Page 31 of Christmas Mittens Murder

It was a reliable tactic that she had used multiple times in her own amateur investigations.

“Okay, we’ll just ring the bell and compliment them on the Christmas display, and if they invite us in, then great, but if not, we go home and let Sergio handle it,” Hayley insisted.

Bruce was already halfway to the front door.

Hayley had to scurry in order to catch up. By the time she reached him, he was ringing the bell, which had been reprogrammed for the holidays with chimes that played a Christmas carol medley.

They stood there a few minutes before the door finally opened a crack and Tawny peered out, mug in hand. “Bruce, Hayley, good evening. I’m sorry, were we expecting you?”

“No, we were just admiring your Christmas lights display. It truly gets more impressive and resplendent every year,” Hayley said.

“Thank you, I am so pleased you like it,” Tawny said, still confused as to what they were doing at her front door. But ever the hostess, she could not stop herself from adding, “Would you like to come in for some hot cocoa?”

Hayley put a hand up. “Oh no, it’s late and—”

“We’d love to!” Bruce declared, pushing past her into the foyer, noticing Tawny’s off-kilter reaction, as if the last thing she had expected was for them to actually accept her kind invitation.

“We won’t stay long,” Hayley promised.

Tawny led them inside the large home through the foyer decked out with potted poinsettias, mistletoe, a life-size Rudolph reindeer with a lit-up red nose and even an eight-foot candy cane made of metal. She guided them into the living room with a fireplace mantel adorned with stockings, garland, lanterns and ribbon. Hayley stopped in her tracks, in awe of the enormous towering Christmas tree. “That’s got to be one of the most beautifully decorated trees I have ever seen.”

“That’s lovely of you to say. Both Scooter and I are absolutely nuts when it comes to Christmas. We just can’t get enough of the holiday spirit,” Tawny said. She walked over to a silver serving tray and poured two mugs of hot chocolate, adding a dollop of whipped cream with a serving spoon, and then handing them to Bruce and Hayley.

“Thank you,” Hayley said, taking a sip. “Delicious.”

Bruce looked around. “Where’s Scooter?”

“He’s not here. He had to fly to New York late last night to take care of some business. He should be back sometime tonight if our plane doesn’t run into bad weather.”

Private jet.

Of course Scooter Beauchemin had his own airplane.

“I heard there’s a nor’easter coming up from DC. Let’s hope it blows out to sea before it reaches us,” Bruce said.

Tawny eyed them curiously. “Did you have something you wanted to discuss with Scooter?”

“Yes,” Hayley answered, improvising. “As a close friend of Reverend Ted’s, I know how much he wants to help the disadvantaged here on the island, and when Scooter withdrew his donation, I know that utterly devastated him. So we were hoping we might be able to persuade Scooter to reconsider.”

“I don’t know about that,” Tawny said. “Once Scooter makes up his mind, he hardly ever changes it.”

“I understand,” Hayley sighed. “It’s just that it’s for such a good cause.”

“With all that went down at the bazaar, you must sympathize with Scooter’s point of view. His reputation means everything to him. He can’t risk being tainted by theft and murder all around him.”

Tawny Beauchemin had just offered up a very clear and concise motive, one any prosecutor would probably love to get her hands on.

“Yes, scandal is never good for business,” Hayley remarked. “Especially when it’s so close to home.”

Tawny’s polite smile slowly faded. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

Bruce and Hayley exchanged quick glances. Bruce signaled Hayley that since she had started the ball rolling, she might as well continue with it.

Hayley cleared her throat and proceeded cautiously. “I’m simply saying that if it were to get out that, say, someone near and dear to his heart, take you, for instance, hypothetically, if you had snatched Ed Willoughby’s diamond ring when no one was watching, and the news became public, well, that would be a huge blow to Scooter’s sterling reputation.”

Tawny’s face tightened. “But I didn’t steal it, so as you pointed out, it’s all just hypothetical.”

“Yes, but it’s easy to draw that conclusion given your past history,” Bruce said quietly.

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