Mary Higgins Clark Carol Higgins Clark Ebook Christmas Set_Christmas Thief, Deck the Halls, Dashing Through the Snow by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark

Author:Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark [Clark, Mary Higgins & Clark, Carol Higgins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: thriller, Mystery
ISBN: 9781451640137
Goodreads: 9924472
Publisher: Simon Schuster
Published: 2010-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

22

After making sure that Flower was securely tied, gagged, and immobilized, Betty, Jed, Woodrow, and Edmund left Jed’s secret office and went back into the house.

Woodrow walked to the stove where the freshly baked cake was sitting on the rack. He broke a piece off and crammed it in his mouth. “Not bad,” he pronounced.

Betty grabbed the baking pan. “Keep your mitts off my cake!” she snapped.

“The only thing I’ve had to eat today was a couple of pieces of candy,” Woodrow complained. “We were on our way to a nice lunch in Boston when we found out we were victims of a terrible crime.”

“Jed, fix them something to eat,” Betty ordered. “Then you two have to stay out of sight. People are going to becoming here soon for tea. I’ll get Flower’s gear out of her room now.”

“Out of sight? Where should we go?” Edmund asked. “Don’t say the shed. It’s cold.”

“There’s only one place you can go. The basement. I can’t have you sitting here if somebody comes through that swinging door.”

“The basement?” Woodrow complained. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“You’re not exactly honored guests,” Betty snapped. “I’ll be right back.”

At the reception desk she reached in the drawer for Flower’s credit card receipt and tore it into shreds. Thank God Jed hadn’t validated the card yet, she thought. Then a terrible thought occurred to Betty. Had Flower spoken to anyone since she checked in?

Betty hurried upstairs to Flower’s room. A cell phone was on the bed. Betty turned it on, held her breath, and pressed “dialed calls.” The last call Flower had made was early this morning. Betty exhaled slowly then pressed “received calls.” There hadn’t been any today, which meant that Flower hadn’t answered the phone after she checked in. Betty could see there were messages but would need Flower’s passcode to listen to them. If I want it, she’ll give it to me, Betty thought darkly, as she turned off the phone and dropped it in the pocket of her apron.

It was clear that Flower hadn’t gotten under the bed covers. Betty smoothed the spread and fluffed up the pillows. In the bathroom, she tossed Flower’s toiletries into her knapsack, wiped out the sink with a towel, and walked back into the bedroom. She took a quick look around for anything she might have missed, then grabbed Flower’s coat from the chair.

In the hallway, she tossed the towel down the laundry chute and momentarily stuffed Flower’s things in the linen closet. To be certain that no one had returned while they were in the shed, Betty knocked on, then opened the doors of the other five guest rooms with the master key. Satisfied that the second floor was empty, she retrieved the knapsack and coat, hurried down the stairs, and locked the front door. Now anyone who shows up will be forced to ring the bell, she thought. I can’t take a chance on someone else having big ears like Flower.

In the kitchen, Edmund and Woodrow were slurping vegetable soup.

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