Page 98 of Christmas Mittens Murder

A few people laughed.

“Each night we add one more until the eighth night, when the menorah is full of light. But here we have the miracle of all the candles being lit at once.” She gave a nod to a man standing near the wall of the gazebo.

The menorah sprang into being, the soft light of six-foot-tall candles filling the sky. The rabbi began singing what I assumed was a prayer. A number of people in the gathering chanted along. When the rabbi was finished, she thanked everyone for coming and wished us a peaceful and joyous week.

“What a lovely ceremony,” I said. “The lit menorah is pretty, isn’t it?”

“Very,” Cam said. “Hey, there’s the farmer who told me about this. I’m going to go say hi to her.”

“And I’m going to see if I can get some elevation and take a picture of the lights in the dark. Yesterday I saw a rock formation over there.” I gestured to my right.

“Meet you back here.” She pointed herself at the farmer.

I headed off to where I’d seen a big boulder. The buzz of conversation faded behind me. I cast a glance back. If I could get a little more height, it would be a stunning photo.

On the other hand, it was dark away from the lights. I stumbled on an uneven patch of ground but caught myself. I paused to switch on my phone’s flashlight. The light was dimmer than I expected. I hoped my battery wasn’t running out of juice. All I really needed was enough power to take the picture. This was an older model phone and didn’t hold a charge as well as it used to. Maybe I’d give myself an upgrade as a Christmas gift.

In front of me loomed the boulder. I headed around to the back, where the granite sloped more and would be easier to climb up. I slid the phone into my coat pocket and climbed. As I reached the top, I groaned. It didn’t have a flat-enough surface to stand on, at least not while also keeping my balance in the dark. The last thing I wanted was to teeter and fall, cracking my head on the way down.

Instead, I lay belly-down on the rock, propping my elbows on the top. There. I aimed, framed, and got a perfect shot. I took three more for good measure.

Now I had to get myself down. Rather than try to find footholds in the dark, I decided to descend seater-rumpus. That is, on my rear end. But the turning was awkward. I was halfway over when I heard a noise. I froze. Someone was breathing. Through their mouth. Thea. She was the only person I’d met up here who breathed like that. And she was close. Too, too close.

Chapter Twenty-six

My heart raced. Could I scramble back to the top? What if she came after me and pushed me off the rock?

An iron grip clasped my ankle. No! I kicked out. Thea swore and let go, enabling me to complete my turn onto my rear. A tall dark-clad figure in the night below, she grabbed my foot again. I tried to kick loose. This time she held on.

“What are you doing, Thea?” I swallowed down my shaky voice, or attempted to. “Take your hand off my foot and let me get down.”

“You’ll get down,” she snarled. She tugged, hard.

I began to slide. I bent my other knee, digging my heel into a crevice in the rock, but I couldn’t find any handholds with my hands damp with nerves. I tightened my Pilates-strong core and kept my head up off the boulder. I was too far away from the gazebo to yell for help, and if I fumbled for my phone or the other weapon in my pocket, I knew I’d slip off the boulder and drop the device.

“Why are you doing this?” I heard the desperation in my voice and hated it. I thought furiously. I’d be better off on the ground. I might be able to escape. Except, she was much taller than me. And those triathlete’s arms—

She yanked. I slid and thudded onto the ground on my back, my ankle still in her grasp. But I hadn’t cracked my head on the boulder.

“You and your farmer have been asking way too many questions.” Thea loomed over me, her voice low and threaening, still holding my ankle in her left hand. Something pendulous swung from her other hand.

My insides turned to ice. It had to be the eighth bocce ball in the other mitten of the pair.

“Did you kill Val?” I asked.

“Val.” She spat out a laugh. “She tried to ruin me years ago, and she was still trying. She didn’t deserve to live. Just like you don’t.”

I swore to myself. I locked the knee of the leg she held and tightened my thigh. She tried to twist my ankle, but with only one hand, she didn’t have the strength. She couldn’t swing the heavy mitten and hit my head while still gripping my ankle. I bent my other knee and coiled my strength.

Thea dropped my foot. I pulled back my bent leg, fast, and slammed a flat foot into her knee as she took a step closer to my head. She cried out and crumpled. I rolled in the other direction and jumped to my feet, pulling out of my left pocket the pepper spray I always carried.

She still clutched the mitten but moaned, her other hand on her knee. “You hurt me.”

“Let go of the mitten, Thea.”

She didn’t.

I didn’t trust her an inch, but I didn’t want to use the foul spray if I didn’t have to. I stepped away and stashed it. Instead I turned on the phone’s flash and snapped a picture of her. She pushed up on an elbow and let out a string of expletives. I’d rarely heard worse. She lashed out with her foot. She missed.

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