Sunshine On A Festive Night: Charlie Green Cosy Mystery, #3

By Samantha Jeffree

It's Christmas in the tourist town of Sunshine and Charlie Green is trying to embrace the craziness of the season and the busiest time of the year for her candle shop.

Work is crazy, her extended family is in town and to top it all off there's a murderer on the loose and witnesses are blaming none other than the jolly man himself.

Will Charlie survive the Christmas season?

The third book in the Charlie Green Cosy Mysteries Series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Samantha Jeffree
• Release date: Sep 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9798223279181

Book preview

Chapter One – Summer Sun

Iran hard.  My heart beat loudly in my ears; my breath came fast and sweat ran down my back.  Up on the mountain trail I paused to look down on the town of Sunshine; my home.  Even from that distance I could see Christmas lights strung between the trees of Main Street, sagging in the heat of the early morning sun.

My name is Charlotte Green; Charlie for short.  I own The Lamp, a little candle shop on Main Street that my mum organised for me to buy without my knowledge or consent.  As it turns out, Mum really did know best, and in the few months since I've returned from my attempt to find myself, I’m loving being a shop owner and proud of The Lamp.

I gulped some water, hoped I'd used enough sunscreen and took off back down the other side of the mountain.  I love Christmas but it'd been a long time since I'd been in town for the whole season and I was feeling stressed.

I was born and raised in the tourist town of Sunshine; my dad's one of the local cops, my older brother Mikey is the town vet, and my mum is doing her best to become a social media influencer.  When I finished school I decided the grass was greener somewhere more tropical and took off to a tropical island.  Things hadn't turned out as planned and I came back home with my tail between my legs.

That's okay though; a little bit of humility never hurt anyone and I really am happy. 

I waved to some locals as I ran along Main Street and debated stopping at the bakery for a coffee.  I decided my sweaty face wasn't something that should be seen in close proximity to where they serve food and instead I would go home, make my own coffee and have a shower.  Besides, the buffalo running next to me needed a drink and a lie on the cool grass out the back of my shop, that also houses my apartment upstairs. 

Bentley is the biggest dog I've ever seen and I'm pretty sure he's still in his puppy stage and has more growing to do.  Mikey decided I needed him after someone attacked me and also because Bentley didn't get along with the chickens on his farm.  He's a good dog; a slobbery Saint Bernard, but good.  He makes a great running partner and despite his size he's surprisingly only ever broken two glass jar candles in my shop; I'm pretty certain I've broken more than that.

I stopped in front of the door to The Lamp and smiled.  My best friend Tabitha had just arrived and was busy lighting some of our handmade candles in the window. 

I waved at her through the window and opened the old wood and glass door.  The familiar bells above, jingled happily and I greeted Tabitha.

Tabitha Blackwell is one of a kind.  She's loyal, funny, sweet and the best shop assistant a person could ask for.  We were best friends in school, then went our separate ways when we graduated.  Fate obviously wanted us to be together because as chance would have it, we had returned to Sunshine around the same time and the rest, as they say, is history.

Morning.  I called over my shoulder to Tabitha as I took Bentley through the old building and out into the backyard where he had a huge, slobbery drink from his bowl and plonked himself down on the grass in the shade; he looked like he'd melted.

I felt like melting too.  Christmases in Australia are hot, dry and sweaty.  It's a good excuse to go to the beach and have a barbecue, but if you're not interested in those things, life can get a little boring; and did I mention sweaty?

Fortunately, being a candle shop, The Lamp is always kept cold.  If we didn’t run the large air conditioner so much, we would be selling liquid candles for at least three months of the year.  

I headed back inside and went into the main part of the shop; Bentley would scratch the door when he wanted to come back in.

I swallowed some water from my now warm drink bottle and pushed my hair off my sweaty face, How was your weekend?  I asked Tabitha. 

Tabitha works every second Saturday but it had been her week off and we're closed on Sundays so we both get a break.

Good thanks.  I spent a lot of it reading.  Tabitha smiled.

Sounds good to me. 

What about you?  Did Will have any time off?

Detective William Miles.  What can I say?  He's tall, dark and handsome?  A bit cheesy but it's true.  He's also a fresh import from America and an all round nice guy.  My relationship with him is complicated.  We've never talked about ‘us’ and I don't think either of us are ready to do so, but it makes things tricky.  My parents know there's something between us, but Will works with Dad at the police station and technically Dad is his boss, which complicates things even further.

Plus there's this thing I can do that I haven't told him about.  I guess you could call it magic.  I can do little things like create light in my hand, unlock doors and move things around in the air but not many people know about it.  Tabitha knows and so does Mikey; so does my ex-boyfriend Josh but he's serving time in prison for a variety of crimes including the attempted murder of Will, so I don't think he's going to be speaking to the media any time soon.

I shook my head, No, he had to work so I had lunch with Mum and Dad yesterday and then spent some time hanging around here.  I don't mind spending time alone; I think it's a skill everyone should master.

Everything okay with you two?  Tabitha asked.

I shrugged, I have no idea.  I think so?  I swallowed some more water, Sorry, I should have been back from my run earlier, I'll just head upstairs and have a super quick shower.

Tabitha waved me away, No rush.  Seriously. I think it's too hot for customers today anyway.  If we get a sudden rush I'll yell out.

We both knew I wouldn't hear her, but we went along with it anyway, Okay thanks.  Bentley's out the back.

I rubbed my shoulder as I walked up the stairs into my small apartment.  It had been a few months since I'd been shot but it still ached sometimes; especially when Bentley has been particularly enthusiastic with the lead. 

He's usually really good and runs beside me happily but if he spots a lizard he gets a little carried away - and almost carries me with him.  I'm not naturally skinny, but I work hard at keeping fit and it pays off.  I like food too much to not exercise; plus exercise clears my head. 

I have dark hair that falls past my shoulders and is never curly but never straight, a pale complexion thanks to my mum's French heritage and full lips that make it look like I'm sulking a lot of the time.  I also have deep blue eyes that border on purple and are very bright when I’m tired or upset. 

I was showered, dressed, had a small amount of makeup on and my hair in a bun and back downstairs in record time.  I felt good.  Sure, Christmas was stressing me a little, but life was going smoothly, the shop was successful and my love life, although confusing at times, was good.

I waved to old Mrs Kuzac as she walked past the window and started setting up the Christmas display with Tabitha.

Growing up in a small town and then returning to it can be a bit complicated but overall it's been the best decision I have ever made.

Sunshine is a beautiful country town surrounded by eucalyptus trees, a foreshore with a lighthouse that I used to love but now makes me shiver a little since I was once held captive there, and a booming tourism trade.  We're far enough out from the city to be considered a holiday destination, but not too far that it takes city dwellers long to get here.  We hold festivals, celebrate the big and little things and welcome visitors with open arms.  We used to be a farming community but we've had to move with the times and I think most people are happy.

Chapter Two – Gingerbread

L et it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Tabitha sang quietly as she worked.

Unlikely. I muttered to myself as I checked my candles to make sure they hadn't melted overnight.

My mood had taken a downward spiral once I'd returned to The Lamp. Nothing against the place itself of course, the heat had just started getting to me; I'm really not a summer girl.

The old fashioned phone on the counter started ringing and I picked it up because I was closest, Thank you for calling The Lamp how can I help you?

Charlotte? Is that you? I can hardly hear you. I smiled when I heard the voice of my grandpa yelling into the phone like it was a two way radio.

Hi Grandpa. You okay?

We're lost! I told your Grandma to turn left at that sign but she insisted she knew a better way; we haven't been through here in over a year, things change but turning left does not!

My grandparents love each other very much, but they are the epitome of the old saying 'like an old married couple'. They bicker, grumble, but if anyone else says anything about the other person, watch out.

Where's your father? He's not answering his phone.

He's probably working Grandpa. Where are you?

I don't know. If I knew that I wouldn't be lost now would I?

I moved the phone away and sighed; I put my ear back on the receiver and took a deep breath, Okay well tell me what you can see.

Dad moved into the area after he and Mum decided to settle down together. His parents visit from a country town over the other side of the state from time to time but they seem to get lost every visit; and usually around the same place.

I was in the middle of trying to explain the way to the town when I heard a car pull up behind them.

I froze momentarily until I heard a friendly voice that made my heart flutter just a little too much, Grandpa that's a friend of mine. Give him the phone. Please.

There was a lot of shuffling and some low mumbling but eventually I could hear the familiar voice clearly.

Will?

Charlie?

Hi. Congratulations, you found my grandparents. Can you please bring them to the shop?

Course. Lucky I was out this way. They're in thick bushland on a gravel road.

Fortunately I had warned him there was a chance they would be needing search and rescue so he was already keeping an eye out for them.  We hadn't had the chance to see each other on the weekend but we were still in contact.

What are you doing all the way out there? There's not much to patrol. Plus I don’t think detectives really go on patrol.

There was silence for a moment then, We're just checking the area. We've had some reports of pranks and I decided to check it out. I'll bring them to you ASAP boss.

Thanks.

Twenty minutes later Will delivered my grandparents to my shop.

I got them settled with cups of tea upstairs in my apartment and called Mum. She agreed to come and get them as soon as her hair appointment was over and wasn't even slightly surprised they had gotten lost. She made a snide comment I didn't catch and then turned back into the mum I know.

Mum is a little hyper, a lot stylish, and even more than that, sociable so it's unusual for her to dislike someone. Having said that, she doesn't dislike her in-laws as much as she feels judged by them. I know over the years it's been hard for her, but to her credit, she has always done what she's had to when it comes to family.

It was two weeks out from Christmas Day which meant the shop was getting busier and tourists were settling in for the season.

Will Miles looked good in black pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He