Death by Hot Cocoa

by Alex Erickson

Genres: Holiday books; Cozy Mystery; Female Sleuths

Synopsis

A Christmas-themed escape game seems like the perfect pre-holiday treat for bookstore café owner Krissy Hancock and her best friend. But when the host is found dead in a pool of hot cocoa, it's up to Krissy and her team to catch the killer—or escape before getting killed.

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Print pages: 120

Sample

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked Rita as I eyed the place. She was giddy with excitement, practically dancing in place as we walked.

“Of course I am, dear. Lewis holds these things a couple of times every year. Everyone knows it.”

Everyone but me, apparently.

I pulled my coat tighter around my shoulders as the wind picked up briefly. “I really should be getting the house ready for Dad and Laura.” I spoke with only a mild chatter to my teeth. Why couldn’t the parking lot be closer to our destination? It was way too cold to be outside. My poor nose felt like it was going to fall right off my face if I didn’t warm it up soon.

“Oh, pah.” Rita waved a heavily mittened hand at me. “This should only take an hour. You’ll be back in time to make sure everything is set to rights for James and that woman.”

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, but refused to comment. Rita was infatuated with my dad, who just so happened to be her favorite mystery writer. She hadn’t taken it too well when I’d first told her he had a girlfriend. It might have been months ago, yet it appeared she was still bitter about it.

We reached the building a few moments later. It had no markings on it to identify it as anything but a big warehouse, which made me imagine a gigantic room filled with dusty old boxes. With some trepidation, I stomped my way up the three stairs to the door, which, thankfully, resided beneath a roof. I shook the snow out of my hair as Rita reached for the doorknob.

Hot air blew out at us as the door swung open. I closed my eyes and made a low groan of pleasure as we stepped inside.

There were already four other people in the room. Christmas lights were strung along the walls, and a tree stood in the corner, complete with wrapped gifts sitting snugly beneath it. I was assuming they were mere props, not part of the festivities, but what did I know?

“Rita, I’m really not sure about this,” I said. “I’ve never done one of these before.”

“You’ll be fine,” she said, pulling off her mittens and shaking them out. Water dripped to the floor, as the snow had already melted, thanks to the heat. “I bet you’ll have the whole thing solved in mere minutes.” She elbowed me and grinned. “It’s what you do.”

“I serve coffee.” I’d taken the day off from Death by Coffee, the bookstore café I co-owned with my best friend, Vicki, to be here with Rita today.

“Escape rooms are a big deal these days,” Rita said, as if that should make everything better. “It’ll be just like solving a murder, just without the body!” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

I had my doubts about that, but I let it drop. Nothing was quite like a murder investigation. The fear, the constant worry that a killer might spring out of a dark corner and put an abrupt end to your investigation. No, I seriously doubted an escape room could compete with that.

“Besides, you can’t back out now, even if you wanted to,” Rita said. “I already pre-registered us for it. Lewis has put a lot of work into this and I, for one, don’t want to make it more difficult for him.”

The door opened and two more people entered. The couple appeared to be in their mid-twenties, and in the cute and cuddly stage of their relationship. The woman leaned on the man’s arm, giggling and staring at everything with wide-eyed wonder. The man was smiling, though I could tell he wasn’t comfortable with her hanging on to him like that. Some men just didn’t know how to show their feelings, especially in a room full of strangers.

The two newcomers walked right past Rita and me, and past a man who stood against the wall, tapping his foot. He wore an ugly red, green, and gold sweater, which would have been right at home in an ugly sweater contest. His eyes found mine, narrowed briefly, before he turned away.

Nearby, two men stood by one of those electric heaters that was made to look like a real fireplace. They were both wearing suits, which I found odd at a place like this. The thinner of the two men wore sneakers, while the bigger guy wore polished dress shoes, which clashed with the décor of the place. He looked as if he’d come straight from a business meeting.

The door next to them opened and a man strode through. He was tall, and was dressed in a way that I could only describe as a Christmasy butler. His hair was combed back from a face full of harsh lines, and was tucked beneath a green Santa hat. His suit was likewise green with red lining, and his shoes were a matching scarlet.

He scanned the group, and then his eyes suddenly hardened. The scowl that found his face was enough to dispel any notion that he was enjoying the holidays. He took an angry stride forward, jaw so clenched, I was afraid his teeth might shatter.

“Lewis, my friend!” The foot-tapping man pushed away from the wall and came to a stop in front of the scowling man—Lewis, apparently.

“I think we’re nearly all here,” Rita said. “Lewis only appears once everyone’s arrived. He doesn’t like people all that much, if you can believe it.”

With how hard he was glaring at the man jabbering at him, I most definitely could.

Rita glanced around the room. “I think we’re waiting for one more. The limit’s eight for this room, I believe. And he wouldn’t accept anything less. It would ruin the whole event if someone weren’t to show.” She tsked.

“What will he do if we’re short?” I asked.

Rita’s eyes widened like she couldn’t believe anyone would dare risk it. “Well, I don’t know. I expect he might postpone until we find someone to fill in.”

I groaned just a little inside, but was relieved of my worry when a door at the opposite end of the room opened and a plump older woman in a white sweater slipped out. She saw the rest of us looking her way and she winced.

“You!” Lewis shouted, jabbing a finger her way. He took two quick, angry strides away from the foot-tapping man. “What are you doing?”

“I was just looking,” the woman said, gaze bouncing around the room as if she was too embarrassed to meet anyone’s eye. “No one else was here and I thought—”

“That is a violation to the rules!” Lewis’s face turned a bright shade of red as he cut her off. “I should disqualify you and cancel the whole thing!”

“What? For taking a peek?” The woman pressed a hand to her chest. “There was no harm in it. I didn’t look at anything, just at the room to see how it was laid out.”

“It’s against the rules. You accepted them when you signed up. Or did you not bother to read the form?”

“There was a form?” I whispered to Rita, who gave me a sharp glare.

Lew. . .