Free Mayhem in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Christmas River Cozy, Book 2) by Meg Muldoon Page A

I said, clearing my throat. “I guess I was wondering why none of the other cast members here wanted to be Mrs. Claus after Kara stepped down. It just seems like it might be easier if one of them takes on this role. I mean, they know the play already. I’m just jumping in blind.”
    Sarah’s eyes narrowed from behind her glasses, and she crossed her arms.
    “Everybody’s too invested in their current roles right now,” she said. “And we have high standards with this play. I’m afraid not just anybody can take on the role of Mrs. Claus. Frankly, I even have my doubts about you.”
    I bit my tongue to stop from saying something I’d regret while a rush of anger made its way up to my head.
    I couldn’t believe this woman owned a tutoring business. The little lab wasn’t too far away from my shop. I could imagine she’d made a lot of little kids cry in her time. 
    When Kara had asked me to fill in for her as Mrs. Claus, I had imagined myself sitting on top of a parade float in the sunshine, waving and smiling and throwing candy at happy children. Not performing in front of the entire Christmas River community in a bad play directed by a full-of-herself, untalented theater director who had yet to thank me for filling in at such a late hour to save her stupid play.
    No. This wasn’t how I imagined it going at all.
    But I had to remind myself why I was here.
    It wasn’t just because I was helping my best friend out, saving her from a hole she’d elected to lower herself into after being convinced by Moira Stewart that the view looked a lot better from below the topsoil line.
    Though that was one of my motivations.
    The other one, the reason that I was really there, was because I thought I might be able to help Kara out in a more substantial way.
    I’d thought of it while I was making a batch of Lemon Gingercrisp pies that afternoon.
    What if the fire at Kara’s shop had something to do with the Christmas in July play?
    It seemed possible. The arsonist had been dressed up as Santa. I mean, it could just have been some random maniac with a flair for dramatics. This was Christmas River, a town that prided itself on having the Christmas spirit year-round.
    But the timing of the fire so close to the Christmas in July festivities seemed like it could have been more than a coincidence.
    Kara had been playing Mrs. Claus. And Mr. Claus had just set fire to her shop. Had the arsonist been someone in the play? Someone who had it out for Kara?
    It was worth looking into. 
    I wasn’t any Nancy Drew, but I felt a strong need to see justice done for my best friend.
    I wanted to see whoever had done this pay for burning her dreams to the ground.
    Daniel didn’t know yet about this grand plan of mine. And I just knew that he wasn’t going to like the idea of me being an undercover Mrs. Claus.
    But sometimes in life, we have to make our own choices.
    And if I could help find out who was responsible for the heinous arson of my best friend’s store, I was going to do what I had to do.
    “Now listen up everyone,” Sarah said, taking off her garishly jeweled glasses and addressing the 15 or so actors and crew members. “We’ve had a setback with Kara dropping out of the play. But Cindy here is going to do everything she can to fill her shoes.”
    Living with a name like Cinnamon for 34 years, I’d had my share of problems with people getting it wrong.
    But I couldn’t recall ever having a day when I got called Cindy by two different people.
    “Cinnamon,” I muttered loudly
    Sarah stopped mid-sentence and looked over at me with an angry, wrinkled expression.
    “What?” she said.
    “It’s Cinnamon,” I said again. “My name.”
    She gave me a look like I had just tracked dog poop onto her stage. 
    I had half a mind to take the Mrs. Claus costume off and stomp on it right then and there.
    “She’s saying her name’s not Cindy,” said one of the other actors who I recognized as being Valley Corson, the owner of a