Mince Pies and Murder by Carly Reid

Author:Carly Reid [Reid, Carly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkpot Books
Published: 2019-12-03T22:00:00+00:00

...And the Pub

Craig, having anticipated another busy evening after a community event, had brought in another staff member to serve behind the bar. The young woman had short, curly, red hair and wore a short black bar apron over her black pants and t-shirt. While not a uniform exactly, Craig also wore all black, although he favored a bar towel flipped over his shoulder instead of an apron. He looked up briefly as they entered and nodded his hello, then went back to pouring the drink he was in the middle of serving – a pint of Guinness it looked like, by the way he paused to let it rest halfway through. Although the pub was indeed filling up, Ealisaid, Jessica and Magnus easily found a table – one of the booths near the fire.

“What would you like Ealisaid? And you, Jessica?”

“I’ve got the car parked at the back of the shop. I’ll just take a ginger beer’” replied Ealisaid. Jessica was coaxed into an Irish cream liqueur – a concoction she had become fond of. It was something that both her mom and Reenie had always had around at Christmas, and was made up of white wine, whisky and cream. It was quite sweet and sticky – although not as much as eggnog – and Jessica enjoyed it in moderation.

“Be right back!” Magnus headed over to the bar, to await his turn amongst the throng that had gathered there. Jessica’s eyes followed him over, all thoughts of Christmas past completely gone from her head. Her thoughts drifted somewhere else entirely, a fact that was not lost on her friend.

“What are you looking at, Jess?” teased Ealisaid. It had been obvious from the minute Jessica met Magnus that she found him attractive, but, as Jessica often argued with herself, that was simply an objective fact. It didn’t mean she had to act on it. It was still too soon, she had told herself – and Ealisaid – on many occasions. She had only been in one serious relationship and it didn’t feel like she was completely over Mike. In fact, lately, with all the memories that kept drifting to the surface, it was almost as if she had gone backwards rather than forwards.

“Hmm?” Jessica stalled, but she knew that she couldn’t put her friend off for long. The two women had grown very close in the months since Jessica’s arrival, and at times Jessica felt that Ealisaid could read her mind. She wouldn’t put it past her friend – it would be in keeping with her elfin, Celtic appearance. Ealisaid was slight and very fair skinned, with long jet black hair and vivid green eyes. If there was such a thing as a Scottish fairy, that’s definitely what she was, in Jessica’s opinion – and surely that would make her a mind-reader too.

“Yes, I was looking at Magnus. Yes, I like him and I think he’s good company too, but that’s as far as it goes. We are friends…and colleagues.” Jessica finished lamely, realizing that she probably wasn’t convincing Ealisaid at all.

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