Crush. Candy. Corpse. by Sylvia McNicoll Page A

blue Christmas at Paradise Manor. There were lots of people dressed in Santa hats and bright colours trying to seem festive, pretending everyone was having fun.
    “Merry Christmas!” Gillian gurgled, her Rudolph brooch flashing red at its nose. Was she really this enthusiastic? Most of the residents responded the same as they always did, which was not at all. They just stared off, slack-jawed, mumbling, or even snoring. Only Jeannette smiled, her head swaying in time to the music. Of course at any minute, if she had a mood switch, she might threaten to kill Santa.
    I cut up the little sausage rolls for Johann and put one in his mouth. He began coughing immediately. I watched his colour and waited. Meanwhile I buttered Marlene’s roll. Cole winked at me as he slipped his grandmother a toffee square from the desert table. Yeah, like that was dietetic.
    “Do you want a drink, Johann?”
    He coughed some more. Hek, hek, hek, hek .
    I held a glass of the red punch to his lips and he drank some. At least I saw his Adam’s apple bob a few times as though he were swallowing. But some of the red stained his face just like it had the young pirate.
    “Better to let him catch his breath on his own. Don’t give him anything to drink till he does,” Gillian told me as she drifted closer. “Are you okay, Johann?”
    He ignored her and continued his little coughs. Gradually they slowed down. I got him some trifle, which was more custard then cake, and he did much better on that.
    Santa Elvis sang that he would be home for Christmas, then he revisited some more traditional tunes — “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Silent Night.” One song after another. Between sets, Christmas-tree raffle winners were announced over the intercom. Cole won the Snoopy tree he had decorated.
    “You bought a ticket for your own tree?” I asked.
    “Five actually for each of mine. I was worried everyone else would buy tickets only for the ones you decorated.”
    I shook my head at him and smiled. “Silly.”
    Finally most of the food was gone and one by one the residents were by themselves. When the leopard lady and her family left, I took Marlene by the hand and brought her back to Fred.
    He asked me if I was Diane.
    “Wasn’t Diane just here?” I asked, thinking the younger woman at the table might have been his daughter.
    “Darn. I forgot to ask her. I need to find my car. I don’t know where I left it. It needs a part.”
    “Well, do you want to go for a walk with Marlene?” I asked, but he stood before I finished the sentence and took her hand.
    You don’t have to forgive when you have Alzheimer’s, because you always forget. Marlene acted as though they had never been apart. Away they went.
    That left Cole and me alone with two catatonic seniors. “Wasn’t that a great party, Grandma?” he said.
    She didn’t answer, but she smiled.
    “Are you happy to be home, Johann?” I asked my senior.
    Nothing. No response, not even an eye blinked. Was this better than having him yell all the time? I wasn’t certain.
    It was time to go. Cole and I said our goodbyes and he removed a sparkly gold wrapper from a candy and slipped it into his grandmother’s mouth. We didn’t wait to see if she chewed or sucked at it. No big deal, we just left.
    On the way out, Cole picked up his prize. “Here, I want you to have this. Merry Christmas.”
    “Thank you.” I took the Snoopy-covered little fir and then reached over it to kiss him. It was supposed to just be a friendly peck. But somehow my lips landed directly on his and stayed there. The spiced candy cane mint kiss tingled on my lips long after I pulled away. That kiss should have told Cole how I felt, even if I never got the chance to.

chapter thirteen
    The next witness for the Crown is Claudine Demers, Cole’s mother. This shouldn’t be a shock to me. My lawyer has a list of all the people the prosecution will use on the stand, and Cole’s mother is on