The Conniving Carver and the Jeering Jack-O-Lantern: A Point Muse Cozy Paranormal Mystery by Kelly Ethan

Author:Kelly Ethan [Ethan, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-30T16:00:00+00:00

Three

"Have you noticed Point Muse has an overabundance of junk? Why would you want to buy someone else's trash?" Holly shuddered as she skipped along beside her two cousins.

"Everyone's after a deal." Lila eyed Holly. "Have you had caffeine this afternoon? You’re not a bouncy kind of girl, normally."

Holly nodded vigorously, her head jiggling up and down like a bobble-head doll. "My bosses splashed out on an espresso machine. They’ve been trying out different blends on me all afternoon. They're really yummy."

Lila stepped around Holly and strolled next to Xandie instead. "Perky is catching and we’re Harrows. Perky is not our go-to emotional state. You need to wean off caffeine, Banshee. You're scaring me."

Chortling, Holly pretended to scare her cousins. "Boo. Did I scare you? Did I?"

Xandie sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon. Holly, her normally quiet and occasionally sarcastic, death-obsessed cousin, had banshee blood mixed with her witchy Harrow genes. She worked at Elysian Fields Funeral Home and loved working with her twin necromancer bosses... And skipping was definitely out of character.

"Will you be okay to sleuth in the pawnshop? Maybe you should head home and rest. Come down off your caffeine high."

"Nope," Holly sang as she skipped. She held a hand to her heart and rearranged her face into some semblance of sobriety. "I swear on Elspeth’s grave I will conduct myself with all Sherlockian gravitas."

“Elspeth isn’t dead.” Xandie gritted her teeth.

“Whoops, guess you’ll just have to trust me.” She spoiled her sober effect with a nervous giggle. Holly slapped a hand over her mouth and gestured for her cousins to go ahead.

"This isn't going to end well," Lila whispered to Xandie.

"All we can do is hope she’ll be quiet and if not, you get to drag her out, while I sleuth around."

Lila rubbed her hands. "Dragging troublemakers away is a talent of mine. Can I use extreme measures?"

"Go for it. Who knows how much caffeine they fed her?" Xandie smirked. Watching Lila and Holly squabble always ended up being entertaining.

The trio reached Ernie's pawnshop, imaginatively called...Ernie's Pawnshop.

"I don't think he's known for his housekeeping skills." Lila pointed to the dust smeared over the front window, so dirty only a few shadows showed through the glass.

"We aren't here for his housekeeping skills." Xandie pressed a hand on the door and shoved it open, stepping inside. Considering the dust of the front window, she'd expected the interior to be a mess as well. But instead, it was surprisingly clean and welcoming. Shelves were filled to almost overflowing, and the shop had plenty of blank space between the shelves for browsing. "Can you see Ernie anywhere?"

Lila shook her head and guided Holly to a corner of the shop. "Stay here and be quiet."

Holly mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

"I'll stay around here and keep a lid on bouncing Banshee. You take a walk around and see what you can sleuth." Lila winked. "I should get danger pay for Banshee babysitting."

"You'll get something alright." Probably Holly with a caffeine hangover.

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