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Emma watched the woman in the red party dress; with her long hair flying up behind her, she picked up her pace, moving across the lawn toward the kitchen parking area.
"Dang, she can really move in those heels," Emma muttered to herself as she tried to keep up. Then, realizing she was losing ground, she kicked off her own heels and started to sprint, thankful she wasn't wearing a tight dress.
"Marianne! Wait!"
Emma's voice broke through the fading sounds of the party and made the woman ahead of her pause for just a moment. Marianne looked over her shoulder, saw she was being chased, and tried to pick up speed. Her dress was a problem. Reaching down, she started inching up her dress as she moved, trying to give herself more leverage. Her pause was just what Emma needed to catch up.
But before Emma could reach her target, the kitchen door opened, and a small dark patch of color raced away from the house toward Emma.
"Dixie, no stop!"
Hearing Emma's voice made the dog pause, but not for long. She gave a shrill bark and seemed to think it was a game. Being the smart dog that she was, Dixie realized there was a target that was being chased and she changed her direction ever so slightly and headed toward Marianne. It was amazing how fast her legs could run, and she reached Marianne before Emma. Without pause, the puppy grabbed hold of the woman's dress, tugging as hard as she could. But her slight body made little difference to the woman's flight.
"Get away from me, you little mutt."
Marianne reached down with one hand and tried to tug her dress out of the dog's clasp. As she did, the moonlight glinted off something in her hand. The missing ornament.
"You stole the ornaments? Why?"
Emma's questions cut through the cool night air, and Marianne stopped her struggles with Dixie and turned to face Emma.
"Don't come any closer. I'll smash this to smithereens if you do. " To prove her point, she held the Tiffany ornament in the air. As she did, she looked around and saw it was only her and Emma in the area.
"Where are your friends now, Emma?" Marianne sneered as she realized it was only Emma preventing her escape.
"Not far behind me. There is no way you can get away with this, Marianne. You may as well answer my questions."
The other woman stared at Emma and then burst out laughing.
"Oh, but I've already gotten away with it. Nancy's in jail for some of my crimes, Kevin's out of the way from snooping into what I was doing, and I've set everything up so that Joe will be accused of Cindy's murder. Nothing like a love triangle to get things going, is there?"
Emma was puzzled. "What love triangle?" she asked.
"You really haven't figured it out, have you? I used Joe. Joe used Cindy. Cindy used Nancy. All of us pretending to be in love with each other to get what we wanted. And to throw everyone off track, I made sure that Midge received a few threatening, anonymous notes. And it all boiled down to those twenty-four Christmas ornaments." She gave a small chuckle. "Twenty-five if you count the one in my hand."
"But why? You had a great position at the Andersons. Why would you jeopardize it?"
"Jeopardize it? I only took it so I could get to the diamond ornaments. There's been so much talk not only here in your stinky little town, but within the jewelry community. And that's where I've always worked, within the jewelry community. Always on the outside watching other people buy beautiful baubles, while I could only afford trinkets. I decided that was going to change. When I found out the Andersons were looking for an assistant, it was the perfect opportunity. Midge's Christmas parties are legendary, and she always puts the ornaments on the tree on Christmas Eve. I would just steal them before Christmas, and nobody would know the difference. Unfortunately, I had to use the help of others, and they got a little greedy. Cindy and Joe stealing cash from Midge didn't help."
"Why did you kill Cindy?"
"I will admit that one was a bit of an accident. She caught me when I was taking the ornaments and put up a stink. She thought, and rightly so, that I was just going to make off and not split the proceeds of the highest bidder with her and Joe. It was an impulse to hit her over the head. But it worked out well for me. At that point, I only had to plant some evidence, and I was in the clear. You never even suspected me, did you?"
Before Emma could answer, there was a shout from the house, and both women turned toward the kitchen door to see Sean and Travis leaving the house. Marianne's time was up, and she knew it.
With a sneer at Emma, Marianne turned to run. But she'd forgotten about Dixie, who was still hanging on tangled up in her dress. So tangled up that Marianne was in danger of falling. Emma quickly saw what was happening and, not giving a care about her safety or the possibility of breaking the ornament, she rushed forward to tackle the other woman. Her aim was perfect, and both women fell to the ground in a heap of holiday finery, the red and green dresses blending as the two women struggled with each other.
Dixie had enough. This was no longer a game. Somebody was trying to hurt her owner. The little imp did what was natural, and she bit the first piece of uncovered flesh she found. Unfortunately for Marianne, because of the angle at which they had fallen, that piece of flesh was her ear, and she cried out, furious and in pain.
Startled by her scream, Dixie let go and jumped away from the two women just as Travis and Sean arrived. Oswald wasn't very far behind them, huffing and puffing from the exertion of running across the lawn. Sean had pulled his gun out and was aiming at Marianne, ordering her to stand still. But she wasn't listening. She was trying to stanch the blood flowing from her ear while Emma tried to untangle herself from Marianne.
"Wait, nobody move," Oswald shouted and darted forward faster than Emma thought he could. Reaching down into the folds of the two gowns that were mixed, he gingerly lifted a sparkling ornament.
Travis reached down and with one hand grabbed Emma's hand, pulling her to her feet, shaking his head as he did. With the other hand, he scooped Dixie up, tucking her safely in the crook of his arm.
"All of this over a few Christmas ornaments," he muttered.
His comment made Marianne shriek with rage, and Emma gave a soft chuckle. She looked at the ornament in Oswald's gentle grasp and secretly agreed with Travis. But it was a beautiful ornament, and she understood the temptation it had been for someone like Marianne.
By now Sean had reinforcements at his side, and they were hauling Marianne to her feet, placing cuffs on her hands. The commotion had also caught the attention of the partygoers inside, and one by one, they came out to see what was going on. Marianne turned around for one last look before she was placed in the waiting police car.
"You! What are you doing out of prison? Is this the reason my plan failed?"
Marianne had caught sight of Nancy and then, behind her, in handcuffs, Joe. In her fury, she tried to lunge toward those she accused, but the officers at her side would have none of it and forcibly pushed her into the car, closing the door behind her.
It didn't take long for Nancy and the others to reach Emma. The other passenger door of the police car was open, and they pushed Joe in next to Marianne. Nancy took that opportunity to step forward.
"Your plan failed all right. But it was not because of me. It was because of Emma and her friends. And because of your own greed. If you had just ignored this last ornament, you could've gotten off scot-free, and I'd still be in jail. Merry Christmas, Marianne." The others around clapped, and Nancy blushed. Then she started clapping and pointed at Emma, Travis, Jake, and Kim.
"These are the heroes. If it wasn't for them, I'd still be in jail and Kevin and Cindy's killer would have escaped." Midge and Charlotte joined the group, standing on either side of Emma and Travis, and hugged them. Oswald walked up and bowed to Emma and Midge and then held out the ornament for them both to see.
"Given the events of tonight, I think this ornament is perfect. Please accept it as my Christmas gift to your family," he said presenting it to Midge.
Emma stared at the ornament in Midge's hand, taking in the intricate details of a couple dancing. The woman's gown was patterned with diamonds. She thought back to her dance with Travis and agreed wholeheartedly with Oswald. The ornament was perfect.