Peppermint Fudge Killer: A Pumpkin Hollow Mystery, book 13 by Kathleen Suzette (reading list txt) 📕

They could run it as a short before one of the other animated features. That’s a great idea,” I said and looked at him. “I wish somebody that was in charge here would think of that.”

“Maybe next year we should suggest it to them a few months in advance. You never know, they might be able to do it.”

“I hope so. We should do it. We should ask them if they can get it.”

Ethan paid for our tickets and we went inside. There was a long line at the snack bar, but we still had plenty of time before the movie began.

“Why don’t we wait around a few minutes to see if the line goes down,” Ethan suggested. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at it.

“Are you waiting for a phone call?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No, I just wondered what time it was.”

Ethan seemed almost agitated now as we waited, and I wondered about it. Was it really caused by the fact that a former classmate was murdered? I had filled him on in on what I had learned on the way over, and he hadn’t had much to say about it. Maybe he had a suspect in his sights, and he wasn’t happy about who it was.

We looked up as John Sawyers and his wife, Ellen, walked into the movie theater. They caught sight of us and headed over.

“Hi Ethan, hi Mia. How are you two doing this evening?” John asked.

“We’re doing great,” I said.

John and Elaine owned the hobby shop near the plaza. “It was a shame what happened at the plaza the other night,” he said, nodding. “I hate when things like that happen.”

“It is a shame,” Ethan said. “Can I ask you, John, what time did you leave your shop that night?”

“It was close to ten o’clock. We hung around as people closed up their booths at the bazaar. We closed the shop at nine o’clock. Do you have any idea who may have killed that girl?”

“I’m still working on the case,” Ethan said. “Did you notice anything unusual that night? Was there anybody hanging around that looked suspicious? I asked some of the shop owners that were closer to the carousel, but your shop is a little further away and I haven’t made it over there yet.”

He nodded. “I really didn’t notice anyone unusual hanging out in the area. We went and took a ride on the carousel and got some cocoa and popcorn and looked at the booths. I guess that’s where our attention was because I don’t remember anybody unusual.”

“Everything seemed to be going really well,” Ellen said. “Everyone was having a good time, and the last thing I would have expected was for there to be a murder that night.”

Ethan nodded. “That’s just about what everyone has said.”

“Actually, there was one thing I did notice,” John said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one was standing close to us.

“What’s that?” Ethan asked.

“The little elf from Santa’s workshop had an argument with Santa Claus that night. They got loud, and it kind of worried me that maybe some of the kids would overhear it.”

“Did you hear what the argument was about?” Ethan asked him.

I stared at him. Santa had lied. He told me there was no argument between him and his elf.

“He said something about him being the one in charge. He said she was his elf, and she needed to do what he told her to do. It sounded like she was tired of the kids, if you want to know the truth. She didn’t have any business playing the part of an elf if she was irritated by all the kids.”

“Did she say anything explicitly about being tired of the kids?” Ethan asked.

He nodded. “She said one of the kids had hit her when she tried to help him down from Santa’s lap. Then other kids started crying, and she said she wasn’t going to put up with it anymore.”

“That’s kind ridiculous to take a job like that if you aren’t crazy about kids,” I said. “I mean, you’ve got to know you’re going to have some kids that aren’t happy.”

“That’s what I thought,” he said. “But Santa—he got really angry at her. They were standing behind the wooden backdrop that the chairs sit in front of. I think they were taking a break, and Santa told her she needed to go back out front and entertain the kids. And he didn’t say it nicely.”

I was shocked. Not only had Santa lied, but he had been mean to his elf. “What did she say to that?”

“She said she didn’t care who he thought he was, because she wasn’t going to do it. Then he threatened to get her fired.”

I crossed my arms in front of myself as I thought about this. “I bet that didn’t make her happy.”

He shook his head. “No, she turned around and said that she was going to get him fired. She said it knowingly, like she knew something about him. But she didn’t say what it was.”

I glanced at Ethan as he took this in. “She didn’t give any hints about how she was going to get him fired?”

They both shook their heads. “No,” Ellen said. “But it was a heated argument. We had been standing near one of the booths looking over the items they had for sale, but it was nearly time to close, so there weren’t many people there.”

“This is good information to know,” Ethan said thoughtfully. “I’ll have a talk with Santa. And if you can, can you keep this between yourselves for now?”

John nodded. “I intended to give you a call, but with the Christmas season, it’s been crazy busy at the shop.”

“I understand,” Ethan said. “Thanks for the heads