Whodunit Antiques Cozy Mystery series Bundle by Shelly West

Author:Shelly West [West, Shelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-12-08T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

With the setting of the sun, the festival was now in full swing. The streets of downtown Wallace Point were more crowded than they had ever been since Abigail first visited. Children ran from one dessert vendor to the next while their parents, clustered together, watched and longed for the energy of youth. Teenagers sauntered about in pairs, if they were lucky enough to have dates, or in groups that, out of sheer jealousy, mocked the couples.

Rachel Cuthbert had disappeared into the crowd, and Abigail was starting to worry she wouldn’t find her. Luckily, after checking with the Granny Gang, Grandma tracked her down at the local toy store.

The store was closed for the festival, but the window display, illuminated by twinkling lights, had drawn a crowd of children. To Abigail’s surprise, the toys in the display were dancing.

A limber ballerina spun on her toe, while, beside her, a wooden old couple did a jittery jig. In a corner, a group of toy schoolchildren the size of Abigail’s pinky swayed on a tiny wooden stage. Above them all, a trapeze artist swung up, over, and around a tightrope.

Mr. Yamamoto’s toy store wasn’t the run of the mill collection of molded plastic in primary colors. He built many of the intricate toys himself out of wood, and sold a wide array of board games on top of that.

Abigail hadn’t explored the store yet because she was certain she’d break every one of Mr. Yamamoto’s delicate creations. But every time she had walked by in the past, she would always bring her face close to the glass and admire the breathtaking displays.

Tonight though, she wasn’t focused on the window.

Rachel Cuthbert crouched at a corner of the display. She wore all black, and in her hands she carried a heavy camera with an impressive lens. While the children ogled the moving toys, Rachel snapped photo after photo of their entranced faces.

Abigail and Grandma walked up behind her. At first, they waited politely for her to finish her photography. But when she continued to take shot after shot after shot, Abigail lost her patience.

“Hey Rachel!” she said brightly.

Rachel jerked, nearly dropping her camera. She had such a stricken look on her face that Abigail wondered if Rachel had expected to find the Ripper behind her with a knife. Grandma struggled to suppress a snicker.

“You scared the daylights out of me!” Rachel exclaimed. She didn’t seem to find the incident as humorous as Grandma did. “What do you want?”

Abigail, sensing that Rachel wasn’t in a talkative mood, tried to ease into the conversation.

“We just saw you snapping pictures,” she lied. “We thought we’d say hello.”

Rachel’s face softened slightly. “Well, hey. Hi, Mrs. Lane.”

“Hello, Rachel.” Grandma nodded at the bulky camera. “Are you working for the paper again?”

“Yeah, they’re letting me cover The Last Hurrah. It’s no one’s dream job, but the paper has me on probation.”

“A job’s a job, Rachel. You’ll have the town’s confidence again soon enough.”

“Maybe. I’m not sure about a few people though.

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