Framed in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery Novella by Meg Muldoon

Author:Meg Muldoon [Muldoon, Meg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vacant Lot Publishing
Published: 2020-12-17T22:00:00+00:00

And as I watched Veronica coming back our way with the determined-looking pipsqueak cop, I couldn’t give her an answer.

Chapter 10

“Hey! Hey – take those off her!” I shouted.

“It’s standard procedure whenever something like this happens, ma’am,” Officer Pipsqueak said, grabbing Kara’s arms as she squirmed.

I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more – that he was arresting Kara in front of so many onlookers for a crime she didn’t commit, or that he’d just ma’amed me.

I saw panic in Kara’s eyes, and I suddenly felt white-hot anger climb up the back of my throat.

“This is a big misunderstanding,” I said in the strongest voice I could muster. “You can’t do this.”

He didn’t answer this time. He just started pulling Kara away by her cuffed hands.

“What about the security footage?” I shouted.

“The cameras didn’t capture Brooke’s booth, but it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “It’s very clear what happened. We have the evidence.”

He nodded at the white leather bag sitting on the table.

At that moment, Brooke, who had come over after hearing the commotion, walked through the crowd and yanked the bag from off the table.

“Wait – don’t touch that, miss. It’s evidence,” Officer Packer said.

But Brooke wasn’t listening. She unzipped the money bag, and began rifling through the bills. Her eyes grew wide.

“There’s at least a thousand dollars missing,” she said.

She looked over at Kara accusingly.

“Why did you do this to me? And where’s the rest of my money?”

Kara could only shake her head.

“Brooke, I didn’t steal that,” she said, close to tears. “Somebody must have planted that at my booth. I never even saw it before just now.”

Brooke looked over in my direction. She pointed at me like I was a woman living in Salem, Massachusetts circa 1693.

“Maybe your friend here knows something about it,” she said. “Maybe she should be in handcuffs, too.”

I narrowed my eyes at the obnoxious red-head.

I understood she was upset. I could be compassionate – to a point. But she’d crossed the line now.

“Look – I don’t know who you think you are, Brooke,” I started saying in a shaky, angry voice. “But you do not just go around accusing people without—”

“Evidence?” Veronica said, raising a perfectly-plucked eyebrow at me. “Because from where I sit, there’s plenty against the both of you. Luckily you seem to have an alibi for when the bag went missing, Cinnamon. While Kara here, does not.”

I started saying something back, but then I realized I didn’t have any words.

Kara had gone off to talk to John on the phone during the time when the money bag was supposedly stolen. I’d been manning the ornament booth and many witnesses saw me working.

All I could do was glare at Veronica.

“You just… you just think you’re so great, don’t you…” I mumbled.

It was the dumbest comeback I had possibly ever said in all my life.

But it was all I could come up with as I stared into Veronica’s vacant, unfeeling, steel-blue eyes.

Veronica let out a scoff and began saying something unpleasant back to me, but Kara interrupted.

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