Page 70 of Christmas Mittens Murder

“You’re right.”

“Anyway, you heard what Cam said about solving a few homicides. She and I can put our heads together tomorrow. But—”

Allie cut in. “But first you need to know what my history with Val is. She and I both served on the CCC, the Colinas Community Coalition. Well, I still do. It’s all about keeping downtown beautiful and bringing the local community together as well as the community of tourists. We’ve done things like put cornhole games and a life-sized chess set in the park and sponsor the scarecrow light post contest in October. On Saturday we’re staging a pop-up holiday craft fair in the park.”

“Doesn’t a Chamber of Commerce usually run stuff like community boosting?” I asked.

“Yes, but the Chamber here has been kind of dysfunctional recently. Our group, made up of business owners and civic groups, has the blessing of the city council.” She let out a sigh. “Except Val and I were co-chairs, and we clashed repeatedly about the vision for the group, the direction we wanted to take downtown.”

“In what ways?”

“For one thing, she wanted to let chain stores into the historic district. Cece, we fought hard a decade ago to keep them out of here. Nobody wants chains and box stores downtown. Plus, Val thought Manzanita Boulevard should be flashier, richer looking. It’s not us.”

“No. But you didn’t start a fistfight or anything.” I sipped my cognac. The warmth going down was a comfort but also a reminder to take it slowly.

“Not exactly. One time after a meeting she looked like she was about to shove me. I sidestepped, and she fell forward. She claimed I’d pushed her to the ground, but I hadn’t.”

“Yikes. Were there any witnesses?” I asked.

“No. It was only the two of us. But we’d argued plenty of times in front of others. I’m sure somebody squealed to Quan and that’s why he’s interested in talking with me. Grilling me was more what it was like, honestly.” Allie tasted her drink. “It all came to a head recently. Val was seeking support to push me out of the leadership. I don’t like that kind of tactic and was kind of rallying my own supporters. The whole thing was a mess. But nothing to commit murder over.”

I cradled the bowl of my glass in both palms. A murder had been committed for a reason, though. How could I find out what—and who?

Chapter Seven

I was returning from seeing my nephews off on the school bus at eight the next morning when Cam, wearing a hoodie and tennies, emerged from around the side of Allie’s house.

“Morning, Cece,” she said. “Coming back from a walk?”

“Just to the end of the block. I put the darlings on the bus. They’re ten, and Franklin insists he can walk himself down. He says he’ll be safe. But Arthur is both accident prone and easily distracted. Allie feels safer if someone sees them both off.”

Cam made a face. “I was determined to raise a free-range kiddo. But there’s a lot to worry about these days. I shudder at the thought of my Ruthie walking to a bus alone, even though I know we’ll get there. Plus, she’s much more outgoing than I was as a child. She says hello to every single person she sees on the street. If they don’t respond, she says it again. It’s as if she’s running for mayor. I feel like the potential for disaster lurks in all corners.”

“Allie was friendly like that when we were young. Heck, she still is.” I laughed. “Are you out for a bit of exercise?”

“Yes. Want to join me?”

“Sure. Let me give Allie a shout and grab a key if she’s going out.” I ducked into the house and was back in two minutes.

Cam caught me up on the farmers she’d spoken with yesterday afternoon. “I have two more places to tour today. While we walk, do you want to toss around ideas about the murder?”

“That’d be super helpful. I’ve never had the slightest inclination toward wanting to solve a crime.”

“I get it. But when a person you know and love is threatened—or your livelihood is—you kind of have no choice.”

I nodded. “No choice is exactly how it feels.” Cam had taken a right from the house, which meant we were headed away from downtown. “If we continue in this direction, pretty soon we’ll lose the sidewalk. Let’s go around the block and head back toward town. There’s a nice trail around Halstead Park.”

“Sounds good. Wait a sec. Halstead Park, as in Allie’s last name?”

“The same. Her husband’s family has been here for over a century. Fuller’s double-great-grandfather was one of the first Black professionals to establish a business here, and he became a major philanthropist. Being generous runs in the family, and the town named the park after Fuller’s grandpa.”

“Awesome,” Cam said. “So far I haven’t seen too many people of color in the valley, and I haven’t had a chance to meet your nephews yet.”

“You will soon. Listen, last night Allie filled me in on the CCC, the Colinas Community Coalition.” I told Cam what Allie had said about the group’s mission and about the conflict between her and Val.

“Val sounds like a piece of work,” Cam murmured.

“I know. And a complicated one. Yesterday Thea was saying Val wanted to keep the garden club in the dark ages, sort of. But Allie portrayed her role in the CCC as wanting too much modernization, with chain stores and richer decor.”

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