“Good girl,” she said when she realized the car had finally shifted into drive.
On her way home, Gemma stifled several huge yawns. She couldn’t believe how tired she was. It was just eight o’clock and all she could think about was crawling into bed. Part of her fatigue was due to the long weekend on her feet but it took her forever to get used to the time change. Just as she was unlocking her door, jingle bells began playing from her purse. She fished out her cell phone and smiled when she saw Nick’s number on the screen.
“Hello,” she said, her smile growing wider at the sound of his voice.
“Hey, are you home yet?” he asked.
“Just unlocked the door,” she told him.
“Would you like some company?”
“Yes - especially if that company brought wine with him,” she said.
“On my way.”
By the time Nick arrived, Gemma had changed into warm sweats and one of her dad’s old sweaters. It was miles too big for her small frame but it comforted her when she wore it. She built a fire to take the chill off of her living room and already had two wine glasses waiting on the kitchen counter.
The day before Thanksgiving, with Holly’s encouragement, she had managed to get the Christmas tree out of the attic and put it together. All the old decorations were neatly organized in several boxes sitting nearby. Every time Gemma picked one up, the loss of her parents hit her full force, almost bringing her to her knees. And just when she thought she had cried all of the tears she could, more came. Eventually, she gave up and slipped the boxes of ornaments under the tree, vowing to do the decorations later. How was she ever going to decorate the tree if she couldn’t even pick up one of the ornaments?
She was contemplating trying again when Nick arrived.
“You look tired,” Nick said, kissing her forehead and giving her a quick hug.
“I am,” Gemma confessed. “But from the by-lines I’ve been seeing in the paper all weekend, you should be exhausted.”
Nick smiled and poured a glass of wine for each of them. “It’s been a busy news weekend.”
“Are we celebrating sales?” he asked, touching his glass to hers.
She nodded. “Oh, yes.” And when she told him their total take for the weekend, he was as excited as she was.
In the living room, she sat on the sofa and he sat in the floor at her feet, poking at the fire absentmindedly.
“I didn’t see anything on your story about the rash of shoplifting incidents,” she said, running her fingers through his dark hair.
He massaged her feet through her fuzzy socks. “No, they didn’t think it was a good idea to print that story this weekend. And, besides, it’s not really finished yet.”
“I have something to add to it,” she said.
He looked up at her quickly.
“Someone took some of our things,” she said. “Not a ton of stuff but enough for us to notice.”
“Any ideas?” he asked.
“Nick, there were so many people around this weekend, it’s impossible for me to remember any one in particular,” she said.
He nodded. “Sounds like a familiar story.”
“The other artisans reported thefts, too, as well as GNC, the lingerie shop and Bath and Body Works,” she told him.
“Reported to who?”
“The head of security. A guy named Grady Jackson. None of us could tell him much, but he seemed to take it seriously. He asked for a list of our missing items and their value. Says he’s going to try to beef up security for the next few days.”
Nick nodded as if he agreed with that strategy.
Their glasses were empty and Gemma was grateful when Nick took hers and filled it up with wine from the bottle they’d brought into the living room with them. Between the wine and the warm, crackling fire she was starting to relax. Her whole body felt like lead.
“Is he going to contact the police?” Nick asked as he handed her glass back.
Gemma stared at the blood-red liquid. “He says not right away.”
Nick looked thoughtful. “Maybe he has a suspect in mind and wants to catch him red handed so he can turn him over to the authorities.”
“Maybe,” Gemma said with a shrug. “Bill Chambers thinks it’s Santa.”
Nick barked a laugh. “I did a little checking on your Santa.”
“He’s not my Santa,” Gemma protested.
“He sure was spending a lot of time hanging around your kiosk,” he said with a teasing smile.
“Jealous?”
Nick laughed again, softer this time, and caressed Gemma’s ankle and leaned his head against her knee. “Mr. Sam McLear owes back child support to at least one ex-wife and who knows how many more who aren’t even trying to collect. He's been married a few times.”
“Wow,” Gemma said but then added, “You know, I feel kind of bad for him. He’s great with the children, but all of the adults hate him. There’s one elf in particular, I think they call him Ralph, who is just furious with Santa all the time.”
“All the adults?”
“Well, except maybe Grady Jackson. I saw them talking when I left,” Gemma said, remembering the scene. “But come to think of it, Jackson didn’t look too happy either.”
“You should probably keep an eye on McLear,” Nick said quietly. “Whether you feel sorry for him or not.”
“Okay,” Gemma said.
“Be careful with your personal information around him,” Nick advised. “You don’t want him showing up on your doorstep or even getting your phone number.”
“Yes, sir, I promise,” she said getting to her feet. “Now, I’ve enjoyed the wine and the company but you need to go home and I need to get some sleep.”
She followed Nick to the front door and watched while he put on his coat and hat. Turning, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her tenderly. She inhaled his familiar scent and wrapped her arms around his lean, strong body, loving the way they fit together.
“You know I’m pretty proud of you,” Nick whispered.
“Thank you,” Gemma said, wiggling closer.
“I could stay tonight - if you want me to,” he suggested, raining kisses on her eyelids, cheeks and nose.
Gemma was tempted. Her whole body screamed for her to say yes. At the same time she knew that that kind of encouragement wouldn’t be fair to Nick or herself. She just wasn't ready.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she finally said, regaining control of her senses, just barely.
“Yes, you will,” he said, kissing the corner of her mouth one last time. “Yes, you will.”
Chapter Four
Gemma was a few minutes late opening her kiosk and she couldn’t blame it on her car this time. She’d overslept a little bit and then gotten involved in placing their order for more products. Then she’d gotten sidetracked surfing the net looking for something special for Holly for Christmas. As she pocketed the key after letting herself into the kiosk, she realized she shouldn’t have worried. Hardly any of the other vendors had arrived. Bill Chandler worked alone in his kiosk surrounded by the sparkling sun catchers he had artfully displayed. There were maybe only half a dozen customers meandering from store to store. Even the Christmas carols playing over the PA system seemed subdued for once.
Then Gemma heard what she thought at first was a kitten. While her laptop booted up, her gaze swept the area, looking for the source of the quiet mewling. A cat, she thought. Here inside the mall? No way.
Listening intently, she heard it again and turned her head this way and that, trying to find the direction the sound was coming from. Finally, she narrowed it down to either Santa Land or the boutique just behind it. Maybe a kitten had somehow gotten locked inside, smuggled in by one of the kids.
Taking care to lock the kiosk behind her, Gemma moved slowly in that direction, wincing at her own echoing footsteps in the silence. She peered through the metal bars that guarded the front of the boutique. When she saw nothing inside, she turned away and
stood there for a moment listening.
Then she noticed the little girl hidden by one of the plastic reindeer, just inside the entrance to Santa Land. The sight of that little girl with her blonde hair in pigtails and tears streaming down her face nearly broke Gemma’s heart. Wearing jeans, raggedy looking sneakers and a dirty pink shirt with a puppy on the front, she couldn’t have been more than five years old.
Gemma hurried toward her. “Honey, honey what’s wrong?”
The child’s only response was to stare at Santa’s empty chair and sob even harder.
“Oh, my, sweetie, don’t cry,” Gemma said when she reached the child. “Santa will be here soon.”
“Santa’s lit,” the little girl hiccupped.
Santa’s always lit, Gemma thought grimly as she scanned the area, not seeing Santa anywhere.
“I don’t think he’s here,” Gemma said. She knelt down on the floor so she could be eye-level with the little girl. “Do you see him anywhere?”
The child pointed just as Gemma saw the bottom of a black boot. She closed her eyes and hugged the little girl closer. The idiot had passed out on the floor between his chair and the plastic poinsettias beside it. He even had a string of lights wrapped around one of his legs.
“Come on, sweetie, let’s go find your mommy,” Gemma said, doing her best to shield the child from the sign of Santa passed out drunk.
“She’s not here yet,” the little girl said with a sniff.
“Not here?”
“Not yet. Mommy is supposed to pick me up later,” she explained, Santa temporarily forgotten. “I was supposed to stay with Santa until she came.” The child burst into tears again.
Life in a small town, Gemma thought. She was sure the child had to be mistaken somehow, but before she could think much further than that she looked up to see Rosalie McLear striding toward her. The tiny woman looked even more disheveled than before and her face clouded with concern when she saw Gemma with the child.
“Kami, what are you doing?” Rosalie asked sharply, but her voice and the look on her face softened when she drew closer and saw that the child had been crying.
“Santa’s lit,” Kami said, breaking away from Gemma to run to her mother.
Kami began crying again. Rosalie looked at the empty Santa space and rolled her eyes. Then she shared a look with Gemma that said this was about what she expected.
Gemma shrugged, not knowing what to do or say. There was no way she could make this situation any better.
“He’s her step-dad," Rosalie explained. "I work nights at a nursing home and we had an unexpected death this morning. The babysitter dropped her off, and he was supposed to watch her until I could get here.” She stopped and shook her head. “Thank goodness you came along, because he obviously can’t keep it together even for a child.”
Waves of anger rolled off of Rosalie, so fierce and hot that it caused Gemma to take a step back.
“I’m sorry,” was all she could think of to say.
“I should have known I couldn’t depend on him,” Rosalie said, her voice tight. “Thank you for looking after Kami. I appreciate it.”
With the child in tow, she turned and walked away from Gemma, heading for one of the anchor stores on the opposite end of the mall. Gemma was grateful that the entrance was in the opposite direction, which meant the child wouldn’t see her step-dad passed out in the middle of Santa Land.
Gemma closed her eyes when she heard children squealing with laughter at the other end of the mall and realized that they were headed her way. She was going to have to do something to prevent another embarrassing situation for everyone. She looked up to see Bill, who had apparently been watching the whole exchange between her and Rosalie. He stood at the entrance to his kiosk, arms crossed across his chest with a smug smile on his face.
“Bill, please stop those children from coming this way while I get figure out how to get Santa out of here,” Gemma shouted to him.
Bill nodded and moved in that direction.
Gemma went to where Santa lay, reached down and shook his foot. “Santa,” she called out to him. “Sam. Santa.” She shook the foot harder. No response.
From where she stood, she could see a plastic reindeer antler clutched in Santa’s hand as if he’d grabbed for it when he fell. He seemed to be tangled up in the lights, too. Gemma figured he had just passed out and grabbed everything as he fell, but he seemed to be out cold and there was no way she could pick him up by herself.
Gemma stood up and looked around. Where was all this security when she needed it? Maybe if she tried tugging on his arm, she could get him to wake up.
She was bending over to give it a try when she saw his face. His pale blue eyes were wide open, staring at nothing. His lips were blue, too. But what caught and held her attention was one of the heavy silver garlands that decorated Santa Land tangled in his beautiful beard and wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Need help?” It was Grady Jackson, giving her a curious look. He wouldn't be able to see Santa from that angle.
“Oh, yeah,” she said slowly, getting to her feet and backing carefully away from the body. “You might want to call 911.”
“A passed out Santa is nothing I can’t handle,” Jackson began as he sauntered into the gates of Santa Land. “I’ll get the old coot back in the break room and sober him up.”
“Santa is dead,” Gemma said. The words sounded very, very wrong to her ears, and she felt goosebumps bloom along her arms.
“Dead!” Grady said, scurrying around to her side. She stepped sideways so that he could see.
“What's wrong?” It was Bill. Somehow he had managed to send the children off in another direction and Gemma assumed, had come back to help her.
“Santa’s dead,” Gemma repeated, suddenly feeling hot and dizzy.
As she looked from Bill’s astonished face to Jackson’s, she realized that someone else had joined them. Looking past Bill, she saw Ralph the Elf. He stood apart from the other two, hands on his thin hips, tummy stretching his green costume.
“What’s he done now?” Ralph sneered.
“He’s dead,” Gemma repeated. Why couldn’t she stop saying that?
“I’m not surprised,” Ralph scoffed. “I told him one of these days some jealous husband was going to take him out. Looks like my prediction came true.”
Gemma’s knees felt like water as she watched Jackson finally begin to dial 911 on his cell phone. She heard him say, “No need to make a big deal out of this and scare everyone. He’s already gone. No need for sirens.”
Everyone else just stood there while a spirited rendition of Here Comes Santa Claus flowed out of the mall’s PA system.
This Santa wasn’t going anywhere.
Chapter Five
For some reason, Gemma felt like she should stay with the body until the police arrived. Bill and Jackson both seemed to feel that way, too. Ralph the Elf appeared to be in charge of Santa Land, at least temporarily, while making calls on his cell phone. Obviously Santa would have to be replaced and Gemma assumed Ralph was calling the agency or whoever Santa worked for to get a replacement.
The rescue squad arrived first and Gemma was surprised to see that both of the EMTs were women. They quickly came to the same conclusion she had and one of them made a quiet telephone call.
“We’re alerting the authorities,” the other uniformed woman. She looked very young and a little pale. “Did anyone touch or move anything?”
“I touched his foot,” Gemma said, her voice shaking slightly. “I thought he was...”
“That’s fine." The woman shot her a reassuring smile. "The police will need to know that, though, so please stay close,” she said softly.
“How did he die?” Bill asked.
“Looks like he was strangled with garland,” the EMT worker had finished her phone call. “I’ve contacted the coroner and the police. They’ll be arriving shortly. I’m sure they’ll want to question all of you.”
Still reluc
tant to leave Santa, Gemma remembered that she was supposed to call Holly and then rearrange the kiosk a little that morning so that it didn’t look so empty. Looking for something to calm her rattled nerves, she had just started in that direction when the coroner arrived. In reality the county coroner was a local doctor, Dr. Biggs. Tall and thin, Gemma thought he looked like Ebenezer Scrooge. He nodded a greeting when he passed her but was more focused on where the EMTs were kneeling over the body.
Gemma’s cell chimed just as she reached the HealthGems kiosk. She accepted the call with a shaking finger. It was Nick.
“Okay, what’s going on?” The tone of his voice was anything but conversational.
“I, um, I found Santa dead this morning here at the mall,” she told him, her voice shaking as badly as her finger had earlier.
“I just pulled up out front. There are three police cars here and the coroner’s van,” he told her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Gemma assured him, although she really didn’t feel so fine.
“I’ll be right in,” he said and ended the call.
Gemma stood there for a moment, watching the activity increase around Santa Land as more and more professionals arrived. The scene seemed surreal. Uniformed officers were stringing up yellow crime scene tape. The coroner, who was talking to a tall broad shouldered man in a dark blue suit, was snapping off his blue gloves. It looked like he had just finished with the initial examination of the body. The crime scene techs seemed to be working quickly to finish their work so that the body could be removed.
Her cell rang again, this time it was Holly. “Hello.”
“Hey, what’s going on down there? Dad just heard something on the scanner.”
“Santa’s dead,” Gemma said quietly.
“What?”
“I found him this morning.” She said quietly.
“Oh my God, Gemma. Are you okay?” Holly sputtered into the phone. Before Gemma could answer she said, “I’m on my way.”
Even as she talked to Holly, she kept her eye on the crowd around Santa Land. Grady Jackson stood close by the coroner and the other man who she assumed was a detective from the police department. Bill had returned to his kiosk but was watching the proceedings with morbid interest. Gemma wondered where Edna was today and decided she was glad the frail looking elderly woman wasn’t there. Ralph the Elf paced nearby and appeared to be talking to himself.
Mall Santa Murder: A Cozy Christmas Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 1) Page 3