Mystic Mistletoe Murder (Mystic Isle Mysteries Book 2) by Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens

Author:Sally J. Smith & Jean Steffens [Smith, Sally J. & Steffens, Jean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing
Published: 2016-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

We never got a straight answer from Odeo as to whether or not he'd actually been the person who ran over Slim Conner with the utility van, but we did manage to convince him not to go running to the Sheriff with some crazy kind of confession just to save Valentine. I was having a hard time believing he could be cruel or vicious. And even more trouble believing if he'd killed Papa Noël in an act of passion over the issue of the purloined liquor that he would have taken the bag of holiday goodies well known to have been intended for the orphans.

I walked Valentine around the building to the side entrance then into the kitchen. Everyone turned when we came in. A cheer went up, and we were immediately surrounded by the ten kitchen workers who made up the day staff.

There were smiles, laughter, and even some tears. Only Aaron stood back, but by the look of relief on his face, I could tell he was as happy as everyone else to see her.

Valentine stood and accepted the hugs and well wishes of her staff for a moment, and then she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "All right, people, thank you for such a spirited welcome, but let's get back to it." She crossed the room and removed a freshly laundered chef's jacket from a cabinet, donned it over her T-shirt, and buttoned it, leaving the top button loose.

Aaron came up to us and handed me a plate with an egg salad sandwich and a scoop of coleslaw. "Take a load off, Mel. And thanks for bringing her back to us," he said. "She was missed."

The sandwich, piled high with The Mansion's Cajun egg salad on a hoagie roll, looked delish. "I didn't bring her back. Mr. Villars paid her bail. I just walked in with her." I hadn't had anything solid to eat since early that morning, and I didn't hesitate to sit down in the corner away from the food prep area. "She's still charged, Aaron. The real killer's still out there somewhere, and we still have to convince the sheriff's office it wasn't Valentine." I couldn't help thinking of Odeo.

Valentine stopped at the sink and spent more than a couple of minutes scrubbing her hands then came back to me, still drying them on a paper towel. "But you did keep me from clawing that Conner woman's eyes out, and I wanna thank you for that."

Aaron looked back and forth between us, but Valentine just smiled at him and moved over to a counter where she opened a laptop and began to scroll through menu options.

"She's just a special person, isn't she?" Aaron said.

My mouth was full of sandwich, so instead of even trying to answer, I just nodded.

He stood looking at me a minute, and rather than let all that goodness go to waste, I took another huge bite out of the sandwich. He went on. "What can I do to help you? We need to get her out of harm's way.

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