Murder Aboard the Mistletoe by Ellen Jacobson

Author:Ellen Jacobson [Ellen Jacobson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ellen Jacobson
Published: 2022-03-04T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

“You were gone a long time,” Scooter said when I returned to the table. “Long line at the ladies’ room?”

“Confession time,” I said. “That’s not exactly where I was.”

“You went and questioned Aaron on your own, didn’t you?” Scooter sighed. “I wanted to hear what he had to say. I thought we were a team.”

My shoulders slumped. Scooter was right. I had been so used to investigating cases on my own that I forgot how much my husband wanted to be involved. Granted, it hadn’t been until recently that he could even say the word “murder” out loud or see blood without fainting, but still, I shouldn’t have left him out of the loop.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Why don’t you take the lead on investigating our next suspect?”

“Next suspect? You don’t think Aaron did it?”

“I think he’s definitely hiding something, but I’m not a hundred percent sure that he’s our murderer. I think we need to take a step back and reexamine our suspect list.”

“Well, I think I might have an idea who should be on there.” Scooter’s expression turned somber. “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

“Why don’t you wait until Ben gets back before you tell me?” I flagged down a waitress and asked her for a refill of my iced tea. “Where is he, by the way?”

“Yeah, about that.” Scooter ran his fingers through his hair. “He left, and I don’t exactly think he’s going to want to talk to me again anytime soon.”

I squeezed Scooter’s hand. “What happened?”

“I was saying that I hoped the new owner of the Tipsy Pirate wouldn’t try to change the place the way Edward had.” Scooter gestured at the entrance. “I pointed out how happy people were that Coconut Carl was back. Then Ben said that he was positive the new owner was going to be good for the restaurant and the community.”

“So he knows who is going to inherit the restaurant?”

“Yep, and you won’t believe who it is.” Scooter paused while the waitress refilled our glasses. Then he lowered his voice. “It’s Chelsea.”

My eyes widened. “Chelsea? As in Ben’s girlfriend?”

“Uh-huh.”

“But how? Is she related to Edward?”

“Yep. Turns out that she’s his daughter and his sole heir. Ben told me that the two of them were estranged. She hadn’t seen him for years.” Scooter frowned. “Anyway, that’s when the conversation with Ben took a turn for the worse.”

I took a sip of my iced tea and let Scooter tell the rest of the story in his own time. He fiddled with his straw for a few moments, then took a deep breath. “Basically, I said that since she was inheriting Edward’s estate, that made her a prime suspect. I couldn’t believe it came out of my mouth.”

“Sounds like you did a Mollie,” I said wryly. “I’m always blurting things out, then regretting it.”

“I tried to apologize, but Ben stormed out.”

“Give him some time to cool off,” I said. “I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“I hope you’re right.” He

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