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

it was really cold that night and after ten o’clock there weren’t many people left. Again, why?”

I shrugged. “I just wondered. Did you see Suzanne any time before you left?”

He nodded. “Yes, and she was alive and well when I last saw her.” He grinned at me, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I didn’t kill Suzanne Wilson if that’s what you’re wondering. Honestly, I don’t have a reason to kill her. She had a crush on me, from what I understand. But I sure didn’t kill her because of that.”

I nodded, taking this in. “It’s just odd that she was found murdered on your carousel. Why wasn’t it locked up that night?”

He shook his head incredulously. “Seriously? I think my carousel just happened to be there. And I did lock the gate, but someone busted the lock off of it. If you want to look at someone, you should look at Katrina and Lawrence. That Santa has quite a temper, and I saw him and Katrina huddled together talking about something that night.”

This was news to me. “About what time of night was it when you saw them?” I asked.

“I don’t know, I wasn’t checking the time. But if I had to guess, I would say it was around 9:30 or so. Honestly, if I had to take a guess at who had killed Suzanne, I would look at those two. Especially that Santa Claus. There’s just something about him that screams murderer.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Like I said, I don’t know. There’s just something about him that I don’t like, and it was clear he didn’t like Suzanne. I’m sure you’ve heard they argued that night. Sometimes I’d look over there and I’d see him looking at her with disdain. Like she was beneath him or something.”

“Lawrence can have that kind of air about him,” Christy agreed. “I’ve always felt like he thought he was better than most people. Maybe Suzanne pushed him too far that night.” She looked at me. “There’s a good possibility of that.”

I nodded. There was a good possibility of it.

“Well, it’s been nice talking to you two,” Sam said. “But I’ve got to get to work now. I’m on my lunch break, too. Tell Ethan I didn’t kill her. I’m not a murderer.”

He said it lightly, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about what I’d asked him. “See you later,” I said. I really hoped he hadn’t killed Suzanne. And Lawrence Deal did bother me. He’d lied and then become angry about me questioning him the other day and it made me wonder about him.

“Has Ethan questioned Santa?” Christy asked as we headed to the café.

“Yes, he’s talked to just about everybody.”

The café was warm and cozy when we pushed open the door. We headed toward one of the booths but stopped when I saw Katrina and Lawrence together at a table. I nudged Christy, and she turned and looked in the direction I was looking in.

“Well, look at that,” she said.

“Look at that indeed,” I agreed.

We headed over to their booth. There was the buzz of conversation in the air from the lunchtime crowd.

“Hi Lawrence, hi Katrina,” Christy said brightly. “Fancy meeting you two here.”

“Hi,” I said just as brightly as Christy had. “My goodness, Santa and his lead elf having lunch together.”

Katrina smiled at us, but Lawrence scowled. “That’s right, Santa and his lead elf have got to eat, too,” he said. “What did you expect?”

I nodded. “I’m sure they do,” I said. “It’s just surprising to see the two of you here together when you aren’t in your roles as Santa and his elf.” How often did they meet for lunch?

Katrina chuckled. “I ran into Lawrence out on the sidewalk and we decided we were both starving, so why not stop in for lunch?”

“Walking my mail route in this snow makes me hungry,” Lawrence said with a flat chuckle. “And having to eat lunch by myself every day gets old. I’m just so happy I ran into Katrina, so I don’t have to eat alone.”

I nodded. “I’m sure having lunch by yourself can get old. So how is the new elf gig going, Katrina?”

“It’s awesome. I love entertaining the kids.”

“I’ve always wanted to be an elf,” Christy said. “Elves are the best. I mean, the only part that’s better than playing the lead elf, is playing Santa Claus. Right, Lawrence?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “I suppose it’s an okay gig. I like the kids, and they like me.”

It suddenly occurred to me that choosing Lawrence as Santa Claus wasn’t a great choice. He really wasn’t that jolly of a person. Who did the hiring for that gig?

“Tell me Lawrence, what time did Brittany leave that first night of the Christmas bazaar?” I asked.

He looked at me, his eyes going wide. “What time did she leave? How should I know that? Why are you asking me that question?”

I shrugged. “She was your elf. Why wouldn’t you be aware of when she left for the night? She was supposed to be there to entertain the kids while you talked to them, so didn’t she leave when you did?”

He scowled at me. “Well, I don’t know exactly. We stopped seeing kids before ten o’clock that evening. So I guess she left somewhere around ten o’clock. Why are you asking me these questions?”

I shrugged again. “I don’t know. It just seems like you would know when she left.”

“That’s the first question I would ask if I were the police,” Christy added. “The second would be, Lawrence, did you kill Suzanne Wilson?”

I felt my own eyes go wide, but I forced myself not to look at Christy. “Did the police ask you that?”

Lawrence choked over his water and grabbed a napkin to put over his