you immediately in the running that night. But you’re right. You covered your tracks with expert ease. You framed Chris. You framed Suze twice over—once with the replica of her gun, and once with the money you were lifting from the Christmas Angels. I should have been tipped off the day you brought me a check that was signed by you. Chris was the only one authorized to handle the money. And you knew your way around the software. You knew enough to go through the back door, using Suze’s login and to sign off using Chris’ initials.”
A laugh sputters from her. “You really shined with that one, Lottie.” She does her best to pull me close, but I continue to resist. “I left that tidbit for the detectives. I had no idea you would squirm your way into the Christmas Angels’ office. Who let you in?” Her eyes narrow over mine in a mocking manner. “Or did you break and enter? You do realize that’s a serious offense.”
“Not as serious as murder.” I yank my wrist out of her hold and warm it with my hand. “You tried to point the finger at Elodie, too, and that’s what worked against you. Elodie knew Gloria’s secret, and eventually she shared it with me. That haunted painting? It was yours. Somehow you convinced Chris to donate it to the auction. You did it as a means to taunt Gloria one last time, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.” Her nostrils flare, the moon shines down over her, and her eyes glow like pale stones. “I wanted her to see my father’s face one last time before she took her last breath. I wanted to shake her up, make her feel his presence, make her remember how she made him suffer, because soon she would be suffering the very same fate. I lured her out to the parking lot and told her I had something for her to bring in for the event. Then I let her know who I was. The little girl locked in a boarding school that she met but once. And I told her I had an early Christmas gift from my father. That’s when I pulled out my gun and she tried to run. But she didn’t get very far. It was over in a flash.” She closes her eyes a moment too long as if she was reliving it. “And that’s when I went in and found Suze and Elodie. I told them I needed some help with the trees we were auctioning off, and that we needed to find Gloria to help with the logistics of it.”
“And that’s when you asked Suze to check outside. You had seen her gun a few weeks back, and you made sure to use a replica. Suze was the prefect suspect for a crime she didn’t commit.”
“She worked well enough—until she didn’t.”
Kringle swims between us. “Lure her back inside, Lottie. Your teeth are chattering. That can’t be good for the baby.”
“Come on, Candy.” I take her by the hand. “We have to go inside. We’ll talk to the sheriff’s department together. I promise you’ll get the help you need.”
Ethan offers a tempered nod my way as if thanking me for the endeavor.
“I’m sorry, Lottie.” Her hand dips into her purse, and within seconds I’m staring down the barrel of a gun that looks suspiciously like the one Suze owns.
My breathing grows erratic. “What? No silencer on tonight? That is what you used, isn’t it?”
“I see you’re proficient in your weaponry as well.” She takes a breath. “I’m sorry, Lottie, but you’re going to have to come with me.” She gives me a hard yank toward her and I swipe for the gun, but she holds it up over her head, and then we’re struggling for it.
“Lottie!” Kringle darts around us in a hot pink blur. “Oh, you’ve gotten yourself into a pickle this time—and one you can’t eat yourself out of.” He leaps onto Candy’s head and does his best to claw her eyes out, then he dips his tail into her mouth before he squeals directly in her ear, but it’s to no avail.
Then, from seemingly nowhere, Ethan lets out a growl as he pries his arm between us.
“NO!” he thunders as he pushes Candy away from me with all his might, causing her to stumble backward, and just as she turns to run, she trips over a mound of snow and lands facedown in the frosty white stuff.
Kringle scampers down