MASQUERADE PARTY MURDER

  JUNIPER HOLIDAY BOOK 4

  LEIGHANN DOBBS

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  More Books By Leighann Dobbs:

  About the Author

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Madam, the DJ wants to know where you would like her to set up her equipment in the ballroom.”

  Juniper, hip deep in feather boas of every color, looked over her shoulder in surprise at her ghost butler, Lionel. “She can see you?”

  “No, madam. I overheard her talking to Terrence.”

  “Ah,” Juniper said and went back to sorting through the mess of feathers. “Did he tell her where to set up? He already knows. I told him earlier today.”

  “I was not aware of this, mum,” Lionel intoned.

  “Well, I didn’t tell you, Lionel, because you can’t exactly relay my instructions to anyone,” Juniper remarked distractedly.

  “Of course not, mum.”

  Juniper stopped flinging feathery strangle scarves around, her shoulders lifting and lowering quickly in a short sigh. That was Lionel’s miffed tone. She’d said something to upset him. Dang it. “Lionel, I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s quite all right, madam. You simply spoke the truth. I am dead. There is no denying the fact.” He gave a slight bow, hands behind his back. “If you will excuse me, I must go see how Jacobi and Felicity are faring.”

  Instead of slowly sinking through the floor or floating across to the wall, Lionel vanished, and with his disappearance, Juniper leaned her head back and gave a great big sigh that she felt to her spinal cord. They were mere weeks out from Christmas, and she was feeling a bit weary. All this celebrating was her idea, yes, but lord, she could really use a rest.

  And now she had a ghost with hurt feelings to deal with—on top of getting everything ready to go before tonight’s big New Year’s party. It was moments like this when she wished someone else could communicate with her ghostly staff.

  Well… there was someone, but she’d rather not have to deal with old Quackers right now. She had to see him too much as it was. Of course, half of it wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t like she could keep people from falling dead or being found dead on her property. Desmond Mallard (or Quackers, as she sometimes referred to him) was a detective on the Crescent Cove police force, and he took his job seriously. Juni helped him out, though, on occasion. She figured it was the least she could do, considering how often he found himself out here when he clearly didn’t want to be.

  He didn’t want her help, but she gave it anyway. It was her way of giving back. Whether he liked it or not.

  “Sometimes you just can’t win,” Juniper said to the housecats, Ludo, Loki, and Finn. All three of them ignored her. Ludo was busy sniffing at the feathers, her dainty pink nose twitching. Loki had managed to get tangled in a fuchsia boa that looked striking against his black fur. Finn was too serious to play with feathers, so he lay atop the bed, watching the others with a detached air of slight disdain.

  “June, you ready? Your guests are going to be here any minute,” Juniper’s goddaughter, Victoria, announced as she waltzed into Juniper’s room without knocking.

  Following closely behind was Barclay, her beloved Jack Russell-and-Chihuahua mix. Barclay’s eyes lit up when he saw the cats playing with the boas, and he raced over. Ludo hissed and ran under the bed. Loki jumped up onto a bureau. Finn snuggled deeper into the pillows on the bed. Barclay simply looked around as if wondering why everyone had run away.

  Shooting a glare over her shoulder at her goddaughter, Juniper said, hands spread out before her, “Does it look like I’m ready?”

  Tori blinked, looking around at the stacks of clothes lying scattered about the room. “Whoa. You having trouble picking out an outfit? I thought you had already decided what you were going to wear.”

  “This is from days ago,” Juniper said. “Well, most of it. And I did. It’s on the bed. I’m trying to untangle this pile of feathery horrors I’ve collected over the years. There’s a specific one I need, and I think it’s in the middle of the knot.”

  “Give it here,” Tori said, waving her hands.

  Juniper tossed it over without hesitation and got to her feet. “Thanks, Tor. I’ve gotta go talk to Lion-o. I hurt his feelings earlier and need to apologize. Let me know when you’re done!”

  “Juniper Holiday, you are not about to leave me to sort this mess myself!”

  “I’ll be back!” Juniper said cheerily, giving Tori a big smile before she closed the door behind her.

  Tori’s irate voice followed her as she escaped down the stairs.

  “Juniper!”

  She power walked barefoot across the marble floors, ducking into one room after another in search of her long-dead butler, calling his name and getting no response.

  Her search garnered more than a few looks from the decorators and serving staff as they went about their tasks setting up for the party, but Juniper ignored them. They knew the place was “rumored” to be haunted and that she had been caught talking to thin air more than once. If they hadn’t caught on by now that it wasn’t an act, then whatever.

  “Juniper Holiday, tell me I haven’t missed my chance.”

  Skidding to a halt in the middle of the hall leading to one of the many living rooms, Juniper turned and stared in wide-eyed astonishment at her unannounced guest, not quite believing what she was seeing. Tall and dark-haired with a boyish face and a mischievous grin, Chalis McGregor stood with his shoulder propped against the wall.

  Juniper smiled. Her old buddy hadn’t changed a bit.

  “Chalis McGregor. I don’t believe it! What are you doing here? I thought you were living it up with a princess somewhere in the Swiss Alps.”

  Juniper knew that Chalis was trying to buy the old abandoned mansion down the road from her, but Mayor Berkshaw had been giving him a hard time, saying the property needed to be condemned and couldn’t be sold. Chalis had big plans for it, a total renovation with swimming pools and tennis courts. He had the money for it too. Why the mayor would rather have the property continue to go to ruin instead of letting Chalis renovate it was a mystery. Maybe he just didn’t want Chalis coming to town. The two did have somewhat of an adversarial history.

  “June. Babe. I never said she was a princess, only that she was my princess,” Chalis said, casually walking over to her. “And we broke up a few years ago. I’ve been flying solo ever since.” He grinned and hugged her close, ending the embrace with a loud kiss on her cheek. “How ya been, sweetheart?”

  “I’m great!” she answered, grinning back. “You’re a little early for the party, though. How did you even get in?”

  “Butler let me in. I figured I’d come early so we could catch up.”

  “That sounds great, except right now, I’m looking for my dead butler. Go make yourself at home in the front parlor, and I’ll be back in a few.” Juniper gestured toward the front parlor and walked away, leaving Chalis staring after her. As she continued her search for Lionel, she couldn’t help but wonder why Chalis had resurfaced now after so many years being away. And if he was here, in Crescent Cove, did that mean he was somewhere nearby?

  Her stomach flipped at the thought. Back in the day, Chalis, he, and Juniper had been the gilded trio. But that was before…. She shook her head, refusing to go down that rabbit hole right now. She had a party to get ready for and a butler to find. Now was not the time to get lost in broken-hearted memories.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Lionel could not be found. He’d disappeared completely—a feat quite easy for a ghost—obviously not wanting to be located, even for an apology. Juniper had searched the house up and down several times, but nothing had come of it. Finally, there was no time. If she wanted this party to be all she had touted, she needed to dress and get downstairs.

  “Tori, sweets, can you please run on down there and make sure the valet parking folks don’t crowd my private garage? If something like what happened at Thanksgiving were to happen again, I’m really gonna need to be able to get the car out.”

  Tori was already dressed and ready for tonight’s big gala. Her sequined red dress sparkled, even without the flash of strobes and multicolored party lights. She pulled the ivory handheld opera mask away from her eyes and nodded. “Sure. I’ll hop down there right quick. You hurry up, June. This is your big New Year’s celebration party, after all. You can’t be late—not even for Lionel.”

  As Tori rushed away to see to the parking situation, Juniper huffed a sigh. She still wanted to get downstairs far enough ahead of the first guest so she could spend a few minutes catching up with Chalis.

  “As if there’s not enough otherwise to distract me,” she grumbled while pulling her dress over her head. “The music’s already started!”

  She hummed in time with the tune and pulled on this and that until, at last, she was ready. Her long, flowing white silk gown strea
med around her. The silver-trimmed mask she’d chosen for the evening slid easily over her face, its curling blue, silver, and white streamers spilling down from the sides almost to the floor. She hastily tucked her feet into a pair of white satin slippers and raced for the bedroom door and ran down the stairs.

  “June. You look like a goddess, girl!” Chalis said. He must have gotten tired of sitting in the front parlor and was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes twinkled behind his mask, and he held out his hand. “Shall we?”

  Juniper snorted. “Are you sure you still can, Chal? This song has quite a jumping vibe.”

  His expression one of wounded playfulness, Chalis MacGregor took three steps back and broke into dance.

  Juniper laughed. “All right, all right. You’ve still got it. Now, get me out there on the floor so I can get it too!”

  It wasn’t long before guests started streaming in, and Juniper left Chalis with a young woman in a fuchsia chiffon minidress and long blond hair.

  Soon, the mansion was filled with masked guests in their finest gowns and tuxedos. It was a sea of sequins, silks, and velvets. With everyone wearing masks, it was a little difficult to recognize who was who, but Juniper greeted everyone as if they were her best friend while waitstaff circled the room with trays of drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

  For the next two hours, Juniper made her rounds, chatting with everyone she could possibly bump into—and with the music she had chosen and the way she danced, she bumped into quite a lot of people. Besides Chalis, who she adored and spent a great deal of time with, she’d also spent a moment chatting with Preston Lane. The man who was currently wed to one of those flashy movie starlets was standing alone. She couldn’t help but notice there was more of the cold steel in his eyes she knew showed up when he was dealing with something, but with so many people here at the mansion tonight, there was no appropriate time to pull him aside to ask what was going on.

  William Walcroft, one of the Cove’s most prominent bankers, was also in attendance. He’d come with his wife, Donna. William, though he’d made time to converse, seemed to have another pressing agenda. He kept scanning the crowd—looking for the mayor, his wife told her in an aside. “He’s probably hoping to have another go at him about that project he so wants to fund, but he said Mayor Berkshaw keeps asking for changes.”

  “What project is that?” Juniper asked, mostly to be polite.

  Donna frowned. “I’m not sure. He’s pretty secretive about it, but that’s why he’s had to visit the mayor’s house a few times. I guess it’s hush-hush.”

  “Aren’t most of them?” Juniper joked and pushed another glass of champagne on Donna, who was getting a little clingy.

  Fedora Layhee, Juniper’s neighbor and friend, was there, of course. The RarelyDone Steakhouse werewolves too. Quincy from WitchRoast Cafe had declined, the same as Detective Mallard, though Juniper had extended an invite to him. Desmond had just flat out said no. Not that Juniper minded; quite the opposite. She was just as delighted to have him not be in attendance tonight.

  All in all, despite her lingering worry over the upset between her and Lionel, Juniper decided her party was a smashing success. But it was now ten minutes to midnight. There was more excitement to come. The countdown, of course, would be exciting because that was when everyone would unmask. But there was also the spectacular fireworks show she’d planned. It was time to get everyone outside.

  Juniper held up her hand in a signal to the DJ to stop the music and make the announcement, then she went ahead to the central set of double glass doors leading onto the back lawn and made her way out into the night, beneath a lovely covering of stars.

  She’d had a stage of sorts set up in the center with a big countdown clock on it. That was where she would be when the fireworks started. She’d invited Tori, Fedora, and Chalis to join her.

  The music had started up again, this time blaring from the speakers on the balcony railing, spilling through the chilly December air as the ushers she’d hired routed her partygoers out of the ballroom and into the night for the big countdown. Everyone had enough champagne in them that the cold winter air wasn’t too much of a problem, though some of the men draped their jackets around their wives’ shoulders.

  When there were only three minutes to go, waiters and waitresses hurried through the crowd, handing out fresh glasses of champagne. Tori, Fedora, Chalis, and Juniper were the last to receive theirs, and then the music shut off.

  “Sixty seconds to midnight—are y’all ready?” Juniper called into the microphone. “At midnight exactly, the masks come off! Get set, everyone! From ten, let’s count them down!”

  The speaker cut, and all eyes were trained on the big countdown clock. Then, the crowd chanted in unison with Juniper: “Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!”

  Juniper glanced around, noting as many masked faces as she could while making her guess as to who was lurking behind them.

  “Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”

  A superloud horn sounded at the exact stroke of twelve. A storm of beribboned masks filled the air just as the first of the fireworks went off and exploded into the sky above them. Tori gasped, looking into the crowd instead of the colorful display of lights in the sky. “June! Isn’t that Mayor Berkshaw?”

  Juniper glanced in the direction she’d indicated to see the mayor stumbling around. A tall woman, still masked, stood at his side.

  “Is he drunk? Who is that with him?” His wife, Susan, had told Juniper she’d be out of town and wasn’t flying in until shortly before midnight and probably wouldn’t be able to make it. She’d sent her regrets, saying she hoped the party was a smashing success. As if it wouldn’t be. All of Juniper’s parties were successful—even if, lately, they turned into crime scenes.

  As Juniper watched, the woman lowered her mask. “It’s Madison Lane! I was wondering if she was here. But why is she with the mayor and not Preston?”

  Tori clutched Juniper’s arm. “Never mind that, Juniper. I think he’s been shot!”

  Juniper’s brows snapped together. “Shot? Who has? Tor, what in the world are you talking about? That loud bang was the fireworks.” Juniper gestured toward the sky as more fireworks went off above them.

  “We have to hurry!” she told Juniper. Tori grabbed her godmother’s hand and raced into the crowd. Then, just as suddenly, she ground to a halt. Mayor Berkshaw lay on the ground, his pristine white shirt now gone crimson. Madison Lane was kneeling in the snow beside him.

  Berkshaw had been shot? Juniper’s gaze immediately scanned the crowd, looking for the shooter. People were milling about, many not even realizing someone had been shot. The fireworks were still going on, drawing everyone’s attention. Only a few of the people nearby were slowly starting to realize what had happened. She didn’t see anyone running away. Could someone have shot the mayor and then turned around and pretended to watch the fireworks?

  There was one person Juniper didn’t see: her old friend Chalis. Was it any coincidence that Chalis suddenly appeared in town the very night Mayor Berkshaw was shot?

  CHAPTER THREE

  Juniper’s mind was racing. She needed to do damage control… even though the damage was kind of already done, and everyone was currently gawking at it. And everyone was talking. Whispering. Staring. Pointing.

  “June, we need to get everyone out of here,” Tori said next to her in a quiet voice. “If they get too close—oh my God, no! No, absolutely not! Put the phone away, Gina! Don’t you look at me like that. This poor man is dead. The least you can do is leave the cameras out of it.”

  Gina Dodd was from the local news station and always ready to be the first with a scoop.

  Tori looked at Juniper imploringly. “Juni! Hurry up!”

  Snapping out of her daze, Juniper snapped her fingers. “Right.”