The Blonde Before Christmas: a Barb Jackson Mysteries holiday short story by Anna Snow Read Free Book Online Page B

with one but treated the other like she had something that not even a shot of penicillin would clear up.
    Either that woman was Addie, and Bambi was still ticked off about the whole Marvin cheating thing, or Bambi had an aversion to little people. Addie was about four-and-a-half-feet tall and had short brown hair. She smiled a smile that lit up her entire face at the children waiting in line as she passed out candy canes. She didn't have Bambi's height, or curves, but she was still pretty.
    "That has to be Addie," I said and motioned to the small woman Bambi had snubbed.
    "Yeah, that's my guess." Kelly grinned. "She's treating that little one like she has the clap or something. There's no way that's not Addie."
    A moment later, the woman we assumed was Addie ducked under the rope and hurried off toward the food court.
    We followed as quickly as possible and spotted her again heading straight for the restroom.
    We waited a few seconds then followed Addie inside.
    Much to my surprise, the women's room was nearly empty. A mother and small child moved past us, and another woman finished applying her lipstick and left.
    I took a peek and saw that all of the stall doors were standing open except one.
    I pulled out a ChapStick while Kelly adjusted her short messy hair, and we made ourselves look busy until the stall door opened, and Addie appeared at the sink beside me.
    "Hi," I said cheerily.
    "Hi, yourself," she said with a smile. "Some crazy day out there, isn't it?"
    "Absolutely," I agreed. "I was surprised that the mall is even open today after they found that body last night."
    I watched for any reaction from Addie. Her face paled a bit, but she continued washing her hands. "Sad, that was." She nodded.
    "Did you know the man?" I asked gently.
    "I'd known him for a little while. He was a nice guy. A little misunderstood but a good guy all the same."
    I put the ChapStick back into my purse. "I'm sorry for your loss. Were you two close?" I asked with what I hoped was a concerned expression.
    Addie shut off the faucet and moved to dry her hands. "Kind of. We'd been seeing each other, but he ended it the day he was killed. It's all right, though. We parted on good terms."
    "Were you working when they found him?"
    She shook her head. "No, I was picking my mom up from the airport, so I was gone all day yesterday." Addie eyed me suspiciously, and I decided that it was time to wrap up this line of questioning.
    "Well, I'm sorry for your loss. Merry Christmas."
    "Merry Christmas," she said and made her way out of the restroom.
    "Do you think she was lying?" Kelly asked after we left the restroom.
    "I don't know. She didn't seem too torn up about Marvin's death, but who knows? Everyone grieves differently."
    My cell phone buzzed. I grabbed it. The display read a number that I didn't recognize.
    "Barb Jackson," I answered the call.
    "Barb, this is Eric. I have the information you need."
    "Great. Let me have it."
    "The woman you're looking for is Chelsea Bettencourt. There were four men and one woman working in that particular store that night. Since she was the only woman working that night, I'm going to assume that she's the one you want to find. She's also working today. I figured you'd want to talk to her."
    "Thanks, Eric. You're a lifesaver."
    "It's my pleasure. If you need anything else, just call this number."
    I slid the phone into my jeans pocket. "That was Eric, the security guard. He said we're looking for a woman named Chelsea."
    "Then let's go find her."
    The smell of fresh pretzels, popcorn, and cookies permeated the air around me as we passed stand after stand and vendor after vendor on our way to Forever 21. My stomach growled. The fact that I'd just had a second macchiato and orange crème scone didn't seem to matter. The holidays, with all of the fantastic food, always made me hungry.
    We found the shop we were looking for near the farthest end of the mall. The entrance was done up in Christmas decorations like the rest of