Santa's Subpoena by Rebecca Zanetti

Author:Rebecca Zanetti [Zanetti, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781947418165
Publisher: RAZ INK LLC

Chapter 22

The box arrived just after Violet, Oliver, and I finished eating pizza in her temporary office. Clark was in court, and Pauley had gone to his class at the college, while Bowser had grudgingly eaten his dog food in his new plastic bowl decorated with doggie bones, looking imploringly toward the pizza on the desk after every few bites.

I was cleaning up the mess when Oliver brought back a red foil-wrapped box decorated with a shiny silver ribbon that left sparkles in a trail all the way down the hallway.

“Present for you,” he said, putting it on the desk.

I finished shoving the pizza box into the garbage bag and straightened, looking at the box. “Who’s it from?”

“Dunno,” Oliver said, scratching his head. “It was right outside the door. Must’ve been delivered while we were eating pizza.”

I crept closer, leaning over to look at the ribbon. “There’s no card.”

“It’s very pretty paper,” Violet said, her voice hushed. “Do you have a secret admirer?” Her face grew animated, making her eyes nearly glow. “Or is this from Aiden? Does he give you surprises like this?”

“No,” I said, frowning. “Aiden is more of an ‘I’ll grill you a steak’ kind of guy.” Although, I was dying to know what he’d already bought for Christmas. Knowing us, it was a new gun for me. Maybe one with a pink slide. I leaned in even closer, turning my head to listen.

Oliver took three steps back, putting himself in the hall. “Is it ticking?”

Violet gasped.

I couldn’t hear ticking. “I don’t think so.” A shiny metal clip on the ribbon caught my eye, and I gingerly reached out to capture it. “Earl’s Jewelry?” Oh. “I know Earl.”

Oliver didn’t move. “Well enough to have him sending you a big box?”

“No,” I admitted.

Oliver’s freckles stood out on his pale face. “That box is the right size for a head. Do you think it’s a head?”

I looked sideways at him. “Nobody sent me a head.” Probably. So far, I’d only received red roses and a painted heart from my weird admirer. Even so, I reached for my cellphone on the desk, had Siri conduct a search, and made a call.

“Earl’s Jewelry Store—Spokane’s longest standing store,” Earl answered almost instantly, sounding like he was stacking boxes at the same time.

“Hi, Earl. It’s Anna Albertini.”

“Oh, Anna. How nice to hear from you. Are you happy with the cross necklace?”

I blinked. Oh yeah. “I am.” But Aiden had a cross already. Then I mulled over the pretties in his store. “You know what? I think I might want to buy one of those watches you showed to me.”

Earl’s small gasp sounded delighted. “That’s excellent. Even if a man uses a day watch, every man requires one for special occasions. I have so many from which to choose.”

I frowned. “Okay. I’ll take the silver and black one to the far left in that case you showed me.” I finally relaxed. That was a good present. “For now, did you send jewelry my direction?”

Earl was quiet for a minute, no doubt ringing up sales in his head.

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