Yule Be Dead Read online

  Rose wrinkled her nose, but Katie answered for both of them. “Um, sure. To go, please.”

  Francine poured the hot tea into two lidded paper cups, returned to the counter, and gave them a total.

  Katie proffered the tin of cookies. “I made these for you. I thought you might need something comforting in your time of sorrow.”

  Francine accepted the tin. “That was nice of you. Thanks.” Curiously enough, she didn’t seem all that sorrowful.

  “I’m surprised to see you back at work so soon,” Katie said, offering a ten-dollar bill.

  Francine rang up the sale. “I have bills to pay.”

  “I’m sure there are . . . other things . . . you need to be doing,” Katie said. “If you feel the shop absolutely must be open, then I’d be glad to hold down the fort for the day.”

  “You’re sweet to offer, but I know you have your own work to do. Of course, if you were to buy the shop, that would take a load of responsibility off me.” She looked at Rose. “I’m trying to get Katie to buy Afternoon Tea. I think she could make a great success of it, don’t you?”

  Startled, Rose looked from Francine to Katie, back to Francine, and back to Katie again. “Um . . . what?”

  “Oh yes. Now that Vonne is gone, I’m absolutely putting the shop on the market. I simply can’t do this by myself. I’m trying to get Katie to assume ownership. She could take over the lease, buy out the inventory and equipment, and go right to work.” She turned to Katie with a smile. “What do you say, Katie? You know you’d love it . . . the way you enjoy baking and all.”

  Katie’s eyes widened. “Well . . . I’ll consider it.”

  “Don’t take too long. I wouldn’t want someone to buy the place out from under you.”

  Katie thought about Sassy Sally’s at the east end of the Square, the bed-and-breakfast she’d wanted to buy and renovate herself. Actually, she and Chad had planned to buy the old mansion before Chad had invested their savings in Artisans Alley. She’d missed one opportunity. She didn’t want to miss another. And given her success with Artisans Alley, it seemed as if turning around seemingly lost causes might be her specialty.

  But how would the Artisans Alley vendors feel about it? Would they see her buying the tea shop as a betrayal? And what about the Victoria Square Merchants Association? Katie was their president. Would the association feel that she was spreading herself too thin if she tried to continue to operate Artisans Alley as well as a tea shop? Would she be?

  Rose lightly touched her arm. “I should be getting back.”

  “Yeah. Me, too. Francine, I’m nearby if you need anything.”

  “Just please give my offer some serious consideration. I’ll make you a good deal on the place.”

  Katie nodded. “All right.”

  “And thanks for the cookies.”

  Rose was quiet as she and Katie left the tea shop. Katie thought it best not to press the matter. On the one hand, she wanted Rose’s honest opinion. But on the other hand, she wanted to make the decision on her own. She cared about and respected her friend’s and the other vendors’ opinions, but she had to do what was best for her.

  The sound of a door opening to her left caused Rose to grab Katie’s arm and propel her past a parked car toward the other side of the Square. “Let’s go this way. My, isn’t the wind bracing? Good for clearing our heads.”

  “It is.” As a matter of fact, Katie usually power walked around the Square at least twice each morning, which not only was good exercise but gave her a peaceful time to think, although she hadn’t taken time to do so today. Still, Rose’s behavior was odd. “But what are we really doing?”

  “We’re avoiding Nona Fiske.”

  Nona was the fussbudget who owned The Quiet Quilter next door to the tea shop. She was someone best to be avoided most of the time, but Rose was like a woman on a mission.

  “Why are we avoiding Nona?” Katie asked.

  “She accosted me at the grocery store yesterday and told me she thinks one of the new Artisans Alley vendors is knocking off her quilt patterns.”

  “Oh my goodness.” Katie finally raised the blackberry ginger tea to her lips. “Hey, this isn’t bad.”

  Rose tentatively raised her own cup and took a sip. “No, I guess not. So, are you going to do it?”

  Katie was saved by responding when Ray Davenport stepped outside Wood U and flagged them down.

  “Hey, Katie, have you got one second?”

  “Sure.” Katie looked at Rose.

  “I’ll go back to the Alley before Vance has my hide for saddling him with the cash register for so long,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

  Katie mounted the steps and entered Ray’s shop.

  “Sasha called from school—she needed me to email one of her teachers my permission for her to go on a field trip tomorrow,” he said. “Anyway, I went ahead and told her you’d like to take her and Sadie Christmas shopping after school, and she was really excited about it.”

  “Good. I’m looking forward to it, too.” She took another taste of the tea. “Ray, when you were a cop, you had to deal with a lot of people who’d just suffered loss, right?”

  “Every day, it seemed. That’s one of the reasons I was ready to retire. Why do you ask?”

  “Rose and I just came from Afternoon Tea. Francine is there . . . working . . . acting as if everything is fine.”

  Ray rocked back on his heels. “Well, everyone processes grief differently. It’s possible she appears indifferent in public but grieves in private.”

  “I suppose. Rose told me that Vonne was a big flirt. And since you’re one of Victoria Square’s eligible bachelors, I wonder if she ever made a play for you.”

  The color rose in Ray’s cheeks. “She did. I shut her down. She wasn’t my type.”

  “Rose thought she was in the market for a husband.”

  “That’s the impression I got,” Ray said. “She wanted somebody to take care of her.” He was quiet for a long moment, as though mulling something over before he spoke once more. “The latest news—and please keep this to yourself—is that Vonne was pregnant when she died.”

  Three

  For months, Katie and Andy made sure to make time for each other by getting together for lunch at Del’s Diner at least every other day. That day, after trading her Dickens costume for street clothes, Katie slipped into the booth at Del’s, feeling as if she’d just finished the one-hundred-yard dash. She shrugged out of her coat and placed it on the seat next to her.

  Andy, who’d been waiting for her to join him, grinned. “Has the day been that bad already?”

  “As a matter of fact, it has.” She told him about Ray telling her that Vonne’s death hadn’t been an accident—leaving out the information that Vonne was pregnant and that Rose told her any enemies Vonne had were likely romantic rivals. “Rose seems to think Vonne was actively seeking a husband. And since you’re the most handsome bachelor on Victoria Square, I have to wonder if she didn’t have her sights set on you.”

  Andy gazed around the restaurant and raised a hand. “Hey, Sandy, could we order please? I have to get back to work soon.”

  “Sure, hon. Be right there.”

  “Can I take that as a yes?” Katie asked quietly. She’d been joking, but Andy obviously didn’t want to talk about Vonne.

  Sandy came over to their table, removing the notepad and pen from the pocket of her black apron. The portly blonde woman with a sweet face had apparently noticed no tension between the two of them.

  “What’ll it be, guys?”

  Katie ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, and Andy decided on a cheeseburger and fries. Sandy said she’d get their order in right away, and then she left to see to other customers.

  “Well?” Katie asked.

  “What?”

  “You know what. What aren’t you telling me about you and Vonne?”

  He blew out a breath. “Okay. We went out once. Once. It was no big deal.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “It was before you and I started seeing each other. Vonne and I ran into each other at The Pelican’s Roost, and then I took her to dinner. But, again, it was no big deal.”

  For some reason, it felt like a big deal to Katie. Probably because Andy didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Come on, let’s talk about something else,” Andy said. “What’s going on at the Alley today?”

  “The ballerinas—at least, that’s who Godfrey said it was—antagonized him with chewing gum art and called him Goofrey.”

  Andy laughed. “How much did you take off the dance studio’s rent for that?”

  “Nothing . . . yet,” Katie said with a grin. “Rose and I went over to talk with Francine. Francine is trying to talk me into buying out Afternoon Tea—I’d change the name, of course. I mean, I will if I decide to take Francine up on her offer.”

  “It sounds like you might be seriously considering it.”

  “I am. But I already have so many obligations to Artisans Alley and the Victoria Square Merchants Association . . .”

  “True.” He took her hand. “But you need to think about you, Katie. You need to do something for yourself for a change.”

  “Maybe. I always wanted to serve tea at the English Ivy Inn. Owning a tea shop would at least allow me half of my dream, and the financial risk would certainly be a lot less. But what would it mean for us?”

  Andy shrugged. “I don’t see the problem.”

  “I’d be twice as busy.”

  “Has our relationship suffered since I started making cinnamon buns?”

  Truthfully, yes. But they’d made sure to carve out time for each other. Would lunch every other day, and the occasional sleepover, be enough?

  There wasn’t time to contemplate that thought as Sandy arrived with their lunches.

  Andy smothered his fries with ketchup and launched into a soliloquy on how much better his December pizza sales had been over November—and that he was stepping up production on the cinnamon bun side of the business as well.

  “In fact, I’m thinking of trying some new recipes. Cinnamon pumpkin and apple cinnamon—the apple cinnamon was Erikka’s idea. What do you think?”

  “I think they both sound delicious.”

  Andy continued to talk about possible future plans while Katie ate her sandwich without much enthusiasm. She had a lot to think about, and none of it was very pleasant.

  * * *

  • • •

  When Katie returned to Artisans Alley, some of the vendors were huddled in the lobby and were obviously in a snit.

  “What’s going on?” Katie asked.

  “There was a man in here, and he stole one of Susan’s dolls!” Rose exclaimed.

  “It was Arthur Henderson,” Susan Williams said, glowering down at Katie. At six feet tall, Susan towered over Katie anyway, but the boots she wore with her Dickensian costume gave her an additional three inches of height. Susan made pretty dresses for American Girl and other dolls, basing them on Disney princesses as well as every holiday across the twelve-month calendar.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” Susan anchored her hands to her hips. “Why would I make something like that up?”

  Katie looked around the lobby. “Where is he now? Maybe he’s still shopping and intends to pay for it.”

  “None of us have seen him since he took the doll,” Rose said.

  “Has everyone checked their booths to see if he put the doll down somewhere else?” Katie asked. “We have to be absolutely certain Mr. Henderson stole something before we go slinging accusations.”

  “We’ve looked around,” Vance said, “but we can do a more thorough search.”

  “Thank you.” Katie was grateful for Vance’s calm thinking. If she ended up buying the tea shop, he would be an excellent assistant manager at Artisans Alley.

  “Come on, everyone. Time to get back to work. Susan, I’ll help you look for the doll,” Rose said.

  The group dispersed and Katie went back to her office. So far the day had been filled with just a little too much drama and she was ready for some quiet time. That meant paperwork—which never seemed to end. But finally the day wound down. Vance had agreed to close and lock the Alley while Katie skipped out early to pick up the two youngest Davenport sisters for their shopping foray to Greece Ridge Center. Sophie, the oldest, was still at school—the prestigious Culinary Institute of America—but was expected home soon for the upcoming winter break.

  The perky young blondes practically bounced as they walked through the mall. It was obvious their mother’s death had left a hole in their lives they very much needed filled—if only temporarily.

  “How about a hot chocolate break?” Katie suggested.

  “Sounds great,” Sadie said.

  Sasha looked away. “I’m not really very thirsty.”

  Or was it that she didn’t want to ingest the calories?

  Katie ordered two hot chocolates to go and the three of them settled at one of the tables in the food court, putting their shopping bags on the floor.

  “Thanks for this, Katie,” Sadie said. “I’m really glad we’re getting to shop without Dad around. He’s almost impossible to shop for anyway, but when he’s with us . . . ugh.” She rolled her eyes, making Katie laugh.

  “I know, right?” Sasha chimed in. “But wait until you see Dad’s present to you, Katie. You’re gonna love it.”

  “Sasha!” Sadie scolded her sister, but Katie was barely aware of their conversation. Ray was giving her a Christmas gift? She hadn’t even considered getting something for him. And now she’d have to think of something . . . something suitable . . . something that wouldn’t send the wrong message . . . something that—

  “Katie.”

  Her thoughts were interrupted by Sasha.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I got distracted.” It also crossed her mind that maybe she should get something for Margo, too. And what would that be?

  “Well, I’m sorry I told you about Dad’s present,” Sasha said. “Sadie’s right—it was supposed to be a surprise. I mean, it still will be. I didn’t tell you what it is.”

  “Sasha, that’s enough. You’re going to keep on until you tell her everything.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “Yes, you—”

  “Oh, hey!” Katie exclaimed, before the sisters’ argument escalated further, and pointed across the way. “That boutique seems to have some really pretty clothes, and I’d love to have something new to wear to all the upcoming parties. Let’s check it out.”

  Katie headed for the boutique, and the girls fell into step on either side of her. Once inside, Katie saw that the clothes were designed with teens in mind. But that was okay—it stopped the girls from bickering, and the two of them might find something they’d like.

  Sadie made a beeline for a short green dress. She flipped through the hangers until she found her size and then held it up to her thin frame. “What do you think?”

  “That color would look gorgeous on you,” Katie said. “Try it on.” She looked at Sasha. “Anything catch your eye?”

  Sasha shook her head.

  “Aw, come on.” Katie looked around the boutique. “You’d look stunning in that pink sweater over there. Why don’t you try it on?”

  “No, thanks. I need to lose weight before I buy anything new.”

  “Oh, good grief,” Sadie muttered.

  “You’re beautiful, Sasha,” Katie said. “Why on earth are you concerned about your weight?”

  Sasha looked down at her hands. “There’s this girl at school—she’s super skinny—and she’s been paying a lot of attention to Adam.”

  Katie remembered Ray saying that Adam was a boy Sasha had been enamored with. Had their relationship graduated to dating? She also realized that insecurity and relationships were virtual roller coasters to teenagers. To everyone, she supposed. She decided a show of solidarity was in order.

  “You know, sometimes I feel insecure, too. Just the other day Andy told me he feels like he’s been spending more time with Erikka, his assistant manager, than with me.” She shrugged one shoulder. “And you guys have seen Erikka—she’s gorgeous.”

  Sadie scoffed. “Both of you stop it right now. You’re both pretty, and if the knuckleheads you’re with don’t appreciate your looks and the fact that you are way more than your looks anyway, then maybe you should both start looking for someone else.”

  Katie smiled. “Wow. Well said, Sadie.”

  Sadie shook her head. “I don’t get why some women act so desperate. Like that Vonne who died in the car accident. She was desperation personified.”

  In the car accident. Was Ray protecting his daughters from the truth?

  “You’ve got a point there,” Sasha said. “That woman was calling our dad every night for a while. He got to where he wouldn’t answer the phone—and wouldn’t let us answer it, either—because he didn’t want to talk with her.”

  “Right. We had to use the answering machine to screen the calls. I mean, why? Like our dad would be interested in any woman other than our mom anyway, but why would she throw herself at a guy who obviously had no interest in her?” Sadie shook her head. “I’d never do that. I’m independent. I’ll never need anyone. If I want to include someone in my life, that’s one thing. But if I have to chase after him, then he doesn’t deserve me.” She held up the dress. “I’m going to try this on. Be right back.”

  “She’s made an excellent point,” Katie told Sasha.

  “Yeah. Sadie’s as headstrong as they come. I guess I’m more of a people pleaser.”

  “I think you have a terrific figure. Do you really feel like you need to lose weight?”

  Sasha nodded. “I just feel . . . ugly.”