Gathered in one volume for the very first time, here are three yuletide tales of mystery, murder, and romance, featuring your favorite sleuths . . . THE TWELVE DESSERTS OF CHRISTMAS by JOANNE FLUKE It’s the perfect mix of naughty and nice when two lovestruck boarding school teachers watch six kids over Christmas break. But when someone wants the cozy couple’s romance to burn out faster than a scorched fruitcake, it’s Hannah Swensen to the rescue, armed with her sleuthing skills—and twelve deliciously festive recipes . . . NIGHTMARE ON ELF STREET by LAURA LEVINE Aside from the mortifying costume, how bad can a gig as a mall Santa’s elf be? Jaine Austen finds out when she’s teamed up with the Santa from Hell. But things go from bad to worse when he’s found murdered on the job—and Jaine is a suspect. Now all she wants for Christmas is to find the real killer . . . THE CHRISTMAS THIEF by LESLIE MEIER Elizabeth Stone is ready for a white Christmas in Tinker’s Cove, Maine—until a fancy Yule ball at the Florida hotel where she works dumps snow on her plans. The sponsor’s jewels have gone missing and the police are asking about her ties to a cute mystery guest. Good thing Elizabeth’s mother, Lucy Stone, flew down to surprise her. ʼTis the season for a little investigating . . . Includes Luscious Holiday Recipes!
Release date:
October 29, 2019
Publisher:
Kensington
Print pages:
320
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It was a mild day by Minnesota standards. The temperature was in the low teens, and there was no wind to kick up the foot and a half of snow on the ground. The skies were leaden gray and more snow was predicted before the day was over, but Julie Jansen didn’t have time to think about the weather.
She fairly flew across the quad, sprinting for the oldest and most impressive brick building on the campus. Only the corrugated rubber soles on her snow boots kept her from wiping out as she hit the patch of ice that always formed near the flagpole. Julie was breathing hard as she pulled open the heavy door to the main building and stopped at the cloakroom to make a lightning-fast switch from boots to shoes. Then the race was on again and she dashed down the hallway, breaking the school rule about running in the halls, her dark blond ponytail whipping from side to side the way it had when she’d been a cheerleader at Jordan High. There’d been no time to braid her hair and put it up in the elaborate style she wore in the classroom to make her look older. She’d slept through her alarm, and there had been barely enough time to dress. It was departure day at Lakes Academy and Julie was late for the final faculty meeting before Christmas vacation.
Julie skidded around the corner, the ends of her silk scarf flapping, and headed into the home stretch. Perhaps they hadn’t started yet. Maybe Dr. Caulder had gotten a last-minute call and she could slide into her chair before he came in. But her hopes died a quick death as she neared her destination. The door to the conference room was standing open and she could hear the headmaster’s stentorian voice. His head was turned away from the door and Julie did her best to slink in unnoticed, but just as she thought she was going to succeed, he turned to look her way. Julie sank into her chair, her cheeks hot and her breath coming in little puffs from the exertion. Could her students possibly be correct when they claimed that Dr. Caulder had eyes in the back of his head?
“We’re so glad you decided to join us, Miss Jansen,” Dr. Caulder intoned, and thirteen pairs of eyes turned to stare at her disapprovingly. The fourteenth pair, a warm brown color that reminded Julie of melted chocolate, held only compassion for her embarrassment and what Julie hoped was the beginnings of romance. Matt Sherwood, the second-newest teacher at Lakes Academy, knew exactly why she was late. They’d attended the Christmas program in the auditorium and after their students had left, they’d taken a stroll under the tall pines that stood like sentinels outside the main gate of the academy and he’d held her close to his side. Shivering a bit after the cold excursion, Julie had suggested sharing the thermos of hot chocolate the cook always left out for teachers who worked late, and they’d stayed up until almost three in the morning.
Julie tore her eyes away from Matt’s and turned to the headmaster to apologize. But instead of scowling, Dr. Caulder was smiling at her! That was ominous, and Julie clamped her lips shut and let her gaze skitter away. When she’d first arrived at the academy in September, one of the older teachers had told her that the only time Dr. Caulder ever smiled at a teacher was when he was getting ready to put one over on her.
“Ah, the enthusiasm of youth!” Dr. Caulder’s smile grew a bit wider. “I happen to know that Miss Jansen was up very late last night, but here she is, only five minute late, ready to share her love of learning and her zest for life with us.”
Uh-oh, Julie groaned under her breath. Dr. Caulder must have had his spies out last night. It was recommended that teachers retire before midnight and most of the older staff did just that. But someone had spotted her with Matt and squealed on them. If Julie ever found out who the rat with the big mouth was, she’d . . .
“This is one of the reasons I’m sure Miss Jansen won’t mind filling in for us this year. If my wife and I weren’t expected at her sister’s, we’d be glad to shoulder the responsibility. Unfortunately, it’s a bit late to change our plans. We’ll be back here the day after Christmas to assume charge.”
What’s he talking about? Julie shot a silent question to her co-conspirator in late-night conversation, but Matt gave a little shrug of the broad shoulders she found so attractive. It seemed her partner in after-curfew crime didn’t know either.
“As always, we’re the last to know,” Dr. Caulder said with a sigh. “The reasons are varied, some legitimate and others . . . shall we say, impossibly lame?”
There were several titters from the older members of the staff. Julie shot another glace at Matt and was pleased to see that he looked almost as puzzled as she felt.
“Six unfortunate children will be staying here over the semester break,” Dr. Caulder went on to explain, “three girls and three boys. That means two teachers, one male and one female, must be in residence to supervise them. This is where you enter the picture, Miss Jansen. Because you’re unmarried and have no pressing family obligation, I would appreciate it if you’d stay with the girls. Of course you certainly have the option to decline. And if you do, we’ll simply have to make other arrangements.”
Julie thought about it for a moment. She didn’t have anywhere she had to go for Christmas. Her parents were taking the Christmas cruise they’d always dreamed of, and she’d planned to spend the holidays with her older brother. They’d never been close, and David and his wife would probably be relieved if she canceled. Then her nieces wouldn’t have to double up to give her a bedroom.
“Miss Jansen?”
Julie drew a deep breath and jumped in with both feet. “I’ll be glad to stay, Dr. Caulder.”
“Excellent! All of us appreciate your sacrifice.”
Julie noticed with surprise that there were smiles and nods around the table. It seemed all she had to do to be accepted by the rest of the staff was to take a job nobody else wanted. She smiled back and waited for the other shoe to drop. Dr. Caulder needed a male teacher for the boys and there were only two unmarried male teachers on the staff. One was Mr. Leavenger, the math teacher. He was only a year or two away from retirement and a bit of a curmudgeon. Spending Christmas vacation with Mr. Leavenger as her sole adult companion would seem endless, but she could handle it if she had to. The only other unmarried teacher was . . . dared she hope?
“Mr. Sherwood,” Dr. Caulder voiced the name that was dancing across the screen of Julie’s mind. “I notice that you have no family commitments. Would you mind staying here with Miss Jansen and supervising the boys?”
“Not at all.”
“I thought not,” Dr. Caulder said dryly.
Matt had answered so quickly, Julie’s cheeks felt hot and she hoped she wasn’t blushing. The kiss they’d shared at her door had been a lot more romantic than casual. And as far as Julie was concerned, it certainly beat their former colleague-to-colleague friendship. A little tingle of anticipation swept from the top of her head right down to her toes. If the speed of Matt’s answer was any indication, perhaps he was starting to feel about her the way she already felt about him.
There was the usual bustle as the parents arrived. Suitcases were dropped and spilled open, apologies filled the crisp air as parents collided in a headlong rush to hug their children, and students hollered out their good-byes to their friends. The first car left, followed by the second, and less than an hour later the last car drove away through the freshly fallen snow, leaving six dejected children and two concerned teachers in their wake.
Julie glanced down at the three girls she was shepherding. Six-year-old Hope looked more dejected than hopeful, her older sister Joy wasn’t at all joyful, and Serena, the oldest of the girls at almost thirteen, was about as far from serene as a girl could get. One look at Matt’s boys and Julie knew they were in big trouble. Spenser, who’d just turned fourteen, and Gary and Larry, ten-year-old twins whose parents were getting a divorce, didn’t look any more cheerful than the girls. She had to do something to take their minds off the fact that they wouldn’t be with their families this Christmas.
“Let’s plan something special for this afternoon,” Matt said, beating Julie to the punch. “We’ve got the whole place to ourselves and we can do anything we want.”
“Anything?” Julie asked him, winking at the girls.
“Well . . . almost anything. What did you have in mind, Miss Jansen?”
Julie gave him a mischievous smile. “I want to borrow a pair of roller skates and skate down the main hallway.”
“But that’s against the rules, Miss Jansen,” Serena pointed out. “It’s double demerits.”
“Then it should be double the fun. What do you have to do to get a single demerit?”
“Well . . . you get one if you eat in your room, and one if you run in the hall.”
“Okay. Let’s do those too! We’ll eat ice cream in our rooms straight out of the carton.” Julie noticed that this drew smiles from all the kids, so she went on. “I ran in the halls this morning when I was late to the teacher’s meeting, and it was great. We can line up and have a race from the front door all the way to Dr. Caulder’s office and back again. And when we’re done with that, we’ll let Hope decide what’s next. How about it, Hope? What would you like to do?”
“I want to talk real loud in the library.” Hope’s eyes began to sparkle. “That’s against the rules.”
“And I want to dance on top of my teacher’s desk,” Joy chimed in. “What do you want to do, Serena?”
“I want to draw a mustache on Dr. Caulder’s picture.”
Larry gasped loudly. “You can’t do that! He’ll find out . . .”
“. . . you did it,” Gary took over his twin’s thought, “and he’ll give you a million demerits!”
“No, he won’t, not if I wash it off before he gets back. What do you want to do, Spense?”
“I want to climb up to the bell tower and throw snowballs.”
“Us too!” Gary seconded it. “Larry and I . . .”
“. . . always wanted to do that,” Larry finished the sentence for him.
“No way,” Matt said, and everyone turned to look at him. Was he going to be a stickler and enforce the rules? But then Matt started to grin, and everyone knew he’d been teasing. “I won’t let you climb up to the bell tower unless I get to throw the first snowball.”
“Deal!” the boys shouted, and Julie noticed that everyone was wearing a smile . . . everyone except Hope, who looked worried again.
“What is it, Hope?” Julie asked her.
“I saw Mrs. Dryer leave. Are we going to starve to death before she comes back?”
“Of course we won’t!” Julie reached out to give her a hug. “Mrs. Dryer made lots of dinners before she left, and she put them in the freezer for us. Dr. Caulder told me she even baked a ham for our Christmas dinner.”
“How about Christmas cookies?” Larry wanted to know. “The ones with colored . . .”
“. . . frosting that look like Santas, and Christmas trees, and stars and stuff,” Gary finished the description.
“Yes,” Hope chimed in. “It won’t be Christmas without cookies.”
“I’m sure she made those too,” Matt said, stepping up to take Julie’s arm. “Come on men. Let’s escort the ladies to the kitchen so we can find out what goodies Mrs. Dryer left for us.”
“Uh-oh.” Julie gave a little groan as she read the note the school cook had taped to the refrigerator.
“What’s the matter?” Matt left the children exclaiming over the menus Mrs. Dryer had written out for them and walked over to join Julie. “Mrs. Dryer didn’t bake your favorite?”
“Mrs. Dryer didn’t bake anyone’s favorite.”
“What do you mean?”
“She left a note apologizing, but she barely had time to make the entrees. She ordered Christmas ice cream rolls, with little green Christmas trees in the middle, but they didn’t come.”
“You mean . . . no desserts?”
Julie nodded, holding up the note. “She says there’s a whole case of Jell-O in assorted flavors and some canned fruit cocktail in the pantry, but that’s it.”
“Of course there’ll be Christmas cookies,” Matt assured her. “Since Mrs. Dryer didn’t have time to do it, we’ll bake them ourselves. You bake, don’t you, Miss Jansen?”
“Actually . . . no,” Julie admitted, feeling a bit like crying herself. “I’m the world’s worst baker. I took home economics in high school. All the girls did. But the only one who could burn things faster than I could was Andrea Swensen. We were cheerleaders together at Jordan High, and they called us the Twinkie Twins.”
“Why?”
“Because every time they held a bake sale to raise money for the pep squad, every girl was supposed to bring something to school to sell. Andrea and I used to bring Twinkies, until her sister found out about it and then Hannah . . .” Julie stopped speaking and started to smile.
“Why are you smiling like that?” Matt wanted to know.
“Hannah baked like a dream, and all we had to do was tell her when the bake sales were and she’d bake for us. I can still taste her lemon meringue pie. It was just fantastic. But here’s the good part. The last time I talked to Andrea, she said Hannah was back home and she’d opened a bakery and coffee shop in Lake Eden.”
“Lake Eden?” Matt began to smile too. “That’s only twenty miles away.”
“Exactly. Why don’t I call and see if Hannah would bake us some desserts?”
“Great idea!” Matt said, and the kids all nodded.
“Okay. Then the only question is, how many desserts do we need?” Julie flipped over Mrs. Dryer’s sad little note about the absence of desserts and pulled out a pen.
“One for every night,” Matt said.
“Got it,” Julie said, her pen moving quickly across the paper. “Do you think we should order extra desserts, like cookies and muffins and cupcakes, for snacks? Or is that too much?”
Matt glanced at the kids and saw the six hopeful expressions. “It’s not too much. Let’s order an even dozen.”
If extra-wide smiles and grateful expressions could have been translated into dollars, Matt would have been a rich man. As it was, he and Julie were heroes of the day, and that pleased him much more than anything else he could think of.
“Counting Mr. Sherwood and me, there are eight of us,” Julie went on, “and that means everyone can choose a favorite dessert. Then we’ll decide on four others together, and that’ll make twelve. We’ll have the Twelve Desserts of Christmas, almost like the song.”
“That’s right.” Matt flashed Julie a smile that included their whole group. “We could even change the lyrics and sing it for our friends when they get back.”
“Willie’s gonna wish he stayed here,” Spenser said, grinning widely.
Serena nodded. “Liz too. She kept telling me about all the presents she was getting, but I bet she won’t have twelve desserts.”
“That means we’re special,” Joy added.
“We certainly are,” Julie confirmed it, smiling at each child in turn. “Let’s get busy so I can call Hannah. Now who wants to choose tonight’s dessert?”
It seemed to be the morning for running late. Twenty miles away in the little Minnesota town of Lake Eden, Hannah Swensen was almost an hour behind schedule. “I’m really sorry, Lisa,” she apologized to her partner for the fourth time since she’d dashed into the kitchen at The Cookie Jar, their bakery and coffee shop. “I really didn’t mean to saddle you with all the baking this morning.”
“That’s okay,” Lisa said, passing a tray of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies to Hannah. “Herb gave me a ride to town this morning in his squad car, so I got here early. Mayor Bascomb asked him to figure out how many tickets he gave for speeding in the school zone in front of Jordan High.”
“Why does Mayor Bascomb need to know that?” Hannah asked, placing the pan of baked cookies on the baker’s rack.
“The city council’s voting on speed bumps this morning and the mayor wants to prove that we need them.”
“Do you know what they call speed bumps in the Bahamas?” Hannah asked, turning to face her partner.
“No, what?”
“Sleeping policemen.” Hannah delivered the information and then stared hard at her partner. Either Lisa had developed a facial tick or she was doing her utmost to stifle a laugh. “You think sleeping policemen is funny?”
Lisa shook her head. “It’s more cute than funny.”
“Then why are you trying so hard not to laugh?”
“It’s your hair. It’s poking up out of your cap again.”
“Just call me Medusa.” Hannah gave an exasperated sigh and tucked her unruly red curls back under her health board mandated cap. “The phone started ringing while I was washing it and I didn’t get a chance to put on the conditioner. What do we have left to bake?”
“Just the Cherry Winks and we’re through.”
“Right. I’ll get the cherries.” Hannah headed off to the pantry to fetch the essential ingredient for the cookies her customers loved at the holidays. “Do you think it’s too early to do half red and half green?”
“I don’t think so. Almost everyone is already decorated for Christmas. Gil Surma put his lights up over three weeks ago.”
“Gil and Bonnie are always early. They want everything to look nice for their Christmas parties.”
Lisa glanced at the calendar that hung on the wall by the phone and saw the three new entries that Hannah had made. “Bonnie called you to set dates for the parties?”
“That’s right. We’re catering everything, just like last year.”
“She gave you the order for her Brownies?”
“Yes. And yes.”
Lisa looked a bit confused. “Why did you say two yeses?”
“She wants brownies for her Brownies.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense. Let’s make them in bon-bon papers the way my mother used to do. Then I can frost them and put half a pecan on each one.”
“The girls would love that, but are you sure you want to go to so much work?”
“I’m sure.” Lisa glanced at the calendar again. “What does she want for the Cub Scout party?”
“Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies. But the party’s not just for the Cub Scouts. It’s one huge party for the Boy Scouts and the Cub Scouts together, and it’s going to last all afternoon.”
“That’s nice. I’ll do the scout logo in frosting on the sugar cookies. The boys really like that. How about the Girl Scouts?”
“Bonnie’s driving them to the mall so they can shop for their parents. Then they’re going back to her house for hot chocolate and Cinnamon Crisps.”
Lisa glanced at the calendar again. “I can help you cater the Girl Scout party. Herb’s got bowling league that night.”
“Great.” Hannah smiled at her young partner. Lisa had more energy than anyone she’d ever met. Of course age might have something to do with it. She had just turned twenty, and Hannah was a decade and a bit past that. Not that she wanted to think about age, especially when her biological clock was ticking and her mother delighted in reminding her that she didn’t have many childbearing years left. And now it was almost Christmas, and everyone was talking about families and kids.
Hannah’s smile took a wistful turn. Soon her newest niece, Bethany, would be old enough to give her that wonderful wide baby grin and reach up to pat her face. Babies were delightful with their chubby little hands, their squeals of utter delight when you tickled them, and their warm, sweet scent.
“What?” Lisa asked, noticing that Hannah had stopped at the pantry door and was staring at the wall.
“Oh! Uh . . . nothing. I was just thinking, that’s all.”
“Don’t forget to save the red cherry juice for the dough,” Lisa reminded her as Hannah got out the cherries. “Green juice makes them look really yucky.”
“Yucky’s not good in a bakery,” Hannah said, heading back to the workstation. “People want things to taste good, but they also like . . .” She stopped abruptly and turned to eye the phone on the wall as it began to ring. “Mother!” she said with the same inflection she would have voiced if she’d slid off the road into a ditch. It wasn’t that she disliked her mother. It was just that Delores had already called her three times this morning.
“You’re sure it’s your mother?”
“I’m sure. Nobody places orders this early and we don’t open for another forty-five minutes. Who else could it be?”
“But I thought your mother called you at home and that’s why you were late.”
“She did.”
“I see. But she has to call again because she’s got something she forgot to tell you?”
“You got it.” Hannah turned to eye her partner suspiciously. “Has my mother been calling you too?”
“No, Marge has.”
Hannah was amazed. She’d always thought calling back several times was a trait unique to her mother. “Marge does that too?”
“Yes, but I don’t mind. Marge is the best mother-in-law in the world.”
Warning lights flashed in Hannah’s logical mind. “Hold on. You can’t make that kind of a value judgment without a standard of comparison.”
“Sure I can.” Lisa waved away her breech of logic. “I’m perfectly happy married to Herb, and there’s no way I’m ever going to get another standard of comparison. That means this is it and Marge is the best mother-in-law in the world.” Lisa stopped speaking and turned toward the ringing phone. “Are you going to get that, or do you want me to?”
“Will you?” Hannah asked, heading for the workstation. She’d have to talk to her mother eventually, but at least she could get in another sip of coffee before she had to do it.
“The Cookie Jar. Lisa speaking.” Hannah watched as her partner grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. “Of course we can. We just baked a big batch of Chocolate Chip Crunch Cookies and we’ll put them away for you. But . . . if you don’t mind me asking . . . why do you need twelve dozen chocolate chip cookies?” There was a silence and then Lisa shrugged “Okay. We’ll package them up for you right now.”
“Who was that?” Hannah asked when her partner had hung up the phone.
“Your sister.”
“Andrea?” Hannah guessed, and she wasn’t surprised when Lisa nodded. Hannah’s youngest s. . .
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