The Christmas Tree Caper by Melodie March

Author:Melodie March [March, Melodie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pine St. Publishing
Published: 2019-12-14T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Are you sure you feel up to this, Kit? We could always just go on our own and then report back to you.”

Gladys was driving us in the direction of Wintervale General Hospital, while I sat in the back fussing over whether or not Kit was up to this trip. I’d spent the whole evening going through the file that Will left with me the night before and there was a lot of useful information in it despite the fact the papers inside were practically falling apart. Along with the faded report on a teenage Murray Middleton’s crime, a few other people were considered suspects at the time. One of those people was Harry Lavine. Since Ruthie had received that letter from a person with the last name Lavine, it was a clue that I couldn’t overlook.

Much like the Middletons, it turned out that there weren’t many Lavines left in the area. In the 50s and 60s, the majority of the family either lived in Hadleigh all year long, or owned vacation homes near what was now the Mountain Wolf Lodge. But over the years, it looked like most of them had moved on. I didn’t get a chance to do a lot of research on the family before I fell asleep, but I did discover one Harry J. Lavine living on the outskirts of Wintervale. Even if he wasn’t related, it was worth asking him if he knew anything about Ruthie’s star.

As soon as I got to town, I filled Kit and Gladys in on everything I’d learned, and the minute Kit heard the name “Harry Lavine,” her face set into deep, serious scowl. I don’t think I’d seen Kit scowl once in all the years I’d known her.

“Oh, I know Harry Lavine,” she said bitterly. “He volunteers up at the hospital check-in desk a few days a week. When you were in Wintervale General, laid up with that broken leg, I brought you a basket full of your favorite treats from Red Apple Grocery. Well, he claimed it was after visiting hours and told me to leave the basket with him. I hadn’t gone ten steps in the other direction before I turned around and caught him eating a pear and drinking a bottle of root beer right out of that basket!”

“The audacity!” Gladys said dramatically. I could tell she wasn’t taking it as seriously as Kit was, but it certainly didn’t eliminate him as a suspect. Stealing was stealing, right? So, when Gladys told Kit we were going to see Harry at the volunteer desk at the hospital, she insisted on coming with us. I just hoped she could contain her anger over the gift basket long enough for us to ask him some questions.

I tucked my arm through Kit’s as we walked into the hospital, hoping to try and keep her grounded since she could get feisty when she wanted to. But as usual, she was as sturdy and strong as an oak tree. The

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