The Blonde Before Christmas: a Barb Jackson Mysteries holiday short story (4 page)

I handed her my statement. Kelly did the same. We stood and followed Mona to the reception desk.

"Christmas dinner is at five o'clock. I had Randy's Grill cater the food."

"Great," Mona grinned. "You know I'll be there. And bravo on the catering. You remember how the Birthday Lasagna Fiasco of 2012 played out."

"Do you have to remind me?" I frowned and rubbed my stomach.

Kelly stifled a giggle, only because she hadn't eaten the lasagna.

Three days of Mona, Mandy, and me hanging our heads over the toilet with food poisoning wasn't something I wished to repeat. That had been my first and only attempt at learning to cook for myself. Since then it had been take-out, cereal, grilled cheese, and Top Ramen.

"I'll be there, doll face." She reached across the desk and patted me.

"Then we'll see you there. Take it easy, Mona," I said with a smile.

Kelly and I wrapped our coats tighter around us and made our way back out to my car. The snow had slowed significantly, but it was still bitingly cold.

I started the ignition and let the car warm up.

"This entire situation has me so intrigued," I said as I started the car. "Why would someone kill a mall Santa?" I shook my head. Try as I might, I couldn't get the image of poor dead Santa out of my head.

"It's too bad there's nothing we can do." Kelly shook her head and gazed out the windshield.

"Nothing we can do," I mumbled to myself.

Kelly whipped her head around to stare at me. "I know that look." She pointed a red mitten-covered hand at me. "That's your
I've-got-a-plan look
," she said with a hint of excitement lacing her voice.

Maybe I was just bored with chasing cheaters. Maybe I felt guilty for Detective Smith missing Christmas with his wife and kids. Whatever it was, I couldn't take it.

It had me determined to figure out who killed mall Santa before Christmas morning.

"Yeah," I said and nodded as her contagious excitement started to fill me. "Yeah, I do. Call Mandy and see if she can get away from her house tomorrow. This is going to take all three of us…and maybe Mona too."

Murder at the Mall. Who Killed Santa Claus?

The newspaper apparently wasn't as concerned with ruining Christmas for the children as much as I was. I folded the paper and tossed it back down on the table. So far the police didn't have any leads, or suspects, which wasn't surprising since I'd found the body less than twelve hours ago.

"I should've known you were the one who found that dead guy." Mandy shook her head and laughed. Her long, dark, wavy hair swished over her shoulder as she did so, her full lips tilted up in a grin.

I frowned and stuck my tongue out at Mandy as she took a sip of her coffee. She grinned and shrugged.

Mandy, Kelly, and I were seated around my kitchen table. It was the morning of Christmas Eve, and even though I knew Detective Smith and the rest of the police force were working diligently to find out who killed Santa and making sure the mall was safe, I still felt the need to lend a hand with the case.

I knew I shouldn't, but I felt guilty for Smith possibly missing Christmas with his family. This murder wasn't my job, but I felt the overwhelming need to look into it anyway.

As Kelly and I had assumed, the mall was open for business, complete with a replacement Santa and no trace of the previous one or his murder, except in the headlines of the local newspaper.

"Finding that body was an accident," I defended myself. "It's not like I set out to find a dead guy." I tossed a piece of donut in Mandy's general direction and laughed.

"You know I'm just teasing." She laughed and popped the bite of donut I'd tossed at her into her mouth. "What do we need to do? What's the plan?"

"Well," I sat my coffee cup down. "There really is no drawn-out plan. This is Detective Smith's last week here. He said he's going to have to work through Christmas and miss spending time with his family." I took a drink of my coffee then sat the cup down. "I think we should help him solve as much of this case before the day is over as we can. Mona is going to call me with the name of the dead Santa in just a few minutes. From there, Mandy can gather info on him and feed us the details as they come in. In the meantime, the two of us," I motioned to Kelly and myself, "are going to go to the mall and start asking questions."

"If you found him under the mall Christmas tree, it only makes sense that he was killed in the mall. It's safe to assume that someone who worked with the guy might know something about his murder," Mandy said and ran a hand across the bottom of her chin the way she always did when she was thinking.

"But aren't there surveillance camera all over that place? Wouldn't they have caught the murder on camera?" Kelly asked.

"Mona called me this morning before you all got here," I answered. "Apparently the camera covering the tree is a dummy camera. The only cameras that actually record anything are in the stores themselves and the food court," I explained and took a sip of my coffee.

"That makes sense," Mandy nodded. "There aren't any vendors in that particular area of the mall. The only action that really ever takes place there is around this time of the year when Santa takes pictures with the little kids. All of the cameras would be better utilized in the busier part of the building."

"Exactly." I nodded.

"Mona has had her ear to the ground for any details she can get for us. She's getting really good at gathering information."

"What about this Detective Smith?" Mandy asked. "He has no idea that we're looking into this, does he?" She pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow.

"No, and he's not going to find out unless we discover who the killer is. I want to spend Christmas with my family, and I want him to be able to spend Christmas with his. I know none of this is my fault, but I found that body, so I can't help but feel a little guilty."

"I'm free until around five o'clock," Mandy said. "My mom, grandma, and aunt are all holed up in my kitchen cooking, and the nephews were crowded around the Xbox when I left. They won't even notice that I'm gone until around dinnertime."

"Good." I nodded. "You can work from here if you'd like, or you can go into the office. Whichever you prefer."

Mandy never worked in the field. Her strength was behind a computer screen. Thanks to her older, incarcerated brother, she was the best hacker I'd ever seen.

"I think I'll stay here and keep Mickey company." She reached down and patted my ancient black cat's head. "Besides, I just got warmed back up. It's freezing out there."

"Make yourself at home. Stay as long as you'd like."

My phone buzzed. I grabbed it off of the table and checked the display.

Mona.

I accepted the call and put it on speakerphone, then sat it back down in the middle of the table. I figured that we were all working this case, and we might as well all get the same information at the same time.

"Morning, Mona. What'cha got for us today?" I asked.

"Morning, Barb. I'm guessing that I'm on speaker, and everyone else is there listening?"

"Yes, we're here. How's it going?" Kelly said.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I don't have much for you," she sighed.

"We'll take anything you can give us at this point. I want to get this guy before he ruins everyone's Christmas."

I didn't like to get inside information from Mona unless there was no other way because she was risking her job at the police station.

But Mona was an adrenaline junkie with a no-fear mentality, so she gave me information whether I asked for it or not.

"Your Santa's name was Marvin Garvin."

Kelly snorted. "Please tell me that you're kidding? Marvin Garvin?"

"I wish I was. The poor guy. All I can really tell you is what I overheard Detective Smith talking to Detective Black about this morning." She cleared her throat. "Marvin has two teenaged, estranged daughters. Apparently Marvin was a bit of an alcoholic, and a mean one at that, which is why he's been estranged from his kids and their mothers."

"Why in the hell would the mall hire a mean drunk to play Santa Claus?" Kelly voiced the question we were all thinking.

"He was the cheapest hire, I'm guessing," Mona answered. "You'd be surprised at how many mall Santa's are out there looking for a job this time of the year."

"So two estranged daughters, mean drunk, anything else?" I asked hopefully.

"There was mention of Marvin having a fling with one of his helpers." Mona said. "Bambi, I believe Smith said her name was."

Kelly laughed again. "Bambi the elf? This just keeps getting better and better."

Mona ignored her. "From what I gathered, Bambi and Marvin were hot and heavy up until last week. Also, the cause of death was from blunt-force trauma to the head. They've ruled his death suspicious. That's as much of the conversation as I could get before Smith left the building with Detective Black."

I couldn't help but wonder if the other detective Mona mentioned was Smith's replacement. The handsome one whose image kept creeping into my head. I'd already decided, when I finally started dating again, I wanted one who at least looked like him.

"He doesn't know anything about us looking into this case, does he?" I asked.

"Not that I know of. But Smith is a smart cookie, so watch your step. I'm sure he'll be at the mall on and off all day today, so you're going to have to duck and dodge him if you want to get any investigating done on the down low."

"Thanks, Mona. I'll let you know if we find anything."

"Talk to you later, girls."

I ended the call and slid the phone into my pocket.

"I'll get started looking into Marvin. Do you just want the usual?" Mandy asked as she rose from her chair.

"Yes, please." I nodded, stood, and then moved to the sink and sat my mug down on the countertop. "We should get going. We have less than twenty-four hours to get this figured out."

Kelly stood and made her way to the living room. Mandy situated herself on the sofa with her laptop on her lap and Mickey curled up on her feet. My cat could be a bit of a traitor. Whoever was handing out the love was his best friend, be it me or the mailman, he didn't care.

Kelly and I pulled on our coats, scarves, and gloves.

"We should probably take your car," Kelly said. "My heater is still on the blink."

"Good thinking." I agreed. "Call my cell when you find something," I called over my shoulder to Mandy, who was already hard at work.

"Will do, boss. Be careful." She waved without looking away from the screen.

The radio was buzzing with talk of the dead body found at the mall. But much to my surprise, the focus wasn't really on the fact that a dead man had been found beneath the tree. No, the main story was about the fact that the mall was open, there was a new Santa in place, and there were last minute marked-down prices on those battery-operated cars little kids drove around.

"Wow, it's like they don't even care that someone's dead as long as they get all of their shopping done." Kelly voiced my thoughts from the passenger seat of my little red Volkswagen.

"Sad, isn't it?" I agreed.

Marvin Garvin might not have been a great person, but he was still someone's family.

We made the drive to the mall in about twenty minutes. Traffic was absolutely insane, but neither of us was surprised. It was Christmas Eve after all.

I circled the parking lot a half dozen times before finally finding a parking spot at the edge of the lot.

"The vultures are out." Kelly pointed to a news van parked beside the front doors of the mall. A reporter stood on the sidewalk telling her viewers what little there was to tell about Marvin's murder.

We got out of the car and scanned the lot for any sign of Detective Smith. While he was a nice guy, I knew he wouldn't appreciate my nosing into his case. Sometimes I wished that I didn't have such a loud conscience, but there was nothing I could do about it. I found the body, and now Smith was going to miss Christmas with his wife and kids while working the case.

I felt the need to help solve the case and knew that I wouldn't be able to rest until I did.

"We're going to have to keep our eyes peeled. If Smith finds out what we're up to, he's going to be pissed."

"If he does happen to see us, lie. We're just out doing a little shopping because of the new last-minute sales. I don't know how much we can really help him, but we need to at least try."

"Stay low. Just shopping. Got it," Kelly said.

We hurried through the cold wind and up to the same revolving doors we'd passed through mere hours before.

The mall was packed to the rafters with holiday shoppers.

"Nothing like a dead Santa to bring out the holiday cheer." Kelly shook her head.

I watched the shoppers moving about in what had quickly gone from mall to madhouse.

"Let's grab some coffee. I have a feeling that we're going to need it."

We detoured to the coffee shop, grabbed two caramel macchiatos, and then wove our way through the crowd and back out into the main area of the mall.

I scanned what my short self could see of the crowd. "No sign of Detective Smith or any of the other cops from last night. Do you see him?"

"No. Where do you think we should start?"

Before I could answer, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the display. It was Mandy.

"Mandy, how's it going?"

"I have some information for you. It looks like Marvin Garvin has an arrest record. He has some outstanding parking tickets. Three arrests for public intoxication, two for driving under the influence, one for aggravated assault, and one for assaulting an officer."

"Explain to me again how in the hell he got a job working in the mall with kids?" I asked heatedly. Like I said before, I had a tiny soft spot for little kids.

"It looks to me like the mall's human resource department that hired him wasn't doing their job. They're supposed to run a background check on their employees. Apparently they didn't run one on him, or they did but ignored his convictions because he was a cheap hire," Mandy said with disgust.

I could picture her shaking her head.

"He's from here in the city. Not married and he has a small apartment on the corner of Fifth Street and Wilshire."

"Thanks, Mandy. At least we have a place to start now."

"You're welcome. I'll keep digging in case there's more to this guy."

"Thanks."

She disconnected the call, and I shoved the phone back into my pocket then took a drink of my coffee.

I told Kelly what Mandy had learned.

"How in the hell did he get a job here working with kids?" Kelly voiced my earlier question.

"We need to talk to human resources about that," I said. "I think that's as good of a place as any to start."

We slinked our way through the crowd, until we were about ten yards away from the main tree where I'd found Marvin Garvin's body the night before.

Sure enough, there was a new Santa in place, elves surrounding him with smiles on their faces as though everything was normal.

A loud, hollow bang sounded.

"What was that?" I asked, unable to see over most of the crowd due to my petiteness.

"There," Kelly pointed to one elf standing on a tall stepladder. She held what looked like a mutated Nerf gun. Attached to the back of it was what looked like a small air compressor. A moment later, she pointed the gun toward the air and pulled the trigger. Another hollow bang rang out, but this time I was able to see something red fly out of the end.

"T-shirt cannon," Kelly said. "I've seen them at football games. The cheerleaders sometimes use them to shoot T-shirts, soft foam balls, and other stuff out to the fans in the higher up seats. They also sometimes shoot glitter," she added.

I raised a questioning eyebrow at her. I started to ask her how she knew that, but knowing that she could get a little wild on the weekends, decided against it. There were just some things about Kelly that I wasn't ready to know.

"Come on." I pulled on her sleeve.

We made our way to a directory hanging on the wall beside a door leading into what I was certain, due to the picture of stairs hanging on it, was a stairwell.

"This says that the human resources department is on the second floor."

I had no idea if the resources department would be open or not with it being Christmas Eve, but it was worth a shot.

"There's a problem."

I looked at Kelly. "What?"

"That Detective Smith is at the elevator."

I jiggled the doorknob leading to the stairwell.

Locked.

"I have an idea."

Kelly grasped my arm and pulled me along to the only empty bench available, then drew me down on the seat beside her.

"What are we doing?" I asked her. We were now in plain view of Smith. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought our objective was to stay out of Smith's sight."

Kelly took a drink of her coffee. "The way I see it, he's a good cop. He's going to see us at some point today. Why not go ahead and get it out of the way, and in the meantime I'll call information, get the number to human resources, and make a call to see if anyone is even up there today."

I thought about it for a minute then nodded. "That's as good of a plan as any I guess."

It took a mere second for Detective Smith to spot me and stride over. He looked tired. His deep brown hair was a little disheveled, and the expression he was casting me was anything but welcoming.

I glanced over his shoulder and spotted the man he'd pointed out as his replacement. His eyes met mine then he quickly looked away. Heat prickled my skin.

I returned my eyes to Smith and his closed expression. He knew without a doubt that I was up to something.

He reached down and pulled me gently to my feet. "What are you doing here, Ms. Jackson?"

"It's Barb," I reminded him. "We're doing some last minute shopping," I said as calmly as I could.

He glared at me. "Is that the
only
thing you're doing here?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I just find it funny that you found a body in this very mall last night, and you seemed to be more interested in that body than you should've been. Then here you are again this morning.
Just shopping
." He squinted at me.

This guy was good. I had a feeling that Detective Smith was one of those people who would be able to tell when I was lying before I even opened my mouth, but I tried anyway.

"I'm a naturally curious person, that's why I was interested in what happened to the man. But we're just shopping today. Scout's honor." I smiled up at him in an attempt to look innocent.

He glanced over at Kelly, who was sliding her phone back into her pocket, and frowned.

"
Shopping
?" he asked Kelly.

"Of course." She grinned. "What else would we be doing here?"

I wanted to close my eyes and shake my head. If there was one thing that Kelly liked to do, it was poke the bear. It didn't even matter who the bear was. She just liked to stir the pot.

"Listen," Smith said quietly, "I don't believe for a second that you're here shopping. You're up to something. This is my case. I know that you're an investigator, but there's no reason for you to be here. I've been a cop for fifteen years. I've got this covered."

"Kelly asked for my help. I'll be out of here as soon as possible." I tried to convince him, but he was having none of it.

"You're a PI, I get that, but if you have some plan in your pretty little head to try your hand at solving this case, you need to forget it. I don't have time to worry about your safety, Barb, and that's exactly what I'd do because that's just the kind of guy I am." He shoved a hand through his hair. "I'm no closer to finding out who killed the Santa than I was last night. I want to spend Christmas with my family, but I have to do my job." 

"My finding that body is the reason you're missing Christmas with your family. If someone had found it an hour or so later, this would be someone else's problem. Forgive me"—I held up my hands—"but I feel guilty for you missing the holiday with your family. I want to help."

Smith blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Barb, there's nothing for you to feel guilty about. This is my job. While you're a sweet woman for wanting to help with this case so that I can be with my family tomorrow, there's really nothing for you to do. I can handle this."

I shook my head. "I didn't say that I was investigating, did I?"

"You said you wanted to help." He propped his hands on his hips and frowned down at me. "That's the same thing."

"Is it?" I asked.

Before he could say anything further, I patted his arm. "We both know how to take care of ourselves. Besides, all I'm doing is shopping."

He looked like he wanted to argue but didn't. Instead, he bit his lower lip then blew out a breath.

"You're a licensed private investigator, aren't you?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Do you at least have your weapon on you while you're 'just out shopping'?" He air quoted the phrase.

"Always."

He scrubbed his hand through his hair.

"I have to get back to work. Behave yourself, Barb Jackson. I mean it."

"Of course." I grinned.

I watched him walk away and meet up with the other detective before I turned back to Kelly. "Do you have to poke the bear that way? You better be glad that he's not an ass, or he would've tossed us out of here for interfering with a police investigation."

"He enjoyed it." She chuckled.

"You're ridiculous, you know that?"

She shrugged. "While you two were beating around the bush, I called human resources, and they're closed for the holidays. According to the recording, no one will be back in the office until Monday. So, we're at a dead end on that front."

"All right." I scanned the area. "That's really not a big loss as long as we can find and talk to the mall supervisor. I'd really like to know if he knew about Marvin's record, and how exactly he got hired. It might not be pertinent to the case, but I'm curious. I saw him last night after we found the body. He's the one who told everyone to get out, so at least I know who we're looking for."

"Are you talking about the guy who looked like the cop dad from that show with Steve Urkel?" Kelly asked and finished off her coffee.

"That's the one."

"Seriously." She laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were the same guy." 

"Let's find him and see what he knows about Marvin. He's probably hanging out around the tree and new Santa since that's where everything went down last night."

We made our way through the slowly thinning crowd. The line of children waiting to meet the new Santa extended from the front of the tree, around the corner of the food court, and almost all the way to the coffee shop at the main entrance again.

We picked our way around the kids and their parents until we were near the rear of the tree where I'd spotted the body the night before. Sure enough, the mall supervisor was there, along with two security guards, I recognized one of them as Eric, whom I'd met the night before.

"There he is." I motioned discreetly in the man's direction. 

We approached the men calmly so as not to attract any attention to ourselves. I hadn't seen Detective Smith again, and I wanted to keep it that way.