Mall Santa Murder: A Cozy Christmas Mystery (Gemma Stone Cozy Mystery Book 1) (7 page)

Suddenly, Gemma didn’t feel so safe in her tiny little town at all. She thought about calling Nick, but that was silly. He’d brought their sandwiches around supper time and then said he was going home to work on a story for the paper.

Unfortunately Jackson was the only security left in the building. He let them out and then securely locked the door behind them. Shivering with more than the cold, Gemma started her car and let it warm up a bit. Holly was waiting, her big SUV idling close by to make sure she was safely on her way. Thankfully, her car went into drive on the first try. She tapped her horn to let Holly know all was well and then watched her friend drive away until the red taillights disappeared into the darkness.

Gemma was home within fifteen minutes. Her house even seemed darker than usual, and she promised herself that she would leave some lights on at least through December when she was out so late. She hadn’t even left a porch light on, which was just dumb. Gathering up her courage, she made sure she had her house key in her hand and then got out of her car. Her high heels made little tapping sounds on the walk which sounded so loud that she caught herself trying to tiptoe.

Using the flashlight on her phone, she found the door knob easily, pushed the key into the lock and turned it. The phone in her hand vibrated and blared out the Jingle Bells ring tone she had downloaded on Thanksgiving Day. Gemma screamed, dropped the phone, picked it up and dropped it again, her hand was shaking so badly.

“Hello,” she said, while getting inside the house and quickly locking the door behind her.

“Gemma, I was just checking on you,” the male voice on the line said.

“Who...who is this?” she asked, reminding herself that she needed to start checking her caller ID on a regular basis.

“Ross. Ross Ferguson,” he said.

Once he said his name, Gemma recognized the voice. She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” she said. Her knees were so weak she barely made it to the nearest chair where she collapsed.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m just a little bit jumpy,” she said, turning on a lamp by the sofa. It cast a warm glow over the room. “I guess the day has shaken me up more than I realized.”

Ross chuckled. “Too much detective work for you for one day?”

Gemma laughed softly her, mind wandering to an image of him. Sitting in the semi-darkness with his voice right in her ear was nice. The Christmas tree stood bare next to the bank of windows on the opposite side of the room, almost mocking her.

“Have you made any headway on the case?” she asked, forcing her thoughts back to reality.

“Not really, but don’t you worry about that,” he said. “Make sure your house is locked up tight and try to get some sleep.”

“I will,” Gemma promised, stifling a yawn with one hand.

“And leave the detective work to me,” he added.

“I will,” Gemma said again.

“Um, one more thing,” he said. “I’d like to take you to lunch tomorrow. You know, kind of a thank you for helping me out today.”

Gemma felt a strange little flutter in her chest. “That would be nice. Let’s say late, around two when Holly’s mom comes in to take over the kiosk.”

“Two it is,” he said.

“And, Ross, thank you for calling to check on me,” she said sincerely.

“Gotta make sure my newest deputy is safe,” he said, laughing.

She sat there for a while just staring at that big empty tree, holding her phone in her hand and trying not to think about Ross Ferguson.

When Gemma woke up the next morning everything was covered with a pristine blanket of white snow. She smiled and raced across the cold hardwood floor to the bathroom. There was something exciting about the first good snow of the year, especially with Christmas only weeks away. As she showered and dressed for the day, she wondered about Mrs. McLear and the children. Perhaps she could anonymously donate some clothes or money or something. She made a mental note to ask Holly about that.

While she ate her breakfast of hot oatmeal, toast and tea, she read the online version of the local newspaper. Nick’s story was front page news, one of the first ones he’d ever had and she read it carefully. He’d done a good job with it, not too sensational and just enough human interest while reporting the facts. She was sure he was already working on a follow-up piece and she was proud of him.

Grabbing her cell phone off the table, she punched in his number.

“Good morning.” Nick answered on the first ring. No hint of his emotions from the day before.

Or at least he hid it well, Gemma thought. Why was she suddenly so suspicious of everyone’s motives? “Hey I just read your story. Great job!” she told him.

“Why thank you,” Nick said.

“Working on a Part 2, I’ll bet?” she asked picturing him leaning back in his the rickety little office chair they’d found at a thrift store.

“You got it,” he told her. “Hey how about I take you to lunch today?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Nick, I already have a...” Gemma stopped in mid-sentence.

“Date,” he finished for her. “You already have a lunch date.”

“Not really a date but...” Why, exactly, did she feel guilty? That was stupid.

“With Ross Ferguson?”

Gemma nodded and then finally squeaked, “Yes.”

“Well, have fun,” Nick said cheerfully. “I gotta run.”

“Okay, have a good day." She was talking to air.

G
emma arrived at the mall a little earlier than usual. Grady Jackson, spit-shined from top to bottom, let her in the service entrance door with a big smile and a jolly good morning.

“You’ll be happy to know that management has allowed me to add three new guys to beef up security here,” he told her, practically skipping alongside her as he escorted her to her kiosk.

“Good,” Gemma said. “It’s a bit late for Santa but...”

“He was part of the problem,” Grady said.

“Santa?”

“Haven’t you heard? His locker was full of stolen merchandise,” Jackson almost crowed.

They nodded at Ralph the Elf, who was busy preparing for Santa’s morning arrival as if it was some dignitary from the government or something. He never treated the other Santa like that. Bill Chambers was already in his kiosk, too, hard at work. Edna was there with him today, though. She waved when Gemma and Grady passed and Gemma waved back.

“Did you find any of their sun catchers or any of our jewelry in his locker?” Gemma asked, pretending to be interested.

“No, but it’s just a matter of time before we find the rest of his stash and nail him for it,” Grady boasted.

“So you’re working with the police?” she asked.

He nodded. “Very closely.”

They arrived at the HealthGems kiosk, which always made Gemma smile. Their cleverly lit logo was displayed prominently, as well as Holly’s beautiful jewelry designs. She was still smiling when she unlocked it and turned on the under counter lighting that showed off their sparkling creations so well.

While she waited for her laptop to boot up, she did a quick inventory. Nothing seemed to be missing, which she was thankful for. It made her wonder if Santa really had been the thief after all. Or maybe the killer was just laying low until the heat was off. God, she was starting to think like Dick Tracy!

She looked up to see Edna coming toward her. The older woman still looked a bit pale and she gave Santa Land a wide berth, but she was smiling and she carried what appeared to be a foil wrapped tray or plate.

“Good morning, Miss Edna. Are you feeling better?” Gemma asked, reaching out to touch the older woman’s soft hand.

“Oh, I’m fine. Bill insisted I stay home yesterday even though I was perfectly okay. I didn’t want to miss a day of this fun,” she said.

Gemma was surprised at that bit of information but she didn’t pursue it.

“So, I baked all day instead,” Edna said, offering the package to Gemma. It was filled with an assortment of muffins and cookies and homemade fudge. “My second favorite thing to do.”

“Oh, my, how sweet of you. I know we’ll enjoy these,” Gemma said, taking the plate from her and breathing in a huge whiff of goodness.

“I was especially worried when I found out that you were the one who discovered Santa,” Edna added, her face showing concern.

“Yeah, that was pretty scary,” Gemma admitted. “I’m surprised it wasn’t Bill who found him. He was here before I was, wasn’t he?”

Edna pursed her thin lips in thought. “I think he left the house around six, so he would have been here right after that.”

Gemma made a mental note to ask if Ross knew the time of death.

Edna leaned across the counter a little and whispered, “Do the police have any leads? I understand he was a pretty unsavory character.”

“I don’t know,” Gemma answered truthfully. “If I hear anything I’ll certainly let you know.”

“You do that, dear. And I’ll do the same,” Edna said with a sweet smile. “Now, you enjoy the goodies and I’ll get back to work. I have a new sun catcher design I’m working on. It could turn into a whole holiday series. Ah, the season inspires me so.”

Gemma laughed. “I know what you mean. I think Holly’s been sketching out some new designs as well.”

Several customers stopped by the kiosk and Gemma enjoyed explaining how HealthGems jewelry was different from some of the other ‘smart’ jewelry on the market. She loved showing off Holly’s delicate designs and actually demonstrating how the jewelry worked. She had just finished with an older, very overweight lady when she saw Nick trotting toward her.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said, sounding a little breathless. Dressed in his usual outfit of jeans and a bulky sweater he looked more like a college student than an up and coming newspaper reporter. That navy sweater made his blue eyes look gray, almost silver.

“Good morning yourself,” Gemma said with a smile. She couldn’t resist touching that little bit of stubble on his chin. “What, no latte?”

He laughed. “Sorry, I didn’t have time. I wanted to interview some of the store owners and shop keepers here before the day got busy. You know, maybe add on to my shoplifting story as well as get any new information on the Santa case. Might help Ross out some.”

“Did he deputize you, too?” Gemma asked.

“What?”

“The other day he...”

“Hey, what’s under the foil that you’re trying to hide from me?” Nick asked, cutting her off in mid-sentence.

“Something sweet,” Gemma said, grinning.

“Oh, yeah,” Nick rubbed both hands together. “What?”

She slowly peeled back the foil, revealing the beautifully arranged baked goods. “Help yourself.”

“Oh, wow, did you...” You didn’t...?”

Gemma laughed. “Are you kidding? No, Edna Chambers brought them in this morning. While I was discovering our dead Santa, she was home baking.”

Nick laughed, his eyes twinkling merrily as he picked up an oatmeal cookie with one hand and a piece of fudge with the other.

“Hey!”

“Gotta have one for each hand,” he explained, dancing out of her reach.

Gemma loved seeing Nick so happy. He’d been so sad and disappointed when she had broken off their engagement. And she was thankful they’d remained such close friends after that. Also, she was sure that part of his happiness had something to do with his work. He’d worked long and hard to get the front page news stories he’d had recently. It seemed he was finally coming into his own.

“Do you think the two things are connected?” Gemma asked after she plucked out a chocolate chip cookie and returned the tray to its hiding place.

“What two things?”

“The murder and the robberies.”

Nick thought for a moment. “It’s pretty simple. If the stealing stops, then we’ll know McLear was behind it. If not...”

“Then we have two crimes on our hands,” Gemma finished.

“Not WE,” he reminded her. “The police.”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Gemma said.

“They’re really in a rush to get this solved. Dr. Biggs has already done the autopsy,” Nick told her.

Gemma’s eyes grew round. “Were you there?”

Nick laughed and shook his head. “No. But our friend, Ross Ferguson was and I’m sure he’ll tell me as much as he can of what was discovered.”

“And you’ll share that with me?” she asked, giving him a level stare.

“Perhaps,” Nick teased. “Perhaps if I had another one of those delicious cookies, I’d consider it.”

Gemma laughed and hauled out the cookie tray.

A large group of shoppers entered the mall and Nick and Gemma watched them as they tried to decide which direction to go first.

“I’d better get to work,” Nick said after a minute.

“Nick, be careful,” Gemma said.

“I will,” he called out and dodged his way through the shoppers toward the other end of the mall, a cookie in each hand.

Holly’s mother, Brenda, arrived right at noon and they were busy with customers for a while. And then Holly came in at two, humming a Christmas carol.

“Somebody’s happy this morning,” Gemma teased as she shared Edna’s gift with her best friend.

Holly simply wiggled her eyebrows at the two of them. Brenda blushed and Gemma smiled knowingly.

“Sorry to interrupt.” The male voice made all three of the women jump.

“Detective Ferguson,” Holly said.

“I’ve come to take someone to lunch,” he said, those dark eyes zeroing in on Gemma.

“Ross. Let me get my purse,” Gemma said and unlocked the door where she’d stashed it that morning. She noticed that both of the other ladies were watching Ross suspiciously.

With purse in hand, she left them inside the booth and joined him.

“Don’t worry,” Ross said to both Holly and Brenda. “I’ll take good care of her.” As they walked away he whispered to Gemma, “I see what you mean.”

“They really have become pretty overprotective. It's been a rough year, and they worry,” Gemma said. She realized it was getting easier to talk about losing her parents. At least she didn’t burst into tears at the mention of those dark, dark days. “Overprotective, but they mean well,” Gemma said, walking along beside him.

“I hate to do this to you, but we might have to make this a short lunch,” Ross said. “Some information just came up and I’m going to have to jump on it pretty quickly.”