Snowflake Bay Cozy Mysteries Boxset 1

by C Farren

  “Who is this?” Wren demanded suspiciously.

  “Wrenny?” said the voice on the phone. “It’s your dad.”

  “You’re calling a bit late,” said Wren. “Shouldn’t you be in your cell?”

  “I borrowed someone’s cellphone in exchange for a packet of Twinkies. I needed to talk to you about something.”

  This was very odd. He sounded like he was panicking about something.

  “You could get into trouble for this,” Wren told him. Gracie was curling up under the sheets, getting herself warm for the night. “Couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow when you could use the public phones?”

  “It’s a risk I had to take, and it took me a while to find someone who’d deal with me.” He sounded furtive now, like a spy phoning his handler. “I needed to talk to you in private so nobody could overhear. It’s about Lenny.”

  “He mentioned that the two of you got close inside. He seemed really happy despite the fact he’s spent ten years in prison. He did good for himself.”

  Wren didn’t mention the murder accusations and being sacked from his new job. She didn’t want him to worry.

  “The law degree? Yes, that’s nice.” He seemed in a hurry now. “I know he’s your friend and you care about him, but he’s not to be trusted.”

  “Dad, he’s not dangerous,” Wren insisted. “I know what happened with him was bad, but it was an accident, and...”

  “The Lenny you used to know wasn’t dangerous, but the new Lenny, the one hardened by life in prison, is a different beast entirely. You have no idea. Don’t trust him. He’s lying about...”

  There was a scuffle, the sound of someone shouting, and the cellphone went dead.

  “Dad!” Wren screamed. “Dad!”

  She tried phoning him back, but it went straight to the voicemail of someone called Johnny Blankenship.

  “Johnny?” Wren shouted, frantic. She tried to calm down. “You don’t know me, but I’m Wick’s daughter, Wren. I think something happened to him. If you can phone me back, please do it. I’m worried.”

  She put the cellphone down on her bed. Gracie started pawing it like a toy and making yipping noises. Wren angrily snatched it away from her. The cat gave her a vile look before jumping off the bed.

  She phoned the prison. Nobody answered.

  What the hell is going on?

  Fiona opened the door. “What’s going on? Why all the shouting?”

  “Dad phoned me, but something happened,” said Wren, getting out of bed. She started pacing, terrified. “I think he’s been attacked or something. I don’t know. I tried to call the prison, but nobody answered.”

  “Try again. Keep trying.”

  “Remind me later I’m angry with you.”

  Wren phoned the prison again. After what seemed like an eternity somebody answered. She talked to the warden’s secretary for a while, answering questions, getting what she needed to know in return.

  “What is it?” Fiona asked. “What happened to Wick?”

  “A guard caught him with the cellphone and took it off him,” said Wren, relieved. “He’s fine, but he’d probably going to be disciplined for having banned contraband.”

  “Why would he get himself into trouble just to phone you?”

  “He had his phone privileges taken away last week because he swore at a guard.” She couldn’t help but smirk. It was just like her dad. “And it took him this long to find someone with a cellphone to borrow. He needed to tell me something about Lenny. He said Lenny had changed and that he wasn’t to be trusted. That has to be wrong, right?”

  Fiona shrugged. “I don’t know him. You do.”

  Prison changed people. It was bound to. For some reason, she’d expected Lenny to come out of ten years of incarceration as the exact same person he’d always been. She was wrong. He was angry now, quick to start fights. And what was he lying about? What was his real reason for coming back to Snowflake Bay? She could always visit her father in the morning, but she doubted he’d be allowed to, not now. Could she trust Lenny to tell her the complete truth if she asked him?

  “Do you think Lenny killed Delia?” said Fiona, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Maybe Wick knew he wanted to kill her and wanted to warn you.”

  Wren shook her head. “Lenny is not a killer. I don’t care how much he’s changed in prison. He didn’t kill Delia.”

  She wasn’t so sure of her own words any longer. Maybe he’d asked her to look into Delia’s death to throw himself off the scent. But surely, he must know she’d end up suspecting him anyway?

  “You need to sleep,” said Fiona. “It’s been a long day.”

  “Not yet,” said Wren. She looked at her great-grandmother. She stared hard at Fiona and said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “About the mind wiping thing?” Fiona sighed. “I was having such fun down here, getting to know you and my family. I didn’t want to spoil things. If you knew what was going to happen then you might have been different around me. Besides, it’s not a mind wipe per se. People will just sort of forget I was ever here.”

  I wonder why it didn’t work on Benedict?

  Wren still couldn’t accept it. “Does it have to happen?”

  Fiona nodded. “It’s the rules. I wish things could be different, but they can’t. At least I’ll remember you. That has to count for something.”

  Wren supposed it would have to do. She didn’t like it, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it.

  Chapter 18

  Wren and Fiona drove for four hours that day to get to Wentfield Prison. When they arrived, they were told her father was perfectly fine but was in solitary confinement. He couldn’t have visitors. Wren shouted at the warden, and once threatened to kick him in the balls, but in the end gave up. He did provide a few choice details about Lenny though.

  “Leonard kept to himself, but I knew better,” Warden Rattner explained. He was an elderly man with combed back hair and a handlebar moustache. He had a Texas accent. His office was covered in portraits of horses. “He got involved with some of our higher end criminals, especially a jewel thief called Reg Cardinal.”

  “What is this Reg Cardinal in for?” Wren asked.

  The name rings a bell. Where have I heard it before?

  “Reg is serving three life sentences for six murders and various robberies,” said the warden. “He was quite infamous in his time. There was a movie made about him and his robbery of the Christmas Diamond from the Bucks Museum. I’m sure you’ve seen it.”

  That movie had been on the Trademark Channel only a few weeks ago. Wren, Fiona, and Keegan had stayed up late watching it, laughing at how badly acted and far-fetched it was. It seemed it wasn’t as far-fetched as she’d realized. She’d actually had a little crush on the actor who played Reg.

  “Why would Lenny be friendly with someone like that?” Fiona asked.

  “I don’t know for sure,” said the warden. “For protection? I only know what I observed. I think at one point they became more than friends.”

  So, Lenny had a lover in prison?

  “So, Lenny never actually did anything illegal?” said Wren.

  The warden said, “I can’t say for sure. We never caught him actually doing anything illegal so we could stop his early release, but your father is right for you not to trust him. I wouldn’t trust him if my life depended on it.”

  She refused to believe any of this. Lenny may have hardened a bit in prison, but she could never see him as a proper criminal. It just wasn’t like him. He seemed different now, obviously, but not so far from the man she once knew. Maybe he only aligned himself with Reg to stay alive?

  But what Dad said...

  “Should I be worried?” Wren asked.

  “I’d keep an eye on him,” said the warden. “Be watchful. I have my theories...”

  “What do you mean?”

  The warden steepled his fingers together, looking thoughtful. “The Christmas Diamond was never found. That’s all I’m
saying.”

  She knew exactly what he was implying, and she hated the fact that she was already considering it already.

  Lenny is looking for the Christmas Diamond.

  But if he already had it, why hadn’t he left town already? Maybe he was just going to quietly sell it on the black market and stay in town to be with his family? Was what he was doing technically illegal? The diamond was stolen in the sixties. Surely the statute of limitations had expired by now?

  I have to talk to Lenny. I have to demand the truth.

  But what does the Christmas Diamond have to do with Delia’s death? Could this diamond business all be a red herring? Was looking into this leading her further and further away from who really killed Delia?

  “Can you leave now?” the warden requested. “I have things to do. Oh, and if Leonard should break his parole from two weeks ago, I trust you’ll inform the police.”

  Wren realized she’d been sat staring into space for a whole minute. She smiled politely, thanked the warden for his time, and was about to leave when she remembered what he’d just said.

  “Lenny got out of prison two weeks ago?” Wren exclaimed.

  The warden nodded. “Yes. Why?”

  Outside the prison, they sat on a bench to discuss what they’d learned. None of it painted Lenny in a good light, and it pained her to think her friend might now be a criminal.

  “It’s really, really cold out here,” Fiona complained. The bench was like a block of ice. “Can we just go back to the car?”

  “I need some fresh air,” said Wren, rubbing her hands. She’d forgotten her gloves. “It gives me time to think.”

  “I don’t know what he’d doing back in Snowflake Bay, but it isn’t for his family or Keegan,” said Fiona. “And why did he say he’s only just gotten parole when he was released from prison weeks ago? Lenny lied to us all.”

  Wren nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right.”

  When they finally got back to Snowflake Bay later that day, the two of them were planning on an early night. They found three six-packs of beers on their doorstep, each with a red bow tied neatly around them.

  “I wonder who sent this?” Wren picked up one of the packs. It had a gift tag on it. She smiled. “It’s from Dad. He said he thought I deserved a treat.”

  “How did he manage to get you that from solitary confinement?” Fiona asked.

  Wren shrugged. “He has his ways. Besides, I don’t care. After that drive to the prison and back, I think I need this.”

  Chapter 19

  The two of them managed to drink all eighteen bottles of beer between them. They’d gotten thoroughly drunk, danced to ABBA, dressed Casper in old clothes, and even made a prank phone call to the local radio station, pretending to be randy old ladies. After that, Wren’s memories sort of faded and she blacked out. When she woke up the next morning she couldn’t remember what happened after the radio station thing.

  Fiona giggled and showed Wren a series of photos she’d taken on her cellphone. It showed Wren stripping her clothes off and making snow angels in the back garden.

  Wren put her hand to her mouth. “I’m mortified!”

  “At least you don’t appear to have a hangover,” said Fiona. “Me too.”

  “I must get the strong stomach from you.”

  All during the night Wren was plagued by bad dreams. Alcohol usually did that to her. They were all about Lenny, chasing her, trying to stop her from getting at the truth, whatever that was. When she finally gave up trying to sleep, she drank three cups of black coffee in a row to calm her nerves. Confronting Lenny would be hard, but she had to do it. She had to find out the truth.

  “Why would he ask you to look into Delia’s death if he killed her?” Fiona asked. They were walking towards Wanda’s house now. Wren was pretending her midnight streak in the snow had never happened. “It makes no sense. He has to know you’d eventually come around to thinking he really did kill her.”

  “I’d say it was a double bluff but that makes no sense,” said Wren. She’d put her wellies on that morning. The snow had piled up considerably during the night. It was like wading through piles of stones. “But my gut tells me the diamond and the murder are connected somehow.”

  Wanda had a cute brass knocker on her front door shaped like a cow’s face. Wren had to lift its tongue and let it drop to knock on the door. A few moments later Lenny answered. He didn’t look too pleased to see them. He hadn’t shaved and he appeared to be in his pajamas. Losing his job had probably been one setback too many.

  “Is your gran home?” Wren asked, not giving anything away.

  “She’s out,” said Lenny. His tone was downcast, though a tad suspicious. “Is this about Delia’s murder?”

  “And the Christmas diamond.”

  Lenny opened his mouth to say something. Instead he just laughed. Wren didn’t like that laugh. It wasn’t his usual laugh, one of warmth and humor. This laugh was mocking. It made her shiver.

  “Come in,” Lenny offered. He stood aside to allow them to pass, but Wren didn’t move. “Come in from the cold. I think we have a lot to discuss.”

  Wren felt like she was being invited into the lair of a predator.

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” he assured them. “I’d never hurt you.”

  “I’m not sure I believe anything you say anymore,” Wren snapped, betrayed. She hoped her feelings showed in her tone of voice.

  They went inside anyway. It was warm, with a proper roaring hearth fire. Wanda’s home was very traditional, with a giant tree covered in tinsel, baubles and candy canes. There was a table with a Christmas village diorama on it. Religious themed Christmas decorations adorned the walls, including a beautiful painted portrait of the birth of Christ. Cinnamon and nutmeg wafted through the air. It was all so inviting. Seeing Lenny befouling this innocent place, knowing what she knew now, made her furious.

  “Sit down,” said Lenny. He looked down at his pajamas and grimaced. “Can I get you some cookies? I’ve been baking all morning. Gran has taught me all her best recipes. I don’t think I’ve stopped since I came back.”

  She ignored him and sat down. She wanted this over and done with.

  Ignore the tempting aroma of cookies and aftershave.

  She knew that aftershave. She’d bought it for Keegan last Christmas.

  “Was Keegan here?” Wren asked.

  Lenny looked broken as he said, “Only to tell me to stop texting him.”

  She believed him. He could hardly fake such heartbreak.

  “Where is the Christmas Diamond?” Wren demanded. She had her eyes trained on Lenny, waiting for an answer. “Well?”

  Lenny eyed her darkly before saying, “It’s gone.”

  “You’ve already sold it?” said Wren. “That was quick. I didn’t think our sleepy little seaside town had a black market.”

  He shook his head. “No. It was stolen from me after I appropriated it.”

  Lenny sat down, putting his head in his hands. His eyelids were drooping. For a second, she almost felt sorry for him.

  “Tell me everything,” Wren pleaded. “Please. I want to know. I want to stop distrusting you, I really do.”

  Lenny looked into her eyes. He wasn’t the Lenny she knew and loved, but he wasn’t a hardened criminal either. He looked scared and exhausted and fed up.

  “I suppose you know who Reg Cardinal is and what he did?” Lenny asked.

  Wren nodded. “He has a very colorful history.”

  “Reg and I became friends in prison,” Lenny explained. He smiled. “More than that, I suppose.” He blushed. “I grew to love him in my own way, though I never stopped loving Keegan. I suppose I just wanted some companionship is all. Anyway, before my parole, Reg told me I had to find the Christmas Diamond and sell it and live a good life, have the life he never had.”

  “Why would he do that for you?” Fiona asked.

  “He was in love with me. I think I was the love of his life.”

  Even ha
rdened criminals can find love, I suppose.

  “He’d hidden the diamond in an old building in the city,” Lenny went on. “But when I got there, the place had been turned into a veterinary surgery. I broke in at night and found myself in the basement. The diamond was still there, behind a brick wall. But when I was trying to get out the local vet came back. I pulled a gun on him.”

  Wren gasped. The Lenny she knew didn’t point guns at people. The Lenny she knew didn’t even know where to buy a gun.

  “The vet was Everett,” said Lenny. “He came back at night because he forgot his briefcase. We came to a deal. He helps me to smuggle the diamond out of the country, plus a quarter of the proceeds from selling the diamond. It was a good deal.”

  Wren wasn’t sure why Everett agreed to the deal so quickly. Was there something Lenny wasn’t telling her?

  “How were you going to smuggle the diamond?” Fiona asked.

  “At the time, the vet’s surgery was host to a reindeer from a local breeding farm,” said Lenny. “It was going to be sent on a plane to Hawaii for some Christmas carnival or something. Anyway, Everett sedated the reindeer and sewed the diamond under the skin on its back. It was a fool-proof plan.” He looked at his gran’s Christmas tree and sighed. “Then a few days later there was an incident. There was a small fire, and in the chaos the reindeer escaped onto the streets and was taken in by a local animal shelter. Before we could find it, the reindeer had been adopted by Delia.”

  A honking sound came from the back garden. Curious, Wren and Fiona went into the kitchen. Cooling trays of cookies were on the counter. There was a small reindeer outside, under a small awning, surrounded by a cheap makeshift fence. It was eating from a bucket of what appeared to be porridge oats.

  “Gran thinks I’m looking after it for Chelsea,” said Lenny. “She absolutely loves it. I don’t think she’ll let it go when the time comes.”

  “Did you kill Delia?” Wren asked.

  “I thought you believed me when I said I didn’t kill Delia?” said Lenny.

  “I did believe you until I found out you were a master liar.”