Yule Be Dead Read online

  “I’m in the clear, then?”

  “I believe so,” Katie said. “If Nona gripes to me about it again, I’m going to suggest she talk with Seth Landers about it.”

  Rhonda’s blue eyes widened. “You don’t think she’s planning to sue me, do you? I mean, even if her lawsuit has no merit, I don’t have the money to go to court. Christmas is coming up, and—”

  Katie held up a hand to interrupt. “Don’t worry about it. If Nona actually would talk with Seth about it, he’d set her straight in a hurry.” At least, she thought he would. She thought maybe she should give Seth a call and make sure she was right.

  “Thanks, Katie.”

  “No problem. If you see Margo, could you let her know I’m looking for her?”

  “I sure will.”

  Katie walked down the aisle away from Rhonda’s booth and came face-to-wart—er, face—with Ida Mitchell. Why had she never had that thing removed? “Hi, Ida. By any chance, have you seen Margo? She’s—”

  “I have! Isn’t she the most charming woman?” Ida asked.

  Katie managed a tight smile and a brief nod.

  “The last time I saw her, she was upstairs. I think she was in Chad’s Pad,” she said. “By the way, you need to talk with that dance instructor. Those little ballerinas are menaces. They came by my shelf earlier and messed with all my lace.”

  “Did they tear anything up?”

  “Well, no. But they handled everything, put my lace on their heads, made mustaches with it, and then just dropped it back onto the shelf. It took me half an hour to get everything back in order.”

  Knowing how little stock Ida actually had, Katie thought that seemed unlikely. “Okay. I’ll look into it. On the bright side, they’re only here for extra rehearsals for The Nutcracker. Hopefully, they’ll have their performance soon and go back to their regular dance class hours.” Katie headed for the stairs.

  “Fine. But the little monsters had better not come back to my shelf if they know what’s good for them.”

  Katie ignored Ida’s parting shot and continued to the staircase. She passed Godfrey on the steps and nearly gagged at the smell. She’d noticed the scent of sweat on him earlier, but now it was worse. Much worse. She needed to speak with him about the odor before he ran off all the Artisans Alley customers, but she couldn’t address the matter here on the stairway. She’d try to catch him later either in his booth or in the vendors’ lounge. She definitely wasn’t going to call him into her office and have that terrible smell permeate the air in there. People might think it was her who reeked!

  Katie located Margo in the midst of Chad’s paintings. She’d snagged a folding chair from somewhere and brought it into the room where she could gaze at her son’s artwork. She started when Katie placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve lost track of time. I didn’t mean to disappear on you.”

  “That’s fine,” Katie replied. “I get lost in these paintings sometimes, too.”

  “He loved you so.”

  Katie wasn’t sure she’d heard her correctly. “Excuse me?”

  “I said he loved you, Katie. He truly did. I know he was irresponsible with your savings and that he made some bad decisions, but he loved you.” Margo swiped a tear from her cheek.

  “I know,” Katie said softly, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. “I loved him, too.”

  “I know you did.” She patted the hand Katie still had resting on her shoulder. “You made him happy . . . happier than he’d ever been. Thank you for that.”

  Katie couldn’t trust herself to speak again. Not for a few minutes. Together they stared at the painting of the young woman in the wheat field.

  “I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be closing at the top of the hour.”

  “Understood.”

  Katie went back downstairs and found Godfrey was still in the vendors’ lounge. Unsurprisingly, he was the only one in the room. He was stuffing a piece of sponge cake into his mouth and washing it down with a bottle of cola. Cake crumbs floated in the bottle.

  Katie stayed as far away from the table as she could without having to shout at Godfrey. She didn’t want anyone else to hear what she needed to say to him, but she was afraid she’d be sick if she got too close.

  “Godfrey, I’m sure you’re unaware of this . . .” She was fibbing to save his feelings. How could he not be aware of it? “But . . . you . . . Did you take a shower this morning?”

  “Of course I took a shower!” Cake crumbs and indignation flew from his lips. “But this ridiculous costume you insist upon makes me sweat like a prostitute in church. Normally, Lucy would take the damn thing to the dry cleaner’s for me, but she . . . well . . . she hasn’t been around much lately. I guess you heard we’ve separated?”

  “I did hear that. I’m terribly sorry.”

  “We’re trying to work things out.”

  “I hope you do. But, in the meantime, if you could leave early and take your costume to the cleaner’s today, that would be great.”

  “So you want me to sacrifice the additional sales I’d make for the day in favor of going to the dry cleaner’s?”

  “You’re not supposed to be monitoring your booth; you’re supposed to be walking security.”

  “Who’s going to do my job? You? After all, it’s your sensitive nose that’s offended.”

  Katie managed to bite her tongue. “I’d be happy to take over for you for the rest of the day.” She glanced at her watch. “There’s only about forty-five minutes left. And you’ve already been away for almost half an hour. We should both get a move on.”

  Katie kept her promise and walked the Alley’s second floor, helping customers and keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. And, she noted, Godfrey’s booth didn’t have a single browser the entire time.

  * * *

  • • •

  Since McKinlay Mill was a good twenty or so minutes away from the heart of Rochester, the sky wasn’t saturated with light pollution and the stars shone brightly overhead. “It’s beautiful here,” Margo commented as she and Katie strolled toward Katie’s apartment.

  “It is, especially this time of year when stepping into Artisans Alley makes me feel as if I’ve gone back in time,” Katie said. “The only thing the area lacks is an assortment of good restaurants. You have to go all the way to Greece, although there are a couple of taverns near the lake.” She racked her brain to think of somewhere else Margo might be interested in dining.

  “If you don’t mind, I’d rather stay in this evening. I’m tired from the trip, and I’d like to simply get comfortable and catch up with you.” She nodded toward the pizzeria. “And the aromas coming from that place are divine.”

  “All right.” Katie tried to hide her onslaught of panic. She couldn’t let Margo see she was involved with Andy, especially after their talk about how much she and Chad had loved each other. Margo would think that Katie had certainly moved on in a hurry. How much love could there have truly been there? But Katie had loved Chad. It wasn’t her fault that he was gone and that she’d been able to get on with her life. Still . . . “Pizza it is.”

  Squaring her shoulders, Katie opened the door to the pizza parlor. Maybe Andy wouldn’t be there. Maybe he was out running an errand. Maybe—

  “Hi, there! Welcome to Angelo’s!” With a broad smile, Andy came out from behind the counter.

  “He’s certainly friendly,” Margo murmured to Katie. “And handsome, too.”

  Andy shook Margo’s hand. “So, this is the famous Margo Bonner.”

  “I told Andy you were coming,” Katie said. “He’s my . . . landlord.” She saw Andy’s smile disappear. “And friend. He’s been a great friend to me.”

  “Yep.” His face tightened. “Katie, old buddy, old pal, could I see you for a minute?”

  “Sure, go ahead,” Margo said. “I’ll place our order. It was a pleasure meeting you, Andy.”

  “You, too.” He took Katie’s elbow and propelled her past the order desk and into the back room. “What the hell was that? You introduce me as your landlord? And then your friend? Is that all I am to you?”

  “Of course not, but she’s Chad’s mother.”

  “Chad has been dead for nearly two years. Surely, the woman understands that you’ve moved on and aren’t living your life like a nun.”

  “Yes, but I don’t want to flaunt my new boyfriend in her face,” Katie said. “We just came from Chad’s Pad, where she told me how much her son loved me. She’d never have said something like that when Chad was alive. She was so sweet to me, Andy. I can’t hurt her by letting her know you and I are together . . . not yet, anyway.”

  “What about hurting me?”

  “She’ll be gone in a couple of days, and I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

  Lips pursed, Andy merely shook his head before he stormed back into the building and disappeared into his office.

  A contrite Katie joined Margo at the counter.

  “Was that about your rent?” Margo asked quietly. “Because, if it was, I’ll be glad to help you out if you need money.”

  “I’m fine. That was about . . . um . . . caulking the tub.”

  Margo eyed her former daughter-in-law. “If you say so, dear.”

  Six

  For the thousandth time Katie wished that the stairwell to her apartment had better light. She supposed she could talk with her landlord about it—again—but she’d better let him cool off for a while first. At the landing, she juggled her purse and the pizza box as she sorted through her keys to open the door. Once she was inside, Mason and Della raced to meet her—that is, until they eyed the visitor who accompanied her; then they both backed off.

  “Oh,” Margo said with derision, “you have two of them now.” She sidestepped the cats and went into the kitchen. “I didn’t see but one of them when we were here earlier.”

  “Della can be a little shy until she gets to know you.”

  Margo shucked her coat, placing it on the back of one of the chairs at the tiny table before she searched the cabinets until she found the plates and took out two. “You keep your home tidy, Katie. I always admired that about you.”

  “Um . . . yeah . . . thanks.” Katie placed the pizza box on the table. “I’ll feed the cats, and then we can eat.”

  “Couldn’t you feed them after?” Margo wrinkled her nose. “Because of the smell?”

  Okay, some cat food had a strong aroma—but Mason and Della lived there—Margo didn’t. Still, Katie forced a smile. “I’ll take their dishes into the bathroom. Otherwise, they’ll drive us bonkers while we eat.”

  “Well, we can’t have that,” Margo said a little too sweetly.

  Katie held her temper in check. “Right.” There was the persnickety Margo that Katie was more familiar with than the woman who’d beguiled everyone in Victoria Square. She took the cats’ dishes, a can of food, and a bag of kibble to the bathroom while Margo opened drawers looking for silverware.

  Well, I did tell her to make herself at home, Katie thought, fuming.

  When Katie emerged from the bathroom, Margo had doled pizza slices onto plates, and placed napkins and a fork at each setting, and she was pouring sparkling water into glasses.

  “Is water okay?” she asked.

  “Water is great. Thank you.” Katie washed her hands at the sink before sitting down at the table.

  “So, tell me more about this tea shop,” Margo said. “Is it something you’d really enjoy doing, or are you considering taking over the shop in order to help out the woman whose daughter died?”

  “I honestly believe it’s something I’d enjoy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even consider it.”

  “I hope not.” Margo cut into her pizza with her knife and fork. “I was always afraid you could be a bit of a pushover, especially where Chad was concerned.” She smiled rather wistfully. “I was guilty of giving in to Chad on more than one occasion myself.”

  Katie said nothing. She knew Chad was always golden, as far as Margo was concerned.

  “You seem to put others’ needs and desires ahead of your own,” Margo continued. “And that’s very noble, but you don’t want to make a bad decision in order to help someone else out of theirs.”

  “That’s true . . . but I really think I could make a success of the tea shop. Look at what I did for Artisans Alley,” she said, indulging herself in a bit of a brag.

  “I never got to see it when Chad was so over-the-moon for it, but it is charming. And everyone I spoke with told me how you’d saved the place from financial ruin. They all admire you.”

  “Maybe so, but you’re the one who walked through the Square and charmed them all effortlessly—even the curmudgeonly Ray Davenport.”

  Margo chuckled. “I found Raymond very kind, and his shop is delightful. He does wonderful work there. And that boy he mentors came in while I was there—what a little sweetheart. Anyway, I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of Raymond’s family tomorrow.”

  “You’ll love the girls. They’re fantastic kids.” Katie sipped her water and sobered. “Back to Francine, though. I can’t imagine how she’s holding up so well after losing her daughter.”

  Margo swallowed a bite of pizza. “People deal with grief differently. I practically shut down after Chad died. I was suffocated by my despair. My last ray of sunshine, my last shred of hope was taken away when he left this world.”

  “It crushed me, too.” Katie was about to say that she and Chad had been working on a reconciliation, but she didn’t know whether Chad had even confided to his mother that they were living apart. They hadn’t done so for long, and there was nothing official about their arrangement.

  “I know how acutely you felt Chad’s loss,” Margo said, “but it was so hard for me. It still is. I lost him in so many capacities: my baby . . . my little boy . . . my young man who made me so proud . . . my son who would one day bless me with a grandchild to cherish.” Her voice broke, and she took a drink of her water as though to hide that raw emotion. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to lay this burden on you here at the dinner table. It’s just that I’m so alone now. You’re young—you can move on, Katie. I can’t. You’ll have another husband someday—if you want one. I’ll never have another child.”

  Acute compassion flooded through Katie and she reached over and patted Margo’s hand. “I realize it’s a small consolation, but you still have me.”

  Margo smiled, her eyes shining with tears. “That’s not a small consolation at all.”

  The pizza became their chief concern, and Katie decided to change the subject to something much less volatile—the joys of living in a small town and her hopes and dreams for the future of Victoria Square. Margo listened and actually seemed interested in what Katie had to say.

  Katie made a pot of chamomile tea and they chatted for a while longer before they washed the dishes. By then, it was after nine.

  “I hope you don’t mind if I say good night. It’s been a rather long, tiring day.”

  “Not at all,” Katie said. “Let me just get the cats’ food and water from the bathroom.”

  Katie, too, prepared for bed, and the cats had followed her back to the living room to share her temporary bed.

  For a long time after she’d turned out the lights, Katie stared up at the ceiling and thought about Chad, Margo, Francine, Vonne . . . and Andy.

  * * *

  • • •

  Margo was sleeping soundly on Friday morning as Katie quietly made her way to the bathroom. She got ready for work and left her former mother-in-law a note telling her she’d fed the cats—as if Margo would care about that—and that she would be at Artisans Alley whenever Margo felt like joining her.

  After power walking around Victoria Square twice, Katie entered through the side entrance of Artisans Alley, headed for her office, and donned her Dickensian skirt and shirtwaist. As soon as she was settled in with a cup of coffee, she called Seth and was surprised when the attorney answered the office phone himself. “Did you give your receptionist the day off?”

  “No, but she doesn’t come in this early. What’s on your mind this crisp, wintry morning?”

  “It won’t officially be winter until the solstice,” Katie pointed out.

  “Whatever. And you’re calling in reference to?”

  “Nona Fiske.”

  “Ugh. That’s not the response I was expecting.”

  Katie laughed. “What response were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know—just not Nona Fiske. Why is she on your mind?” Seth asked.

  “Nona has been harassing one of my new vendors—Rhonda Simpson—about the patterns Rhonda uses on her dishcloths and other household linens. She says Rhonda is copying her. She’s even threatening to sue.”

  “Well, if she were to sue, I feel confident the judge would rule it a frivolous filing and throw it out before it progressed very far,” Seth said. “Plus, if the case did proceed to court, Nona could be fined if her case is without merit and it’s determined that she filed a baseless suit.”

  “That’s what I was hoping you’d say. I don’t know why she wants to torment poor Rhonda. It’s not like Rhonda is producing quilts—they aren’t in direct competition.”

  “Maybe she’s jealous.” He blew out a breath. “With Nona Fiske, you never know what motivates her.”