'Twas the Night Before Murder: Cozy Mystery (Country Cottage Mysteries Book 21) by Addison Moore & Bellamy Bloom

Author:Addison Moore & Bellamy Bloom [Moore, Addison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hollis Thatcher Press, LTD.
Published: 2021-12-01T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Dinner at the Reindeer Lodge comes and goes without incident unless you count the fact Georgie made funny faces at me all through our meal in hopes to make me laugh, pass out, or gag, I’m not sure which. But Stan thought Georgie’s funny faces were hilarious and ho, ho, hoed his way through his dinner. And while we were eating, five children came over and whispered their Christmas list to him—and two of their grandmothers slipped him their number. All in all, it’s turning out to be Stan’s night.

The waitress comes back with a tight-lipped smile.

“She’s here,” she whispers while pointing to the bar. “She just finished speaking to the owner, and she’s waiting for her meal. Why don’t you go butter her up, and I’ll keep her plate in the kitchen a few extra minutes?”

“You bet,” I say, tossing my napkin onto the table.

Jasper leans in. “I’m suddenly thirsty.”

“You can’t come with me,” I hiss at him. “She might clam up.”

“All right, I won’t go with you.” He nods to Leo. “Let’s have a beer at the bar. I feel safer having a little firepower around her.”

“Dessert is on me,” I say to the rest of the table before leaning over to Emmie. “I’ll give you two weeks off in January if you can keep these three in line.”

“You’re on,” she says with a look of determination on her face that only a woman staring at the prospect of an extended vacation can have.

I take off for the bar, and sure enough, the exact redhead I came hoping to see is seated with her hands folded staunchly, observing the bartender as if he might be on the menu if she had her way.

Noelle Miles sits with her back erect, her red hair straight and glossy. She’s donned a dark green dress and has a sleeve of gold bangles running up one arm. She looks both confident and intimidating, something you might expect from a food critic.

I’m about to ask if the seat next to her is taken when Georgie barrels over.

“Scoot a notch, sister.” She elbows the woman over a seat. “I’ve got a couple of tired dogs. I’ve been on the hunt all day for a prospective date to mate, and I’m sick and tired of getting the runaround from these bozos.”

“Ha,” Noelle says as she pats the seat next to her. “Aren’t we all. Join the club.”

“I’m already in one,” Georgie is quick to tell her. “It’s called Club Dead and she’s the president.” She hitches a thumb my way.

Good grief.

I glance back at the table at Emmie as she laughs it up with my mother and Stan.

You had one job, I think to myself as I shake my head in her direction.

Both Jasper and Leo hit the bar at the other end and freeze once they spot Georgie.

Jasper sighs as he looks at the debacle playing out in front of us.

You’d better get in there, Bizzy. She’s likely to hustle her out the door and to the nearest funeral parlor to drum up a few dead men.

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