19
After leaving Boo’s, I made straight for home, and within minutes, I was sitting at my table, hunched over my laptop, vainly trying to make sense of what I was seeing.
A heavily armored man darted out of a room. A sudden movement, a scope being raised for a split-second, and then he was down. His guns and boxes of what I assumed were ammo spilled out onto the floor. His killer bobbed up and down as she reloaded and sorted through his belongings so fast, I couldn’t make heads or tails of them.
Superimposed over the game, in a window in the bottom right corner of the screen, Boo was in her chair, talking nearly non-stop. Her face was made-up to be almost ghostlike, and she kept talking about fragging out like it was something I should understand. Another person slid into view, and another lightning-fast aim and shot put him down.
“I swear, people don’t anticipate quick scopes often enough,” Boo said. “They just blunder into the room and boom!” She chuckled. “Hey, thanks for the sub Killztheclown. Appreciate it.”
I’d been watching Boo’s stream for twenty minutes and had yet to see or hear Jacob. I also didn’t have a timestamp to go by, just that the stream had taken place on the same evening in which Andrew Carver was killed. Since Boo kept her house shrouded in darkness, I couldn’t tell if it was morning or night, though there did appear to be a faint glow to her curtains, telling me there was some sort of light outside.
“Look at that newb,” Boo said with a laugh. “Thinks no one can see him.” This time, she took the time to aim before downing her opponent who was crouched at the side of a building. “Look behind you next time, loser.”
I shifted in my seat. Listening to Boo on her stream had me siding with Caitlin; I wasn’t a fan. There was a cockiness to her that I didn’t like. I had no idea if the people she was playing against could hear her, or if it was all for the benefit of her audience, but she seemed awfully unsportsmanlike.
“What?” Boo glanced to the side, off camera. I couldn’t hear anyone else, but apparently, someone—Jacob, most likely—was speaking. “No. I’m busy.”
I turned up the volume and leaned forward. A faint voice could be heard, but not clearly. Whatever was said caused Boo to frown.
“I don’t know what you did with it. Jeez.” She turned back to her game. “Ignore him, chat. He doesn’t even know what Warzone is.”
A hand flashed into the screen, blocking Boo’s face—and her vision.
“Jacob! Come off it.” She leaned to the side, craning her neck so she could see the screen. “The circle’s coming. I’ve gotta get to safety. There’s only nine of us left.”
“I need to find my—”
“Find it yourself!” she shouted, cutting Jacob off and jabbing him with a violent elbow. “Sorry chat. My jerk-wad of a friend doesn’t understand how important this is.”
“Friend? Is that what you—” Jacob finally appeared on screen. He was facing Boo, back to the camera, and appeared to be intentionally getting in her way.
Another violent elbow sent him sideways, out of the picture. “Get out of the way!”
A shot rang out. Boo’s screen went red around the edges. She cursed loudly, bobbed and weaved into a room, before ducking behind a desk. She then used some sort of item which caused the red edges to vanish.
Jacob reappeared, smacked the headset off Boo’s head. She jumped to her feet, said something unintelligible, and then dropped back into her chair just as more shots rang out. On-screen, she jumped through a window, ran a few more feet, and then exploded as everything she was carrying spilled to the ground.
Boo shouted a very unladylike word while flinging her mouse out of sight. She then spun and started screaming obscenities at Jacob, who was screaming them right back.
And this is supposed to clear him of murder?
The yelling went on for a good five minutes before Boo threw herself back down into her chair. Her normally pale face was red with anger. “Sorry chat, I’ve gotta go. I’ll catch you tomorrow, same time, same place. We’ll scare up a few wins then.” And then the screen went black.
I blinked and checked the next saved video. It was from the following day. And yes, it was the same game. I couldn’t tell if it was taking place at the same time of day, only that Jacob was nowhere in sight.
That’s because he was hiding out at Caitlin’s.
I closed my laptop with a frown. Boo and Jacob did fight, just as she’d said, but I had no idea what the argument was about or if he’d left right after she’d signed off. Boo claimed they’d made up, so the assumption was that he’d hung around for a little while longer, but I had no evidence of that. As far as I knew, he’d left as soon as she’d turned everything off.
And I still didn’t know what time any of this had happened.
I’m sure there was a computer expert out there somewhere who could determine what time the stream took place. But even then, what I really needed to know was what happened afterward. Had they made up like Boo had said? Or had Jacob left, angry with the world?
Either way, I was skeptical of their story. Yes, they’d fought, but much of the encounter was incomprehensible. And with Jacob hiding in Boo’s bedroom while I’d talked to her, I was finding it hard to believe anything she’d told me.
The cynical part of me wondered if they’d concocted the story together before my arrival. It would explain why Boo had decided to talk to me when she had no reason to otherwise.
A knock at my door brought me to my feet. I answered, half expecting it to be Buchannan come to grill me about my trip to Heavenly Gate. Or perhaps Jacob to warn me off about looking too deeply into his whereabouts the night of the murder.
Turns out, it was neither.
“Hi, Krissy, I hope we’re not bothering you,” Jules said as soon as the door was open. Behind him, Lance was holding a steaming cakepan. He was still wearing oven mitts.
“No, of course not.” I stepped aside. “Come on in out of the cold.”
Jules and Lance entered.
“We won’t keep you,” Jules went on. “But we wanted to drop off a lava cake for you. Call it a thank you for warning me about that gift. If you hadn’t told me, I don’t know what would have happened.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, mouth already watering. The smell of chocolate filled the room as Lance set the cake down on the island counter.
“Of course, we did,” he said, pulling off his oven mitts. “You saved Jules’s life.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” I paused, noting the time and the fact that both of them were here. “Who’s at Phantastic Candies?”
Jules glanced at Lance before answering. “We decided to close early today. I need to do some serious inventory anyway. And with everything that’s happened lately, my mind hasn’t been on work.”
“We figured it would be best to close before something else happened,” Lance added.
I wanted to reassure them, but what could I say that would help? I couldn’t guarantee that the killer wasn’t still out to get him or that the police were close to finding the culprit. It made me wonder if perhaps I should close Death by Coffee, give the employees more time off before Christmas, to be safe. Paid, of course.
“I don’t want to think about that,” Jules said, shaking his head. “Besides . . . Cake!”
I licked my lips, and after about point-zero-one seconds of thinking about it, I grabbed three plates from the cupboard. “Have some with me.”
Lance looked like he might object, but Jules smiled and sat down at the counter. “Only a tiny piece. I wouldn’t want to spoil my dinner.”
I cut into the lava cake and placed what I thought were small slices on each plate, though both Lance and Jules looked appalled, as if I’d cut the thing into thirds.
“You should be stocked up on candy canes,” Jules said, taking a bite. Chocolate oozed from his fork. “Beth came by to pick them up. I went ahead and added a few extra boxes as another thank you. No charge.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I took a bite of my own cake and just about melted into my seat. It was pure bliss. “I’ll happily pay for them.”
“No, I do.” He sighed. “I’m trying hard to put all of this behind me, but I keep thinking about it. Why would someone target me?” He reached for Lance, who clasped his hand. “It got so bad, I kept thinking that every time someone came through the door at Phantastic Candies, they’d be wielding a knife.”
Lance muttered something under his breath before he chomped down hard on his cake-filled fork.
“Lance has been acting as my watchdog,” Jules said with a smile. “I can’t go five feet without him checking to make sure there are no killers waiting for me.”
“That’s sweet of you,” I said. “Hopefully, this won’t go on much longer.”
“That would be nice,” Jules said. “Has there been any progress on who might have left the gift?”
I considered it before speaking. “Well, the police are involved now, so I’m sure they’ve figured something out. And with the Komphs receiving a gift at Heavenly Gate, there’s even more evidence for them to consider.”
Jules’s eyes widened. “There was another gift?”
“There was.” Another bite. I chewed and swallowed before continuing. “It was strange because I was there earlier and they didn’t appear worried. Angry, yeah, but not like they’d found a threat outside their home.”
“You think it was dropped off there?” Lance asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think, honestly. I suppose it’s possible they’d found it and had yet to decide what to do with it when I showed up.” Perhaps that was why Doris was there. Agnes could have called her to talk about it before informing the police.
Jules tapped his fork on the edge of his plate. “Do you know what was inside their box? Maybe it will tell us something about who sent it.”
“Beats me. Buchannan got there before me and he wasn’t about to tell me anything.”
We fell silent then, focusing on our cake and own thoughts. I was torn. On one hand, I was almost positive Jacob had something to do with the murders and Boo was covering for him. They might have fought during her stream, but that didn’t mean she didn’t care about him. Not every relationship consists solely of flowers and hugs.
Yet, on the other hand, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Doris Appleton had to be involved. She’d complained about the local businesses, and despite what was going on, she was still harping on us. She was at Heavenly Gate before I’d shown and could have left the gift when she’d departed.
But why Jules? Whether it was Jacob or Doris or someone else, I just couldn’t make all the pieces fit.
A car pulled into my driveway just as I finished the last bite of my cake. I checked the clock and was surprised to find it later than expected. I stood. “Keep eating,” I told Jules and Lance, who both looked as if they might rise with me. I went to the door and opened it just as Laura and Dad reached it.
“Hey, Buttercup,” Dad said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
“Krissy.” Laura’s smile was a little tired, but seemed genuine enough. “Thank you for having us tonight.”
“No problem.” I stepped aside, letting them in. “Jules and Lance brought cake.”
“Cake?” Dad’s eyes lit up. “I smell chocolate.”
“We should probably go,” Jules said, rising. “We don’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense.” Laura waved him back down. “We’re going to watch a movie. You should join us.” She paused. “If it’s okay with James and Krissy?”
“Of course,” Dad said. “We’d love to have you.” He leaned over the lava cake and breathed in deep. “Do you mind?”
“No, go ahead.” I turned to Jules as Dad dug in. “Please, stay. You can help Laura choose the movie.”
Jules and Lance shared a look. “Are you sure?” Jules asked.
“Positive.” I led him and Lance into the living room. Laura followed. “Choose anything you’d like.” I handed Lance the remote. “Something Christmasy.”
“That might have been a mistake,” Jules said with a grin. “Never let Lance control the TV if you can help it.”
“I’ll be good,” Lance promised. “Unless . . .” He raised his eyebrows at Laura, who grinned mischievously.
“Let’s see what we can find,” she said.
I left them to it, somewhat nervous. Dad had already inhaled most of his cake, and was holding an unpopped bag of popcorn. I nodded for him to toss it into the microwave.
He waited until it was going—and everyone else was busy with the TV—before he spoke.
“Have you thought about what we discussed earlier?”
“About Doris’s meeting?” I asked. “A little.”
“And?”
I looked over to where Jules, Lance, and Laura were laughing over something they’d found. Since they were standing in front of the TV, I couldn’t see what it was.
“I’m not sure we can, not with everyone here.”
“Are you sure? I think it gives us a better opportunity.” Dad moved closer and we turned our backs to the others. “With Jules and Lance here, they could keep Laura company. I’d hesitate to bring her with us to the church, just in case . . . well, you know?”
In case Doris is a murderer. I got it. “We’d have to tell them where we’re going. We couldn’t just up and leave them.”
“I know. And it’s not like we’d have to tell them, tell them.”
“Tell us what?”
Dad and I both jumped. Jules had snuck up behind us. Laura and Lance were seated on the couch, having seemingly settled on the movie.
“It’s nothing,” I said.
Jules put a hand on his hip and gave me a flat look. “That didn’t sound like nothing.”
I looked to Dad for help.
And, like Dad, he went for honest. “There’s a meeting tonight. It’s at the church.”
At Jules’s questioning look, I added, “Doris Appleton is running it.”
“And you want to go to it,” Jules said.
“It could give us some insights into her thought process,” Dad said. “And there’s a chance she could let something important slip.”
“Something important, like she’s involved in what’s happening around town?” Jules asked.
I nodded. “And if she’s not, then perhaps someone else there is.” Someone like Agnes Komph.
The microwave dinged. I removed the popcorn, and then put in a second bag before filling a large bowl with the first.
“If you’re going, I want to go too,” Jules said once the microwave was humming again.
“We haven’t decided yet,” I said.
“It starts at seven.” Dad moved closer to Jules, lowered his voice further. “We have time for the movie, and then we’d have to head that way. Do you think Lance would be okay with you going? I’m still not sure what Laura’s going to say.”
Jules considered the question before shrugging. “Honestly? He won’t be thrilled, but I can’t keep sitting around, waiting for something bad to happen.”
“Doris and her group might not be connected to the murder at all,” I said, feeling as if this whole thing was spiraling out of my control. I mean, taking Dad was one thing. Adding Jules, especially if it was against Lance’s wishes, was another.
“This could be our best opportunity to find out if she is,” Dad said.
Both Dad and Jules turned to face me. It appeared the final decision was up to me. By their expressions, I was pretty sure I didn’t really have much choice.
“All right,” I said, relenting. “After the movie.” The microwave dinged again and I filled a second bowl with popcorn. “But if Laura and Lance say no, then we don’t go.”
“Deal,” Dad said.
Jules nodded before scooping up one of the bowls of popcorn. “Shall we?” he asked.
I carried the other bowl into the room and handed it to Laura before grabbing a dining room chair for myself. As I sat, I noted what movie they’d chosen.
“Bad Santa?” I asked. I’d expected something a little more, well, wholesome.
“I think we all need a laugh,” Lance said, draping an arm across Jules’s shoulder. “And something a little raunchy.”
“A little?” Laura laughed.
I could only imagine what Doris would think if she knew we were watching something this vulgar so close to Christmas.