Death of a Dapper Snowman by Angela Pepper Read Free Book Online Page A

wasn’t exactly true. I’d seen the cupcakes and enjoyed smelling them, but resisted the sugary treats.
    “There’s that lovely smile of yours. You’re taking me down memory lane, dear. I remember when your father used to bring you in every year on your birthday to pick out something special.”
    “I still have all those little treasures.”
    “He always felt so bad he couldn’t surprise you, but you enjoyed the shopping trip even more than the trinket you picked out, didn’t you?”
    I smiled at the memory. “You sure are good at figuring out everyone in this town, Ruby.”
    She patted her huge, purple-hued curls. “I keep an eye on things.”
    “Thank you for bringing those cupcakes, by the way. That was so sweet of you.”
    “Nonsense. You’re the sweet one! Give us another hug!”
    Suddenly, I was in her arms again, being crushed against her fragrant and ample bosom. This time she patted my back.
    “You poor dear,” she said as she kept patting my back. “That must have been such a ghastly surprise, when you found that poor man’s frozen body.”
    My voice muffled against the ruffles of her leopard print blouse, I said, “You heard the news?”
    “Poor, poor thing. Come into the back. I have more of those mini cupcakes. They’re so small, you can’t say no.”
    She grabbed my hand and practically dragged me past the display counters and into the back room.
    We passed by stock room shelves stacked with cardboard boxes. She had far fewer boxes than I did at my gift shop, because Ruby’s inventory was much smaller in scale than mine. In fact, she didn’t even need such a big stock room.
    Just as I was wondering what she did with all the extra space, we rounded a corner and found ourselves in a bright nook that looked like a miniature tea room.
    My mouth dropped open at the surprise. I felt like how Alice must have felt when she jumped down the rabbit hole and found herself in Wonderland.
    “Sit!” Ruby Sparkes commanded, and plopped me into a chair next to a round bistro table. “I’ll be back with hot tea in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
    I took a seat next to the large window, which looked out onto the sidewalk. I could see the front of my gift shop, down the street. How had I never noticed the secret tea room in the back of Ruby’s Treasure Trove?
    The window itself was decorated with puffy floral curtains, and the adjoining walls were covered in antique serving platters and framed prints of cats and dogs having high tea. I’d never seen so much charm packed into such a small space. I smiled up at the ceramic busts of cat faces higher on the wall. One of the cats looked exactly like Jeffrey, if he wore a fisherman’s hat.
    The nook was big enough for a single table and seating for five people—six or seven people if they were very good friends.
    It puzzled me that I’d never noticed the jewelry store had a miniature tea house in its back room.
    Ruby’s store sat on the corner, so the window offered a clear view of the entire downtown core of Misty Falls. I watched as Mr. Jenkins emerged from his costume store across the street. He locked the door, and then walked to the corner, where an older woman with a cane was talking to a fair-haired young woman. The older lady was waving her free hand wildly, and the younger one held her hand to her mouth, as though shocked.
    Mr. Jenkins joined in the conversation, and they stood there while the intersection’s traffic lights changed and then changed again.
    On the second walk signal, Mr. Jenkins offered the blonde his arm. She hesitated, then timidly took it, and the two of them crossed the street together. Both of them walked directly toward me.
    I raised my hand and gave Mr. Jenkins a cheery wave through the window.
    He kept walking straight toward me, cutting a lean, dark line against the postcard view. I kept waving. He was definitely looking my way, but he didn’t return the gesture. I started to feel uncomfortable and dropped my hand.