started nibbling on her nail. “Fine! You caught me. I did have words with Momma Temperance, but I didn’t kill her.” She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “Percy, honey, you know I love you and loved Momma Temperance. I’d never hurt her.”

  Percy closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “Look, I have to meet with my attorney in half an hour. Then go to the funeral home and take care of arrangements. We’re done here. If Barbie or I answer any more questions, it will be from Chief Baedie or one of his men. Not a bunch of snooping kids. You need to go.”

  “Yeah.” Barbie stood and rushed over to Percy. “You need to go. We have mourning things we need to see to.”

  Mourning things? Oh, brother!

  “Let’s go girls,” I said. “I think we have everything.”

  “I’ll walk you out,” Barbie said. “This house is so big a person could get lost.”

  We followed her out to the foyer, but when I went to open the door, Barbie grabbed my arm.

  “Look here, you little brats,” she hissed, “I didn’t kill that old hag, so stop telling Percy I did.”

  “You’re gonna want to let go of Brynn,” Raven said quietly.

  “Oh yeah?” Barbie sneered. “Why’s that?”

  “Because I’m a blackbelt,” Raven said. “I could kick your butt with both of my hands tied behind my back. And I’d sure hate to mess up your pretty hairdo.”

  Barbie dropped my arm and patted down her hair. “Get out, and don’t come back!”

  Chapter 11

  “Wow,” Peyton said as she climbed into the backseat of the Mustang, “that woman is crazy. Although I’ll feel sorry for Percy if we discover Barbie did kill Temperance. He’ll have lost both women in his life.”

  “He’d be better off,” Raven said.

  I reached out with both hands and yanked the door closed. I always had a hard time shutting the long, heavy door. “Of the two, I think Barbie is the stronger suspect. I’m not dismissing Percy, but I’m leaning more towards Barbie.”

  “We also need to figure out a way to see if that rhinestone came from her dress,” Raven said.

  “I’m more concerned about the fact Chief Baedie once again isn’t doing his job right,” I said. “Does he seriously not consider either of them suspects? That’s just ridiculous.”

  “Him being the chief is ridiculous,” Raven said.

  We’d just entered the city limits when Peyton leaned up from the backseat and pointed out the windshield. “Hey look! Isn’t that Brandon?”

  Twenty yards ahead of us Brandon held the hand of a little girl as they walked down Main street. Raven slowed and pulled over to the side of the road.

  I manually rolled down the window and leaned out. “Hey, Brandon. What’s up?”

  Brandon and a little girl both turned around and stared at us. He smiled when he recognized us, but the little girl wrapped her arms around his legs and hid behind him. Brandon reached down and smoothed her hair.

  “Jillian and I are just out walking around,” Brandon said.

  “I want to get my daddy a Christmas present,” Jillian said. “I have a dollar.”

  Brandon smiled down at his sister. “Also, Chief Baedie stopped by to ask D-A-D some questions, and D-A-D thought I should take Jillian for a walk.”

  “I can spell you know!” The little girl rolled her eyes at her brother. “I’m in kindergarten now.”

  “Right,” Brandon said. “My bad, Jillian.”

  “Why don’t you hop in,” I said, “and we’ll stop by the apothecary. I may have just the thing for your dad.”

  “The what?” Jillian asked.

  I opened the door. “Trust me.”

  Brandon cleared his throat. “Not that I don’t appreciate it, but isn’t that mostly medicines and girlie stuff?”

  I got out of the car and tipped the seat up so they could get in the back with Peyton. “I actually make a soap that’s perfect for deep sea divers and fishermen.”

  They got in the backseat, and a few minutes later Raven parked outside Grams’ store. I looked over across the street and suddenly remembered about Brandon needing a part-time job. I made a mental note for us to stop by Sisters after shopping and kill two birds with one stone.

  “It smells really good in here,” Jillian said as we walked inside the apothecary.

  “Thank you,” Grams said from behind the counter. “It’s one of the things I aim for.”

  Meow!

  “Kitty!” Jillian dropped down to her knees, scooped up Jinx, and gave him a big hug.

  I tried not to laugh at the petrified look on the cat’s face.

  “Be gentle,” Brandon said. “You don’t want to hurt the kitty.”

  “I know,” Jillian said.

  We left Jillian on the floor playing with Jinx and headed over to where Grams stood. There were about four other customers in the shop, but they weren’t paying us any attention.

  “So what’s new?” Grams asked.

  I leaned over the counter so no one could overhear. “We went to see Percy and Barbie this morning, and they basically told us that Chief Baedie told them they weren’t suspects.”

  “The fool!” Grams exclaimed. “I swear that man wouldn’t know a viable suspect or a clue if it came up and bit him on the butt.”

  “But the chief did come by our house,” Brandon said quietly. “That’s why Jillian and I are out. Dad didn’t want Jillian to overhear anything.”

  “What kind of vibe did you get?” I asked.

  “I only overheard a little,” Brandon said. “But it sounds like Chief Baedie thinks my dad is the killer.”

  “Oh no,” Peyton said. “That’s horrible.”

  “I don’t know what to do,” Brandon said. “If they arrest my dad, someone will come and take Jillian and me away.”

  “We won’t let it come to that,” Peyton said. “Will we, Brynn?”

  Oh boy!

  “No, we sure won’t,” I said. Even though I wasn’t sure I felt as adamant about Mr. Powell’s innocence as Peyton.

  “And if it does come down to your dad being arrested,” Raven said, “I’ll call in my dad. He’s a great defense attorney.”

  Grams nodded. “He kept my keister out of jail last month.”

  “What’s your dad’s alibi?” I asked. “What happened after he had words with Temperance and he left the parlor last night?”

  “I don’t know,” Brandon said. “I walked around looking for him and finally found him in that little room off the dining room. All white room
with Christmas lights up. Dad was staring out into nothing. I was scared.”

  “Did he say anything?” I asked.

  “Just that he tried to talk again with Temperance, but her son made him go away. We really just hung out in that room for quite a while, trying to come up with ways to get the money. It was peaceful out there, with only the Christmas lights and candles.”

  “Then what happened?” Raven asked.

  “I’d say we’d been out there for about fifteen minutes when this woman comes out. She was really upset. She stood on the other side of the room staring into her coffee. She had on some kind of sparkly sweater. Christmas trees, I think.”

  “Beatrice,” I murmured.

  “Anyway, this guy came in and got pretty mean with her. Told her to get her stuff around he was ready to leave, and she asked him if it was because Temperance was getting ready to leave too.” Brandon frowned and shook his head. “He was really mad at her. Told her to grow up and then left her there.”

  “What did she do?” I asked.

  “She hid her face behind her hair and wiped at her eyes. I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but I didn’t want to embarrass her. And Dad put his hand on my arm and shook his head. I guess he didn’t want me to say anything, either. Then she just wiped away her tears, stood up, and walked away. I didn’t see where she went after that.”

  “Then what happened?” Peyton asked.

  Brandon flushed and let out a shaky laugh. “Then Dad and I went to the dining room and started shoving a ton of cookies in our jacket pockets before we turned to leave. We made it to the foyer before someone Dad knew stopped to talk with him for a few minutes.”

  “We must have just missed you guys,” I said. “Because we went through that same room to go outside and gather wood for the fireplace.”

  “But the timeline sounds right,” Raven said.

  “Did you see anything out of the ordinary while you were in the hallway waiting on your dad?” I asked.

  Brandon looked up toward the ceiling. “Not really. There were still people hanging out in the foyer and side hallway. Others were walking back and forth between the rooms.” He stopped. “Wait. I think I did see that one lady who was with Mrs. Clairmont go into the library.”

  “Who?” I asked. “What did she look like?”

  He slid a glance at Peyton. “Tall, blonde hair. Kinda pretty. Was in this red sparkly dress that could blind a person every time she walked.”

  “Barbie,” Peyton, Raven, and I said simultaneously.

  I looked Brandon in the eye. “This is important, Brandon. Was your dad out of your sight at all during the time you saw Barbie go into the library and you waved goodbye to us on the lawn?”

  Brandon’s face fell. “Yes. I told Dad I wanted to go back and get Jillian some more gingerbread men. I left him in the foyer talking with someone by the library there and went back to the dining room.”

  Darn!

  “But I wasn’t gone long,” Brandon said. “I promise. It was just quick enough to go grab Jillian some more gingerbread men and go outside.”

  “I liked the gingerbread men,” Jillian said.

  We all glanced down at the girl in surprise. None of us had heard her or Jinx move over to us. Jinx jumped up onto the counter and ran his head into my hand. Taking the hint, I reached under his chin and scratched his neck.

  “Can I smell that soap I want for my daddy?” Jillian asked.

  “Right this way,” I said. “I have a lot of soaps I make, but this one is special for men like your daddy who get sea salt on them.”

  I took her by the area where I kept my products. I had soaps, lotions, body scrubs, and even a few natural cosmetics customers could choose from. Handing her a brown bar of soap, I explained to her it was a pine tar soap.

  “It smells weird,” Jillian said.

  “I know. But it works.”

  Jillian grinned. “How much? Will my dollar be enough?”

  I pursed my lip. “Tell ya what. I’ll give you the Christmas special. It’s two for one today. You can have two bars for your one dollar.”

  “Thanks!” She reached out and hugged my waist as I grab another pine tar soap from the tub.

  “Thank you,” Brandon said. “I know you took a hit on that.”

  “It’s no problem.” I walked back and laid my dollar on the counter for Grams to put in the till. “We’re gonna run across the street to Sisters real quick. I want Jessica and Janice to meet Brandon. They’re looking for a part-time worker.”

  “Today?” Brandon asked. “But I got my sister with me. I can’t do an interview today.”

  “Pfft.” I waved my hand in the air. “They aren’t going to care. C’mon, before someone else applies for the job.”

  “Then where are you amateur sleuthers off to?” Grams asked.

  “I want to stop by Aunt Aggie’s place,” I said. “I think Chef Granger is a suspect.”

  Grams snorted. “Don’t let your aunt hear that. She’s always had a thing for Jimmy. Clear back to when they were in school.”

  Chapter 12

  We waved goodbye and headed across the street. The bakery and coffee shop was packed, which was no surprise. It took us ten minutes before we reached the counter to place our orders.

  “Good afternoon,” Jessica chirped. “What can I get for you all?”

  “Triple shot mocha for me,” I said.

  “Same,” Raven and Peyton echoed.

  “And for you two?” Jessica asked.

  Brandon backed up. “Oh, nothing for us. Thanks.”

  Jillian tugged on Brandon’s coat. “I want something.”

  Brandon gave us a wan smile before kneeling down to Jillian’s level. “We can’t today. Okay. I promise I’ll bring you in another time.”

  “You know,” Jessica said, “I did just make up a batch of hot chocolate that I’m not sure is any good. Would you two like to try that and see what you think?”

  Jillian’s eyes grew wide. “Can we?”

  Jessica nodded to Brandon. “We can do that if it’s okay.”

  “Thanks.” Brandon leaned in closer to the counter. “I was kind of hoping to talk with you about the job opening.”

  Jessica clapped her hands together. “Wonderful. Give me a second to get these drinks around, and then Janice and I can talk with you for a second while the other workers man the counter.”

  We sat at a six-person table and made small talk while we waited for our drinks. About five minutes later, Jessica set down a tray of our drinks while Janice placed a tray of baked goodies on the table.

  “Can we eat those?” Jillian asked.

  “You sure can,” Janice said. “I needed to make some space in the display case, so I thought maybe you guys would take these off my hand.”

  Before Brandon could say anything to Jillian, the little girl reached out and snatched a chocolate donut and shoved it in her mouth. He laughed and handed her a napkin.

  “So you’re interested in the job?” Jessica asked.

  Brandon and the twins spent a few minutes going over the details of the job, while I contemplated our next move, sipped coffee, and munched donuts.

  “Thanks,” Brandon said. “I really appreciate it.”

  I shook myself out of my fog and focused in on the conversation.

  “We heard about what happened last night,” Janice said. “We’d already left the party.”

  “Do the police have suspects in mind, do you know?” Jessica asked.

  I slid a glance at Brandon, but before I could say anything, Raven took out her cell phone and groaned.

  “What is it?” Peyton asked.

  Raven looked at Brandon. “It’s my dad. He said he’s heard through the lawyer grapevine that they are bringing in two people for formal questioning later today.”

  “Did he say who?” Brandon whispered.

  Raven plunked out a text and hit send. A few seconds later she got a reply. She didn’t even have to say it aloud, I could tell by the l
ook on her face.

  “One of them is your dad,” Raven said.

  “Something serious must have come up during their talk this morning,” Peyton said. “Something that required a trip to the station.”

  “Oh no,” Jessica said. “There has to be a mistake. I’ve known Scott Powell my whole life—Janice and I both have—there’s no way he’d do that.”

  “What’s the matter, Brandon?” Jillian asked.

  “Nothing,” he soothed. “Drink your cocoa. We need to leave in a few minutes.”

  “I bet the other person being taken in for a formal interview is Mariah,” I said.

  Raven’s phone rang. She stood up and walked away to answer it. I looked at Brandon, unsure of what to say.

  “We’ll figure this out,” Peyton said. “Don’t worry.”

  Raven sat down at the table. “I explained to Dad what was going on. He wanted me to ask you if you guys have a family attorney or know of someone. If not, he’d be more than happy to go down to the station.”

  Brandon shook his head. “We don’t know any attorneys. Heck, we can’t afford an attorney.”

  “Give me your number, and I’ll give it to my dad so he can call your dad.” Raven sent the number and message a few seconds later.

  “What’s going on, Brandon?” Jillian asked, her face covered in chocolate.

  Brandon handed her a napkin. “Wipe your mouth, Jilly. It’s nothing for you to worry about. But we need to get home.”

  “I’ll drive you,” Raven said.

  “No. I want to give Dad a little space. We can walk.”

  My heart hurt as Jillian and Brandon headed out the door toward home. I knew just how he felt. I went through the same thing a month ago with Grams. I had no idea how I was going to survive, and it was just me. He had a little sister to think about.

  “Anything we can do,” Jessica said, “you just let us know.”

  “Will do,” I said.

  Strolling back outside, we crossed the street and got into the Mustang. I wasn’t sure if we should go see Aunt Aggie next or Mariah. I was trying to time it so we wouldn’t run into Chief Baedie.