Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) 📖

for my best friend, but before I can get there, Santa crosses my path, ringing a bell, shouting out his husky ho ho hos to garner the attention of the entire room.

He pauses a moment as he spots me and yanks down his beard a notch.

“Lottie, how’s it going?”

“It’s going great, Ebenezer, and you look every bit the head elf you’re supposed to be.”

He purses his lips. “I’ll admit, it feels different doing this without Gloria at the helm, but I’m determined to give it all I’ve got.”

“You’re going to do great.”

A sprinkling of red and green stars lights up just over his shoulder as Kringle blinks to life and glides down Ebenezer’s arm like a luge.

“Weeee!” the happy little mouse shouts as Ebenezer heads off for his throne. “I’ve got a good feeling about tonight, Lottie. You’re going to catch the killer.”

“What makes you so sure?” A part of me is wondering if this has something to do with Suze and her imminent arrest.

Kringle slinks up next to me. “Because we’ve got an unexpected guest.” He points a forepaw to the ceiling, and I glance up to see a phantom dressed in a dark suit soaring over the ballroom.

Ethan Lionel Markus has shown up for the festivities, and he lets out a menacing roar as he rises past the dozens of mammoth chandeliers, shaking the crystal on each one and causing the lights in the room to flicker. His death date was October fifteenth, the exact date Gloria drew the black heart on and the letters RIP.

A round of gasps and screams fills the ballroom as the lights continue to blink in and out, and it takes a few good seconds before the crowd gets right back to the merriment.

“Wonderful,” I grouse. As if this night couldn’t get any worse.

Candy Brighton heads my way. “Did you see that?” She glances up as the chandeliers slow their rhythmic swaying. “Of all things, an earthquake in Honey Hollow. And tonight of all nights.” She squeezes her eyes shut. She has her hair fluffed and curled around her shoulders, and she’s wearing a simple black dress. But she’s jazzed up the look with a necklace comprised of blinking colorful lights, and it adds just the right festive appeal to her accouterment.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” My lips twitch. “You have so many people here tonight. No matter what happens, the Christmas Angels are going to make some needy families very happy.”

“I sure hope so.” There’s a gleam in her eye that can’t be denied. “Did you hear the news? I mean, you must have.” Her expression irons out. “I’m sorry, Lottie.”

“Sorry? About what? Oh my word, is this about my husband?”

“Your husband?” Her brows pinch. “Are you married to Detective Fox? I thought you were married to someone else?”

“The judge.” I nod with a bit of aggression. “But what were you going to say?”

“I heard a rumor about Suze.” She cringes. “You know, that there’s a real connection between her and Gloria’s murder.”

Kringle gasps. “Let’s go get her, Lottie! We’ll drown her in your eggnog trifle. It’s a pleasant way to go when you think about it. The battle-axe has it coming.”

My lips shift from side to side as I try to decipher whether or not Kringle heard me refer to Suze as a battle-axe, or if he came to that conclusion on his own. It’s pretty much a toss-up.

“I hadn’t heard that.” I take a breath.

“Really?” Candy wrinkles her nose. “Chris and I had a feeling she was stealing from the organization. But there was no way to prove it.”

A part of me wants to pipe up and say that there is a definitive way to prove it, but I don’t. A part of me actually wants to protect that battle-axe.

“I’m sure the Ashford Sheriff’s Department will figure it out. And no need to apologize.” I make a face. “Suze and I have had a rocky relationship.”

She nods. “Cormack and Cressida told me as much. That’s when I knew you’d really wrap this one up quickly.” She glances to her phone. “Speaking of which, I have to wrangle up the elves. Santa is taking to his throne, and without Mrs. Claus there to greet the crowd, we’ll need an elf or two to step in.”

“No Mrs. Claus?” I grimace as I say it. “Oops, I just realized that Gloria was Mrs. Claus.”

“Oh, we’ve got one. Suze is wearing the costume tonight. Isn’t that ironic? Our first Mrs. Claus was murdered and her replacement is the killer.” She rolls her eyes. “I can’t wait until we get on the other side of the holidays. I’m going straight to Vail.” She takes off, and Kringle takes me by the hand as he pulls and tugs at me with all of his supernatural might.

“Come on, Lottie, before Ethan decides to huff and puff and blow this entire town down. We must find Suze and detain her.”

“Ethan obviously loved Gloria very much to come back and make sure her killer was captured. I mean, Gloria did kill him—even if it was inadvertently. You’d think he might have turned a blind eye to this one.”

Kringle lifts his head a notch. “It is strange, isn’t it? Do you suppose there’s another purpose in him being here?”

“I can’t imagine what it would be.”

The lights in the ballroom dim to pitch a moment before drifting back to where they were, much to the crowd’s delight.

Naomi Turner lets out an aggravated huff as she stalks on by me. No doubt as the manager, she feels responsible for the electrical glitches on such an important night.

“Lottie,” a familiar deep voice calls from my right, and I turn to see Chris Holiday holding up a plate of my eggnog trifle. “It’s excellent. I didn’t get a chance to try it the day of the—well, you know. But now that I’ve tasted this culinary perfection, I’m sorry I missed a month’s worth of eating.”

A laugh bumps from me. “Don’t worry. I keep the