Kilt Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett Read Free Book Online Page A

bought herself a scone, but that
had been hours ago. Her goals in life were simple just
now nuke a microwave dinner from the freezer and take
a long, hot bubble bath.
    Both, however, would have to wait just a little longer.
Leaving the cash box and cooler on the counter, Liss
threaded her way through the dimly lit shop to the stockroom. If she collected the bolt of tartan wool before she
went upstairs, there’d be no chance she’d forget to take it
with her in the morning. Jason Graye might be a royal
pain, but his money was nothing to scoff at. His kilt order
would yield a nice profit.
    The sense of wrongness hit Liss the moment she
opened the door.
    Her fingers, already reaching for the switch, completed the movement, flooding the room with light. Harsh
overhead fluorescent bulbs illuminated the scene with
merciless clarity.
    The Flower of Scotland fabric was no longer on the
shelf.
    It was on the floor, partially covering a very dead body.

ChapteR FOUR

    an had just locked his workshop and started down
the street toward Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium when he saw Liss stagger out onto the porch. Even
in the uncertain illumination of the streetlight, he could
tell that something was wrong. Shudders racked her slim
frame as she braced one trembling hand against the nearest pillar.
    Breaking into a run, he covered the distance in a matter of seconds. She gasped when he skidded to a halt at
the foot of the porch steps, her eyes wide and frightened
in a face devoid of color.
    “Liss, what’s wrong?”
    With visible effort, she managed to whisper an answer.
“She’s dead. Dan, she’s dead”
    “Who’s dead?”
    Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. “Amanda
Norris. She’s in the stockroom. I just found her.”
    When Liss swayed, as if about to keel over, Dan grabbed
her by the shoulders and gently shoved until she was sitting on the top step. “Stay right here,” he told her, and
went inside.
    He knew where the stockroom was. He’d been in Margaret Boyd’s store often enough to be familiar with the
place. Besides, Liss had left the door open and the light on. He didn’t have to venture past the doorsill to see that
what she had told him was true. A bolt of fabric had tumbled from a shelf to land on the body, unrolling enough to
cover part of it, but he recognized Mrs. Norris’s fluffy
white hair and her blue and white jogging shoes.

    Dan swallowed hard. Blood stained the wood flooring
beneath her head.
    The sound of soft footfalls behind him had Dan
whirling around, jumpy as a cat, but it was only Liss.
    “Maybe I was wrong. Maybe she’s not dead”
    “You weren’t wrong” Dan had no doubt on that score.
The human body tended to void itself at the moment of
death. He’d learned that when his grandfather passed away
in the upstairs bedroom at his parents’ house. He’d been
seven years old when he’d walked into that room, sent by
his mother to call her father down to breakfast. The smell
had imprinted itself on his memory.
    But he went to Mrs. Norris anyway, kneeling down so
he could feel for a pulse. “Nothing. She’s gone. Looks
like she fell against the shelving.” He glanced up, instantly spotting the blood staining one of the metal brackets that stuck out at the front edge of an upper shelf. “She
must have hit the back of her head against the end of that
at just the wrong point. A freak accident.” He didn’t really
want to dwell on what might have happened. He had a
strong stomach, but not for something like this. “Christ. I
just talked to her this morning.”
    “Me, too,” Liss whispered. She swiped at the tears
staining her cheeks. “But what was she doing here?”
    Good question, Dan thought. “You didn’t let her in?”
    “No. I just got home. I came back here for a bolt of
cloth.” A sob escaped her. “That cloth. I don’t understand.
How can she be dead?”
    Her face was no longer ashen, but Dan suspected Liss
was still