Snowflake Bay Cozy Mysteries Boxset 1

by C Farren

  Fiona appeared in the passenger seat. She started shivering immediately.

  “At least put the heating on!” the angel complained. Her little nose was already going red. “It’s like the South Pole in here.”

  Wren switched the heating on and started to drive away. Every house she passed was decked out for the holidays. Even the Jewish families had decorated with inflatable menorahs.

  “How did it go with Ryan?” Fiona asked. “You got yourself a good one there. He was very, very handsome. He reminded me of one of the old silver screen movie stars.”

  “He was only using me because I got shot by a killer,” Wren explained bitterly.

  “Keep his phone number handy,” Fiona advised. “Just in case.”

  “Even I’m not unlucky enough to date two killers in a row.”

  It was a short drive to Wren’s house. When she pulled up, she looked up and down the row. Hers was the only house that hadn’t been decorated. It made her home look like it was haunted amid all the light.

  “I’m going to buy a tree tomorrow,” Wren declared. “Do you want to come, GG?”

  Fiona pulled a face. “Stop calling me GG. Someone might get suspicious.”

  “I don’t think anyone on Earth would guess GG stands for Great Grandmother.”

  The fact that Fiona was Wren’s great grandmother had slightly altered their relationship. The angel was still here to sort out Wren’s life, but it was doubly embarrassing now because they were related. Wren still felt foolish for not deducing who Fiona was earlier. She’d worked it out in the end, but all the signs had been there. They even had the same nose.

  Wren was about to open the car door when her cellphone rang. It was Jordan.

  “Jordan?” she said, curious. She couldn’t help but grin at seeing his name on her phone again. “I didn’t think I’d hear from you again.”

  Her and Jordan had had a fling a few months back. It had soured when his parents were murdered and he went off to college. She hadn’t loved him or anything, but it had still been a little bittersweet to see him go.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot lately,” Jordan admitted.

  “About what?” Wren asked.

  “About the Metropolis, my dad’s coffee shop. I was about to sell it today when I realized I just couldn’t do it. He loved that place. He put his heart and soul into it.” He paused before saying, “So I have a deal for you; if you agree not to change it in any way, I’ll sign the business over to you. You can have it.”

  Wren didn’t know what to say. It was a very generous offer.

  “I can’t accept that,” Wren insisted. “That place must be worth a hundred thousand dollars or more!”

  “I don’t need the money,” said Jordan. “I really want you to have it.”

  He really didn’t need the money. After his father’s life insurance came through, and he sold the house and all its assets, he’d become a multi-millionaire. Then there was the money from his mother’s erotic fiction, which was going through the publishing process right at that very moment. Jordan was rich, even after paying off all his parents’ debts.

  “Take that coffee shop or I swear I will make your life a living nightmare,” Fiona whispered. “I mean it.”

  Wren took a deep breath. She did need a job. She’d enjoyed her brief afternoon working at the Metropolitan before all the unpleasantness happened. It had been a breath of fresh air for her. Was this what she’d been looking for all this time? Was this what she was meant to do? It may only be serving coffee, but she was good at it, and the extra money coming in would be great. She was almost out of the money from the sexual harassment lawsuit.

  Maybe I could try it and see what happens. I could always give the coffee shop back to Jordan if things don’t work out.

  She grinned and said, “Okay. I’ll do it.”

  “Great,” said Jordan. “You can do this. I believe in you.”

  Now all Wren had to do was believe in herself. That was easier said than done.

  Chapter 2

  Her two cats, Gracie and Casper, kept Wren company all night. She had good dreams and a peaceful night’s sleep. When she awoke, refreshed, she was eager to start the day. She had Jordan to thank for that. The fact that several of her dreams involved Jordan and his ‘prowess’ in certain areas only made her that much jollier.

  It was early, just after five in the morning. It was still pitch-black outside. She needed to be up early to start work at the Metropolitan. For some reason she still had the keys for the place. She couldn’t open up today, or the day after. It might take her a week or more to get the place in working order and get new perishables for the beverages and cakes they sold. There was a lot to do.

  Have I taken on too much?

  “You get these lines on your forehead when you fret too much,” said Fiona. She was sat at the kitchen table, reading yesterday’s newspaper. “I like to watch documentaries. I saw this really good one about China and its undiscovered islands.”

  Wren looked at herself in the small mirror in the kitchen. Fiona was right. The lines on her forehead made her look twenty years older. She couldn’t really help it. Worrying was something she naturally did.

  “Am I cut out to run a business by myself?” she asked, sitting by the table. The cats were rubbing around her legs, friendlier than ever. She’d found that cats wanted more attention in the winter. “Have I taken on too much?”

  “I’ll help you,” said Fiona. “And you can hire someone to work with you as a barista. You won’t be doing this all on your own.”

  “You’re supposed to be helping me get a life, not helping me make frothy coffees.”

  Fiona closed her newspaper. “Helping you with the Metropolitan helps you with getting a life. It’s a win-win situation. It’s a shame it didn’t work out with Ryan, but there’s still time. Christmas is a time for miracles.”

  Wren resented her getting a boyfriend being called a miracle, but she chose to ignore the slight. Fiona meant well.

  “So why are you up so early?” Wren asked.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” admitted Fiona. She took out her cellphone, looking anxious. “I had a worrying phone call.”

  Fiona had just gotten herself a cellphone to try and blend in with the natives. It hadn’t been out of her hands since. When she wasn’t phoning Wren or her mother Dorothy (affectionately known to the world at large as Dot), she was playing on games and downloading stupid apps. She was like a teenager. It amused Wren no end.

  “I had a call from Keegan,” said Fiona. She looked up, worried. “He wanted to know if I was doing anything for my birthday next week.”

  “It’s your birthday next week?” exclaimed Wren. “That’s great!”

  Fiona shook her head. “My birthday is 3rd January. For some reason Keegan really believes my birthday is next week. It’s freaking me out.”

  Both Keegan and his father, Sheriff Fisher, thought Fiona was a long-lost friend. The truth was they had never met her before she turned up in town. For some reason, their brains were making things up to explain why she was there. It didn’t make sense and they were both equally stumped as to why it was happening.

  “I thought you were going to ask Juniper about it?” said Wren. “You’d think someone as old and wise as her would know something.”

  “I don’t want her to think I’ve messed things up,” said Fiona. “She might re-assign me, or she might demote me, or she might even take my wings.”

  “Then we go along with what Keegan’s memories are telling him,” Wren said. “We’ll get ourselves a great party out of it.”

  Fiona sighed and walked away. Wren picked up the paper and started reading the front cover. Five minutes later, she’d fallen asleep.

  FIONA KNOCKED TIMIDLY on Juniper’s door. Her hand trembled a little. She always felt like she heading into the lion’s den whenever she came here.

  “Come in!” called an impatient voice from within.

  The angel took a deep breath and opened
the door. Juniper was standing on her desk trying to swat something with a wireless keyboard. Her hair was a mess and she looked to be in a foul mood. Fiona realized she’d made a terrible mistake by coming here. Juniper was going to be ruthless.

  “What are you doing?” Fiona asked.

  Juniper said icily, “A fly has somehow made it into my office again. I hate that. I hate flies more than I hate demons. At least demons have their uses.”

  Flies and other insects settled on angels down on Earth, and were then transported up here by their unsuspecting hosts. Even Heaven had bug problems. Thirty years ago, there’d been an infestation of midges in the heavenly city, Golden. People still talked about it like it had been the apocalypse.

  Juniper sighed and jumped down from her desk. She patted down her stylish pant suit and grinned.

  “It’s gone,” she said, exasperated. “It can bother someone else.”

  Fiona sat down. She didn’t know where to begin.

  “You look troubled,” said Juniper. She leaned back into her bookcase, studying the smaller angel. “Is your charge giving you grief again?”

  “Something strange has happened. I was going to tell you earlier but it’s a delicate subject. Please hear me out.”

  So, she told her all about Keegan and his father’s behavior. Juniper didn’t freak out or slap her. She took it all in calmly. In fact, she looked quite intrigued one Fiona was finished.

  “What do you think?” Fiona asked. “Is this somehow my fault?”

  “This is quite rare, though it’s not new to me,” said Juniper. She sat down by her desk and put the keyboard down. “It’s happened a few times before as I recall.”

  “What is it?”

  “It happens when humans have angelic blood in them.” At Fiona’s confused look she went on. “Angels recognize other angels, but the part of them that’s human can’t believe that angels really do exist, so their brain invents a whole new past to count for the angel’s existence. In your case, you were Keegan’s childhood friend who moved away.”

  “So, one of Keegan’s ancestors was an angel. I didn’t think that was possible.”

  Juniper sighed. “I wouldn’t worry about it. The humans in question will be perfectly fine, though a little confused.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  The elder angel nodded and returned to her work, effectively dismissing Fiona. She fretted a bit more before exiting the office.

  MAIN STREET RESEMBLED something from a Christmas movie. Every shop front was decorated. Street lamps were festooned with lights. The huge Christmas tree in the small-paved plot in front of their tiny town hall dwarfed the building it was in front of. The angel on the top was crooked, and looked a little worse for wear, but it was tradition. Someone had once said that if the angel on the top of the tree was straight then it meant the town would have a cursed Christmas. Quite who said it and when, nobody knew.

  Wren gazed at the tree, thinking about her father. The lighting ceremony had been the week after Thanksgiving. They’d never missed it for as long as she could remember. It hadn’t been the same without him.

  “Are you okay, dear?” Wanda asked.

  She hadn’t heard the town matriarch approach. The old woman must have been a ninja in another life.

  “Just thinking about my dad,” said Wren.

  “I think about my dad a lot at Christmas,” Wanda admitted. Wren linked arms with her. “When he was mayor, he would bake a giant pan of cookies and go from house to house, giving one to each person in the town. I used to go with him, and it made me so proud. I tried keeping up his tradition for as long as I could, but I just can’t walk as much as I used to.”

  Wanda’s children had either left Snowflake Bay or couldn’t be bothered.

  “Of course, Lenny started to help me before he went to prison,” said Wanda sadly.

  A chrome robin ornament had fallen off the tree. Wren picked it back up and strung it up on one of the branches. All the ornaments had seen better days. Some of them probably dated back a hundred years or more.

  “What are you doing up so early?” Wanda asked.

  “Jordan gave me his father’s coffee shop,” she said, still giddy over the very generous gift. “I want to start things rolling straight away.”

  “It’ll be good to have somewhere nice to go, to sit and chat and drink coffee. Veronica’s coffee place isn’t as good, even on days when she can be bothered to open it.”

  Wren looked across the road. Veronica’s place had a for sale sign in the front window. The novelty of running her own coffee shop had obviously worn off.

  “Would you like me to bake scones for you like I did for Garrett?” Wanda asked.

  “You made those?” Wren asked, shocked. “I loved them!”

  “I made Garrett promise not to reveal my involvement, but I can tell you.”

  They chatted for a while longer, Wren agreeing to accept Wanda’s scones, before she continued on her way. The residents of the town were out unusually early today. She said good morning to at least half a dozen people before she finally arrived at the Metropolitan. What was going on?

  She looked across the road. Next to the abandoned cat shelter was Rickard’s Toy Store. She knew her uncle would be there today in his guise as Santa, but that wasn’t until the afternoon. There was a small crowd of people outside it, excited, peering through the windows. They were taking pictures with their cellphones.

  “What’s going on?” Wren asked, walking over to join them.

  Aarna turned to her. “Oh Wren! You’ll never guess what’s happened!”

  Aarna Gupta once worked for Garrett, and had briefly dated Jordan at high school. She had her own YouTube channel where she opened up boxes of stuff she ordered from various online retailers. She had quite a decent number of followers.

  Wren looked through the window. The Christmas display was sumptuous. It depicted Santa’s workshop. There were beautifully sculpted papier-mâché puppets of Santa, Mrs. Claus, the elves and the reindeer. The backdrop was made of felt and depicted Santa’s village in the North Pole. It was beautiful.

  “It’s wonderful, but not newsworthy,” said Wren. She pointed to a toy train that went around and round a track. “I like that.”

  Aarna rolled her eyes. “Look closer. You’ll get it.”

  Wren studied the scene in more detail. There was fake snow made from cotton wool; glitter on the hand drawn snowy backdrop. One of the reindeers even moved. It was very lifelike. It must be something animatronic.

  The reindeer turned to her and slowly blinked.

  “Oh!” Wren exclaimed, stepping back, stepping on Aarna’s foot. “It’s real! It’s a real baby reindeer!”

  The reindeer scampered around and began eating from a small food bowl. Several of the watchers all said, “Aaah!” Wren couldn’t help but melt. It was the cutest thing she’d ever seen, though quite where Delia Rickard had gotten a live reindeer from, she had no idea. Was this even legal? It certainly didn’t seem good for the animal. It could choke on the glitter or try to eat the cotton wool.

  “My fans will love this,” Aarna gushed, taking more pictures. “They love all this cute stuff, but I just can’t bear to have animals of my own. They stink.”

  “I thought you only did box openings?” Wren asked.

  “I’ve expanded my repertoire. Pictures of cute animals are always a hit.”

  They all continued to watch the little reindeer scamper around before it settled down and went to sleep. The show was over.

  “I better get some clicks on this,” Aarna complained, eyes only on her phone. “I need the money.”

  “I’m re-opening the Metropolitan,” Wren explained. “You could come back there if you wanted. I could do with the help.”

  Aarna looked thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose.”

  Wren took that as a yes, and promised to let her know when the coffee shop opened. She was about to head back across the road when the door to the toyshop opened. Delia Rickard p
opped her head out, or Mrs. Claus as she was now dressed. She was the grumpiest looking Mrs. Claus that Wren had ever seen. It was like the Grinch had stolen the costume and was planning on playing a trick on the poor townsfolk of Snowflake Bay.

  “We’re open now!” Delia declared, her smile forced. “Come on in!”

  There were questions directed her way about the reindeer. She waved her hands to make everybody stop talking at once. When there was silence she began.

  “The reindeer is called Rudolph, and we adopted him from an animal shelter in the city,” Delia explained. “He lives out back in the shed, which has been vetted by animal health by the way. He’s got plenty to eat and he’s warm and well looked after.”

  “How did he end up in the shelter?” Aarna asked.

  Delia sighed sadly. “We don’t know. He was let loose on the streets and was run over by a car. As you can see, he still isn’t fully healed yet, but he’s doing well.”

  There were stitches over a healing scar on Rudolph’s back. Poor thing. He looked like he’d had quite a rough start in life. Wren despised people who mistreated animals.

  Delia smiled and went back inside her shop. The crowd dispersed, leaving Wren on her own. She watched the reindeer for a few more moments before heading back across the road.

  “Welcome to my new business,” she muttered as she unlocked the door to the Metropolis. It was stale and dusty inside. “This might take me a while to clean up.”

  Chapter 3

  Three hours later and Wren hadn’t gotten very far. She’d checked their coffee supplies – they were in date and still fresh. She’d phoned the milk and cream suppliers and had them continue their regular order from next Monday. Other things needed ordering like coffee cups, paper straws, coffee filters, and napkins. The list was endless, but in the end, she managed to get part of it done. When the clock hit 12pm, she’d had enough and decided to have a break before she had to head to the toyshop.

  She heard a loud meow.

  “Hello?” Wren called.