Killer Christmas Cozies Read online

  “That’s why it’s there,” Bitsie said as she grabbed a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water.

  Chloe giggled and took another drink. “I still can’t believe we’ve been living under the same roof as Helen Half-Ton.”

  I frowned at Chloe’s crassness.

  Bitsie’s knuckles turned white as she grasped the glass tightly in her hand. “Helen is my friend. I’ll thank you to remember that.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Chloe said quickly.

  Come again? How can making fun of someone not be bad?

  “You ladies have fun.” Bitsie stalked by us and disappeared down the stairs.

  “Can I walk over with you girls?” Chloe asked as she finished off the last of her champagne.

  At the rate you’re going, you’ll be crawling over.

  “Sure,” Ophelia sighed.

  I tried not to laugh at the dejected sound in Ophelia’s voice.

  We shrugged into our coats and took in the frigid night air. I blew out three quick puffs of air with my breath, enjoying the way they floated then disappeared.

  “Are we walking the back way?” Ophelia asked.

  “Like you needed to ask.” I said, looping my arms through hers.

  The three of us made an immediate left and walked down the dark, narrow path lined with the American Holly hedges. The glow of the twinkling lights in the trees had my heart racing. There was something about the lights that made this time of year extra special. The large sleigh and reindeer decoration was lit up under the glow of the old-fashioned street lamp as we turned right and stepped onto the wide, snow-packed walkway that would lead to the chateau. Soft, angelic Christmas music played over the speakers.

  “Can you slow down,” Chloe whined, her voice breaking the serene peacefulness of the glowing night. “It’s hard to walk so fast in these shoes.”

  I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her it was winter and she needed to wear more sensible shoes. Mainly because I knew Ophelia would tease me for sounding like a teacher.

  There were a few other guests walking the trail, as well as others weaving in and out of the lawn decorations taking pictures.

  “Let’s take pictures over there next to that giant snowman.” I pulled Ophelia off the lighted walkway.

  “Seriously, Holly?”

  I grinned at her. “Seriously. How often will we get to do this? I want pictures of our magical time.”

  “I’ll see you later,” Chloe said as she continued walking.

  Ophelia and I gingerly made our way over to a five-foot, pre-lit snowman…complete with top hat and goofy grin. Ophelia fished out her cell phone and took a couple pictures of us posing with the snowman. Some serious, some silly.

  It was almost six by the time we finished our impromptu photo session and stood by the white elephant gift exchange table. I could barely contain my excitement. I placed my gift on the table and snagged a ticket with six premade numbers stamped at the bottom.

  “Let’s get a drink,” Ophelia suggested. “Then, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go find my elf.”

  I snorted. “Do you even know his name?”

  Ophelia grinned. “Why do I need to know his name?”

  Shaking my head, I let her drag me over to where the mixologist was busy mixing masterpieces.

  “I’ll take the Grinch Punch,” Ophelia said to the guy behind the counter.

  “What’s in that?” I asked him.

  “Basically two different types of rum, melon liqueur, and blue curacao.”

  My mouth dropped. “I think I’ll just have the Cranberry Kir Royale, please.”

  “What’s that have in it?” Ophelia asked me.

  “Champagne, cranberry juice, and crème de cassis.”

  The man handed us our drinks and I took a small sip.

  Divine.

  “I’m off to find my elf,” Ophelia said.

  Being alone usually didn’t bother me. I could spend hours holed up in my apartment reading or binge watch sappy love movies. Being alone doesn’t bother me…unless it’s being alone in a crowd.

  I found an empty spot next to the fireplace and did what most people do when they’re alone in a group—I got out my cell phone.

  I suddenly remembered I hadn’t had time yet to find out what I could about Bitsie Carpenter and her arrest in college. I pulled up my search engine and typed in Bitsie’s name. I read the first two links I found…nothing interesting. One for a social media page, the other linking her to the Colorado Springs library. I scrolled down a little farther, but nothing stood out. This was all stuff I’d come across earlier today on her social media wall. No arrest or link telling me about her arrest years back. Not that I was surprised, since she ended up getting probation.

  I was about to give up when a link caught my eye. I clicked on it and my blood ran cold.

  Chapter 14

  It was an obituary for Rose Carpenter from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Rose’s only living relative was Bitsie Carpenter, also from Cheyenne, Wyoming. My pulse raced as I looked at the date of death and tried counting back to how old Bitsie would have been when her mother died.

  Maybe seventeen.

  I scanned the article again, but it didn’t say how her mom had died.

  I then typed in “Rose Carpenter, Cheyenne, Wyoming death.”

  I clicked on the first link and read Rose Carpenter was found dead in her house. Fireman determined the cause of death to be carbon monoxide poisoning from the stove in her trailer. The article went on to say that her daughter, Bitsie, had been staying overnight with a friend. A neighbor reported that Rose Carpenter was known to drink excessively, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to her if Rose had passed out and never knew what happened.

  “Hey, Holly.” I looked up and found Chloe standing in front of me. Her annoyed look barely registered with me.

  “Yes?” I asked shakily.

  “Have you seen Margot? She was supposed to meet Clive at four-thirty for drinks, and she never showed up.”

  I tried opening my mouth, but nothing came out.

  “I swear,” Chloe continued, oblivious of my terror, “if she breaks my brother’s heart, I’m going to rip her own heart out and shove it down her throat.”

  “I haven’t seen her,” I whispered.

  “Well, if you do, tell her she better have a darn good excuse as to why she’s not snuggled up next to my brother!”

  I watched her flounce away.

  I searched my brain until I came up with the name Sheriff Morgan had asked Bitsie about when they were outside earlier. With trembling fingers, I typed in Vivian Struthers’ name. I’m not sure why, other than I knew I couldn’t ignore the shouts in my head.

  Once again my heart dropped to my stomach.

  The first link was for an obituary. Vivian Struthers had died in October of last year.

  October? Isn’t that when Bitsie said she moved to Colorado Springs?

  I scrolled down until I found an article that talked about the cause of death.

  Blunt force trauma to the head. The toxicology report showed blood alcohol level at two times the limit. The death was ruled accidental and no arrest was ever made. The police concluded that Vivian Struthers had been so drunk she’d fallen and hit her head on the edge of her fireplace. Her body wasn’t discovered for two days.

  I glanced at the time on my cell phone. Six-fifteen.

  I scanned the room but didn’t see Bitsie or Helen anywhere among the happy-go-lucky guests. I also didn’t see Margot or Ophelia. I didn’t worry too much about Ophelia…praying she was cuddled up somewhere with her elf.

  Were Bitsie and Helen in on this together?

  I spotted Chloe talking with Clive by the check-in counter and sprinted over to where they were.

  “Call Sheriff Morgan,” I panted. “Now!”

  I turned and fled out the chateau, not bothering to answer the questions they threw at me. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do—I didn’t eve
n have a weapon. I decided to cut through the back, hoping to surprise the two women if they were still in the parking lot in front of the condo.

  My steps faltered when I realized the back walkway was completely deserted. Everyone was already at the party. I wrapped my arms around me, shivering from the cold. I hadn’t taken the time to grab my coat.

  I looked around me and suppressed a shudder. Off the beaten path, in the pitch black, the once jovial lawn ornaments now looked menacing and dangerous. I hummed along to the Christmas music, pretending that everything was normal. A few seconds later I squinted down the path to a figure standing by the sleigh under the light pole.

  I knew that figure.

  “Hey,” I yelled, running as fast as I could in my flats. “What are you doing?”

  The figure slowly turned from what she was doing to stare menacingly at me. Immediately her face brightened when she saw me.

  “Holly,” Bitsie said joyfully.

  I opened my mouth to scream…only nothing but puffs of air came out.

  Margot Martin’s limp body was propped up inside the sleigh, a strand of lighted bulbs wrapped around her neck and up to the top of the light pole.

  “Look who I found just hanging around.” Bitsie laughed manically at her own crude joke.

  I stumbled backward but still managed to take in the dried, caked-on blood plastered to the side of Margot’s face.

  I glanced around, wondering about Helen. Was she hiding behind one of the trees? Maybe in the bushes next to the condo? What kind of weapons did everyone have?

  That last question was answered soon enough when I heard Ophelia screaming my name behind me. I automatically turned to Ophelia, my back to Bitsie. I didn’t realize how stupid a move it was until I was suddenly pulled against the front of Bitsie’s body, a sharp knife under my chin.

  “Back off, Ophelia.” The once calm voice of Bitsie’s was now filled with hysterics as she yelled in my ear. “I don’t want to hurt Holly. But if I have to, I’ll slice her pretty little throat right here.”

  Ophelia came to an abrupt halt about twenty feet from where we were standing next to the sleigh. I still hadn’t seen Helen.

  “Where’s Helen?” I asked. Well, I actually mumbled the question since the knife was pressing into the soft underside of my chin with every movement of my mouth.

  “Helen?” Bitsie snarled in my ear. “I did all this for her! To finally give her closure on her old life. But did she appreciate it? No!”

  My stomach rolled. “Is she dead?”

  I kept my eyes locked on Ophelia’s as Bitsie laid out her confession to me as though I were a priest. “I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Even though Helen’s weak and deserves to die, she really was a good friend.” She paused dramatically. “That’s why I took out her enemies. She’d never be able to do it herself.”

  “You killed Andrew?” I asked.

  I stiffened as Bitsie brushed back hair from my face, giving her better access to my neck. “Yes. I was so angry the night he and the girls poked fun at Helen. He claimed to have had nightmares when he thought about Helen. I just thought he should know what a true nightmare is like.”

  I swallowed hard, trying not to cry. “So those ice axes were actually yours?”

  “Yes. I knew Helen wouldn’t be able to take going into town Saturday. So when she begged to come back, I drove her here and dumped her off. I then sneaked into the chateau where the chimney prop was and attached the blades. But it’s okay. I didn’t use them very often.”

  Crazy train is leaving the station!

  “Then I drove like mad back into town to purchase something in case I needed an alibi.”

  “And Helen never knew any of this?”

  Bitsie scoffed. “Helen didn’t even know Margot and Cloe would be at the resort this week—but I did. I follow those two twits on several different social media outlets. They have thousands of friends. I was just another faceless person. But it was Karma coming to play when we ended up bunking with them. It was as if everything was pointing to this exact moment in time.”

  “How did you kill Margot?”

  “By the time Margot was ready to leave, I’d already given Helen a sleeping pill, along with plenty of booze to wash it down with. So she was in bed fast asleep by the time Margot left to go to the chateau. I could hear the shower coming from their room, so I knew Chloe wouldn’t be a problem. I followed Margot to the front door then gave her a good whack on the side of the head. I dragged her outside, stashed her body behind the American Holly hedges, then gave her another whack just to be sure she was dead.” Bitsie let out a small, hysterical giggle. “I have to say, I was almost afraid you guys would trip over her body on your way over to the chateau, but I guess it was too dark for you to see.”

  “Where’s Helen?” I repeated more forcefully. I felt the tip of the knife poke through my skin and felt the blood trickle out.

  Ophelia screamed and hunched over as though hit in the stomach. I knew how she felt. The only thing that kept me upright and not doubled over was the simple fact the knife would kill me instantly.

  “Put the knife down!”

  The voice came from my right-hand side, near the condo. Bitsie whirled me to face the voice, causing the knife to slip. I cried out as pain flooded my body. That cut was gonna hurt later.

  Sheriff Morgan had his gun drawn and pointed at Bitsie.

  Too bad my body was shielding her.

  “I don’t think so,” Bitsie snorted. “What you’re gonna do, Sheriff, is step back and let me get to my car. I’ll let Holly go when I’m safe inside my car. Helen and I just want to leave.”

  “You won’t get far,” Sheriff Morgan said as he slowly lowered his weapon. “We’ve also found Helen, so she won’t be going with you.”

  Bitsie let out a frustrated scream, cutting me even more.

  Oh, yes…let’s poke the bear, Sheriff!

  I saw Ophelia fall to her knees in my peripheral.

  “Why did you kill Vivian Struthers?” I asked quietly.

  Bitsie continued pushing me slowly toward the condo. “Vivian got what she deserved. I waited over a decade before exacting my revenge.” She steered me over to the American Holly bushes. “This way no one would ever make the connection. I followed her for months, mapping her pattern. I knew Friday nights were party nights, so I just simply slipped into her house one night when she was out getting drunk at a bar. By the time she got home, she was too loopy to put up a fight. I was able to easily subdue her. When she woke up, I forced her to drink nearly a whole bottle of whatever I’d brought, then when I knew she’d never be able to fight back, I stood her up near the fireplace and gave her a good shove!”

  I gasped. I knew she’d done it, but hearing her tell the story so calmly was terrifying. “But why? Just because the two of you got into a fight when you were younger?”

  “Because of her, I had to pay exorbitant fees to an attorney and the court. I was so far in debt I had to drop out of college for a year to pay off everyone. A year of my life I’ll never get back. She needed to pay for what she’d done.”

  “But with her life?”

  “Yes,” Bitsie said.

  “And your mom?” We were only a few feet from where Sheriff Morgan stood. “What did she have to pay for?”

  Bitsie snorted. “Everything. More like what didn’t she have to pay for! She was a worthless excuse for a mother. Always drunk, could never hold down a job. She was a disgrace! An embarrassment! Kids at school made fun of me. Parents pitied me!”

  Sheriff Morgan turned slightly to let us pass. His eyes darted to the blood now running freely down my neck and into my dress.

  I was so sending Bitsie my dry cleaning bill after this was said and done.

  “Want to know something funny?” Bitsie asked. “I decided to become a librarian to honor my first kill. See, I got the idea of carbon monoxide poisoning from a book I read in our town library. Books were always my escape. And then one day, out of the blue, I stum
bled upon my salvation.”

  Bitsie turned me once again, and this time I was facing the condo, walking backward toward Bitsie’s car. She opened the passenger’s side door and motioned me to get in.

  Any time now! Someone make a move!

  In the blink of an eye, the back door flew open and Deputy Swanson popped up from the back, scrambled out, gun drawn.

  “Drop the weapon and get down!” he shouted.

  I didn’t have to be told twice. I leaped head-first into the front of the car.

  From my vantage point I could only make out the crumbs on the bottom of the car’s floorboard. However, I could hear shouts and screams behind me. A few seconds later, the driver’s side door flew open, and I lifted my head to see Ophelia squatting down beside me, crying.

  “I’m thinking we won’t tell our students everything about our vacation!” I quipped before resting my forehead on the floorboard.

  Chapter 15

  “I’m proud of you for keeping a calm head,” Sheriff Morgan said. “Most people would have been screaming for someone to do something.”

  “I did all that in my head,” I joked half-heartedly.

  Sheriff Morgan patted me on my back. “Well, you looked calm and collected, which really helped the situation out.”

  I averted my eyes as the EMTs rolled Margot’s dead body past me. Helen was able to be revived long enough for her to admit she believed she’d been drugged by Bitsie and that something may be wrong with Bitsie. I’d had a hard time not laughing hysterically at that understated statement.

  I turned and looked at the back of Sheriff Morgan’s police vehicle. Once Bitsie was finally detained, Deputy Swanson handcuffed her, read her her rights, then shoved her in the back of the vehicle where she remained. I could feel the heated gaze of Bitsie’s hate-filled eyes as she sat glaring at me. Why she was so angry at me, I didn’t know. I wasn’t the one who’d gone insane and went on a killing spree.

  “I feel horrible for Chloe,” Ophelia said as she wrapped her arms around my shivering body. “She still hasn’t stopped screaming.”

  When Clive and Chloe came running out of the chateau, followed by nearly a hundred guests, and they found Margot’s body in the sleigh…well, let me just say, I’ll probably never get the horror-filled screams that came from Chloe out of my head. Even though I didn’t fully understand Margot’s and Chloe’s lifestyle of putdowns and shallowness, there was no denying that Chloe loved her friend a lot.