Holiday Horseplay by Wendy Meadows

Author:Wendy Meadows [Meadows, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B0BJW74YVB
Published: 2023-01-24T15:30:51+00:00

chapter seven

“I can’t say for sure if she’s our murderer. All I can tell you is that she’s definitely a mess,” Mary says.

She’s rinsing a poodle in a steel basin at the back of the shop. The poor thing shivers and licks her palm once for assurance. Stockings is perched on my lap, eagerly snatching up the treats Mary shook into my palm. His cold little nose is a ticklish slide of sensation against my skin and I’m fighting not to grin, despite the seriousness of the conversation.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she’s excellent with the pets, but she has no business sense whatsoever. I’ve seen college freshmen who balance a better budget than this woman. Her files are a mess, and I spent most of my first day sorting things out. She should have gone in for a vet tech job. It’s like she just wants to interact with the animals and doesn’t care much about the rest.”

I tuck this nugget of information into the back of my mind to be examined at a later date.

“Do you think it’s made her desperate enough to kill William?”

Mary bites her lip as she rubs the poodle down with a towel. It yips at Stockings, who dives for cover, bedding down in my tote bag out of sight.

“I don’t know,” she says.

“Don’t know what?” a sour voice issues from the doorway, making us both jump.

Marcy stands in the doorway, knobby hand on one hip, glaring at me with mild disdain. I feel like a rat who’s crawled into an otherwise pristine house. The sense that I don’t belong here is strong. I can feel my pulse thrumming at the back of my throat. How much of our conversation had Marcy heard?

Marcy’s hair is pulled back into a bun and the silver stands out prominently beneath the bare bulb that hangs from the ceiling. She spears Mary with a glare.

“What did I tell you about our break policy, Mary?” she says tartly.

“No visitors until after hours,” Mary grumbles.

“Right you are,” she says, then shifts the glare to me, though she’s still addressing Mary. “I want you in the front. If I have to deal with Lucy Inkman one more time this week, I’m going to tear her hair out. Just tell her we don’t have what she needs in stock and send her packing.”

Mary shoots me an apologetic look over her shoulder and mouths “Sorry” before disappearing through the curtain that separates this room from the rest of the store.

Marcy’s stare on me is icy. Her mouth is a white line of rage. Yes, she definitely heard part of the conversation. Heard it, and is very angry about it.

“Marcy,” I begin, not sure what I can say to defend myself.

“Save it,” she says, cutting me off before I can get going. “Just keep your mouth shut, Green. It’s one thing to barge into my shop and disrupt the flow of my business. It’s quite another to slander me while you do so.”

Her eyes go glassy with tears and pity stabs through me, sharp and unexpected.

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