Mistletoe’s Kiss

20. Chapter 20

20

Chapter 20

“Where large sums of money are concerned, it is advisable to trust nobody.” Endless Night by Agatha Christie

M addy looked across at Jude’s hunched figure sitting by the fire. “I’m struggling to believe that such a nice lady could be so venomous!”

“It’s not really that strange, is it? We know from talking to the others that almost everyone here, barring Mr Michaels and Sara, although let’s put a pin in that for now, wished that Dan would drop dead. He was a shitty man who was universally hated and Jude was the only one with enough balls to say it to his face. Good on the old girl! Does it give her a motive? Yeah, sure it does but it doesn’t mean she’s not a nice lady. Everyone has their breaking points, we just need to find out what drove Jude to hers.”

Nolan took Maddy’s hand and guided her toward Jude, who looked up and offered a subdued smile. “Is it time for a chat? Let’s head to the reading nook; it seems appropriate for us, doesn’t it? Let me just grab a coffee on the way.”

As they walked, Nolan refilled Maddy’s cup before they squeezed into the cosy, bookshelf-lined room. He made sure she was comfortable on one of a pair of chaise lounges, draping a blanket over her lap and settling in beside her, his thigh pressing against hers.

Jude blinked, a little surprised at Nolan’s fussing. Looking between them with concern, she blurted, “You’re the detective? How do you know Madeleine?”

“Yes, I’m Detective Moore. As you know, the snow rendered the road in and out of the village impassable, but luckily I live nearby and managed to arrive before the blizzard worsened. I’ve already interviewed the other guests, apart from you and Sara.” He ignored her comment about Maddy and adopted a more authoritative tone. “Please go through the events of this evening for me, Ms. Walters. From your perspective, what did you see or hear? How were you feeling?”

“Of course, Detective Moore,” Jude replied, taking a breath. “I took a taxi from Wottonsworth train station and arrived at the party at around 6:40 PM. I only remember that because I paid the driver with my phone, and the receipt popped up as I walked into the parlour.”

“You were late, weren’t you?” Nolan prompted, leaning in slightly.

“Oh, yes, I was… about forty minutes late,” Jude stammered, nervously wringing her hands. “I’m usually very punctual, but I had a last-minute meeting.”

Nolan narrowed his eyes. “A meeting? On Christmas Eve? Who were you meeting with? Was it business or pleasure?”

“Um, it was my accountant. We needed to discuss some urgent business matters, and it was the only time he could see me,” Jude replied, casting a sideways glance at Maddy. “Please don’t judge me, Maddy. You’re one of my favourite customers, and dare I say it, a friend. I enjoy it when you visit the shop, and I always recommend your books.”

Maddy was a little confused but nodded at Jude, who now had tears streaming down her cheeks. She wanted to comfort the poor woman with a hug, but just then, Nolan squeezed her thigh under the blanket. “Give her a moment,” he whispered, “and then let her continue.”

Maddy decided to trust him and go along with it, hoping he knew what he was doing.

Jude took a deep breath, steadying herself. “My accountant came to discuss options. One of which was declaring bankruptcy in the new year.”

Maddy’s eyes widened. “Bankruptcy?”

“It’s been weighing on me,” Jude admitted, wringing her hands. “I always dreamed of opening a bookshop, but I’ve never been very good with finances. I really messed up when I added the café. The bookshop was doing okay, but I wanted it to be a destination, you know?”

“Absolutely! A place where people can come, hang out, grab a book and a slice of cake,” Maddy encouraged.

“Right!” Jude’s voice trembled with enthusiasm. “But I think I watched too many of those Bookstagram lifestyle accounts. It’s not as easy as they make it look.”

“But the café’s fantastic, Jude!” Maddy interrupted. “Every time I pop in, it’s full of local mums, students, and office workers escaping for lunch. People love it!”

“Yeah, the café is doing all right,” Jude conceded. “But that’s not the issue. I paid a ridiculous amount to a designer who promised to give the café that ‘award-winning’ look. I thought I could just hand her the reins and let her do her thing.”

“Didn’t you check her work?” Nolan asked, furrowing his brow.

“I was busy with the shop!” Jude replied, frustration creeping into her voice. “I let her hire a construction company, source materials, and all that. I even regretfully gave her my bank details and a ‘loose’ budget. I was just so eager to make my dream a reality.”

“Sounds like you put too much trust in her,” Maddy said gently. “But that’s not your fault.”

“Well I only have myself to blame for my stupidity” Jude sighed in defeat. “I found out a couple of months ago that not only did she blow the budget out of the water but she’d also hired dodgy builders who hiked up the prices for the materials on their invoices and did me out of pocket. Their workmanship was horrendous and I’ve had to pay for another company to come and redo various bits and pieces.”

“Did you report them?”

“Yes, I did,” Jude said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “There’s an ongoing investigation. Apparently, the guy who runs the construction company is the designer’s brother-in-law. Can you believe that?”

Maddy’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible Jude.”

“She was totally in on the theft,” Jude continued, her voice rising with frustration. “And it’s not the first time they’ve conned people either. It feels like I’m caught in a bad movie.”

Nolan frowned, leaning forward. “And how long will this take to resolve?”

“Unfortunately, it can take up to a year for the case to go to court,” Jude said, shaking her head. “By then, I might not have a bookshop left to save.”

“So you arrived late, in a rush, flustered and upset. What happened next?” Nolan asked in a surprisingly gentle voice.

“Nothing really, I had a cocktail, we had dinner and then I had to do that ruddy tarot thing,” Jude said, avoiding Maddy’s eyes.

“Jude….” Maddy chastised, “I know that’s not everything, what happened with Dan, why were you arguing?”

“Ooh, crap, remember I said don’t judge me? Those mums you mentioned, the ones you see every time you pop into the shop? They’re my biggest customers, they treat the place like a second home when the kiddies are at school and you know The New Moon is in an affluent area. These ‘yummy mummies’ have so much expendable cash and they mostly spend it in the romance section of the store. “Coffee, Cake and Cum”, Jude said with a grimace, her cheeks reddening, “that’s the name of their book club.”

“For the last month, they’ve been badgering me non-stop about your new book. When is it released? Will I have signed copies? Is there an author event? So, I emailed Dan. I explained the situation, said I was desperate and that the sales of your books could mean the difference between life and death for the bookshop.”

“What did he say?”

“He was very understanding. At first. He replied and said he fully supported independent bookshops, they were the lifeblood of the book industry after all and he’d hate to see us go under. He promised that Sara would be in contact in the next few days and proffered a number of those exclusive editions with the gold foil and a visit from you. I did say that you popped in all the time anyway so there was no need but he insisted that it needed to be a big event. I could exclusively have the only signing in London for the first two weeks of release! I was so relieved, this was huge and the revenue from this kind of event would keep me afloat for months, maybe even until I got some of my money back from those scumbags.”

Maddy was astonished by this news. “But I haven’t heard anything about that, Jude! I would have been happy to do it, but Sara has a whole press tour already lined up starting on the 27th. It’s been in the diary for months!”

“Yep, I should have known better,” Jude admitted, wringing her hands. “But I was desperately grasping at anything that might stop me from drowning. Of course, I told the mums the good news first. I’m sure half the school playgrounds in London were buzzing by lunchtime.”

Maddy’s heart sank as she processed Jude’s frantic energy. “What did you do?”

“Every last penny I had went into ordering hundreds of copies of ‘Blood under the Mistletoe’ for you to sign. I advertised practically everywhere. I’m surprised you didn’t notice the full-page ad I put in ‘Bookish Vibes.’” Jude’s voice cracked slightly, her eyes wide with regret.

Maddy’s brow furrowed. “Wait, what? You took out an ad?”

“Yes!” Jude exclaimed, her cheeks flushing. “Sara spotted it last night and rang me in a panic this morning. She didn’t know anything about the event! Dan hadn’t mentioned a word of it to her, only said that my very large order and subsequent pre-event sales over the last couple of days had shot you straight to the top of the Christmas Romance Chart.”

Maddy felt a mix of disbelief and guilt. “Oh no, Jude. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Jude said quickly, shaking her head. “I suppose something good came out of it, right?

Maddy was speechless, enraged with anger on Jude’s behalf. She gripped the hand resting on her thigh, squeezing it tightly.

“Easy there, you’re okay,” Nolan whispered, his tone calm as he allowed her to keep his poor hand in her grasp.

“He used you! What an utterly heartless bastard!” Maddy exclaimed, her voice rising. “I feel disgusting! He used me and my books to trick you, and I’ve benefited from it!”

“No! No! It’s not your fault, Maddy,” Jude insisted, shaking her head vigorously. “You had nothing to do with it. It was my mistake to go to Dan instead of Sara. It was too good to be true, and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.”

Nolan gently rubbed Maddy’s back with his free hand, his presence a steadying force. He focused back on Jude, his expression serious. “And tonight? What happened? Maddy said it looked like you were arguing.”

“I had to confront him!” Jude said, her voice rising with urgency. “My life’s dream is about to go up in smoke, and I wanted a chance to convince him to help. I naively thought there’d just been some mix-up or miscommunication somewhere, but he’s been ignoring my emails and calls. When I tried to talk to him tonight, he brushed me off. He said, ‘What does it matter if the shop goes under? It’s just a blip in the ocean compared to online sales.’ Can you believe that? He called me a ‘bookish old hag’ and just walked away from me!”

Maddy’s heart sank as she listened. “That’s awful, Jude. I’m so sorry.”

“I know I may have said some horrible things to his back as he left,” Jude admitted, wringing her hands. “I just lost my temper.”

“You said you wished he was dead!” Maddy exclaimed, wide-eyed. “Don’t get me wrong; the more I hear about Dan, the more I agree he was a total waste of space, but I was surprised.”

“What happened with the tarot reading after dinner Ms Walters?” Nolan asked.

Jude looked down at her hands, nervously picking at her nails. “I’m ashamed to say I kind of rigged Dan’s reading. I mean, I made sure he picked the death card. All the things I said his cards suggested were true, he was a liar and I was planning to go to the trade standard’s commission about his behaviour so saying his career might be over was wishful thinking on my part.”

“And after the reading, did you go looking for clues? We looked for ages but couldn’t find you” Maddy said.

Jude scrunched up her nose as if disgusted, “After Dan’s rebuff and the card debacle I’m afraid I was a little upset. I downed two of those diabolical cocktails before we even left the room and then I cried myself to sleep on a sofa in the library. I didn’t hear anyone calling for me and when I woke up I decided to have a look around downstairs. That’s when I went into the study and saw all the blood. I’ve never screamed like that in my whole life! SO much blood! The next thing I knew Priesh had an arm around me and was leading me back into the parlour with the fireplace.”

Jude was obviously trying to hold tears in and had started to shake. Nolan took the blanket from Maddy’s lap and wrapped it around her shoulders. “T-Thanks, is it okay if I go now? I can send Sara through if you still want to see her?” Nolan nodded and they both watched Jude shuffle sadly away.

Nolan rubbed his chin, clearly deep in thought. Maddy studied his profile, noting the way his brow furrowed and his lips pressed together in concentration. When he was serious like this, he seemed hard and unapproachable, yet he had been kind to both her and Jude. She found herself drawing parallels between him and her character Felix. True, she had modelled Felix after her number one fan but she could also see similarities with Nolan.

“What is it?” Nolan asked suddenly, his hazel eyes seeking hers.

“Nothing,” Maddy replied, a smile creeping onto her face. “You just remind me of someone, that’s all.”

“A good someone or a bad someone?” he inquired, leaning closer, curiosity piqued.

“I’m not sure, maybe both,” she admitted, her brows wrinkling in confusion. “I haven’t decided yet.”