Murder Most Howl: A Paws & Claws Mystery

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Authors: Krista Davis
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Someone sat down right here and died?”
    No one answered her.
    Dave touched one of the man’s frosty eyebrows. Apparently unconvinced, he tried to lift the edge of the knit cap. “It’s frozen to his head.” He stepped back. “Looks like Norm, doesn’t he?”
    That was why he looked familiar!
    Dave focused on Val. “You sure you’re not pulling a fast one?”
    “Honest! The participants only have today and a few hours tomorrow to solve the death of the Baron von Rottweiler. I decided a second murder would be too much for them to handle.”
    Dave’s mouth puckered. “So help me, if I call the rescue squad and this turns out to be part of your murder mystery—”
    “It’s not!” Val protested. “I don’t know if he’s real or not—gosh, I hope not—but I had nothing to do with it.”
    Dave pulled out his radio and called for an ambulance.
    When he was through, he leaned forward and unsnapped the top of the man’s navy blue jacket. He tugged at the zipperbut it didn’t budge. He slid his fingers along the side of the neck and wedged them under the man’s turtleneck.
    I saw Dave’s shoulders jerk. He backed up. “I think we have a corpse.”
    “Don’t they freeze people on purpose sometimes?” asked Val. “Maybe they can revive him in the hospital.”
    “That’s right.” A glimmer of hope crept into me. “They lower their temperatures so their hearts hardly beat.”
    “Yeah? Well, if his heart is beating at all, I’d be surprised.” Dave scanned the area.
    “What are you looking for?” I asked.
    “Footprints. It came down so hard and fast that the snow melt stuff couldn’t keep up but the snow also did a great job filling any tracks.”
    Val cocked her head. “You mean the footprints from this guy?”
    “Or someone else.”
    “Duh. If someone was with him, wouldn’t they have called for help?” asked Myrtle.
    Dave simply lifted an eyebrow.
    “Surely you don’t think this was a murder!” I blurted.
    “I have to treat it as a crime scene until we know otherwise.”
    A beaming couple with pleased smiles hurried toward us. “Is this the next victim?” asked the man.
    Dave stared at them, clearly appalled.
    Thankfully Val had her wits about her. “No. I’m so sorry. This isn’t part of the mystery weekend.”
    Although snowflakes continued to fall, the sky was growing lighter. More people were gathering around to see what was happening.
    “Folks,” said Dave, “I need you to step back, please. Sir! Please stay on the sidewalk!”
    How could we get people to stop tromping on the snow in what I now feared might be the scene of someone’s death? There was only one solution. I pointed toward the inn. “Freecoffee for everyone at the Sugar Maple Inn this morning. And in just a short while, we’ll be giving away a secret about the location of a weapon.”
    Val glared at me, her eyes wide. “You’re giving away secrets?”
    “I had to do something to get them away from here.”
    “How do you know the weapons haven’t already been found?”
    I hadn’t thought that part through. “Surely not all of them have been discovered yet. Besides, I can peek to see if the candlestick is where I left it.” I hoped it was still there.
    Surprisingly, almost everyone except Myrtle and Weegie hurried toward the inn. Either they were desperate for that weapon or they were as cold as I was. I looked down at poor Trixie. Her little paws must be chilled to the bone.
    Myrtle coughed politely. “Um, could I have the bottle back now?”
    “Myrtle! For heaven’s sake. Someone died,” hissed Weegie.
    “Don’t you get it? It’s an act. If this guy is real, then why did he have a game piece in his lap? They’re putting us on.”
    “I can see why you would think that,” said Val, “but I’m in charge of Murder Most Howl, and I can assure you that this is not part of the game.”
    Honestly, Myrtle looked at us so innocently that I wondered if she understood what was happening. Val turned to

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