A Wee Christmas Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett Read Free Book Online Page A

take a bathroom break. She had no idea what might be happening beyond the Emporium’s front door.
    She had seen the last customer out and was about to lock up when a bright red Lexus with Massachusetts plates screeched to a halt at the curb in front of The Toy Box. The woman who barreled out of the driver’s side, barely taking time to slam the door behind her, was swathed in layers of vivid electric blue. The garment appeared to be a cross between a Victorian greatcoat and a cloak—lots of capes attached.
    Shaking her head, Liss watched the woman race up the steps to the porch of the toy store and into Gavin Thorne’s shop. She didn’t look particularly young, which meant it was probably collecting fervor that put wings on her feet. Either that or she was an extremely dedicated grandma.
    Liss turned the dead bolt on her own door, lowered the shade over the glass, and headed for the half bath next to the stockroom. By the time she came out, someone was knocking with enough force to make the panes in the door rattle. Liss sighed. She had a pretty good idea who was on the other side. One glimpse of the woman in blue had been enough to tell her that she wasn’t the type who went away before she got what she wanted.
    “Just a minute!” Resigned to another delay before she could fix supper and put her feet up, Liss trudged through the shop to unlock the door.
    “Well, finally,” said the caped customer on the other side.
    She pushed past Liss into the shop, craning her neck and swinging her head from side to side, her beaklike nose all but sniffing the air. She was older than Liss had thought, with wattle showing above the neckline of her incredible coat. Liss couldn’t help but imagine her as a giant bird turning beady-eyed curiosity onto new territory.
    Just lately, birds had been much on Liss’s mind. This was the third day in a row she’d had poultry on the premises. The “first day of Christmas” had featured a partridge provided by the local taxidermist, but on Thursday she’d taken custody of two turtle doves—actually carrier pigeons—and yesterday she’d added a crate containing the chickens who had played the roles of “three French hens” in last night’s festivities. After a while she’d gotten used to the continual scratching sounds, but the truly incredible smell was something else entirely. Today, this evening’s “calling birds” had been delivered, one by one, during the height of the shopping frenzy. All four now resided in the stockroom with the rest of the livestock.
    “This is it?” The woman in blue was holding up one of Liss’s wee teddy bears. “You don’t have any other costumes?”
    “Sorry. We didn’t know they were going to become so collectible.”
    “No, I suppose you didn’t.” But the woman’s look said she should have. “Is this price right? $ 9.99?” She carried her prize to the sales counter where Liss was waiting.
    “That’s right, and you also receive a free Yule candle.” She opened the box next to the cash register. “The Yule candle is a symbol of good will, given to you along with our wish for a fire to warm you by and a light to guide you.”
    The woman looked suspicious of this largesse, but dug a credit card out of an oversized shoulder bag and handed it over. The name embossed on it was Lovey FitzPatrick.
    “Here you go, Ms. FitzPatrick,” Liss said a few minutes later, handing over one of the bright red bags with Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium emblazoned on the side. “I hope you’ll be staying for the festivities this evening. We’ll have carolers out singing. Santa Claus will visit the gazebo in the town square. And since this is the fourth day of Christmas, according to the old song, we will be introducing our four calling birds.”
    “Unless you have more of these bears, I’ve got what I came for.”
    “You’ve already been to The Toy Box, I take it?”
    She snorted. “Oh, yes. Talk about overpriced!”
    “But he does have a