Prints In the Snow by E. F. Townsend

Author:E. F. Townsend [Townsend, E. F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-01-10T16:00:00+00:00

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Jamayla’s chocolate chess pie was an enormous success. When Tori brought it home from the restaurant, she opened the Derby Rose’s signature red box and took it out, and the chocolaty goodness wafted out with a delectable aroma. It took every bit of her self-restraint not to sink her teeth into the gooey, fudgy middle.

Tori, Hal, and Nichols, along with her husband, Roger, sat around Tori’s living room drinking coffee with their pie. Hal and Amelia were deep into discussions about local police doings, so Tori turned to Roger and said, smiling, “It looks like Amelia is enjoying herself.”

Tori was pleased to the see the woman’s features animated and her eyes bright. And she was laughing effortlessly. Tori could not ever remember seeing her laugh.

“Yes,” Roger said. “It’s good to see her enjoying herself. I worry about her sometimes with her workload and all.”

“And the seriousness of the crimes,” Tori added.

He nodded solemnly. “Yes, that too. It weighs on her, and that wears on me. I want her to take an early retirement, and then I’ll take her away from all this.”

Tori was surprised. “What does she have to say about that?”

“She doesn’t want to talk about it yet. She’s incredibly strong-willed.”

He cast an admiring eye toward his wife. Within the last hour of their time together, Tori had had time to observe Roger. He was tall and middle-aged, solidly built, not overweight but muscular. He had quite a bit of gray in his full head of hair, and he had laughing blue eyes and a supple mouth that smiled easily. In short, he was downright jolly at times and loved a good joke. He had a penchant for puns, and though Tori enjoyed a clever pun, she could tell Amelia did not appreciate them. When Roger got a little too carried away, she would reel him back in with a gentle but firm, “All right, Roger.”

“Do you ever worry about Amelia’s safety?” Tori asked.

“A lot, but she’s smarter than I am, and she has the skills to defend herself. If I can’t joke myself out of a tight spot, I’m done for.”

Tori smiled and thought that he looked like he could take down any man he chose in a pinch. Tori turned her attention back to Hal and Amelia. They were in the middle of recounting stories from the days they worked together.

“Do you remember Darryl Wincock?” Amelia asked.

“Wasn’t he that tow-headed guy with a boy’s face that fought with his girl all the time?”

“Yeah, I still can’t believe those two crazy kids ever got married. What were they thinking?”

“Do you remember when he swallowed his wedding ring to spite her?”

Amelia rolled her eyes. “Do you remember his face when he realized what he had to do to get it back?”

The room erupted into uproarious laughter, and when Amelia could catch her breath, she said between chuckles, “He wasn’t the sharpest pencil in the box.”

“Do you remember Freddy Sloan?” Hal asked.

“I don’t know if I do.”

“You have

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