Ghostly Paws (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series) by Dobbs Leighann

Author:Dobbs, Leighann [Dobbs, Leighann]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2014-03-12T04:00:00+00:00

***

The air had grown heavy with moisture and I wished I’d been smart enough to bring a raincoat. I realized ruefully that the time I’d spent that morning taming my hair had been in vain—the rain would make it go wild and it would re-arrange itself however it wanted.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked down the side street that led to the church. Lavinia’s family had decided on a short graveside ceremony, so I skirted the perimeter of the church to get to the graveyard behind it.

The cemetery was on a hill with the older graves at the bottom and newer ones at the top. I could already see people starting to gather about three quarters of the way up and I picked up the pace, passing the old-fashioned gravestones with their strange etchings on the way.

A mist had formed on the hill and it hung low to the ground, creating a ghostly effect that I thought was quite appropriate for Lavinia’s funeral. My leg started to ache halfway up the hill and I was limping by the time I reach the site where several mourners were already gathered.

Lavinia didn’t have any children or husband left living, just two sisters, their frail bodies huddled around the hole in the ground that would eventually become the final resting place of Lavinia’s earthly remains. Her sisters seemed genuinely upset and I had already decided they were too frail to be considered as suspects. Was there someone else here who could be the killer?

I scanned the crowd, recognizing most of the people. It had started to drizzle and I noticed most everyone wore a raincoat or trench coat. I automatically started checking to see if any of them were navy blue.

The hearse pulled up and the dark-suited pallbearers from Stilton’s Funeral parlor slid out the casket and carried it to the grave. I half expected to see Lavinia’s ghost sitting on top of it, but apparently she had better things to do than attend her own funeral.

Pastor Foley appeared at the head of the grave and started talking about Lavinia. I stood off to the side, trying to gauge people’s reactions. If the killer were here, would they do something that gave them away?

Most everyone had his or her head bent in prayer. I caught the eye of Bing, standing off to the side next to Cordelia, Hattie and Josiah. Apparently, Bing had recovered enough to attend the service. He nodded and bent his head, staring at his hands that were clasped in front of him. I took note of the large trench coat he wore—in tan, not navy blue.

Movement further up the hill caught my attention. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled as I saw something scurry between gravestones.

A small, furry animal ran out from the woods, making a beeline for one of the large monuments.

I watched in fascination as more furry figures came out of the woods, darting behind gravestones and making their way closer.

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