Chapter 1
“Ready, kiddo?” Joe Wiggins asked as he entered Bella’s Dream sporting a burgundy sweater embroidered with a giant hunter green Christmas tree.
Anna couldn’t suppress her smile. “Love your sweater, Joe. Way to get into the holiday spirit.”
“This sweater does the trick every year. Besides, I wanted to meet this cousin of yours in style. You’ve talked so much about Connie that I feel like I know her already.”
Anna had been counting down the minutes until closing time, when she would finally see her cousin. Connie had arrived in Massachusetts a few days ago, after driving up from southwest Florida, so she wouldn’t need to rent a car during her two-and-a-half week stay. She had spent the last few days with her parents and sister, who lived in Wakefield, which was about forty-five minutes from Seagull Cove. Now it was Anna’s turn for a long-awaited visit with her cousin.
The strawberry ice cream cone clock on the wall next to the counter struck 7:30, which was Anna’s closing time in the winter. The other shops closed at 7:00, but Anna remained open for an additional half hour, in case weary shoppers wanted to stop in for an ice cream before heading home after an evening of holiday shopping.
Her employees had just left, and Anna had already fed Casper, the feral cat who found his way to the stoop outside her back door each night just before closing time. He always expected a snack. All that was left for Anna to do was flip the sign on her front door to say ‘closed,’ and grab a container of peppermint stick ice cream for later that evening.
“Most people prefer warm treats when they decorate their tree. Leave it to you to serve ice cream,” Joe said.
“It seemed fitting, since this is my first Christmas as an ice cream shop owner.” Anna couldn’t wait to introduce Joe and Connie, but she also couldn’t wait to have her cousin all to herself afterwards. At Connie’s request, Anna hesitantly agreed to save her tree decorating for the two of them to do together. She usually put up her Christmas tree the week after Thanksgiving so it would last until after the New Year, but she held off an extra week so she and Connie could decorate it together. However, as a compromise, she decorated the rest of her blue and white cottage inside and out, so the tree was all that remained.
A happy warmth spread across Anna’s chest as she thought of the perfect evening that lay ahead. First, Joe and Connie would meet over a cup of coffee at the Sand Dollar Grille. Then Anna and Connie would decorate the tree, have some peppermint stick ice cream by a roaring fire, and catch up on life. They had so much to catch up on, especially Anna’s investigation into her sister Bella’s apparently fake death.
Anna placed the ice cream container into a brown paper bag, slipped on a navy down winter coat, and the two set out toward the Sand Dollar Grille, just up the street, where Connie should just about be finishing dinner.
After locking the door, Anna peeked around the side of the building at Joe’s second-floor apartment. The white wooden staircase was tightly wrapped in colored lights, and an oversized Christmas tree stood proudly in front of the window. It must have taken up half of his living room. The shops on Main Street were all decorated with white lights, so Joe’s colored lights stood out. “I don’t know why I’m surprised that you go all out for Christmas,” she said. “You truly are a kid at heart.”
Joe simply chuckled.
They crossed Main Street and headed north toward the Sand Dollar Grille. Anna could feel the smile plastered on her face. She had been looking forward to this day ever since she learned in October that Connie would be coming for Christmas.
Joe glanced at Anna. “It’s good to see you so happy.”
The shops were closed, and Main Street was already empty, but the Christmas lights that decorated them were still on. The town requested that the Main Street business owners set their lights to turn off with a timer at midnight, even though most of the shops closed at 7:00.
The elegant black streetlights that flanked Main Street, reminiscent of the gas fixtures from days of old, further lit their path. The shop owners had shoveled the sidewalks in front of the stores after an early snowstorm, leaving icy white piles along the edge of the sidewalk.
The sound of Joe’s cell phone ringing broke the silence as they passed Jade’s Jewelry Shop. He glanced at the screen. “Let me get this real quick. It’s one of my buddies. He probably wants to confirm our plans for tomorrow night.”
Anna stepped into the jewelry store’s covered entryway to get away from the biting wind. She was surprised to see Casper standing in front of the old wooden door. Anna bent down and scratched his head. “Hello, little fellow. What are you doing here?”
Casper meowed, and a strange feeling crept over Anna. She stepped back onto the sidewalk and peered up and down Main Street, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so she returned to the shelter of the doorway.
When Joe finished his phone call, Anna rejoined him on the sidewalk.
“Shall we go?” Joe asked, pulling up the collar of his coat.
They hadn’t even resumed walking when that ominous feeling returned. Anna was about to tell Joe when she discovered the reason for her uneasiness.
A man in a black hoodie stepped out from an alley separating Jade’s Jewelry Shop and the sandwich shop next to it. The man pointed a gun at them from beneath his sweatshirt.
Joe’s left hand flew protectively in front of Anna, and he stepped ahead of her. “Well, that’s a fine how-do-you-do, young man.”
The man pointed to the paper bag Anna was carrying. “Give me that!” He barked in a deep, raspy voice. It sounded as if he were trying to disguise his voice.
Anna looked at Joe, confused, then back at the gunman. “You want my peppermint stick ice cream?”
The armed robber yanked the bag from Anna’s hand, opened it, then smashed it on the ground, turning the snow on the edge of the sidewalk pink.
“Well, that ticks me off,” Joe said. “You just wasted a container of perfectly good ice cream.”
“Where is it?” the man cried.
“Look,” Joe said, “we both know that you don’t have a gun under that sweatshirt. Why don’t you tell us what you’re looking for before you dig yourself into an even deeper hole?”
“You really don’t know?” he asked.
Anna and Joe exchanged a confused glance, then stared blankly at the man. Apparently, he believed them, because he turned and sprinted off into the darkness.
Joe made a quick movement and for a moment, Anna thought he was going to chase the man. She grabbed his arm and held on tightly. “Don’t go after him. It’s not worth it.”
Joe winked at Anna. “I’m not. I was just reaching for my phone so we can call Charlie.”
Charlie Doyle was Seagull Cove PD’s only detective.
Joe took his flip phone out from his coat pocket and placed the call.
Anna listened while Joe gave Charlie a quick recap of what had just happened.
“Yes. We’re still in front of Jade’s. We’re safe. Okay. We’ll stay here until you arrive. But hurry, Charlie. It’s freezing out here.”
“Let’s wait inside the covered entryway,” Anna suggested. “At least we won’t have the wind whipping through us.”
Casper was still standing in front of the door. He once again meowed, as if trying to communicate something. That same eerie feeling swept over Anna once again. Had Casper been trying to warn her about the robber, or was there something more?
As they waited for Charlie, Anna glanced at the Christmas tree in the display window of Jade’s Jewelry Shop. A slew of wrapped presents spilled out from beneath the tree, and it was decorated with white lights and jewelry-themed ornaments. Anna hoped she and Connie would still have time to decorate her own tree by the time they got home. “I should call Connie to let her know we’ll be a little late,” Anna said.
She started to call her cousin when something caught her eye from under the tree. Her heart began to pound. She slipped her phone back into her purse and walked around to the front of the window, pulling Joe along with her. “Joe, is that what I think it is?”
Joe looked at the two feet wearing wool socks and Birkenstock sandals sticking out from under the otherwise festive Christmas tree in the display window.
“It looks like a body to me,” Joe said. “Unless that’s someone’s idea of a practical joke.”
“It would be a pretty sick joke,” Anna said.
“I’d say,” came a familiar voice from behind them. Anna turned around and saw her cousin, Connie, peering over their shoulders and staring at the legs protruding from under the Christmas tree.
“Connie!” Anna squealed, throwing her arms around her cousin, and pulling her into a bear hug. Then she stepped back. “What are you doing here?”
“I was getting worried when the two of you didn’t show up, so I started walking down Main Street. I figured you must have got tied up at your shop, so I was going to meet you there. Then I saw you pull Joe out of the entryway and stare at the display window. My goodness, that looks like a dead body.”
Joe shook his head. “It figures. Another cousin who runs in the direction of danger, rather than away. You’re not even together for one minute, and look what happens.”
“You must be Joe Wiggins,” Connie said, giving him a big hug. “I feel like I already know you.”
“Same,” Joe said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Anna quickly explained to Connie what had happened on their way to the restaurant.
“My goodness, you were held up? Are you okay?” Connie asked.
“I don’t think he had a real gun,” Joe said. “But Detective Charlie Doyle is on his way.”
“It looks like our plans are going to get off to a late start,” Anna said.
Charlie pulled up in his black Honda rather than a police car, since he had been off duty.
“Sorry to pull you away from your family on a Friday night so close to Christmas,” Anna said.
She introduced Connie and Charlie.
“Nice to meet you, Connie. I’ve heard a lot about you from Anna. It’s no problem. Patty is putting the younger kids to bed. I’m just glad you’re okay. And I’m relieved that you’re not calling about a dead body,” he said with a chuckle. “When Anna McBride is at a crime scene, it usually means someone has been murdered.”
“In that case,” Anna said, “I have some really bad news. You might want to call for backup.”
Anna, Connie, and Joe all turned and faced the display window and Anna pointed to the legs, protruding from beneath the Christmas tree.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Charlie said.
