Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews

Author:Donna Andrews [Andrews, Donna]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780312536114
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2009-11-15T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I awoke, as I had for weeks, to the sound of Michael declaiming Dickens. Though normally he did it at the other end of our house, not in my ear when I was fast asleep.

“ ‘It was cold, bleak, biting weather,’ ” he declaimed. “ ‘Foggy withal: and he could hear the people in the court outside go wheezing up and down, beating their hands upon their breasts, and stamping their feet upon the pavement stones to warm them.’ ”

“That bad, is it?” I sat up and shoved my hair out of my eyes. I had a crick in my neck. However inviting it had seemed when I lay down on it, the courthouse bench wasn’t a particularly comfortable mattress.

“ ‘The city clocks had only just gone three, but it was quite dark already,’ ” he said, more conversationally, as he sat down beside me.

“Actually, it’s nearly six,” I said, glancing at my watch. “I slept a whole hour.”

“You needed it,” he said, abandoning Dickens for the time being. “What do you say we go home and start broiling those steaks?”

“The power went out just before I left.”

“Okay, grilling the steaks on the back porch.”

“Perfect.”

We headed back for the truck. The snow had stopped, but the temperature had plummeted into the teens after sunset and the only people left on the square were a couple of church groups packing up their kitchens and striking their tents. Luckily all the Christmas lights and the glowing shop windows made it easy to find our way back to where I’d parked the truck.

“So why did Chief Burke round up the whole SPOOR membership and haul them down to the police station?” Michael asked as we were dusting the accumulated snow off the truck.

I sighed, and as he eased the truck carefully onto the road and drove slowly home, I gave him a rundown on the goosefeather found at the scene and Ralph Doleson’s reputation as a despoiler of eagles’ nests.

“That explains it,” Michael said. “Though if I were the chief, I’d take a close look at Doleson’s tenants, too.”

“Yes,” I said. “I’m sure they have all kinds of motives for killing him. Of course, that only shifts the investigation from Dad’s friends to Rob’s. Doesn’t anyone we don’t know or don’t like look the least bit suspicious?”

“There were hundreds of parade participants, and thousands of spectators, all milling around today,” he said. “I imagine when the police start sifting through his papers and checking his background, they could come up with a few more suspects.”

“Like maybe a posse of parents who thought Doleson’s surly behavior was ruining their kids’ Christmases?” I asked. “Just how did Ralph Doleson get the role of Santa to begin with? He’s not my idea of a proper Santa.”

“Nor mine,” Michael said. “But at least he was an improvement on the last two Santas.”

“What was wrong with them?”

“That’s right, it was all before you came to town. My first Christmas here, Wilmer Pruitt had the role.”

“Wilmer? Isn’t he—”

“Serving time down in Richmond for shoplifting, yes,” Michael said.

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