17
Pinky had stars in her eyes and kept messing up orders. “I asked for a cranberry scone,” a woman at her service counter said and pushed the plate holding a muffin back at Pinky.
“Oh. Sorry. Here you go.” Pinky gave her a new plate with the scone and the woman joined her friends at a table.
“Maybe you should go for a walk, burn off some of your nervous energy, maybe get some fresh air,” I said.
She snapped her dish towel. “Ten degree air is a little too fresh for what I wore to work. I left my boots and parka at home.”
I would have offered her mine but we weren’t the same size. “We’ve got some time before Curio Finds opens, if you want to run home for them.”
“Nah, I’ll go do some laps in your shop.” She shook her hands and released some of her nervous energy. “How can this feel so good and so painful at the same time?”
When her hands quieted, I took them in mine. “One of those sweet mysteries of life. Your text message said you had a great evening.”
“Jake is sooo fun to be with. Not to mention that he’s an absolute hunk. I love how he makes me feel.”
“Then so do I.” I released her hands and she went on her inside walk.
She popped her head through the archway a few minutes later. “I forgot to tell you Emmy called earlier and is feeling way better, but she’s still got a little cough. She’s thinks she’ll be back tomorrow or the next day.”
“That’s good news.”
Pinky went back to doing laps around the shelving units in my shop, and I thought again, for the one hundredth time at least, how lucky for us that Nicoline had shown up right when we needed her. How was I to know it was more than happenstance she’d come into our lives when she had?
• • • • • • • •
Nicoline was even quieter than usual when she reported for work. “Is everything okay?” I said.
“Yes. Thank you. I had a little trouble sleeping last night, but I will be fine.”
“Why don’t you go make yourself some hot chocolate, that’ll help perk you up.”
Her lips lifted in a smile but her eyes looked sad. “In a little while, I will do that.”
We had customers in our shop right off the bat, but we’d gone into a little lull by the time Harley Creighton arrived promptly at ten o’clock. I was able to break away without putting too much stress on Nicoline. There were a number of people at the tables in Brew Ha-Ha, so I steered him toward the office, wishing it were a larger room. I went in first so I wouldn’t have to squeeze by him.
When we sat down the first thing he said to me was, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Marilyn Monroe?”
Oh my goodness. I didn’t care to get into the fact that dressing up like Marilyn Monroe was my costume party choice. When I styled my hair like hers and covered my sprinkling of freckles and put in blue contact lenses, I had to admit I looked a lot like her. But in my normal life, when I looked in the mirror I saw Camryn, not Marilyn. I mumbled, “I have heard that before. To let you know, Harley, as far as the city council is concerned, I haven’t made a decision about that. But there were a couple of other things I’m wondering about.”
He leaned so far forward, I was glad there was a desk between us. “Shoot.”
“I know you didn’t get along very well with Mayor Frost—”
He didn’t let me finish. “Now, now, I think that needs to be clarified. I got along fine with Frosty, personally. But there’s no sense denying we had our differences on a number of city issues.”
“Okay, well then maybe you did know about a pendant he had inherited from his mother.”
“No, no, that I didn’t, and I told the police that, too.”
“So he didn’t say he was planning to give it to anyone? You didn’t see it in his office?”
Harley shook his head. “No.”
“How about the new snow globe he’d just bought? Was that for anyone special?”
“A snow globe?” He shrugged. “He didn’t mention that, either.”
“Oh, I thought maybe he showed it to you in his office Wednesday afternoon.”
“The day he died? No, he was pretty busy with visitors, from what I saw.”
I looked for a hint of dishonesty, but it wasn’t there. He was open in his responses. It disappointed me a little that I believed him. Not because I wanted him to be guilty, but like Mark and Clint had said, no good suspects had yet risen to the surface. And somebody had killed Frosty.
I stood up. “I need to get back to work, but thanks for stopping by, Harley.”
He got up and nodded. “No problem. And be sure to give the council some serious thought.”
“I will.” I lifted my hand. “After you.”
• • • • • • • •
I got an e-mail back from Van Norden Distributing stating that although they didn’t know what had happened with the three bears snow globe, they would assume responsibility for it and subtract it from the invoice. They also wrote that another order was en route, leaving me to wonder again why Van Norden was shipping them in several small orders, instead of one bigger one. Unless their suppliers were having difficulty keeping up with demand and shipped them to retail outlets as soon as they got some in. My parents had told me it wasn’t all that unusual during the Christmas season for companies to do that. The faster they were on retailers’ shelves the faster they could be sold.
Nicoline went between the two shops, helping Pinky with drink orders and washing dishes and me with customers. I’d received another special order request and got it packaged up, ready to send. I asked Nicoline if she’d take it to the post office. She looked a bit frazzled by the request. “How shall I pay for it?”
“I’ll give you a check and you can fill in the amount.”
“All right.”
She was barely out the door when the UPS truck pulled up to the curb, and out hopped the driver. He certainly didn’t need to go to the health club in December. He got two boxes out of the truck and jogged into the shop. “Mornin’.” He set the boxes on the checkout counter.
“Good morning. How’s it going?” I signed for the orders.
“It’s going. Have a good one.”
He was halfway out the door when I said, “You, too.”
No one was in the shop, so I looked at the boxes. One was from a company in Germany that specialized in antique and valuable snow globes. The other was from Van Norden. I opened that one first. Four boxes, like the last order. I took them out and picked up the one marked Three Bears by River. The same name as the one missing from the previous order. I took out the snow globe and stared at a scene similar to the one Frosty had purchased. The bears looked the same, but this time they were closing in on a man from behind, one who was holding a fishing pole with its line dangling in the river. I held it for a moment, knowing I either had to send it back, or throw it away. There was something about it that seemed vile.
Pinky walked over and stood beside me. “What are you doing?”
“This is just as bad as the one Frosty bought, the one he got hit with.”
“Eew. The hairs on the back of my neck just went up. It’s kind of a frightening scene, don’t you think?” She shook her head.
“Yes. And it’s not going on our shelves, I know that much. I thought about throwing it away, but we’d have to eat the cost, so I’ll return it instead.” I put it in its box, slid open the door on the back of the checkout counter, set it on a shelf, and pushed it to the back.
The overhead lights turned off and on. Pinky looked around with her eyes opened wide. “What was that all about?”
“It’s been happening more again lately. Clint said I need to get the electrician back to have another look.”
“Not that I want it to happen in your shop, but I’m sure glad it’s not happening in mine.�
� She reached over and picked up a penny I hadn’t seen lying between the two boxes. “Here, it must be from your cash register.”
Or maybe not. “Thanks.” I took it and stuck it in my pocket.
The bell on Brew Ha-Ha’s door dinged and Pinky dashed back to her shop. Nicoline returned from the post office with a smile. “Here is your receipt. There was quite a long line there.”
I nodded. “It’s that time of year, so thanks for doing that. We’ve got some more items to mark, if you want to help.”
“Yes, I would like that.” She hung up her coat then joined me at the counter.
“I got this one opened, so we’ll do these first.” I pulled the three remaining boxes out and put them in front of Nicoline, then set the larger box on the floor.
She helped take them out. “Only three in this order?”
“Actually there was four, but I’m sending one back.”
“Why is that?”
“I have a bad feeling about it.” It was like the one Nicoline had wanted to buy so I didn’t go into details.
“All right. Well I can take it to the post office for you.”
“Thanks, we’ll take care of it later.” I handed her the box cutter. “If you’ll open the other box, I’ll get these three priced so you can find them a nice temporary home on our shelves.”
The rest of the day was busier than I’d anticipated for a Monday. Pinky ended up staying until nearly five o’clock herself before I finally convinced her to go. “When Mark was helping out Saturday he said we should hire more staff about forty times. It’ll be a relief when Emmy’s back.”
I chuckled at the thought of Mark working in Brew Ha-Ha wearing a pink apron. “He was a real trouper helping out on Saturday. And if you ever need Jake to work here, it’s good to know pink was his favorite color when he was little.”
Pinky smiled and sighed. Loud and long. “He really is something, isn’t he?”
“Speaking of our police officers, I haven’t seen Mark or Clint all day. Yesterday either, come to think of it.”
“You’re right. About today anyway. Jake said they’ve been putting in a ton of hours trying to solve Frosty’s murder and the most progress they’ve made is clearing a long list of people as suspects.”
“Well, that’s progress, I guess, but not as much as they need.”
“Right. I’m outta here, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I went back into Curio Finds and when I didn’t see Nicoline I thought she’d gone into the bathroom. But a minute later she came out of the storeroom. “Doing some organizing back there?” I said.
“Oh. A little,” she said. “Camryn, I can drop that package you are sending off at the post office on my way home.”
It took me a second to remember I’d told her about returning the snow globe. “That’s okay, the post office is closed now. And there’s no real hurry. We’ll get it taken care of in a day or two.”
“All right. Would you like me to stay until closing?”
She probably needed the money. “If you’d like to, sure. Go make yourself a cup of something to drink. And check to see if anything needs wiping down in the coffee shop. I’ll wrap up things in here.”
“I will do that.”
We finished our jobs and were ready to leave by 6:00 p.m. Nicoline turned and looked at me like there was something on the tip of her tongue. “Is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Oh. No. Good night, Camryn.”
“Night, Nicoline. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
We walked together for the short distance to the walkway between our building and the one north of it, then I took that turn and she continued on. I sensed she was getting closer to telling me about her life and her uncle, or whoever it was, but she hadn’t quite worked up the courage. Maybe tomorrow, I thought. I had no way of predicting all the things that would spill out of her mouth once the flood gates were opened.
As my car warmed, I thought about Frosty and decided to swing by his house, for no good reason. If Jason had still been there, I would’ve asked permission to take another look at his grandmother’s portrait. My dreams kept sending me back to the diamond I’d spotted on the mayor’s office floor. If I’d seen either Mark or Clint, I would have asked if they’d gotten an answer yet from the gem expert.
I drove past Emmy’s house on my way to Frosty’s, and it prompted me to send up healing thoughts for her. As I approached his house, I got quite the surprise. There was a dark sedan sitting in the driveway and the overhead garage door was open. I pulled in across the street, parked, turned off my engine, and watched. A shorter woman in a fur coat was pressing numbers on the keypad on the outside of the garage. A few seconds later the door began its descent and the woman—who appeared to be in her late sixties—walked to her car and got in. Was she an old girlfriend of Frosty’s, one who had his access code? Even if she was collecting something that was hers, it wasn’t right for her to go into his house without permission from the family.
She sat for a minute before backing out of the driveway. I debated whether to call Jason or not. And what would I say? I didn’t have a pen and paper handy so I called my home phone and left her license plate number on my voicemail. And then I phoned Mark.
“There is a lady who just left Mayor Frost’s house. It looks like she got in through his garage. She knew the code, and I’m following her.”
“Cami, if she has the code, she probably has permission. What’s her license number?”
I hadn’t memorized it and speeded up so I was close enough to read it. “It’s S-one-W-A-four-nine.”
“Okay, I’ll run it, and you don’t need to keep following her.”
“But we need to tell Jason, see if she had his permission to be there.”
“I’ll take care of that.” He paused and I heard him hitting keys on the laptop computer in his police car. “Cami, do you know anyone by the name of Loretta Proctor?”
“No, I don’t. Where does she live?”
“I can’t answer that. Are you still behind the car?”
“Yes.”
“Turn around, Cami. The plate comes back to someone from out of town. We’ll check it out, and if we need to file a report, I’ll get your statement.”
“Okay, Mark.”
I didn’t turn around until the car was outside city limits and figured the woman was probably headed home, wherever that was. What in the heck had she been up to at Mayor Frost’s house? Loretta Proctor was the owner of the car and probably the driver.
Jason Frost phoned me some minutes later. “Camryn, Officer Mark Weston just called and told me you saw my aunt leaving Dad’s house when you drove by a while ago.”
His aunt? The one who had not been at her brother’s house when Jason needed her, but had shown up now, after he’d left? “Golly, Jason, I didn’t know who it was and I didn’t actually see her leave the house. I saw her punching in the code to shut the garage door. Technically, she was in the driveway. And so was her car.”
“Lea and I have been sitting here trying to decide what to do.”
“Your aunt didn’t talk to you about it, didn’t ask your permission to be there?”
“No, before Officer Weston called, I didn’t even know she had the code. Like we told you, Dad and Loretta have been on the outs for some time.” He was silent a moment. “You know, come to think of it, Dad’s had the same code for years. He probably gave it to her way back when, and never thought she’d go in without his knowledge.”
“Are you leaving it up to the police to talk to her?”
“I asked them to hold off until we figure out the best way to handle this. I’ll talk to my cousin Anne first, get her input. Oh, and Officer Mark suggested changing the code, and even offered to do that for us.”
“That’s a very good idea.”
“I don’t think it was just a coincidence you happened by Dad’s house when you did.”
What was he getting at? “You’re right, I was thinking about him and took a little detour on my way home.”
“What I meant was, I think you were supposed to do that.”
Ah. “Maybe I was, Jason.”
I parked in my garage and hurried into my house. When I got inside, I was glad I’d forgotten to turn the heat down that morning. I tossed my keys on the counter and stared at my refrigerator for a second trying to remember if there was anything inside worth eating for supper. Maybe it was a chips and salsa night. After I got into my pajamas.
I was leaving the bedroom, decked out in flannel pajamas, a flannel robe, and my pink bunny slippers. I had the penny Pinky had found and given to me in my hand when my doorbell rang. I groaned and threw the penny in the ceramic bowl, debating whether I should answer it or not. Then there was a knock and a voice calling out from the other side of the door. “Camryn, it’s Clint.”
The fact that I didn’t hesitate to let him in, even at the risk of being ribbed for appearing like I was ready for bed at such an early hour, was a fair indication of how much I wanted to see him. I let him in then closed the door behind him. He eyed me from my own face down to the bunnies’ faces on my feet, and then brought his eyes back to mine. “It looks like you’re about to call it a night.”
“Not for a while yet. It just feels good to get out of the clothes I was in for the last twelve hours. And at this time of the year, if I don’t have somewhere else to go, pajamas seem like the best option.”
“I can’t say I blame you. Thirteen hours for me.” He reached up and tugged at the inside of his collar.
That would be a long time with a bulletproof vest and all the heavy equipment he carried on his belt. “Did you stop over for a particular reason?”
“Mark called me about the woman you reported.”
I lifted my hand. “Before you say any more I should tell you that Jason Frost called me after Mark talked to him and told me who she is.”
Clint nodded. “You don’t say.”
Frosty the Dead Man (A Snow Globe Shop Mystery) Page 19