Murder Goes Caroling: A Piper Haydn Piano Mystery Book #3 eBook

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Chapter 1
Still, still still, one can hear the falling snow.

Thursday
A swirl of stinging snowflakes whipped around Piper Haydn as she battled Wisconsin’s winter. Her eyes and nose tingled from the below zero temps. She tightened the scarf around her neck and shivered.
Good thing mom knows how to knit a warm scarf. Winter had taken over Wisconsin far too early this year, and Piper feared the cold temperatures might sabotage the Cranberry Harbor Christkindlmarket. The outdoor Christmas market opened in two weeks, and Piper had a mile-long list of details to work out before the market opened. And she still had to oversee the tree lighting ceremony and the Caroling Extravaganza this weekend.
She’d corral the teachers at her music academy and her best friend, Roosevelt Hale, to help accomplish the endless tasks. But first something hot to drink. A bell jingled overhead as Piper ducked into the Tea Thyme shop. The spicy aroma of tea and herbs tickled her frozen nose.
“Piper,” Maisy called from the counter. “Good afternoon. What brings you out today? It’s positively brutal out there.”
“Maisy, I require something hot to thaw me or I shan’t continue venturing down the way.”
“It’s so cold you turned into a Puritan?” Maisy laughed. “But I agree. I’ve shivered all day and keep drinking tea. I keep my icy fingers cuddling this.” She held a thick pottery mug to her lips and sipped.
Piper peeled her gloves off one finger at a time, dropping them on the counter. “Where did this deep freeze come from? I wasn’t paying attention to the weather report. Did you know the weather was supposed to get frigid so soon?”
“No. I didn’t pay attention either, but at least it’s not as bitter cold as the last polar vortex Wisconsin sent us.”
Piper groaned. “Don’t dredge up awful memories. At least we can function in these temperatures. Remember when they canceled mail delivery last time?”
“I know.” Maisy shivered. “I’m worried no one will come out if it doesn’t warm up soon. I’m sure the temperature will ease up long before the Christkindlmarket though. How’s your to do list coming along?”
A cross between a groan and a squeak rushed from Piper. “Please don’t remind me. I’m up to my eyeballs in details and I’m not sure the chores will ever end.”
“You’ll get everything done and we’ll celebrate like the fine, fun loving folks we are.” Maisy arranged a cinnamon apple butter scone on a dainty china saucer. Holly and berries circled the gold-rimmed dish. She slid the scone across the counter and poured tea into a matching teacup. “Eat. You need carbs to fortify you while you navigate the frozen tundra.”
Piper rested in an overstuffed chair in the corner. “You have no idea. You’re the best,Maisy. What is Tea Thyme selling at the Christkindlmarket?”
Maisy eyes sparkled. “I’m busy testing holiday blends—spicy concoctions with cinnamon and berries. I’m packaging the tea in gold tins and Rosie is painting Christmas labels for me. She’s hand lettering, ‘Cranberry Harbor Christkindlmarket’ across the top.”
“Ooh. I look forward to tasting your amazing recipes.” Piper drained her tea, gulped the last piece of scone, and grinned. “I know. Not very ladylike. Please don’t tell my mother.”
Maisy grinned. “My lips are sealed, friend.”
Piper tugged on her gloves and bundled up, twisting the scarf tightly around her face. “I’ll catch up later. Oh, did the Earl Gray tea I ordered for my dad’s gift arrive?”
“I expect the shipment on Friday. I’ll call you.”
“Thanks.”
“Stay warm,” Maisy called.
“Bye,” Piper called as she stepped out of the cozy tea shop. The brisk wind whistled down Main Street, blowing against Piper and stinging her eyes. She rushed down the sidewalk to her friend Cassidy’s yarn store, wondering why she hadn’t stayed bundled in her quilt this morning. A crackling fire, a steaming mug of tea, and a well-written novel beckoned her home. Anything seemed better than battling this arctic cold. But she had Christmas gifts to purchase and vendor details to confirm. Why I offered to lead the market this year, I’ll never know. Sign up to lead the market, they said. It will be fun, they said.
She rushed through the entry of the Wooly Llama, and the door slammed behind her. “Hello, Cassidy,” Piper called as she wiped her snow boots on the doormat.
“What are you doing out, Piper? The weather is ridiculous.”
“Business.”
“I’m doing business too, but don’t tell anyone my secret.” She leaned across the counter and whispered, “I cozy up with an afghan while I knit.” Cassidy smiled. “Join me. You look like you need some warmth.”
Piper joined Cassidy on the sofa in her classroom and accepted the plush afghan her friend held out. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and melted into the couch. “Today is my only day off this week, and I am checking in with the market vendors and choosing gifts for my family. Speaking of gifts…do you suggest I purchase yarn for my mother’s knitting obsession or a gift certificate and let her choose her present?”
Cassidy tapped her chin and frowned. “What about a bag full of fun knitting tools and organizers?”
“Perfect,” Piper said. “Can you put a gift together and call with the total? By the way, what are you selling at the market?”
“Red and green yarn bundles and an easy yarn star ornament kit for everyone who doesn’t knit or crochet.”
“Perfect,” Piper said. She leaned her head on the back of the couch and closed her eyes. “Think I’ll stay put and take a nap. Battling the wind zaps my energy.”
Cassidy laughed. “You’re not the first person to nap in my classroom. Stay all day if you like.”
Piper sat up and folded the heavy afghan. “If I don’t keep moving, I’ll never finish these errands. Don is pulling the nativity set out of storage today, so I’m on my way to open the academy for him.”
Cassidy clapped her hands. “I love the nativity scene. The carving and painting on the figures are exquisite. For once, Mr. Standerwick did something nice by donating the set to Cranberry Harbor.”
“For some odd reason, Rosie likes the old curmudgeon. She says he’s not so bad.”
“Rosie doesn’t think anyone is bad. How is her job going?”
“She enjoys working for Fergus, but she only works a couple of days a week doing miscellaneous chores.”
“Well, good for her. Perhaps she can soften the old man up a little. Speaking of men…”
Piper held her hand up. “I know where you’re going. And no. Nothing’s happening.”
Cassidy frowned. “I thought you and Chief Maxwell were an item.”
“One date, Cassidy. Dinner. Nothing else.”
Her friend stared and put her hands on her hips. “Piper Haydn. Tell me you did not chase Will away?”
Piper frowned.
“Piper?” Her friend raised an eyebrow.
“I’m busy, Cassidy. I’m not a teenager all googly-eyed over a boy. No time for dating.”
Cassidy pursed her lips. “Girl.”
“Don’t ‘girl’ me. I don’t need your icy stare freezing my insides too. My outsides are cold enough as it is.”
Cassidy laughed, rubbing her fingers across Piper’s knit scarf. “Ooh, your mom used the luscious merino wool on this one.”
“Keeps me warm. Well, relatively speaking. Nothing keeps me warm on a day like today.”
“Don’t stay out too long. I don’t want to read about you on The Cranberry Harbor Tattler tonight.”
“Oh, boy. Where did the blog come from?”
“No one knows.” Cassidy raised her eyebrows. “It’s all a big mystery,” she said, mimicking the voice of a narrator in a terrifying movie.
“I hope we find out who’s behind it.” She tucked the ends of the wool scarf into her coat. “I promise I’m heading home after one more stop. The rest of the day, I’m plunking down in my turret to drink hot beverages and read ’til bedtime.”
“Good girl. Catch you later.”

Cranberry Harbor residents hunker down as an arctic blast sweeps through Wisconsin. Chief Maxwell requests that all citizens stay home. Weather forecasters report that the dangerously cold temperatures should move out in the next day or two. Just in time for the Caroling Extravaganza that some residents enjoy. The rest of us wish you’d leave us alone. The Cranberry Harbor Tattler