Bert had heard of this chain store before but had never been inside one. “Is that what young adults are into nowadays?”
“It’s called the Victorian Goth look, you know?”
“Is that the kind of thing Shiv would want?”
Carla shrugged. “Who knows? The only way to know for sure is to go in there and have a look around.”
Bert didn’t admit that she had no desire to go into that sort of place, but if it meant possibly finding a good gift for Shiv, she would make the sacrifice. Still, something in her gut seemed to say that this Victorian Goth style just wasn’t Shiv’s cup of tea.
However, it never hurt to just look around.
Turning back in her chair away from the shop and facing the table again, she spotted a young teenager heading through the front doors with no troubles. Despite her vibrant blonde hair, she had a thick coating of dark red lipstick on along with dark black eyeshadow and purple eyeliner. Black ribbons held her hair back in a ponytail. A black lace-up top was mostly concealed under a large leather coat with a magnificent grayish fur along the collar. It was topped off with a black pencil dress with lace along the bottom hem.
“See? Like that. I just don’t understand that type of outfit,” Bert sighed, motioning to the girl.
Turning in her seat, Carla examined the girl in question. “I think it’s kind of cute, personally.”
“It wouldn’t be cute on an adult woman.”
Carla shrugged. “No, but she’s not an adult. I say let her have some fun.”
Bert sighed, realizing her friend was right. What place was she in to judge anyone else’s wardrobe? “Looks like she got past the guards okay.”
“Probably has an adult with her,” Carla agreed, turning back to the cinnamon roll and stabbing it for another bite.
Bert narrowed her eyes, attempting to see who might be walking in just behind the girl. What she saw took her breath away.
“What is it?” Carla asked, hearing her friend’s gasp.
Bert didn’t want to jump to any conclusions or make any undue assumptions, but it was hard not to. “Look who just came in,” she replied.
Carla turned in her seat to face the mall entrance and let out a loud gasp of her own. “Oh, my goodness. Is that Detective Mannor?”
“It is,” Bert confirmed.
Chapter 5
* * *
Looking the tall man over, Bert couldn’t believe her eyes. Despite the lack of his usual long brown trench coat, white shirt, and tie, his trademark salt-and-pepper colored hair and his well-trimmed facial hair stood out amongst the crowd. Today he wore a black t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a very old looking bomber jacket with black fur along the collar. Bert wasn’t positive that he was the accompanying adult to the girl and wondered if it was just a coincidence that they walked in at the same time.
However, when the detective slipped his hand around the young girl’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze, it confirmed Bert’s suspicious.
“Why is he with that girl?” Carla whispered, a look of utter confusion rushing up into her eyes.
Bert shrugged. “Who knows? Honestly, it’s none of our business,” she reprimanded her best friend, despite her own burning curiosity about the situation.
“Well, I know how we can find out.”
“What?” Before Bert knew what was happening, Carla was standing up and waving to the gruff man. “Carla, no. What do you think you’re doing?”
“Detective Mannor,” she shouted, a big smile coming across her face.
“Carla, stop,” Bert desperately pulled on her friend’s arm, trying to get her to sit down. However, it was too late.
Detective Mannor glanced over and, much to Bert’s’ horror and surprise, he beamed and started heading their way.
Was he seriously smiling? Bert had hardly ever seen the man smile. In fact, he was a downright grump most of the time, and he had always been less than thrilled to see Bert on any occasion.
However, all those other occasions involved a dead body of some kind. This was a completely casual setting.
Still, his smile was a great surprise to her.
“Are you crazy?” Bert hissed through her teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Carla asked.
“Did you forget?” Bert spit out, not exactly ecstatic about the situation.
Carla’s eyes widened. “Oh, yeah. He asked you out on a date and you turned him down, didn’t you?”
Before Bert could offer any form of protest or explanation, Mannor was already upon them.
“Hello, ladies,” he boomed in his normal gravelly voice as he came to stand over the table. The young teenage girl in gothic clothes came up as well behind him, slightly standing behind the detective.
“D-detective Mannor. You were the last person we expected to see today,” Bert admitted.
“Oh, no need for the usual formalities,” he waved a hand dismissively at the use of his work title. “You both can call me Harold, or Harry if you prefer.” Even though he was saying it to both women, his eyes were on Bert. She knew he was focusing the comment specifically on her.
How dare he.
Bert held back a groan that was rising in the back of her throat. Could this situation get any worse?
Since she turned down his offer, she hadn’t seen a sign of him at the shop and had assumed that was the end of it. However, the twinkle in his eye as he looked at her seemed to say otherwise.
“Uncle Harry? I’m going to go over to the cinnamon roll place and get something to eat,” the young woman standing behind him whispered.
“Oh, hold on just a second. Let me introduce you.”
“Uncle Harry,” she groaned, rolling her eyes.
Stepping aside, he revealed the young woman who was even more beautiful up close.
Bert had to admit, that on a second inspection, the girl pulled off the outfit and make-up very well. Additionally, she could see a slight familial resemblance between the two. It was mostly in their eyes.
“Villa, these are some friends of mine. Mrs. Bertha Hannah and Ms. Carla Young.”
Had he just called them “friends?” This situation was just getting too weird.
“Ladies, this is my niece, Villa.”
Bert gave a smile and a nod, holding out a hand. “Hello, dear. You can call me Bert.” The teenager accepted the offering and shook. She had a good firm grip, not something she expected from a timid teenage girl.
Carla also shook the girl’s hand as well.
“Can I go now?” she begged.
Digging into his jeans pocket, Mannor retrieved his wallet and pulled out a ten. “Yes. Here you go. Get me something, too.”
“What?”
“Anything that looks good.”
With that, the girl turned on her high heeled boot and walked off, clearly relieved to be done with the little series of introductions.
“So, a niece, huh?” Carla teased with a raised eyebrow.
Mannor’s smile remained, showing how proud he was. “Yep. My sister’s kid. She’s like a daughter to me.”
“And what are you two doing here, today?” Bert asked, swallowing the nervous lump in her throat. She hoped that they had big plans and would be off on their own in just a few minutes. That way, she and Carla could get back to their own shopping spree.
Without being asked or invited, Mannor pulled out one of the empty chairs and took a seat. “Actually, we’re Christmas shopping.”
“Ooh, sounds like fun,” Carla added.
“Yep. I promised her that I’d bring her to the mall today on my day off, so she could buy something nice for her mom.” With that, he leaned in close to the woman, closer to Bert than Carla. “Truthfully, I’m also here to buy her a Christmas present as well.”
“Exciting,” Carla squeaked, just eating this up.
“That’s why I’m so glad I ran into you two. You see, I have no idea where to start and, if you don’t mind, I’d love to have your help if you have the time.”
>
“Well, actually—” Bert began. She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence.
“We’d love to. Wouldn’t we, Bert?” Carla interrupted.
Bert’s jaw dropped open wide, but she knew she couldn’t protest. Not if she didn’t want to come off as completely rude. Oh well, she groaned inwardly. Plastering on her best smile, she looked up at Mannor. “Of course. We’d love to.”
“After all, it’s perfect. I’m already helping Bert pick out something for her employee, and we can help you.”
“Fantastic,” he clapped his hands. “After we all finish out little brunch snack, we’ll get down to business. Now, where is that girl?” he wondered, turning to look at the cinnamon roll shop.
Instantly, his face bunched up and his cheeks flushed red.
Now that was a face Bert recognized. Irritation and anger.
What had he seen that had caused him to look that way?
Bert glanced up toward the shop and noticed Villa arguing with someone. It was the same young man who was kicked out of the mall only minutes earlier.
Chapter 6
* * *
Detective Mannor was on his feet in a lightning fast flash, like his seat had been too hot to sit on any longer and made a beeline for the two teenagers.
Perking up her ears, Bert realized that she could just make out the conversation.
“If you’ll just stop for two dang seconds and listen to me, you’ll understand. You can’t just up and dump me like that.”
“I told you it’s over, Cameron. Leave me alone or I’ll call for help,” she snapped.
“You do, and you’ll regret it,” he sneered.
Before another single solitary word could be spoken, Mannor was upon them. “What do you think you’re doing, you little punk?” he boomed.
Instantly, the young man’s eyes bugged out in terror upon seeing the towering police detective barreling toward him.
“Not you,” he swore, stumbling backward and running as fast as his feet could carry him into the crowded walkways of the mall.
“You little snot. If I catch you near my niece again, I’ll take care of you myself,” he shouted after the fleeing teen.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Villa grabbed her uncle in a tight hug.
Bert stood up and headed toward them, wondering if there was anything she could do to help.
“You okay, hon?” Mannor asked his niece.
“Thanks to you being here.”
“Everyone okay?” Bert asked.
“Yeah, she’s fine,” Mannor responded.
“Who was that?” she asked, unable to help her curiosity from taking over.
“M-My ex-boyfriend,” the young woman admitted, her face flushing with embarrassment.
“I’ve confronted him before. He’s been harassing Villa ever since she broke it off with him. I swear, she can’t go anywhere without either me or her mother being there.”
Bert wrung her hands. “That’s scary.”
“Next time I see him following you around, I’m arresting him on harassment charges,” he said, letting go of his niece and placing his hands on her shoulders.
“Oh, Uncle Harry. Please, don’t do that. He’s not trying to be bad.”
“You’re darn right he is. And I’m sorry, honey, but I have no choice if it happens again.”
She looked down at her feet.
A second later, the security guard from early emerged from the crowd with the teen in tow.
“Hey, let me go, man,” the young man was shouting.
“I told you to stay out, and I meant it. I don’t know how you snuck past me, but I better not see you in here again otherwise I will hand you over to the police. They won’t be as forgiving.”
Villa visibly retracted from him, hiding behind her uncle again.
“You old dudes don’t scare me,” he spat. “Besides, I told you, I’m eighteen. I’m allowed to be in here.”
“Without ID, I could give less of a crap, kid. As far as I’m concerned, you’re banned from the mall indefinitely after your little charade with my car.”
Mannor stepped forward, puffing out his chest like a proud lion protecting his family. “Thanks for finding him, Pop. It saves me the trouble.” Waving his finger in the young guy’s face, he proceeded to threaten him. “This is your very last warning. We try to be lenient with you kids, try to give you every possible chance, but you still manage to act like complete imbeciles.”
“If I catch you anywhere near Villa again, I’ll arrest you myself.”
“Whatever,” the kid grumbled.
“Come on, now. We’ve all had about enough of you,” the security guard ordered, dragging the teen along toward the exit.
Sighing, Villa leaned her head on her uncle’s shoulder.
“It’s okay, honey. He’s gone.”
“Can I go to the Gothic Gala, now? I know Bridget is working and I want to see her.”
“Sure thing,” he agreed.
“Who’s Bridget?” Bert asked.
“My best friend. She’s helped walk me to and from classes and waited for me outside of school this last month so that Cameron couldn’t get at me.”
“She sounds like a good friend.”
“She is,” Villa agreed, walking off toward the store across the way.
“Well, that was exciting,” Carla mentioned, finally approaching the group.
“Hopefully it’s the last bit of excitement we’ve had for the day,” Mannor said, folding his arms.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Bert sighed.
* * *
After those strained events, the trio decided to try a little shopping. Mannor texted his niece to tell her that they would be going into other shops and that they could meet back up whenever she wanted to.
They went from store to store, looking at dresses, shoes, jewelry, everything that a young woman in her early twenties might enjoy. Unfortunately, Bert just didn’t see anything that really wowed her. None of it looked like something Shiv might enjoy receiving.
She didn’t want to just pick anything. She wanted her new employee to really cherish the gift, whatever it may be.
“Well, since we’re not having any luck for you, maybe we can concentrate more on finding something for Villa,” Mannor suggested with an awkward shrug as they left the third clothing store so far.
“That sounds good. My brain is already fried at trying to think of what Shiv might like,” Bert admitted.
“Okay, then, but we aren’t abandoning our goal, right?” Carla added in.
“Of course not, I just need to do a little thinking before we dive into random shops again. If I can think of something she might actually enjoy, we can at least narrow down the shops we visit.”
“Sounds good.” Carla turned to Mannor with a smile. “So, what kind of things does Villa enjoy?”
He looked back and forth at all the shops around them. “None of this fancy stuff we’ve looked at, I can tell you that much. She’s only a teenager, after all.”
Carla stroked her chin. “Okay, got it. None of the traditional stores. Nothing too preppy.”
Glancing back toward the food court, the detective shrugged. “Well, off the top of my head, the best bet we have of finding something is in that weird little gothic shop where her best friend works.”
“Great. Let’s go there,” Carla proclaimed.
“We can’t do that. What if she’s still in there talking to her friend? She’d see us come in and know we were probably shopping for her,” Bert jumped in.
“She’s right,” the detective added.
Carla put up both hands. “Okay, okay. I’ve got it. Bert, you go in first.”
“Me?” she exclaimed.
“Yep. If you see Detective Mannor’s niece is still in there, you can go up to her and ask her for suggestions for Shiv. It’s the perfect cover.”
Bert twisted her lips to one side. “I don’t know.”
“I agree. It’s a good idea,” Mannor jum
ped in.
Bert raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure, Detective?”
“It’s Harry, and yes. Please. She can show you around a bit, and then Carla and I can watch for you to leave. That’s when we’ll go in and do a little shopping of our own.”
“Okay, Harry. If you say so,” Bert agreed, forcing herself to use his first name. The word tumbled awkwardly past her lips and just didn’t sound right.
“Great,” he beamed.
The trio headed back to the food court and Bert walked back into the Gothic Gala. As she turned to step inside, she bumped into the security guard from earlier. “Oof,” she groaned, bracing herself on the metal door frame.
“Sorry about that, Ma’am.”
“Whew, no problem. You just caught me by surprise, is all.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
She nodded. “Quite alright.”
Narrowing his eyes at her, he smiled. “Hey, I’ve seen you a couple of times today, haven’t I?”
“That’s right. I just happened to be there when that young man was making a scene.”
“Oh, yes, yes. I remember. Speaking of which, have you seen that young man again?”
Bert paused, raising a curious eyebrow. “You’re saying he got in again?” That wasn’t good news, especially if he was going after Villa.
“I believe so. I’m working on tracking him down as we speak. I think I’ll check the arcade and video game shop next.”
“Well, good luck to you,” she offered, waving as the officer disappeared into the throng of shoppers.
Turning and stepping inside the shop, Bert was instantly greeted by the scent of various cheap perfumes and plastics. A hard rock version of Jingle Bells rang out through the speakers. The room was covered from floor to ceiling in merchandise, all crammed into one tiny little space while all sorts of people milled about. T-shirts featuring cartoon characters, tv shows, and Japanese anime took up one wall, while another was completely filled with lacy dresses, backpacks, hoodies, and sweaters. There were also collectible statues, toys, and games.
It was a modern teenagers dream, to be sure.
Bert couldn’t help but smile as she watched multiple older shoppers looking around with bewilderment as they tried to decide what to get for the “teen” in their life. She could hardly imagine the tall and manly detective trying to pick some cute shirt or toy for his niece. It was a funny thought.
KILLER CHRISTMAS PIE Page 3