Deathly Christmas (3 page)

“I apologize, David,” Betty said meekly. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

David, who hated being on bad terms with anyone, accepted her apology. He knew Betty and Eve were never going to give up on their feud and Eve herself had thought more than once that Betty was a suspect back in the summer murders. It was better to let it go. It was Christmas after all.

“I don’t believe it,” Eve exclaimed. “How dare that woman accuse me of murdering Jennifer? Just wait until I see her. I’ll have a few choice words to say. The only person I would ever want to poison is her…. not that I ever would of course,” she added quickly.

“Calm down, darling,” David spoke soothingly to Eve, putting his arm around her. “You know what she can be like.  And admit it, Eve, you and Betty are never going to be friends.”

Eve grunted, knowing David was right. 

“In all fairness, however,” he continued, “she was in a state of shock after finding Jennifer’s body. I can assure you it wasn’t a pretty sight, and to top it all, Betty had been sitting alone with the corpse for some time before Pete and I got there. I think she spoke in the heat of the moment….. and she did apologize in the end.”

Eve said nothing. She didn’t like it when David made excuses for Betty. He, on the other hand, didn’t know why Pete had mentioned Betty’s accusations to Eve. He knew how she would react.

“Yes, please try to put it to the back of your mind,” Annie added.

She was also a touch annoyed with her husband’s slip of the tongue. You had to be particularly careful and watch what you said in front of Eve. There was no telling how she would react, particularly if it wasn’t supportive of her.

“Now come on, it is Christmas,” Annie continued, hoping that Eve would forget about Betty. “Let’s try and enjoy ourselves as much as we can under the circumstances.”

However, Eve was still livid. She had done her best to patch things up with Betty after Phyllis had been arrested. Phyllis had been Betty’s only friend and Betty had naturally been upset to learn that she was the murderer. However, Betty had only been civil to Eve for a few days after Phyllis had been arrested, despite the ordeals Eve had been through. Betty had soon resumed her vendetta against Eve, refusing to accept that she and David were together. That had been the final straw for Eve and she had decided not to give Betty any more chances. The feud had been resumed with a vengeance.

However, as Annie had said, it was Christmas and Eve loved this time of year. She didn’t want Betty to spoil it for her, and although the new murder had put a shadow over everything, none of them had known Jennifer well, so it wasn’t as if they had lost a member of the family or a close friend. They were still entitled to enjoy the festivities, although they might now be a little subdued.

However, unfortunately for everyone a thought suddenly struck Eve.

“The police might suddenly turn up here,” she announced. “That’ll ruin Christmas Day for us.”

“We have nothing to hide, so there’s no need to be concerned,” Pete snapped.

Annie and David looked at each other. Pete rarely became angry and Annie realized that Eve must be trying his temper to the limit.

“What did they say when they arrived at Jennifer’s?” Annie asked David, hoping Pete would become less tense.

Ignoring her husband was the only way she knew to calm him down. If she included him in the conversation, his temper would rise. Annie didn’t want a bad situation to get worse, not on Christmas Day. 

“Well,” David replied. “The police didn’t say much. They took our names and addresses and then removed the small bit of cake and the glass of wine that Jennifer was drinking. I believe they’re going to test them both for poison. The body was taken away and that was it.”

“Oh my God, I’ve had an awful thought,” Eve exclaimed.

She found herself shaking and her hands felt clammy.

“What if Betty’s the killer and she went over to Jennifer’s and put poison in my cake when she wasn’t looking? Betty could have done it to put the blame on me.”

“Why would Betty want Jennifer dead?” David asked Eve, sighing with frustration. “She was hoping to have her as a friend and confidante. Anyway, it looked like rigor mortis had set in so she couldn’t have been killed when Betty went round this morning.”

“She could have popped over last night,” Eve continued, now having convinced herself that Betty was the killer.

“Oh come on, Eve,” David continued. “Betty might be an unpleasant woman, but she isn’t a murderer.”

“We don’t know that. She’s been acting very strangely since Phyllis was arrested.”

“Your mind’s working overtime again, Eve,” David remarked, becoming impatient with her. “In my opinion, she’s a lonely, interfering and unhappy woman, that’s all.”

David knew she was being illogical, but the thing he was most worried about was Eve becoming interested in solving the crime. He had nearly lost her in the summer and didn’t want a repeat of that experience.

Annie nodded in agreement. She had known Betty for a few years, but they had never become close. Annie found her too overpowering and manipulative, but she couldn’t imagine her killing anyone, especially not Jennifer. Everyone knew Betty had chosen her to be her new best friend. 

“I’m being punished for not making that cake,” Eve wailed a moment later.

Pete and Annie both stared at her, wondering what this was all about. Eve could be so dramatic.

“I made all the other food for the party, believe me, but I’d left it too late to make the cake, so I bought one at the English shop. Now I’m being punished.”

A few tears slid down Eve’s cheeks and Annie went and put her arms around her, even though she knew her friend was trying to be the centre of attention again.

“Come on, Eve, nobody’s judging you and you’re not being punished for anything,” Annie said, hoping to comfort her friend and get her back into the Christmas spirit. “It doesn’t make any difference whether you made the cake or not. The fact you prepared everything else is outstanding. When you first arrived on Crete, you could barely cook at all. Now look at you. The rest of the food was delicious and it all looked as if a professional chef had made it. Wipe away the tears and let’s eat lunch. We’ve got to try and enjoy the rest of today.”

Eve gently wiped away her tears, trying not to ruin her make-up, and attempted to smile. However, she was now incensed with the attitude of other people. Yesterday it was David, today Annie. Why did people keep mentioning that she couldn’t cook when she came to live on Crete? She didn’t think she’d been quite as bad as that. She’d put out quite a spread for her first party on the island and the only thing she’d bought pre prepared was the pastry for the mini quiches.

David thought champagne might cheer Eve up and lighten her mood, so he nipped into the kitchen while she was having a tirade about the awful food Betty plated at her parties. When he came back with the champagne, he evenly poured it into four flutes and Eve’s face lit up. David was relieved.

“That’s just what I needed,” Eve said a few moments later, smiling as she sipped her favorite nectar. “I don’t know why I’m getting so upset. It’s what I’ve come to expect of Betty, so I shouldn’t be surprised?”

Eve paused and then her face suddenly fell. David, seeing the change in her, found his feeling of reprieve disappear almost as quickly as it had arrived.

“Oh no, I’ve just had another awful thought,” Eve cried, the color leaving her face despite her winter tan. “Forget about Betty. Someone else at the party could have been trying to frame me. There were so many people there that it would have been easy for anyone to put poison in my cake and then get lost in the crowd.”

“Don’t be silly, Eve,” Annie said quickly. “The cake was in one piece for most of the afternoon. You cut the first slice for Jennifer, wrapped it straight away, and gave it to her. I watched you. The poisoner wouldn’t have known which bit of the cake you were going to give her or if you were going to give her any. Then both Pete and I had a piece, so the poison can’t have been in the cake. It was more likely in the wine, but we don’t know where that came from.”

“But Jennifer put the cake in her handbag and left it on the floor for a while. I saw her do that.”

“Eve, it’s better that we wait and see if there was poison in the cake or not,” Pete stated, getting fed up with her obsessing about the cake.

He had calmed down, but he could feel his temper rising again. Why couldn’t Eve stop harping on?

“You’re probably worrying for nothing,” he continued, “and anyway, these were your friends at the party. I can’t imagine any of them wanting to frame you.”

David went over and gave Eve a hug. In a way he was glad she was nervous. He didn’t want her to become interested in searching for the murderer. She was lucky to be alive after the last time, but he knew that Eve’s moods could change like the wind and she could recover from setbacks and her fears easily. He wouldn’t be surprised if she forgot about her worries and went all out in her search for Jennifer’s killer. She had very little faith in the Greek police, not to mention the fact that she would think of this as an exciting challenge.

 “Come on, let’s change the subject,” Annie said, wanting this conversation to end. “Lunch is almost ready. I hope you two men can forget the image of the body.”

“It wasn’t very pleasant,” Pete said. “I did get used to things like this working in the force, but it must have been a bit of a shock to you, David.”

“It was pretty gruesome,” David remarked. “I don’t think I’ll forget it in a hurry.”

It was Eve’s turn this time to hug David. He was touched, especially as it was usually him comforting her.

“Right,” Eve said. “Let’s decide not to mention the murder throughout lunch.”

The others happily agreed, although they were surprised Eve suggested it, and Christmas lunch passed pleasantly enough, with an excess of food and wine.

As they sat down in the sitting room afterwards, all thoughts of the murder had more or less disappeared.

“That was a delicious meal, Annie,” Eve said contentedly as she collapsed on the sofa. “I’m well and truly full up; though I’m sure I can make room for one of those chocolates.”

Eve glanced at a large box of Belgian chocolates sitting on a side table, thinking that however full she was, there was always room for something sweet. Annie smiled, knowing that Eve would be back at the gym in the New Year making sure she hadn’t put on any extra weight over the holidays and if she had, getting it off as soon as possible.

Eve has a wonderful figure,
Annie thought enviously.

Annie was also in good shape for a woman her age, but she didn’t bother to exercise so she did need toning up. She kept meaning to go to the gym in Chania with Eve and David, but so far had made excuses. Perhaps it should be her New Year’s resolution.

“Here are Metaxas for everyone,” Pete announced. “I’m sure we’ve all got a little room left for these.”

Both Eve and David beamed, looking forward to their after dinner drinks. They loved the Greek version of brandy, which was sweeter than the normal stuff. Annie went into the kitchen to make coffee.

Just as they had settled down with their drinks and chocolates, the doorbell went and they all jumped.

“Who on earth can that be,” Annie asked. “Perhaps it’s Betty and Don needing some company. I’d forgotten all about them and the murder. We should have rung them earlier to see if they were alright.”

Eve grimaced at the thought of spending time with Betty while Pete got up and answered the door. A few moments later, he came back in with two Greek police officers. Eve’s heart missed a beat.
Not again,
she thought. She definitely didn’t want to go through this again, having had enough of the police in the summer.

Eve recognized one of officers. When she was in hospital after being poisoned, he had been the one to interview her and he seemed to be in charge of this case.

“Good evening,” he said. “My name is Dimitris Kastrinakis. I apologize for interrupting your Christmas festivities. I believe that Betty Jones called the two gentlemen here after she found Miss Anderson’s body.”

“Yes,” Pete stated. “Her Greek isn’t very good, so she needed help calling the police and I only live a few minutes’ drive away.”

“Miss Masters, we meet again,” Dimitris said, almost smiling. “You are always around when there is a murder, is that not so?”

Eve, smarting at this comment, was going to tell him she had been nowhere near Jennifer’s body, but Dimitris didn’t allow anyone to get a word in and spoke almost immediately.

    “We have spoken to Betty and she says you made the cake that Jennifer ate. Is that right, Miss Masters?”

Eve felt herself going red, knowing the truth would probably come out now and once Betty discovered that it had been purchased from the English shop, she would revel in the knowledge.

“I’m afraid I didn’t. I’d left it too late to make a cake. It has to mature you see, and have alcohol poured over it every so often. It’s the English way. So I bought one.”

Eve noticed that Annie was trying not to smile.

“I made everything else for my party,” Eve added, looking directly at Annie. “I only bought the cake. I opened it on the day of the party and sliced it in front of everyone, so I couldn’t have put poison in it.”

“Well, the tests will tell the truth,” Dimitris continued.

Eve was about to argue with him, when she felt David shove her in the ribs. He was probably right. It was better to keep quiet. Eve had learnt this the hard way in the summer.

    “There is one other thing. Miss Anderson had been drinking dessert wine - we are testing that as well. Have you any idea where that came from? Was it a Christmas gift?”

All of them shook their heads and said they had no idea if it was a present or not.

“Were any of you friendly with Miss Anderson?” Dimitris continued.

“I think I can speak for all of us,” Pete said. “She was more of an acquaintance than a friend. She only moved over to Crete in October. I think she was only friendly with Betty and Don Jones.”