Mistletoe & Hauntings

by Rachael Stapleton

  His dark brows furrowed, then he said knowingly, “What’s got you downing cocktails? Is it that new agent in town that everyone loves? She’s quite attractive. I contemplated taking a run at her myself but she’s a little young for me and I must say she seems a little obsessed with a certain policeman.”

  Mallory turned just in time to see Donna flip her hair as she touched Kaden’s arm. Mallory raised another glass in a mock toast. “Ding, ding. She’s Kaden’s ex.”

  “Here. Wait. I can’t bear to watch you down another of those,” he said and signaled the barman for two shots of schnapps instead. “Let’s mix it up. I hear cinnamon helps the bitterness go down.”

  Mallory let a loud snorting laugh slip out. “You’re funny.”

  “And you’re obviously in pain.” He handed her one of the shot glasses and said, “Cheers,” then bumped it with his own and tossed back his drink. “I’m a sucker for cheering the ladies up,” he said after.

  “So, I’ve heard.” Mallory slapped a hand over her mouth. Oh goodness, had she just said that. Where were her manners? “Can I get a coffee over here. I’m sorry, Mr. Holly. I’m not a big drinker and I’m afraid my tongue is slightly loose at the moment.”

  Caspar smiled and went behind the bar. He poured a cup of coffee then handed it over. The man had a dazzling smile—especially for a fifty-year-old.

  “Don’t believe everything you hear, Ms. Vianu. I promise my reputation is unjustified. I’m really quite the fraud.”

  “You don’t make a habit out of seducing young women?”

  He reached under the bar and pulled out a pink-and-yellow Cookies & Corsets teacup. Pike had different cups for different beverages.

  “Is that tea?” Mallory questioned.

  “Yes, cold tea, actually, which is why I’m going to gulp it back without tasting it. He plugged his nose with one hand and swigged from the cup. “Ahhhh! Almost got it all,” Caspar said, grinning mischievously. “Happy trails, Mal. I think I’ll see if Meg Patone wants to take a spin on the dance floor. I’m celebrating tonight,” he said and disappeared.

  Meg? She was like twenty or something. Ugh, so he was a sleaze. That was unfortunate.

  The ghostly Rory Salazar took his place.

  She tried to remember what happened to Rory, how he died but the alcohol was wreaking havoc on her mind. She snapped her fingers. A fall down the stairs. That was it. He’d been holding a party much like this one—only it was the summertime. No one had seen a thing. No, that wasn’t true. His nephew Axl had been there. He’d said it was an accident. That his uncle had drunk too much and tripped.

  What was he still doing hanging around?

  He floated away and Mal decided to follow. No harm in following a ghost down a dark hall, right? But first she grabbed another one of those yummy mistletoe cocktails off the bar. She was going to need it. He led her to what looked to be a study and flashed an image of a floorboard in her mind.

  “Oh, right. You have something to show me? Sorry.”

  He was pointing down, but as far as Mallory could tell there was nothing there.

  “Is there a hidden passage under there—a trapdoor?”

  Shaking his head, Mallory realized he was chastising her for not paying attention. After a minute, he rolled his eyes and jabbed a finger toward the corner of an area rug

  Mallory set her drink down and lifted the carpet, but saw nothing.

  He kept jabbing.

  She huffed and pulled the rug back farther. Finally, she noticed a ridge on the wooden floor. Adrenaline shot through her and she rolled back more of the rug, which revealed a loose floorboard.

  Mallory tugged on it and the floorboard lifted revealing a file folder containing a locked diary. What was the point of the file folder? Why wouldn’t he have just tucked the book under there?

  Mallory set the file with the book down on the desk and opened the drawer looking for a key.

  “Where—” Her words were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream.

  A sobering scream.

  She grabbed up her dress and broke into a sprint for the main area. The temperature dipped as she fought her way through the gathering crowd just in time to see Donna sniffing a Cookies & Corsets coffee cup. At her feet was Caspar Holly’s body.

  Five

  M allory didn’t see any wounds on Caspar, but his skin was eerily pale, and he was surrounded by vomit. She glanced up at the grandfather clock and gasped. It had been nineteen minutes. Nana had been right about the second ghost.

  Crossing her arms, she did her best to stave off the icy coolness that always penetrated. She should be used to this but she wasn’t. Funny things had begun happening to her on her twenty-first birthday, like seeing colors around people. She could also hear random music sometimes that no one else could hear. Eventually, she’d seen a ghost, or what she assumed was a ghost—it had been more of a glowing orb at first. Since then, she’d learned to communicate but she never felt like communication was in her control, more like a puppet for the taking.

  She pushed her discomfort aside and hurried back down the hall to the study. If there was a thing Mallory didn’t like doing, it was communicating with spirits in a crowd. To others, it just looked like she was talking to herself and Bohemian Lake already had its token crazy lady in Eve Banter. It didn’t need another one.

  She’d no sooner returned to the empty study than she was once again chilled. “Hello?” There was no response, but Mallory could feel confusion emanating from a male spirit. She sensed him by the bookshelf, and sure enough, her mind's eye flashed on Caspar Holly. Mallory moved over to that area and felt the temperature dip even lower.

  The letters H, E, L, and P floated one at a time into her mind.

  “It’s okay, Caspar. Relax. I’ll explain everything. Do you know what just happened?”

  As if in answer, the chill in the air increased and a glowing orb appeared. He was quite small and gave off a miniscule amount of light as new energy often did.

  “Can you tell me?” Mal asked.

  Dead. The spirit repeated the word desperately in her head while the orb bobbed up and down.

  Ghosts often experienced an amnesia-like-fog. It wasn’t the most helpful trait when trying to solve their reasons for lingering but Mallory had learned to work around it. Next thing Mallory knew she was ready to vomit. She let out a strangled gag realizing why Donna had been sniffing that cup. Caspar Holly had been poisoned.

  “Stop! I get it—” Wincing, she cut herself off. “I’m sorry for asking. Please try to forget what just happened before I get sick on this nice area rug.”

  The sickness eased.

  “Thank you.” Mallory walked to the desk to catch her breath and noticed the file with the journal she’d left out in the open. Oops. She scooped it up so she wouldn’t forget it again.

  Suddenly she heard a low moan pierce the air.

  “You can’t talk yet,” she said. “It’s really hard for new energy. You need to build up your strength and store it for when you want to communicate. Some spirits can show me mental images but not always. You’ll have to work in bursts at first and then you’ll disappear for a bit while you rebuild.”

  He communicated his image in her mind’s eye and motioned confusion with his hands.

  “I don’t know where you go,” she answered, interpreting. “Maybe you just disappear from my sight.”

  Grimacing, he gestured to his watch.

  “I don’t know for how long. I do know it’s important that we figure things out by Christmas Eve. The veil between worlds is thin right now which makes it easier to cross over.”

  He nodded.

  “So, tell me who did this to you. Do you know? That’s obviously why you didn’t move on,” Mallory said, picking up her mistletoe cocktail from earlier.

  Shaking his head, he pointed to his own chest.

  Really?

  “Suicide?” Mallory was shocked. She hadn’t been expecting that. He’d seemed in such high spirits. He even s
aid he was celebrating.

  He shook his head and then the image disappeared and the orb floated left, right and flickered like a bulb that was about to go out. Mallory realized he was frustrated. “Calm down, or you’ll drain your battery.” After a moment, he disappeared, and Mallory realized there was music coming from the other corner of the room where the filing cabinet stood. Not actual music but the kind only she could hear. It was part of her finder’s gift.

  “Hey! There you are,” Kaden said from the doorway. He looked so handsome in his tux with his hair slicked back, and she had the urge to kiss him. “Talking to yourself?”

  She gave him an exasperated look. She could feel her shoulders were bunched with tension.

  “He’s here, now?”

  She nodded sullenly, rolling her neck. It was going to be a long few days.

  “Hot damn,” Kaden whispered.

  “So, what killed him?” she took a sip of her drink for fortitude.

  He glanced back over his shoulder then said, “we think it was the mistletoe—”

  Mallory spit her drink out, basically spraying it all over Kaden’s fancy clothes.

  “What was that?” He asked, grabbing a tissue from a nearby box on the table. She caught a glimpse of the ghost in her mind and could have sworn he was laughing.

  “Sorry. I’ve been drinking the cocktails. Did you just say that’s what poisoned him?”

  Kaden laughed. Clearly, Mallory’s concern was comical to him. “There’s no actual mistletoe in the cocktail. It’s vodka, elderberry liqueur, cranberry juice, syrup and mint leaves.”

  “Well, that’s good news, bartender extraordinaire. So, where did he ingest mistletoe, if not in the Under the Mistletoe cocktail?”

  “Cody’s interviewing Star right now but we think it was a tea that she brewed him for his cancer.”

  “Caspar had cancer?” Mallory said incredulously. She shot a look to the orb who’d reappeared and was now hovering by the window. “Is that why you pointed to yourself when I asked who killed you?”

  The orb bounded up and down in a yes motion and Mallory turned back to Kaden. “But what’s so suspect about the tea and how do you know for sure without a toxicology report?”

  “We don’t know for sure. It looks like poisoning and Meg told us about a medicinal tea that Star brews for him on a weekly basis. Star admitted to it.”

  That checked out. “If it’s a weekly dose then why, all of a sudden, would it kill him?”

  They heard the floor creak in the hall. Kaden coughed and said, “I can’t really talk now. I’ll meet you back at home.” Then he lowered his voice and whispered, “All I can say is Star is going to have a hard time proving her innocence. Right now. It looks like a mercy killing.”

  “But Star didn’t even like him,” Mallory started to protest.

  Kaden’s eyes bulged. “Minus the mercy. Even worse.”

  Six

  M allory inhaled, taking in the fresh air as she awaited Kaden’s arrival. Snow-covered and surrounded by tall pines, the Salazar mansion looked like it belonged on a Charles Dicken’s movie set—even with the crime scene tape marring it. No wonder a Hollywood movie director had been drawn to it. She’d convinced Kaden this morning she needed back inside Caspar’s study in order to investigate the music she’d heard. He’d of course said no at first but she’d threatened to contact Eve Banter to help her break in if he didn’t escort her. Long story but basically Eve was known for her adventures in breaking and entering. Of course, that threat never would have worked if he hadn’t already been feeling guilty about the whole Donna situation.

  At least his ex was good for something.

  She was just walking up the front steps when a shadow moved past the window. Was Kaden already inside? No, he wouldn’t have gone in without her.

  Was this ghost number three—the Ghost of Christmas Future? Only one way to find out. She quietly opened the front door and tiptoed inside, watching and waiting to see who the mysterious intruder was.

  “Mal? Hey!”

  “Holy jingle bells! Meg, you scared me. You broke in?”

  Meg Patone’s eyes were red and puffy and she looked a mess. Mallory took off her hat and shoved it in her coat pocket, looking around for Caspar’s ghostly orb.

  “I didn’t think anyone would care if I just popped inside for a moment to grab the costumes. We need to do the final fittings.”

  Mallory thought she saw tears in Megs eyes but she couldn’t be sure.

  “Wouldn’t Lulu or Eve have those?”

  “You think? I just assumed they’d be at the director’s house.”

  Mallory searched her eyes and then her aura. It was dull—a lackluster grey with hints of black. Grey could indicate she was lying but it could also mean sadness especially considering the black parts. “Meg, I don’t mean to pry but are you okay?”

  Meg sniffed and checked her cell phone. “Yeah. Why? I’m just coming down with a cold.”

  Mallory bit her lip. She didn’t want to pry and ask the girl if she was depressed but she was slightly concerned. Being a clairvoyant was a constant battle of knowing when to speak up and when to shut up.

  “Anyway, I think I should be going,” Meg said, pulling on her red mitts. “I’ll check with either Aunt Lulu or Eve about getting the costumes.”

  Mallory watched her scurry away and was contemplating calling Eve to check up on her story when Kaden walked inside.

  “You’re trespassing on a crime scene, contaminating evidence, and obstructing justice, Missy. Shall I cuff you now or later?”

  Mallory smiled, “Later is just fine. Now tell me, has Star been cleared?”

  “No. She was actually brought back in.”

  “Really?” Mal cringed at the sound of her own voice. She knew she sounded like a petulant child but she couldn’t help it. “Well, what about Nelle Storey from the bookstore?”

  “What about her?”

  “Hello? She’s apparently mixing potions now too. Did you guys not even talk to her?” Kaden blinked like he wasn’t quite following. “Wait a minute, did Star not even give you her name?”

  He shook his head.

  “My God, she’s not even trying to save herself. She’s such a martyr.”

  “Well, you know Star. She’s all about peace and light. She probably didn’t want to incriminate anyone else. So, why don’t you tell me why we should suspect Nelle?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t want to incriminate her either. It’s just Star told Caspar that he should go elsewhere and suggested Nelle’s place so… maybe he went there. It would be good to check.”

  “It would be good to check.” He walked closer to her, looking gorgeous in his starched shirt and jeans, and planted a kiss on her lips. Snowflakes dotted his loden wool jacket and Mallory swept them away.

  “There’s something else too.” Mallory took off her gloves. “I heard Candy arguing with him earlier in the day at the tree farm. Seems he was ticking a lot of people off. Have you talked to Candy at all?”

  “No, but I will. We should hurry up though. Put these on,” Kaden said, handing her gloves and booties.

  “Sounds good to me. By the way, you just missed Meg Patone. That’s why I came in without you. I saw a shadow and decided to investigate.”

  “You saw an intruder in a crime scene and decided to follow. Malhala!”

  “Oh, don’t you start. Nana is the only one allowed to call me that. But yeah. I guess that wasn’t very smart. In my defense, I thought it was a ghost,” Mallory said as she followed him down the hall to the study.

  He turned and looked at her. Dark hair peeking out from under his hat. “So, it was Meg, huh?”

  “Yeah. She was looking for costumes. Anyway, let’s go inside,” Mallory said. “That’s where the music was coming from.”

  Mallory walked immediately to the filing cabinet and wrenched it open, handing Kaden a stack of files. “You start with this pile.” She pulled her own bunch and began to peruse. One file in parti
cular hummed. She opened it up surprised to find it didn’t belong to Caspar at all. “It looks like some of Rory Salazar’s stuff got left behind.” She flipped through a few papers before finding the one she was looking for. “Check this out,” she said, holding it out so Kaden could see it too.

  “What is it? The Salazar family tree,” Kaden said, not putting it together right away.

  Mallory nodded. There were several familiar names in addition to Rory’s: Helen, Axl and Meg Patone, and there was a box drawn under Rory’s name but the section with a name had been torn away.

  Mallory bit her lip waiting for it to dawn on Kaden.

  “Do you think that was Caspar’s name?”

  Mallory looked him in the eyes. “Is that why he’d moved back to Bohemian Lake?”

  This was not good news for Meg.

  She would lose her uncle’s money if Rory had a direct heir which meant she had a motive to kill.

  ***

  Mallory was sitting on Kaden’s couch rotating glances between the snowflakes twirling through the air outside the window and the snapshot of the family tree they’d taken with her phone.

  “Sorry babe but I can’t stay and eat with you after all,” Kaden said, pulling on his coat. “They’ve just brought in someone new for questioning.”

  “That’s okay. I wasn’t that hungry anyway.” Mallory looked up to see Kaden was still frowning. “What’s the matter? It’s not that big a deal.”

  “I’m not frowning about lunch. You’re not gonna like who it is.”

  Wincing, Mallory said, “Pike?”

  He stopped and turned, “Now, how in the heck did you know that? Can you read my mind?”

  “No. Don’t be silly.” Mallory wiggled her eyebrows.

  Always leave them guessing.

  He gave her a look that said stop kidding around.

  “Kaden. You’re not the only one with deductive skills. Remember how I said Star was no longer interested in brewing Caspar’s tea.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, she didn’t only suggest Nelle. Not to mention, the last thing the man drank from was a Cookies & Corsets teacup.”