Watson simply stared after a second glance toward the door, as if asking what I was waiting for, didn’t I know he was cold, and since when did I care about what people thought about us to begin with?
He had a point.
Shoving it all away, I pushed open the door, and we walked into the warmth of the toy store.
We made it about ten steps as we rounded the first tower of toys before halting. It took a moment for the scene to make any sense.
Declan was sprawled on his back in front of the counter. Katie was on her knees beside him, her fingers clawing at the ever-changing-hued garland that was wrapped around Declan’s throat.
“Island of Misfit Toys” played in the background.
Watson whimpered.
A sense of déjà vu washed over me.
Another dead body. They really were going to kick us out of Estes Park.
Katie looked up at us, wild-eyed, her brown curls pulled free of the ponytail and whipping around her face. “Fred. Help me.”
Her panicked tone broke through my shock. Dropping Watson’s leash, I hurried toward her.
“I can’t get it off. I can’t get it off!” Katie’s words were so rushed that they came out in the slur. Only then did I notice the blood on Declan’s neck and on Katie’s hands. I couldn’t tell whose it was.
The garland. Noah and Jonah’s stupid, sharp garland.
I changed course midway, nearly twisting my ankle in the process, and followed the trail of garland behind the counter. I yanked the plug-in out of the wall, causing the flickering lights to die, then glanced at the countertop. For a second, I didn’t see what I was looking for, but then I found them sticking out of a cup full of pens. I grabbed the scissors and then joined Katie on the floor on the other side of Declan. “Can you pull it enough to get some slack?”
Katie stared at the scissors in confusion, and then understanding dawned and she nodded. “I think so.” She pulled one hand free to make room, then used her other hand to create space between the garland and his neck, sucking in a breath as the garland made fresh cuts.
It was just enough for me to slide one of the blades through. Luckily the scissors were industrial quality, but even so it took forever. I had to practically saw through the layers of fiberglass, plastic, and wire. Maybe it took less than a minute, but it felt like hours as I worked with the scissors as Katie tried to pull the garland evermore loose.
And then it was free.
“Is he alive? I didn’t even check. I just started trying to get it off him.”
I held two of my fingers to the underside of his jaw and closed my eyes. After a few seconds, I shook my head. “No. We were too—” And then I felt it, barely there. Weak and faint but there. “Yes! He’s alive.”
Without thinking, I threw myself from the floor and grabbed the phone I’d noticed on the counter, then dialed 911.
Officer Green’s pale blue eyes narrowed in suspicion as she glared at me. “Why were you here again?”
From outside the toy store’s windows, red light from the ambulance flashed across her face as it drove away, giving her a demonic appearance. To be fair, Officer Susan Green and I didn’t have the best history, despite our limited interactions, so maybe it clouded my view of her.
“Like we said, Katie and I were Christmas shopping. We came in the store to purchase toys”—I attempted to keep the duh out of my tone, kinda—“for presents.”
“Really?” Her cold gaze darted between Katie and me. “Katie Pizzala… Pozl….” She glanced down at her notepad. “Pizzolato.”
“You can just call me Katie P.” Katie tried for a smile. “Or just Katie, obviously.”
Officer Green’s lips tightened to such a thin line that I was surprised she was able to speak. “Katie Pizzolato, you don’t have any family in town. Who would you possibly be buying toys for?” Not giving Katie a chance to reply, she turned to me. “And the youngest kids in your family are eight years old. Are you telling me you’re going to buy them an old-time metal top, or some hand-carved wooden blocks?”
I stared at her, impressed, despite myself. “You’re very thorough, Officer.”
“It’s my town, Miss Page. I make it my job to be informed.” She made a circling gesture with her pen, encompassing the toy store. “And as such, I know it doesn’t make any sense for either one of you to come in here to buy toys.”
My temper flared, and I barely stopped myself from saying that she was right. Katie and I got bored during our shopping spree and decided to strangle the owner of the toyshop to liven up the holidays.
Luckily, Katie piped up. “Carla, she owns Black Bear Roaster—”
“I’m aware who Carla is, Miss Pizzolato.”
Katie flinched. “Okay, well, I work there now since—”
“I’m aware of that too, Miss Pizzolato. We’ve already established that I’m aware of what happens in my town.” Officer Green seemed to be taking a bit too much enjoyment in every ounce of this.
Watson growled, drawing Officer Green’s attention.
I took a step in front of him.
Remarkably, Katie just continued, her words coming out in a rush to finish before being cut off again. I had no idea how she wasn’t screaming. “Since Carla is my boss and she’s pregnant, I thought I’d get a baby gift here.”
Officer Green opened her mouth, another argument coming, then gave a reluctant nod. “Oh.”
She scribbled something on her notepad, then turned to me again. “And you? Please tell me your family isn’t getting ready to produce any more offspring.”
Despite my best efforts, I glanced toward some of the still-flashing garland on the shelves behind Officer Green. Instead of giving in to the impulse to add another strangling victim to the afternoon’s events, I channeled my father. “Officer Green, we both know that you and my family have a tense relationship. It seems that it might be appropriate to have another officer do this questioning.”
“I’m not questioning. This isn’t an interrogation. No charges are being pressed. I’m simply taking statements from witnesses.” Somehow her sneer managed to deepen. “And as far as another officer, I’m sorry, but your boyfriend is out of town at the moment.”
“Branson isn’t my boyfriend.” While there was definitely an attraction between us, and Branson had asked me out, we had yet to go on a date.
Her eyebrow cocked. “Either way, Sergeant Wexler is out of town.” She smiled. “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. And I’d appreciate it if we could get back to the issue at hand. An attempted murder is more important than the status of your relationship with my so-called superior.”
At that moment, another officer I remembered seeing at my shop last month cleared his throat and interrupted, holding up one of the large wooden nutcracker soldiers in gloved hands. “Officer Green, this was under that giant teddy bear.” There appeared to be a red stain on the soldier’s blue helmet.
Officer Green’s eyes narrowed as she inspected the nutcracker. “Bag it.” Then she turned back to Katie. “You still say you heard someone running when you walked into the store?”
Katie nodded. “Yes.”
“You didn’t see anyone hit the victim with anything? Didn’t even see the strangulation begin?”
“Hit the victim?” Confusion flashed over Katie, but she pushed onward. “No. I told you. I came in the store, heard what I thought was running footsteps, and then found Declan on the ground, with the garland wrapped around his throat.” For the first time, impatience sounded in Katie’s tone. Or worry. I wasn’t sure which.
Officer Green glanced down at Katie’s hands and then mine. “And yet you’re both covered in blood.”
I followed her gaze. Somehow in the chaos, I hadn’t even noticed. “Declan was bleeding. The garland was cutting into him, and into Katie’s hands as she tried to get it off him.”
Further disgust. How she managed to have so much was nearly miraculous. “Yes, I’m aware of the garland as well, Ms. Page. One more deligh
t bestowed upon the world from your family.”
“You weren’t kidding. Even I wasn’t aware the garland came from Noah and Jonah. There’s no way I can keep track of all their inventions.” The level of her knowledge of my family was a bit unsettling. It went beyond knowing her town, as she said. It was clear she’d been spending her time looking for something, some way to make life difficult for us. I didn’t bother trying to keep my tone respectful. “You seem a little obsessed with my family, Susan. I don’t think that’s healthy. You might need to get some help for that.”
Not helpful, Fred. Shut up!
Her shoulders straightened, and she took a step toward me. We were the exact same height and roughly the same build. But whereas I’d inherited my father’s large bones, I was soft and curvy. Officer Green had turned her build into that of a weightlifter. It took every ounce of nerve I had not to flinch at the sight of her anger.
“Like I said. It’s my job to keep this town safe. I know to keep vigilant. Even if Sergeant Wexler is distracted by… other things, I promise you I won’t be.” She took another step, close enough that I could smell her spearmint gum. “And on that note, you claim to have arrived late, after Miss Pizzolato supposedly discovered Declan just in time to conveniently interrupt a murder. If you were out shopping with your friend, why weren’t you together?”
After too many years with a condescending husband, and then a betrayal from my best friend and business partner who stole my publishing house away from me, I was well equipped to handle being spoken down to by someone on a power trip. Officer Susan Green seemed to always be on a power trip, at least where I was concerned. Once more, an endless litany of things I shouldn’t say flitted through my mind and played over my tongue. So many that I had to bite my bottom lip.
“That shouldn’t be a hard question to answer, Fred.” Officer Green took a final step forward.
Watson growled again, and this time moved in front of me, baring his teeth.
Though I loved him for it, I yanked on his leash, forcing him behind. I had no doubt that given the chance, she would impound him or worse. The thought brought my tone back to respectful. “Watson… made a mess on the sidewalk, and I’d forgotten a waste bag. I had to go back to my shop to get one.”
“Oh really?” From her victorious tone, I might as well have admitted I was the one who had attempted to kill Declan. “Can you offer proof that you picked up his refuse?”
“No….” I gaped at her, astounded at this line of questioning. “I… didn’t get back in time. Someone had stepped in it.”
Her blue eyes brightened for the first time, and she pulled out another pad of paper from inside her vest. “Well, I hate to have to tell you, but I will be writing you a ticket. Being a poopetrator comes with a hundred-dollar fine.”
The idea that she was standing in the middle of a near-murder scene and worried about giving me a ticket for Watson’s mess on the sidewalk should have been enough to make my head explode, but I was so astounded at both the use of her word poopetrator and her ability to utter it without so much as a smile that I was only capable of standing there in silence.
It seemed to be the final straw for Katie, however, who finally cracked. “Are you insane? Declan Diamond was nearly murdered, Fred and I barely managed to save his life, my hands are all cut up, we have no idea who was running away, and you’re worried about dog poop? What is wrong with you?”
It would’ve been bad enough for Katie’s outburst to prompt Officer Green to lose her temper, but the smile that spread across her face as she turned to look at Katie was so much more terrifying. “Right now, Miss Pizzolato, you are the only one talking about someone running away. Even your friend here can’t vouch for you. The most obvious answer is typically the right solution. Perhaps after leaving hazardous waste on city property, Winifred Page accidentally interrupted your murder attempt, and you panicked. That or she’s attempting to cover for you. Poorly, I might add.”
Katie’s mouth hung open, speechless for a few moments. Then she blinked. “That makes absolutely no sense. Why would I try to kill Declan Diamond?”
Officer Green shrugged. “I’m less concerned with the why of the case, Miss Pizzolato, than I am the who.” She refocused on her pad of paper and began jotting down something as she spoke. “Tell me again specifically what you hoped to buy when you came into Bushy Evergreen’s Workshop.”
The questioning continued for another half hour or more. By the time Katie and I were allowed to leave the toyshop, we were both trembling with rage and exhaustion. And I had a newly written ticket shoved in my purse.
We walked in silence until we reached the front of the Cozy Corgi and Katie glanced at the empty store to the right, where Healthy Delights was still painted over the window. “I’m so angry right now… It makes me completely understand how Opal died. I could club someone with a rolling pin, too.”
I laid my hand on her shoulder. “Well, that makes two more reasons why we’re friends. I feel the exact same way, and I know that I shouldn’t admit that, but I’m going to anyway.”
Katie let out a long shaky breath, and worry warred with the anger in her tone. “Should we be concerned? Officer Green will find any excuse possible to pin this on us. I don’t know why she hates me so.”
I didn’t even have to consider that one. “She doesn’t hate you.”
Katie scoffed.
“Okay, yes she does. But not because of you. It’s because of me. She’s detested Mom and Barry for a long time. Her brother owns the magic shop. And Mom and Barry own the property. They’re wonderful people, but you know what they’d be like as his landlords. Absentminded, scatterbrained, slow to follow through on everything. And I know her brother has tried to buy the shop multiple times, and Barry always refuses. Susan blames my family for both holding him back and, I think, just for being pains in general.”
“Really? That’s it? She is trying to pin murder on us just because of that?”
I shrugged. “Partly, yes. But I think there is also just a molecular dislike between us. I noticed it the first time she was questioning me about Opal, and it only got worse when Branson took over. I don’t think she likes him, either. And knowing that there’s some sort of attraction between the two of us, only makes her despise me more.”
Katie sighed and sounded like she’d been awake for a week. “Well, I wish he was here.”
“Me, too. Me, too.” Branson had told me he was going to be gone a week or so, while insisting he’d take me to dinner before Christmas rolled around. But in the chaos in the toy store, I’d forgotten.
Katie brought my attention back from Branson. “What I don’t understand is who would try to kill Declan? He owns a toy store, for crying out loud. You don’t get more benign than that.”
“Well… actually….” Judging from what Barry had said the night before, and from what I’d seen through the window, I could think of three people who might want to kill Declan. “How about we swing by the hospital to have them take care of your hands, then pick up a pizza, go to my house, and I’ll fill you in?”
By the time Katie left, it was nearly nine o’clock. After hours of speculation and gossip, my anger had abated, but I was still unable to turn off my brain. I settled in the overstuffed armchair close to the fire, the Christmas tree sparkling from across the room in front of the window, and continued to reread my favorite Jacqueline Winspear novel. Before long, between the warmth of the book, the fireplace, and Watson at my feet, I dozed off.
The buzzing of my cell phone on the arm of the chair startled me awake. The fire was little more than embers, and a chill had entered the room. I glanced at the screen. It was nearly one in the morning, and though the number was unknown, the area code showed it was local.
I hit Accept. “Hello?”
“Fred!”
Katie’s panicked voice made me sit up straighter, causing Watson to scurry away as I accidentally kicked out my feet. “Katie! What’s wrong?”
“I’ve bee
n arrested. They’re saying I tried to kill Declan.”
“What!” In my still slightly fuzzy brain, I wondered if she was kidding, but then I remembered Officer Green’s expression. “Why?”
She sniffed. “My fingerprints were on that nutcracker guy they found.”
“They were?” I hesitated. “Did you touch it?” Stupid question. Obviously she had if her fingerprints were on it. “And what does the nutcracker have to do with it?”
“I guess so, I must have, right? But I don’t even remember that thing. I’ve never liked those. They’re saying he was hit on the head with it, before being strangled, I guess. All I remember is walking in, seeing Declan’s body, and trying to get that stupid garland off of him. But maybe… all I can think of is maybe it was in the way so I moved it, tossed it aside. I don’t remember. It was all a blur.”
I tried not to let my own panic take over. Whatever was going on, it could be figured out. “Okay, where are you?”
“At the police station.” Katie’s tone said that should’ve been obvious. “They arrested me. You’re my one phone call.”
I had to process through that. “Katie, why in the world would I be your one phone call? You should call your lawyer.”
“Lawyer?” Katie’s voice spiked. “I don’t have a lawyer! What normal person has a lawyer? I don’t even know a lawyer. And even if I did, I can’t afford them. They said they’re going to provide me one.”
“Oh, Katie.” I couldn’t hold back a groan.
“What? I can’t!”
I knew exactly which lawyer would be provided. Even if there were a slew of them to choose from, both chance and Officer Green would make certain Gerald Jackson would be the one called. “Okay, well, I’m sure whoever they send you is better than nothing. But don’t say too much. I’ll get you a better one tomorrow, as soon as I can figure out who a better one is.” Although any lawyer would be a better one. Not that I was going to say that to Katie at the moment.
“Fred, I didn’t call to talk about lawyers.” Some of the panic seemed to fade from Katie’s voice, and she almost sounded relaxed. “I called for you. I need you.”
Traitorous Toys (Cozy Corgi Mysteries Book 2) Page 4