Almost Sleighed by Emily James

Author:Emily James [James, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy, Crime, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Thriller, Women Sleuths
ISBN: 9781988480015
Google: rCBWMQAACAAJ
Publisher: Stronghold Books
Published: 2017-10-14T23:00:00+00:00

The first opening Tom McClanahan had in his schedule was three days later.

I showed up at his office five minutes before my scheduled appointment time.

Ashley glanced up from her computer screen, her face looking like she’d recently had another Botox treatment. As usual, her clothes were borderline not suitable for work with the amount of cleavage they showed.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a tone that implied my very existence was wasting her time.

In a way, it was a shame I didn’t have Mark with me. Ashley at least attempted to be pleasant when he was around.

“I have a three o’clock appointment with Tom.”

“Mmmm.” Ashley tapped her keyboard and the gold bangles on her wrist clinked together. “No, you don’t, and he’s fully booked today. You’ll have to actually make an appointment and come back then.”

Ashley had been the one who answered the phone when I called and who booked my appointment. She knew full well that I’d booked an appointment today. The fact that I wasn’t actually on the schedule had to be intentional.

If you react, she wins, my mother’s voice said in my head.

The bell above the door jingled, probably signaling the arrival of the people Ashley had given my appointment slot to. Tom always came out of his office to greet his appointments himself and usher them in. I could circumvent Ashley’s nasty trick despite her best efforts.

I blasted Ashley with my best smile, one that I hoped would make it seem like I thought this was an honest mistake. “That’s okay that you misplaced it. I’m sure once I tell Tom what happened, he’ll squeeze me in. I’ll just grab him for a second when he comes out.”

It was hard to tell because of her fake spray tan, but I thought she might have paled a shade. She snatched up the phone on her desk. “I’ll call him and see what he can do.”

It turned out I was showing my ignorance of estate law by even going. I wouldn’t have been able to add Russ as a part-owner of Sugarwood had the estate not already been settled.

I came out of his office less than five minutes after I went in. I’d told Russ it would be an hour before I was back. The responsible part of me said I should head back to Sugarwood early regardless. The paranoid part of me said I needed to see if I could find out the identity of the girl-woman in Noah’s photo.

The Fair Haven library was one street over from Tom McClanahan’s office. One of the things I loved about small town living was how close everything was. Back in DC, I’d often have to be in the car for forty-five minutes to reach something that wasn’t any farther away than one side of Fair Haven to the other.

Had it not been winter, I would have walked. As it was, I drove the short distance. My lips and hands were already chapped beyond repair.

The Fair Haven library smelled like old paper and lemon Pinesol.

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