“Hardly,” Bert said, wiping her hands off on a towel and walking over to the table and taking a seat. “I actually wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Little old me? What could it be about?” Carla joked.
“As a matter of fact, I need your help,” Bert admitted, lowering her voice to a low whisper.
Taking off her hat and setting it on the table, Carla leaned forward. “I’m all ears.”
Glancing over her shoulder, Bert double-checked that they were really alone. Upon seeing that they were, she looked Carla in the eye. “I want to get Shiv something for Christmas. You know I don’t really have any family, besides you,” she motioned to her old friend.
“That’s true.”
“So, Shiv is quickly becoming like a daughter to me. She’s sweet, hardworking, and earnest.”
“And you want to get her something.”
“That’s right.”
“But, I’m assuming, you have no idea what to get her.”
Bert gave a knowing smile, realizing she was caught. “Yep. I mean, what do you buy for a twenty-something young woman like that? I’m not exactly hip or up on the latest trends.”
Carla clasped her hands. “Honestly, I think the best thing to do is go to the store and see if anything catches your interest.”
“How am I supposed to do that? I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Let me handle that part. That’s why you came to me, right?”
“I suppose, so.”
“Well, how about this? Tomorrow, after you make your round of pies, leave the shop in Shiv’s hands for the day.”
Bert’s mouth twisted to one side. “That hardly seems like a good gift,” she remarked sarcastically.
“No, no, it’s so that you and I can go to the mall and do a little shopping.”
“Mall? We don’t have a mall here in town.”
“Haven’t you heard? They built a big shopping mall just thirty minutes out of town, on the Iowa side of the river.”
Bert shook her head. “I hadn’t heard that.”
“Well, it’s supposed to have everything. I think it would be a fun girl’s day out to go do a little Christmas shopping.”
Bert felt a slight swell of excitement in her chest. “It does sound fun. You know how much I love shopping, and I haven’t been in ages.”
“Great. This’ll be perfect, then. We can meet up just around nine, and I’ll drive. They have a great food court out there for us to get lunch at, and tons of shops to pick from.”
Bert hesitated, playing with the towel in her hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“But, I’m not sure about leaving the place to Shiv. She’s still getting used to things.”
Carla put a hand on Bert’s shoulder. “It’ll show her how much you trust her. It’ll also force her to learn things even quicker. Trust me, I did the same thing with my seasonal staff.”
“You did?”
“Always do. They learn quickly, and usually, enjoy it.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Trust me,” she said.
Bert gave a little half-shrug and a smile. “Oh, all right. It’s a date.”
Chapter 3
* * *
“Here we are,” Carla announced as they pulled off the main road and into the mall parking lot.
“Holy smokes. How did I not know this was here?” Bert gasped, leaning forward in the passenger seat to get a good look at the sprawling two-story white and cream-colored building laid out like a military complex before them.
The parking lot seemed to stretch on for ages, as did the cars that filled it. People milled about with eager smiles on their face and large shopping bags and wrapped parcels in their arms—returning home with the Christmas goodies for their loved ones that year.
Each of the entrances was marked with a tall arched window. White lights were strung along the windows along with large green wreaths in the middle.
“Yep. They have absolutely everything here. Clothes, toys, electronics, games, furniture, you name it.”
“Sheesh, and I assumed malls were a thing of the past,” Bert chuckled. There had been a mall in Culver’s Hood for many years, but eventually, it ran dry. Once it was devoid of shops, the place was torn down in favor of some new condos.
“So, did I, but this place seems to be doing very well,” Carla commented, motioning to the crowds going back and forth from the main entrance.
Bert had to admit, it was impressive. “There’s a spot,” she said, motioning to an empty slot amongst the rows and rows of other vehicles all jampacked in like sardines.
“Got it.” Sliding in, Carla put the car into park and turned it off. “Girl’s day out is now officially beginning.”
“Don’t you think we’re a little old to call ourselves girls?” Bert teased, opening her door and stepping out into the chilly December air.
“Oh, phooey. We’re never too old to have a girl’s date,” Carla argued, getting out and shutting her own door.
“Did you lock it?” Bert asked.
Pushing the button, the car squeaked in response, indicating it had locked itself up tight. “You know, Bert, not all of us hit the lock button three or four times like you.”
“I just like being one hundred percent sure it’s locked,” she retorted. Sometimes, she did feel a little different when it came to stuff like this. She often found herself walking back to her car or to the door of her shop, right after she’d already taken a good ten to fifteen steps away, just to make double sure everything was locked. “Better safe than sorry, I always say.”
“Well, I can tell you one thing you won’t be sorry about.”
“What’s that?”
“This shopping trip,” Carla exclaimed, taking her best friend’s arm in hers as the walked along the snowy pavement. “Come on, let’s get inside before we freeze our butts off.”
Making their way toward the main entrance, which was crowded with people, Bert spotted multiple men in uniform standing around the doors with their arms folded.
Instantly, her heart began to flutter uncomfortably in her chest. The only time she was used to seeing so many policemen all together was when there was a crime scene. She had to admit, she’d experienced her fair share of investigations, what with multiple homicides happening in the Old Market district of town. However, the stress of this type of situation still hadn’t ever completely vanished.
“Oh, no. What’s going on?” she whispered to Carla.
“What do you mean?” her friend asked, seemingly oblivious.
“The police. What are they doing here? Was there some sort of crime? Shoplifting maybe?” Bert was physically pulling back on her friend’s arm to keep her from walking too close. It couldn’t be too serious. All sorts of customers were walking in and out of the doors past them without being stopped, so it wasn’t a crime scene or anything like that. They clearly weren’t trying to block people.
So, what in the world were they doing?
Carla rose an eyebrow as she glanced at the men flanking the doorways, noticing them for the first time, and then back at Bert. Instantly, she began to laugh out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Bert demanded, realizing she was being mocked.
“Those aren’t police. They’re mall security guards.”
Looking up again with a more critical eye, she realized her friend was right. The uniforms weren’t police issued. Heck, they didn’t even have guns or badges. They simply had walkie-talkies, nightsticks, and the mall’s logo on their chest and shoulder. “Security guards, huh?”
“That’s right. They have strict rules about when teens can come into the mall.”
Bert raised an eyebrow. “Teens? What for?”
“Well, ever since the mall opened, they’ve had trouble with groups of teenagers coming in and running amuck. Now, the rules state that anyone under the age of eighteen must be accompanied by an adult to come in during peak shopping hours. Otherwise, they ge
t turned away.”
“That’s strange.”
Carla shook her head and laughed lightly. “You’re too trusting. There have been some unsupervised teenagers that have turned to vandalism and shoplifting for fun.”
Bert squeezed her eyebrows together skeptically. “Really? Somehow, I don’t see it.” While Bert knew that there would always be troublemakers of all ages, she just couldn’t see creating strict and arbitrary rules for mall attendance.
“I didn’t say all teens, Bert. It only takes a few bad apples to cause trouble.”
Bert laughed and gave a shrug. She supposed it didn’t matter. If the mall felt the need to hire extra security to manage teenagers, that was their prerogative.
Almost as if on cue with the current topic of conversation, one of the guards spoke up loudly. “Hey, you. Stop right there,” a well-rounded man who was wearing large sunglasses barked at a passing figure in a black hoodie with a leather jacket pulled over it.
The person who he was clearly talking to, who was keeping their face well hidden, kept moving along in the crowd as if he hadn’t heard the booming voice.
“I said, hold up,” the guard demanded with a roar that stopped many of the scurried shoppers, all wondering who he might be talking to. In the next second, the guard leaped out and grabbed a hold of the hood, pulling it backward and off, revealing the young teenage boy underneath. His long black hair flopped haphazardly around his head like a mop.
“Hey, dude. What’s the big idea?” he shouted.
“You know the rules, bub. You’re not allowed in here without an adult.” The bald guard jabbed a finger toward the parking lot.
“I’m just going to meet my mother in the food court,” he argued, motioning to the array of food-themed shops all lined up just past the doors.
“Nice try, kid. Go see a movie across the way or something.” The guard ordered, pointing toward the large theater way on the other side of the parking lot.
“No way, man. I’m eighteen, now.”
“Oh, yeah? Do you have some ID on you to prove that?” the guard retorted.
“No, I don’t. I haven’t gotten my new license, yet.”
“Your old license would still have your date of birth, wouldn’t it?”
“I lost it.”
The guard lowered his eyelids, shooting a look of amusement. “Right. How convenient. You gotta go.”
“No way! I told you. I’m meeting my mom right in here.”
“No, you told me you were eighteen, but couldn’t show me any ID.”
“But I am, man. I’m totally eighteen. I just had my birthday.”
The guard’s hand remained tight on the hood, never releasing the young man and refusing to take any of his sass. “Why don’t you call her up on your cell phone and have her come out here to get you?” he suggested with a sneer, his nostrils flaring.
“I forgot my phone, okay?” the kid retorted. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, a hard rock song started to echo from his pocket.
“Forgot your phone, huh?”
“It’s probably my mom now,” he snapped, trying to cover his lie and jamming his hand into his pocket to turn off the ringing device.
Finally letting the kid go, he folded his arms. “You don’t fool me for one bit. I’ve seen you around before and know I’ve turned you away on more than one occasion. You and your friends are little vandals.”
“My mom’ll make sure you get fired.”
“I’m sure she will. However, if it’s up to me at all, which it is today, you’re banned from the mall indefinitely.”
Realizing he wasn’t going to get his way, the teenager turned red in the face. “You can’t do this.” He stomped a foot like a toddler having a tantrum.
Lowering his glasses, the guard glared at the kid. “Look, I know you. I also know you and your buddies were the ones who vandalized my car the other night. You know, slashed the tires, scratched off the paint. Real number you did there.”
If this was true, Bert was impressed about how cool the guard was remaining.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I saw you, kid, plain as day. I just didn’t catch you before you ran off.”
The teen was going pale but still refused to relent on his attack. “I was nowhere near your car.”
“Wanna bet?”
“You can’t prove anything,” he shouted.
To Bert, that almost sounded like a confession.
“Whatever, I know it’s true and so do you. So, get lost.”
“This is bullying.”
“Save it.”
“My mom is going to be mad.”
“Kid, even if your mom was in there, I wouldn’t let you in. Now, out.” He gave the kid a light shove, moving him away from the door as all the shoppers stared at the scene.
The kid’s face turned a ruby shade of red, his hands balling into tight little fists.
“Are you deaf? I said get going. Find something else to do with your day.”
“You’re going to regret this,” the young man threatened through hot steamy breath.
“Oh?”
“You better be watching your back, man, because I’m coming for you when you least expect it.”
The guard seemed completely unamused with this threat.
In the next second, the kid burst into a run and disappeared among the shoppers and cars in the snowy parking lot.
Chapter 4
* * *
“That was pretty intense, even for the mall,” Carla joked as they stepped into the food court just beyond the glass doorways.
Long sparkling strands of white lights and silver garland hung from the ceiling in curved rows, creating a dazzling show above their heads. Oversized red and gold ornamental balls also hung down, treating the whole building like one big tree.
Speaking of trees, at the center of the food court was a gigantic aspen tree all decked out to the hilt. The lights blinked cheerily in time with the music, and Bert wondered if the mall had them hooked up to the sound system to do that.
It was an impressive display, to say the least.
A large red sign with fake snow pointed to one of the nearby escalators and read, Visit Santa Claus at the North Pole. Make sure your Christmas wishes don’t go unheard.
Bert had to giggle at it.
She always thought it was odd how the mall and other stores charged five, ten, or even more dollars to sit on Santa’s lap and take a picture when they always did that for free at her church’s Christmas party each year anyway.
However, she knew that some kids could be persistent.
Upbeat pop versions of various Christmas carols played over the loudspeaker for all to hear, and it seemed to urge people to buy, buy, buy. Bert preferred her music to be a little subtler. While she enjoyed songs about Santa Claus, Rudolph, and the North Pole, she much preferred some of the quieter and more reverent tunes that instilled that sense of peace on earth and goodwill to all men.
However, she did have to admit there was something about the atmosphere of the mall that lifted her spirits as well. It was a slightly more exciting and exhilarating sensation, but it was all a part of the Christmas season in the end.
“That kid was a riot,” Carla continued talking about the little display that had been performed at the entrance.
“No, kidding. Did you hear how serious he was?”
“Or how serious he was trying to be you mean?”
“I guess so. I know he said he was eighteen-years-old, but he still had a baby face.”
“I know. Besides, he didn’t have any ID to prove it. He was probably only fifteen or sixteen and was lying to try and get into the mall, am I right?”
Bert had to agree.
Despite it only being around ten-thirty, the scent of various foods filled the air and customers were sitting down for a mid-morning snack or brunch. Burgers, pizza, sushi, Chinese, specialty coffees, smoothies, and many different baked goods were all on t
he menu.
However, the one smell that stood out, and always reminded Bert of mall shopping, was the mingling familiarity of cinnamon and sugar.
“Ooh, I smell the Cinnamon Shack,” Carla exclaimed, reading her friend’s mind. She rubbed her hands together eagerly as her eyes scanned the shops all lined up in a row. Grabbing her friend’s hand, she pulled her along. “Come on, this way,” she declared as they headed toward the heavenly smell of the Cinnamon Shack.
“It’s only ten-thirty. Do we dare have a cinnamon roll this early in the morning?” Bert protested slightly, but not too much. The scent was calling her.
“This is our girl’s day. We have to have a cinnamon roll to start the day off.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Bert agreed.
After ordering one large cinnamon roll with the seasonal peppermint icing to share, and Bert got a peppermint mocha coffee from the Koffe Haus stand, the two friends found a seat near the tree to sit and enjoy the treat. Bert had to admit, any type of seasonal treat or advertising always seemed to sucker her in.
However, she decided there were worse vices in the world and indulged in the small things that made her happy.
“Holy smokes, this is so good,” Carla announced upon trying a bit of the icing.
“Let me taste that,” Bert butted in, cutting into the roll with her fork and taking a bite. “Oh, my. That is amazing.”
“I think you picked the wrong route this year by going with gingerbread.”
“Next year, for sure, I’ll be doing something with peppermint.”
“You better, otherwise I’ll just have to boycott,” Carla teased.
Bert took a second to glance around herself to see what kind of shops lay just outside the food court. After all, Carla had claimed that this mall had absolutely everything she could want.
That’s when she spotted an odd little black and red storefront with a large bold lettered sign above it. It was called the Gothic Gala, and all sorts of young adults and teens (all with older family members, of course) were walking in and out. Many of them had dark, heavy makeup, wore dark clothing and had died their hair strange colors.
KILLER CHRISTMAS PIE Page 2