A Catered Christmas Killer (A Sinful Sweets Cozy Mystery) by Carol Lee Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Carol Lee
noise.
She saw light coming from under one of the doors. It wasn’t her bedroom, that was in a different part of the house. She’d been using the back staircase that she thought had, at one time, been used by live-in help.
All of the doors were closed and she didn’t hear anything coming from any of the rooms. The thick carpeting was working against her right now as she listened, all sounds absorbed by the rug. She snuck behind a curtain at the near end of the hall and waited. She hoped Maria would be quick so she’d at least know if she was in the room with the light on.
Just then, the doorbell rang and Sydney quickly pulled the floor-length curtain completely around herself. Am I really hiding behind a curtain? she thought. She felt like she was playing hide-and-go-seek with her nieces.
She heard a door open down the hall, a squeaky hinge giving itself away, and dared to peek around the corner of the curtain. She saw Maria stick her head out of the room where the light was on, check up and down the hallway, and then step out of the room, carefully and silently closing the door behind her.
Sydney stayed behind the curtain until she heard the front door open and Maria greet more guests. It sounded like a crowd, so she thought it would be safe to sneak into the same room Maria had just come out of, thinking Maria would be busy for a few minutes.
She peaked around the corner at the top of the stairs, and seeing no one at the front door anymore and no one coming up the stairs, she tip toed to the second door on the left. She was thankful it wasn’t locked, and she let herself in.
She didn’t dare turn the light on, but took her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight. She checked the sound to make sure it was off. She didn’t want a warning text from Grace to give her away. She kept the vibration on so she’d at least have a heads up, though.
Sydney was in an office. Clearly it was a man’s, likely Marcus’. It smelled of man—stale cigars and body odor. He should open the windows , Sydney thought, taking shallow breaths to avoid the stench.
There were giant filing cabinets along opposite walls, an oak desk in the middle of the room and an executive leather chair with its back to the window. If you had this kind of space, why wouldn’t you want to face outside? Sydney thought to herself.
She didn’t immediately see anything out of place, but continued taking in her surroundings. If Maria had been sneaking in and out of this office, there must be something worth knowing about. It could be related to Julia’s murder, and if it was, Sydney needed to know about it too.
Then she saw it. A pair of skimpy red—something—was just about falling off of the top of one of the filing cabinets. She walked over to get a better look, but was too short to reach it. If it was Julia’s, she certainly hadn’t put it there. Julia had been shorter than Sydney.
She looked around for something to use to get it down, but before she could find anything, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. Maria’s acting funny. Get back down here. Keeping her here so she doesn’t go back up . Grace was a life saver.
Sydney listened with her ear to the door but didn’t hear anyone in the hall. She cracked the door open and saw that she was safe to exit. Her heart pounded as she walked toward the back of the house, through the door leading to her room and made a quick stop in her room. She didn’t want to have to lie when she got back to the kitchen, so this way she could say she’d been in her room. After less than a minute in her room, she walked down the back staircase, looking as calm as she could muster.
Sydney was surprised to see at least two dozen people in the main room already. She walked through slowly, checking on the food set out for the guests, and trying to listen to any snippets of conversation. She heard lots of praise for Julia’s involvement in
She saw light coming from under one of the doors. It wasn’t her bedroom, that was in a different part of the house. She’d been using the back staircase that she thought had, at one time, been used by live-in help.
All of the doors were closed and she didn’t hear anything coming from any of the rooms. The thick carpeting was working against her right now as she listened, all sounds absorbed by the rug. She snuck behind a curtain at the near end of the hall and waited. She hoped Maria would be quick so she’d at least know if she was in the room with the light on.
Just then, the doorbell rang and Sydney quickly pulled the floor-length curtain completely around herself. Am I really hiding behind a curtain? she thought. She felt like she was playing hide-and-go-seek with her nieces.
She heard a door open down the hall, a squeaky hinge giving itself away, and dared to peek around the corner of the curtain. She saw Maria stick her head out of the room where the light was on, check up and down the hallway, and then step out of the room, carefully and silently closing the door behind her.
Sydney stayed behind the curtain until she heard the front door open and Maria greet more guests. It sounded like a crowd, so she thought it would be safe to sneak into the same room Maria had just come out of, thinking Maria would be busy for a few minutes.
She peaked around the corner at the top of the stairs, and seeing no one at the front door anymore and no one coming up the stairs, she tip toed to the second door on the left. She was thankful it wasn’t locked, and she let herself in.
She didn’t dare turn the light on, but took her phone out of her pocket and turned on the flashlight. She checked the sound to make sure it was off. She didn’t want a warning text from Grace to give her away. She kept the vibration on so she’d at least have a heads up, though.
Sydney was in an office. Clearly it was a man’s, likely Marcus’. It smelled of man—stale cigars and body odor. He should open the windows , Sydney thought, taking shallow breaths to avoid the stench.
There were giant filing cabinets along opposite walls, an oak desk in the middle of the room and an executive leather chair with its back to the window. If you had this kind of space, why wouldn’t you want to face outside? Sydney thought to herself.
She didn’t immediately see anything out of place, but continued taking in her surroundings. If Maria had been sneaking in and out of this office, there must be something worth knowing about. It could be related to Julia’s murder, and if it was, Sydney needed to know about it too.
Then she saw it. A pair of skimpy red—something—was just about falling off of the top of one of the filing cabinets. She walked over to get a better look, but was too short to reach it. If it was Julia’s, she certainly hadn’t put it there. Julia had been shorter than Sydney.
She looked around for something to use to get it down, but before she could find anything, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand. Maria’s acting funny. Get back down here. Keeping her here so she doesn’t go back up . Grace was a life saver.
Sydney listened with her ear to the door but didn’t hear anyone in the hall. She cracked the door open and saw that she was safe to exit. Her heart pounded as she walked toward the back of the house, through the door leading to her room and made a quick stop in her room. She didn’t want to have to lie when she got back to the kitchen, so this way she could say she’d been in her room. After less than a minute in her room, she walked down the back staircase, looking as calm as she could muster.
Sydney was surprised to see at least two dozen people in the main room already. She walked through slowly, checking on the food set out for the guests, and trying to listen to any snippets of conversation. She heard lots of praise for Julia’s involvement in
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