Cozy Christmas Murder Read online

  She was coming back around the block when she saw someone standing on her porch. Her first thought was that it was one of the police, hopefully coming to clear up what had happened the day before. Then she recognized the car parked in front of her house. It was just Brandon.

  She called out to him as she drew nearer. He turned, looking surprised to see her out.

  “I thought you were just ignoring me,” he said. “I suppose I should have guessed that you weren’t in when I didn’t hear Frankie barking.”

  “We just took a walk. I wanted to clear my mind. What are you doing here?”

  “I came to apologize,” he said. “I want to talk to you. Can we go in? It’s freezing out here, and I don’t have gloves on.”

  She nodded, reaching into her pocket for her keys as she tried to sort out how she felt. So much had happened since he had broken up with her, and he hadn’t really been at the top of her list of priorities. She supposed that she was glad to see him, and she didn’t really harbor any anger toward him. She was much more concerned with the attacks at the assisted living home than with anything he might have to say.

  “Come on in,” she said. “We can sit in the living room if you’d like. Do you want some hot chocolate? I had some earlier, but if you want, I’d be happy to make some more.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “Actually, on second thought, sure. Why not? ‘Tis the season.”

  She removed her outdoor gear and unclipped Frankie’s leash before pouring milk into the kettle on the stove. While it heated up to a simmer, she got out the package of hot chocolate and the mug.

  “So, what did you want to talk about?” she asked.

  “I guess I just want to see how you’re doing,” he said. “I called you yesterday, but you ignored me.”

  “Oh, I was at the assisted living home. I’m volunteering there; cooking dinners on my evenings off.”

  “That’s nice of you,” he said.

  “Yeah,” she said absently as she poured the hot milk into the mug of cocoa.

  “Autumn, what’s wrong?” he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.

  She bit her lip, wishing he would stop. He had wanted to end it, and it was over. Why couldn’t he just leave her be now?

  “I just wish the circumstances were different,” she said, handing him the mug of hot chocolate.

  “What do you mean?” he asked as he followed her into the living room.

  “I mean, I wish I wasn’t volunteering there because I was covering for someone who died.”

  “Someone died? What happened?”

  She realized that he probably didn’t know anything about Benson’s death. He had never been much of one for the news, and she didn’t even know if the papers would have had anything in them about the death. It had only been a few days ago. How quickly did papers print the obituaries? She sat in the armchair, forcing him to sit on the couch, and told him about the cook’s death, and the near disaster with the gas in the kitchen.

  “Are you serious, Autumn? You almost died.”

  “Yeah. So, I’ve been a bit distracted. Plus, the grocery store is closing down, so I have to find somewhere else to work. This isn’t really a great time, Brandon. We can talk later. Let’s give it a couple of months, okay?”

  “I don’t want to give it that long,” he said. He wrapped his hands around the mug. “I think I might’ve made a mistake.”

  She frowned. On Sunday morning, she might have been glad to hear his words, but so much had happened recently that their breakup was no longer the most important thing on her mind. Witnessing a death and facing the prospect of losing her job had somehow given her the space to see that Alicia was right. She hadn’t been in love with Brendan. She cared about him, and she had wanted the future that he might have offered, but it wasn’t the sort of romance that she desired.

  “I don’t think it was a mistake,” she said. “You’re right. I don’t think it was me or you. It was both of us, or neither of us. We just aren’t right for each other. No hard feelings, okay? Just let me figure out everything else that is going on, and we can talk again. We can be friends, like you wanted. I would enjoy that. I really did care about you, Brandon. I still do. I enjoyed spending the past year dating you. It was… nice. I had a lot of fun.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then gave a dry chuckle. “I came here to try to repair things between us. I guess that was silly of me. I’m sorry for hurting you, Autumn.”

  “Like I said, no hard feelings.” Even though she had come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t the one for her, thinking about their breakup still stung. She had been so sure that they would get married, and she felt ridiculous to think about how blind she had been.

  “I guess I really messed up, huh?” he said. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll be going now. I want you to be careful, though. Okay? Whatever’s going on at the assisted living home, it sounds dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I’ll be careful,” she promised. “My aunt and uncle are there, they will watch out for me. Nick also said he would keep an eye out for me and asked the staff to do the same. Someone has to cook the meals, and I really do enjoy it. I will just have to hope that I’m wrong, and everything was a coincidence.”

  “Nick?”

  “Oh, he’s the director of the home. He’s a good guy. He seems to really care about his job.”

  “Ah.” Brandon fell silent. Autumn frowned.

  “What?

  “Nothing. It’s not my business anymore, I suppose. Here. Sorry I didn’t drink much of the hot chocolate.” He gave her a tight smile. “I’ll see you sometime. I’ll talk to you after the holidays.”

  Puzzled and slightly hurt at his sudden departure, Autumn watched him go. Her emotions were a mess. She knew that Alicia was right. She hadn’t been in love with Brandan, and she didn’t want to waste her life being married to someone that she didn’t really love. At the same time, some small part of her brain wondered if she had done the right thing. Should she have taken him back? Was it time to settle? Was he her last chance at having a family?

  CHAPTER NINE

  * * *

  Her relationship troubles were relegated to the back burner by the time that she went into work the next day. Thursday evening, she had successfully cooked dinner for the entire assisted living home. Everything had gone smoothly, and she hadn’t felt endangered once. Even better, some of the residents had come forward to compliment her afterward. Not only had she made a meal for thirty people without burning anything, they had liked it enough to thank her.

  It was a good feeling, to know that she had done something right. She had thoroughly enjoyed making the meal, and was already looking forward to going back on Saturday to do it again. Before long, it would be Christmas, her favorite day of the year. She would spend most of the day there, preparing the Christmas feast that they would enjoy together the evening of the holiday. The thought cheered her up even more. She wouldn’t have enjoyed sitting at home alone all by herself. Now, she would be spending it with her aunt and uncle, surrounded by the people that she had gotten to know at the assisted living home.

  “Hi, Ms. Roth,” Grace, one of her employees, said when she got in. Autumn smiled at the younger woman.

  “Hi, Grace,” she replied. “How are you doing today?”

  “Great. I love working at this time of year. Everything just feels so festive. I’m looking forward to the time off around Christmas. I love that Jeb closes the store for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. A lot of places make their employees work through the holiday now.”

  “He’s a good guy,” Autumn said. She frowned, thinking about the store’s fate. She hated being the only one that knew about it.

  “Is something wrong?” Grace asked her.

  “I’m just tired,” she replied. She forced herself to smile. “I’m going to go take my coat off, then I’ll come back here to help you restock the shelves.”

  She told herself that she wasn’t lying. She was
tired. She had been up late the night before looking for new jobs.

  She managed to keep the secret for the next few hours. She focused on her work, restocking shelves, helping customers find what they needed, and wiping the registers clean periodically throughout the day. In the early afternoon, she was surprised to see a familiar face.

  “Nick?” she said.

  The director of the assisted living home turned around and gave her a smile. “Autumn. It’s a small world. I was just thinking about you.” He took in her khaki pants, her green shirt, and her name tag. “Do you work here?”

  “Yep,” she said. “This is my day job, when I’m not moonlighting at the assisted living home.”

  “I must have seen you around here before, but I didn’t realize it. It’s a nice store. I like the owner. His mother was at the home until last year, when she passed away.”

  Autumn remembered Jeb’s mother’s funeral. She hadn’t realized the older woman had lived at Asheville Meadows.

  “Can I help you find anything?” she asked.

  “Nope,” he said. “I’m just here to pick some groceries up. I should probably start making lists, but I never seem to quite get around to it. I usually just walk the aisles and pick up whatever looks good.”

  She smiled. “Well, that’s one way to do it.”

  “I’ll see you Saturday, right? Some of the residents have family visiting, so it will be a bit of a bigger meal. Are you up to it? You did such a good job last night.”

  “I’m sure I will manage,” she said. “Do you know if Natalie or any of the other staff will be able to help me?”

  “Natalie asked me earlier today if she could have a couple of hours off from her normal duties to help. I told her to knock herself out. I can’t thank you enough for helping out, Autumn. It really means a lot to everyone there.”

  “I enjoy it,” she said. “I’ve always loved cooking. When I was younger, I used to dream of opening my own restaurant.”

  “What’s stopping you? You still could.”

  She frowned. “I don’t know about that. I would need the money to get started up, and I don’t really have any experience other than the cooking I’ve done for fun. I mean I suppose I have some experience running a business, thanks to this job. But I don’t want to get in over my head. I don’t have anyone to help me, and it would be too much to manage on my own.”

  “I’m pretty sure that you could do it, if you set your mind to it. Or at least, I get that feeling from your aunt and uncle. Your uncle talks very highly of you. They love that you visit so much.”

  “I know it’s what I would want if I were in their shoes,” she said. “Family is important. My mom visits when she can, but she lives across the country. My younger sister is only a few hours away, but she is busy with her own family. I figure it’s the least I can do.”

  “It’s more than most people do, and I respect that a lot.” He gave her a half wave and began to walk away, then hesitated. “I hope this doesn’t seem inappropriate, but would you want to go out to dinner with me next week?”

  She stared at him, surprised. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t be offended if you say no. I probably shouldn’t have asked anyway, I know a lot has been going on lately.”

  “I would love to,” she said, smiling at him.

  He returned her smile. “How about Monday?”

  “That would be good. We can talk more tomorrow while I am cooking dinner. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Me too.”

  Her heart was lighter than ever as she went about her work. She had been completely blindsided when he asked her out, but now she couldn’t stop thinking about him. He was handsome, and from what she had seen, was a kind person. She felt a little bit guilty for moving on from Brandon so quickly, but she told herself that he was the one who had ended it. It wasn’t like she was being disloyal to him.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” Grace said, approaching Autumn in her coat.

  “Have a nice evening,” she said. “Drive safely. The roads look like they are getting bad again.”

  “I will,” her employee said cheerily. “Next time you see me, I will be driving a new car. I finally have enough saved up to make a down payment on a vehicle that I have been in love with for the past few months. The payments are bit steep, but it will be worth it. I think I’m up for a raise sometime soon, too.”

  Autumn froze, her stomach swooping. Grace didn’t know that the grocery store was going to shut down. She was planning on having this job for a long time to come. She knew that she couldn’t let her employee get tied into a contract with payments that she may not be able to make after January.

  “Grace, wait,” she said. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  Her employee turned towards her, her face puzzled. Autumn knew that her tone had been sharp, and she felt even more guilty.

  “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t let you go out there and make a mistake.” She looked around to make sure they were alone, then lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone else yet, but Jeb is going to close this store for good. It will be closing at the end of January.”

  The employee stared at her, her eyes wide. “What do you mean?”

  “After January, none of us will have jobs. I thought you should know before you make a commitment like buying a car.”

  “When was he going to tell us?”

  “Not until after Christmas,” Autumn said. “He didn’t want to wreck anyone’s holiday.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” the employee said. “Thank you for telling me. I guess… I guess the car will have to wait. I will have to find another job. Where are you going to work?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Autumn said. “I sent in a couple of applications, but I won’t know anything for a while. Please, don’t tell the others, okay?”

  “Why not? They deserve to know too. People need time to find work before this place shuts down.”

  “I agree. I… I just want time to think about it for a little longer, okay?”

  Her employee nodded hesitantly. Autumn watched her go. Her heart was heavy once more. She knew that Grace was right. She had an announcement to make.

  CHAPTER TEN

  * * *

  Autumn stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself critically. Her red hair was as tame as it would get, and her makeup did nothing to hide the sprinkle of freckles across her nose, but all in all, she didn’t think she looked too bad.

  “Get out here, I want to see you,” Alicia called from the other room.

  “Hold on, give me a second.”

  She freshened up her lipstick, and smiled at herself. First dates were always exciting. She could remember the first time that she and Brandon had gone out; they had seen a movie, and had gotten coffee afterward. She had liked how gentle and nervous he had been during the evening. He had been nice and unthreatening, and even though she hadn’t felt a spark, she had agreed to see him again. Things had gone on from there.

  She had no idea what to expect from this evening with Nick. She had only ever seen him at the assisted living home, other than that once at the grocery store. At work, he was always thinking about a million other things, all of which were important. It would be odd to have his attention focused only on her, and it made her nervous. She was surprised at the butterflies in her stomach. She hadn’t felt that way about Brandon in a long time, if ever.

  “Autumn, come on. You asked me to come over and help you get ready, but all I’ve done is sit on your couch and pet your dog.”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” she replied. She left the bathroom and walked into the living room, standing in front of her friend. Alicia twirled a finger, and Autumn turned around slowly.

  “I like it,” her friend said. “The dress is a good color on you.”

  She was wearing a dark green dress that she had dug out of her closet, along with pantyhose and black boots. The boots were required; the snow was coming down heavi
ly, and didn’t show any signs of stopping soon.

  “You sure it’s not too… Christmassy? With my red hair, I always feel like a walking Christmas ornament whenever I wear green.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You look hot, and not at all like a Christmas ornament. What necklace are you wearing?”

  “It is the one my mom gave me when I moved here.” Autumn looked down at the delicate silver four-point compass around her neck. “She said it was to remind me to follow my own path, and not settle for someone else’s.”

  “That is good advice,” her friend said. “So, this guy, Nick. What’s he like?”