Ornamental Danger: a holiday short story (Working Stiff Mysteries) Read Online Free Page B
Author: Kerri Nelson
festival, and it will be a merry Christmas for all."
"The who—Hoots?" I stuttered.
"Yep, we are wise old owls, baby." Ms. Maimie countered with a "woot woot" of her own.
I blinked slowly. The deep breathing was no longer doing the trick.
* * *
One hour and an over-full belly later, I left with an assignment and a load of turmoil roiling in my brain.
It had only been a few short months since I'd found myself accidentally in the middle of a case that shook the town to its core. All that drama had led to me losing a job, nearly losing my life, and losing track of my sister more than once.
I was not eager to go down that particular rabbit hole again. In fact, I'd promised both myself and my high school friend turned boyfriend turned enemy turned sort-of-friend-again who I still had the sort-of hots for again, Captain Ty Dempsey of the Millbrook Police Department. He'd made me promise that I'd keep out of any sort of local drama—as if that was possible. Or, at a minimum that I'd stay out of anything "police business related."
Of course, in Millbrook drama seemed to follow me around. That had been the case while growing up here, and it was turning out to be same-old-same-old since my recent return.
I drove Stella through town with the top down and the radio murmuring to me on minimum volume. I was not looking forward to my evening shift at the tree farm. Another night with my boss and various townies coming in for trees, decorations, and the latest gossip. Not really my cup of peppermint tea.
Now that I'd been named the Glitter Queen, I feared that tonight would bring even more drama as the overly passionate entrants vied for my attention before the voting occurred tomorrow night.
I pulled into the lot and noticed that it was already packed with cars and trucks. Various makes and models were represented, and the sound of blaring Christmas songs greeted my ears as soon as my tires ground to a halt on the gravel-covered parking lot.
I lay my head back on the headrest and tried that deep breathing thing again. Somehow, I'd left Ms. Lanier's house only after making a promise to try to question my boss about his whereabouts last night.
I hadn't wanted to agree to this amateur detective work, but Ms. Lanier hadn't played fair. She'd had the audacity to hold the pumpkin pie hostage until I agreed to do the Hoots' dirty work.
Apparently, Ty hadn't yet concluded the cause of death on poor Ms. Strength, or at least he hadn't decided to share that information with Ms. Lanier during her official report visit earlier today. Either way, the Hoots were absolutely convinced that foul play was the story of the day.
Ty had let it slip that Dr. C. had determined Ms. Strength had died within the last twenty four hours. A fact that I'd also deduced this morning after seeing the body and briefly checking for signs of life.
Our oldest family friend and the love of my Aunt Patty's life was Dr. David Cavello, and he'd recently taken up the job of County Coroner. It was a thankless job that was actually an elected position. But, he'd volunteered to complete the term left vacant after the death of Mr. Rideout—the former coroner and founder of Rideout's Funeral Home.
The mention of Dr. C. reminded me that I owed him a visit and a dinner.
"Well, Mandy Murrin! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Tate Dempsey's voice reached my ears, and the smoky drawl was unmistakable.
I smiled up at Ty and Penny's father as he opened my car door to allow my exit.
"Mr. Dempsey, what brings you down to the farm? I thought Penny said she'd set you up earlier this week already."
"Oh, she did. And now I'm back for more. You know, word is out that Verna Strength is out of the running, and I'd love to win that trophy. Have any advice for me?"
I'd known his hospitality was too good to be true. This man had never been a fan of mine, and now it was only that he wanted my vote that he was going out of his way to greet me with such pleasantries.
I
"The who—Hoots?" I stuttered.
"Yep, we are wise old owls, baby." Ms. Maimie countered with a "woot woot" of her own.
I blinked slowly. The deep breathing was no longer doing the trick.
* * *
One hour and an over-full belly later, I left with an assignment and a load of turmoil roiling in my brain.
It had only been a few short months since I'd found myself accidentally in the middle of a case that shook the town to its core. All that drama had led to me losing a job, nearly losing my life, and losing track of my sister more than once.
I was not eager to go down that particular rabbit hole again. In fact, I'd promised both myself and my high school friend turned boyfriend turned enemy turned sort-of-friend-again who I still had the sort-of hots for again, Captain Ty Dempsey of the Millbrook Police Department. He'd made me promise that I'd keep out of any sort of local drama—as if that was possible. Or, at a minimum that I'd stay out of anything "police business related."
Of course, in Millbrook drama seemed to follow me around. That had been the case while growing up here, and it was turning out to be same-old-same-old since my recent return.
I drove Stella through town with the top down and the radio murmuring to me on minimum volume. I was not looking forward to my evening shift at the tree farm. Another night with my boss and various townies coming in for trees, decorations, and the latest gossip. Not really my cup of peppermint tea.
Now that I'd been named the Glitter Queen, I feared that tonight would bring even more drama as the overly passionate entrants vied for my attention before the voting occurred tomorrow night.
I pulled into the lot and noticed that it was already packed with cars and trucks. Various makes and models were represented, and the sound of blaring Christmas songs greeted my ears as soon as my tires ground to a halt on the gravel-covered parking lot.
I lay my head back on the headrest and tried that deep breathing thing again. Somehow, I'd left Ms. Lanier's house only after making a promise to try to question my boss about his whereabouts last night.
I hadn't wanted to agree to this amateur detective work, but Ms. Lanier hadn't played fair. She'd had the audacity to hold the pumpkin pie hostage until I agreed to do the Hoots' dirty work.
Apparently, Ty hadn't yet concluded the cause of death on poor Ms. Strength, or at least he hadn't decided to share that information with Ms. Lanier during her official report visit earlier today. Either way, the Hoots were absolutely convinced that foul play was the story of the day.
Ty had let it slip that Dr. C. had determined Ms. Strength had died within the last twenty four hours. A fact that I'd also deduced this morning after seeing the body and briefly checking for signs of life.
Our oldest family friend and the love of my Aunt Patty's life was Dr. David Cavello, and he'd recently taken up the job of County Coroner. It was a thankless job that was actually an elected position. But, he'd volunteered to complete the term left vacant after the death of Mr. Rideout—the former coroner and founder of Rideout's Funeral Home.
The mention of Dr. C. reminded me that I owed him a visit and a dinner.
"Well, Mandy Murrin! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Tate Dempsey's voice reached my ears, and the smoky drawl was unmistakable.
I smiled up at Ty and Penny's father as he opened my car door to allow my exit.
"Mr. Dempsey, what brings you down to the farm? I thought Penny said she'd set you up earlier this week already."
"Oh, she did. And now I'm back for more. You know, word is out that Verna Strength is out of the running, and I'd love to win that trophy. Have any advice for me?"
I'd known his hospitality was too good to be true. This man had never been a fan of mine, and now it was only that he wanted my vote that he was going out of his way to greet me with such pleasantries.
I
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