Christmas Canapés & Sabotage: a Culinary Competition Mysteries holiday short story Read Online Free Page A

snowstorm rated a ten out of ten on the cruel-and-unusual-punishment scale. The giant awning stretching over the valet drop-off area wasn't much protection from the snow, which was falling horizontally. At least the torture was exacted equally on everybody. A line of vehicles snaked around the K Hotel parking lot, although the cars at the back were barely visible in the heavy snow. In years past, at the smaller banquet hall on the other side of town, getting everything inside had been a survival skill test, as competitors were responsible for hauling their food across a slippery, pothole-filled parking lot. Okay, so she wasn't having fun, but if the venue hadn't changed she would've been even more frustrated and frozen. As during the previous evening, hotel staff waited by the entrance to the conference facility, ready to help load up a fleet of luggage trolleys for any competitor who wanted to take advantage of the service. Now that there were heavy coolers full of food and boxes full of fragile serving ware to move, it seemed that every competitor had cued up for the valet service. She doubted anybody would let the carts out of their sight now, though.
    Amy placed the last clear storage bin on her cart and shut the back door of the Jeep. Alex had insisted she take his four-wheel drive, since the storm showed no sign of letting up and the roads were already snow-covered. She kind of liked arriving in the tough-looking, black off-road vehicle instead of her adorable Mini. Tough and ready for anything. That's how she felt, considering she was in the middle of a two-day-long competition in the middle of the holiday season. At that point, shopping for presents was like getting trapped in a skateless roller derby nightmare. The grocery stores were packed with people buying enough food to feed small armies. Her kitchen was her soothing hidey-hole where she worked out stress by cooking. At the end of the meeting at Halo it had been announced that the gorgeously decorated Christmas tree in the entrance was the prize for the most visually appealing amateur tablescape. That was a pretty subjective thing to judge, since one person's perfect was another's tour in the land of gaudy, but she was game. That tree would look incredible in her living room. She had been planning on buying trim at after-holiday sales to try to recreate it. If she could win the tree she wouldn't have to play a rousing game of who-saw-it-first with crazed sale shoppers.
    "Aren't you cold?" she asked the smiling bellhop who was minding her trolley. She was glad he was a boy-band-cute teen instead of a woman with a wig. "You only have a thin jacket on."
    "Naw. I'm running around a lot, so that keeps me warm. Besides, I play in an outdoor hockey league. This is good conditioning for me." He flashed a smile that probably made half of the girls in his school swoon. "Do you have everything unloaded?"
    "Yes. I've got everything."
    He motioned for a valet worker to take the Jeep's keys from Amy. What a treat to be pampered. It sure beat testing her own defensive driving skills to find a parking spot then playing sherpa over an arctic tundra.
    "Are you an amateur or professional?" the bellhop asked as they walked through the sliding doors into the grand hallway of the convention center. Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead as the trolley silently rolled over the thick, diamond patterned carpet. The hotel and conference center was less than a year old but had already established itself as the premier place for parties and conferences in Kellerton.
    "Amateur."
    He nodded and nudged the cart to the right, toward the end of the line of people and carts tracing along the ivory paneled wall. "This is your line. Good luck!"
    Amy took over as captain of her appetizer transporting ship. The line moved quickly with three people checking in participants, but there were unhappy murmurs billowing back through the crowd. She could see contestants pushing carts past the closed ballroom