Merry Buried Christmas Read online

  Merry Buried Christmas

  A Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery

  Lyndsey Cole

  Contents

  Copyright

  Connect with me:

  Book Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  A Note from Lyndsey

  About the Author

  Also by Lyndsey Cole

  Copyright © 2017 Lyndsey Cole

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be sold or hired, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination and/or have been used fictitiously in such a fashion it is not meant to serve the reader as actual fact and should not be considered as actual fact. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  Book Description

  Murder always ruins the best baked plans . . .

  Annie Hunter has a lot on her plate just before Christmas, but it’s not all sugar and spice and everything nice! With an open house at her aunt’s new Blackbird Bed and Breakfast, all Annie hopes for is a drama-free day.

  Of course, events never go as planned.

  On top of preparing a whirlwind of food, holiday decorating, and keeping to a tight schedule, a surprise visitor is also on the menu. When that visitor turns up dead, Annie must search for the killer to keep everything from crumbling like a stale Christmas cookie.

  Annie’s plan to flush out the murderer includes one tasty bribe, a pinch of needling, and a heaping tablespoon of accusation. When she is threatened, it’s time to put it all on the back burner.

  But the killer has other ideas.

  While the snowflakes fly, Annie finds herself caught between a cookie and a crazy person. This time, it looks like she bit off more than she can chew.

  1

  “When is the sleigh ride supposed to start?” Annie asked her Aunt Leona. She dropped her big box of Christmas tree ornaments next to Leona’s spruce tree waiting to be adorned in the front room of Leona’s and Danny’s refurbished Blackbird Bed and Breakfast.

  “I’m glad you arrived early enough to help me with these last-minute decorations. The sleigh ride starts at three, or there about. It all depends on when Randy Berry decides to show up. He’s not always on time.” Leona pulled the lid off Annie’s plastic bin. She took one end of a string of tiny lights and climbed on her stool.

  “Wait a minute. I didn’t check if they work.” Annie grabbed the end with the plug and stuck it in the nearest outlet. The whole string lit up beautifully. “Start at the bottom and you can attach another string when you need to.”

  Surprisingly, Leona followed Annie’s instructions. As she tucked the lights into the branches, a subtle evergreen smell filled the room. “Can you keep a secret?” Leona turned around to look at Annie.

  “Depends what it is and for how long I have to keep it.” She was good with secrets, but the look in Leona’s eyes gave her pause.

  “Not for long.” Leona dropped the string of lights. Her face glowed with excitement. “I found Danny’s mother and invited her to come to the open house.”

  Annie opened her mouth, shut it, pursed her lips, and rubbed her neck. “That’s the worst idea I ever heard.” The words burst out, uninvited. “What were you thinking?”

  Leona stared at Annie, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. She blinked several times but didn’t take her eyes off of Annie.

  Annie reached out to comfort her aunt. In a gentle voice, she said, “I’m sorry. You caught me by surprise. How do you know Danny even wants his mother to come? She abandoned him, after all. This might not be the type of thing to surprise your fiancé with just before Christmas.”

  “What surprise?” Danny asked from behind the two women. His voice was soft but it didn’t hide the worry hidden below the words. They both twisted around to face him. Annie felt her cheeks get warm but Danny’s eyes were on Leona. “What did you do, Leona?”

  Leona, speechless for probably the first time in her life, looked to Annie, her eyes pleading for help.

  “Maybe we should go in the kitchen and have some tea,” Annie suggested, trying to make her voice sound cheerful. “How does that sound?” She held her breath, hoping Danny or Leona would respond and not just stand staring at each other like frozen statues.

  Danny put his hand on Leona’s shoulder and they walked together, in front of Annie, through a second door and down a hall to the big new kitchen.

  Leona finally found her voice as she looked at Danny. “I thought it would be a good surprise. You know, you haven’t seen your mom for, I don’t even know how long, Danny. Wouldn’t it be nice to include her for this special time in our lives?”

  Danny sighed. He turned the burner to high under the tea kettle. Annie desperately wanted to be anywhere but in Leona’s sparkling new, state-of-the-art kitchen, but she didn’t move.

  “There’s a reason I haven’t seen my mother for the past twenty-seven years, Leona. The day I turned eighteen I joined the army, and when I got out and came back home . . . she was gone. She moved away, no forwarding address, nothing.”

  “But I found her,” Leona said, as if that erased all the pain from the past.

  For some reason, Leona thought she could fix this problem from Danny’s life but it wasn’t the sort of fixing you should surprise anyone with, Annie realized. Danny kept his eyes on Leona but his hands tightened around his red baseball cap, twisting it into a spiral.

  He put his cap on the counter and turned away from Leona. He poured hot water into three mugs. Somehow he managed to get his body to perform that routine task. Annie moved the wicker tray, with an assortment of teas, to the table. Moving seemed like the best thing to do at the moment.

  When Danny finally sat at the table next to Leona, his face had the weary look of someone much older. “So, you found her. I don’t want to see her . . . I hope you haven’t invited her to town.”

  As soon as Annie looked at Leona’s wide eyes, she knew Danny could see what Leona’s face said loud and clear—Heather Davis had been invited. The question was, would she come? If she didn’t, that might hurt even more.

  Danny stood, leaving his steaming cup of tea untouched. “I’m going out.” He strode from the kitchen and the sound of the front door slamming echoed back to the
kitchen.

  Annie faced her aunt. “What now?”

  “I have to find her before Danny bumps into her. I have to tell her to leave.”

  “Do you know where she is?”

  “Well, it all started when I contacted Randy Berry to see if he could do this sleigh ride for us today.”

  “Okay.” Annie sipped her tea. She had a feeling this story was not going to be a simple answer to her question. She settled in for what looked to be the long way around to what she had thought would be a simple yes or no.

  “Randy asked me if Heather was coming to the Blackbird Bed and Breakfast open house. He said he hadn’t seen her in a long time, and since, you know, this is a big event in our life, he thought maybe Danny invited her.”

  “Randy didn’t know Heather and Danny haven’t spoken for almost three decades?”

  “I guess not. Anyway, it sounded like a good idea to me and I asked him to give me her contact information so I could surprise Danny.” Leona leaned across the table and reached out for Annie’s arm. “Believe me, Annie, I thought this would be something Danny would like.”

  “I believe you, Leona.” Of course Leona wouldn’t intentionally do anything to hurt the man she loved. In this case, she tried too hard to be helpful without thinking about the consequences—a trait that had defined Leona’s life.

  “But?”

  “But . . . well . . . at best, it would be a shock after all these years.” Annie didn’t even want to tell Leona what the worst might be. “Whether seeing his mother will be a good shock or a bad one is something you can’t predict.”

  Leona stood. “I never even considered that he wouldn’t want her here. Now, I need to fix this.”

  “How?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to talk to Randy and see if he can help me track Heather down. He said he was going to offer that she stay with him.”

  “Didn’t he think it was strange that you wouldn’t put her up here in the bed and breakfast? It’s not like you don’t have the space.”

  “No. I said it was a surprise, so if she stayed with Randy it would be easy to have her arrive with him. Everything seemed to fall into place so perfectly. Except—”

  “Except the surprise backfired.”

  Leona already had her warm jacket on. “I’ll make a quick trip to Randy’s farm. I think it’s better if I talk to Heather in person; try to explain the, um, situation.” She glanced at the kitchen clock. “It’s ten. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be back before lunch, can finish decorating the tree, and get all the food out for a nice smooth open house.”

  Annie gulped the rest of her tea. “I need to check how Greta is handling everything at the Black Cat Café. She really turned out to be a huge success, Leona. She’s organized, efficient, and has even started experimenting with some new recipes. You made a good decision when you suggested she take over your work at the café.”

  Leona put her hands on her hips. “Don’t make me completely obsolete over there. I’m still the owner, don’t forget.”

  “Of course.” Annie laughed. “No one forgets that for a second, especially with the sign you have hanging over the stove: Leona’s Kitchen! I’ll be back as soon as I can leave the café.”

  The two women left the Blackbird Bed and Breakfast, Leona driving to Randy Berry’s farm and Annie heading into town to the Black Cat Café.

  When Annie was about to turn into the parking lot at the Cove’s Corner building housing the Black Cat Café, a car came barreling toward her. She swerved at the last minute, just barely avoiding a collision. Danny, knuckles tight on his steering wheel and his jaw clenched, almost sideswiped her car. He gunned his truck without even a glance in her direction. Dread filled Annie’s heart with a worry that there could only be one reason for his distraction—Heather.

  Annie prayed that Leona found Heather and convinced her to leave town before Danny’s path crossed with his estranged mother.

  2

  Greta Grayley’s voice met Annie’s ears as soon as she entered the Black Cat Café. “Yes, Leona is the owner of the café, but she isn’t here,” Greta tried to patiently explain to Brian Black, the owner of the Kozy Koffee Stop just a block away from the Black Cat Café.

  Annie stepped up to Brian. “Can I help you?”

  Greta rolled her eyes as if to say, good luck with this, and she moved to the cash register to help a customer.

  “Annie? I’ve never in my life had a problem like this and I really want to talk to Leona about it.” Brian stood with his hands on his hips and his chin jutting toward Annie.

  She guided him to the hallway outside the café. “I’m sure Leona will help you as soon as possible but she’s too busy getting ready for her open house this afternoon.” Annie smiled, hoping Brian would calm down.

  He let out a huff of frustration. “Well, maybe you can give her a message for me then.”

  “Certainly.” The smile stayed plastered on Annie’s face.

  Brian leaned close to Annie. “That red-haired woman stole tips right off the tables as she left my café and,” his voice rose to a fevered pitch, “she didn’t even pay her own bill.” He sputtered and his face was as red as Santa’s suit by the time he was done.

  “What woman, Brian? What does this have to do with Leona?”

  “That woman who said she was in town because of Leona’s invitation. That woman who is Danny Davis’s mother—Heather. That’s what woman I’m talking about.” Brian waggled his finger in Annie’s face. “Someone has to pay her bill and reimburse the waitress for those tips.”

  “I’m sorry about all that, but why is this Leona’s responsibility?” As much as Annie worried about the consequences of Leona’s invitation, this problem was not hers.

  “Why? Because . . . because . . . just tell Leona someone better pay that bill. And, one more thing, if that woman ever dares show her face at the Kozy Koffee Stop again, I’ll take care of her myself.” Brian turned on his heel and stomped out the door.

  Oh boy, Annie said to herself. Leona opened up a can of worms with that invitation to Danny’s mother. She sent Leona a message. Any luck finding Heather? Annie slipped the phone back in her pocket and walked back into the café.

  Greta waved her over to the counter. “Listen, Annie, I hate to tell you this, but several people have called trying to find Leona. And they are all mad. It all seems to be connected to Danny’s mother. What am I supposed to tell them?”

  “More people? Who?”

  Greta ticked names off on her fingers. “Alysha La Moze from Sweet Bites, Tess Harrington from Curl Up and Dye, and just now, Olive Morgan from Gently Used Boutique. At least they haven’t come over here in person like Brian just did.”

  Annie couldn’t wait for Leona to get back to her. “How is everything going here?” she asked Greta.

  “Great, except for the phone calls. Your mother and I are keeping up just fine.”

  “I’m going to see if I can divert some of the trouble headed Leona’s way as long as you don’t need me here.”

  Greta flicked her hands, shooing Annie out of the café. “Oh, wait. Take some of my freshly made molasses crinkles with crushed candy cane on top.” She whispered in Annie’s ear, “In case you need a bribe.”

  “Good idea. As a matter of fact, that is the best idea I’ve heard all day and a strategy I’ve used many times.” Annie placed half a dozen cookies in several separate red bags with the Black Cat Café logo. She carefully tucked them into her shoulder bag. “Wish me luck,” she said to Greta as she left the cheery holiday atmosphere of the café for the blustery December weather and the mess left behind in Heather Davis’s path.

  I’ll need more than luck, Annie said to herself. At this point, if luck hadn’t run out, and no one else made a complaint about Heather Davis, she’d consider the day a success.

  Annie’s first stop was at the Gently Used Boutique. The bell tinkled when she pulled the door open. The space was divided into two areas—one for adults and one for ki
ds. Olive was busy hanging items on a rack for women’s dresses. She smiled at Annie, an automatic response toward a customer, but it was short lived.

  “Hello, Olive,” Annie called out with her friendliest voice.

  “Annie. I wasn’t expecting you to stop in. Are you here to clean up the mess left by Leona’s visitor?”

  “I’m—”

  “Because someone has to pay for the clothes she stole,” Olive blurted out before Annie even had a second to ask what the problem was.

  “That’s harsh, Olive. Did she possibly just forget to pay?”

  “Ha! Forget to pay? When someone goes into the dressing room with an armload of clothes and then leaves the store without buying anything, what would you expect to find hanging in the dressing room?”

  “Um . . . clothes?”

  “Exactly. But there was nothing. Not even a hangar. I thought she looked heavier when she left. That crazy woman layered things under her winter coat and sashayed out of here without a care in the world. She even had the nerve to say Merry Christmas and tell me to have a nice day.”

  Annie felt her mouth drop to her chest. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I wish I was. Those clothes are here on consignment. I still have to pay the person who owns them, so instead of making a little on a sale, I’m losing money. Did you hear me, Annie? Losing money. I don’t mark up enough to take a loss like that.”