Premeditated Peppermint

by Amanda Flower

  The double front doors of the church were bright purple and could be seen all the way across the square outside of the candy shop, where I had fortified myself with fudge. At that moment, they were open and the lovely melodies of Christmas carols floated out.

  Juliet had mentioned that there would be choir practice that evening. She was a member of the choir, of course. Actually, I couldn’t think of any group in the church that she wasn’t involved with somehow. She was certainly Reverend Brook’s number one volunteer.

  “I love Christmas carols,” Josie said, and walked past me into the church.

  “Huh,” Cass said. “She didn’t strike me as a Christmas carol kind of girl.”

  Cass and I followed Josie. There was a narrow entry and then another set of double doors that opened into the sanctuary. The choir stood at the front of the sanctuary and sang.

  “The First Noel” rang through the entire church.

  Josie watched in rapt attention. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

  “Josie,” I said. “Are you all right?”

  She shook her head and slipped into the very last pew. “How can I be all right when Rocky is dead?”

  “I didn’t know you cared about Rocky.” I slid into the pew next to her.

  “I didn’t. She was a terrible woman who wanted to ruin my career just because Eric chose me over her, but she didn’t deserve to be killed. I didn’t want that to happen to her.” She took a breath. “And it’s my fault she’s dead. That’s something I’m going to have to live with.”

  “You killed her?” Cass asked.

  “Kill her? I would never kill anyone!”

  “Then why are you responsible?” I asked.

  “If she and I hadn’t gotten into that stupid fight about Eric, she never would have left the guesthouse last night, and she would still be alive.” She held on to the back of the pew in front of her. “She wasn’t the nicest person in the world, but I respected her. I was sorry to hear she was dead. It’s so hard to believe. Rocky is the last person you would ever think of dying. She just seemed like someone who would fight death with everything she had.”

  Her comment gave me pause and made me wonder if there had been any signs of a struggle at the crime scene. Maybe she had tried to fight off her attacker. She wasn’t a small woman. I would have to ask Aiden. I just wasn’t sure he would tell me.

  “Have you ever fought with Rocky over anything other than Eric?” I asked.

  She looked up. “Sure I have. We were both strong women, and I have worked a lot of shows on her network. Rocky ran a tight production, and we didn’t always agree. But we both cared about our jobs more than anything. Our careers came first. I respected that about her. I’ve worked with her on quite a few projects. Sometimes we didn’t agree about how a celebrity’s hair should look. I can’t tell you how many times we fought over hair on the female chefs. The men, for the most part, are easier. There isn’t much you can do to most men’s hair. Rocky had a certain vision, and she wanted what she wanted. I was the same way. I have things that I want to achieve, and Rocky and I butted heads when we had different visions.”

  If Josie was a career girl, she was a good fit for Eric.

  Josie leaned back in the pew and stared straight ahead at the choir at the front of the church. They weren’t singing at the moment. Instead, the choir director was giving them direction. I spotted Juliet front and center in the middle of the choir. With a red bow tied around his pudgy neck, Jethro was at her feet.

  “Because I knew she cared so much about her work,” Josie said, “I was surprised when she went off the handle over my dating Eric.”

  “How did she find out?”

  “I don’t know exactly. Eric wanted to be very secretive about the relationship. He said he couldn’t do anything that might hurt his image, and I felt the same way. I didn’t want people to think that I got work at Gourmet Television because I was dating one of its stars. The truth is, I was working for the network long before Eric was. I doubted the media would have paid much attention to that little detail though.”

  Having had my own story in the media, I could almost guarantee to her that she was right.

  “We did little more than smile at each other when we were around other people. My only guess is that someone figured it out and told Rocky, or she recognized the signs because she had been in a relationship with Eric herself. All I can say is that we never were anywhere close to each other when she was around unless I was doing Eric’s hair and makeup at the time, and that was strictly professional.”

  “How did the fight start?” Cass asked.

  “I arrived late yesterday evening at the guest house; by the time I got there, Rocky must have already known. I didn’t so much as walk through the door before she jumped down my throat. I had never seen her that angry, not even at Linc, and she yelled at him constantly. I really don’t know how he’s put up with it all these years.” She took a pencil from the back of the pew and flipped it over in her hand. “Eric must have been upstairs when she started yelling, because he came downstairs and tried to defend me. I think it only made Rocky angrier. As soon as he came into the picture, she told me to turn around and head back to New York because I was fired.”

  “Was she angry at Eric, too?” I asked. “If she felt betrayed in any way, Eric was really the person who’d betrayed her.”

  She shrugged. “I guess she was, but she wasn’t going to fire Eric. There was no show without Eric. If she wanted to exact revenge, I was expendable. She could find a makeup artist like me anywhere, or so she told me.”

  “What did you do after she told you that you were fired?”

  “I went up to my room for the night. It was too late to go anywhere else. Eric was able to convince her to at least let me stay the night. I was supposed to find and catch a flight back to New York today, but you know what happened.”

  I shifted uncomfortably. “Were you alone in your room?”

  She scowled at me. “Yes, I was alone.”

  “You didn’t see Eric the rest of the night.”

  “No. I didn’t see anyone the rest of the night. I ate the cereal bar I had in my purse for dinner and went to sleep. I woke up this morning to learn that Rocky was dead.”

  “Who told you?” Cass asked.

  “A sheriff’s deputy. A young one. Deputy Little, I think he said his name was. Pike and I were in the kitchen. Pike was eating and getting ready for a day of shooting. I was wondering how I would make it to the airport for my flight. There aren’t a lot of taxi or Uber options out here.”

  I nodded. She was right away about that. “When Little arrived, what did he say?”

  “The deputy told us what had happened. As you can imagine, we were shocked. I don’t know if I have ever been so shocked in my life.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Rocky was a hard woman, but I respected her. I wouldn’t have wanted something like this to happen to her. I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone, really.”

  “After you had that fight with her, do you know where she went?” I asked.

  “I assume the gazebo where she was killed.”

  “Why would she go there?”

  Josie sniffled. “How would I know that? It wasn’t like we were friends. I didn’t like her, but I didn’t want anything like this to happen to her.” Her hands shook. “I wish I could have a cigarette. I’m probably not allowed to smoke in here.”

  “That would be my guess,” Cass said as the choir broke out into “The Little Drummer Boy.”

  “I shouldn’t light up anyway. I promised Eric that I would quit smoking and just haven’t been able to cut the habit yet. He doesn’t like it. He says it ruins your taste buds. He won’t be around me when I smoke.”

  It was the perfect opening. “How long have you been dating him?”

  She nodded and turned the pencil in her hands. “For a couple of months. He’s so interesting and exciting. I’ve never dated anyone like him before.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek when
she said that. I remembered what it had been like to date Eric early on. Everything had been thrilling and exciting. He would whisk me away to the Hamptons or Vermont for the weekend. We never stayed together in the city, because we couldn’t be seen with each other for the sake of both our careers. Part of me wanted to warn Josie that the honeymoon stage would soon pass or he would find someone else more interesting, but it wasn’t my place. If someone had warned me, I knew I would have dug in my heels even more. I guessed that’s what Josie would do too.

  “It must have been hard working with Rocky, considering. . .” Cass trailed off.

  “Considering that he used to date her?” she asked. “Not really. Eric told me that he and Rocky weren’t together very long and it didn’t work out. No hard feelings.”

  “But Rocky didn’t feel the same way about the breakup?” I asked.

  “I guess not. Eric and I have kept a low profile, but honestly I thought she already knew about us. I was wrong. She found out yesterday when we arrived at the guest house, and she lost it.” She shook her head. “If I had known she’d be so upset about it, I never would have taken this job. I have no trouble booking jobs, and there are always plenty of hair and makeup gigs this close to the holidays. I came along only because Eric said he wanted me here. I did it for him.”

  “That was sweet of you,” Cass said. Her voice implied that she didn’t really mean it.

  Josie removed a crumpled tissue from her pocket and rubbed the tip of her nose with it. “Eric told me about you too. You’re the Amish girl he dated.”

  “I’m not Amish. My grandmother is Amish, but I have never been Amish.”

  She shrugged as if that was only a minor detail. “You are the one that got away.”

  “Got away from what?” I asked.

  She put the pencil into its place in the back of the pew. “Eric.”

  “I moved to a different state, and neither one of us wanted to do that long-distance thing. It was a natural decision to break up.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not how the tabloids told it.”

  “I’m sure it was not, but don’t believe everything you read.”

  “I don’t, but I do enjoy reading the glossies.” She studied me a little too long to be comfortable. “I can see why he felt that way. You are very pretty. I bet with the right hair and makeup, you could be stunning.”

  I counted to ten in Pennsylvania Dutch in my head. Those numbers were some of the few words I knew in the language, and they were coming in handy at the moment. “Maybe we should find out where everyone is getting ready for the live nativity now.”

  She cocked her head. “You might not believe it,” she went on as if she hadn’t even heard me, “but Eric talks about you all the time, even when he doesn’t mean to talk about you. He was in love with you, you know. He might be still. I’m hoping he will love me as much.”

  I winced. “Eric was never in love with me.”

  “Then why do you think he’s here in Ohio?”

  “To film the Christmas special for his show.”

  She shook her head as if she felt sorry for me. “No, it’s because you’re here. You would have to be completely dense not to see that. I came because Eric wanted me to, but I also came because I wanted to meet you. I wanted to meet the girl who captured his heart. I wanted to know what it was about you that he found so captivating, and I wanted to know if you still felt the same way about him.”

  Cass was sitting in the pew in front of us and now she turned to face us. “And what did you find out?”

  Josie frowned. “I can see why Eric is in love with you. You are a kind person. I have been watching you, and I notice how everyone naturally gravitates to you to solve their problems. Isn’t that what Eric did? I think he misses that about you.”

  Cass nodded. “I agree with that. Bailey is dependable.”

  “But,” Josie added, “I am glad I came, because the question I really wanted an answer to has been answered.”

  I swallowed. “And what was that?”

  She looked me in the eye. “Eric might still be in love with you, but you don’t feel the same way. You’re over him.”

  “I am,” I said.

  “Hallelujah,” Cass said just as the choir began the “Hallelujah Chorus.”

  Chapter 28

  Cass, Josie, and I finally found the rest of the nativity scene in the church’s fellowship hall. Shepherds, angels, and wise men milled about. Just inside the door, the angel Gabriel was talking on his cell about the latest football scores.

  “I have entered a parallel universe,” Cass said.

  “You and me both,” I replied.

  “Look at how pasty everyone looks under these yellow lights.” Josie whipped out her makeup brush. “I have to take care of this. I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t!” With her makeup brush in front of her she left us to accost a wise man.

  “I know I don’t have any way to prove this, but I don’t think anyone was worried about their skin tone the night of the first Christmas,” Cass said.

  “I may not be able to stay the entire time,” a familiar male voice said.

  Instinctively, I turned to the voice to find Aiden in a long robe, dressed like Joseph. One of the volunteers covered the top of his head with a cloth and tied a braided band around it to hold it in place.

  Margot stood in front of him with a clipboard. “Understood, but we need you for the parade and the filming by Gourmet Television. If you need to leave after that, we can get one of the other men to take your place.”

  “Is it wrong to say Joseph is cute?” Cass asked. “Will I be struck by lightning or something?”

  “Don’t ask me,” I replied. “I don’t know the rules.”

  Margot must have heard us, because she pivoted around. “Thanks heavens! There’s my Mary. I was afraid you might have gotten lost!”

  My face turned bright red as every shepherd, angel, wise man, and Joseph stared at me while I hovered in the doorway to the fellowship hall. I had an overwhelming urge to retreat. Cass gave me a little shove, and I stumbled into the room. “Go get ’em, Mary.”

  There was a rolling rack of costumes to Margot’s right, and she plucked one of the robes off it. “I’m glad you’re here. We haven’t much time—put this on.”

  The robe, if I could even call it that, wasn’t more than a smock, but it was a large smock, which meant I could wear it over my coat. I was grateful for that. It was freezing outside, and the temperature was dropping the closer we came to sunset.

  “I’ll help you put it on.” Cass took the smock from my hand.

  “Traitor,” I muttered, but she only smiled in return.

  I slipped the blue smock over my head, and Cass pulled it all the way down to my knees. Then she took the bit of rope that Margot gave her and tied a makeshift belt around my waist. “How do I look?” I asked Cass.

  Cass clicked her tongue. “Well, with that bulky winter coat on, you look more like the about-to-pop version of Mary than the just-had-a-baby version. Is that what you were going for?”

  I scowled. “I don’t think so.”

  Margot clapped her hands. “Perfect. We need to find just the right head covering. There is a box on the table.”

  “I can help you pick it out.” Cass followed Margot over to the table, leaving Aiden and me alone.

  Aiden smiled at me. He really did make a cute Joseph, but I didn’t say it aloud just in case Cass’s lightning theory was true.

  “Cass is having way too much fun with this.”

  He smiled. “I’m guessing this is not a normal Friday night in New York.”

  “Not even close.” I scanned the room.

  Aiden grinned at me. “You look very angelic.”

  “You’re funny. I feel like a bloated blueberry in this robe.”

  His dimple was out in full force. ‘You’re a very cute blueberry.”

  I thought it best to ignore that comment. Josie was on the other side of the room doing an angel�
�s makeup.

  “I saw that you came in with Josie,” Aiden said.

  “She wanted to help with the makeup, so I said she could come along.”

  “That’s the only reason you said she could come along.”

  I didn’t reply.

  “Bailey,” Aiden said.

  “Do you know about the argument between her and Rocky the night before Rocky died?”

  He nodded. “I do. Every member of the production team mentioned it.”

  I frowned. “Even Eric?”

  He nodded.

  “I’ve been thinking about that fight,” I said.

  He nodded, and the cloth of his head covering moved. It was a little difficult to take him seriously as a cop dressed in that getup, but I tried to focus on the case.

  “Josie said she didn’t know how Rocky found out about her and Eric. They were very careful to keep their relationship secret from the rest of the crew.”

  “Rocky may have just noticed something between them and taken a stab in the dark.”

  I thought about this for a moment. “That’s possible, but what if someone else in the group knew and told her?”

  “That’s possible too.” He shrugged. “Do you think this person told her with the hope of stirring up trouble?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s possible.”

  “It would have to be someone on the production team, wouldn’t it? No one else in town knew Rocky or Josie.”

  I gave him a look.

  “I know what you’re thinking. We are still looking for Thad. When we find him, I have a whole slew of questions I would like him to answer.”

  “I’d like to hear the answers to those questions too. Talking to Thad is important, but I think if anyone told Rocky, it had to be someone from the production team who knew her. Maybe this person wanted to create some infighting.”

  “To what purpose?”

  “I have no idea,” I admitted.

  “Okay, assuming that Rocky was told, and it was someone on the production team, what does that mean?” Aiden asked.

  It was a logical question. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a logical answer. “I don’t know.”