Candy Canes, Corpses and the Gothic Haunt Read online

  “And why not?” Jack went behind the bar, and placed his glass in the sink.

  “Because we’re not pulling profits from the renovation business. This Inn needs to be profitable on its own.”

  He leaned across the bar. “It’s not like we can’t shift the funds back later.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then what is?”

  Juniper finished the last of her glass. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll see.”

  Jack left ahead of her to pick up dinner. Juniper set the alarm and locked the door behind her. Rudolph Windsor had just exited the gift store as she came out, and she waved to him. He didn’t acknowledge her and kept walking toward the parking lot next door.

  Seeing Rudolph reminded her of Louise, so instead of walking home, she turned in the other direction. Louise looked up when Juniper entered Let It Brie.

  “How is everything over there today?”

  Juniper gave her a rundown of her day. “So, we’re managing, and if someone tries to break in again, the motion detectors should work.”

  “That’s good.” She glanced at her watch.

  “Am I keeping you from a hot date?” Juniper asked.

  She blushed. “Not really. I mean . . . it’s just . . . I’m supposed to meet Rudolph.”

  “I just saw him leaving his store.”

  “Oh dear,” Louise said, reaching for her keys. “I should hurry up. I don’t want to keep him waiting.”

  They walked to the door together, and Louise locked up.

  “So, where’s Romeo taking you for dinner?” Juniper asked.

  “Oh, we’re not going to dinner.” Louise blushed again. “We’re keeping our relationship low key for now.”

  Juniper frowned. More like Rudolph was.

  She didn’t want to see Louise get hurt. Hopefully Rudolph wasn’t just using her. Oh well, it was not Juniper’s place to meddle. That was more of a job for Eve. Perhaps Rudolph would declare his love tonight, and they’d live happily ever after.

  Right. And maybe someone would stop murdering people in her Inn.

  Twenty Six

  _____________

  J UNIPER ignored the ringing of her telephone after dinner and stretched out against some pillows on the sofa with her laptop. She wasn’t sure what it would accomplish, but she’d decided to Google every business on her block of Main Street while Jack watched the movie Die Hard next to her. She glanced at her phone to see who’d called. Mom and Dad.

  They were supposed to be flying home New Year’s Day to spend some time at the Inn. She debated whether or not to call them back and tell them about all that had happened. They’d probably catch the next flight and then she’d have to worry about them getting hurt as well.

  Instead she typed in Bohemian Lake and pulled up the Facebook page. There was a link to the BLPD which led to a ton of reports of drug related incidents. Juniper was shocked to read about everything that was going on at the town’s high school. One fourteen-year-old teenager had died and several others had suffered vomiting, seizures and comas after taking the colorful little pill known as “Molly”. Juniper was shocked; she never would have guessed this was all going on. No wonder the police had been so eager to call Feliz Merlot’s death an accident. They had their hands full.

  She got to her feet and poured herself a glass of wine before returning to her seat. She decided to look up Guitars and Cadillacs next. It seemed Evan Cross had been in quite a number of altercations in the past. Juniper guessed that came with owning a bar. There was also a rumor about him dealing drugs out of the bar. Interesting.

  There wasn’t much on Ron Baron, either, other than that he was on Facebook. The hardware store didn’t have a website. Neither did Rocco Deer’s deli. Peace and Light, and Let It Brie had websites but there was nothing suspect there.

  Juniper found two articles about Rudolph Windsor’s boutiques. The longer of the two, featured in the Bohemian paper before Penny Trubble and her father had taken it over, was mostly about his Chic Bohemian Antique Shop, which carried a wide selection of period collectables. The writer raved about the imported clocks and jewels and mostly neglected the other items. The article only briefly mentioned how one could get such expensive items for a fraction of what they cost elsewhere.

  Juniper also found a couple of complaints about Rudolph from past employees on a review site. Apparently, he was not a well-liked boss. That didn’t exactly make him a killer.

  Two hours after Juniper started, she came to the conclusion that this was all a massive waste of time and called her parents back. They talked for quite a while about nothing in particular, but it was comforting nonetheless. By the time they hung up, she could hardly keep her eyes open.

  Twenty Seven

  _____________

  T HE moment Juniper entered the cafe, she glanced at the calendar in her phone and remembered the new bed was getting delivered. Finn sat at a table in the corner with Louise, Star, and Rocco having a coffee. Juniper chatted for a moment and then disappeared across the road to tend to the delivery. Just as the delivery truck pulled into the driveway, she saw Ron Baron approaching. What the heck was he up to now?

  “Oh no, you don’t. Get off my property,” Juniper said.

  “Hold on there, sweetheart.” Ron held up his hands.

  “Excuse me. Don’t sweetheart me. You killed Sally in one of your attempts to sabotage me.” It wasn’t the smartest thing to say to the killer, but she’d had enough. “You’re not going to get away with it. There’s an investigation—”

  “Whoa. I didn’t kill anyone and surely not Sally.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I came to apologize.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Detective Lumos came to see me.”

  “And?”

  “If Sally hadn’t listened to me, she’d still be alive. That’s something I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. You don’t know how much I regret not going with her. I should have closed the store early and come with her.”

  “You were at the store when Sally came here?”

  Ron nodded. “I was. I had to show Detective Lumos my surveillance tapes to prove it.”

  The anger she’d felt minutes ago settled like a ball of lead in her stomach. “You didn’t kill Feliz and Sally.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you.” The corners of his mouth turned up.

  Now Juniper was the one who was puzzled.

  “Detective Lumos questioned me and he vouched for your character and told me everything that’s been happening here. I didn’t believe him at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized perhaps Evan has gone off the rails. They’ve taken him for questioning.”

  Ron stuck out his right hand. “How about we call a truce and start over?”

  Juniper shook his outstretched hand. “Agreed.”

  ***

  Louise came up the second flight of stairs and knocked just as Juniper finished leading the delivery guys upstairs. “I felt bad you were in here while we were all scarfing down donuts, so I brought you one. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Thanks.”

  Her gaze roamed the attic space. “This is the first time I’ve been in here. It’s pretty impressive. I’ve never seen the street from this high up. It’s really beautiful—all the snowy trees and holiday decorations. I can see why you’d want to live up here.”

  Her gaze settled on Rudolph’s storefront. He was talking to a group of girls out front—at least Juniper assumed they were female from the colorful scarves and mitts. They were, after all, a little ways away. When Louise turned away, Juniper asked her how her evening with Rudolph had gone last night.

  She sighed. “All right, I guess.”

  “You don’t sound like it was.”

  “I just wish he’d make up his mind about what he wants. One minute he’s like the nicest guy in the world, and the next he ignores me. Frankly, I’m getting tired of it.”

  “Have you tried asking him what he wan
ts?”

  “Of course I have. He says he’s just stressed out about work. He’s been having trouble getting some of his inventory, but he told me he had that all under control and it wouldn’t be a problem much longer.” She frowned. “He sent me home early last night because he had a six A.M. flight to New York this morning. He said he had a meeting with some new suppliers.”

  “Maybe he changed his mind, or the meeting was cancelled,” Juniper said, although Juniper didn’t believe it herself. There was no doubt in her mind Rudolph was giving her the runaround.

  “That must be it, but I wonder why he didn’t call me.”

  Juniper hoped she didn’t expect an answer.

  Twenty Eight

  _____________

  J UNIPER rolled away from Jack’s fingers as they tickled her ribs. She groaned and looked at the clock. It was after eight in the morning, and she had a lot to do. Thirty minutes later, she was showered and dressed in a comfortable red plaid shirt-dress over tights—festive, yet practical for unpacking boxes.

  It was another beautiful snowy morning, and the Gothic Haunt looked gorgeous—all covered in ice and snow—as they pulled in the long drive. It was one those unbelievably cold days where even though the sun shone, the air hurt your face within seconds of exposure. She was thankful that she’d hopped in the truck with Jack. Not that her walk was ever long.

  With a small pit of worry festering in her stomach, she unlocked the door and went inside. She went from room to room and checked everything twice. Much to her relief, everything was fine, so she headed across the street to celebrate with a peppy peppermint cappuccino.

  Pike’s barista was behind the counter working her magic as usual. The early-morning crowd had come and gone, but the next wave that usually included writers and students hadn’t arrived yet. There was only one person in line ahead of her. Pike was in the corner singing to herself while she put mugs away.

  “What’s she so happy about?”

  The Barista grinned. “I think it’s because of your new chef. You know, the one who’s been cooking in Pike’s kitchen.”

  Juniper watched as heat crept into Pike’s face as she overheard the conversation. “Absolutely not. There’s nothing going on there.” Pike exclaimed.

  “Uh-huh. Sure there isn’t.” Juniper laughed.

  “Seriously. We’re just friends,” she said, drying one of her mugs vigorously.

  “Okay, chill. I think you’re going to rub the genie out of the bottle, there.”

  Pike looked down and laughed at herself.

  The barista scooped a large dollop of whipped cream on top of the cup and then turned to her boss. “That hug he gave you last night wasn’t a just friend’s hug. No, I think Santa delivered you a shiny new toy for Christmas and you like it.” She sprinkled pieces of candy cane on the whipped cream.

  “And your feelings are written all over your face,” Juniper said.

  The barista nodded. Just then the door chimed. “Well, speak of the toy. Vroom Vroom.”

  Juniper glanced over her shoulder.

  “Hey, Finn. We were just talking about you,” Juniper said.

  Pike’s face turned bright red.

  “Uh-oh,” Finn said. “That can’t be good.”

  The barista grinned. “That kind of depends. Pike was just telling Junie you—”

  “—were a great cook,” Pike said. She shot her employee a look that told her to button her lips. Or else.

  Finn looked from Pike to the barista and back to Pike again, like he was missing something. Thank goodness he was.

  Pike grabbed the coffee from her barista and passed it over the counter to Juniper, then took Finn’s order for a plain coffee with an extra shot of espresso. As Juniper left, she peeked over her shoulder at Pike and giggled.

  Pike was going to wring her barista’s neck.

  Juniper unlocked the door to the Gothic Haunt and went inside. Before she had a chance to take off her coat, the door opened and Eve Banter came in.

  “You’re here early. I didn’t think you were coming in until this afternoon.” Juniper said.

  “I figured you could use me,” Eve said. “If I’d been here all those other times, things never would have happened.” She removed her coat and revealed her ‘Merry Militia’ sweatshirt. “So, you go ahead and get to work and don’t worry about a thing. I’m on it.”

  “On what?”

  “It. I said don’t worry.”

  “I appreciate your help, Eve, but I really don’t need looking after.”

  “Maybe you don’t, but this place sure does,” she said. “Break-ins, murder, present thievery. Maybe you want to take bets on what’s gonna happen today.”

  Juniper heard Jack snicker from the back. He’d just finished carrying wine cases into the basement. They must have gotten a delivery from the local vineyard while Juniper was getting coffee.

  “Nothing is going to happen,” Juniper said.

  “I think Eve has a point. It wouldn’t hurt to have extra eyes on the place. It might deter the vandal. I know I’d run in the other direction,” Jack said.

  Juniper frowned and then turned back to Eve. “Look, Jack’s here for a bit and there will be people going in and out all day. I have movers coming in to help me settle in upstairs. And Finn will be here, too, training new staff. It’s perfectly safe.”

  “Yeah? That’s what we all thought back in the summer before bodies started turning up and drugs started circulating in the high school. No such thing as a safe place around Bohemian Lake anymore. Before we know it, the toddlers’ll be brewing hooch.”

  “What? And steal your job?” Jack teased.

  Eve narrowed her eyes. “Button it, Jackie boy. Nope. It’s time to take this town back and I’m ready to lead the charge.”

  “Fair enough,” Juniper said to Eve. “Jack, why don’t you get Eve acquainted with the layout of the Inn. Then you can talk to her about any security concerns.”

  “Me?”

  It was Juniper’s turn to suppress a smile. “You did say you thought it was a good idea, didn’t you?”

  Juniper downed the rest of her cappuccino, slung her purse over her shoulder and snuck away while Jack and Eve were busy. She didn’t feel a bit bad about leaving Eve with Jack. He deserved it. With any luck, Eve would drive him up the wall within the first hour and he’d learn a valuable lesson: Never side with anyone against Juniper.

  There were three places on the street she hadn’t visited yet, all belonging to Rudolph Windsor. So far, she’d mostly struck out trying to find anyone who had seen suspicious activity near the mansion. Star had been the only one who’d seen anything even remotely out of the ordinary. Since Rudolph’s stores were across the street, she was hopeful that at least one of his staff had seen something. And, frankly, she was curious about the situation between Louise and Rudolph. Louise was a lovely person—dented baseball bat and cheese argument aside—and Juniper was annoyed with Rudolph for treating her the way he was. Not that she could do anything about it, except maybe put in a good word for Louise.

  Juniper remembered the article she’d read in the Bohemian Newspaper about Rudolph’s boutique, so she decided to start there. Many of the boutique shops in the area were funky, fun places like Pike and Lulu’s. But Rudolph’s store was a little more posh with its white fur rugs, Victorian wall sconces and crystal chandeliers. The lone sales clerk was arranging vintage 1950s crystal tree ornaments inside a vintage glass-topped coffee table. She looked up as Juniper entered and greeted her with a smile.

  “You’re Jack’s girl, aren’t you?” she asked.

  Juniper nodded.

  “I saw the emergency vehicles over there the other day,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry for all of your troubles.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “What can I do for you? I have the feeling you’re not here to shop.”

  “No, I think I’ve purchased enough from this place. I just bought your antique bed the other day. You shou
ld have seen us getting it up to the third floor. Thank goodness part of the floor is removable.”

  “Your floor is removable?”

  “Just around the attic stairs, yes.” Juniper picked up a Tiffany style lamp and ran her finger over the price tag, “Seriously, these prices are amazing. I don’t know where he gets this stuff from. I’ve been shopping antiques my whole life and I’ve never seen deals like this.”

  “Yes, he’s pretty secretive about his suppliers, so I’m afraid I have no idea either. Eve and Penny have been in here a few times asking questions. I think they believe the deals are a little too good, if you know what I mean.”

  Juniper smirked. “Penny’s got a nose for stories, alright. Mr. Windsor best be legit.” They both laughed. “Anyway, I’m just wondering if you’ve noticed anything strange happening over by my place. You have a perfect view.”

  “I can’t say that I have,” The clerk said. “But Mr. Windsor would be the better person to ask. He keeps an eagle eye on everything—cameras out the wazoo.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “He’s very diligent.”

  It was the same over at the gift store. The clerk hadn’t seen anyone. While Juniper was there, she’d spied a cute sweater and on impulse decided to buy it. It was a well-known brand and marked half off. Juniper couldn’t pass it up. While the clerk rang up the purchase, she asked Juniper what she planned to do after the Inn closed.

  “I’m usually exhausted by that time of night, so I go home and crash.”

  She giggled. “No, I mean after it’s closed for good. You know, after you sell it.”

  Juniper almost dropped her credit card as she passed it across the counter. “Hopefully, that won’t happen for a long time. Possibly never. I’d like to hand it down to the kids I don’t have yet.” An image of a little boy who looked just like Jack flashed in her mind. Get a grip, Palmer.

  The clerk frowned. “Huh. I heard you were putting it up for sale. I figured it was because of everything that happened. And with those red posters everywhere . . .”

  She didn’t need to finish the sentence. “Those posters belong in the trash.” Juniper slid her card back into her wallet. “Who told you I was selling the Gothic Haunt? I’d like to set them straight.”