Florence pointed to a Santa near the huckleberry treat store. “There’s Donald McLerrison, and Earl is up on the main stage right now. He’s doing a good job for his first gig, I think.” She pointed up at the main Santa. “It’s his turn to have kids give wishes and get their pictures taken.” We watched as one little boy smiled, and an elf helped him to the small slide that brought him back down to cotton batting in a bin. The kid giggled the whole way.
I couldn’t help but smile and noted that Bud did the same.
The choir switched to a rambunctious version ofLittle Drummer Boy.
“Donald McLerrison is the only Kringle I haven’t spoken with,” I said, putting my purse over my shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”
It took me several moments to reach my favorite farmer by Kat’s Jewelry store, and he smiled widely when I appeared. “Howdy. What’s your wish for Christmas?” He handed me a candy cane.
“World peace and a chance to figure out my love life.” I took the treat. “Thanks. What did you get Oliver?” It was so cool that McLerrison had all but adopted Oliver Duck and taken him in to live on the farm.
“Oh, he wanted one of those X-boxes, and I figured why not? It’s not as great as working the farm, but the kid needs a break sometimes.”
That was sweet. A smell caught me, and I leaned toward him. Hey. What was that?
He pulled more candy canes from his jacket. “Any luck figuring out who killed Lawrence?”
“No. Do you think Bernie could’ve done it?”
McLerrison shook his head, and his Santa hat flopped to the side. The white fur on his uniform had turned a light gray, but he still looked authentic. “Bernie would never kill anybody, although, for Flo, it’d probably be worth it. I can’t believe Lawrence did such a horrible thing.”
What the heck was that smell? It was sweet and kind of minty. I’d smelled it before. “Do you know of any other horrible things Lawrence did to other people during his life?” I asked.
“Nope,” McLerrison said.
Bernie ambled over, carrying his bucket. “Do you want to relieve Earl, or should I? It’s one of our turns up on the stage, and they just barricaded the picture space for a ten-minute break.” His beard moved when he talked.
The same scent came from him, and my instincts started to hum. Sweet and minty. Then it hit me like a rock to the head. The man who’d shoved me against the brick wall had smelled like that. Like both of them. The man had wanted Bernie to fry. I stood a step back. “What is that smell?”
Bernie frowned beneath his beard. “Huh?”
“That smell. Kind of sweet and minty,” I whispered, my legs starting to shake.
McLerrison started. “Oh. That’s muscle relaxant. You’d be surprised how sore our shoulders get shaking a bell all day. Earl has it made special, and he shared with us earlier today. Gotta be honest, it does help.”
I slowly turned to look at Earl up on the platform in a brand new Santa uniform with a big round ball at the end of his shiny red hat. “Have you used it before today?”
“No.” Bernie followed my gaze. “I usually use Ben Gay, but Earl just got this stuff and said it was a miracle. It does feel good. Why?”
My mouth opened and closed. Why would Earl have tasered Bud and threatened me? Why would he want Bernie to go to prison? The older black and white pictures flashed through my brain. “Is Earl a strategic kind of guy?”
McLerrison snorted. “Who do you think came up with the hard rock mining plan for us all to get some money to start businesses? I heard you learned about our misspent youth.”
I pivoted to gain Bud’s attention. He was watching two women fight over a blouse on a sale rack. I gulped. “Way back when—before he started his jewelry store. Did Earl have a crush on Florence as well?”
We all looked up to see Earl eating a candy cane on his throne, his gaze riveted on Florence as she sat chatting with Bud.
“Yeah,” Bernie said slowly. “We all were in love with Flo. I think Earl asked her out a few times, and they went on a couple dates, but she still left town.”
McLerrison cocked his head. “I’d forgotten about that. Also, after you and Flo split, he asked her out again. Several times. But she decided to date Lawrence and ended up engaged. Well, until he was murdered.”
The choir moved on to a rock-like version ofSilent Night.
Bernie’s mouth dropped open as he quickly caught up. “I knew Lawrence wasn’t smart enough to come up with that whole plan with Sharon Smith. I knew it.” He threw his bucket to the ground and coins rolled out. Kids ran from every direction, sliding on the tiled floor to gather up the money. He looked up at Earl. “You son of a bitch,” he yelled, launching into action and knocking me into McLerrison.
Pain flashed along my ribcage.
McLerrison dropped his bucket to catch me, keeping us both from falling into a glass wall.
