McKenzie woke up bright and early the next morning to find the sun streaming in
through the huge windows along the far wall of her bedroom. She reached for
her cellphone on the bedside table and saw that it was seven am. She
turned in the bed and was surprised to find Nick snoring beside her. She
woke him up by shaking him. Hey, when did you sneak in here,
she asked. You know that's against the rules. Nick yawned sleepily and
turned to face her. I didn't want to be in another room when my
hot, sexy girlfriend is down the hall and I never get to see her,
he said, giving her a kiss. Besides, I'm a grown man.
I'm not going to let some uppity family or some stuffy old butler tell
me what to do. You tell him, mackenzie said, stretching and hopping
out of bed. Well, I'm happy that you came to sleep with me
last night, but you better get back to your own room before anyone gets
suspicious. Besides, I have to shower, or I guess take another bath
because there is no shower. Good point, Nick said, I guess we'll
go downstairs and have breakfast, and then I'll get to work and you,
he flicked her nose. Can get ready for your exciting tour of the premises
with the mistletoe spawn Ugh, mackenzie groaned and mashed her face into a pillow.
Don't remind me, do I have to? Well, no, but
I think it would be nice for our first day here. You don't have
to stay with them the whole time, just for a few hours, and
then maybe you can get to explore the towns. I know, I know.
McKenzie agreed, I'll go, and with that she headed into the bathroom
to get ready. McKenzie picked out a pair of jeans, fur lined lace
up boots, and a chunky turtleneck sweater for the day. She wanted to
look cute but also be prepared for the cold weather. The temperature gage outside
read thirty three degrees. As she came down the stairs, she heard Nick
speaking with a man. As he came into view, she saw him on
the downstairs landing talking to a dark skinned man with work clothes on. She
figured he must be Louise, the gardener, and she was right. Nick
turned and introduced the two. McKenzie, this is Louise, the man who
keeps this place running. Louise shook her hand and turned back to Nick.
I'm sorry about the passing of your uncle. We were all terribly saddened to
hear of his death. Nick said, thank you. The man continued looking
back and forth to Nick and Mackenzie and lowered his voice. I will say,
though, that some strange things have been going on here at the Manor,
I mean, stranger than normal. I want to make sure both of
you watch your backs. What do you mean strange, Nick asked, watch
our backs. That sounds serious. It's just that before your uncle died,
mister and missus Mistletoe were acting off. Missus Mistletoe spent a lot of time
alone in her room, or when she would come down, she would retire
to the kitchen and refuse to let any of the hired help be around.
She and mister Mistletoe have been arguing a lot more lately, and mister Mistletoe
has had an abundance of very suspicious phone conversations, either in hush tones or
loud arguments. Does mister Mistletoe still run the company? Mackenzie asked, well,
yes he does, but he's getting up there in age. I assume
Alex is next in line. To take over the business. Well, one
would think that Louis started, but that is not what mister Mistletoe has planned.
He has a brother, Miles, who is much younger than he,
I think by about fifteen years. Miles is somewhat of a cad and not
completely trustworthy, but I think mister Mistletoe would rather have him take over the
company. He doesn't trust Alex. He thinks Alex is just a greedy,
manipulative, spoiled kid who only wants the business for the money. He thinks
that Alex will only run it into the ground. He and Alex had another
argument about it again recently. I know he is desperate to take over the
company. Mister Mistletoe won't have it. You'll meet Miles at dinner tonight.
He comes for dinner every Saturday evening and brings the latest lady of the hour.
Can't wait? Nick muttered under his breath. Well we better get going,
Louise said, motioning toward Nick. There is a lot to do before
the big Christmas Eve party in just a few days. The whole town of
Garland is invited, and most everyone shows up. It's a real sea and
be seen kind of party. Thanks for offering to help me with the setup.
It's the least I can do, Nick stated, following Louise toward the
front door. He gave McKenzie a quick kiss on the cheek. Sorry,
gotta skip breakfast, babe, but why don't you go on into the dining
room and grab something. Mackenzie agreed and walked through the living room toward the
dining room. Just as the table last night had been impressive with all of
the food and wine, this morning was just a delectable. There was yogurt
and honey, a fresh fruit platter, blueberry and pumpkin muffins, oatmeal,
eggs, bacon, sausage, and a large tray of English muffins, toast
of all different varieties, croissants, scones, and warm bagels with cream cheese
spreads. Not knowing where to start, Mackenzie picked up a plate and spooned
some cantaloupe and raspberries onto it, and then chose a whole wheat bagel with
veggie cream cheese. She was just about to select a mini pumpkin muffin when
the door to the kitchen swung open and Alex walked in, nearly crashing into
her by the table, Mackenzie jumped and her plate rattled. Alex broke into
a smirk and went to pour himself some coffee from the sterling silver set on
a tray by the bar. Very jumpy today, are we, he asked,
looking her up and down again. And I like the heavy duty cold
weather look. You pull it off well, He winked at her, and
sat down at the table with his coffee. Mackenzie straightened up and went over
to the coffee set to pour herself some. I guess I am a little
jumpy. Yes, this manner is just so big it is, yes,
and a bit drafty. But don't worry if you get cold and Nick is
not able to keep you warm. I'm good for the job. Mackenzie chose
to ignore the comment and sat down next to Alex at the table. She
began to nibble her muffin. Is there always this big of a breakfast every
morning? Alex shrugged. That depends. My father and mother liked to have
the most food humanly possible for all meals of the day, although no one
ever eats very much. I think it's more the fact that we have company
They like to show off. Mackenzie nodded, well, they succeeded in showing
off. This is plenty to eat. Yep. I'm more of just a
coffee drinker myself. The more caffeine the better. Got to get ready for
the big day of sight seeing. It isn't every day that a beautiful woman
gets to see my thoroughbread horse. Mackenzie kept from rolling her eyes. This
guy must have an extremely fragile ego, the way that he kept hitting on
her when she was clearly there with her boyfriend. But she decided to play
along and go with it. It was better not to ruffle any feathers,
she figured, especially since Louise had told her and Nick this morning that the
family was acting strangely and going through some turmoil. Before she could say anything,
Catherine entered the dining room. She gave McKenzie and Alex a glare and
slunk off toward the coffee pot at the back of the room. Morning Sunshine,
Alex trilled, are you ready to show our guests the beautiful grounds of
Mistletoe Manor. Catherine finished filling her cup and sat down heavily at the dining
room table. Sure, she said, unconvincingly. Someone is hung over today.
I think Alex responded, ruffling Catherine's hair. I'm just fine, thank
you, Catherine replied, swatting his hand away. Mackenzie finished her bagel and
looked over at Catherine. You don't have to come, you know, I
can always do something else this morning, or I guess Alex could show me
the stables and grounds by himself. She said, the last part, realizing
what she was offering more alone time with the pompous, self righteous man who
had no respect for her or her boyfriend. But she didn't want to make
any enemies right away. She had last Christmas and look where that had gotten
her mixed up in a murder mystery. Catherine sighed a big sigh and pushed
herself back from the oversized dining room table. I may be a bitch,
she started, but I'm not that much of a bitch to leave you alone
with my brother, who, if you hadn't noticed already, is the biggest
creep on the planet who finds it amusing to sexually harass women, especially ones
who have boyfriends. It's so pathetic. Alex got up from the table as
well and winked at McKenzie. You know what they say, It's not sexual
harassment if you like it, Mackenzie couldn't help but roll her eyes noticeably.
This time. Catherine headed out of the dining room. Follow me and grab
a jacket. It's cold out there, and I heard our calling for a
snowstorm later, great, Mackenzie thought, following her out of the room and
into the cold, Just what she needed. Catherine set off at a quick
pace out the front door and threw a large meadow to the side of the
house. We'll start with the mistletoe farm. There's not really too much to
see, just a bunch of old, overgrown trees with mistletoe snaking up the
sides of them. Typically, our many gardeners and other workers would be collecting
the mistletoe, but since it's so late in the season and so close to
Christmas Eve, there's nothing more to be done. It gets pretty quiet around
here in the days leading up until Christmas. Quiet, yes, and creepy,
Mackenzie thought, looking around at the expanse of trees in front of her.
She imagined the scene as bustling and busy in November and December, But
now, as she watched her breath swirl in the cold, dry air,
the silence was almost menacing, and so were the trees they came upon.
Catherine was right. Acres of tall trees stretched up toward the sky in front
of them, but instead of just being regular trees, Mackenzie could see the
mistletoe, its spiny leaves and once red and white berries now brown and withered,
snaking up each and every tree. Mackenzie shuddered to think that the mistletoe,
although usually considered beautiful, fun and festive, was actually a parasitic poisoner
of the hundred year old forest, the silent killer. Catherine was rattling on
about the trees and how old they were, how their crop this year had
been bigger than some of the other years combined, but Mackenzie wasn't listening.
She was busy looking around the massive grounds As a light snow began to fall.
Finally, Catherine finished talking and told Mackenzie that she should follow her around
to the back of the house. Mackenzie dutifully did, and Alex brought up
the rear. As they made their way back to the back entrance of the
manor, Mackenzie noticed a gazebo decorated with a Christmas tree and little string lights.
There were also tennis courts. Off to the right near the back yard
was an Olympic sized swimming pool covered and an expansive outdoor seating area set up,
and of course everything Mackenzie could see was covered or decorated or both with
vines and sprigs of mistletoe. Suddenly, way off in the distance along the
edge of lawn along the far right side, she saw the loping gait of
a person striding quickly across the lawn. The person was too far away from
Mackenzie to make out who it was, but when she looked closer, she
thought she recognized Maxwell Mistletoe. He was scampering at a good pace and looked
back over his shoulder once or twice as he neared the side door entrance of
the manor. Mackenzie was about to call out to Maxwell, but thought better
of it. The man had looked nervous and a little suspicious. Mackenzie thought
it odd that Maxwell had been out in the cold in the morning alone without
a coat. Hurriedly heading back toward the house, she turned to Catherine and
cut her off mid sentence. What's back there, she asked, the girl,
pointing toward the edge of the woods and manor backyard where Maxwell had just
been walking. Catherine looked toward where mackenzie was pointing and shielded her eyes with
her hand. Back there, she repeated, Well, those are the stables
just beyond the woods range. There's a paddock there where Alex ride's chestnut.
Would your father have been out near that area this morning, mackenzie asked both
of them. Alex laughed, no way. Maxwell Mistletoe always hated the horse
trade, says it's a waste of time and money what I do. He
was not worthy of the family. Alex got a faraway look in his eyes.
He never appreciated me or all that I do for this family, so
he wouldn't have been out visiting the stable or the paddock this morning, McKenzie
mused. Again. Catherine supported her brother. Alex is wrong about a lot
of things, but not about that. Father hates the horses and wouldn't be
caught dead out on the far corners of the Manner property. He always said
that the dirty work was for the hired help. Why do you ask,
she finished, turning toward McKenzie. Mackenzie decided not to tell Catherine and Alex
that she had just in fact, sine Max while scurrying toward the house coming
from the stables. Oh nothing, I was just curious, Catherine shrugged.
Just then mackenzie heard her name being called. She turned to find Nick and
Louise coming toward them near role Maxwell had just been. Each man held a
string of lights in his hand and was carrying various tools and gadgets. Well,
aren't you a sight for sore eyes, Nick exclaimed, juggling his tools
and attempting to rap McKenzie in a big hug. How is the Christmas Eve
party prep coming, mackenzie asked, pretty well, Louise said, we are
just now getting started on the lights. That will be a big job.
Missus. Mistletoe insists that the whole outside of the house be lit up.
The whole outside of the house, mackenzie echoed, staring up at the huge
manner in front of her. But that would take days, Louise smiled,
And that is why I'm glad I have help. As Louise conferred with Catherine
and Alex about something, McKenzie pulled Nick aside and whispered in his ear,
Hey, did you just come from the stables? Yeah? Close to Then
Nick answered, why do you ask, well, it's just I saw Maxwell
Mistletoe rushing suspiciously from that area just a few minutes ago. Did you see
him Maxwell? No, Nick answered, we didn't see anyone out there,
just me and Louise. That's odd, Mackenzie mused, not really. I
mean it's a huge grounds area. Nick laughed. Now, don't go getting
any suspicious ideas, mack This is very different from last year. I know.
Mackenzie was still lost in thought. It just seemed odd. She trailed
off. Well, Louise interrupted, we'd better get going, Nick. This
time of year, you don't get too many hours of daylight, and the
temperature can drop suddenly when the sun sets at four. I suppose you're right.
Nick agreed, giving Mackenzie a peck on the cheek. We'll see you
guys later, and with that the two men walk off, shall we McKenzie?
Alex asked, taking her arm and attempting to lead her toward the direction
of the stables. Sure, McKenzie answered, shrugging away from him and clasping
her arms around her torso, trying to warm herself up. It's time to
show you my prize thoroughbred chestnut. This boy has won countless prizes and medals,
and has been shown all over the country. He is my pride and
joy. Yeah, because he's the only horse you have left. Catherine piped
up, trailing behind McKenzie and Alex. Alex ignored her and led her and
McKenzie passed the paddock and toward a stable that looked as if it had held
a lot more than one horse. Rows and rows of stalls lined the inside.
When Alex threw open the barn doors with a flourish You see, he
said, walking quickly ahead. We used to have many more horses. What
like you found out, father was not a fan. Mother she tolerated them.
But like you heard last night, I moved my business into town,
away from the manor. Now only Chestnut remains for me to ride, groom
and show. And here he is right up here on the right, in
the last stall. Mackenzie followed Alex and Katherine into the barn. As her
eyes adjusted to the dark. Old tools and riding equipment hung from the rafters
of the barn, and along the walls, cobwebs had overtaken most of them.
The barn was even colder than the weather outside, and Mackenzie shivered again.
She found it odd that she didn't hear any winnying or neighing, or
the stopping of the horses hoofs. She followed along behind the brother and sister
duo until Alex stopped. Suddenly, Catherine crashed into Alex, and McKenzie almost
crashed into Katherine because of it. Hey the deal, Catherine asked her brother,
looking annoyed and smoothing her coat, but Alex remained silent. Then he
let out a little whimper and put one hand up to cover his mouth.
As Catherine played with her jacket, mackenzie peered from behind her, hoping to
catch a glimpse of what had spooked Alex, and what she saw made her
sick to her stomach. The horse, Chestnut was lying at an unnatural angle
on the ground outside of his stall. A trail of foam led from his
mouth to the dirt below. His legs were bent, and flies circled around
his eyes, which were open and staring straight ahead. The horse was unmistakably
dead, and on his glistening coat, right where his heart would be,
lay one spiky, vibrant sprig of mistletoe. Murder at Mistletoe Manor is written
produced and performed by Me Katie Accardo, sound mixing and editing by me.
God rest you, merry gentleman. Music written, recorded, and performed by
Jack Hire, Steve Baine, Jim Van Wreath and the Angel Choir. Tune
in in one week on Tuesday, December sixth for part four of the Mackenzie
Monroe Christmas Mystery Series. Make sure to check out our first season, The
Evergreen Murders, available wherever you get your podcasts, as well as True Crime
in the fifty podcast for some crazy true crime stories from all of the great
states throughout this country, Alabama through Wyoming. Thank you so much for listening.