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  Decked in the Hall

  A Finch & Fischer Mystery

  J. New

  Copyright © J. New 2018

  The right of J. New to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or transmitted into any retrieval system, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover design copyright © J. New

  Cover illustration: William Webb

  Cover typography: Mariah Sinclair

  BOOKS BY J. NEW

  The Finch & Fischer Mysteries

  Decked in the Hall

  Death at the Duck Pond

  Battered to Death

  Full details on these and future books in the series can be found here.

  The Yellow Cottage Vintage Mysteries

  The Yellow Cottage Mystery (FREE)

  An Accidental Murder

  The Curse of Arundel Hall

  A Clerical Error

  The Riviera Affair

  Full details on these and future books in the series can be found here.

  For Annjo & Maisie

  For Nikki, Hector & Nero

  ‘Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them.

  Filling an emptiness we don’t even know we have.’

  – Thom Jones –

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  One

  Everyone in the village of Cherrytree Downs agreed the annual Christmas party in the Village Hall was one of the highlights of the year. The majority of the villagers attended, and with the invite extending to the inhabitants of the five neighbouring villages, a full house was usually guaranteed. In fact, such was the local gossip resulting from a few too many eggnogs, and the abundant bunches of mistletoe hanging from the tinsel festooned ceiling, nothing short of a life or death emergency would keep most people away.

  Unfortunately for Penny Finch, her fiancé Edward Marshall wasn’t most people. Not that Edward lived in the village, but given their six-year-long engagement, his attendance as her plus-one should have been a given.

  “He’s what?” Her friend, Susie Hughes, was incredulous. Penny could hear her crunching something at the other end of the telephone line. Depending on whether or not she was on a diet that week, Susie’s choice of snack was either crisps or celery sticks. Given that Christmas was only two weeks away, Penny guessed the sound was coming from the former.

  “He’s double-booked,” Penny sighed. “It can’t be helped; his accountancy firm’s having their Christmas party in a hotel in Winstoke tonight. I thought I’d told you. But never mind, I’ll call for you after I’ve dropped Fischer off with my parents, and we can walk across to the hall together.”

  Fischer, Penny’s Jack Russell terrier, gave an excited yap and spun round twice at the mention of his name, and Penny smiled at his antics.

  “Thanks, Penny. That would be great. I know I’m a big girl, but …” Susie’s voice cracked. “It’s the first time in twenty years I’ll be going to the party without James. I’m sure I’ll be fine when I get there, but it just brings back memories, you know?”

  “Of course, I understand.”

  Penny had always thought of Susie and James as one of those couples who would be together forever. Childhood sweethearts, from the outside they had appeared to have the perfect life. When the cracks began to show in their relationship, Penny was as surprised as everyone else. But loyal to the end, Susie refused to say a bad word about James, even when the shocking details of his affair had become public knowledge.

  “He’s the father of my children,” she had sniffed to Penny, over many boxes of tissues and glasses of wine in the months after James had moved out. “There’s no point making him out to be the villain in all of this. It won’t change anything.”

  Penny, fiercely protective of her friend, had bitten her tongue, even when she bumped into James with his new partner in the supermarket. She had smiled and greeted him through gritted teeth, even though she privately agreed with Susie later that James had downgraded. If perfect couples like Susie and James could split up after fifteen years of marriage and two gorgeous children, what hope did that leave for her and Edward? She pushed the thought out of her head.

  “The baby-sitter’s arriving at seven,” Susie said, sounded chirpier. “I’ll be by the door waiting for you at one minute past.”

  Penny laughed, “In that case, I’d better get a move on. See you later.”

  Fischer jumped up onto the sofa beside her, eyes bright and his tail wagging furiously. She smiled down at him, “Don’t give me that look, Fischer. I’m sorry, but you can’t come with me tonight I’m going to a party, and no dogs are allowed.”

  Fischer hung his head, emitting a soft whine.

  Penny, used to his little performances, gently scratched his ears and kissed his little cold nose. “The good news is,” she coaxed, “You get to stay with Granny and Granddad, and you know how much they spoil you.” She pulled a dog treat from her pocket. “How does that sound?”

  Fischer panted in anticipation of his forthcoming treat, and at Penny’s command jumped off the sofa and sat in front of her, his tail thumping madly on the rug. With her hands behind her back, Penny shifted the treat to her left hand then held them both out in front of the little dog.

  “Where is it then?”

  Fischer nudged the left with his nose then set his paw on top and barked once.

  “Good boy,” Penny said, easing herself up from the squishy cushions as Fischer devoured his snack. Making her way to the fireplace she hunched down, and donning a heatproof glove opened the wood-burning stove and added several small logs on top of the red and white ash inside. During the winter months, she maintained the cosy temperature in her thatched cottage by having a fire burning all day and much of the night.

  A quick check out of the curtained window, confirmed no further snow had fallen since she had returned earlier from helping with the last minute preparations at the Village Hall. Although the thick covering of white outside, which had accumulated over several days, showed no signs of thawing. Whilst the snow added to the festive air on the picturesque village green her house faced onto, it did cause Penny a footwear dilemma for that evening. But if she had to make an appearance wearing wellington boots, she was sure she wouldn’t be the only one.

  Penny did a quick tidy-up of the living room, arranging several half-read books and magazines into a neat pile on the coffee table. An avid reader, she always had several books on the go. Edward liked to remind her how lucky she was to get paid to talk about literature all day.

  “How’s my favourite mobile-librarian?” he would ask he
r, when he telephoned after a busy day in his accountancy firm. Even though she was the only mobile-librarian he knew. “Still keeping the economy afloat with your little green tin of late book fines? I hope you’ve got them locked safely away.” Then he would laugh at his joke, no matter how many times he told it, and never seemed to notice that Penny had stopped laughing with him a long time ago.

  Even when Penny tried to explain to him the fines were a point of principle more than a money-making exercise, Edward would still argue the mobile library service was another example of taxpayers’ money being wasted.

  Penny took the opposite view, “The mobile library’s a valuable cultural and social service for the older inhabitants of remote villages. They’ve limited access to transport to visit the library building in Winstoke, and apart from my visits to see them in the van they might not get to speak to anyone else all day. Don’t you think that’s a justified taxpayer cost? If anything, it’s criminal it’s so underfunded.”

  An ongoing bone of contention between them, they’d decided the best policy was to agree to disagree.

  One good thing about Edward not going to the party was that Penny would get a proper chance to speak to her work colleagues, Emma and Sam. They worked at the main library in Winstoke town, along with two other employees who couldn’t make it to the dinner this year. Without Edward monopolising her time, Penny was looking forward to discussing all of their latest reads to their heart’s content. She hadn’t mentioned to Susie that Edward had wanted her to miss the village dinner entirely, in favour of his work Christmas party, but Penny had declined.

  “As well as being the fundraiser for the Summer Fete, it’s our library work party too,” she had told him. “I’m sorry the date doesn’t fit in with your plans, but you know the village dinner is always two Saturdays before Christmas.”

  Edward had let it go at that, although he had forgotten to reimburse her for his ticket which she had purchased months before. But as the event was for a good cause, Penny hadn’t given the money another thought. Besides the fact that she was comfortably-off, she didn’t want to enter into a conversation with Edward about how his contribution to the Summer Fete would be spent. She was quite happy to leave that up to the committee of capable volunteers in charge of the fundraising efforts. With a club secretary and dedicated bank account, she had no reason to believe things weren’t in good hands, especially as the Fete was always spectacular. She suspected Edward was just annoyed he had never been asked to join the Committee as treasurer, even though he’d hinted several times how perfect he would be for the job.

  “Well, what do you think?” she asked Fischer when she descended the wooden staircase an hour later, wearing her party best. The dress, a good quality brand she had picked up in the January sales, was several years old but had only been worn a couple of times. Once to her cousin’s winter wedding, and the previous year to Edward’s office party, where she had received several compliments. Penny stuck to styles that suited her curvy frame without being too revealing, and this was a wrap dress in midnight blue. What she liked most was its simplicity, the only adornment being intricate crystal embellishment on the cuffs. With her dark wavy hair curling on her shoulders and only a touch of makeup on her pale skin, her blue eyes popped in tune with the hue of the dress.

  Fischer cocked his head as she checked her reflection in the hallway mirror, and let out a short, sharp bark.

  “Thank you, Fischer. I’ll take that as a seal of approval.”

  Selecting her footwear from the row neatly lined up against the wall, Penny carried them back to the staircase and sat on the bottom step. Pulling the khaki wellington boots onto her stockinged feet, she smirked as she straightened up, “Now, that’s how to ruin a perfectly good look, Fischer.”

  She grabbed a pair of heels and stuffed them into a bag, before taking her heavy wool coat off the peg. When she was buttoned up, she wrapped a scarf around her neck and lower face so that only her eyes were visible. She considered a hat, but rejected it on the grounds that her inexpertly, but carefully blow-dried hair would get messed up.

  “Time to go, Fischer, fetch your lead,” she said, her voice muffled from several layers. Fischer scampered into the kitchen, claws clicking on the floor tiles and returned with his lead in his mouth.

  “Clever boy,” attaching the lead to his harness Penny lifted her bag and keys from the hall table and opened the door, where a blast of cold air hit her, “Come on then, little man. It’s party time.”

  It was a ten-minute walk by footpath to Penny’s parents’ house on the edge of village, or five minutes over the village green. Fischer always preferred the route across the green where he had a favourite tree he seemed to gravitate towards. Penny was happy for him to lead her around the duck pond, now almost completely frozen over, and past the brightly-lit Christmas tree in the centre, with a nativity scene laid out at its feet. A snowman with a carrot for a nose and two pieces of coal for eyes had appeared beside the manger, as if in charge of the proceedings. Penny pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. The snowman needed a scarf, but he wasn’t having hers.

  Strains of Christmas music could be heard coming from the direction of the village hall, and the trail of footprints showed they weren’t the first ones heading to the party. Fischer’s paws made tiny dots in the snow alongside the outline of Penny’s clumpy boots.

  “Good evening, Mrs Montague,” she said as a white-haired woman tottered past, wearing a fur coat Penny hoped was of the faux variety. “Is Celia not with you tonight?”

  Myrtle Montague stopped and squinted at Penny, “Hello, Penelope dear.” She smiled at Fischer, who was tugging the lead in an attempt to make a break for his tree. “I’d know that darling dog of yours anywhere. Celia’s just parking the Land Rover. I said I’d scoot ahead to get to the bar.” She rubbed her leather-gloved hands together with a smile, “I’ll have a hot toddy waiting for her by the time she arrives.”

  “Great idea,” Penny said, thinking she couldn’t imagine Mrs Montague scooting anywhere. “I won’t be far behind you. I’m just taking Fischer to stay with my parents.”

  “Jolly good,” the old lady nodded. “See you shortly then, Penelope.”

  Mrs Montague lived with her housekeeper, Celia, in a grand old house on one of the rolling hills overlooking Cherrytree Downs, and was one of Penny’s regular library customers. She often arrived at the end of the lane, where Penny parked the library van, with a bag of homemade biscuits for Penny and a treat for Fisher, and she was never known to pass anyone without a good word.

  Penny waited to make sure Mrs Montague got across the road without mishap then let Fischer drag her to his tree, where, barely visible, he snuffled in the deep snow for a while before taking care of business. The streets were devoid of traffic and the snow was thick and crunchy, rather than being too slippery. That would come in the morning, after icy surfaces had formed overnight.

  Not wanting to let the heat out, only her father’s eyes were visible peering around the door after she rang the bell of her parent’s home several minutes later.

  “There you are, at last. Your mum’s been waiting for Fischer. She’s cooked kidneys especially for him.”

  “I think he knows that,” Penny said, handing her father Fischer’s lead, which she’d just unclipped, while the small dog nudged the bottom of the door, then shot inside over Albert Finch’s size ten feet in an attempt to get to where the delicious smells were coming from. “I won’t come in, Dad, or I’ll be late to Susie’s. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “As you like, Penny,” said the voice behind the door. “I expect Fischer will have learned a new trick by tomorrow if your mother’s got anything to do with it.”

  “Well, as long as it’s not how to open the fridge door. He’s already smarter than any dog I know and he’s only six months old. Now go back inside before you get cold.”

  Susie was already sta
nding on her doorstep waiting when she got there. Penny thought her friend looked thin, despite her protestations that she had been overindulging in Christmas goodies since Halloween. She hoped Susie wouldn’t be joining the January class at the local slimming club, as was her custom. The Heartbreak Diet seemed to have done the job already.

  “Nice boots,” Susie said, eyeing Penny’s wellies. “It’s not a barn dance, you know.”

  “Very funny. I don’t care what I look like. I’ve no intention of falling and breaking something. Besides desert boots are hardly this year’s festive look.”

  Susie laughed, “Yes, well I don’t want to break anything either. Come on Cinders let’s get to this ball and have some fun.”

  The sound of the music from the hall was getting louder as they approached and Susie grinned, “They’re playing that old Christmas CD again. The one with all the cheesy hits. Don’t you just love it?”

  Penny matched her smile with one of her own. Seeing Susie’s eyes light up, even if only for a moment, was a positive step. They stopped outside the hall. Fairy lights were strung across the doorway, and a bunch of balloons tied to the sign blew in the wind.

  Penny opened her bag, “Let me lean on you while I change my shoes, then you can do the same,” she said, trying to step into her heels without getting her feet wet. She failed, but it didn’t dampen her mood. Having hung up their coats and scarves on the pegs at the door they were finally ready. “Shall we?”

  Penny and Susie walked into a time warp. It was a repeat of every village Christmas party they had ever attended, and there had been many. The same decorations made an appearance every year. A multitude of different-sized tables, dressed in white paper tablecloths and festive plastic overlays, displayed gilt crackers on every place setting. No detail had been missed, right down to three different picnic glasses per person, Father Christmas serviettes and party streamers everywhere.