A Yuletide Wallop Read online

  “You have nothing, huh?” Cookie asked with a smirk. She liked the idea that they might be giving them their only lead.

  “Not nothing,” Abel replied. “The woman who found him seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “You think she had something to do with it then?” Josie asked, hopeful.

  “We can’t really see why but it’s a bit suspicious for her to just hightail it out of here. We told her to stick around in case we had questions,” Abel sounded more annoyed and inconvenienced than actually suspicious of the woman. “She probably just got spooked, I mean I probably would be too if I were her.”

  “Still, she shouldn’t have gone when we told her to stick around,” Gideon grumbled. No one had wanted Al’s death to be murder, but no one had wanted it less than Gideon. He had hoped for an easy shut case of the man accidentally falling and hitting his head.

  “No, she shouldn’t have,” Cookie agreed. Her wheels turning once more. Another outlandish theory was sure to follow. “Maybe she saw something she shouldn’t have, knows more than she’s letting on and that’s why she ran. She was scared she could be next.”

  “There is absolutely no evidence behind that, Cookie,” Able admonished her. He was still new enough to town that the nickname felt awkward when he said it, but it would be far more awkward if he called her by her full name. She hadn’t been called that since she was a child, or since she was last in big trouble with her mother. “We’ll talk to Dotty, see if she thought something could have been going on between Margie and Al. She hasn’t been up for talking to us yet, seems pretty devastated to me,” he added.

  “She is,” Gideon confirmed. “Whatever dramatic tale Lightening told you was just that, dramatic. He loves a good story, but that doesn’t mean they’re accurate or even true at all. Dotty loved that man, and I’m not sure she’ll survive losing him.”

  “She’s really that bad?” Cookie asked. She bit her lip, looking guilty. Even Verny looked like she felt bad about the accusation. Gideon nodded his reply.

  “We won’t rule it out until we talk to her, but I’m pretty confident that Dotty had nothing to do with his death.”

  “Margie then,” Verny offered. Gideon put his thumb and pointer finger on either side of the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up. It was a habit that Josie knew all too well, and to push Gideon much farther would be a mistake. She knew that she shouldn’t have said anything, she knew Gideon well enough to know he liked unfounded rumors and theories as much as she did. “I’m serious!”

  “Why would Margie have something to do with it?” Josie asked. She had already brought out all the coffee for everyone and could tell that Gideon and Abel were ready to be on their way.

  “Maybe she and Al were seeing each other, and he wanted to end it,” Verny suggested. “She didn’t want to be dumped by Al for a second time and killed him. A classic jilted lover story. If she can’t have him then no one can.”

  “You need to lay off the soaps,” Gideon said in reply. “Truth is we’ve got nothing right now; our witness is gone, and our only lead is a hug that Josie saw happen. Real murder isn’t like those procedurals you watch on the television.”

  “I told her the same thing,” Josie smiled, happy to be on the same track of mind as Gideon. Verny and Cookie both rolled their eyes at Josie. They both wanted to investigate or at the very least speculate about the murder, where Josie wanted nothing to do with it.

  “We’ll be off now, unless you have another wild idea you want to share with us,” Gideon said.

  “Nope,” Verny replied smartly.

  “Good,” Gideon said giving her a look. “Keep your theories to yourselves. That goes for you too, Cookie.” The women nodded in agreement. They loved gossip but weren’t ones to spread it themselves. It was also very clearly a warning. Abel offered a wave goodbye as they left. Josie hadn’t even gotten the chance to properly open before they had arrived.

  “So what about this boy that Cici is seeing?” Josie asked with the hope that the subject could finally be changed. “Did you find anything else out about him yesterday?”

  “Cici’s lips are sealed,” Verny said with an annoyed sigh. “Won’t even tell me his name. I’m sure I know him, I know pretty much everyone at that school.”

  “Maybe it’s someone she knows you wouldn’t approve of,” Cookie teased.

  “Lord, I hope not,” Verny said, thinking through the relatively long list of boys she would not approve of for Cici to be seeing. “She wasn’t really in a talking mood though, she was upset about Al. He had been Santa every year since she was little.”

  “I remember the first time she went to Santa’s village!” Cookie exclaimed. “She sobbed the entire time, she was terrified,” she laughed.

  “It took her a few years to get over that,” Verny laughed in agreement. Cookie busied herself wiping down all the tables inside while Verny washed the dirty dishes left behind the counter. Josie was prepping more ingredients for the day.

  “I’m not convinced she ever got over it,” Josie added.

  “Oh she did, she just only liked it when Al was Santa,” Verny said. “She hated when anyone else dressed up. Even mall Santa’s, she couldn’t stand them.”

  “I never really like them much myself,” Josie shuddered dramatically. “Ever since I saw A Christmas Story with that creepy Santa who kicked the kid down the slide, I couldn’t see a mall Santa the same way ever again.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Cookie agreed. “I wasn’t too fond of them from the time I found out that Santa wasn’t real, I didn’t get the point of them. Seemed creepy to me.”

  “You’re also scared of people in costumes,” Verny teased her.

  “What?” Josie asked, unsure what that meant.

  “Like mascots, the people at Disney or Chucky Cheese, she’s terrified of them,” Verny laughed at Cookie, sticking her tongue out.

  “Really?” Josie laughed along with them.

  “I find it creepy,” Cookie tried to justify herself. “They are just random people, probably teenagers, dressed up in weird costumes that smell bad. I bet they don’t even do background check on them and then they spend all day long with kids!”

  “I guess I never thought of it that way,” Josie grimaced. “That is creepy.”

  “Unsettling,” Verny said with a nod of agreement.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to look at Disneyland the same way,” Josie laughed. “What do you guys think about a Sheppard’s Pie sandwich?” She asked suddenly.

  “Hmmmm, I don’t know,” Verny replied thinking it over.

  “How would that work?” Cookie asked curiously. “With the mashed potatoes, wouldn’t the bread get soggy?” Cookie was a great baker, but that skill did not extend to cooking. Josie was the one with that skill, she could take any ingredients you could throw at her and make something incredible with it. Verny had been trying to convince her to add soups to the menu for ages. Josie soups were even better than her sandwiches and that was saying something.

  “I would toast it,” Josie replied as if it was obvious. “A bit of toasted rye, then a smear of the mash like it’s the mayo, on top of that sliced cooked carrots and mashed peas,” She paused for a minute thinking over what her next move would be. “Then I’d put the meat on – grade A ground beef sautéed with shallots and extra virgin olive oil, in a little bit of beef broth. I’d finish it with some more mashed potato, that would be mixed with a dash of Worchester sauce, a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add the other slice of bread and bam, a Shepard’s Pie sandwich,” Josie finished with a smile.

  “That does sound good,” Verny said nodding. Her stomach growled as if on cue, making them all giggle.

  “I’ll get started on it, maybe it can be next week’s special,” Josie suggested. “I’ll trial it a few times first.” On slower days, which were most often during the week, Josie liked to try out new recipes.

  “That sounds good to me,” Cookie agreed. “Better th
an this week’s anyway,” she said scrunching up her nose.

  “Thanks,” Josie rolled her eyes. She gathered ingredients for the new sandwich, starting with the ground beef. The door chimed as Lightening blustered into The Lucky Dill Deli. “How are you doing today, Lightening?” She asked when she saw him come inside.

  “Good as I’ll ever be,” he grumbled sitting down. “What is that?” He asked sniffing the air, Josie had already started cooking. “Whatever it is, I’ll have it.”

  “It’s not tested yet, it’s a new recipe,” Josie warned.

  “I’m not worried,” Lightening said with a smile. He hooked his cane on the back of his chair before sitting down.

  “It’s on you if you don’t like it,” Josie replied.

  “I’ve never not liked something you cooked,” he assured her.

  “If you say so,” Cookie replied skeptically. Her tastes weren’t exactly adventurous and many times she wasn’t a fan of Josie’s more interesting creations.

  “I do say so. In other news, the town is cursed,” he offered without additional information.

  Chapter Six

  “Cursed?” Josie asked skeptically. She was curious though...she always felt that old New England towns had been around for so long they had to have some crazy histories. That was good enough reason for Lightening to call the town crazy.

  “Cursed as ever,” Lightening replied.

  “What are you talking about this time, you crazy old man?” Verny asked shaking her head. She had finished cleaning the dishes and had moved onto gathering silverware sets together. With the restaurant being closed yesterday there wasn’t really that much for any of them to do.

  “That’s what really killed Al,” He nodded. “The curse is what did it.”

  “People kill people, not curses,” Verny replied. Josie tried to concentrate on her cooking and make it as good as possible. She wasn’t used to having people try her recipes on the first go, at least people aside from herself, Cookie or Verny.

  “Is this about those men from the olden days?” Cookie asked seeming disinterested. It was unlike her, usually a curse or a scary story was right up her ally.

  “It was right after the Civil War; the town was still rebuilding itself after a few skirmishes took place here. They weren’t big enough to be called battles, but they did their fair share of damage. It was a small town back then, small even for 1800's standards. While they were rebuilding, two brothers took advantage of that.

  “The Carls Brothers, notorious from that era, they brought the wild west to the north. They weren’t good men. They stole, they murdered when they couldn’t steal, and the brothers decided that they had it good in our town. There wasn’t any law in town, so no one challenged them. The Carls Brothers overstayed their welcome though and eventually the town fought back. They captured and strung up the men, hanging them for their crimes,” Lightening loved when he got the chance to tell a story without being interrupted.

  “And the Carls Brothers are the curse?” Josie asked. She found the actual history of it fascinating but the idea of the town being cursed was ridiculous to her.

  “Yes and no,” Lightening replied. “Their spirits still roam the town, and they are angry. They blame everyone in the town for their deaths. They make no distinction between the people who lived in the past and us living here today.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Josie replied.

  “No, it is not,” Lightening replied, offended. “I’m serious here. Strange tragedies have plagued our town ever since then.”

  “It sounds like that might be nothing but hogwash,” Verny said with a shrug.

  “I’d like to hear your theory then,” he said crossing his arms.

  “Your theory is that Al was killed by a ghost?” Cookie asked, she almost looked concerned about the man. Maybe he was getting too old, going a little senile, but Lightening had always believed in the impossible.

  “No, I don’t think that he was killed by a ghost,” Lightening scoffed, offended. “The town’s cursed, and because of that bad things happen to good people. Even with Dotty’s mean streak, or if Margie and Al were having an affair, it was the curse that killed him. The curse is the real motive, it’s what push people far enough to commit such an atrocity.”

  “You were all about the Dotty killed him train of thought yesterday, what happened to that?” Cookie asked. She looked a little relieved that he didn’t believe in ghosts, but she clearly still thought he had a screw or two loose.

  “I never said Dotty didn’t do it,” he said with a shrug, as if it was obvious. “Plus, you all convinced me that she couldn’t have done it, at least not alone.”

  “How did we do that?” Josie asked. She wondered what they had said, he seemed convinced beforehand.

  “Dotty physically could not have done it,” He said logically. “She would have had to hire someone to do it for her. I can’t think of anything that would make Dotty commit premeditated murder, unless the curse took hold of her.”

  “Or she didn’t do it,” Josie said, obviously. “It seems like a lot of trouble for her to go through, which you’ve already said she wouldn’t have planned to kill him.”

  “I’m sure she wouldn’t have planned it. Dotty had a mean streak, but she would only have killed him in the heat of the moment, but she doesn’t have the strength for that,” Lightening said, sounding awfully sure of himself. He always sounded sure of himself.

  “So if she is guilty, she’s not really because of the curse?” Verny asked slowly, as if she was talking to someone who had just hit their head extremely hard.

  “Exactly,” Lightening nodded. “That smells delicious, is it almost done?” He asked Josie, who was in the middle of making a single serving of mashed potatoes for the sandwich.

  “It’ll be done soon,” Josie said smiling.

  “What is it anyway?” He asked, finally curious about what he should expect for his lunch.

  “It’s a Sheppard’s Pie sandwich,” She said, excited about the prospect of the first one being made. All she had to do once she finished the potatoes was toast the bread.

  “You’re crazier than I thought,” Verny scoffed at the man. “A curse did not kill or bring Dotty to plan the murder of Al. That’s insane.”

  “Maybe it is, but you tell me why else anyone would kill Al,” Lightening shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” Cookie sighed. Talking about it was bringing them down again...the air itself seemed to weigh heavier on them.

  “You know one of the other Santa’s up and disappeared. The entire village is shut down and not only because of the crime scene. There’s only one Santa, so they're scrambling to find two more, so they can reopen,” Lightening said, offering a change of subject.

  “I didn’t even think they could reopen,” Josie said sounding astonished. “I would have thought they would stay closed.”

  “They can’t stay closed,” Verny said matter-of-factly. “The town can’t afford it. We’d lose half our income. We'll already take a pretty big hit even if we do reopen. Al’s death can’t be good for business.” Cookie gave her a look. “I hate to say it, but it’s true and I know how callous it sounds.”

  “You’re right, it does sound callous,” Cookie said glaring at her friend.

  “It’s true,” Josie agreed. “Unfortunately, the town can barely survive with only the summer tourism. I mean, we closed up yesterday and we’re already hurting.” She huffed with the stress of it all. Everything worked as a ripple effect, and she didn’t like the idea of having a slow winter. The unfortunate truth was that The Lucky Dill Deli might not survive it.

  “You too?” Cookie asked giving Josie a look as well.

  “I mean, I didn’t think about it until she brought it up, but she's right.” Verny made a satisfied noise and gave Cookie a smile.

  “It won’t open up again until they get at least one more Santa. I don’t blame people for not wanting to be Santa, not after what happened. I don’t blame that one Santa
for leaving either,” Lightening said.

  “Why don’t you be the new Santa?” Verny suggested.

  “I have no interest in being Santa,” Lightening responded. He was suddenly defensive and crossed his arms at the suggestions.

  “Why not?” Josie asked laughing at the overzealous response.

  “You’ll just laugh at me,” He said indignantly. Josie smiled softly, figuring out the reason why before he even had to say it. She brought his finished sandwich to him and placed it on the table. She sat down with him as it was still too early for them to have other customers. Not many people were interested in lunch at ten in the morning.

  “We won’t,” Cookie promised.

  “I swear it,” Verny agreed crossing her heart.

  “Well, I thought maybe the Santa job is cursed now too. I don’t want to die, you know?” He said, seeming genuinely scared by the prospect. True to their words, Cookie and Verny refrained from laughing at the man, but they did exchange a look.

  “I’m not sure that’s all,” Josie said sweetly. She leaned over and patted his hand.

  “No, that’s not all,” He admitted. “That was Al’s gig,” he shrugged. Josie felt her stomach flip as she noticed the man hold back tears. “I don’t want to take it from him.”

  “It might honor him,” Cookie said, her voice breaking as well. It was easy to forget that Lightening and Al were good friends and had known each other since they were children. “He would probably love that.”

  “You think?” Lightening asked, sounding excited by the prospect.

  “I think that he would love for you to be Santa,” Josie agreed. Verny nodded her agreement. Lightening looked between the women, grateful to them. “What do you think about the sandwich?” Josie asked, changing the subject. The last thing she or her business needed was for the dining room to be full of crying people.

  “It’s truly wonderful,” Lightening said with a smile. “Try a bit,” he offered. He took a knife and cut the sandwich into four triangles before they could protest. Cookie and Verny were curious about it. Josie had tasted each ingredient on its own but hadn’t gotten the opportunity to try them all together. That definitely made all the difference.