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“Let’s go!” Zoe urged Lauren and Annie out of the café. It was after five, and they’d finished cleaning the space.
“I don’t think this is a great idea,” Lauren warned, as they got into the car to drive the short distance. The sky was dark blue and the sun had set almost an hour ago.
“I think it’s a perfect idea.”
“We have to be back by seven,” Lauren reminded her. “Mitch is coming over.”
“And Chris.” She grinned. “It looks like we’ll be having dinner together.”
“That will be fun.” Lauren meant it.
“Brrt!” Yes!
“After dinner Chris and I can get out of your hair, and give you two lovebirds some alone time.” Zoe waggled her eyebrows like a demented head elf.
“You don’t have to do that,” Lauren protested, although it would be nice.
“We can talk about it later,” Zoe declared.
They arrived at Mrs. Wagner’s house, situated a few blocks away. It was a small Victorian, like a lot of the houses in Gold Leaf Valley.
Lauren helped Annie out of the car, and held on to her harness. A cold breeze ruffled her hair, and she shivered.
“Luckily I brought a flashlight.” Zoe waved it in the air, the bright yellow beam exposing Mrs. Wagner’s front garden. “Now all we have to do is check out her plants and see if there’s a new rose bush.”
“How are we going to know if it’s new?” Lauren stopped outside the gate. “We haven’t visited her before.”
Zoe paused as well.
“Huh. We could see if the tag looks recent,” she finally suggested.
“If it has a tag,” Lauren said.
“Brrt!”
Zoe led the way into the garden, the terracotta colored gate creaking a little as she pushed it open.
“I hope Mrs. Wagner doesn’t hear us,” Lauren said, thinking that just maybe this was not a good idea.
“She’s probably watching TV. She’ll never know we came.”
The front garden was divided into two by a concrete garden path. On each side of the lawn were a row of bushes.
“We’ll check this side first.” Zoe flashed the light on a green bush. “Nope, I don’t think that’s a rose.”
“Is that Jay and Kyle’s house?” Lauren gestured to the dwelling next door. It looked a little run down in the gloom, and of the same era as Mrs. Wagner’s. There was a large gap in the middle of the wooden fence dividing the properties – had Jay removed that section in order to plant hops, as Mrs. Wagner had informed them days ago?
“Brrt?” Annie sniffed the air.
“Can you smell smoke?” Zoe wrinkled her nose.
“Yes.”
“We’d better check it out.” Zoe charged next door, Lauren and Annie following.
They followed the scent of smoke to the backyard, walking along the driveway.
“Why did you have to be her favorite?” Kyle stood over a small bonfire in the twilight, sobbing. “It’s not fair. I was the good one.” A torn photo was half burned, flames licking the scrap that was left.
“I think we should go.” Lauren tapped Zoe’s arm. “We’re intruding.” She kept her voice low.
“Yeah,” Zoe agreed. She swiveled around. “Come on.”
“Who’s there?” Kyle demanded.
“Um ... it’s me and Lauren,” Zoe said in a bright voice. “And Annie. We’ve got the wrong house. Sorry.”
“Yes, we were looking for Mrs. Wagner’s house,” Lauren added, taking a few steps away from the bonfire.
“She’s next door.” Kyle came toward them. “She’ll probably tell you about how Jay destroyed her precious rose bush. And it’s all true.” Tear marks tracked down his cheeks. Lauren averted her gaze.
“Thanks. Sorry to disturb you.” Zoe backed away.
“Come on, Annie.” Lauren urged her down the driveway and toward Mrs. Wagner’s house.
“You’re dating the detective.” Kyle followed them. “He won’t tell me anything about the case.”
“He hasn’t told me anything either,” Lauren replied. At least not for the last few days.
“Yeah.” Zoe nodded. “Mitch is really by the book.”
“What about the witness?” he persisted. “There’s no way that old guy could have seen me.” He froze, his mouth parting, as if he realized what he’d just said.
Lauren, Annie, and Zoe froze as well. Then they recovered.
Zoe dug her phone out of her jacket pocket.
“I’m calling the police.”
“No! Don’t do that!” He lunged for her phone. Zoe took a step back.
“Why did you do it?” Lauren asked, glancing down at Annie, who looked poised for action.
“I didn’t do anything,” he blustered. “You misheard me.”
“Okay.” Zoe nodded, taking another step back. Lauren and Annie copied her. “See you around.”
“Yes.” Lauren noticed her cousin clutched her phone to her side. “See you.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you. But only if you promise not to call the cops.”
Lauren and Zoe looked at each other. Then Lauren looked down at Annie, who returned her gaze with wide green eyes, as if waiting for a signal from her.
“It was an accident,” he said desperately, when they didn’t respond. “I didn’t mean to kill my brother.”
“What happened?” Lauren asked, her heart beating so hard, she wondered if anyone else could hear it.
“I brought a knife from home to cut some of the rope that had been tangled up backstage. So when Jay and I went over to the theater that Monday to help clean up after the production, I was going to cut out the knot and coil up the rope.”
“I don’t think that happened,” Zoe muttered.
“No.” Kyle shook his head. “I got into an argument with Jay. See, he asked to borrow some money from me and I said no. He’s never been good with his finances and if I lent him some – again – it meant I would be short for the month. But he didn’t seem to care – as usual. And then he said, “Don’t worry bro, when I inherit I’ll pay you back.”
There was a pause.
“You’re not going to inherit?” Lauren guessed delicately.
“No.” Anger and distress flashed across his face. “I was – along with Jay – equally. And then Mom decided to change her will.”
“I’m sorry,” Lauren offered.
“Yeah,” Zoe added.
“I was always the good brother, you know? Always looking out for Mom – and Jay. And what did it get me?” His tone was bitter. “A big fat nothing, that’s what.”
“Oh.” Lauren took a tiny step back, Annie following. So did Zoe.
“Mom had a stroke which is why she ended up in assisted living. She just wasn’t the same when she recovered afterwards. You might have noticed she was frail when she came to see the Christmas play.”
“We did,” Lauren admitted.
“My brother’s always been a bit of a screw-up but somehow he made it work for him. ‘Kyle, you’ve got to help Jay. He’s not as smart as you. Kyle, do this for your brother because he’ll make a mess of it otherwise.” He mimicked a woman’s voice. “I tried to help my brother as much as I could but sometimes I got sick of it. And there’s Jay, lapping up all the attention from Mom, playing the helpless son. And now Mom decides he’s so helpless that he should get all her money when she passes, because he can’t provide for himself.”
“Wow, that’s unfair,” Zoe said.
“Apparently, I’m smart enough and work hard enough, so I can forge ahead on my own, while Jay gets looked after – again. So when Jay made that crack about paying me back when he inherits Mom’s estate, I lost it.”
“That’s totally understandable,” Zoe told him.
“Yes, it is,” Lauren said as she and Annie took another step back. So did Zoe.
“I had the knife in my hand because I was about to start cutting the knot. I don’t know what happened next.” He shook his head, as if bewildered he couldn’t remember. “And then Jay was lying there in the dressing room, with blood coming out of his stomach.” His voice broke.
“What did you do then?” Lauren asked softly.
“I got rid of the knife in the storm drain outside the back door. Washed my hands in the backstage bathroom, made sure there weren’t any traces left – I used a ton of the soap that was there – and then went out to get burgers for us.”
“Your alibi,” Zoe breathed.
“Yeah. And it would have worked too, if that old guy hadn’t spotted me – us – arriving at the theater. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, since I didn’t have any intention of killing Jay then. We were the only ones in the theater. Luckily that old guy wasn’t there when I got rid of the knife.”
“You mean Hans,” Lauren informed him. “‘The old guy.’”
“I guess.” Kyle shrugged. “He was the only person around. I was wearing a scarf, so after, when I thought about it, I hoped it would muffle my face enough so I wouldn’t be recognized. And Jay and I haven’t lived here long, anyway – I’ve been busy with work and visiting Mom so I haven’t had time to meet people.”
“Is that why you helped out with the play?” Zoe asked.
“Brrt?” Annie added.
“Yeah. Mom thought it would be good for us.” He laughed harshly. “I’m forty-three and still do what my mother tells me to.” He shook his head. “Pathetic.”
“Jay helped backstage as well,” Lauren pointed out.
“Because he wanted to stay in Mom’s good books,” he replied. “He knew all he had to do was go running to Mom and ask for money and she’d usually say ‘How much?’ even though she’d tell him he needed to take better care of his finances. He had her wrapped around his little finger so he could get away with practically anything.”
“That must have been annoying,” Zoe observed.
“You have no idea.” Kyle scowled. “I’m telling you, being good isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be.”
“I’m sure the police will understand if you tell them everything,” Lauren said, hoping she was correct.
“Yeah.” Zoe brought her phone up from her hip. “I’ll just call them now and you can explain to them what happened, just like you told us.”
“No!” The expression on Kyle’s face morphed into terror. “You can’t tell them. And you can’t tell Mom. Jay’s death nearly destroyed her. If she finds out I killed him, it will finish her off.”
“I am sorry,” Lauren told him, “but we need to do the right thing and tell Mitch. Maybe he can help break the news gently to your mom.”
“Good idea.” Zoe nodded, pressing the buttons on her phone. “Let me just—”
“No!” Kyle lunged forward and knocked the phone out of Zoe’s hand. “I won’t let you!”
Zoe’s eyes widened in outrage. “No one does that to my phone!”
She grabbed the top of a green leafy bush and pulled. A handful of spiky leaves came away. She flung them at Kyle.
“Let’s go!” she ordered Lauren and Annie.
“Ow!” Kyle’s hands flapped at his face. “You scratched me!”
Lauren and Annie raced down the driveway alongside her.
“What is going on?” Mrs. Wagner appeared on her porch, a disgruntled expression on her face. “What is all this commotion?”
“Help!” Lauren called, sprinting through the gate behind Annie, who led the trio toward the porch.
“Yeah, lock the door behind us!” Zoe instructed as she zoomed into the hallway. “He’s the killer!”
The door slammed shut behind them, then the sound of a bolt.
“Would someone like to tell me what is going on?” Mrs. Wagner asked, her hands on her hips.
***
“THIS IS GOOD TEA,” Zoe praised, wrapping her fingers around the blue mug.
“Thank you.” Mrs. Wagner nodded.
Lauren, Annie, and Zoe sat in Mrs. Wagner’s living room. After they told her about their escape from the clutches of a killer – Zoe’s version – they’d called the police. Who’d arrived quickly and apprehended Kyle as he loaded a suitcase into his car. Now, they were just waiting for Mitch.
“And this sofa is really comfy.” Zoe relaxed into the red plaid cushions.
“Yes.” Lauren sat beside her cousin, Annie at her feet. “Thank you for the tea,” she added, taking a sip of the English Breakfast brew.
“It’s the least I can do.” Mrs. Wagner sank into a matching armchair. “I had no idea Kyle killed his brother.” She shook her head. “To think I was l living next door to him all this time. You just don’t know about people, do you?”
“You certainly don’t,” Lauren agreed.
“Brrt!”
“Is this lounge suite new?” Zoe asked. “Our couch arrived yesterday and we love it already.”
“Yes.” Mrs. Wagner hesitated. “You asked me yesterday about why I was at the furniture store. And I was too embarrassed to tell you. I bought this lounge suite.” She waved a hand at the sofa they sat on. “My daughter gave me a gift certificate for Christmas – an early present, she called it – and said to spoil myself for a change.” She briefly looked away. “I didn’t like to admit – especially to you young girls – that I couldn’t afford to buy my own furniture.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “And we thought you wouldn’t tell us because you were the killer!”
“Me?” Mrs. Wagner looked outraged for a second. Then she chuckled. “Oh Zoe, you do have an imagination.”
“Sometimes,” Zoe admitted.
“But if I were the killer, why would I be buying new furniture?” Mrs. Wagner asked curiously.
“Because I – we – thought you might have stolen money from Jay’s wallet after you stabbed him. Because he destroyed your valuable rose,” Zoe told her.
“I was very upset about my rose bush,” Mrs. Wagner conceded, “but I don’t think I would ever be upset enough to kill someone.”
The doorbell rang. Lauren and Zoe looked at each other.
“It might be Mitch.” Lauren spoke.
They followed Mrs. Wagner down the hall. After peering through the peephole, she admitted Mitch.
“Are you okay?” He looked at Lauren in concern.
“Yes,” she answered truthfully.
“Thanks to Mrs. Wagner,” Zoe added.
“Brrt!”
After repeating the details to Mitch, they followed him out, after thanking Mrs. Wagner for her help.
“Anytime, girls,” Mrs. Wagner said as she waved goodbye. And she seemed to mean it.
“Now we only have one mystery left to solve,” Zoe announced as they headed home. “What will Santa give us for Christmas?”