Tressed to Kill by Lila Dare

Author:Lila Dare
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Women Sleuths, Mystery & Detective
ISBN: 0425234746
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2010-05-03T23:00:00+00:00

WALTER HIGHSMITH WAS SETTING UP A MANNEQUIN when I arrived at Confederate Artefacts. He didn’t hear me push through the door, and I watched him for a moment, unobserved. With the loving care of a mother getting her son ready for picture day at school, he buttoned the soldier’s tunic over the mannequin’s plastic chest and smoothed the fabric with his palm. He fussed with an epaulette to make it sit straight and filched a speck of lint from braiding on the jacket’s cuff with tiny tweezers. Finally, he placed a brimmed hat pinned up on one side, with a feather curling down, on the mannequin’s luxurious brown locks. When he stood back to admire the effect, I said, “He looks very handsome, Walter.”

Walter spun around, his sword clanking against the mannequin’s legs and rocking it. He grabbed for the mannequin and steadied it before turning to me, the ends of his mustache quivering. “Miss Grace! You shouldn’t sneak up on a soldier like that. I could have pulled steel on you.” He patted the scabbard hanging from his belt.

To appease him, I asked, “How come that uniform coat is straighter than yours and a different color?”

He puffed up his cheeks, and his eyes shone at the opportunity to lecture someone on his passion. “Confederate officers, Miss Grace, provided their own uniforms, most of which were tailor-made to the owner’s taste. After the first year of the war, most of the jackets were some shade of gray. The jackets could be tunic-style, like this captain here”—he patted the mannequin’s shoulder gently—“a shell jacket, or a frock coat like mine. Most of them, though, had standing collars”—he stretched his neck up so I could see his collar, somewhat obscured by his jowls—“and two rows of seven brass buttons.” He darted to one of a half-dozen display cases and extracted a button. “Generals had eagles on their buttons, like this.” He held the shiny button on his palm, and I dutifully examined it.

“So, I guess you’re not a general,” I said, studying the buttons marching down the front of his coat.

“No, ma’am. I’m a colonel from Georgia’s Twenty-first Infantry Regiment. Our numbers were decimated at Second Manassas—we lost three-quarters of the men engaged there.” He sighed like he’d ordered the troops to their deaths. “I was one of only seven surviving officers to surrender at Appomattox. Oh, the ignominy.” He bowed his head.

“I’m sure it must have been very difficult,” I said, entertained by his playacting. At least, I hoped he was acting and not clinically delusional. “But if you can rejoin me here in the twenty-first century, we need to talk about Morestuf.”

Walter straightened. “Morestuf, fah! Carpetbaggers.” He stroked his goatee with three fingers. “Actually, Miss Grace, I don’t anticipate they will bother me too much. It’s not as if they deal in the same merchandise as I do.” He looked around his shop proudly, his eyes going from the unit flags and pennants hung from the ceiling to a troop

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.