Not So Merry Murder

by Amabel Daniels

  Garth cleared his throat loudly and I snapped up to narrow my eyes at him.

  He glared at me, while forcing a grin, and nodded toward the line. “I’m sick of this shit, too, but ain’t time to break yet.”

  I pressed my lips into a firm line and tucked my phone away. I’d had it out for not even thirty seconds. Jesus. Regardless, I slapped on a smile and called out to the line. “We have time for two more before Santa takes lunch.”

  “Aww… Can’t you make time for one more?” the third person back in line whined. She stepped to the side in line, revealing herself. A skinny blonde, barely legal. In her arms, she bounced a baby.

  “Oh…sure. ’Course Santa can make time for you,” Garth answered.

  Um, okay. Yeah, go ahead and be a dick about cutting to break but then make exceptions.

  I eyed the girl again, unsurprised Garth had budged for her. She was hot. Big-boobed, doll-faced with plenty of makeup, flawless, youthful skin, and a svelte, fit body. Kind of like what a high-end stripper might look in the light of day. She was just the kind of a girl he’d enjoy sitting on his lap. Way too young for him.

  I gagged a little, hiding it behind a tight smile, and returned to the camera. I took the pictures of the little boy telling Garth he wanted Buzz Lightyear for Christmas. As his mom paid and then left, I couldn’t help but glance at the blonde in line. I called for the pair of pre-teens to head over to Santa. Again, I looked at this young woman holding the baby.

  She met my gaze and the bright blue of her eyes snagged me. I’d seen those eyes before. Such an unusual light color. Almost electric.

  Where, though…?

  “Oh, hi, Jade,” she said once the pre-teens were done and I had called for her to head to Garth.

  She knew me? “Hi?”

  “Long time, no see,” she said as she sauntered toward Garth. He sat there, shifting in his seat and sitting taller, grinning like a perv. Was this chick his version of a Christmas present?

  Another gag rose but I was too focused on her.

  “Do I know you?”

  “I ditched the pink for my natural color.” She twittered a laugh as she flipped a hand at her hair. “I used to hang out with Damon…”

  “Come on, Bianca.” Garth patted at his fat thigh. “Come sit on Santa’s lap.”

  She gave him a sly smile. “Oh, but can’t I sit on something else of yours instead?”

  Bile rose in my throat.

  “Oh.” Deep breath. “My.” Hard swallow. “God.” Grimace.

  Bianca? The Fenners’ daughter? And she…knew Garth like this? I was disgusted. Appalled. Garth getting his kicks from having young women on his lap was one thing. But Bianca? There had to be at least forty years between them.

  This is nasty. I ignored the way she snuggled into him on his lap, stroking his beard while he caressed her skinny jean-clad leg draped over his lap. The baby—Damon’s son, Zeus—slept in her other arm, giving the two space to get lovey-dovey. I smiled at the baby boy. He wore a little suit and looked adorable. I’d seen pictures when he was born, and that was it. Despite his parentage, he was sure growing into a little chunk of cuteness.

  Smacking kisses sounded and tore my attention from the baby.

  “Hey, she’s kissing Santa,” a child announced from the line to the side.

  Oh…come on. That’s not necessary, Garth.

  Clearly, Bianca and Old Saint Nick knew each other. I pressed the button for the picture without even asking them to pose. I doubted they’d want the interruption as they smiled and cuddled. How well did they know each other? It wasn’t my business, but in the light of learning about the Fenners and the Ridges hating each other…

  “What the fuck is going on here?” a woman screeched from behind me.

  “Hey!” A man hollered from the line. “Watch your language. There are kids back here!”

  “What is this?” she demanded again.

  I turned to watch Elise Fenner marching toward us. She high-stepped her shiny boot over a fake snow-covered log and shoved branches of ornament-adorned trees out of her way. Like crashing through a real forest, she hurried toward us over the cotton snow. An abominable snow-woman hell-bent of unleashing fury.

  “Nothing, Mom,” Bianca said.

  “Nothing my ass,” she snapped as she stood between me and the couple on the throne.

  “Just getting a little family photo for the holidays.” Bianca smirked at her mother as she patted Zeus’s back.

  Elise sucked in a breath, her chest heaving up as her nostrils flared. Then she spun her fury to me. “Shut that thing off.” She pointed at the camera.

  “Uh…”

  “Why are you here? I didn’t give permission to reopen,” she yelled at Garth.

  Now he smirked. “I talked to someone else up in your offices. They were more than happy to reopen so close to Christmas.”

  “Like hell you’re—” She marched over to me. “Delete those pictures. Now.”

  I could delete them, but the printer was set to an automatic feed.

  “Mom!” Bianca stood, holding Zeus to her chest. The infant still slept through the noise. “Chill out. It’s my photo. Stop trying to control my life.”

  “Stop ruining mine!” Elise screeched back.

  “Hey, are you guys going on lunch now, or what?” someone called from the line.

  I hurried over to the people waiting and fastened the rope to the pole. “Yeah. We’re on break.” Or pending combat.

  When I turned back to the camera and the three people still bickering, I held my hands up and announced, “I’m going on lunch.” Then I left. I didn’t care what they did with the camera. Or each other—as long as Zeus wasn’t hurt.

  For all I cared, Elise could erase the pictures. Bianca could frame and worship her photos that had already spit out of the printer. Garth could manage the fighting mother and daughter.

  I was outta there. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

  Chapter Eight

  My lunch break was the shortest and weirdest half-hour of my life. I grabbed a sub sandwich and iced tea, which I engulfed in the food court. I made sure to sit at a table directly in front of a security camera. I wanted no glitches or obstacles from recording the fact I was nowhere near the North Pole Hut after the fight I walked away from.

  If I find another damn body in there… I shook the thought away.

  So Bianca and Garth had a past. One that included intimacy, I assumed. Her sex-kitten voice for him and his familiarity of having her touching him didn’t seem like an act. Mother and daughter didn’t get along either, likely because of this icky relationship between two unlikely lovers.

  I checked my phone again. No reply from Knox. At least, no update other than the text I’d received back almost immediately after my update to him. I’d texted him that I was okay and that I hadn’t seen Seth. I also called him, preferring to tell him about Bianca, Elise, and Garth scrimmaging, but it had gone to voicemail. Then he texted back to say he couldn’t talk—on a call for domestic violence—but he’d call back as soon as he could. I hoped he was safe.

  More than anything, I just wanted to hear his voice.

  And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how a chick falls head-over-heels and gets clingy too soon.

  But…he had a nice voice. A deep, lazy one that made me grin—or gasp. Depended on where his mouth was on me.

  I glanced at the time and groaned. Time was inconsequential with that man on my mind. It was already one minute past when I should have returned to work. After I threw my wrappers away and went to the bathroom, I walk-trotted to the North Pole Hut.

  Garth sat on his throne, sipping a dark liquid from a bottle in a Koozie. I barely resisted rolling my eyes. Surely a spiked drink. Then again, he seemed to have survived an epic argument between two pissed-off Fenners. Maybe he could use the fortitude to make it through the rest of the day.

  He grunted at me, his acknowledgment of my return.

  “So…you and Bianca?”

&
nbsp; He shrugged, but his bottle didn’t hide the smile from his lips.

  Gross. Age was just a number, but over my short lunch, I’d done the math. Bianca was probably just nineteen and Garth was well into his sixties? Really gross.

  “You’re like, three times her age.”

  He scowled a nasty smile at me. “You jealous? Our age don’t matter. She’s still eager to get some of this,” he drawled, gesturing at himself like he was hot shit.

  “Don’t make me throw up my lunch.” I went toward the line.

  “You fu—”

  “Who’s ready to see Santa?” I yelled out as I approached the customers.

  I didn’t care if Garth was done stowing his drink away or if he was in the mood to start back up. We had work to do. And so, we worked. I didn’t want to be near him a second longer than I had to.

  The afternoon quickly turned to evening without a dull moment. But there were no bad ones. Aside from the printer trying to act up again and the expected freaked-out or uncooperative kids, Garth and I tolerated each other until close to end time. Much easier to do when we didn’t have to speak to each other.

  Just before I announced a cut-off to those waiting in line, sirens shrieked, cutting through Mariah Carey’s still repeating loop of what she wanted for Christmas. Bright lights strobed overhead, trumping the illumination of our North Pole festivity.

  “The hell?” Garth said, standing from his throne.

  “I think it’s the fire alarm,” I said, noting the flashing icon of the symbol for exits. I had my phone and wallet in my skirt pocket. Good enough. There was no need for me to retrieve my coat and mostly empty purse if there were flames in the mall.

  Garth glanced around, frowning, and hurried toward the mall exit. I joined the mob of people leaving the mall and surveyed the crowd. Voices jabbered into a chaos of noise, but I didn’t miss one loud yell.

  “Jade!”

  I stopped walking, becoming a stock-still post in the sea of people flowing past me. Shopping bags battered into my sides. Turning and getting on my tiptoes, over the tops of others’ heads, I spotted Knox rushing for me.

  Shit. He looked worried. Was it a fire or something else?

  “Jade.” He grabbed my hand that I stretched out to him and I followed his lead. Pulled through the storm of shoppers fleeing, I went to the left. And not even outside. Tucking us into an alcove near vending machines, he hugged me to him.

  “What’s going on?” I stepped back, eyeing him. “Are you okay?”

  His grin calmed me. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  I frowned, feeling a little silly for fretting about him. “You had that domestic thing to go to. And you never called back.”

  “Just another typical busy-ass day.” He slumped to the wall and sighed. “Crime’s always up around the holidays.”

  “Well, you have a dangerous job…” I brushed my hair back from my face.

  His smile dimmed. Not in affection, but cockiness. “Worried about me?”

  I shrugged. God, this was all so new. Was I allowed to worry about him? Was he mine to stress about? I’d been so busy all day I hadn’t even had a chance to analyze all this newness.

  Framing my face, he pressed his lips to mine. He paid me back, kissing me stupid just like I had in his Jeep this morning. Clutching his shirt, I stumbled when he released me.

  “Unh.” I blinked and licked my lips.

  “Now you know how I feel.” He held my hand. “I worried about you all day, too.”

  Someone darted down the empty hallway of the mall, rushing to go outside. It seemed sometime during Knox’s kiss, the sirens had ceased and the strobe lights were shut off. “What was all that for?” I pointed to the ceiling.

  “Fire alarm.” He grunted and leaned against the wall again, too tired to stand maybe. Still, he held my hand and rubbed my knuckles. I stepped closer to him so he wouldn’t have to let go. “I’d just gotten here to check in with the others and to see you before you guys closed the photo gig for the night. There was a fight over some Star Wars collector’s memorabilia in that comic book place.” Rolling his eyes, he continued. “One of them pulled a knife on the other. Then everyone freaked out. Someone thought it’d help to yank on the fire alarm for more craziness—even though mall security had already broken up the fight.”

  “Ah.”

  “I was worried you’d leave with everyone else and then I wouldn’t be able to find you.”

  I smiled at him.

  “I thought maybe we could try to…hang out again tonight.”

  I widened my smile. “Sounds perfect.” I showed him how excited I was for more time with him with a kiss. It started out as a chaste peck, actions louder than words and all that. But I’d somehow ended up pressed against the wall, caged between his strong arms with my legs wrapped around his waist.

  I broke for a breath and he panted at my cheek, glancing at his watch. His forehead rested against mine and I ran my hands through his thick hair. “Were you guys done for the day?”

  I flexed my foot, probably digging a bell from my elf slippers into his butt. Yeah, this isn’t the best place to get this hot and heavy… I cleared my throat and lowered my legs from him. Then I glanced at the emptied corridor behind him. “We have to be now. I can’t see anybody coming back in the last ten minutes to get a picture of pervy Santa.”

  “Pervy?” He raised a brow at me and pushed off the wall. “Did Garth try something with you?”

  Is that a growly tone I hear? He’s possessive—protective of me that soon. It cheered me up.

  “Not with me, he didn’t.” I tipped my head toward the North Pole Hut. “Come on, I’ll fill you in.”

  As we walked hand-in-hand to the photo hut, I told him about Bianca and Elise fighting, and Garth’s statements about being with the young blonde.

  “She’s gotta be about Damon’s age. So as long as she’s of legal age…” He rubbed at his stubble.

  “But, still…” I shuddered and mocked a gag.

  “I know. Garth’s no prime silver fox.”

  We came to the North Pole Hut and I was surprised the lights had been turned off. Usually, Marlena did that at the end of the day, so I assumed I’d have to. Maybe Garth had come back already and shut them off. Knox and I had gotten carried away kissing in the corner for a good few minutes. Okay, many minutes.

  “My coat’s in the shed.”

  Knox squeezed my hand in his, like he’d picked up on my apprehension. “I’ll come with you.”

  “Thanks.”

  We walked through the empty, dark scenery together. At the door to the shed, I froze. Voices came from inside.

  “But we can be together now!”

  That was Bianca yelling. I turned to look at Knox. He stared hard at the door. Then he raised his finger to his lips. I nodded my understanding. Silence and eavesdropping. Got it.

  “Uh-huh.” Garth now. “I just got rid of one woman I was shackled to.”

  He got rid of? Himself? Is Garth admitting he killed Marlena? I covered my mouth to stifle my quickened breath.

  Knox pointed at the floor and mouthed, “Stay here.” He silently walked away from me, sticking to the wall and going to the side of the building to peer in through the window. His hand remained gripped on the edge of the shed—all I could see of him still there.

  “Why would I want to be stuck with another one so soon?” Garth asked.

  Bianca growled from inside. “Because it’s me. We belong together.”

  Garth groaned. “I want some peace and quiet for a while. Can’t a man have his freedom?”

  “If you wanted freedom, why’d you marry her in the first place?”

  Garth laughed. “Girlie, I married that old hag eighteen years before you were even born. Don’t get thinking that a young kid like you has any say over a man like me.”

  “Don’t you want to be with me?” Now Bianca tried a whining tone.

  “What’s going on here?” a new voice asked.

&nbs
p; I spun around to face Elise. Knox was still to the side of the shed, peering in the window, I guessed. In the darkness of the Christmassy forest, his fingers wrapped around the wood corner wouldn’t be visible.

  “Uh…” I muttered the sound at Elise’s enraged frown.

  “Mom?” Bianca asked from inside the shed.

  “Move it.” She pushed me aside to open the door and then stormed inside, dragging me with her.

  Bianca and Garth stood at opposite ends of the shed, still tugging their clothes on.

  Oh…nasty.

  “What is wrong with you?” she screamed at Bianca. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I love him,” Bianca insisted.

  “No, you don’t,” Garth said. “You just like my cock.”

  Elise slapped him. “Don’t even mention your goddamn dick around her.”

  “Well, she does!” Garth roared back.

  I stepped back toward the exit, not wanting to be caught in this mess. Or hear anything about Garth’s prized possession. I held up a hand to block my view of the thing.

  Elise pulled out a gun and aimed it at me. “Not one move. This is over. Now.”

  “Where’d you get that?” Bianca asked, mad at her mother, it seemed, rather than alarmed.

  “Well, since you took the first one I used, I had to borrow this one from Daddy’s cabinet.”

  Bianca snorted. “The first one was mine. Damon gave it to me. You stole it from me.”

  “Yeah, and where is it now?” Elise asked.

  Bianca shrugged and pointed at me. “I took it to her place. So they’d think she killed Marlena—not you. I knew it had to be you who shot her. I know you found out about my payments.”

  I gritted my teeth, feeling the first tremors of too much adrenaline coursing through.

  Run.

  Run.

  I needed to get out of there.

  My survival instincts flared high, but in the back of my mind, I knew Knox had to have my back nearby.

  “Why’d you kill her?” Bianca asked, like conversing about murder was a common topic for any old day.