Merry Market Murder(80)

Amid the trees, in a small but groomed clearing, were two giant barns flanking a house that was so idyllic it was probably made of gingerbread.

“Wow,” I said as I stopped the car. The entire scene might have been as charming without the thin layer of fresh white snow, but I felt privileged that I’d chosen this day to come up and chop down my first Christmas tree.

Denny had mentioned that the farm would be busy, but currently there were only a few vehicles parked in a small area next to one of the barns. I followed the obvious ruts in the path and pulled my truck next to a newer-model red version and stepped out into the heady-clean, crisp, naturally scented air. I wondered if I could get drunk if I sniffed too deeply for too long.

“Hello!” Ned called from directly outside the closest barn. He was dressed in a red-plaid flannel shirt and jeans and had a Santa hat on his head.

“Hi,” I said as I walked forward to meet him. “This place is amazing!”

“Thank you. We don’t ever get tired of it. Your boyfriend here, too?”

“He’s on his way, should be here in a minute.”

Ned looked behind me toward what must have been the doors of the magical wardrobe I’d driven though. Surely this was the edge of Narnia.

“Is there a reason to be concerned?” I said.

“No, not at all,” Ned said. “It’s the first real snow this year, but it’s not bad. There are no road issues yet.”

“Yet?”

“There won’t be, I’m overreacting. I always do with the first snow.” Ned laughed.

I turned to look toward the oak forest. No Sam yet, but he was close behind, I was sure. I looked up at the thick clouds above. A few small, light snowflakes landed coldly on my cheeks, but I didn’t think we were about to face a big storm.

“It’s fine. Really,” Ned said. “Go on into the barn. We’ve got warm drinks and places to sit while you wait. I need to head out to make sure a couple customers are doing all right out there, but Denny and Billie are both around. Make yourself at home. When your friend gets here, one of us will show you the ropes.” Ned smiled reassuringly before he turned and stepped around the barn.

The tall, wide doors to the barn were closed but I could probably get in with just a pull of one of the handles. If I hadn’t caught sight of Denny going toward the other barn across the property, I would have pulled one of those handles and gone into the warm place with the hot drinks and lots of seats.

I hello’d and waved at Denny, but he was focused on whatever task he’d set out to do. He wasn’t dressed as Santa, but he did wear red jeans, a white sweater, and a hat that matched Ned’s. He walked with long strides, his attention on the ground in front of him, his face serious as he pulled open a door and went inside. He carried an ax with sure authority; I wanted to hold an ax that way.

I was curious enough to follow him over to the other barn, but I wasn’t sure what the rules were. Were customers invited anywhere, or just the barn that Ned had directed me to go into?

I looked around, and not finding anyone to ask, shrugged, and hurried across to the other barn.

Someone would stop me if I was doing something they didn’t want me to do.

One of the two doors on the second barn was slightly ajar, and a yellow band of light trailed out to the dark ground that was now flecked with bits of snow.

“Denny?” I said as I leaned into the opening. There was no answer, but I thought that this barn might have been off-limits to customers. This was a storage barn, full of equipment, tools, and the random parts of things that could be found on most farms. “Denny?” I said a little louder.

There was still no answer but something metallic crashed somewhere toward the back corner, a corner that was mostly blocked and hidden by an old tractor.

I threaded my way through the opening and stepped carefully over and around debris.

The light became brighter as I got closer to the corner and then the space became fully illuminated when I moved all the way around the tractor.

I should have said “hello,” or repeated “Denny,” but I was struck momentarily silent by what I saw.

Santa’s workshop would have been the first way to describe the corner space. A long worktable served as the focal point, but it was surrounded on three sides by shelves of tools and . . . toys? No, not toys; ornaments. Christmas tree ornaments filled the shelves. The ornaments were made of all different materials. Many had been painted, but some were just plain wood or metal or other material.

Denny had set the ax on the table and picked up something else. I was sure it was another ornament. In fact, it was a big ornament, made of wood and painted to look like an elf; an adult female elf.