Ellen McKenzie 04-Murder Half-Baked (28 page)

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Yes. We all are.”

“I didn’t mean to
…”

She sighed. “I know you didn’t. It’s just that
…
well
…
it was a terrible night. One I’ll never forget.” She stroked the cat. He purred and kneaded her lap some more. She seemed to
gain
comfort from that, because the next comment came out a little stronger. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.”
I was still sh
a
k
en
by he
r
tragic tale. I wondered how much of it, if any, our Gina knew. There didn’t seem to be any doubt that Rose and Sal were her grandparents and that she’d come here looking for them. Of course, an overheard phone call wasn’t proof, but still. Why else was she here after all these years? Curiosity? Baker’s Bakery. A name you couldn’t forget. “Do you remember the name of the couple who took her?”

“I never knew it. Adoptions were the only files I didn’t do.” She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. They opened with a snap. “Do you think this young Gina murdered Doctor Sadler?”

It was exactly what I was wondering but didn’t want to say out loud. “I honestly don’t know. Why would she? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Revenge. For her mother’s death.”

That seemed more than a little dramatic. But it had crossed my mind as well. “How would she even know how her mother died?” I deliberately let doubt show in my voice. “And, if that could possibly be true, why wouldn’t she go after Sal? No, I don’t think Gina killed anybody.”

Hermione’s brown eyes peered at me intently. The cat sat up and his blue eyes peered at me as well.
“But it would be interesting to know who her adoptive parents were, and if they really did own a bakery, wouldn’t it?”

I nodded, but slowly. I already knew they owned a bakery.

“Those files are all in the back room of his office. I’ll bet I can find out who those people are. If I can find out their name, can you ask around and see if this Gina is the one they adopted?”

I wasn’t prepared for that. I hadn’t thought past knowing if the first Gina had had a child. She had. Was this Gina that child?
It seemed more than likely. So, the next question had to be, did she know how her mother died? That her grandfather had let her bleed to death rather than
allow
people
to
know she was giving birth to an out
-
of
-
wedlock child? She’d come to Santa Louisa looking for them. She’d said as much to the woman on the phone. But had she come seeking revenge? Somehow, I couldn’t make that fit with the serious but kind woman I knew. I thought of her tenderness with Rose, her empathy for Marilee, her genuine concern and help getting Janice to a safe house
... N
o. Gina couldn’t be a murderer. But one thing was certain. Gina was at Ianelli’s to learn something,
and
it wasn’t how to make bread. And she hated Sal.

“Get me their name.”

Hermione nodded. “I’ll call you.”

I nodded also, reached out to pet the cat, thought better of it, and left. There was a whole, difficult evening before me, and I had several more things to do before I tackled it.

S
omething was going on in my front yard. The car ahead of me slowed to a crawl, almost stopping before it drove on. There was another car across the street, engine idling. I could see the driver staring
in
my front yard. What on earth was going on?
I sped up. My front yard was full of people, all staring at my roof.
It was a little early for Santa. What were they looking at?
A fire? Oh, no. Grady had found Marilee.
Fear gripped me with an iron hand. But there was no fire. No Santa either. Just Nathan balancing himself on a gable while Neil stood at the top of a very high ladder, handing him something. Christmas lights. They were putting up my Christmas lights. Only, they weren’t my lights.

Marilee, Leona, Gina, and Aunt Mary were clustered on the lawn, making hand gestures and evidently shouting instructions. Susannah was with them, also shouting, but not pointing. Instead, she held the baby. She shifted him, much too confidently, to her other arm so she could wave at me as I pulled into the driveway. The strains of “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” wafted through the car as I opened my door. Maybe it was. But it wasn’t the kind of Christmas I’d had in mind. I had envisioned a small tree decorated in white lights and a string of icicle lights hanging from the rafters. Simple, subdued. What I had were strands of multi-colored lights strung to outline every upstairs window as well as the roofline. They were also in place around the downstairs windows. And where did all of those electric candles in little brass holders come from? They were in every downstairs window, surrounded by fake holly. I’d never seen them before. I looked at Aunt Mary
,
who was beaming.

“Michael’s or a rummage sale donation?”

“Rummage sale. I got enough for my house and yours.”

I looked at them again. They were kind of pretty. Vintage looking. Like my house. But what was
happening
on the roof was
n
o
t.

“Pull that wire tighter.” Neil did something with wire and a large wrench and Rudolph rose to perch on my rooftop.
A huge plastic Rudolph with the brightest nose I’d ever seen. Two other reindeer appeared behind him. Donner and Blitzen, I presumed, unless it was Comet and Cupid. I watched in dumb horror while Nathan and Neil fastened them down.

“Where did they come from?”

Aunt Mary had the grace to look uncomfortable. “Actually, Nathan bought them. From the Methodist Christmas sale. They had a lot of
… u
h
…
decorative things. He thought the baby would like them. After all, it’s his first Christmas.” She grinned. “I think he’s going to donate them to Grace House for next year.”

But this year they were at my house, on my roof, along with enough colored lights to make Times Square
green with envy
.
At least it was only reindeer. No sleigh. Yes. A sleigh. It came up next, right behind Cupid. Or Blitzen. I held my breath, waiting for the inevitable. I didn’t have long to wait.

“Is it secure?”

“No. Let me tighten this one more
…
that got it. Now. We’re ready for the big guy. Susannah, hold the baby higher so he can see.”

The baby was two days old. Did those two really think he cared? But Susannah obligingly held the baby up a little higher. She looked way too natural holding him. And I didn’t like the smile she and Neil exchanged one bit. I was going to be a bride, for God’s sake. I wasn’t ready to be the mother of the bride and certainly not a grandmother.

“Are you all ready? Here he is.”

The sight of Nathan plopping Santa into the sleigh erased all thoughts of Susannah and Neil. This Santa sat at a jaunty angle, one arm flung over the side of the sleigh. His cheeks were indeed as red as cherries. So was his nose. His grin was a little blurry, as if his cocoa had been liberally laced with something a bit stronger than whipped cream.

“Okay.” Neil peered over the top of the roof and waved at Gina
,
who waved back with
what
looked like a remote in her hand. “We’re ready. Can the baby see?”

No, the baby couldn’t. He couldn’t see anything yet, didn’t know who Santa Claus was, and cared about nothing but his next meal. That didn’t stop his two “uncles.” They couldn’t have been prouder of their work if they’d been about to open on Broadway.

“Hit the lights, Gina.”

My house blazed. Red, yellow, green, blue, every window, the front door, the roofline, came alive with lights. So did lighted collars on the reindeer and the runners on Santa’s sleigh.
How had they done it? Why
ha
d they do
ne
it?

“We outlined the front window, Mom.” Susannah was standing next to me. She handed me the baby. “So the Christmas tree will stand out. That was Neil’s idea. Don’t you just love it?”

That wasn’t quite the way I’d have put it
,
but
I
nodded in agreement anyway. I wondered what Dan would think. He
ha
d
expressed approval of
the white lights
—
the understated look I’d described. This was not understated.

Neither was the roar of the engine that drowned out Elvis, who was bemoaning the fact that his Christmas was turning out blue. It effectively froze all of us in place.

“Get Marilee inside.”

Nathan almost fell off the roof as he slid down the gable toward the ladder. Neil jumped to the ground, barely making it out of his way. Gina grabbed Marilee by the arm and propelled her toward the front door.

“Bring the baby,” she yelled. I wasn’t sure if that was for me, or for just anyone. However, Susannah grabbed him out of my arms and followed, Leona on her heels.

“I had him,” she yelled after Susannah, who paid no attention. “God damn it.” She caught the front door just as it started to slam in her face.

Nathan took the steps in one jump, grabbed the door, pushed Leona inside and disappeared after her.

The engine noise got louder. Aunt Mary and I turned to stare at the corner, bracing ourselves for a gaudy truck and Grady.

A car full of teenagers took the corner on two wheels, the driver revving the engine as it settled back down on all four. We could hear the squeals of laughter over the blare of the music that had nothing to do with Christmas as they shot by. One of them pointed up at my roof and waved.

“Can you overdose on adrenaline?” Aunt Mary finally said. Her voice sounded weak and a little shaky. Exactly the way I felt.

“I don’t think so.” My voice came out not much stronger. Adrenaline evidently subsides as quickly as it rises, and I was feeling a bit shaky in the legs. “Dan’s got to find that damn kid. None of us can take much more of this.” I put my arm around Aunt Mary and gave her a squeeze. She looked up at me and smiled, or tried to, and patted my hand.

Neil came around the corner of the house. “It wasn’t Grady?”

“No.” I took Aunt Mary by the arm and headed for the house. “But it might have been.”

“It’s kind of hard to believe he’d
…
you know
…
do something.”

“Believe it,” I told him. But I knew what he meant. Horror, violence, fear, they weren’t a part of our lives and we had a hard time grasping that they were real. Only, this past week, the murder of Doctor Sadler, the escape of Janice, the destruction of Grace House, had gone a long way toward convincing me.

“Yeah.” Neil nodded soberly. “Go ahead on in. I’ve got to finish tightening up the sled.” He looked at the house and smiled. “Looks pretty good, don’t you think?”

I looked up at it also. It was ablaze with lights around every window, lights draped over every bush. There were candles welcoming weary travelers, and Santa on the roof. I started to laugh.

“What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?” Neil looked anxiously at the glowing house. “We could take some of it off.”

“Actually, it looks pretty good. Festive. And, God knows, we could use some
‘
festive
’
about now. Leave it.” I took another look, then turned toward Aunt Mary. “Except for the slightly tipsy Santa. The Methodists should be ashamed of themselves.”

“Why do you think they had it in their sale?” she said with a wry little smile that showed me she was back to normal. “Come on. Let’s go see about feeding all those people.”

Gina and Susannah were setting the table in the dining room. Nathan was holding the baby. Leona, looking sulky, leaned up against the counter and stared at him
,
while Marilee peeled potatoes. The oven was on, and something smelled wonderful.

“Old fashioned meatballs. I told you I’d bring some.”

I nodded. Aunt Mary had, but I’d forgotten. The day had been a little full, and somehow dinner for this mob had worked its way to the bottom of my list of “things to do.”

“I thought we’d do garlic
-
mashed potatoes. They’ll be great with the meatballs.” Marilee finished the last potato and set it in a large pot she’d filled with cold water. She wiped her hands on the dishtowel draped over her shoulder and turned toward me. “You do have garlic
… O
h.”

My surprise must have shown on my face. I shouldn’t have been
surprised
. Everyone kept saying
Marilee
knew her way around a kitchen, both catering and the home variety, but evidently I hadn’t been listening.
She
was taking charge of dinner with the same confident attitude Aunt Mary always had
displayed
.

“I’m sorry, Ellen. I didn’t mean
…”

“In the hydrator, in that little plastic carton.” I smiled to let her know I was fine with both the potatoes and the use of my first name.

I watched her bring out the carton, open it and examine the contents. She frowned, but set it down on the counter. “I guess they’ll be all right. Do we have anything for salad?”

I should have gone to the grocery store. “There’re carrots. We can cook those.”

“I brought French bread. It’s a day old, but if we butter it and wrap it in foil, it should be fine. I also brought a cake
.
” Gina stood in front of my silverware drawer, counting out forks. Her smile was grim but satisfied. “For some reason, Sal didn’t mind a bit when I took them.”

Aunt Mary looked at her sharply but said nothing
.

“I don’t think we’re going to starve.” Susannah came into the kitchen with a handful of leftover napkins
. She
p
laced
them in the drawer and picked up the French bread. “Do I slice this stuff all the way through or leave a little crust on the bottom
?
”