Christmas at Cliffhanger Inn

By Cristine E. Collier

Mystery always follows the women of the Writer's Club but this time with holiday flair!

Bill and Tara Fields are ready to celebrate the first Christmas at their Bed and Breakfast, the Cliffhanger Inn.

The Writer's Club will spend a few nights and celebrate the Inn's Open House, and also watch as the strange ivory mortgage button placed so long ago in the old staircase is removed. What will they find beneath it?

The owner of a Christmas tree farm, Country Evergreens, will stop by the Inn. The tree purchased at his lot has its own mystery from the past. A bizarre find beneath the pine needles around the trunk of the near perfect tree will leave the Fields questioning events surrounding this happening.

Tara discovers an old journal written by someone named Rebecca in the 1940s. Has she stumbled on a murder mystery that took place over sixty years ago?

A last minute business luncheon at the Inn will end in near death. Was this event a coincidence or planned to get rid of an annoying employee?

A demanding, unfriendly man will spend a week at the Inn, barely leaving his room except for meals. He will leave something in the room when he signs out that completely surprises Bill and Tara.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 25, 2003
• ISBN: 9781462047451

Cristine E. Collier

Christine Collier lives in Pine City, New York, with her husband Kent. She's the mother of Amy, Adam and Andrew and the grandmother of three little girls, Emma, Ellie and Grace. This is the third book in her mystery series, which includes, The Writer's Club and Mystery Is Our Shadow. Her middle grade chapter book is titled Adventure On Apple Orchard Road.

Book preview

CHRISTMAS AT CLIFFHANGER INN

Mystery writers Bill and Tara Fields had opened the Cliffhanger Inn, a Bed and Breakfast, months earlier and it was ready for their first Christmas! An antique sleigh filled with tiny white lights nestled in pine boughs and holly berries makes the perfect decoration in the front yard. No gaudy, blinking lights will be found at Cliffhanger Inn. A gentle glow from the gas coach lamp adds warmth and a touch of intrigue. On the double doors, two blue spruce wreaths complete the welcoming picture.

Tara’s writing critique group will have their annual cookie exchange party at Cliffhanger. She will learn that a little humor goes a long way in relieving stress at this hectic time of year!

A perfect Christmas tree decorated in Fontanini ornaments welcomes guests as they enter the marble-floored foyer.

The fireplace in the library has white birch logs in a red and green plaid log carrier on a brick hearth. Deep rose red and green pillar candles and country print stockings adorn the fireplace mantel.

A gift Tara places in the toe of Bill’s Christmas stocking will thrill him, it’s something he has wanted for a long time.

The Writer’s Club will spend a few nights at the Bed and Breakfast and join in celebrating the Inn’s Open House. Mystery always follows the women writers, this time with holiday flair! The lighting of the figgy pudding will bring its own surprise. A physiological one-question test will be given at the Open House. This test is one you want to fail!

Many guests of the past year will stop by for a delicious buffet and festive greetings! Mr. Leonard Weatherstorm and Miss Prudence Lovely are among the guests. The retired couple met the opening weekend of the Cliffhanger Inn; the same weekend the Writer’s Club visited for the first time and shared a fun filled ghost hunting adventure.

Grace and Gretchen Olson, twins separated at birth, make a return visit to their old homestead, Four Gables, now the Cliffhanger Inn. This house had many dark secrets that held both women mentally hostage for years.

A demanding, unfriendly man will spend a week at the Inn, barely leaving his room the entire time he’s a guest except for meals. He will leave something in the room when he signs out that completely surprises the owners.

A middle-aged woman will sign in; stating she plans to stay in her room all evening and wants room service. What is she looking for? What makes her leave so suddenly?

The owner of a Christmas tree farm, Country Evergreens, will stop by Cliff-hanger Inn for a gift certificate and autographed mystery books for his wife. The tree purchased at his lot has its own mystery from the past. A bizarre find beneath the pine needles around the trunk of the near perfect tree will leave the Fields questioning events surrounding this happening.

Even the odd ivory button drilled into the old newell post of the stairway leading upstairs will share its own mystery. What is the ivory button? What is hidden in the hole drilled beneath the old object?

A visit at the antique shop, My Grandmother’s Attic, and the reading of poems found in a shoebox, written by the owner’s grandmother, will startle everyone.

An old journal from the 1940s found in the back of the closet in the library at Cliffhanger Inn will cause sleepless nights for Tara. Has she stumbled on a half-century-old murder mystery? Will research in their dusty old town library be of any assistance? At this library, we will meet the wonderful Martha Mary Ryan, a very special person that loves to share stories with everyone she meets. One such story will be a Christmas legend about an old lamplighter of the village Can-dlewick in London. Why did the people of Candlewick hope for darkness in front of their home or business?

A last minute business luncheon at the Inn will end in near death. An emergency call to 9-1-1 ends the festivities. Was it pure coincidence or a planned event to get rid of an annoying employee?

A shopping trip to the bookshop, Paperbacks for Pennies, two blocks from Cliffhanger Inn is enjoyed by The Writer’s Club. You never know when a penny found in loose change will be valuable!

Amy and her husband Clay will visit the wedding shop, Something Borrowed—Something Blue, as a possible place to purchase their daughter Rachel’s wedding gown. Amy, a member of the Writer’s Club has heard this shop is fascinating and possibly has its own mystery to tell. Since this shop, in the little town of Foggy Grove, is half way to Cliffhanger, they will continue on to the Inn to bring in the New Year with Bill and Tara.

Since the very beginning when the four women writers met at a writer’s retreat in a log cabin in Vermont, mystery seems to shadow them. Why would a Christmas get together be anything different?

LOOK WHAT’s UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

Honey, how many Christmas trees are you planning on having at Cliffhanger? Bill Fields called to his wife Tara.

A large one in the foyer and two small ones placed in the library and family room I think, I’m not positive yet. What do you think? Tara answered.

That sounds good to me; we should get them within the week though. December is going to be so busy.

Yep, how about driving out to the tree farm, Country Evergreens, today?

Sounds good, let’s go for lunch.

Country Evergreens’ claim to fame was the fact that one of their trees had been used in a window display at Macy’s department store in New York City. This had been years ago but still it was mentioned in advertising every year since.

Bill turned their truck into the parking lot by a large pole barn building. People were mulling around piles of pine trees. A young couple with a beautiful baby girl had just paid for their tree. Tara smiled at the baby. The baby smiled back and waved at her. I wonder if Bill and I will ever get to share Christmas with a baby of our own. That would be the greatest gift of all.

Pine garland was stretched over the wooden split rail fence. A sign on the fence read, Buy One Ten Foot Garland, Get One Free! The biggest and best trees were staked and standing in a lighted section of a big open field. Others were lying on the ground and scattered randomly.

I want the large one in the entrance way to be a showstopper, Tara said smiling. That one will have all my Fontanini ornaments on it. Tara’s collection of ornaments depicting the life of Christ was her prize possession. I think I’ll have a mystery tree this year.

What’s a mystery tree? Bill asked, rolling his eyes.

I have a lot of miniature book ornaments that are mystery classics, a few little butlers, and other things connected to mysteries. I found a catalog that specializes in unique decorations and I bought a package.

Where will that tree be set up?

In the family room.

Honey, you concentrate on two short, full trees and I’ll look for the large tree for our foyer over there. Tara pointed to the section where the most expensive trees stood.

Okay, and then we’ll have lunch.

A small family restaurant, Grandma’s Biscuits, was a short distance down the road from Country Evergreens.

Tara walked toward the big open lot, the paths were well worn and a dusting of snow was on the ground. Christmas carols were playing over an intercom system and a wonderful scent of pine