Romancing the Holidays: Twelve Christmas Romances - Benefits Breast Cancer Research

by Crista McHugh

  “Contained in this box is everything I’ve collected over the years in my attempt to find my son. There are newspaper articles, photos, police reports, and a list of everyone who was at the party on the day Charles disappeared.”

  “Okay. Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened that day?”

  Pottage returned to his chair and settled in, so I went back to the chair I’d been sitting in as well. I had a feeling I was in for a long and not at all pleasant story.

  “It was Christmas Eve. Charles was six weeks old and we’d decided to have him baptized. After the ceremony we held a reception. Belle put Charles in the crib in his room, which was located upstairs in the nursery, next to the master suite. Later that afternoon Belle went up to check on him and found the crib empty.”

  “So someone who was at the reception must have taken him,” I concluded.

  “Perhaps, but the christening was heavily guarded. I made my money by cashing in on the misfortunes of others. I had a lot of enemies. Entrance to the gated estate could only be accessed by those who had an invitation. I had a security guard at the gate to ensure against those who might attempt to crash the party. There wasn’t a single person present who I could imagine would have wanted to harm Charles.”

  “Someone took him,” I insisted.

  “Yes, someone did.”

  I sat back as I considered the situation. On one hand, a limited suspect pool was going to make the investigation easier. On the other, the fact that all the suspects appeared on the surface to be family and friends of the couple was going to make things more complicated. I realized I would need to carefully comb through the facts to determine a possible motive where none was immediately apparent.

  “It seems to me,” I began, “that one of your guests must have snuck upstairs during the reception, taken the baby, and then snuck back out of the house.”

  “Perhaps. Although we had a guard posted at the top of the stairs. His orders were not to allow access to the second story to anyone other than Belle, myself, and the nanny. I don’t see how the kidnapper could have reached the nursery without first getting past the guard.”

  “Maybe the nanny was the kidnapper,” I suggested.

  “She never left the second floor. The guard verified that. They found her sleeping on the lounge in the little room just off Charles’s nursery. She swore she never saw anyone come upstairs other than Belle to check on the baby.”

  It figures this would be a complicated mystery. Of course, if it hadn’t been complicated, it would have been solved years ago. I looked at the guest list. On the surface it didn’t seem likely that anyone at the party would kidnap the child, but I didn’t have anything to lose by looking into the kidnapping further. If nothing else it might buy me some time to figure out another solution for the occupants of the apartments.

  “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, will you rescind the eviction notices? I’ll need some time to figure this out.”

  “I’ll tell my attorney to put a hold on the evictions until after the first of the year. I imagine that will give you enough time?”

  “Less than a month to solve a decades’ old mystery the cops couldn’t solve at the time? Piece of cake,” I said sarcastically.

  “Good. Then it appears we have a deal. Perhaps you should take Ebenezer with you. I do worry about him traveling on the ferry by himself. You can return him after you’ve found my son.”

  * * * * *

  “Are you sure you want to take this on?” Cody asked later that evening as we sat at my kitchen table and sorted through the contents of the box, which Balthazar Pottage had insisted I take with me. It was still snowing outside and holiday music serenaded us. It should have been a romantic evening, but instead we were discussing a kidnapping that would probably be impossible to solve.

  “I have to,” I said. “Pottage has agreed to postpone the evictions while I work on this, so at the very least the tenants will get a brief reprieve. And if I can solve the mystery, he’s promised not only to fix up the building but to sign the units over to the people who are living in them.”

  “Did he sign a contract to that effect?”

  “No, but I heard him call and speak to his attorney about postponing the evictions. I mean really, what do I have to lose? If I try to figure this out and am not successful, I’m out a little time, but the tenants will still have had the benefit of the delay in the eviction process. If I succeed they’ll have homes no one can ever take away from them.”

  Cody shrugged. “I’m in. Where do we start?”

  “I’m not sure. There’s a lot of information here. Maybe we should call the gang.”

  I called Tara, Danny, Finn, and Siobhan and asked them if they could meet me at the cabin for dinner. Finn was the resident deputy for Madrona Island and Siobhan was my older sister and Finn’s girlfriend. They’d all helped me solve mysteries in the past and I hoped they could help with this one as well. They confirmed that they were free and would love to come for dinner. I whipped together a quick casserole while Cody made a salad and buttered a loaf of sourdough bread. Cody and I worked well together and it filled me with contentment as we prepared the meal for our friends.

  Christmas jazz played in the background and the scent of the bayberry candles I’d bought from the bookstore filled the air. The ocean just beyond my cabin was angrier than usual, making a crashing sound that could be heard even over the music, but I chose to enjoy the steady rhythm rather than be annoyed by it.

  Once everyone had arrived, we ate before we gathered in the living room in front of the fireplace and began to discuss strategy.

  “How are we supposed to solve a kidnapping that happened twenty years ago?” Danny asked as he nibbled on one of the brownies I’d made for dessert.

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “What I do know is that the crime occurred on this island. Someone must know something. Besides, Pottage has actually managed to accumulate quite a bit of information over the years. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t already figured the whole thing out.”

  “If he’s been working on it for twenty years and hasn’t figured it out what makes him think you’ll be able to?” Tara asked.

  “Ebenezer told him that I was the key to finding the answer.”

  “The cat?” Finn asked.

  “Hey, stranger things have happened. Besides, what do we have to lose? If we figure this out Cody will have a fantastic story for the newspaper and we’ll all have the satisfaction of knowing we helped twelve families find a permanent home.”

  “I’m in,” Siobhan assured me. “The whole thing has grabbed my interest. I say we start with everyone who was in the house on the night of the kidnapping. Someone must have seen something. We’ll need a mystery board.”

  “I’ll go get Maggie’s whiteboard,” Danny offered.

  Cody and I quickly did the dishes while Danny went up to the main house. The use of a mystery board while we worked through the details had been Siobhan’s suggestion when we were trying to solve a confusing series of murders in October, and it had ended up making all the difference. If there was one thing you could say about Siobhan, she was organized, and she knew how to take charge of a project. Since she’d returned to the island she’d been serving as temporary mayor and doing a fantastic job.

  When Danny returned with the board we listed everyone who was on the Pottage property the day of the kidnapping. I went through the list the old man had given me while Siobhan used a dry erase marker to transfer the list to the whiteboard.

  She began by listing Father Kilian, who had performed the christening. I volunteered to speak to him the next day because it would be easy to stop by the church on my lunch break to see what he could remember from the day.

  Belle’s sister, Bonnie, and Bonnie’s husband, Sutton, were also in attendance. They were listed as the godparents. Belle’s cousin, Jessica, and her husband, Brad, were there, as well as Belle’s best friend, Beverly, and Beverly’s husband, Steve.


  According to Pottage’s notes, Bonnie and Sutton, Jessica and Brad, and Beverly and Steve all lived out of state and were staying at the residence when the kidnapping occurred. They remained at the house for a couple of days after Charles was taken, and they all helped out with the search effort. I doubted any of them would have kidnapped Charles, and it wasn’t going to be easy to interview them, but I had Siobhan list them anyway.

  Mayor Bradley and his wife, Nora, had attended the party, as had Doris Rutherford and her husband, Ted. Both Mayor Bradley and Ted Rutherford had since passed away, but it would be worth my time, I was certain, to chat with both Doris and Nora.

  My neighbor Francine Rivers had been invited, as had the previous owner of the Madrona Island News, Orson Cobalter. Orson most likely was there to cover the event for the paper, but I couldn’t imagine why Francine had been in attendance. Orson had since passed and so was unavailable for questioning, but it would be easy to pop next door to talk with Francine, which I offered to do.

  Surprisingly, my Aunt Maggie was on the guest list, as was her best friend and business partner Marley Donnelly. I figured a conversation with the two women would be a good place to start. They worked just a few doors down from Coffee Cat Books, so a quick trip down the street during a slow time of the day should net the results we required.

  There were five other names mentioned. Edith Cribbage had been the nanny, Jane Partridge the maid, Liza Bolton the cook, Roger Riverton the upstairs guard, and Phillip Preston the guard at the gate. It had been a very long time and I didn’t know any of them, but I hoped I could track them down at some point during the investigation. My gut told me it was an employee and not a guest who would turn out to be the kidnapper.

  “On the surface, do any of these people seem to have a motive to kidnap the baby?” Siobhan asked.

  “I don’t know the out-of-town guests, but it seems unlikely any of them is guilty of the crime,” I answered. “For one thing, they remained at the estate for a couple of days following the kidnapping. If one of them was guilty they would have had to find a place to stash the baby until they left. That seems unlikely. As for the local guests, there’s not a single person I would believe guilty of such a crime.”

  “Yet someone did it,” Danny pointed out.

  “Yes,” I agreed, “someone did. I plan to speak to everyone on the list, but right now my money is on one of the staff as the guilty party. The problem is I have absolutely no idea where to find any of them. I guess I’ll start with the people on the list who I know to see if anyone can point me in a direction.”

  Chapter 5

  Tuesday, December 15

  “Both the peppermint lattes and the chocolate mochas are on sale this week,” I informed the group of teens who had come into the bookstore for a hot beverage after school.

  “Two of each,” a tall girl with long blond hair replied. “Do you think you’ll have the gingerbread latte on sale again?”

  “We had the gingerbread last week, but I think Tara plans to feature it again,” I answered. “Do you all have plans for break?” I asked as I prepared the drinks.

  “I’m going to Aspen,” the blonde informed me.

  “That sounds like fun.” I set her drink in front of her.

  “It would have been if my boyfriend could have come, but my parents are torturing us with a family-only trip. I mean, really, who sets out to torture their kid at Christmas?”

  “At least you get to go skiing,” one of the other girls, a brunette, added. “I have to stay home and babysit my two little brothers while Mom’s at work.”

  “That’s such a drag,” the blonde agreed.

  “That will be twelve dollars,” I informed the group after I had delivered all the drinks. “Be sure to check back next week. I’ll see what I can do about the gingerbread.”

  “Who’s the cute guy reading to that bunch of kids?” one of the teens asked.

  “Yeah, he’ll do,” another of the girls joined in. “Is he single?”

  “His name is Alex. I don’t know if he’s single, but I can tell you he’ll be working here over Christmas break.”

  “He’s a total babe. Does he live on the island?” the first girl asked.

  “Afraid not. Besides, he’s too old for you. He goes to the university in Portland.”

  “Such a shame,” the blonde sighed. “I wouldn’t mind finding him under my tree on Christmas morning.”

  I smiled at the girls, who were almost tripping over their own feet as they stared at Alex as they walked away. He really was good-looking, but not as good-looking as my Cody. Still, I was sure he did quite well in the girlfriend department.

  I smiled in greeting at the next customer. “What can I get for you?”

  “We’re here about a cat,” the woman, who I didn’t recognize, informed me.

  “Awesome. Let me get Tara to cover the counter and we can go next door to chat.”

  I ushered the woman and her daughter toward the cat lounge as soon as I informed Tara what I was doing.

  “So, what sort of a cat are you looking for?” I asked.

  “A kitten,” the girl answered.

  “Susie saw a black and white kitten in here on Saturday. She’s been bugging me to come to take a look at it ever since. I don’t see it today. Have you sold it?”

  “First of all, we don’t sell the cats and kittens we feature here. We adopt them out to prescreened families. And yes, I do still have the black and white kitten. It’s at the cat sanctuary today. I try to rotate the cats I bring into the lounge. I can give you an application to fill out, but I want to be sure you really want a kitten and are willing and able to take care of it. I don’t mean to be rude, but adopting a pet because you want your daughter to stop pestering you isn’t a good reason.”

  The woman frowned at me. I had the sense she wasn’t at all sold on the idea of actually caring for a kitten.

  “Please, Mom? You promised me a treat if I was good during this boring business trip. We’ve been here for five days and I’ve been good. I want a kitten,” the little girl insisted.

  “If I get the kitten for you will you shut up about it?”

  The irritated look on the woman’s face pretty much made up my mind that I wasn’t going to hand over one of my cats to this particular family.

  “Like I said, we have an adoption process. I really can’t promise you anything until we do a background check,” I informed the woman.

  “You do a background check on people who simply want to adopt a kitten?” the woman asked.

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. The whole thing sounds like a hassle.”

  “But Mom…” the girl whined as the woman turned to leave.

  “I’m really too busy for all this,” the woman said to the child. “I still need to meet with the old geezer out on the island. We’ll go to the pet store in Seattle next weekend, where they don’t give you the third degree to buy a kitten.”

  “Old geezer,” I interrupted. “Do you mean Balthazar Pottage?”

  “Yes. I work for the development company that plans to build condos on his land. I’m stuck on this island until I can convince him to follow through with his initial promise to sell the land to my boss. Trust me, there’s nothing I want more than to be on the next ferry heading east. But the only way I can do that is if I can talk some sense into the old guy. Wish me luck.”

  Hardly.

  The woman’s words left me with a nervous feeling. Not that I actually thought Pottage would back out of our deal. He really did seem to want to find out what had happened to his son. Still, the knowledge that the condo developer was putting pressure on him did fill me with a certain level of urgency.

  I checked on all the cats and then returned to the coffee bar.

  “It looks like we’re through the morning rush. Would you mind if I take both an early and a long lunch so I can go talk to a couple of the people from the list we made last night?” I asked Tara.

  “Go ah
ead,” Tara said. “Alex and I should be fine until people start gathering for the three o’clock ferry.”

  “Thanks. I’ll hurry.”

  I decided my first stop would be the Bait and Stitch. Both Maggie and Marley should be there at this time of day, and chances were good that Doris Rutherford would be there as well. It was a nice day, so I decided to walk the short distance between the stores. I wasn’t sure what information, if any, the women could provide, but I was enjoying my walk.

  Madrona Island was a magical place during the holidays. Everyone went out of their way to provide a welcoming feel. White twinkle lights were strung in the trees along Main before Halloween and continued to light the otherwise dark street until after the short days of winter gave way to the longer ones of spring. The shops along Main had gone all out with their decorations. Windows featured holiday scenes and almost every door featured a bright green wreath. Holiday music could be heard from each shop as I passed.

  As with the other businesses, the soft sounds of Christmas CDs playing holiday tunes greeted me as I opened the door to the Bait and Stitch. The shop my aunt and Marley owned was a unique endeavor, a warm and friendly store that combined Maggie’s love of fishing with Marley’s love of sewing. It also served as gossip central because the women of Madrona Island tended to congregate around the quilting tables to share news, real or imagined, while enjoying cups of tea.

  “Cait, how nice to see you.” Marley hugged me as I walked in through the front door.

  “The place looks great. I especially love the red bows you’ve placed around the sales floor. Very festive.”

  “Maggie and I had the best time decorating,” Marley said.

  “Coffee Cat Books looks lovely as well,” Doris Rutherford, the queen bee of the local gossip hotline, commented from one of the chairs Marley had placed around the quilting table.

  “Yes, you girls have done a nice job with the place,” added Ruth Everson, the local charity events coordinator.