Sunshine On A Snowy Night - On Hold

Chapter One - Christmas Pudding

"Nicholas Christian, you're under arrest for the murder of Phillip O'Dowell. You have the right to remain silent..."

I stopped listening as my fiance, Detective William Miles, Will, read the man in the red tracksuit his rights and put him in the waiting police car.

My best friend and employee, Tabitha Blackwell appeared at my side as the blue and red lights threw the Christmas lights decorating Main Street into shadows in comparison.

"So they got him?" Tabitha said between chattering teeth.

I nodded and watched as Will walked over. He's tall, good looking with dark hair and kind eyes and at the time of the arrest, he looked stressed.

He was dressed in an overcoat and I knew he had suit pants and a long sleeve shirt under it, but he didn't seem to notice the snowflakes that were just starting to fall.

Will originally comes from America, but has lived in Australia for a while now. When he first moved to town he thought I was a murderer.

Needless to say we've worked that out and are engaged. We haven't really planned our wedding yet, but we're taking it slow.

His parents had surprised us with a visit and break from their trip around the world and had originally said they would stay until we got married, but they got sick of waiting and are now travelling around the top end of Australia.

I glanced around and realised at least half of the town of Sunshine had gathered in the street to watch Will arrest the man accused of murdering a tourist.

Sunshine is a town known for its unsolved mysteries, quirks and our ability to celebrate each and every little occassion we can.

The town used to be a farming community but as time went on, things changed and our main focus is on tourism.

Which is lucky for me since I own a little, rustic candle shop in Main Street called The Lamp and a large percentage of my profits come from visitors.

Will put his arms around me and I instantly felt warmer. I had thrown a jacket over my The Lamp apron and jeans and jumper, but the wind was icy and I was sure I was turning into an ice block.

Will smelled good as I leant against him and decided I would stay there until the sun rose again.

It was only a second before I decided that perhaps going inside would be a warmer option and moved away.

Will looked down at me, his eyes tired, "I have to get back to work. I'm heading to the station now. I'll call you later."

I nodded, he kissed me and we went our separate ways.

That's the life of a cop's family and growing up in a police family myself, I understand. Dad's the sergeant in town and he often had to run out at weird times.

I turned back towards my shop and sighed. It looked beautiful. In the ornate, old windows, Christmas candles lit up the old glass window and tiny fairy lights framed the whole scene.

In the distance the sound of carolers out the front of the church further down the road filled the air again and life kept on moving for those in Sunshine.

I don't get to see a lot of Will's arrests, but after he ran after him down Main Street and dived on him in a spectacular fashion, I'm pretty sure everyone had seen him make an arrest now.

I didn't know the man Will arrested, but I felt like I'd seen him somewhere before. He had white hair, a white beard and red cheeks. He was round in the middle and despite resisting arrest, he didn't seem like such a bad guy.

My mother, Jacqui Green, almost bounced in the door behind us. The bell above it rang so hard I thought it was going to fall off its bracket.

Tabitha and I turned and looked at Mum. Tabitha looked a little surprised at the gusto in which Mum had entered the shop, but I wasn't surprised at all. The festival Mum had spent months planning had just been overshadowed by a guy who looked a little something like Santa Claus.

I shook my head, decided I was just tired because of the late night trading and looked at Mum.

I wasn't sure what to say, but I didn't have to worry about that because Mum was too excited to let anyone else speak.

"Did you girls see that? I can't decide if that was good for business or bad, but is it just me or did my future son-in-law just arrest Santa in the middle of the street? In the middle of the Christmas In July opening night festivities?" Mum was dressed in her usual impeccable way, despite the over the top Christmas jumper and festive earrings that would make most people cringe but she somehow managed to make a fashion statement.

If I tried to pull off that look I would probably have people throwing money at me out of pity.

Mum used to work as a teacher's assistant at the local primary school but when they lost funding she decided to try becoming a social media influencer.

I'm not sure how that is going and I'm a little too afraid to ask, but her bed and breakfast is going well and I know she is regularly fully booked.

Spirits By The Sea is a beautiful old cottage near the beach that was once the scene of a murder; but that's not included in the brochure.

I shrugged when I realised she was waiting for a response, "Um... Will was just doing his job." I said, unsure what else to say.

She kept staring at me so I quickly added, "What? Dad has never done that?"

Mum wiggled her eyebrows, "If he did, he never looked that good doing it."

I groaned in disbelief and horror and Tabitha laughed.

"Mum, have you been drinking?" I asked, surprised to realise she was a little under the influence.

Mum likes wine but she isn't in the habit of drinking it when she's in the middle of helping with an event or it's not a special occassion.

She waved her hand dismissively at me, "I wonder if we could get some of the local boys to do a Christmas in July photo shoot to raise money for the town? Will could be on the front cover and Alex would look amazing with his stethoscope and..."

I couldn't take it anymore, "Mum!" I exclaimed, "How much have you been celebrating?" Mum is known for being classy and although she occasionally has an inappropriate comment to make, it's not something I hear from her very often. And definitely not something I heard her say about my fiance.

Mum shook her head and seemed to compose herself a little, "Sorry. Just was trying to think of ways to raise money for the town. I'm sure the children would benefit from..."

I stopped listening when I saw who was coming through the door to my shop. Mum hadn't mentioned any family coming to visit and I suddenly realised why she might have had one too many wines.

The woman who walked in was short with curly grey hair, a demure look and fire in her bright blue eyes.

"Hi Pumpkin!" She called at me despite me only being a couple of metres away, "I see that hunk of yours is putting on a show."

Tabitha and Mum turned to look at the newcomer; Tabitha in amusement, Mum in resignation.

It was clear that the visitor's appearance had taken Mum by surprise earlier. The woman was wearing even more Christmas paraphenalia than Mum and had a wide grin on her wrinkled face.

Recovered, I ran over and wrapped my arms around my grandmother, "Nanna Sherry, what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to breathe as she gave me one final squeeze before letting me go and smiling up at me.

"You think I'd miss out on a chance to celebrate Christmas In July in Sunshine? Who thought up this? It's going to be out of this world." She said with a big grin.

She looked at my mum, "Why did you leave me at the inn? Forgot I was there huh?"

Mum looked at me and despite the reindeer earrings flashing their red noses at me, all the cheer had gone from her face.