Life at Christmas

Chapter 1

"Got an ID?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, Joshua Leeds, MD, age 37. According to the business cards in his wallet he's a plastic surgeon," Espo replied. "Car is also registered to him as well."

"Any money in the wallet?" Kate queried.

"Yeah, couple hundred bucks." Certainly not worth killing someone for.

"Well, I guess we can rule out robbery." Kate took a closer look. "A plastic bag and duct tape are very personal." Someone wanted this guy to suffer before he died.

Lanie added her two cents. "From the state of decay I'd say he's been missing for about a week. Cause of death is asphyxiation but I'll run toxicology just in case."

"That matches the date on the first parking ticket," Ryan mentioned since he had a number of them.

"The bag looks flimsy. Why didn't he just rip it off?" Espo wondered aloud.

"He must have been restrained," Kate speculated. It looked really easy to rip open to get air.

"That's just the half of it. His fingernails have been removed. And each finger shows signs of having been broken pre-mortem." Lanie held up his hand to show Kate.

"Pre-mortem?" Kate questioned since that suggested he was tortured.

"If I had to guess I'd say our good doctor was tortured before he was killed." Lanie was positive he didn't do it to himself.

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Kate and Espo watched Leeds' fiancée ID their victim. "CSU have any luck with the car?"

"Results will be in tomorrow," Espo responded.

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"Three face lifts? At the very least she should be arrested for the violation of nature." Roy didn't much care for the picture Kate put up on the white board.

"Check this out. Her husband had her committed to Bellevue for treatment for her little obsession." Espo circled his face to mean he meant what she had done to her face.

"Guess who supported her commitment?" Ryan asked, pretty sure they'd know.

"Doctor Joshua Leeds." Kate could see that one coming.

"Mandatory one month treatment program," Ryan said.

Espo included this little tidbit. "She was released three days before our good doctor went missing."

"Get her in here." Roy wanted them to talk to her. She was perfect for this.

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"So where was she?" Roy took down her photo. She was suddenly off the top of their list.

"She was…in the hospital." Kate was uncomfortable with this subject.

Roy couldn't believe it. "More surgery?" Hadn't she done enough to herself already?

"Yep," Kate confirmed.

"What's she got left to operate on?" She hadn't just had her face altered. What was left?

Kate did her best but she still looked very uncomfortable.

"Oh, no!" Roy couldn't believe it. Surely she hadn't done something there.

"Oh, yes," Kate grimaced.

"What can they possibly do down there?"

"Apparently quite a lot." Kate didn't even want to think about a boob job let alone down there.

"Well if Leeds pissed her off maybe someone else pissed her off even more." Roy put her picture back on the board, just a little lower down.

"Yeah, Ryan and Espo are looking into that. Also CSU says the car came back clean. It's almost impossible for someone untrained to be that clean." Someone had tortured him somewhere.

"You thinking it was a professional?" Roy asked her.

"I don't know. Ms. Goldberg had enough money to pay someone to do it." Kate couldn't take her off the list either.

"A surgeon with broken fingers. Someone's sending a message," Roy pointed out and headed to his office.

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"A nine hour mystery operation that he didn't want even his own staff to know about." Roy liked this new lead.

"The hospital has nothing. It's like nothing happened at all. Whoever it was wasn't admitted." Ryan was at a dead end.

"You're talking to the wrong department. Someone used a hospital and their equipment. Someone had to pay for that," Roy insisted.

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"Found it," Espo announced. "You're not going to believe this. US Attorney's Office. Whatever was done, the US paid for it."

Kate had an idea. "There's only one reason for the US to pay to alter the appearance of someone."

"Witness protection," Espo grumbled because it usually meant a brick wall.

"There's one person who would know. Hard Candy." Kate smiled and walked away.

"Ooo. Good luck with that." Espo was sure she wouldn't tell Kate shit.

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Kate was sitting at home eating her Chinese take-out that she'd picked up on the way home. It was another evening like many others. It was only the three of them. Me-myself-and-I. Just like always.

She wasn't in the mood for TV or a movie and tonight of all nights she was wondering where her life was going. She had gotten into police work so she could find out who had killed her mother. Yet after a year of therapy she'd finally stopped trying before it destroyed her. Her life had to be worth more than just this one case. A case that she didn't have a single solitary lead to follow. She had literally nothing and when she stopped eating for a moment to look around, she still had nothing. Not even a decent dating prospect. Being a homicide detective, it seemed, wasn't conducive to getting a nice guy to say yes if she asked or got him to ask once he knew.

She pushed the carton aside and dropped her chopsticks; she'd lost her appetite. Then someone knocked at her door. She groaned, definitely not the mood for another one of Lanie's forays into what she was doing with her life.

Except looking out her peep hole it wasn't Lanie that she saw. It was a middle aged man in a suit, so she unlocked and unchained the door to open it.

"Ms. Katherine Beckett? Daughter of Johanna and James Beckett?" he inquired after she opened the door.

"Yes, can I help you?" She had never seen him before and he looked harmless.

"May I see some ID, please." He needed to be certain.

"May I ask why?" Why would anyone need to see her ID? Especially if he knew this much already. It looked like he was ready for that question since he reached into a pocket and took out a business card.

He handed it to her and introduced himself. "I'm Trevor Kelley."

"An attorney. My dad's an attorney but he doesn't live here." Her dad didn't live anywhere near here or so it felt.

"Yes, I know. I'm here to see you. ID, please," Kelley asked again.

"Sure." Kate had dropped everything in the kitchen after getting home with her dinner so she didn't have far to go. Even her weapon was still there.

Kate handed it to him and watched him look it over. "Thank you." He gave it back to her and asked, "May I come in? I have something I need to go over with you."

"Um…sure." Kate got out of the way as he came over to the sofa where she had left her dinner on the coffee table. She closed the door then followed him to the sofa, sitting down with considerable distance between them, just in case.

He opened his briefcase and leafed through his papers. "Do you remember one Abigail McKenzie?" he inquired.

Kate needed to search her memory for that name. It had been a very long time. "My aunt. I haven't seen her since I was a little kid. Maybe 12 or 13 years old, if that."

"Quite correct. Your mother's only sister to be exact. I regret to inform you that she passed away last month." Kelley was used to telling people that loved ones were dead so he just did it and got it over with.

"I barely knew her. I think I only ever met her once. I think we stayed there something like one or two days at best. What did she die of?" Kate asked. She really didn't need another murder to investigate. Besides if she remembered correctly she didn't even live in this state last she knew.

"She passed away from natural causes. In her sleep I was told. It was peaceful and painless, I assure you." She didn't need to worry that she had been killed or that it was from prolonged illness.

"I still don't see what this has to do with me. I doubt she even remembered me."

"She apparently remembers you. She has left you complete control over the inn she owned and was running," Kelley revealed.

"Me!? Why would she leave me anything? You're sure you have the right person?" There had to be a mistake. Why would someone she barely even knew and had only met once when she was little long ago leave her anything. Maybe a postcard or at best a letter, but why an inn?

"No mistake." He handed her his first piece of paper. "Here's the address."

"Magical Inn. …Holly, Connecticut? Where in the world is Holly, Connecticut?" Yes, she had met her aunt that one time and they'd gone to see her, however she didn't remember where. Truth be told she hadn't really wanted to go. She didn't even remember the inn or the name of it.

Now he brought out a map that had a circle on it. "It's just off of US Highway 1, south of Interstate 95, east of New London, and just minutes from the border with Rhode Island." He let Kate look at the map. "Based on research it's quite the little city and based on what I've been able to obtain her inn is very popular." He dug out another piece of paper and handed it to her.

"That's the occupancy rate for the inn over just the last 10 years. You'll note that at no time does it dip below 78%, even in the middle of summer. You'll also note the occupancy rate for the last 10 years in the month of December." Trevor pointed out something that might shock her.

"100%. …In December?" Kate looked it over yet again just to make sure she wasn't reading it incorrectly.

"Those rates will change a little soon. Thanks to her death last month the people in the inn were the last. Everyone who had reservations were refunded their deposits and the inn is currently closed. It is at present empty and all locked up."

Kate opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. "Why? Even if she did leave the inn to me why would they close it? That puts people out of work." That didn't make any sense.

"It was a stipulation of your late aunt. Once you arrive and take possession of the inn it can be reopened. Admittedly that's very unusual but she made it part of her will so people were forced to abide by her wishes."

It still didn't make any sense to her. "Just how big is this place?" She didn't remember it but maybe it was a stupid little Motel 6 or something similar.

That had him fishing out yet another piece of paper. "There are sixty-three rooms and suites spread out over three floors. Roughly 40% of the rooms require the use of stairs." He gave that page to Kate who read it as well.

"The inn started out as the retirement home of General Robert Perry following his successes in the War of 1812. After his death it changed hands and became a college for young women. It remained that through the Civil War and the following depression. It was during this time that it's believed that several Civil War soldiers became ghosts and haunt the inn to this day. As I understand it that's part of the appeal of the place. People love ghost stories and want to see a real live ghost. Or dead ghost as it may be. During this time it became a nursing school for women while the grounds themselves became a training ground for riflemen. However, the Great Depression, typhoid fever, and a declining enrollment eventually took its toll. The school was closed in 1932, standing idle for several years.

"Most of the records for who technically owned the place were lost thanks to the events of that time. For a period of time the facility was used to house actors and actresses appearing in theater. Then in 1935 the place was converted into a hotel. Finally in 1972 it was purchased by the McKenzie family. Over a period of years it was modernized. Lead piping was replaced. Gas lights had already been replaced with electrical lights. The knob and tube wiring was replaced with copper. The waste system was connected to the city sewer system. It was repainted to what it is today.

"The last renovation that I can find any information on was having the roof replaced with a metal roof as well as replaced the plumbing and waste piping yet again with a better quality pipe." He handed Kate the paperwork that he had generated showing its history. "In total over its various renovations several million dollars have been spent repairing, replacing and upgrading much of it."

"What am I supposed to do with an inn? I'm a homicide detective in New York City. I don't know anything about running an inn." This was just all nuts. Her aunt was nuts.

"At present the inn is worth millions. Based on the occupancy numbers it's a well loved inn, especially in the month of December," Kelley pointed out. "The people that were employed there are expecting you to arrive and reopen the inn so they can get their jobs back." That was just one item to put pressure on her.

"There's one additional stipulation in her will. You must take possession of the inn within the month of December or sell it within that month. Should you fail to do either it will revert to ownership of the town and you will get nothing.

Kelley hit her with everything else. "One final thing to keep in mind. Should you take possession of the inn, you and you alone will be responsible for all of the financial stipulations of running the inn. Electric, water, gas, trash, maintenance, cable TV or satellite, home heating oil since much of that state uses home heating oil for heating and phone. Not to mention the salaries of the staff after the month of December. Your aunt left just enough money to cover the average expenses for the month of December and that's all. You need to be in the inn and take possession of it by December first of this year."

"December first is like two weeks from now. You expect me to get time off work to be there by December first?" He had lost his mind. Her captain might go for it, but he might not.

"Not me, Ms. Beckett. Your aunt does. Take possession of it and run it or sell it. You only have the month of December to decide what you want to do. Otherwise it will become the property of the city of Holly, Connecticut," Kelley corrected her.

"One month and two weeks. …No pressure then." Kate gave him a weak smile.

"Here are all of the keys you'll need to open any lock on the property. Keep in mind as of 1995 the inn became an official historic property. If you decide to keep it and want to make changes any of those changes will need to be approved by local historic codes which I'm told are very strict. Also historic properties are traditionally worth far more," Kelley informed her. Doing anything to the inn wouldn't be as simple as doing it because she wanted to.

"I'll let myself out. Good luck, Ms. Beckett. You may not remember your aunt, however she clearly remembered you." Kelley closed his case and stood. "December, Ms. Beckett, that's all you have." He walked to the door, opened it, and closed it behind him.

Kate went back to one of the first pages. "Magical Inn. Holly, Connecticut." She searched for that map again. A closer look showed that it was maybe 30 minutes outside of New London, Connecticut on the coast and maybe another 30 minutes to the state border with Rhode Island.

It was cool in New York at the moment thanks to what was being called an Indian summer. However she was betting this place had snow on the ground and lots of it or at least would eventually be covered in deep snow. She had liked snow when she was a kid. But she was an adult now and snow was just one big pain in her ass.

"What am I supposed to do with an inn?" This was nuts. She searched her paperwork again. "Sixty-three rooms and suites on three floors." Sixty-three rooms didn't sound that big. How big could it be? And just what the hell was she thinking? She was a homicide detective not an innkeeper. "Ghosts, my ass." Hollywood might love ghosts but ghosts didn't exist. Still if it brought customers because they thought it was haunted.

"Homicide detective." She had worked really hard to get this far. Suffered the whispers and insults to her face coming up the ranks. Not to mention all that work in Vice and those disgusting outfits she had worn and the scum men she had met. It was almost amazing that she wasn't a lesbian after that, but she wasn't. Even if it had been a while.

What did she know about being an innkeeper even if she did now own one. At least until the end of December. Now she needed a plan on what to do about this.

She was in the middle of a case, so this week was out. Still she should at least look at it. Besides it was all locked up and she needed it open so that the people employed there could go back to work. He had said the money was there for that.

"I don't own a car." She was going to need one to get there. So she could rent one for say a week while she looked it over and began work on finding a buyer. Maybe someone local would buy it. But the attorney had said it was worth millions. Who in a small town would have millions to purchase it?

She could ask for time off for a week tomorrow as she explained to Roy why she suddenly needed a week off. She groaned. Yeah, that was going go over real well. Especially when Kevin and Javi found out. One of them would most certainly blab to Lanie and she just knew what Lanie would say.

Well one thing was for certain. Her life wasn't that boring now. Not when she owned an inn in a small city with a population of less than ten thousand in Connecticut. "Holly, Connecticut, no less. So why Holly and why Magical Inn?" She just knew this was going to be bad.