The Witch Who Stole Christmas (The Witches of Holiday Hills Cozy Mystery Series Book 24) by Carolyn Ridder Aspenson

Author:Carolyn Ridder Aspenson [Aspenson, Carolyn Ridder]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magnum Grace Publishing
Published: 2024-12-12T00:00:00+00:00

Carol Singer answered the door wearing onesie pajamas covered in Christmas gnomes of all shapes and sizes. “Oh, hello, ladies. This is a wonderful surprise. Come on in.”

She’s not going to think it’s so wonderful when we blast her with our interrogation.

As usual, Cooper was in a mood.

We’ll handle it discreetly. “Thank you,” I said to Carol. “That would be lovely.”

Stella handed her a cookie tin she hadn’t had on the way over. “These are for you. They’re spiced orange-cranberry shortbread cookies with white chocolate drizzle. My mom’s recipe. I hope you like them.”

“Oh wow!” She smiled. “I love shortbread and cranberry. Thank you!” She offered us tea.

Since we needed to stick around and question her, we agreed to the tea and studied the living area while we waited for her to return with it.

“Someone threw up Christmas in here,” Stella said.

I coughed to cover my laugh. “Inside voice.”

She blanched. “My bad, but seriously. I hope the owner did it, because it looks like a lot.”

“Oh,” Carol said. “Are you talking about the decorations?”

Stella nodded. “They’re so—” She paused. ”Amazing!”

“Thanks. I did them myself. I still wanted to celebrate the holiday, and I normally throw up Christmas at my place, so I brought it all with me.”

Stella cringed. “I didn’t mean⁠—”

Carol laughed. “It’s okay. You wouldn’t be the first one to say that. I just love Christmas, though. That’s why I had to come here over the holiday. I wanted to make sure the town celebrated it well.”

“What do you think so far?” I asked.

“I was a little alarmed to hear about the tree and the vandalism, but other than that, it’s been lovely.”

“Alarmed to hear?” I asked. “I thought you would have seen it.”

“Oh, I had planned to, but Sandra, the lady that lives next door, needed help with her Christmas lights. I told her I’d come by to put them up for her.”

She was lying. Sandra had put her lights up magically since she had fallen off a ladder doing it the old-fashioned way five years before. Stella and I shared a look, but I didn’t say anything about it. “She always has such lovely decorations.”

“She does,” she said. “She showed me photos yesterday afternoon, and she seemed so upset that she wouldn’t be able to get them up this year. I just can’t stand seeing older people cry, so I offered to help.”

“How kind of you,” Stella said. The sarcastic tone wasn’t lost on me.

“What’re your thoughts on moving here?” I asked.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. The people have been nice, but the destruction of the stores and the tree are upsetting to me. What if it happens again and continues next year?”

“Gabe Ryder is the police chief, and he’s also my significant other. He will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I like Chief Ryder,” she said. “He was just here earlier.” Her eyes narrowed. “You think I did it, don’t you?”

I played dumb. “Did what?”

She pushed the cookie tin toward Stella on the coffee table. “You think I set the tree on fire and destroyed those windows.

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