Peppermint Fudge Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 13 by Kathleen Suzette (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📗

He turned back to me and nodded. “There was a lot of blood on the carousel. It looks like she was killed there.”

“Why were the lights left on the carousel?” I asked.

“Sam Connor said the city had asked him to leave them on at night during the Christmas season.”

“Really? Then why didn’t they leave the rest of the lights on in the plaza? I would think if they were going to have him leave the lights on the carousel, then they would leave all of them on. I mean, what was the purpose of that?”

He grinned. “I asked Sam that question, and he said he didn’t know. So I went down to City Hall and asked about it, and they said the lights should have been left on all over the plaza, but one of the workers shut them off after the bazaar closed that night.”

“Okay, that makes sense. Sort of. I can see that happening on accident,” I said, thinking it over. “The murder kind of put a damper on the bazaar, didn’t it?”

He nodded. “It did. But the city hired a company to clean up the place pretty quickly, and the bazaar has gone on as planned.”

“Well just between you and me, I don’t want to sit on that bench on the carousel. Like, ever.”

He chuckled. “You and your squeamishness. We’ll just ride the horses when we ride the carousel. How does that sound?”

“That sounds wonderful,” I said. “I feel really badly for Suzanne’s family. What’s left of it, anyway. Brittany said there was just her and her parents and a grandfather left.”

“I heard they had a lot of death in the family in the last few years,” he said.

We looked up when Patty George approached our table. Patty was Mrs. Claus at the plaza.

“Hello Ethan, Mia,” she said, nodding. “I heard about Suzanne Wilson. What a terrible shame.”

“It really is,” Ethan said. “But we’ll find the killer.”

She nodded. “I have no doubt about that. Say, did you know that Suzanne was dating Steven Brown?”

I eyed her. “I didn’t know that Suzanne was dating anyone.” Her cousin had said she wasn’t seeing anyone, so my ears pricked up at this.

She turned to me. “I think they were only dating for about a month or so. I’m not really sure, but I saw them out a couple of different times. He’s probably someone that needs to be talked to. Not that I care.”

Ethan glanced at me. “When was the last time you saw Suzanne?” Ethan asked her.

She shrugged. “I wasn’t feeling well that night, so I left around eight o’clock. She was handing out candy canes.”

Ethan picked up his glass of tea. “I didn’t know she was dating Steven. I appreciate you letting me know.”

 She nodded. “Maybe Suzanne smiled at the wrong person that night and Steven just lost it.”

That was something to think about. I’d heard Steven Brown had a temper, and he was jealous. He might have thought Suzanne was interested in someone else. And maybe he did lose his temper and killed her.

“That’s something to keep in mind,” Ethan said. “If you think of anything else, don’t hesitate to give me a call.”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“Patty, how is Lawrence to work with?” I asked.

She shrugged. “He’s fine. Why?”

Patty didn’t like me. “I just wondered.”

She smirked and turned to Ethan. “Goodbye, Ethan.” She walked away.

“Bye Patty,” I said, but she didn’t answer me. I turned to Ethan when she was out of earshot. “What do you think?”

“I know one of the other officers had an issue with Steven a few months ago. He was brought in on a drunk and disorderly. He may have gotten jealous. It’s a possibility.”

I sat back in my seat and thought this over as the waitress brought our food. The steaks smelled wonderful and my stomach growled.

“Let’s dig in,” I said when the waitress left.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” he said, picking up his knife and fork.

If Steven Brown had killed Suzanne, it might be an easy open and shut case. And as sorry as I was that Suzanne had died, I would be glad if Ethan could make an arrest right away and we could enjoy the rest of the Christmas season.

Chapter Seven

“Amanda, I’ve got to have a candy cane mocha.” I was standing at her front counter, looking over the menu board, but I already knew what I wanted. How could I not order a Christmas flavored drink?

“It’s almost like I can read your mind because I just knew you were going to ask for that,” she said and chuckled. “Do you want anything to go with it?”

“I was looking at the candy cane biscotti you’ve got in your display case, and I’m tempted.” There was crushed candy cane poking out of each biscotti and white chocolate drizzled across them. Amanda made all the baked goods for the coffee shop, and they were always wonderful. I knew the biscotti would be tasty, so how could I pass that up?

“One biscotti coming up,” she said.

“Maybe you better give me two. Just in case. I don’t want to get hungry later,” I said, grinning at her.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. Biscotti are small and you definitely need two.” She began making my coffee and when the couple that was sitting at a table in the corner got up and left the shop, she turned to me. “What’s going on with Suzanne Wilson’s murder investigation?”

I shrugged. “Ethan is working on the case. I don’t know a lot more than that just yet. She was stabbed of course, but I’m sure you already knew that.”

She nodded. “That’s what I heard. It’s just a terrible shame. Especially since it happened at Christmas. But if I know