Read Online A Wee Christmas Homicide by Kaitlyn Dunnett - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kaitlyn Dunnett
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feeling, I guess. I came down, saw the bear, got my gun out, and checked the shop. Then I called you.”
“Ever think keeping a loaded firearm in a toy store might not be such a great idea?” She had nightmares about her own son, Adam, finding her gun and thinking it was something to play with, and she kept hers unloaded, secured with a trigger guard, and well hidden when she was off duty.
“Man’s got a right to protect his property,” Thorne insisted.
“You’re missing the point. What if one of your customers got hold of it. We have gun locks available at the police station if—”
“What the hell does me owning a gun have to do with a vandal shooting my bear?” Agitated, he rose from his chair to tower over her. “It wasn’t this gun he used!”
Sherri didn’t back up, but she did drop the gun safety lecture…for the moment. “Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
“Hear anything else suspicious?”
“No. Well, maybe a car.”
Sherri continued to question him, making him repeat everything twice, until she was satisfied he had nothing left to tell her. Then she gave the chief of police a call. It would be up to Jeff to decide how to proceed.
He heard her out in thick silence broken only by the occasional yawn. “Question the neighbors,” he instructed when she wound down.
“Now?”
He chuckled. “Not unless you want people calling the town office to complain about police brutality. Start making the rounds once it’s reasonable to expect folks to be awake.”
Chapter Five
S herri waited until seven. She didn’t bother with the buildings on either side of The Toy Box. Preston’s Mortuary had no occupants at the moment and was not yet open for the day. The structure that housed the post office in the front and the Clip and Curl in the back had an apartment upstairs, but it had been vacant since September.
The nearest inhabited residences were Angie’s Books—the Hogencamp apartment was above the store—and Liss MacCrimmon’s house adjacent to Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium. Sherri decided to leave Angie in peace until after she’d sent her kids off to school.
“Have you taken a look at The Toy Box’s window this morning?” she asked as she breezed into Liss’s kitchen.
“What’s the price up to today?” Liss looked a bit bleary-eyed, peering over the rim of a mug of coffee. The heavenly aroma of a freshly brewed pot of the stuff filled the room.
Sherri helped herself to a muffin and slathered it with the cholesterol-improving spread Liss had recently started using. “No price. No value.” She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed.
“Sherri, you’ll have to spell it out for me. I’m too tired to think straight until I’ve had at least two more cups of coffee.”
“It’s dead,” Sherri said. “Shot through the heart.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“During the night someone took a potshot through Thorne’s window and nailed the Tiny Teddy.” The grin she’d been trying to contain slipped free. “Sad, sad case. Stuffing everywhere. Poor wee bear never had a chance.”
“Right through the heart?” Liss stared at Sherri, incredulous.
“Bull’s-eye.” Sherri mimed firing a pistol. “Bang.”
In spite of Liss’s best efforts, a giggle escaped her. “It’s not funny.”
“Vandalism of the worst kind.” Sherri gave up trying to stifle her own laughter. “Thorne was almost incoherent when he called the P.D. and requested an officer.”
“Angry?”
“Upset. And at one point I thought he might burst into tears. He really expected someone to pay $750 for that bear.”
Liss got control of herself first. “It’s not funny. The thought of someone shooting out store windows… my store window, for example—who on earth would do such a thing?”
Sherri had spent the last few hours trying to make sense of the crime. There was no rhyme or reason to it, which was probably why she felt so punchy. Get a grip, she told herself. She wasn’t here for the baked
“Ever think keeping a loaded firearm in a toy store might not be such a great idea?” She had nightmares about her own son, Adam, finding her gun and thinking it was something to play with, and she kept hers unloaded, secured with a trigger guard, and well hidden when she was off duty.
“Man’s got a right to protect his property,” Thorne insisted.
“You’re missing the point. What if one of your customers got hold of it. We have gun locks available at the police station if—”
“What the hell does me owning a gun have to do with a vandal shooting my bear?” Agitated, he rose from his chair to tower over her. “It wasn’t this gun he used!”
Sherri didn’t back up, but she did drop the gun safety lecture…for the moment. “Did you see anyone?”
“No.”
“Hear anything else suspicious?”
“No. Well, maybe a car.”
Sherri continued to question him, making him repeat everything twice, until she was satisfied he had nothing left to tell her. Then she gave the chief of police a call. It would be up to Jeff to decide how to proceed.
He heard her out in thick silence broken only by the occasional yawn. “Question the neighbors,” he instructed when she wound down.
“Now?”
He chuckled. “Not unless you want people calling the town office to complain about police brutality. Start making the rounds once it’s reasonable to expect folks to be awake.”
Chapter Five
S herri waited until seven. She didn’t bother with the buildings on either side of The Toy Box. Preston’s Mortuary had no occupants at the moment and was not yet open for the day. The structure that housed the post office in the front and the Clip and Curl in the back had an apartment upstairs, but it had been vacant since September.
The nearest inhabited residences were Angie’s Books—the Hogencamp apartment was above the store—and Liss MacCrimmon’s house adjacent to Moosetookalook Scottish Emporium. Sherri decided to leave Angie in peace until after she’d sent her kids off to school.
“Have you taken a look at The Toy Box’s window this morning?” she asked as she breezed into Liss’s kitchen.
“What’s the price up to today?” Liss looked a bit bleary-eyed, peering over the rim of a mug of coffee. The heavenly aroma of a freshly brewed pot of the stuff filled the room.
Sherri helped herself to a muffin and slathered it with the cholesterol-improving spread Liss had recently started using. “No price. No value.” She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed.
“Sherri, you’ll have to spell it out for me. I’m too tired to think straight until I’ve had at least two more cups of coffee.”
“It’s dead,” Sherri said. “Shot through the heart.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“During the night someone took a potshot through Thorne’s window and nailed the Tiny Teddy.” The grin she’d been trying to contain slipped free. “Sad, sad case. Stuffing everywhere. Poor wee bear never had a chance.”
“Right through the heart?” Liss stared at Sherri, incredulous.
“Bull’s-eye.” Sherri mimed firing a pistol. “Bang.”
In spite of Liss’s best efforts, a giggle escaped her. “It’s not funny.”
“Vandalism of the worst kind.” Sherri gave up trying to stifle her own laughter. “Thorne was almost incoherent when he called the P.D. and requested an officer.”
“Angry?”
“Upset. And at one point I thought he might burst into tears. He really expected someone to pay $750 for that bear.”
Liss got control of herself first. “It’s not funny. The thought of someone shooting out store windows… my store window, for example—who on earth would do such a thing?”
Sherri had spent the last few hours trying to make sense of the crime. There was no rhyme or reason to it, which was probably why she felt so punchy. Get a grip, she told herself. She wasn’t here for the baked
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