Murder on Calf Lick Fork by Michelle Goff

Author:Michelle Goff [Goff, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-11-21T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Maggie, Luke, Edie, and Ben stood on the sidewalk, waving to Santa Claus and his elves as their float motored down Main Street, signaling the end of the Jasper Christmas parade. When Santa passed them, Edie said, “Let’s go see if we can score some more free cider from tourism’s booth.”

“All things considered, it’s not that cold, Edie,” Maggie said.

“I don’t know what things you’re considering, but I’m considering my frozen toes and fingers, which I’m dangerously close to losing to hypothermia.”

Maggie and Luke exchanged glances and rolled their eyes in unison. Neither had addressed the emotional conversation they had shared in the car, and Maggie recognized that a forced friendliness had settled between them. Still, when Santa threw candy into the festive crowd, Luke had jostled among parade-goers to retrieve a handful of sweets for Maggie. She had thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and a squeeze of his shoulder.

As they made their way toward tourism’s booth, Maggie spotted Steve and Carrie Fletcher in the crowd. “Hey,” she said to her companions, “I see somebody I know. I’ll meet you in front of tourism in a bit.”

Maggie crossed the street and power walked to catch up to the Fletchers. When they appeared to be headed for the parking garage, she called their names. They turned their heads toward her voice and smiled when they saw her. As she approached them, Steve offered an apology. “I’m sorry for not returning your call. We had an opening and a closing today and this one,” he motioned his head toward Carrie, “didn’t come to work today. She decided this morning that our house needed one more Christmas tree.”

“One more?” Maggie asked. “How many do you have?”

Carrie blushed. “As of this afternoon, four.”

“Oh,” Maggie said. “Trimming one tree wears me out. I can’t imagine decorating four.”

“She decorates the entire house,” Steve explained while wiping his eyes and sniffling. “She creates our own winter wonderland.”

“Are you getting a cold?” Maggie asked Steve.

Steve and Carrie both laughed. “No,” Steve said, shaking his head. “Parades make me cry. They always have. You can imagine how embarrassing that was when I marched in parades with my high school band.”

“What can I say?” Carrie wrapped her arms around Steve’s waist. “I married a softie.”

Steve blew his nose, embraced his wife, and said to Maggie, “I listened to your message, but I don’t know anybody named W.L.”

“Neither do I,” Carrie said. “Sorry.”

“You think he might be wrapped up in Jay’s disappearance?” Steve asked.

Maggie related how W.L. Murphy poaching a deer had resulted in Jay losing his job.

“Jay told me Curtis had lost his temper and fired him. Knowing Curtis, that didn’t surprise me at all. I’ve taken deer to other butchers, but there’s not one around who’s as clean or as good or as honest as Curtis. You don’t have to worry about him contaminating the meat or stealing a steak here or there from you. But,” Steve shrugged, “he’s not a people person, that’s for sure.

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